CHAPTER 111: CHAPTER 111: ZHAO CAI

The red panda cub is tiny, with only some white fur on its face, and the rest of its fur is a light reddish-brown, making it look somewhat like a Five Red Dogs cub, only smaller, and cuter and more adorable.

Chen Guan hurried down the road, riding on his Rouge Rabbit through the mountain paths at full speed. The Warring States pet had been returned, and the red panda cub was wrapped inside his cotton clothes to keep it from catching a chill.

"What name should I give you? Your cheap dad is Warring States, so should I call you War Bear or War Cat? Although these names don’t sound great, you need to pass on the family tradition of Old War, otherwise the Warring States lineage would be cut off." Chen Guan talked to himself, though he realized he wasn’t sure if the cub was male or female. If it was male, War Bear would work, but if female, War Bear seemed a bit much.

Thinking it over, Chen Guan decided to go with a compromise, naming the red panda cub "Zhao Cai" (Bringer of Wealth).

"You don’t seem opposed, so it’s cheerfully settled then." Chen Guan looked at the red panda cub inside his cotton clothes and decided on the name.

While on the move, Chen Guan started studying the attributes of the Paperman.

From the information available, nothing Ming Fei said was true; there was no sign that the paper figure had the ability to combine with its master.

However, since he couldn’t see the paper figure’s talent and abilities, Chen Guan couldn’t be sure, so he summoned the paper figure to test it out.

"Combine... Combine... Combine..." Chen Guan said hoarsely while pinching the Paperman, who kept staring at him with a slight smile and showed no response.

"Turns out it’s a scam; beautiful women are always deceptive, and beautiful Secret Spirits are the same." Chen Guan had to put the Paperman away for now, planning to upgrade it later when he had the chance to see what abilities it truly possessed.

Just having 4 points of Basic Elemental Energy and a 3.0 Growth Rate already made it incredibly overpowered, unmatched by any other pet.

After much effort, he made it home safely; nothing unexpected happened along the way.

Ji Nanhong and Xiu Yingmei seem busy lately, possibly always in the Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land without spare time to contact him.

Though Duan Shulin frequently sent Chen Guan messages about the Secret Spirit Eggs he’d collected, asking when Chen Guan would be free to come over and evaluate them, with profits shared equally as agreed.

On the surface, it seemed Duan Shulin was getting the short end, since he spent the money and gathered the eggs, while Chen Guan simply evaluated them to take half the profits, which seemed a bit much.

However, without Chen Guan, Duan Shulin wouldn’t know which of the countless Secret Spirit Eggs contained high-quality Secret Spirits.

With the number of Secret Spirit Eggs exploding into the millions, the chances of actually containing a high-quality Secret Spirit were incredibly slim.

If Duan Shulin were to hatch all the Secret Spirit Eggs he purchased, he might lose money if he weren’t careful.

Unless his luck was extraordinary and he hatched a World-Defying Secret Spirit, it wouldn’t be profitable; even hatching just one World-Defying Secret Spirit wouldn’t earn much, given the high costs; he’d need at least two to make a big profit.

But with Chen Guan, things were different; Chen Guan could tell Duan Shulin which eggs contained high-quality Secret Spirits, allowing him to hatch a few and sell the rest, ensuring profit without loss.

This buying and selling made a large profit, guaranteeing a safe profit margin.

Business isn’t gambling; if you want to gamble, just go to a casino. A savvy businessperson would never hatch Secret Spirit Eggs themselves unless they’re confident.

To manage risks, Duan Shulin would rather share half the profit with Chen Guan.

Chen Guan thought it over and replied to Duan Shulin, "I’m free recently and will come by later to check them out."

"It’s great that you’re finally free; please come soon. I’ve collected over a thousand Secret Spirit Eggs, and I’m nearly bursting at the seams. The prices of Secret Spirit Eggs have been skyrocketing; if I don’t start selling, it’ll be impossible to manage." Duan Shulin responded immediately.

"Okay, I’ll head over now." After resting at home for half a day and changing clothes, Chen Guan headed towards Zhongshan City outside the Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land.

Buying Secret Skills would surely cost Chen Guan a fortune, given the many Secret Skills he lacked. Just one Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill costs seventy to eighty thousand, and most cultivators can’t earn that much in a year. An ordinary person trying to save that much money may take ten years, considering daily living expenses and cultivation costs.

And that’s just one Secret Skill; to buy all needed skills, especially pursuing Unparalleled Secret Skills, would require astronomical sums.

Earning some money from Duan Shulin could save him from breeding pets to sell, making it a good opportunity not to miss.

"Brother Guan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival like the moon and stars!" Duan Shulin nearly teared up when he saw Chen Guan.

He’s collected many Secret Spirit Eggs during these days, and their prices have surged to over one thousand apiece, equivalent to two months’ wages for an ordinary person.

The problem is most Secret Spirit Eggs contain ordinary-quality spirits in them, spending a thousand to buy one of these would be a disaster.

Buying Secret Spirit Eggs is like gambling; hatching an Unparalleled Pet can make one rich, hatching a unique pet can earn some money, hatching an uncommon pet offers small profits, while a rare pet at current prices might not make money, even lose money, and hatching a common pet results in major losses.

Through Duan Shulin’s explanation, Chen Guan learned why Secret Spirit Eggs were so hyped; besides intense bidding from major powers, another reason is someone recently hatched both Unparalleled Pets and unique pets consecutively, misleading many into thinking the probability of high-quality pets was high, causing many ordinary folks intending to sell their eggs to try hatching them themselves.

The market prices for Secret Spirit Eggs climbed higher and higher, leading Duan Shulin to reduce purchases recently, fearing future price crashes would result in heavy losses.

"Who was so lucky to hatch an Unparalleled Secret Spirit so quickly?" Chen Guan asked curiously.

"I don’t know, heard it’s some guy known as Old Tang, who specializes in selecting and buying Secret Spirit Eggs in the market; seems like he can judge the quality of the eggs, though I don’t know how he does it." Duan Shulin pulled Chen Guan inside, saying, "Brother Guan, let’s not worry about that now; quickly help me check these Secret Spirit Eggs, the warehouse costs me a fortune in rent, with daily fees reaching thousands."

"Why is a warehouse so expensive?" Chen Guan asked, puzzled.

"It’s Zhongshan City’s official warehouse, guaranteeing safety. I’m here alone and fear others might target me. Spending some money for safety is worth it. There’s also the risk the Secret Spirit Egg prices might collapse; selling while prices are high is necessary for profit." Duan Shulin passed through barriers to bring Chen Guan to his rented warehouse.

Seeing boxes of Secret Spirit Eggs, Chen Guan estimated and smiled at Duan Shulin, saying, "There must be far more than a thousand Secret Spirit Eggs here?"

"I never said just a thousand, always ’by the thousand,’ there are over four thousand here," Duan Shulin replied with a grin. "Regardless of how many eggs there are or profits that can be made, we split evenly."

"Alright, let me pick a few." Chen Guan summoned Warring States, letting it sift through box by box while he secretly directed it.

Quickly, Warring States fished out a Secret Spirit Egg and placed it before Chen Guan.