Considering they would still need more resources to continue their cultivation, most of the family’s wealth was spent on the Soul Sublimation Realm cultivators.

And, they were also the backbone of the family.

This was also why Garvin never raised a question for his promotion despite the fact that both Elena and Daisy were promoted in this very house.

He knew it was only thanks to Tyler’s Dual Cultivation method that they were able to improve. If he wanted to improve, he would need to get the right resources.

Even with his savings, he was still lacking one of the three pills, which cost over a hundred million gold coins or one million spirit stones.

If he were to rely on his previous income, it would take him at least twenty more years to reach the Soul Sublimation Realm.

But Tyler shortened that time by half with just a single sentence.

And, this was without even understanding the true potential of their mines. If they managed to mine more ores and sell them for more profit, the time could be shortened from ten years to five or even three.

He didn’t know, but that didn’t stop him from imagining his cultivation speed. He was ecstatic, but he didn’t show it on his face.

Instead, he kept explaining.

"Currently, there are over three thousand two hundred and sixty-four people in the city. Out of those, twelve hundred people are working in the mines."

"Each worker receives the payment of daily wages. So, they can earn anywhere from two to five hundred gold coins."

"On average, they earn around three hundred gold coins since mining those ores requires delicate efforts while also using immense strength. This keeps miners busy for hours, making it harder to work more than eight hours."

"So, around ten million gold coins are spent on their wages, and the remaining five million is spent to maintain the city’s population, food, clothing, education, and other jobs."

Hearing that, Tyler understood where the major expenses were spent.

It was mainly on the wages of the miners, but that made sense considering they earn around four hundred gold coins a day on average.

Of course, this amount was nothing for him.

He had already bought something over two or three hundred million gold coins in a single transaction, where he didn’t even need to spend a single coin.

It was the fourth-grade Yin Essence Stone.

His previous expenditure would be more than enough to support a Soul Sublimation Realm, and he still hadn’t used that thing properly.

Thinking about it, Tyler decided to use it after dual cultivating with Daisy. Until her arrival, he would train on his new technique.

But he quickly shook off those thoughts and said.

"Continue!"

"Young Master, our city has bought two hundred metric tons of rice just this year due to the emerging conflict with the fishmen."

"But if we solve that problem too quickly, what should we do with that much rice?"

Hearing his question, Tyler immediately replied.

"We will stock it. Rice doesn’t go bad so easily."

"But Young Master, it can invite a lot of rats."

"Don’t we have Shibyo?"

This made Garvin realize they also had Nezumi. As long as Nezumi reached Rank Three, it could easily prevent any rats from eating their race.

After all, only those below the third rank would eat the rice. That’s because rice wouldn’t be enough to sustain their food intake.

So, any creature at or above Third Rank would choose to hunt other animals. Of course, they could also sustain themselves with spirit energy.

And, most do that. Otherwise, the monster race would go extinct pretty quickly.

In fact, only Rank Three Monsters hunt other monsters for their daily food. Any monster above that would simply rely on Spirit Energy.

"Young Master, there is also a problem with renovation."

Garvin took a deep breath and said.

"Because of the lack of resources, I haven’t spent much on maintaining the city for almost three years. Although it has only been three years, many things like furniture, buildings, roads, and paints have begun to deteriorate."

"Is it really a lack of resources?"

Tyler chuckled as he asked.

A look of embarrassment appeared on Garvin’s face as he stuttered.

"N..n...no... It’s my greed...."

Tyler raised his hand, stopping Garvin from speaking, and then he spoke.

"I understand your thoughts and your greed. It’s normal to be greedy. In fact, I was quite surprised by your honest work for several decades."

"Most people in your position would choose to rip off those workers for their own benefits. After all, even if you only use one million gold coins for city maintenance, you can still save four million."

"Even I had such thoughts. If my technique was just another D Grade, I would’ve used all of the resources from this city to promote Elena into the Soul Sublimation Realm."

Hearing his honest answer, Garvin nodded his head.

"Thank you for your validation, Young Master! Although it was only three years of profit, I believe I would’ve lived with this guilt for the rest of my life."

"So, I’ve decided. I will donate that money to the people of this city. You’ve already given me ten percent of the profit. That is more than enough for my family and me."

Tyler smiled and said.

"That’s why I wanted to keep you, Garvin. I only know about you from the reports, but even that was enough for me to understand what kind of person you are."

"And, I am glad you are better than the report. Remember, Garvin, we cultivators are thieves and murderers."

"But despite it all, we must always keep a small piece of humanity in our hearts. Otherwise, we will just be monsters in human skin."

His words made Garvin speechless.

After all, there was probably not a single cultivator in the world who would call himself a thief and murderer.

Even the best of the people would try to blame it on the world and the system rather than themselves.

He couldn’t understand why his Young Master had such a distinct view on cultivators.

"Is that how you see us, Young Master?"

He couldn’t help but ask.

Tyler gave him a stunned look before shaking his head.

"Of course not! That’s just how cultivators are. It’s their inherent nature. Just because tigers kill other animals doesn’t mean they are bad."

"They need to hunt other animals to survive. Do you want to know how I view cultivators?"

Garvin rattled his head up and down.

Tyler smiled and raised his hand.

A large amount of mana gathered in his palm and started spinning rapidly until it formed a small ball, which then exploded in his palm.

"I see cultivators as explorers. Thousands of paths, peak after peak, swordsmanship, alchemy, blacksmith, runes, arrays, talisman, elemental control, space-time, yin and yang."

"There are too many unexplored things in the universe, and cultivators are the people who explore these things."

"Things that can’t be explained by science, things that are generally inhumane by human standards, things that are too far beyond the reach of a normal person."

"Cultivators are the bridge between the unknown and known. Cultivation is a journey, Garvin. It’s an endless journey."

His words were so astounding to Garvin that he didn’t know what to say.

After all, to him, cultivation was just a way of getting stronger. He never thought about exploring anything.

But looking back, he realized he had been exploring small things from his inherent technique to acquired techniques, a new fighting system to governing a city.

He had explored quite a few things, and he did this just for cultivation, without even realizing it.

"You are so amazing, Young Master."

Garvin said those words from the depths of his heart.

Tyler couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. After all, he had an extensive knowledge about cultivation and cultivation worlds from his past life.

Otherwise, he would also be as clueless as Garvin.

But it was exactly due to those memories that Tyler couldn’t take the steps that a normal cultivator could.

Being fearless even in the face of danger, making decisions that could be detrimental for his people.

Tyler had too much knowledge, which had begun to affect his state without even realizing it.

And, deep within that heart, a dark energy was brewing.

A darkness that emerged from all of the negative emotions that he kept suppressed. A darkness so strong that not even the tower could feel it.

People live in the moment, but what if you could expect the future without truly knowing it?

That was his situation. Tyler knew the despairing future of a protagonist, but that’s exactly the reason why he had so many concerns and negative emotions. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

All that cumulated into a darkness that not even his tower could sense.

Tyler hid his embarrassment and smiled.

"I am not amazing. I just know too much, Garvin."