Chapter 7 - Future Plans.

Out on the streets, Raymond was walking around aimlessly. He was currently pondering his course of action. The first thing to do was probably get himself a room at an inn for now. The sun had already set, and the moon was high in the sky. Although it created a beautiful image, Raymond was too tired to appreciate it. Now that he had cleaned himself up a bit, Raymond carried himself with more confidence than before when he approached people to ask for directions.

"Excuse me, do you have a minute?"

Seeing a polite and handsome young man talk to her, the middle-aged lady Raymond had approached was a little taken aback.

"Sure, if it doesn't take too long."

"I just arrived here today, and I need to find a place to sleep. Could you recommend an inn to me?"

Raymond always had a gentle smile on his face when he talked, creating a sense of ease in the middle-aged lady.

"Oh, that's easy, if you follow this street that way, you'll find the Brown Bear's Inn. Although it's not the most luxurious, it's pretty cheap."

"Thank you for the help."

With a sunny smile on his face, Raymond politely said his thanks, before he went on his way. He had a silver coin left after spending some money on clothes, which he promptly tossed her way as thanks for the help. The lady was completely dumbfounded, was this young man some kind of rich young master? What kind of person would give away a silver coin to someone after asking simply for directions? Although she was surprised, she was naturally delighted. Most people would probably be delighted if they had a similar encounter.

Raymond didn't really care about a single silver coin, and he was thankful for the help. He would've felt a little rude if he asked for help and gave them nothing in return. Spreading positivity at the expense of practically nothing seemed like a good deal to Raymond, and it's something he would've certainly enjoyed if people did to him in his past life. He had no interest in being a hypocrite. Since he abhorred people who just took without giving anything in return, he would make sure to not become like that himself.

Maybe it was natural for most people to be selfish, but Raymond didn't really share the sentiment. With his mood high, he walked leisurely towards the Brown Bear's Inn. Although it was already evening, the city was still full of life. Many stalls along the road were still manned by people looking to earn a little money, with lanterns glowing softly accompanying them. The atmosphere was pretty quiet and serene, even though the foot traffic was still fairly heavy. Maybe it was out of mutual respect for each other, but not many people were loud when it was dark out.

Raymond wasn't sure exactly why, but he really enjoyed himself just walking around. There were no judgemental looks, no rude people bumping into him without apologising, no looks of scorn as he passed by. When he was younger, Raymond was almost scared to go outside. It didn't matter who it was, they didn't need to even know who you are, they would still judge you. Just from the way you look and the way you dress, they would decide your worth.

This world was a bit more straightforward. Maybe it was because of cultivation itself, but here, anyone you find on the street could be a master in disguise. Judging every single person passing by could easily land you in trouble if you looked scornfully at the wrong person. Raymond enjoyed the relative peace and quiet, but he knew, however, that this was only how it was in certain parts of this world.

His old world sure was more judgemental in nature, but it was also more peaceful in comparison. Here, a war could easily start between different countries or martial institutes for various reasons. There were also numerous demonic beasts roaming about, some of which could decimate entire cities on their own.

After walking for around 15 minutes, Raymond could see a wooden 3-story building on the left side of the street. The atmosphere outside of the building was pretty bustling, with a fairly steady stream of people both entering and leaving. The lights on the ground floor were all lit, and outside the double doors at the entrance, a signboard with a brown bear on it was lit up by the lanterns hanging at its side.

Raymond didn't waste much time getting himself a single room, which he promptly entered after having a meal. Sitting atop the stiff mattress of his bed, Raymond gathered his thoughts. After his hunger was satiated, his mind felt a little clearer than before. He had gathered a little information whilst walking around the streets, as well as when he was eating in the diner below.

The first thing he had sorted out was the worth of money in this world. The coin with the lowest worth was the bronze coin. After that was the silver coin, which was worth 100 bronze coins. A gold coin, however, was in turn worth 100 silver coins. After figuring this out, Raymond realised what kind of money he had been walking around with all this time. 399 gold coins was all he had left, but that was the equivalent of 3,990,000 bronze coins!

Considering that the meal he had eaten earlier didn't even cost 20 bronze coins, Raymond was baffled. The fortune he possessed was something that most ordinary people would never come across in their entire lives. Raymond also realised just how much money he had spent on the clothes he had bought earlier. They had cost him 99 silver, and that was only for 2 changes of clothes and a backpack to carry them in.

His mind swirled with thoughts, but Raymond managed to calm down rather quickly. His first priority was to gain wealth. With wealth, he would in turn get better talent, and later down the line, he might also have other uses for it. However, talent would be pretty pointless if he didn't put it to good use. To cultivate, Raymond would need both cultivation techniques, as well as resources.

There was only one place to go if he wanted to get both at the same time, and that was a sect. A sect is a little like a school, except that it teaches cultivation techniques and martial arts. Unlike conventional schools, graduating from a sect is but a pipe dream. If you join a sect, you usually join it for life. If you were strong enough, the sect would hire you as a deacon or an elder. If not, then you could only work for them, and earn them resources, as payment for them teaching you.

Naturally, the rules differed for every sect, and every sect also had different amounts of power. Some sects were more focused on swords, whilst others were only interested in alchemy. If there was one thing that all sects had in common, it was the system by which they were ranked.. Sects were ranked from rank 1 to 9, with 9 being the weakest.