Li Wei walked out of the Zui Wan Commerce Association.

A steward from the Zui Wan Commerce Association personally saw him out with a smile.

"Mage Li Wei, take care."

Li Wei had become a regular at the Zui Wan Commerce Association.

Just a moment ago, Li Wei had received his October royalty payment from the Xinghuo Literature Society via the Zui Wan Commerce Association.

The Xinghuo Literature Society had sent the money through the Treasure Basin Commerce Association, which then used the Commerce Alliance to transfer it to the Zui Wan Commerce Association.

The Commerce Alliance was like a bank for commerce associations.

It catered exclusively to commerce associations, offering no services to individuals.

The October royalty payment had reached an astonishing 132 Gold Coins.

The letter from Gus explained why. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The main reason was that the outposts established in various places by the Treasure Basin Commerce Association had begun to turn a profit.

Every month, the profits would be sent back to Maple City.

Even if one city only brought in a few Gold Coins, the cumulative monthly profit was still astonishing.

The ability to collect profits every month was also thanks to the founding of the Beixuan Kingdom.

After Otz founded the kingdom, the Beixuan Kingdom designated Maple City as its capital.

Not long after Li Wei left, news of the Beixuan Kingdom’s founding had spread throughout the Northern Territory.

Otz also began aggressively developing Maple City, transforming it into a true capital worthy of a Kingdom.

The resulting business opportunities attracted a large number of merchants and outsiders.

Even the Commerce Alliance established a branch in Maple City.

Everything in Maple City was thriving and developing rapidly.

Gus said in his letter that Maple City was changing almost daily, and by the time Li Wei returned in a few years, he might not even recognize it.

Li Wei couldn’t help but wonder what Maple City had become.

Gus mentioned that Cyan Maple Slope, where the Divine Worship Ceremony was once held, had been incorporated into Maple City’s development area.

A Kingdom-level memorial plaza would be built there, encompassing the entirety of Cyan Maple Slope.

Li Wei was stunned.

Cyan Maple Slope was not close to Maple City; it was at least several miles away.

Maple City’s rate of expansion was somewhat astonishing.

Based on this scope, by the time he returned to Maple City, it might have expanded to ten times its original size.

Li Wei felt something wasn’t quite right.

’Where did Otz get so much money to expand Maple City?’

He realized someone was pulling the strings behind Otz.

’Come to think of it, for Otz to be promoted to Marquis so smoothly, someone must have been helping him from the shadows.’

’Someone is trying to make big moves in the Northern Territory,’ Li Wei thought.

’Otz founding a kingdom is just the beginning. Something much bigger is bound to happen in the Northern Territory.’

The number of kingdoms in the Northern Territory was not small, and the land was vast and sparsely populated.

The Macher Kingdom, the Nanzhe Kingdom, the Beixuan Kingdom...

Li Wei had originally thought Otz’s goal was to establish a kingdom and become its ruler.

He never expected that founding the kingdom was only the first step.

Even he didn’t know what Otz’s next move would be.

’If I knew who was backing Otz, maybe I could understand the reason behind his current actions?’

"What does this have to do with me?"

Li Wei dismissed the thought.

Perhaps by the time he returned to Maple City, whatever was going to happen in the Northern Territory would already be over.

Right now, the Elemental Tower was about to face the Undead Calamity.

Li Wei didn’t have the mental energy to worry about the distant Northern Territory and the Beixuan Kingdom.

He just hoped Gu Ze wouldn’t be dragged into it and would survive until they could meet again.

Li Wei returned to the manor.

Aside from picking up his royalty payment from the Xinghuo Literature Society, he had also gone to the Zui Wan Commerce Association to purchase a High Level Cultivation Magic Potion.

A High Level Cultivation Magic Potion was one hundred gold coins per bottle.

Li Wei had a Golden Member Card at the Zui Wan Commerce Association, giving him a 10% discount, so it only cost ninety gold coins.

It was much cheaper than other places.

Therefore, Li Wei had been buying High Level Magic Potions from the Zui Wan Commerce Association recently.

After he reached Tier Three, the effects of Middle Level Magic Potions began to diminish.

After getting a taste of the benefits from the High Level Cultivation Magic Potion, he was hooked.

One bottle of High Level Cultivation Magic Potion was enough to last him half a month.

So, a month’s supply only cost 180 Gold Coins.

After drinking the High Level Cultivation Magic Potion, Li Wei began his Cultivation.

When his Cultivation ended, Li Wei glanced at his cultivation progress.

[Crystal Meditation Method (Tier Three)] 2241/10000

Cultivation progress was slow.

Even using the High Level Cultivation Magic Potion, it would still take a long time to cultivate to Tier Three Perfection.

Li Wei missed the lightning-fast cultivation speed of the Cultivation Secret Realm.

「The next day.」

Li Wei went to the Hall of Truth.

Fang Lide had called him over, saying he wanted to introduce him to someone.

On the way, Li Wei ran into Sean.

He took the initiative to greet him, "Teacher Sean, good morning."

"Li Wei," Sean responded with a smile.

Sean looked at Li Wei and said, "Thank you again for risking yourself to save me last time."

Li Wei said, "You’ve helped me too. It was nothing."

Sean shook his head. "It’s not the same. You risked your life to save me. Helping you break that Barrier last time was a small matter.

I don’t have much time left in the Elemental Tower, but if there’s anything you need my help with, just ask."

Li Wei smiled. "If the need truly arises, I won’t hesitate to ask."

Sean seemed to think of something and said, "Wait a moment, I have something for you."

Li Wei asked curiously, "What is it?"

Sean pulled over ten Cultivation Cards from his pocket and handed them to Li Wei.

Li Wei looked at the Cultivation Cards in his hand in surprise.

Sean smiled and said, "When I was a teacher, the Elemental Tower gave me some Cultivation Cards. I didn’t need them, so I saved them up.

They’re all for you now."

Li Wei stared at the stack of Cultivation Cards in his hand, utterly stunned.

’Perhaps this is what they mean by ’no good deed goes unrewarded,’’ he mused.

He had never expected anything in return for saving Sean.

Yet Sean’s repayment went far beyond his imagination.

Li Wei wasn’t one for false modesty, so he accepted the Cultivation Cards.

"Teacher Sean, thank you. You’ve helped me out immensely," Li Wei said with sincere gratitude.

Sean smiled and said, "As long as they’re useful to you. I don’t have anything else of value.

Oh, right. I’ve already compensated Balaha with something of equal value for that Town Recall Scroll from last time, so you don’t need to pay him."

Li Wei felt a flush of shame; he’d never even considered paying Balaha back.

’Still, this is for the best. Settle your debts, and it’s easier to borrow again.’

"Teacher, I have something to attend to at the Hall of Truth, so I’ll head over now. Let’s talk again when we have time," Li Wei said.

Sean nodded and said, "Alright, you go on then."

Li Wei walked toward the Hall of Truth, counting the Cultivation Cards in his hand.

There were eleven Cultivation Cards in total, and each card granted three days of Cultivation time.

In other words, Li Wei had obtained a total of thirty-three days of usage time in the Cultivation Secret Realm.

Li Wei broke into a happy smile.

’This is like Sean letting me enjoy the perks of the Purple Level Class ahead of schedule.’

Thirty-three days. That meant he could cultivate for sixteen and a half days each month.

Now Li Wei started thinking about how to get his hands on some Energy Secret Medicine.

At the entrance to the Hall of Truth, Hobbes saw Li Wei beaming and asked with a laugh, "What’s this? Did something good happen? You look so happy."

Li Wei chuckled and said, "Yeah, something amazing happened."

"Care to share?" Hobbes asked curiously.

Li Wei glanced at him and said with a smile, "I’m not telling you."