Dark Moon Era

Chapter 417: Got Rich!

Tang Ling had won.

When that mountainous pile of partially digested food was dug out, Tang Ling picked up a stick and started to poke around. With a few jabs, he revealed a rather large bulk of Requiem Ambergris.

On top of that, he used the stick and pried open the slightly shriveled up liver, digging out all the other leftover food. The crowd then saw another piece of Requiem Ambergris the size of a palm, sticking to the wall of the dried liver.

“Look, Lady Luck always blesses those who are careful.” Tang Ling tossed the stick away and looked exceptionally delighted. He did not want to expose the fact that his Precise Instinct could scan the internal structure of the whale.

“Holy sh*t!” Odeon slid off the ship and hugged Tang Ling tightly.

He was a simple man, and there was only a single thought in his mind at the moment—he had struck it rich! He really became rich this time!

No matter what quality the ambergris was, he would be rich!

Despite there just being two pieces of ambergris with one of it being palm-sized and the other one being twice as big, ambergris could be molded together and the combined weight would surely surpass the 11 kg ambergris from the king whale earlier.

No wonder this female whale was this small. The heavy ambergris filled a portion of its stomach and probably affected its growth.

This was probably a new way to identify Requiem Ambergris in Requiem Whales. It was no wonder that the miracle kid was this confident!

Nonetheless, Tang Ling was collected. He was already thinking about the ambergris’ quality and how he should sell it off for money.

The awestruck crowd that was silenced by the jaw-dropping scene exploded all of a sudden.

“My goodness, what am I looking at? How does this small whale have that many ambergris in its stomach?

“I...someone please tell me what quality the ambergris is.”

“Damn it, it’s 5,000 Black Sea coins! I could’ve gotten the money if I sold everything. Why did I laugh at the kid just now? As expected of the young geniuses, even the heavens favor him.”

The crowd got even more excited than when the king whale’s ambergris had been found. All eyes were on the new ambergris and its quality.

After the ambergris was cleaned, an appraiser, who was also a merchant, came up eagerly and offered to inspect the quality. The atmosphere reached its climax at this point.

“My gosh! What am I looking at? These two are superior quality Requiem Ambergris,” gushed the appraiser.

How could the atmosphere not reach a climax? It was the best ambergris of the season that the harbor had ever welcomed.

Odeon got even more excited. He swung his fists around and cheered joyfully, mixing around with the crowd in the heated discussion.

Those who did not know what happened might think that Voyage Day was here again because the whole harbor was as lively and crowded as that auspicious day. It seemed like heaven was in a mood for a celebration as it pushed the lively atmosphere beyond its climax point.

The appraiser even brought over instruments to weigh the ambergris and the number that he announced further excited the crowd, “14.76 kg! A beautiful number!”

The already pounding atmosphere reached new heights beyond its climax. Amidst the heated discussions, there were already a number of gazes with ulterior motives eyeing the ambergris.

This was the lawless Darkness Port! In this city, taking other people’s belongings with violence was a daily scene on the street.

So what if Tang Ling was a top genius? No matter how great his reputation was, he was just a kid who was not even a Purple Moon Warrior.

So what if he had Boss Huang as his support? By the time the boss got there, the ambergris would have been sold for money. The culprit could escape, get some important figure to settle the matters, or even deal with the conflict with some other methods. Anything was possible.

Some of them in the crowd grew restless.

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Of course, Tang Ling knew what it was like to expose his wealth in the public eye of Darkness Port, but he had bought the whale from the captain, and no matter how dangerous it was, he had to give the captain an answer.

Otherwise, it would look like he lacked sincerity. Moreover, the whale was huge, so where should he cut it open? Should he ferry it out of the harbor and rip it open in some secret place? It was illogical for him to do that.

Should he call Boss Huang here right away? No, Tang Ling knew that before Boss Huang arrived, his ambergris would be snatched from his hands.

“Can you sell this Requiem Ambergris to me? Our caravan is willing to offer 40K Black Sea coins for it,” someone offered right away.

40,000 Black Sea coins was not a phenomenal price, but many would choose to immediately trade the goods for money at the harbor since it would be safer.

Given the desperate circumstances, the goods would never fetch a good price.

Tang Ling did not agree with the merchant’s offer. Instead, he looked at the captain. He said, “I suppose our captain must say yes to the price of this ambergris before I can say anything. While you guys were gambling on the whale, I’ve promised the captain a fifth of the ambergris.”

What a kid!

At that moment, be it the captain, Odeon, or the others with ulterior motives shifted their attention from the ambergris to Tang Ling.

Did Tang Ling promise the captain anything? He had not.

What he did was remain calm in the face of greed. He suppressed his own avarice instead. He used a reasonable price to get himself the best insurance possible at the moment.

In Darkness Port, a captain’s reputation was always above all. After all, behind the captains was the biggest faction of Darkness Port—the Darkness Court.

Offending a single captain would equal to offending all the captains. Moreover, since a crew member was this generous, the captain ought to accept the goodwill. Once accepted, the captain must do his best to protect his crew’s benefits. After all, they were the sailors who sailed on the same ship.

It was probably the sleaziest but smartest way to get away from the prying gazes.

The captain smiled. This kid really knows his manners!

He did not think the share of a fifth of the ambergris was too little because he knew from Odeon that the money Tang Ling had used to buy the whale was pooled together by several crew members.

A fifth of the ambergris was probably the biggest share of the bunch.

Therefore, the captain stepped up and said, “Yes. Our miracle kid made me a promise when we started the bidding.”

“Now, let us start the bidding for the Requiem Ambergris.”

...

A little over 14 kg of Requiem Ambergris was sold for a total of 50,000 Black Sea coins.

The buyer was the caravan merchants from the True Capital and they were also the same ones who had bought the king whale earlier and got the 11 kg of Requiem Ambergris.

The folks from the True Capital were really wealthy, but Tang Ling did not care. After he got his money, he gave the captain 10,000 Black Sea coins without a second thought. As for the rest, he shared them with Odeon and the rest.

In the end, Tang Ling only took 8,000 Black Sea coins.

They agreed on the split before this whole thing started. Tang Ling was the one who had brought everyone on the winning path, and no matter how much was left, he ought to take a fifth of the rest.

It was practically free money from the sky, so who could possibly reject it, especially Odeon? He could barely close his mouth from all the laughter. This unexpected earnings further secured his daughter’s future.

“My dear Tang, when are we doing it again?” Odeon was still savoring the lingering excitement.

“Yeah, a few more times, and I’ll have enough funds to modify my ship! I’ll then apply for the Great Peak to enter the island area! I might not be ready for the free voyage, but I’m quite confident in the inner hunting ground!” It was rare for the captain not to add vulgarities in a single sentence. He was talking about something serious after all, and it was his life goal.

Tang Ling adjusted himself into a more comfortable posture and lay down on the couch of the carriage. He allowed himself to sink into the soft cushions as a faint smile hung over his face.

He was riding the captain’s wagon and they had just come out from the biggest bank of Darkness Port—the Voyager Bank.

After coming out, Tang Ling got himself a crystal card that contained 8,100 Black Sea coins.

With the card in hand, he did not have to worry about his safety anymore. The card was only accessible by him and there were a lot of ways for him to do that. Therefore, the card provided multiple layers of insurance for his money.

However, the captain said in order to fully secure everyone’s safety and money, he sent everyone home using the wagon.

Those who received extra today reached their homes safe and sound. Only Odeon, the captain, and Tang Ling were left in the carriage, so they were able to discuss some private thoughts.

Even with the anticipation from Odeon and the captain, Tang Ling decided to speak his piece.

As a matter of fact, when he had chosen missions at the Floating Ice Black Market, he had mistakenly chosen The Great Peak and had been with the ship ever since because the folks on The Great Peak were nice. Man or woman, young or old, every one of them was honorable and tough.

If he really was a sailor on The Great Peak, he would surely have thought of a way to glorify the ship’s status. Unfortunately, he was just a passerby.

“I might not be able to help on The Great Peak anymore.” Tang Ling’s forthright manner stunned the captain for a moment, and Odeon’s gaze started to get heavy.

They did not spend a lot of time together, but even though it had just been around two weeks, Odeon liked the miracle kid a lot. It was not because of how miraculous he could be. Instead, it was how down-to-earth Tang Ling was despite his reputation.

Tang Ling was like a normal kid who could mix around with a bunch of tough and rough sailors. It was rare and he warmed everyone’s hearts.

“Truth be told, every single day spent on The Great Peak was delightful. I think I’m starting to love hunting at sea. Unfortunately, I have to go back to the Hell Ledge Challenge. There’s a life or death match waiting for me. Now that I’ve gotten the money, I...” Tang Ling did not finish, but his meaning was obvious enough.

With sufficient money, he ought to seize the time to strengthen himself.

The Hell Ledge Challenge might seem to have cooled down, but as long as one was not an idiot, one would know it was just the calm before the storm which ought to explode fiercely some time in the foreseeable future.

Tang Ling and Tang Long’s life or death match preceded even the challenge. This was something even the captain and Odeon knew. They really did not want the miracle kid to die in the ring even though the odds were high.

With that in mind, the tough-looking captain looked forlorn.

What a generous and likable kid. He’s also hardworking...

With that in mind, the captain tapped Tang Ling’s shoulder with heavy emotions.

Odeon hugged Tang Ling strongly and said, “I believe you will emerge the winner!”

...

Tang Ling was escorted back to Dvesha Moha.

Boss Huang was still a respectable person as the captain even stopped by and chit-chatted with the boss for a while. He even said that if he had the money, he would probably order something from the boss.

It was not just words of flattery. The captain really wanted a weapon from Boss Huang.

The equipment Boss Huang’s hands crafted was something a lot of people sought after, and most of them could not get it because of his price.

After sending the captain off, Boss Huang returned to the study room and blurted out the question immediately, “Kid, how much did you earn?”

He had more or less heard about the commotion that Tang Ling had caused at the harbor.

“Give me your crystal card,” drawled Tang Ling lazily.

After two weeks at sea, he was seriously tanned. The constant sea breeze also presented his youthful face with a huskier look. In less than a few months, he would turn 16, so it was only natural that he looked more mature.

The February weather in Darkness Port was comfortable like Boss Huang’s current mood. He passed Tang Ling his crystal card.

Tang Ling was not particular about the promised amount. He simply transferred 3,000 Black Sea coins to the boss in a single stroke.

“I got 8K and I’m giving you 3K. How’s that?” Tang Ling did not keep the number on the crystal card a secret and even showed the boss his card.

“You little b*stard, it’s unlike you to be so generous.” Boss Huang was suspicious, but he still took his card back.

Tang Ling might be a stingy Scrooge at times, but most of the time, he was generous and reasonable to the people close to him.

After all, Boss Huang had made him an inner armor using the materials he got from the Dream Domain and extracted the superalloy-like substance from the Demon Seeds. The substance even possessed metallic attributes! Whenever the boss was free, he would repair the incomplete Blood Bulrush Sword as well.

More importantly, the boss seemed to be a lot busier lately and it was probably because of his ship.

After working at sea for half a month, Tang Ling gradually loved the life on the ship. Being able to have a ship of his own was something dreamy and mystical for him at the moment.

Nevertheless, the sleazy and stingy boss seemed to be pouring out a lot of effort for him, so why would he be stingy with the boss?

After getting the money, the boss shifted his gaze outside the window and casually uttered a date, “April 28th.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tang Ling frowned slightly. The random date would raise questions in other people’s minds, but he grasped the meaning.

However, he did not want to be a mood killer, so he smirked casually and said, “My birthday is on May 12th. Do you think I can have a fun birthday this year?”

The last birthday he had was a tragic one when he lost his grandmother and sister in a single night.

Would it be better this year?

Before that, he had to fight Tang long in the life or death match, and there was a chance that he could not make it to his birthday alive. He might never know whether it was rainy or sunny on that day.

The date that the boss mentioned was the day when all the geniuses would get together again and challenge the Hell Ledge. It was not a fixed event, but one thing was for sure: the geniuses ought to delay the challenges to the very end of the given period.

No one knew who decided on the date or who agreed to the suggestion.

Slowly and gradually, the date seemed to plant itself into everyone’s mind and become the day that everyone preferred.

The decision was actually a great one. The results would be out on the same day and might probably be the fairest and most straightforward reflection of the geniuses’ strength. After all, everyone had been accumulating for so long and everyone had the same length of time.

After that day, the geniuses would have one day to rest before Tang Ling and Tang Long’s deathmatch. It was actually a decent arrangement.

Then, everyone would follow their own fleet and set sail on a voyage for the resources. It could not get any more perfect than that.

Even Boss Huang agreed on the timing, but at the same time, he was shaken by Tang Ling’s words. He hated the kid when he said something like this even though he had to constantly remind himself that he should not take a side.

However, emotions always challenged one’s sanity and logic and Boss Huang could not remain sane constantly. He said in an upset tone, “What garbage are you talking about? I’m making your ship, and if you die, I’ll just sell it away.”

“No way! No one can have my ship! I’m waiting for it to set sail to sea!” Tang Ling bolted up and stretched his body. He looked at Boss Huang with a smile. “Boss, are you pleased with the 3K Black Sea coins?”

“What are you trying to ask for this time? Just spill it.” Boss Huang wanted to punch Tang Ling in the face when he saw his smile.

“From today until April 28th, I want flexible work time! I promise you I won’t give up on smithing. You can just arrange my schedule according to my current level. After work, I must go to the cabin area to cultivate,” Tang Ling said seriously.

With the money in his pocket, he ought to resume his cultivation at the cabin area and rent the best out of them all, but he must first make sure that he did not waste the energy inside.

Due to the little seed, after a quick calculation, he realized he would need the cultivation room that cost 30 Black Sea coins per hour.

The little seed was still in slumber although its appetite had grown bigger. Thankfully, a larger appetite meant increased effect, so a tiny youthful leaf had sprouted. It delighted Tang Ling a lot, but in the past few weeks, because of his financial status, he believed that the little seed did not get to fill its stomach.

He wanted to test the cultivation room that cost 30 Black Sea coins per hour because he wanted to find how long he could cultivate inside before he and the little seed reached their limit.

Even if he had to use 90 Black Sea coins per day, 5,000 Black Sea coins could last him around 40 days. It was probably the most appropriate schedule that he could come up with.

On top of that, he had been taking missions at the Floating Ice Black Market that would reward him with Darkness value. He had now accumulated enough Darkness value to access the cultivation room that cost 30 Black Sea coins per hour.

What if he was still short of money? He would just have to find a way around it. Tang Ling believed he might not be this lucky every time, but squeezing some time to make some extra income was still possible.

That was Tang Ling’s plan before April 28th. It would be a dull and dry training life before the big day. Therefore, he needed a flexible schedule.

For once, Boss Huang did not put Tang Ling in a tough spot after the request. He shut his eyes and thought about it for a while before nodding. “Well, for the sake of the 3K, I guess it’s fine with me.

“But if you dare even slow down on the work that I give you, I’ll cancel your flexible schedule! Anyway, don’t you think you are extremely lacking in combat techniques?” said Boss Huang all of a sudden.