Mark Sutton's current strength, combined with the power of his physical body, meant he was no longer afraid of ordinary fourth-level Qi Refining martial artists.

He was not in a hurry to cultivate the secret manuals in his storage ring. For him, the most urgent task now was to improve his own cultivation.

“I must find a way to raise the level of my Martial Spirit.”

Mark Sutton muttered to himself. He was now cultivating both Qi and body, and the Myriad Phenomena Divine Art required an enormous amount of spiritual energy. With a third-rank human-level Martial Spirit, the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth simply could not keep up with his cultivation pace.

To raise the level of his Martial Spirit, he could only devour beast spirits and Martial Spirits.

Devouring Martial Spirits was definitely out of the question for now—Mark Sutton could not just go around killing people—so he could only devour beast spirits.

To obtain beast spirits, besides hunting them himself, he could also buy them. All the major shops in Linyang City sold beast spirits.

However, beast spirits were not cheap, and the higher the level of the demon beast, the higher the price of its beast spirit.

According to what Mark Sutton knew, the beast spirits of ordinary third- and fourth-level Qi Refining demon beasts cost about twenty to thirty taels of gold each.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Mark Sutton had an idea and got up to head toward the family head’s residence.

“Haha! Mo’er, you’ve come at just the right time. I have something to ask you,”

In the family head’s residence, Henry Sutton saw his son and smiled slightly, asking, “I heard that two days ago, you defeated Harold Sutton in a single move?”

“Mm.” Mark Sutton nodded.

“Haha! Good, you truly are my son, Henry Sutton.”

Hearing his son confirm it personally, Henry Sutton was very pleased. He knew Mark Sutton might have had some fortuitous encounter, but he didn’t ask further. He only encouraged him, “Mo’er, keep working hard. Even if your Martial Spirit’s level isn’t high, as long as you train diligently, you still have a great chance of stepping into the Spirit Martial Realm in the future.”

“Mm.”

“By the way, Mo’er, did you come to see me for something?”

“Father, I have a request. Please, you must agree to it.” Mark Sutton said solemnly.

Seeing Mark Sutton so serious, Henry Sutton was slightly taken aback and said, “Mo’er, why so formal with your father? Just tell me what it is. As long as it’s within my power, I will not refuse.”

“Father, I want ten thousand taels of gold,” Mark Sutton said.

After speaking, Mark Sutton looked at Henry Sutton nervously, afraid his father would refuse.

Ten thousand taels of gold was no small sum. The entire Su family’s annual income was only about a hundred thousand taels of gold. Ten thousand taels would exceed the family’s income for a month.

If Mark Sutton were still the genius he once was, asking for ten thousand taels of gold would not be difficult.

But now, in everyone’s eyes, he was just a waste with a first-rank human-level Martial Spirit. Even for Henry Sutton to allocate ten thousand taels of gold for him would mean facing tremendous pressure from the clan.

The reason Mark Sutton was making such a bold request was to buy a large number of beast spirits. As long as he had enough beast spirits, his Martial Spirit’s level could rise rapidly, and with it, his cultivation speed would soar.

Henry Sutton was stunned. He carefully looked Mark Sutton over, and after confirming that Mark Sutton was not joking, he pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, “Mo’er, wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

With that, Henry Sutton strode away.

He did not ask Mark Sutton what he needed so much money for, because he trusted his son.

Mark Sutton waited quietly, and sure enough, before long, Henry Sutton returned.

“Mo’er, here is a banknote for ten thousand taels of gold. Take it!” Henry Sutton handed several banknotes directly to Mark Sutton.

Holding the banknotes for ten thousand taels of gold, Mark Sutton took a deep breath and said, “Father, at the clan meeting at the end of the year in two months, I won’t let you down.”

……

After obtaining the banknotes for ten thousand taels of gold, Mark Sutton left the Su family and headed toward the city’s marketplace.

Half an hour later, Mark Sutton arrived in front of a massive shop. Above the shop’s main entrance, the three gilded characters “Zijin Pavilion” were written in a bold, flowing script.

Zijin Pavilion was a three-story building covering a hundred mu. It was the largest shop in Linyang City. As long as you had money, whether it was cultivation techniques, pills, weapons, or anything else related to cultivation, you could buy it there.

It was said that Zijin Pavilion had a powerful background and belonged to a large merchant guild, with branches in many cities throughout Tianyue Country.

Therefore, Zijin Pavilion held a very special status in Linyang City—even the Su and Wei families dared not provoke it lightly.

“This young master, is there anything I can help you with?”

As Mark Sutton entered Zijin Pavilion, a young and beautiful maid respectfully asked.

“I want to buy beast spirits,” Mark Sutton said directly.

“To buy beast spirits? Then please follow me!”

The beautiful maid led the way, and soon, Mark Sutton arrived at a counter dedicated to selling beast spirits.

Behind the counter was an old man in a gray robe. When he saw Mark Sutton, he smiled and asked, “Young master, may I ask what level of beast spirit you wish to purchase?”

“What are the prices for mid-grade level one beast spirits?”

Mark Sutton asked. So-called mid-grade level one beast spirits referred to the spirits of third-level demon beasts within the first rank, that is, fourth, fifth, and sixth-level demon beasts of the first rank.

“Level one, fourth-level beast spirits are thirty taels of gold each; level one, fifth-level beast spirits are fifty taels of gold each; level one, sixth-level beast spirits are one hundred taels of gold each,” the old man replied.