Chapter 145 Difference

"Is there a problem with the number?"

He Ling asked with a frown. Ikasa's outburst made him suspicious.

"No. No problem. It is just that the number is much higher than I expected."

The young scholar relaxed his vigilance.

"The penalty fee is just a number, brother Ikasa. Unless you are negotiating in bad faith, you don't have to worry about it."

Ikasa smiled in response but in his heart, he was having different thoughts.

'Negotiating in bad faith, my ass! Your He Family basically forced me to take this step. Anyways, I don't plan to let the He's leech off me for long. As soon as I am strong enough, I will renegotiate the Contract.'

He thought as he added his thumbprint to the paper. A strong connection formed between Ikasa and the contract sheet. He Ling also added his thumbprint to the sheet and the contract glowed a brilliant white for a second.

When the light faded, the contract had duplicated itself and there were two identical sheets on the table. He Ling put away his copy of the contract and passed the other copy to Ikasa.

He accepted the contract and a wave of relief washed over him. With this Contract, Ikasa had finally solved the looming threat of the He Family!

"Brother Ikasa, take this slate. I will place my orders for manuals through this communication slate. When my subordinates come to pick up the order, they will pay you."

Ikasa received the grayish black slate. It was a bit larger than the one owned by Xu Ran. He examined the plate closely.

It had a matte texture with smooth edges lined with some glossy obsidian ore. The slate itself was as thick as his finger and quite heavy for a Tab-sized object.

Ikasa curiously knocked on the slate, to see if he could identify the material.

"Careful!"

Before he could impact the surface of the Slate, He Ling stopped Ikasa. Puzzled, Ikasa looked at him for explanation.

"This is a delicate and expensive object made with the byproducts of Void ores. Though it is sturdy enough to withstand a bit of rough handling, you should still use it with care."

Ikasa didn't need to be a genius to understand that void ores were expensive goods. After all, they were used to make precious spatial objects like the storage accessories.

He looked at the slate in his hands in a different light. The Slate was this world's version of an Apfel phone; high-end tech and still, easily breakable.

Now that he thought about it, the communication device was more similar to 'the-brand-you-must-not-mention'.  The poor were ignorant of it, it would cost the middle class their kidneys and the rich would give it away for free.

Ikasa shook his head and stopped thinking about the company he had to fight numerous litigations against. In fact, his entire legal team existed solely to counter those litigations.

He carefully placed the Slate on the table. He Ling approved of his behavior. Ikasa realized that the slate did not come with a chalk stick. He voiced his doubts.

"Brother He, how should I contact you? You didn't give me a chalk stick."

As if realizing something, He Ling took out a few pieces of chalk from his storage bracelet.

"I forgot that this is a third tier City. You won't be able to buy any of these chalks."

He Ling spoke apologetically, but his tone rubbed Ikasa the wrong way.

"Just how backwards is a third tier city compared to a second tier city?"

Ikasa asked with a bit of annoyance and fascination. He Ling simply shook his head.

"You can't imagine how big the difference is Brother Ikasa, unless you see it for yourself."

Ikasa could feel that He Ling was being truthful with his words and not demeaning him. A moment later, the fourth elder got up from his seat.

"Since my business is done here, I should get going now. When you come to Maple City, we will properly celebrate our cooperation. Till then, take care, Brother Ikasa!"

Ikasa also stood up and walked He Ling to where Bai Mei was resting. Seeing her spirit mate arrive, the egret raised her head.

Her action caused Ikasa to look at He Ling with a bit of envy. Detecting his gaze, He ling laughed hard. Patting Ikasa on the back, he cheered him up.

"If you want a beast companion so bad, why don't you contact the Regal Beast Sect?"

"How?" Ikasa helplessly asked.

"Right. You are from a third tier City. You might've never heard of them."

Ikasa barely suppressed his annoyance at the constant reminder of how he came from a Third-Tier City. Before he could snap, He Ling offered his goodwill.

"Come to Maple City. I have a few friends in the Sect's branch. They will definitely offer you a great deal."

After showering the favor upon Ikasa, He Ling departed on the Red-Crowned Egret. The young businessman watched the Fourth Elder of the He Family disappear in the horizon.

"However dirty the He Family may be, they have indeed chosen a good person to look after their commerce."

Ikasa muttered as the figure of the egret disappeared from his sight. Shaking his head, he put the matters of the He Family on the back burner.

Instead, he excitedly rubbed his hands and went into the former Sect Master's Courtyard.

"It is time for me to advance my Spiritual Sense to the Advanced Realm!"

Ikasa connected to the printer with excitement. He scrolled to the Cultivation Page and looked at his Pentagonal Cultivation Stats.

"The Vision and auditory senses are at 30 points each. Olfactory and Gustatory Senses are at 28. Only the Sense of Touch is lagging behind at 24 points out of 50."

Ikasa avoided adding points to the sense of touch because of one main reason. He would be uncomfortably ticklish all over his body after every single point.

As he increased the number, his skin became even more tingly and ticklish. He consulted Feng Yan as to how he dealt with this problem.

He regretted asking. Being the Macho Man, Feng Yan suggested Ikasa sit in hot water after he felt his Sense of touch act up.

The boiling water would force his skin to become numb and help Ikasa control his sense of touch better. Listening to the more experienced man, Ikasa tried his method.

He had experienced hell. They say that sinners are boiled in hot water until their sins evaporate in Hell. Ikasa experienced this punishment while alive!

He swore to never follow Feng Yan's advice after he was cooked tender in the boiling water. With his senses heightened, the scalding water's heat was even more unbearable.

Ikasa persisted in the tub, enduring the pain. It was for nothing. He still could not control his Sense of touch. Instead, he had made himself even more sensitive!

He shuddered remembering the pains he had went through and skipped adding points to the Sense of Touch this time as well.

His gaze moved to the center of the Pentagon. Sixth Sense: 58/100.

The most important sense in the Sense realm, the Spiritual Sense, also known as the Sixth Sense.

Ikasa had gotten proficient in using the combination of Spiritual Sense and Vision to see the world in its energy form. He had slowly started training with his auditory sense as well but the exact combination still evaded him.

He hoped that advancing his stage would help him reach that elusive realm. The realm where he can see the energy; hear its sound and smell its scents. He hoped to taste the energy in the food he ate and touch the energy in his surrounding air.

​ With a trembling hand, Ikasa added the remaining two points to make the sum total 60/100. His spiritual sense had reached the advanced stage of Sense Realm!

Nothing happened for a few seconds.

"Well that was a downer."

Ikasa muttered but soon he felt his head was about to burst from the sudden cacophony of noises introduced in his ears.

Qiiii…

Kiiii…

Ciiii…

Diiii…

Giiii…

There were all frequencies of sound but he could not distinguish one from the other. His mind became chaotic as he felt a splitting headache come.

And suddenly all the sounds in the surroundings faded away. Only one sound reamined, the sound of silence.

The sound of a dark night filled with shadows.  Seeing Ikasa in pain, Moony had jumped to the rescue.

He covered the room with his energy, driving away all the other attributed forms of energy. With a single attribute in the room, Ikasa was able to finally find his respite.

He focused on identifying this type of energy solely with his Spiritual Hearing. Though this sound was much calmer than the other sounds, almost to the point of silence, Ikasa found it also had its unique vibrations.

A low humming melody, like that of a lullaby sung by a sleepy mother.