Strongest Businessman of the Cultivation World

"Now, shall we discuss the terms of our co-operation?"

Ikasa narrowed his eyes. The Compliment, the toast; it was all to sneak in this question.

'Do you expect me to fall for that? Not in a hundred years, old man!'

Noticing his maneuver, Ikasa immediately changed the topic.

"Before we decide, shouldn't you tell me about the tournament?"

He put a brake on the sneaky move by City Lord.

Pretending as if nothing went wrong, Zhen Wu stroked his beard.

"Yes, of course. Should I assume Xue Mi filled you in on the origin of the tournament?"

"She did. But I am unclear about how the tribute management works."

"You should know that as a City Lord, I collect the tribute on behalf of the Imperial Court. Of the total collected amount, 50% goes to the imperial treasury. That is about 100,000 Gold every year."

Though he didn't show it on his face, Ikasa was shocked to hear the amount Imperial Court collected.

"And the rest 50%?"

He asked in an even tone.

"It goes to the City's treasury. This sum is used to build infrastructure, pay salaries of the local officials, and for protection from beast hordes and bandits or other hostile elements."

Ikasa frowned till lines bunched up on his forehead.

'This seems pretty straightforward. Why would it cause the three powers to fight in an incident as big as the Tribute Tournament?'

As hard as he might think, he couldn't figure it out.

The City Lord understood his confoundment. He had undergone the same phase when training to assume this role.

Trying to simplify, he explained with an example.

"A City Lord has the authority to reduce taxes on any establishment or business. For example, I offered the Monstrous Flame Sect a 40% tax concession. If their total tax was 100 Gold, they only need to pay 60 Gold."

The City Lord sighed with regret at his past foolishness.

Ikasa was too focused on the math and missed his sigh. Even after understanding the math, the problem was still beyond his reach.

He contemplated while looking at the man opposite him.

'Maybe this is not the entirety of it...'

By voicing his speculations, he decided to probe the man.

"So, where is the problem? Even if you gave them a 100% discount on the tax, nothing would change, right?"

Zhen Wu shook his head vehemently.

"No. I need to pay 50% of the total tax, regardless of what concessions I give to merchants. In the case of the Sect, assume that I added the 40 Gold from the City's treasury to make up 100 Gold. Effectively, the City paid for 40% of the Sect's share."

Only now did Ikasa understand how dangerous a 100% concession would be for the City.

The Sect owned the majority of the Cultivation Resource stores. One could say that City earned half of the taxes from the Monstrous Flame Sect and the other half from the Hu Clan!

'If he had given in to the Sect's demands, the City's treasury would be emptied in no time!'

With this eye-opening realization, Ikasa looked at the City Lord with newfound respect. He cleanly broke his relations with the Sect and instituted a tournament that would prevent a bloody battle.

Now that he knew the background, he was curious about the top prize.

"City Lord, what is the prize that those reclusive experts are willing to come out and fight? A 50% concession?"

Zhen Wu shook his head. He asked Ikasa to increase the bar.

"60%? No? 80%?"

He still didn't say yes. Instead, he gestured for Ikasa to go higher.

"Don't tell me it is 100%!" Ikasa exclaimed with shock.

The City Lord affirmed his guess with a grim smile.

"Sadly, yes. The winner enjoys a 100% concession on all taxes while the two losers pay for the winner. The second place pays 30% of the winner's tax while the last place pays 70%."

Ikasa's mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg in it.

'I want to join the tournament.'

'No! As tempting as it is, the risks are too great!'

'No risk, No reward!'

'Say that when all three powers want you dead.'

A battle between greed and rationality raged in his head, and in the end, his rationality triumphed.

Then a bulb sparked in his head. He realized there was no benefit mentioned for the City Lord. He narrowed his eyes at the sneaky politician.

"What do you gain from this? As far as I know, the Lords of the Cities do not have to pay taxes."

Stroking his beard, he cheerfully elaborated on the benefits he would receive.

"I get to cement my position as the strongest force in the City. Also, I can charge 20% more tax on the last place and 10% on the second place. And this extra tax belongs to me, not the City."

Ikasa could see the motivation. 20% tax on an industry that earns tens of thousands every month is almost 2000 Gold! And there were numerous such industries under both the powers.

On winning, City Lord would instantly become richer by 20,000 Gold!

'Yep. This is the sheep to be fleeced.'

Ikasa looked at him with greedy eyes.

The man in question immediately raised his vigilance.

To cover for his slip up, Ikasa thanked the City Lord.

"Thank you for explaining, Lord. That makes everything clear."

After understanding the rewards, it was time to talk about the tasks they had to accomplish to obtain them.

"Now, please tell me about the contents of the tournament. What tasks do we have to undertake to win?"

The City Lord showed three parchments to Ikasa. On the parchments, the pictures of three beasts were drawn. Pointing to the beasts, he debriefed Ikasa.

"These three Spirit-condensation stage beasts have been wreaking havoc in the surroundings of the City. They might cause a Beast tide if left unchecked. This year, we are to hunt these three beasts."

"You mean we have to hunt all three beasts to win?"

Ikasa asked, widening his eyes. The bearded man immediately corrected him.

"No, each power needs to hunt only one beast. Whoever presents the beast's head first wins the contest."

Ikasa thought about the conditions, and they seemed fair. The difficulty of the task matched the generosity of the rewards.

However, Hunting a Spirit Condensation stage beast was not an easy task.

Back in the Ruins, Feng Yan had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Monkey King, a spiritual beast. He had confessed that unless three Sense Realm experts joined hands, killing the Monkey King would be impossible.

Ikasa studied the beasts in the picture. On the first piece of paper, he saw a chimp with one eye. There was a picture of a Cloud-marked Leopard and a Tri-Tusked Boar on the second and third parchments.

He turned to the man beside him with a question.

"They might be at the same stage, but their specialties are different. So, which beast do you plan to fight against?"

"That's the thing. We don't get to choose. On the day of the Competition, we will draw lots, and whichever beast one draws, that is the one you have to kill."

He took a deep breath.

'This is tricky. We must be prepared to deal with the three beasts.'

Before jumping to conclusions, Ikasa decided to clarify the role City Lord wanted him to play.

"Lord Zhen, let me ask you this. What help do you need from me?"

"A team of two Sense realm experts and eight veteran Path-forgers can be dispatched to take down the beast. My team lacks one capable Sense realm warrior."

Zhen Wu looked at Ikasa, hoping he would help him fill that gap.

"Is that all? Done! I will provide you with my most capable Sense Realm Warrior for the tournament."

Ikasa agreed with a grin.

'Not to mention he is the only guy I have available….'

The City Lord smiled widely at his agreement. Quickly suppressing the joy, he asked the question he had ignored when dealing with the Monstrous Flame Sect.

"What are your conditions?"