Chapter 8: Starcom Consortium
Wu Yuan walked unhurriedly, winding through numerous bustling main streets and smaller lanes at a leisurely pace. He started in the east of the city where the martial academy was located, slowly moving to the city's west.
Li City, the heart of Li County, had a registered population of nearly 200,000 and a permanent population nearing 300,000. It was deemed a large city within the Southdream Province.
Over the hundred years of the Cloudstride Sect's rule, a pattern of nobility in the East and wealth in the West, poverty in the North and crime in the South, gradually formed within Li City.
Important locations such as the county martial academy, the county mayor's manor, and the general's manor were all situated in the east of the city.
The west of the city, on the other hand, was a hub of luxury where merchants congregated and all kinds of entertainment venues, brothels, and taverns were concentrated.
Li City is a harbor city. The Southdragon River flows from the west to the north of the city, allowing the city to enjoy a constant flow of visitors and goods. Although my Wu Clan resides in the city's north, it is not too far from the west region. Wu Yuan was quite familiar with the layout of Li City.
This was a habit he had picked up. Whenever he arrived in a new place, he would first familiarize himself with the geography and local customs.
The west of the city is the commercial district, known for being a bottomless money sink. Some ostentatious rich merchants from the city's east often head over to spend their fortunes.
Wu Yuan's gaze swept over the pedestrians on both sides of the streets, observing the expressions of the people passing by. In contrast to the serene ambiance in the East and the peddlers and businessmen in the North, the West was undeniably thriving. The quality of goods was notably superior, with the majority of shops lining the streets. The attire of the passersby also tended to be of higher quality.
Wu Yuan reached an intersection where the busiest streets of the city's west converged. In the distance, he saw the seven-story high-rise building that occupied two entire streets - Starcom Consortium!
Unlike the signboards of other shops, the plaque of this tower was like a gilded painting; blank, with a few meteors streaking across. It was truly one-of-a-kind.
Objects from around the world gather, a myriad of stars comprise the tower. Wu Yuan's gaze swept over the golden characters on the azure stone erected on both sides of the main door. The characters were robust and strong, each stroke as sharp as an arrow. They didn't appear to be carved by a craftsman, but more so indented with the finger of a powerful martial artist.
Azure with a touch of red, is this the silkblood azure stone that can only be found in the Min Continent? Each of these two large stones probably weighs more than 10,000 catties.
Among the sixteen continents, excluding the distant three overseas continents, the thirteen continents of the Middle Land were divided into seven continents of the Central Plains and six continents of the Wilderness.
Each continent was incredibly vast, and the Chu Continent separated the Jiang Continent and the Min Continent. From Wu Yuan's geographical knowledge, the two were tens of thousands of li apart.
Just shipping these two stones from the Min Continent to the Jiang Continent would cost tens of thousands of silver taels. Wu Yuan felt somewhat wistful.
Without airplanes or railways, this alone was enough to reveal the astonishing wealth of the Starcom Consortium.
Of course, Wu Yuan was not surprised. Although he had only regained consciousness a month back, he heard of the Starcom Consortium, the undisputed number one business establishment in the seven continents of the Central Plains!
They had branches in practically any county city of every sect and country in the seven continents of the Central Plains. The items they sold were diverse, whether one was looking for divine weapons, pearl curios, or medicinal or spiritual pills, one could find such rare items and trinkets there.
And even if they didn't have the items readily available, the Starcom Consortium could deliver them to customers tens of thousands of li away, as long as they were willing to pay for it!
As inscribed on its stone tablet, all objects around the world were gathered in the building.
Even the silver notes circulating in the seven continents of the Central Plains are issued by the Starcom Bank. Wu Yuan remembered the special anti-counterfeit mark on his silver note. The word marked was 'Starcom'.
Most sects and countries established their own banks, but they were far less credible than the Starcom Consortium. Once someone left the territory that the bank was established under, their currency was basically unusable.
After all, Great Jin, the largest nation in the world, had only been around for 200 years. Even some sacred martial arts sects found it difficult to maintain a legacy of a thousand years or longer.
Meanwhile, the history of the Starcom Consortium spanned over a thousand years, and the organization had never experienced a decline in prosperity.
The Starcom Consortium is essentially a financial empire spanning countless sects and countries.
The fact that the Starcom Consortium stood strong for millennia meant that its background was far from simple. It couldn't be weaker than some large nations or sacred sects.
Wu Yuan was here precisely because he knew how powerful the Starcom Consortium was.
Although this Starcom Consortium tower covers a large area, there aren't many customers. Most of these customers were dressed in expensive clothes and finery, obviously either rich or from aristocratic families.
Essentially, the customer base of the Starcom Consortium was usually the upper class of a county. Small in quantity, but high in value!
That makes sense. If they try to steal market share from businesses targeting the lower class as well, I'm afraid the various sects and nations will be unable to tolerate it.
Wu Yuan looked down at his clothes and frowned slightly. I’ve been careless.
Compared to the other patrons coming and going from the Starcom Consortium, Wu Yuan's attire was too plain, making him an eyesore. But it couldn’t be helped, he didn't have much money until recently. He simply didn’t have any suitable attire.
Without hesitation, Wu Yuan walked past the Starcom Consortium, merging with the crowd.
Shortly after, a plump, short young man, dressed in a green brocade outfit and a felt hat, entered Starcom Consortium without attracting any attention. It was none other than Wu Yuan, who had discreetly changed his attire.
This place is even bigger than I expected. Wu Yuan looked around the interior of the Starcom Consortium Tower. The decoration was not ostentatious, and in fact rather tasteful. He heard much about the Starcom Consortium, but this was his first time entering one.
Naturally, such a sight wasn’t enough to amaze Wu Yuan. Being a former member of the upper class of the Human Federation, how could his experiences be compared to the ancient architecture of a mere county-level Starcom Consortium building?
The first floor was spacious. A wide range of items were displayed for sale on countertops, manned by store attendants. Saber-wielding guards patrolled the area. From what Wu Yuan could tell, the weakest of these guards were at least seventh-grade martial novices. The power that Starcom Consortium wielded was evident at a glance.
After a brief scan of the area, Wu Yuan went straight to the staircase on one side as though he had walked this path many times before, and went straight up to the second floor.
On the second floor, there were fewer counters, but the items displayed were more precious.
Wu Yuan did not stop, heading straight up the stairs to the third floor.
The items sold on the first and second floors were ordinary. Some of them were expensive luxury items, but served no benefit to martial cultivation.
On the third floor, one could find all kinds of items needed by martial artists, such as divine weapons and medicinal pills!
This information was not recorded in the martial academy's scrolls, but rather what Wu Yuan gathered while chatting with other disciples of the martial academy over the past month.
"Sir, please wait." The corridor attendant courteously stopped Wu Yuan, "To continue to the third floor, a funds or identity verification is required."
"Will these suffice?" Wu Yuan turned his palm over, revealing a stack of silver notes.
"My apologies." The attendant bowed his head, hiding his surprise. There were more than a thousand silver notes in that stack. This person looked young, yet carried around so many silver notes. Which family did this young master belong to?
The attendant dared not question him further, and Wu Yuan already ascended a few steps toward the third floor. Here, there were fewer guests and counters, making the place appear emptier, and the decorations were even more luxurious.
"Sir, may I assist you with anything?" A pretty female attendant dressed in purple approached him. Unlike the courtesans of brothels, these attendants were not flirtatious. Instead, they displayed a refreshing youthfulness. Such treatment didn't exist on the first and second floors.
"Body tempering pills." Wu Yuan said. This was the purpose of his trip.
"Please follow me." With a radiant smile, the attendant in purple quickly led Wu Yuan into a private guest room. Wu Yuan took a seat, and another attendant served him tea.
A middle-aged man dressed in black robes was already seated on one side of the table, his chair positioned lower than Wu Yuan's as a sign of respect for the customer.
"Sir, body tempering pills are auxiliary medicinal pills taken by martial artists to temper their bodies and strengthen their martial arts. Its effects are strong, but also results in clear side effects, how about..." The middle-aged man in black robes quickly explained.
"I don't need an explanation, just state your price." Wu Yuan's voice was extremely hoarse, revealing a hint of indifference, as if he didn't wish to say anything more than necessary.
"Understood. Top-grade body tempering pills are 50 silver notes per pill. Mid-grade body tempering pills are ten silver notes per pill." The middle-aged man in the black robe calmly stated, "How many do you require?"
"What about low-grade pills?" Wu Yuan asked.
"Low-grade?" The middle-aged man was slightly taken aback, "Sir, low-grade body tempering pills contain a large percentage of impurities, resulting in significant side effects, they're generally used for..."
"I don't need your input." Wu Yuan frowned and coldly said, "Just state the price."
"One silver tael for two pills!" the man in black robes said.
"I want a thousand!" Wu Yuan declared.
This time, not only did the man in black robes freeze, but even the specially trained female attendant in purple was also taken aback.
A thousand low-grade body tempering pills?
"Sir, we cannot provide that many," the man in the black robe said with a bitter smile.
"What, you think I don't have enough silver taels? Is this how the Starcom Consortium treats its guests?" Wu Yuan frowned slightly.
"That's not the issue," the man in the black robe shook his head, "We simply don't have that many low-grade body tempering pills in stock."
He did not explain further. Low-grade body tempering pills were essentially waste pills. Instead of calling them medicinal pills, the more accurate term for them was 'slow-acting poison'. Therefore, each time the Starcom Consortium accumulated a certain number of these low-grade body tempering pills, they would be disposed of, leaving few in stock.
"I'll take as many as you have," Wu Yuan stated simply.
...
A quarter of an hour later, Wu Yuan left the Starcom Consortium with 687 body tempering pills.
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