Chapter 88

Normally, organizations would not feel the need to do things such as this, but as far as merchant groups, it was advised to always showcase the influential powers that they chose to do business with. This would also allow said merchant group to add small and medium powers more easily due to the overall trust being rather high if they noticed a stronger power is doing business with them publicly.

Just like at the border on the Bark Kingdom's side, there was a small township that was prepared to accept Timothy as long as he had the funds or enough items to barter with. Timothy had lived off of rice, vegetables, and very basic meat over the course of the past six months, and now he was ready to purchase a large meal after taking a shower at one of the inns.

That night, Timothy read through a small scroll that he had purchased from one of the attendants within the inn. The scroll laid out the general areas around the Stone Kingdom. The closest city did not interest him, it seemed like it had just formed not too long ago and would not have much opportunities within. However, the next closest city was Tornado City.

Every kingdom had a capital city which would completely outshine every other city within the kingdom because it would be where the royal family of said kingdom lived. Stone Kingdom was slightly different due to Tornado City because the city originally built a very large coliseum in order to hold countless tournaments in.

If one wanted to battle others in their cultivation stage or around their cultivation level in one on one matches or group matches in a tournament setting, they would head over to Tornado City. Due to the sheer volume of experts who wanted to earn glory and riches for themselves constantly competing, Tornado City received countless normal visitors who would spend their days betting on matches in tournaments.

It was to the point where the coliseum had received a large investment by the royal family of the Stone Kingdom, because experts from nearby kingdoms would head over in large numbers. The coliseum was almost an essential part of how Stone Kingdom was able to function as a kingdom because not every kingdom had such a city willing to build such a massive coliseum which could fit nearly one million individuals comfortably!

After debating over it with Master Sei for some time, Timothy finally came to the conclusion that he would make an appearance and would also try to find at least one trustworthy expert to hire for his merchant company. Stone Kingdom was much stronger and wealthier compared to Bark Kingdom, so it would most likely not be difficult for him to find an Intermediate stage cultivator willing to follow him just as Jacob had once done.

Due to their experience with surviving together in the Monster's Wasteland, Timothy felt that if he were ever to meet Jacob again, he would automatically give him an executive position within his merchant group, but because he had left him as he did, it would be a position with less power and responsibility. He also got confirmation from his master that Jacob most likely would not want a position in the future anyways because he was on a brand new path.

"Master, I want to try my hand at competing in a tournament in Tornado City since it is so close. Plus, if I showcase my strength, I might even find it easier to recruit a trustworthy higher stage cultivator. I would like your thoughts on this matter?" Timothy asked Master Sei for guidance because technically, he did not covet any treasure nor did he need to showcase his strength in order to pay a mercenary for a permanent position within his company.

"You can go all out in a tournament of your choosing, but remember that the results will not necessarily dictate your overall ranking when it comes to Elementary stage cultivators in the Stone Kingdom. Those with commoner backgrounds and at the peak of the Elementary cultivation stage might even be present just to earn a living to build their own clan and self fund it."

And so, Timothy instantly fell asleep now that he was completely safe from demon beasts now. He slept so well, that it took until the late afternoon of the next day for one of the innkeepers to wake him up in order to pay for the extra time he was spending within. This did not bother Timothy because he was now ready to head out anyways and had enough gold pieces to even purchase the inn if he wanted to as an investment for the future.

As he expected, it took roughly six days for him to finally reach Tornado City. What was strange, was that the coliseum was so massive, that before he even saw the city's gates in eye view, he saw the roof of the coliseum! According to some of the merchants and village leaders he came across during his travel over, there was a rumor that the coliseum was expected to build yet another floor so that they could fit another two hundred and fifty thousand individuals inside.

At the moment, he had a decent level of wealth, but in the back of his mind, Timothy wondered just how much wealth it would take for him to not just build an entire city from scratch, but how much it would cost for him to build such a large coliseum. Majority of the cities within the human kingdoms paid a small tax to the royal family, but a high percentage of the taxes taken in from those renting buildings and selling things other than auction houses would go to the individual who created said city.