CHAPTER 444: BROADENING PERSPECTIVE

"It’s an opportunity," Lin Mo stated plainly. "My establishment offers treasures that can grant strength far beyond what a single, dusty old manual can provide. Strength you can earn, not steal. This is a sample. A taste of a new path. Take it, leave the girl and her manual in peace, and find me in the Sunken Dragon City in three days. I may have a business proposal for your Sect Master. A more... profitable one rather than banditry."

He let the offer hang in the air, a perfect blend of a threat, a bribe, and a business pitch. He had no idea where ’Sunken Dragon City’ was, but it sounded like a plausible name for a major city in a martial world. He’d figure out the details later.

The leader’s eyes darted from the floating noodle packet, to his two groaning subordinates and then to the otherworldly figure of Lin Mo.

His mind, accustomed to a world of simple, brutal logic, was reeling. This ghost was offering him... food? And a business deal? Is he nuts?

He looked at the young woman. Her manual was valuable as it was a legacy from a martial sect that survived the Old Era. But was it worth fighting a ghost who could defeat him and his men without moving? He couldn’t even figure out how the ghost could do that. It was too bizarre.

"Those who could emit their qi outwardly were experts who surpassed the Transcendent Stage. Is he... one of those old experts?" The bandit leader thought to himself, trying to wrap his head around Lin Mo’s existence. The Crimson Tiger Sect Master was only an entry-level Peak Stage. He himself was only a first-rate martial artist.

After grunting as though accepting the fact that he wouldn’t be able to subdue Lin Mo or snatch the young woman’s manual, he caught the noodle packet from the air.

"Fine!" he growled. "But if this is a trick, the Crimson Tiger Sect will hunt you to the ends of the earth! Sunken Dragon City, it is!"

He helped his two men to their feet, and the trio scrambled away, disappearing into the gorge without a second glance back.

Lin Mo let out a quiet sigh as his domain receded. The first diplomatic incident in the Martial World was resolved. Conveniently.

He then turned his attention to the young woman, who was still staring at him with a mixture of awe, fear, and profound confusion. She slowly got to her feet, clutching her chipped sword and the precious manual to her chest.

"I... I am Ling Qiumei, of the Silent Rain Sect," she said, giving a deep, formal martial artist’s bow. "Senior Ghost... thank you for your intervention. I am in your debt."

"No need for thanks, Miss Ling. And please, I’m not a ghost. I’m just a passing by shopkeeper," Lin Mo replied, his spirit-body shimmering slightly as it maintained its form.

"Passing by shopkeeper?" The young woman tilted her head, confused.

He inwardly shook his head, a little embarrassed by that attempt before rephrasing his answer.

"A traveler who dislikes seeing an inconveniently unfair fight."

He stepped closer, walking like he was in his physical body.

"That manual seems very important to you. But your sword is chipped, and you are injured. That is another inconvenience."

He flicked his wrist again. This time, two items materialized before her.

A gleaming pack of [Fruity Healing Tablet] and a brand-new [Mortal-grade Longsword] from the store’s basic armory. Its quality was leagues beyond anything in this barren plane.

Ling Mei gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of the pristine, glowing blade. She had never seen such a masterfully crafted weapon.

"This... I cannot accept such treasures..."

"Consider it an investment," Lin Mo said smoothly, his inner merchant taking over. "A potential customer who is alive and well is far more valuable than one who is dead. Take them. Heal yourself. Defend your sect’s legacy. And if you ever find yourself in Sunken Dragon City, look for the establishment that offers impossible convenience. I have a feeling your Silent Rain Sect could be a valuable partner."

Hearing himself say those words, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit embarrassed. He was planting seeds, building a network even in this new, strange world, even though he didn’t even know where the Sunken Dragon City was located. Still, before letting the other patrons explore this place, he’s going to follow Zhenren Lihua’s advice.

Ling Qiumei looked from the life-saving pill and the peerless sword to the strange, benevolent ghost-merchant. Her world, which had been one of desperate struggle and fading hope, was suddenly filled with an impossible, dazzling light.

She took the items with trembling hands. "S-senior Ghost. I mean... Shopkeeper... I... I don’t know how to repay you."

"A loyal customer is repayment enough," Lin Mo said as his spirit-body began to flicker more intensely. His one hour of allotted time was running out. "Now, I must take my leave. Stay safe, Ling Qiumei of the Silent Rain Sect. The world is full of inconveniences. It’s good to have the right tools to deal with them."

With a final, enigmatic smile, his projection dissolved into a thousand motes of starlight, leaving Ling Mei alone in the clearing with a healing pill, a divine-quality sword, and the lingering, savory promise of a spicy noodle packet now in the hands of her enemy. Her world had just been irrevocably changed.

—

Back in the Portal Room of the main store, Lin Mo’s consciousness snapped back into his real body. He stumbled for a moment, the sensation of returning to a solid form disorienting.

"Broaden my perspective, huh?" He murmured to himself as he processed the flood of information and experience from the short trip. Zhenren Lihua was right. This world was different.

The Realm of Nine Heavens is a world of spiritual energy, where power is often innate, tied to spirit roots, physiques, and bloodlines. It was a world of grand techniques, devastating spells, and the pursuit of immortality. A world where a single, powerful individual could often change the tide.

The Martial World, however, after becoming a Fractured Plane, transformed into a world of grit. With its spiritual energy gone, leaving only that raw, martial qi that they had to cultivate from their bodies themselves, power was all about innate talent and relentless training, honed skill, and the quality of one’s steel.

It was a world of sects and schools, of legacies passed down through generations, and of desperate struggles for survival. It was a world where a chipped blade or a moment of distraction could mean the difference between life and death.

His ’convenience’ there might have a different meaning. It wouldn’t be about accelerating cultivation, but about providing tangible, life-altering advantages. A healing pill in a world with crude medicine was a miracle. A flawless sword in a world of chipped iron was a divine artifact. A packet of spicy noodles, a taste of a world of flavor they had lost, was a powerful psychological tool.

He could comprehend what Zhenren Lihua meant, albeit slightly.

Broadening his perspective allowed him to observe the convenience’s grassroots influence. By providing the right tools, he could elevate a struggling sect, shift the balance of power, and possibly become a legendary, unseen benefactor.

That world, apart from exploration of what might have been left behind from the ages past, was a perfect market for him to test the fundamental power of convenience.

With a newfound clarity, he walked out of the Portal Room.

He went to the second-floor lounge, where Wu Meiyu was still awake, quietly reviewing the new features of her position.

"Your trip was... illuminating, Shopkeeper?" She asked upon noticing him. She was as perceptive as always.

"More than you know, Your Highness," Lin Mo replied. "I’ve just made my first business contacts in another world. A declining righteous sect and a thuggish but potentially ambitious one."

He quickly recounted the events of his brief trip to the Martial World, from the popcorn puff diplomacy to the noodle bribe and the investment in Ling Qiumei.

Wu Meiyu listened intently, her lips slowly curving into an amused, appreciative smile. "You disarmed a group of bandits with a snack food, neutralized two more with an invisible wall, and then recruited both the victim and the aggressor as potential future clients, all while pretending to be a ghost. And you did this in a world you knew nothing about, having named a city you weren’t even sure existed."

She shook her head, a soft, melodious laugh escaping her. "Shopkeeper, your methods are utterly absurd yet effective, and terrifyingly brilliant. The Golden Carp Guild Master thought he was dealing with a merchant. He was wrong. You are a silly peddler of your convenience."

"I’m just a shopkeeper providing solutions," Lin Mo said with a shrug, "But this brings up a new problem. I’ve set a meeting in three days in a city I can’t find. I need a map. And I need to know about the power structures of this Martial World. The Crimson Tiger Sect, the Silent Rain Sect... who are they? What is their standing?"

"An intelligence problem," Wu Meiyu surmised, her mind already shifting to her role as a strategist. "However, you have three days, Shopkeeper. Keep playing as a ghost and travel the world as Zhenren Lihua suggested. If you need company..."

She didn’t finish her words, but the implication was already there.