Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 546: Chapter 290: The First Loan

The third day.

Cheng Zongyang sat down in the first-floor living room with Yu Wenlin and the other two, ready to discuss business.

For the past three days, the trio had been leaving early and returning late, exploring all over Zi’an County to learn what they could.

Cheng Zongyang paid them no mind, only giving them a dozen or so Spirit Stones for food expenses out of a sense of humanitarianism.

Although they would have been fine without eating or drinking for these three days, he had to let them experience the local cost of living, didn’t he?

"Gentlemen, today is the last day. Have you made your decision?" Cheng Zongyang spoke first.

Yu Wenlin, Ji Lin, and Shentu Li had already discussed it amongst themselves. The latter two looked at Yu Wenlin, indicating he would speak for them again.

Cheng Zongyang followed their gazes to Yu Wenlin and waited for him to speak.

Yu Wenlin stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "First, thank you, Young Master Cheng, for allowing the three of us to stay for three days. You’ve given us a much-needed buffer period.

In these three days, we have learned a great deal, and it’s all basically consistent with what was in the booklet. We appreciate your thoughtfulness, Young Master Cheng."

Cheng Zongyang shook his head slightly but still didn’t speak. He didn’t care that they had gone to verify the information in the booklet.

Seeing that Cheng Zongyang had no intention of speaking, Yu Wenlin continued, "The three of us have made a decision. We hope to trade our assets from the Martial Arts Realm for Spirit Stones. Our combined assets are worth over ten million..."

At this, Cheng Zongyang held up a hand to stop him, his expression impassive. "My apologies, but I have no interest in that. I only asked for silver taels before because someone else needed them, not me. Do you really think trading silver for Spirit Stones is a viable option in the Cultivation Immortality Realm?"

At this, Yu Wenlin and the other two fell silent.

They had anticipated that Cheng Zongyang might refuse, but they hadn’t expected him to be so blunt.

Now, their only option was to take out a loan.

After learning about the cost of living and potential income here, their previous thought of being able to repay the Spirit Stones, principal and interest, within a year now seemed laughable.

First, they needed a place to live, then food and drink. Although they could build a shelter in the mountains outside the county, it wouldn’t be as good as living in town.

They’d thought they could be casual about food and drink. But after learning how to Enter the Dao through Martial Arts to reach the Qi Cultivation Realm, they knew better. To increase their odds of a breakthrough, they needed to consume food rich in Spiritual Qi to help their bodies adapt and purge impurities. That meant a constant diet of Spirit Rice, Spirit Fruits, and Spirit Vegetables—a major expense.

Then there were the Cultivation Techniques!

That was the most crucial part.

A good Cultivation Technique not only affected one’s Cultivation speed but also their combat strength.

But good Cultivation Techniques weren’t cheap. Furthermore, they would need Elixirs to aid their Cultivation later on. Otherwise, at their age, cultivating slowly would mean they likely had no hope of even reaching Foundation Establishment.

Finally, they didn’t even have a way to quickly earn a living and make Spirit Crystals and Spirit Stones.

Their options were to search for and harvest Spirit Medicines, hunt Exotic Beasts or Demon Beasts, gather Ice Spirits or Fire Spirits, plant Spirit Rice, or raise Exotic Beasts. They could even take on dangerous expeditions organized by Immortal Sects, which recruited Innate Experts or ordinary people—non-Cultivators who could enter certain places.

This meant they would need to spend a significant amount of time earning Spirit Stones, which in turn would cut into their time for Cultivation.

Unless they had an endless supply of Spirit Stones, they would have to face this practical problem.

"Is it a difficult choice?"

Seeing the three of them remain silent, looking like they wanted to speak but couldn’t, Cheng Zongyang understood their dilemma.

’They want Spirit Stones, but they don’t want to be in debt.’

"If that’s the case, then let’s forget it. All transactions should be entered into willingly by both parties, lest you say I’m taking advantage of you. After today, you three are free to leave on your own..."

"Wait." Ji Lin broke the silence, quickly stopping Cheng Zongyang as he was about to leave. "We’ll take the loan. As long as we work hard, we can still pay it back."

Yu Wenlin and Shentu Li could only nod in agreement. They were already far behind the local Cultivators. If they didn’t take a loan and instead tried to earn money slowly, they’d probably die before they even got a chance at Foundation Establishment.

"Done." Cheng Zongyang sat back down and, with a wave of his right hand, produced three Sheepskin Scrolls.

"These are the drafted contracts. They include confidentiality clauses, as well as the loan terms and repayment methods. The three of you can take a look."

As he spoke, he handed the three Sheepskin Scrolls to them.

The Ring Spirit hadn’t responded to his query about the contract, and the meaning was clear: the contract template couldn’t be upgraded.

Therefore, he could only proceed with the previous template. Exchanging Spirit Stones for Lifespan would have been a great deal if he had enough Spirit Stones, but for now, he had to do it this way.

Under normal circumstances, they would be able to repay the debt, in which case he would be the one losing Lifespan. However, considering their current age and the urgency of their situation, it would be nearly impossible for them to earn enough Spirit Stones for Cultivation and daily expenses, much less repay their debt.

How much they borrowed would depend on their needs.

He then took out a book that had been found in the ruins of Huining County in the Wilderness World and translated by Ding Xing, and began to read.

Due to the material of the books excavated back then, they were in relatively good condition. Although some parts had been damaged, a portion remained intact. Ding Xing had only just finished translating it all last night.

According to Ding Xing’s summary, the remaining content was a record of major events that had occurred in Huining County. This piqued his interest.

After taking their respective Sheepskin Scrolls, Yu Wenlin and the other two began to examine them closely. They were very familiar with the contents of such loan agreements; after all, it wasn’t their first time dealing with them.

However, as they read through the clauses one by one, their expressions gradually darkened, growing uglier by the second.