Primordial birth

Chapter 9- Arena

When Bao and Lu Feng arrived on the second floor, guards stood at the door, asking for membership card. Old Feng showed his cards, and the guards let them in.

"are those guards?"

"They are not guards; they are only there to verify membership," old Feng explained.

"Membership? Didn't you mention that everyone can enter the pagoda?"

"Well, that rule only applies to the first floor; above that, you'll need a membership card, which is different depending on how much you spend inside the pagoda," old Feng said.

"Oh, how many floors can you can get on with that card?"

"Silver, gold, diamond, and platinum membership cards are ranked from lowest to highest. Only the third floor is accessible with my gold card "explained Lu Feng

"Has anyone made it to the top floor?"

"To go to the fifth floor, you need a platinum card, and those cards are limited in quantity, so only the wealthiest can receive one," old Feng said.

They saw a lot of individuals on the second floor, although less than on the first. The people on this floor were from highly wealthy households.

"Do you know where the photo of their herb garden is, old Feng?"

"That's probably on the third floor," old Feng answered, "but first let's go somewhere else."

Then he led Bao to a crowded area where there were many stones arranged in a row on the table. -100k- was the same price for all of them.

"You either rely on your luck or your skill to perceive your fortune in stone gaming," old Feng explained.

Because the senses of strong cultivators are keen, this sort of gambling occurred only in mortal cities of the immortal world.

But where would they mine stones old enough to form precious jade and spirits in this isolated world, which may also be called a fossil in modern terms

Despite the fact that there were many stones in front of them, just a handful of them contained unique gems. In their opinion, this was a gamble with one's luck, but for Bao, seeing within the stones was a trivial concern.

With only a glance, he noticed that just one-third of the stone had condensed spirit and jade.

"Do you want to try your luck at gambling? I'll cover the cost "lu feng told Bao

"I won't be courteous then,"

After stating so, Bao began picking up stones and also assisted old Feng in gathering up stones. There was no rule requiring him to open the stone inside the pagoda after purchasing it; but, old Feng decided to cut his stones here in the pagoda, and after paying for them, he asked the person in that stall to cut open his stones.

Only three of the old stones possessed beautiful jades, while the other three were empty. Bao lim purposefully chose empty stones to avoid raising suspicion and making things difficult for old Feng.

When other people noticed three precious jade out of only six stones, they were intrigued and began choosing stones in the hopes of finding something valuable, but they were unsuccessful.

"Will you not cut the stones you picked, brother?" the person in charge of cutting asked

Others saw him and old Feng collecting stones together and assumed he had also found some valuables. Bao only chose four stones, giving two to the stone cutter. The first stone was empty, and the second stone had a small baby fist-sized red jade worth 1.5-2 million because it was raw. That jade was more expensive than the stone gambled amount just now.

"Do you want to sell this jade, little brother? I can give you 3 million for it" the stall owner asked

"I don't want to sell it; it's a present for someone,"

This someone Old Feng already knew who it was.

"Do you want to cut the other two stones, little brother?" 

"Let's not cut those two stones; I'll take them and keep them as a souvenir." Bao responded

He said that to not create any kind of suspicions, the stall owner didn't ask afterward.

After purchasing the items that old Feng desired, they both proceeded to the third floor, where the same thing occurred: the guard requested for membership before allowing them to enter.

In comparison to the second and first levels, there were less individuals on this floor.

"Elder Feng, show me where the garden picture is hung,"

Then old Feng and Bao walked to a location where images were displayed, where there were multiple photos of the garden taken from various viewpoints and in various gardens. Only a few people looked at the images. at first glance nothing was odd in the images of the garden, and other garden herbs were planted with care. Eventually, Bao discovered something odd in one of the images, despite the fact that there were many different varieties of herbs cultivated. All of the herbs in one of the photographs were yin-related, but there was a weed/grass in the steam of one of them. Bao knew that weed doesn't grow anywhere since it requires extreme cold to survive, which can't be manufactured in the lab or in any ordinary garden.

Because that weed is like a fungus that eats the herb from the inside out and is particularly sensitive to yang elements, the garden must be hidden from the sun and kept extremely cold all year.

Although there were many spots in Prithvi where it was chilly all year, it was unlikely that a garden could be established there.

In an isolated planet, to be able to extend branches all over the world and to build such a garden is not a job of any regular individual, or is it even a person, Bao became more interested in this organization.

Bao began wandering around other shops after examining images for some time, and old Feng realized Bao wanted to buy herbs.

"If you want to buy herbs and jewels, go ahead and pick; I'll pay for it," remarked old Feng.

"That would be robbing you" 

"This is nothing; you assisted me in reaching this point; this small sum of money cannot compensate you for your assistance," old Feng replied.

"well, if you say so, I'll accept it"

They then went to get herbs that Bao needed for his next breakthrough, which was approaching. His quasi-core was complete he just needed some herbs for the dragon's gate.

The items on the third floor ranged in price from 5ook to 2 million, with Bao spending a total of 10 million.  Although ten million seemed like a lot of money, it wasn't for Lu Feng; he was the head of a family and one of the wealthiest in city z.

Following that, they both headed towards the exit, but something caught Bao's eye: a small stall run by an elderly man with a few items spread out on the ground. There was a fist-size stone-like object among those items that drew Bao's interest.

"How much does that stone cost, old man?" he directly asked

"Get out of here, I'm not selling that stone," the elderly man replied

"If you put it out for everyone to see, it can be bought," 

"Fine," the elderly man said, "if you tell me what this stone is, I'll give it to you for free."

Bao pondered that stone for a while.

"This stone is some kind of meteorite or something unrelated to Prithvi; it most likely originated from space," Bao explained.

The old man was quite shocked, someone who is half his age knew such information.

"how do you know that this is from outer space?" with a serious expression on his face, the old guy asked

Bao said, "I study astronomy."

Old man chuckled out loud at hearing such a simple response to a serious question.

"Fine, take it," the elderly man responded, "it's yours from now on, go before I change my mind."

Then Bao and Lu Feng exited the pagoda, the vehicle arrived to pick them up, and they left.

"What is under the basement of the pagoda, elder Feng?" Bao asked

"Oh, you noticed," remarked old Feng.

Bao sensed the entire pagoda as they first entered. Then Bao observed people in the basement, which was far too large to be a basement.

"That is an arena," old Feng explained, "just like boxing and other martial arts, but this arena serves a different purpose."

"And what may that purpose be?"

"Do you know about the orphanage case? It will be resolved soon with a battle in that arena," Lu Feng said.

"What do you mean by the orphanage case battle?"

"They held a match in the arena since ancient times when there was a conflict of interest"

What was the most effective method to resolve a conflict? Negotiation, mediation, and persuasion were all used, but violence was the most effective. We can gain nothing by unorganized warfare, and both parties would suffer as a result, therefore clear sky pagoda established a rule and constructed an arena. The rule was simple: unarmed one-on-one combat. Both parties recruit fighters who fight for their respective interests. 

"So, who are going to fight for us?"

"As a martial master, we are not permitted to fight unless anything changes, so I will summon several strong warriors from my family," old Feng explained.

"How many matches are scheduled?" bao enquired

"we agreed on 3 matches, but there will be other matches that will also be held for their own interest," old Feng said

They arrived at the mansion while discussing about the arena and other small matters.