Wei Yunlong stood in stunned silence, trying to make sense of the realm around him.
Air thick with spiritual essence coursed through his lungs like mountain wine. He felt light, as if gravity had forgotten him. Above, celestial beings soared with wings of gold and merchants sailed the skies on ships shaped like dragons, banners fluttering with symbols he couldn't read.
And floating before him, patiently waiting, was the Celestial Trade Compass.
"Initiating First Exchange Protocol…"
The jade shard rotated, clicking softly as it aligned with three runes. A translucent panel of light formed mid-air before Yunlong, inscribed with symbols that translated themselves in his mind.
🔹 Trade Interface: Beginner Tier
Current Realm: Outer Threshold — Merchant's Mist Realm
Spiritual Qi: 0
Trade Credits: 0
Cultivation Level: Mortal (Non-Awakened)
Bound Inventory: Empty
Available Tasks:
▪️ Acquire one item of tradeable value.
▪️ Make a successful barter with a sentient being.
▪️ Discover a realm-stabilized resource node.
Yunlong blinked. "Trade credits? Tasks? This… this is a cultivation path?"
The voice from before whispered again, but now it felt closer, more like a presence at his side.
"Your cultivation shall be tied to value, not violence. To grow stronger, you must give and gain. Risk and reward. Exchange, not conquest."
A wave of warmth swept through Yunlong's core as the Dao of Trade and Travel branded itself into his soul. He doubled over, clutching his chest. Lines of invisible script etched themselves into his dantian — not from qi, but from intent.
He gasped, eyes wide. I can feel something… flowing. Not qi — but something like it…
It was the first stirrings of Trade Qi — energy born from meaningful exchange.
But he had nothing.
No goods. No money. No cultivation.
Only curiosity and a strange, jade-lit compass.
—
He wandered the outer rim of the Merchant's Mist Realm, a sprawling bazaar built upon floating rock platforms tied together by rope bridges and teleportation sigils. Creatures of every form haggled and shouted.
A tree with legs sold dreamfruit. A blind fox played a flute that summoned illusions. A sentient sword floated behind a cloaked figure, muttering prices for mercenaries.
And then Yunlong saw her.
A girl, barely older than him, kneeling beside a broken stall. Her dress was plain, her face smudged, but her eyes — silver like starlight — were sharp. Before her lay a single item:
Fragmented Memory Pearl (Damaged)
Value: Uncertain
No one approached. Most mocked her or ignored her. She looked hungry. Tired.
He knelt beside her.
"What does it do?" he asked.
She glanced at him. "It contains a memory. I don't know what kind. It was my brother's. He died last winter."
Wei Yunlong frowned. He had nothing to trade.
Nothing but…
He checked his robe pocket. There, tucked in the corner, was a small item he always carried — a stone carving of a cloud serpent, worn smooth from years of handling. It was the last gift from the old sect leader before he died.
"I'll trade this," he said, placing the serpent in her hand.
She blinked. "But it's—"
"Valuable to me," he said.
The compass pulsed.
✅ Trade Completed
🔹 Emotional Significance: High
🔹 Exchange Tier: 1st Grade
🔹 Trade Qi Gained: 25 Units
His eyes widened as warmth surged into his body. His veins glowed faintly gold. The Qi of Exchange circulated once through his system.
Cultivation Level: Initiated — Trade Body Tempering Stage 1
The girl stared at him. "You're… glowing."
He smiled. "I think I just made my first sale."
—
Later, as he walked away with the cracked Memory Pearl in his hand, the compass chimed again.
Path Confirmed: Jade Nomad of Ten Thousand Worlds
Next Task: Identify Memory Pearl's origin. Reward: Interrealm Trading License (Provisional).
Wei Yunlong tightened his grip.
The road ahead was longer than any he'd imagined. But he now knew — in this strange new world, value could shape destiny.
He would trade, travel, and cultivate until he ruled the stars.