Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World

Han Qi let out a bitter laugh and seemed a bit dejected: "Previously, I thought it was only you, No Struggle City, withdrawing money, who would have thought that Suspended Island and Heavenly Mountain would also come to withdraw funds, really catching me off guard." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Lady Qian Ji was surprised upon hearing these words, as if asking, such a coincidence?

Han Qi’s expression became more worried: "The three of you are Jiushan Department Store’s big clients in the Northern Continent, I could handle one, but all three arriving simultaneously? The Spirit Stones in the entire Northern Continent aren’t enough, let alone any allocation."

"What’s more, some cultivators with sharp news sense have come directly to withdraw money, afraid that the Heaven and Earth Bank will be emptied by you all."

Lady Qian Ji listened to Han Qi’s complaints, squinting her eyes with uncovered dissatisfaction and suspicion: "So, Manager Han, you mean you have no Spirit Stones for me? I’ve given you a full month!"

"If you don’t complete the Spirit Stones for me today, how can Jiushan Department Store maintain its dignity in the Northern Continent?"

Her aura was imposing, for the first time showcasing her power as a Dao Fruit Cultivator to Han Qi.

The cultivators behind her looked at Han Qi and Jiushan Department Store with even more suspicion, and even a hint of anger.

"The Northern Continent doesn’t have any," Han Qi remained unmoved and instead smiled, "but No Struggle City is our major client, Jiushan Sect never lets clients suffer a loss."

"What do you mean?"

"Is the Immortal determined to take it?"

"Of course."

"Alright, we have Spirit Stones."

"...Didn’t you say the Northern Continent doesn’t have any..."

"But our Jiushan Sect does!" Han Qi explained, "I’ve heard Northern Continent cultivators particularly need Spirit Stones recently, so the sect specially dispatched the Divine Sky Fleet to escort Spirit Stones over, arriving today!"

Lady Qian Ji was stunned, looking towards the outskirts of the city, and indeed, over a hundred Shenxiao Warships flew over No Struggle City’s city wall, landing in front of everyone.

Xie Qingxue held the Qingping Sword, standing proudly at the bow of the flagship, casting a glance at Lady Qian Ji’s face before nodding slightly: "Hand over the Spirit Stones."

A group of Jiushan Disciples flew out from behind her, taking out dozens of storage bags, solemnly handing them to Han Qi.

Lady Qian Ji stared intently at those storage bags, her tone involuntarily tinging with a bit of hesitation: "Inside here... are all Spirit Stones?"

Han Qi lightly laughed without answering her, seemingly on purpose, opening the storage bags one by one.

Instantly, ten or so small mountain-like piles of Spirit Stones were heaped at the door of Jiushan Department Store.

Under the sunlight, these Spirit Stones gleamed brilliantly and were dazzling; perhaps because of their height and quantity, Spirit Stones occasionally rolled from the mountain peak, falling at everyone’s feet.

A deep silence surrounded them, all the cultivators, including Lady Qian Ji, faced with Jiushan Sect’s way of paving the ground with Spirit Stones, wore expressions as if their minds went blank.

Amidst this silence, the sound of swallowing gulps clearly stood out.

It’s not like these cultivators hadn’t seen the world before.

As Lady Qian Ji said, since ancient times, Xuanwei lacked Spirit Stones, when had these cultivators seen such a grand scene.

Even Lady Qian Ji’s eyes turned a bit dazed — now she understood why Jiushan Sect sent Xie Qingxue with the fleet, no one else could keep watch over these Spirit Stones.

While others were dumbfounded, Han Qi had already instructed the disciples to inventory the Spirit Stones.

After a while, he picked up a storage bag and handed it to Lady Qian Ji: "Immortal, this is your No Struggle City’s deposit, of course, we won’t give the interest."

Lady Qian Ji blankly looked at the storage bag in Han Qi’s hand, then at the Spirit Stone mountain that didn’t seem diminished by much, her lips trembling.

She didn’t speak, but a female cultivator behind suddenly shouted: "I want to deposit Spirit Stones!"

She turned around, and it was, indeed, the same female cultivator she spied on earlier while withdrawing money from Jiushan Department Store.

Others also came to the realization, with Jiushan Sect’s financial power, what is there to doubt?

The Heaven and Earth Bank, wealthy and generous, with the convenience and usability of Nine Mountains Money, naturally they wanted to deposit their Spirit Stones back into the bank.

Unexpectedly, Han Qi smiled: "Fellow Daoists, starting today, our Heaven and Earth Bank will see some changes."

"What changes?"

"Firstly, the interest will decrease," Han Qi sighed, "our Jiushan Sect initially came to the Northern Continent and wanted to give some benefits to fellow Daoists to earn everyone’s trust, hence such high interest was given. It’s just that..."

The cultivators standing at Jiushan Department Store’s entrance were speechless.

After all, their behavior didn’t exactly show much trust in Heaven and Earth Bank.

"Moreover, in the past month, our Jiushan Sect has been quite busy, drained of Essence Qi, even Master Xie had to rush day and night, truly distressing."

Xie Qingxue twitched her mouth; she wasn’t sure where Zheng Fa found such a person, she wasn’t in any rush on this trip, leisurely touring along the way.

"The sect decided, for unused deposit slips, we will still honor the original interest."

"But now, fellow Daoists wanting to deposit again, our Jiushan Sect can’t offer such high interest anymore."

These words caused mixed reactions outside Jiushan Department Store.

Most cultivators looked crestfallen, realizing that not only did they lose the previous interest, the forthcoming returns wouldn’t be as high either.

Yet a few cultivators had their lips curling upward, only restrained from showing it due to others’ dismay.

The majority of cultivators were those worried that Heaven and Earth Bank might run out, hence those who withdrew their money.

The few cultivators were naturally those who didn’t withdraw their money.

Han Qi observed the varied expressions of these cultivators, chuckling inwardly — with Jiushan Department Store’s status in the Northern Continent, Jiushan Sect didn’t need to do anything significant; merely lowering the interest was enough for those distrusting Jiushan Sect to taste the bitter tea, even impacting the entire Northern Continent’s prices.

As for those still trusting Jiushan Sect, according to Zhang Taishang’s calculations, their deposit slips, in terms of future gains, have actually appreciated.

Most cultivators obviously lacked Zhang Taishang’s financial acumen, but... Lady Qian Ji did!

Looking at her storage bag, she could even calculate the loss No Struggle City incurred from this transaction.

But more importantly...

She glanced around, noticing many cultivators who withdrew money now looked at her with eyes full of anger and even resentment.

They wouldn’t think they lacked analytical thinking, but rather that Lady Qian Ji caused everyone to suffer financial losses.

"I deposit!" that female cultivator shouted, "Register mine first!"

Others responded as well, rushing towards the Heaven and Earth Bank, seemingly afraid of further interest cuts if they were late.

Soon, a long queue formed again at the Heaven and Earth Bank’s entrance, even comprising of the same people as last time — only last time they hurried to withdraw money, whereas now they scrambled to deposit it.

Inside Lady Qian Ji’s heart, a creeping chill arose; she could tell that even with Jiushan Sect lowering the interest, their credibility had risen — in stark contrast to her own.

...

Within Jiushan Sect.

"Our Heaven and Earth Bank’s deposits have tripled, yet interest costs are down by a whole seventy percent." Master Pang reviewed the reports from the Heaven and Earth Bank, smiling so broadly his eyes disappeared, "Han Qi this person is indeed talented."

Zhang shook her head: "After years of honing, he has become much steadier than before, handling things quite well."

Heaven and Earth Bank was a novel concept in Xuanwei, and many long-lived cultivators, having lived so long, naturally hesitated to quickly embrace the arrival of Heaven and Earth Bank.

Now that Jiushan Sect had slightly showcased its financial strength, it swiftly established Heaven and Earth Bank’s reputation in the Northern Continent, drawing in numerous new depositors.

The Water Mother listened to their conversation, inwardly sighing: Jiushan Sect secured a major advantage this time.

Firstly, they saved a lot on interest—

Cultivators who withdrew ahead of time did not receive interest from Jiushan Sect.

More importantly, using this as an excuse, Jiushan Sect lowered the average interest rate by two points, bringing the current average annual interest rate of Heaven and Earth Bank’s deposits below one, significantly reducing funding costs.

Overall, whether or not No Struggle City incurred losses the Water Mother didn’t know, but Jiushan Sect profited, not only in resources but more crucially, in the hearts of the Northern Continent people — having managed Turquoise Pool, the Water Mother understood well that where a cultivator placed their Spirit Stones perhaps mattered more than which sect they belonged to.

She had never imagined a bank could wield such influence.

"Most Northern Continent cultivators have sold their resources to Heaven and Earth Bank... Water Mother Daoist, we can prepare for the first round of firing."