The Peerless Beauty Stuck With Me

The middle-aged man seemed particularly interested in Tang Rao.

"Little brother, my name is Zhou Dian, how about you? How about we register together? It'd be nice to have someone to watch your back," the middle-aged man said with a smile, looking very friendly.

Tang Rao squinted his eyes slightly.

The Nine Realms and Seventy-two Domains are nothing like Blue Star; if someone is chummy with you, calling you brother this and brother that, they're either a naive Xiaobai who has never seen the perils of the Seventy-two Domains or they have an ulterior motive.

This Zhou Dian in front of him didn't seem like any Xiaobai; he was clearly an old hand, as you could tell from his eyes.

Was he thinking that since Tang Rao was young, he might try to pull a fast one?

"Oh, my name is Tang Xiaohei, then let's go together," Tang Rao nodded and said with a smile, trying to look like a little boy so as not to be bullied.

When he was once the ruler of the Central Emperor Realm, what Tang Rao loved to do the most was play the little lamb.

Whenever the fools started baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, he would immediately transform into the big bad wolf and beat them until they cried for their mom.

Hearing Tang Rao's agreement, Zhou Dian seemed very happy, grinning broadly.

"By the way, Xiaohei, what are you planning to do with your merchant registration? Actually, we can join forces. Many merchants partner up, it provides better support," Zhou Dian droned on, putting an arm over Tang Rao's shoulder and talking about the rosy prospects.

"I'm planning to flip some Spiritual Medicine and stuff, I don't have your kind of skills. I can only buy them and then sell them at a higher price," Tang Rao said.

"Many big merchants started with flipping goods, believe in yourself, and you will surely succeed," Zhou Dian fed Tang Rao a spoonful of encouragement.

Tang Rao shrugged his shoulders, appearing indifferent.

"I don't know if I'll succeed, I just want to make some Spirit Stones to get by, life is so tough," Tang Rao stated.

"Yeah, people like us, lacking any special skills and with only moderate strength, have it the hardest," Zhou Dian shook his head.

After all, he was a powerhouse at the peak of Nascent Soul stage, he needed to gather some resources to push further.

But resources are not so easy to come by; they could only be accumulated bit by bit.

And by the time you've accumulated enough, maybe the best time to break through has passed.

That's why many Cultivators in the Seventy-two Domains are actually held back by a lack of resources.

"Let's go, it's just up ahead," Zhou Dian said, pointing to a huge plaza after half an hour.

The plaza was full of people, a dense crowd, most likely all here to register as merchants.

"Xiaohei, what level of merchant do you plan to register for?" Zhou Dian asked.

"Let's see, how about you? What level are you registering for?"

On Giant Merchant Star, of course, there are different levels of merchant registration, from level one being the lowest to level nine being the highest.

Each level has a different registration fee; the higher the level, the higher the cost, but the more protection you get in return.

For instance, to register as a level nine merchant, the fees plus the annual fee amount to a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

But you also get the maximum protection from Giant Merchant Star. Those level nine merchants are untouchable by most powers from the Seventy-two Domains.

Because behind them stands Giant Merchant Star.

And angering Giant Merchant Star is no laughing matter.

"I'm going to register as a level two merchant first, spend some money for more protection," Zhou Dian said with a smile, looking quite self-satisfied.

But it made sense, for an ordinary person, being a level two merchant was already pretty impressive.

Moreover, from level two merchants and above, there is a hiring function, allowing you to pay and hire Cultivators from Giant Merchant Star, all kinds of strengths available, of course, the price is also extremely high.

"Alright, then I'll go with you to register first," Tang Rao said.

"Alright!"

The two of them queued up for two hours. There were just too many people registering as second-level merchants, because relatively speaking, the cost-effectiveness of a second-level merchant was the highest.

The registration fee was fifty spirit stones, and the annual fee was also fifty spirit stones.

And you could ride the coattails of Giant Merchant Star.

Though Giant Merchant Star doesn't pay much attention to second-level merchants, they would still offer a bit of support.

"Hello, here is the information, I have prepared it all." When it was Zhou Dian's turn, he handed over a piece of paper with all kinds of material already written on it.

"Ah, this makes things much easier, well done." The registrar nodded, very satisfied with Zhou Dian's preparation.

Having the information ready meant there was no need to ask for each detail, which was very good.

"That will be a total of one hundred spirit stones," the registration officer said.

Zhou Dian's expression froze slightly, "One hundred spirit stones? Isn't it only fifty?"

"Fifty is the registration fee; the other fifty is the annual fee," the registration officer explained, seeing that Zhou Dian had prepared his information himself.

"This... this... Xiao Hei, could you lend me fifty spirit stones? I didn't bring enough." Zhou Dian looked at Tang Rao, his face full of urgency.

Tang Rao sneered inside, thinking to himself, Are you trying to scam my spirit stones? I knew you calling me 'brother' this and 'brother' that wasn't out of any good intentions.

"Sure," Tang Rao agreed with a smile and then took out fifty spirit stones, handing them to Zhou Dian.

Zhou Dian appeared not to have expected Tang Rao to be so straightforward.

"Thank you, Xiao Hei. Rest assured, I will definitely pay you back for these spirit stones," Zhou Dian said with a deeply moved expression.

Tang Rao just smiled without saying anything, not really worried about being paid back.

"All right, this is your merchant number. Remember, come back here to pay the annual fee on this day each year. Otherwise, your merchant status will be canceled, and you'll no longer be under the protection of Giant Merchant Star," the registration officer said, handing a token to Zhou Dian.

"Xiao Hei, why don't you also register as a second-level merchant? The cost-effectiveness is really good," Zhou Dian looked at Tang Rao.

"No need, I'll think about it some more," Tang Rao shook his head.

Joking, I'm going to engage in a big venture, what use is a second-level merchant registration to me?

Moreover, this internet thing needs the support of Giant Merchant Star. Just being a second-level merchant is utterly useless; if my network nodes are freely sabotaged, who the hell am I supposed to turn to?

Zhou Dian didn't continue to persuade, and instead, he left the registration area with Tang Rao, as there were still many people waiting behind them.

"Xiao Hei, that... I also don't have fifty spirit stones right now; how about I pay you back after I've earned the spirit stones?" Zhou Dian said to Tang Rao.

Tang Rao looked at Zhou Dian, a hint of jest flashing in his eyes.

"So when exactly do you plan to pay me back? Give me a definite date, as I don't have many spirit stones either," Tang Rao said.

"That... we're friends, I won't short you. Come on, let's go have a drink first. Later on, I'll deal in some spiritual artifacts; fifty spirit stones will be an easy matter," Zhou Dian said.

"Then give me a few spiritual artifacts instead, let's call it even in spirit stones," Tang Rao said indifferently.

Zhou Dian was startled, "Xiao Hei, that's not much fun for you."

"We're strangers who have met by chance; lending to you was a courtesy. Don't think I don't know what's on your mind. Either give me the spirit stones or the spiritual artifacts, this way it's less awkward for both of us," Tang Rao said with a smile.

"You..."

"What? Did you really consider me as a naive little sheep to be deceived?" Tang Rao scoffed, "Alright, since you don't seem to harbor any vile intentions, just pay me back, and we can bid each other farewell."

"Then let's bid farewell!" Zhou Dian hadn't expected Tang Rao to be an old hand at this, and after yelling out, he took off running.