Chapter 012: Full Agency Rights

Walwei was indeed right. On their own territory, as long as Du Fan was willing, it would be very easy for the Weijia Merchant Guild to show off.
“Lord Walwei, I’ve come this time to ask your guild for a favor,” Du Fan said seriously to Walwei.
After speaking, Du Fan immediately took out a cup of Water of Life.
“Please take a look, Lord. This cup contains Water of Life from the elves. Its power lies in healing—whomever uses it, as long as they still have a last breath, can be saved by its powerful life energy!” Du Fan said earnestly.
“Is this really Water of Life?” Hearing Du Fan’s words, Walwei stared intently at the cup.
“Of course. We can conduct an experiment,” Du Fan said, looking around and spotting a cat curled up in a corner.
He reached out, and with a strong gravitational force, he pulled the cat in front of him.
Soon, he raised his hand again, sending several small wind blades at the cat. In no time, the cat was covered in blood, with no intact flesh left on its body as it cried out in pain.
Then, suddenly, a glint appeared in Du Fan’s hand, and crackling sounds came from the cat’s body—its bones must have broken countless times.
By now, the cat no longer made any sounds; only blood slowly flowed from its mouth, and its lifeless eyes showed that its vitality was rapidly fading.
Smiling at Walwei, Du Fan carefully opened the cat’s mouth and poured about one-fifth of the Water of Life into it before stopping.
Within seconds, the cat’s wounds healed quickly, and its limp body stood up again. It let out a lively cry, glanced at Du Fan in fear, and jumped off the table with a burst of strength.
It seemed even more agile and strong than before its injury.
“Truly miraculous!” If not for the bloodstains on the table, Walwei wouldn’t have believed such a magical spring existed on the continent.
“Duke Du Fan, do you intend to sell this water to our guild?” Walwei asked tentatively after witnessing Du Fan’s actions.

“Not bad, Lord Walwei. I know that your Beba family has branches of their merchant guild in many important cities across the continent, and your guild is also involved in auctions. I was thinking of using your family to help me auction the Water of Life,” said Du Fan.
“That’s no problem,” Walwei replied immediately upon hearing Du Fan’s explanation.
“Great! You truly are a straightforward person!” Du Fan said. With a twist of his wrist, a large bottle of Water of Life appeared in his hand—enough to fill a hundred cups.
“There are a hundred cups of Water of Life here. Lord Walwei, please take a look and estimate its total value,” Du Fan said. “Also, this water can accelerate plant growth. If you have any rare plants and want them to grow quickly, just sprinkle this Water of Life on them. It can also be diluted for use.”
“I think the price per cup should be no less than one million gold coins!” Walwei said right away.
One cup of this water was equivalent to gaining an extra life. For nobles, spending one million gold coins for a chance at rebirth was already a very good deal.
“Very well, Lord Walwei. I’ll leave these bottles of Water of Life in your hands. But I’m in urgent need of money right now, so I’d like to borrow ten million gold coins from your guild. I can pay you the rest after the auction,” Du Fan said promptly.
“That’s no problem, Duke. Don’t worry. However, our local branch won’t be able to gather that much money right away. How about this? You go back first, and I’ll deliver the money to you personally in the evening,” Walwei suggested.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you at the city lord’s residence tonight!” Du Fan replied.
“I have some matters to attend to. I must take my leave first, Lord Walwei. Go ahead with your work!” Du Fan said to Walwei.
After Walwei saw Du Fan and Bati out, after walking for a while, Bati suddenly said to Du Fan, “My lord, it’s a pity. You should know that auction houses charge a ten percent commission.”
“I know that, but there’s nothing we can do about it! Besides, professional auctioneers can drive up the price. If we tried to sell it ourselves, it would be difficult to reach their prices,” Du Fan replied.

“Lord, I think we should establish branch offices of the merchant guild in the capitals of various empires and kingdoms right now! If we master the auction business, just think—like that bottle of spring water you mentioned earlier, we could earn at least ten million gold coins!” Bati said with concern.

“Good! I fully support your idea, Bati! How about this? Come to my place tonight, and we’ll see how much capital is needed to set up branches in the capitals of Gavin and Lani. I’ll allocate that funds to you first,” Du Fan said.

“I guess the total cost for two branches together won’t exceed ten million gold coins!” Hearing Du Fan’s words, Bati still seemed worried. As a merchant by nature, he was always preoccupied with those ten million gold coins that were deducted by the Beba family.

“Haha, Bati, don’t worry. Once you set up the branches in Gavin and Lani, I’ll bring out that spring water again for you to auction once more.”

“Lord, do you still have such things?” Bati asked, his eyes shining with excitement upon hearing Du Fan’s words.

“There are plenty,” Du Fan replied with a mysterious smile.

That large bottle of spring water earlier was only about one-twentieth of a barrel. Thinking of this, Du Fan felt pain in his heart again. Considering the spring water needed to cultivate Flaming Grass for Ringtone, its value was at least five hundred million! But soon, Du Fan thought it through—if a large amount of spring water entered the market, then the value of Life’s Fist spring water wouldn’t be that high!

……

That evening, Walwei indeed showed up.

“Duke Du Fan, here is a crystal card worth ten million gold coins. Please take a look,” Walwei said as he handed Du Fan the crystal card marked with ten million gold coins.

“Thank you, Lord Walwei,” Du Fan said, holding the crystal card and fiddling with it.

“Duke Du Fan, my president said that if you have any similar valuable items, feel free to hand them over to Xiao Xing for auction. He will offer you a 50% commission discount,” Walwei said with a smile.

After that, Walwei took out another crystal card worth fifty million gold coins. “Our president said that since the Lord is in need of funds, we’ll advance this amount to you for temporary use. However, the Beba family can’t provide much cash right away. The remaining amount will be paid to you as soon as the auction is over,” Walwei said with a smile.

At half price, it seemed Du Fan had paid considerably less, but as long as this relationship continued in the long term, the Beiba family could still reap long-term benefits. When that once-popular item capable of altering the physique of those who couldn’t cultivate appeared, all factions on the continent naturally investigated it. As a result, they all learned it came from the Green family. Coupled with Du Fan’s offer of a hundred cups of spring water—two such valuable items—anyone would first keep enough for themselves before putting them up for auction. Therefore, the Beiba family was convinced that the Green family must possess a large supply of these two items. Once they secured the right to auction these items, it would be a lucrative opportunity for the Beiba family!

After some thought, Du Fan flipped his wrist, and ten milky-white orbs appeared in his hand. “Lord Walwei, please thank your leader on my behalf. You probably know what these are—they can change the physique of those who can’t cultivate, allowing them to do so, with no age restrictions. Moreover, using these items allows one to immediately reach the first level of cultivation. I don’t have many left, so I’ll leave these to you for auction. I hope they can fetch an even better price than last time,” Du Fan said, holding the orbs in front of Walwei.

“Great items! Truly great!” Walwei’s eyes shone as he looked at the orbs.

“Don’t worry, Du Fan. We’ll definitely fetch a higher price!” Walwei assured him.

In fact, Du Fan had underestimated the spending power of the nobles on the continent—royals, nobles, and those incredibly wealthy merchants, all of whom valued their lives above everything else!

Ever since those Origin Balls that could alter physiques appeared last time, the nobles who used them, especially middle-aged women among them, were amazed. Rob’s Origin Balls could not only change those who couldn’t cultivate but also significantly alter their original physiques.

After using Rob’s Origin Balls, those noblewomen found themselves sweating profusely only to discover their skin had turned fairer and finer, their flesh firmer and more elastic, their freckles gone, and their wrinkles greatly reduced. They looked as if they had aged ten years younger!

Not only that, but with the first level of cultivation, they felt full of energy, truly feeling younger at heart.

But in this way, those nobles could suffer. Their wives suddenly became younger and, in some ways, more demanding! As a result, many husbands of noblewomen who had used the Origin Ball suddenly found themselves struggling to keep up with expenses! They feared their wives as much as they feared tigers! After sending Walwei away, Bati arrived next. “Bati, have you prepared a budget for setting up branches in the capitals of the two empires?” Du Fan asked directly. “It’s ready—four million gold coins will suffice,” Bati replied. Hearing this, Du Fan was shocked. “Bati, didn’t you say it would take around ten million?” Du Fan asked in surprise. “My lord, I was just joking!” Bati said with a smile upon hearing Du Fan’s words. “If that’s the case, use these crystal cards first.” With that, Du Fan handed over four million crystal cards to Bati. … Soon, with the support of six million gold coins advanced by the Beiba family, rapid construction and development began in Du Fan’s territory! Building on his original army of 250,000 soldiers, Du Fan conscripted another 200,000! His army was not like the Northern Legion. The Green family had ruled the north for hundreds of years and was deeply entrenched there. Even in this attack on the Frozen Alliance, although the Northern Legion only had 100,000 soldiers, as long as the Green family conscripted more troops, those well-trained retired veterans could immediately form a elite force. Of course, this was only possible if there were sufficient weapons, armor, and adequate preparations.