Chapter 438: Chapter 400: Paying Respects

Winter gave way to spring, and a new year began.

Zhao Lin didn’t have to return to the small world to visit family this year. He celebrated the New Year at his home on Cuiwei Peak, reuniting with his mother and his brother’s family.

After staying home for a few days, on the fifth day of the new year, he set off for Dongfu County.

A Spiritual Vessel was moored at a mountain pass on the northern slope of Songyu Peak.

The vessel was loaded with dozens of types of cultivation supplies, including Spirit Tea, medicinal pills, Spirit Rice, Dharma Robes, talismans, and magical treasures.

Lu Yuanxiu had allocated a special fund for the store’s start-up capital, and the supplies on the vessel had been purchased with these funds.

Zhou Hongfang had requisitioned a Spiritual Vessel from the county to transport the goods for Zhao Lin.

The sky was just beginning to brighten when Zhao Lin and Li Sancai met at the appointed location and hurried to Songyu Peak together.

Gu Dezhao was already waiting at the pass, with three cultivators and several strong-bodied mortals standing by his side.

"Elder Gu, I’ve arrived late. Please forgive me!"

Zhao Lin said, stepping forward and bowing with his hands clasped.

"Not at all, not at all. It is I who arrived early."

Gu Dezhao chuckled, beckoning the three cultivators over to introduce them to Zhao Lin one by one.

The three cultivators were all part of Gu Dezhao’s original team from when he was a shopkeeper at the Shangyuan Immortal Pavilion, and now they would form the backbone of the new store.

Gu Dezhao first introduced a clean-shaven, middle-aged cultivator named Tang Zhengquan. He was in charge of transport and procurement, holding the title of Transport Director.

Next was a long-faced young man in his thirties named Gu An, who was Gu Dezhao’s clan nephew.

The last cultivator was the youngest. His name was Zhuang Heng, and he was a cultivator with a Mortal Spirit Root.

Gu An and Zhuang Heng had been shop hands before, and they would hold the same position in the new store.

The able-bodied mortals were the new store’s laborers, so Gu Dezhao didn’t bother introducing them.

"Greetings, Shopkeeper Zhao."

The three cultivators came forward to pay their respects.

"There’s no need for such formality. Call me Shopkeeper in the store, but casually, you can just call me Fellow Daoist. With the new store opening, I’ll be relying on everyone’s support!"

Zhao Lin said with a casual wave of his hand.

Seeing that Zhao Lin put on no airs, the three of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was true that strength was paramount in the Cultivation Realm, but even cultivators of the same rank were divided by status and hierarchy. Although Zhao Lin was only at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, his position as Shopkeeper made him their superior.

Afterward, Zhao Lin introduced Li Sancai to Tang Zhengquan and the others.

The three saw that Li Sancai was young and only at the Qi Refining Third Layer. They showed no particular reaction, simply greeting him politely with cupped hands.

After a few more pleasantries, Zhao Lin saw the sky growing brighter and led everyone aboard the Spiritual Vessel.

"Shopkeeper Zhao, are we ready to depart?"

Tang Zhengquan asked, sitting down before the Spiritual Vessel’s control platform and looking back.

One of his duties was to escort shipments, so it was natural for him to pilot the Spiritual Vessel.

"Depart!"

Zhao Lin said, his voice full of vigor as he scanned the group.

"Alright, hold on tight!"

Tang Zhengquan gave a word of warning, pressing his palm on the control platform. The Spiritual Vessel shuddered twice, kicking up a fierce gust of wind as it lifted off the ground.

Zhao Lin was very interested in piloting a Spiritual Vessel. He’d never had the chance before, but now that the vessel was full of his own subordinates, he felt at ease and boldly walked over to watch.

Embedded in the control platform was an Array Plate over a foot in diameter. Within the plate, aside from the numerous Array Patterns, were seven smaller array plates.

’So it’s a composite array.’

Having studied Arrays for two years, Zhao Lin recognized it at a glance.

A so-called composite array combined the array plates of multiple arrays into one, allowing a single plate to control all the arrays simultaneously. This design was often used on large Magical Artifacts like Spiritual Vessels.

The Spiritual Vessel flew up to the Cloud Layer and gradually stabilized. Tang Zhengquan’s expression relaxed, and he turned his head to Zhao Lin. "Shopkeeper Zhao, do you have any instructions?"

Zhao Lin smiled and shook his head. "Talking won’t affect your piloting, will it, Brother Tang?"

Tang Zhengquan said, "Not at all. Please speak freely, Shopkeeper Zhao."

Feeling reassured, Zhao Lin asked, "Are Spiritual Vessels easy to pilot?"

Tang Zhengquan said, "That depends on the type of Spiritual Vessel. Generally speaking, newer and larger models are difficult to control. Some require multiple people to operate, or even the study of specialized Magic."

"This cargo vessel of ours is relatively old, and it doesn’t have many Arrays, so it’s not too difficult to pilot."

Seeing the eager look on Zhao Lin’s face, he asked, "Would you like to give it a try, Shopkeeper Zhao?"

Zhao Lin nodded. "Yes, I would. There’s no danger, is there?"

Tang Zhengquan shook his head. "Demonic birds are rare in this area, and it’s still early, so there aren’t many other Spiritual Vessels in the Cloud Layer. You can come and try, Shopkeeper Zhao."

With that, he moved aside.

Zhao Lin didn’t stand on ceremony. He walked to the control platform, sat down, and immersed his Divine Sense into the Array Plate, spreading it out like a spider’s web.

The first thing he connected with was the warning Array. His Divine Sense instantly expanded from dozens of zhang to several hundred zhang away, as if boosted by a power amplifier, giving him an unobstructed view of the surroundings.

The second Array was for controlling the Spiritual Vessel’s direction. With a thought from his Divine Sense, the vessel moved up, down, left, or right according to his will.

Next came the acceleration Array, the defensive Array, the attack Array...

Perhaps because of his experience driving a car in his past life, Zhao Lin quickly figured out the various Arrays after a bit of fiddling.

He wasn’t proficient yet, but he was already piloting it with some semblance of skill.

"Shopkeeper Zhao, your intellect is extraordinary! Truly a young talent!"

Tang Zhengquan said with sincere praise, giving a thumbs-up.

"Brother Tang, don’t say that. I’m hardly a youth anymore."

Zhao Lin laughed heartily as he stood up from the seat.

The Spiritual Vessel flew for half a day, arriving at the capital of Nanhe Province: Changzhi County.

Their destination was Dongfu County, but they had to make a stop in Changzhi County first.

Zhao Lin knew full well why a disciple who had just graduated from the Spirit Dao Institute like himself had been made a Shopkeeper.

Lu Yuanxiu was his benefactor. It was only right and proper to pay him a visit.

If he went straight to the market city without a word of greeting, it would be far too tactless.

Once the Spiritual Vessel came to a stop, Zhao Lin stepped onto the gunwale and said to Gu Dezhao, "Elder Gu, please accompany me."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.