Chapter 331: Pricy Capital Real Estate

“I heard that Yuchi Dao gave you an entry pass to The Brotherhood’s New Year Trade Carnival this year?” Qin Mang asked.

Xia Fei nodded. “That’s true. I bumped into him in Black Abyss and nearly had a misunderstanding. Yuchi Dao is the strongest opponent I’ve encountered so far, and his magnetic special ability is already at Eternal rank, putting so much pressure on me that I could hardly breathe. Fortunately, he’s friends with you, or else he might’ve made me stay in there.”

Qin Mang snorted. “What’s the use of a high cultivation? He’s the most unreliable person I’ve known. Did he tell you what his nickname was?”

Xia Fei chuckled. “Apparently, his nickname is the Late Uncle, though I don’t know if it’s for real.”

“To be more precise, he should be called the Eternally Late Uncle.” Qin Mang angrily huffed. “From his youth until now, Yuchi Dao has always been an absentminded and temperamental weirdo. Remember: Don’t ever depend on that fellow for anything. He’ll never be able to do anything he promises you.”

Xia Fei said nothing. He had no desire to involve himself in Qin Mang and his old brothers’ quarrels.

“The Brotherhood holds its New Year Trade Carnival only once every three years. It’s the most exclusive get-together in the entire Alliance. How could he give you his pass?”

“Yuchi Dao said that he’ll arrive late regardless, so he gave it to me since it’s pointless for him to have it.” Saying this, Xia Fei took out that plate made of unknown metal from his spatial ring and handed it to Qin Mang. “Old man, take a look; this is what he gave me.”

Qin Mang casually glanced at the entry pass before handing it back. “True. It really is proof that you can participate in the trade carnival. Do you plan to go?”

Xia Fei nodded. “I heard that many top-class products within the Alliance will appear at the trade carnival, so I plan to take a look and broaden my horizons. Plus, it’s being held close to the capital ring, and I’m going there to set up a new office for Quantum Holdings, anyway. I might as well go and take a look.”

Qin Mang replied, “It’s good to take a look. You might be able to find something useful. Right, I have a residence on the edge of the capital ring on a planet called Duiwu. When you head to the capital ring, I’ll join you.”

Xia Fei curiously asked, “Old man, are you unsatisfied with living on Earth?”

Qin Mang shook his head. “Your home planet is fine. I simply have some matters to take care of in the capital.”

…

Three days later, Xia Fei, Qin Mang, and Andre boarded the Impaler and set off for the capital ring.

“I never dreamed that I would one day leave Earth to head out into the thriving universe, and it’s to the capital of the human Alliance to boot!” Andre’s eyes were brimming with glee as he excitedly looked out from a ship window.

Xia Fei smiled. “The human Alliance has this annoying law where those with special abilities can’t obtain interstellar travel permits, but now that Quantum Holdings is an A-list military supplier, employees of our company are no longer restricted by that law. You can go wherever you want.”

Andre chuckled. “To someone of my age, being able to take a trip to the capital ring is enough. I don’t dare to imagine anything more.”

Xia Fei replied, “You can’t think this way. Charlie and the others have to remain on Earth and handle the headquarters’ move. You’re the one who will have to handle the selection of the office and the subsequent move”

Quantum Holdings moving its headquarters from Earth to the capital was a plan long in the making for Xia Fei. After all, the capital was where the best and brightest of the Alliance were gathered and was where the most resources were collected. While the expenses may seem daunting, this relocation was more a benefit than a detriment to the long-term development of Quantum Holdings. Moreover, setting up a headquarters in as expensive an area as the capital was in itself a show of strength.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m heading back to my room to continue cultivating,” Xia Fei told Qin Mang and Andre.

Qin Mang and Andre could take care of themselves. Qin Mang even made it his duty to monitor the Impaler so that Xia Fei could focus on his cultivation.

In a small room next to the bedroom, Xia Fei sat with his legs crossed. Phantom said, “At present, your primary special ability, speed, has already reached Intermediate Star River rank, and you can maintain a speed of about 10,000m/s. Your second special ability, psychokinesis, is a little more lacking, being only at Primary Star Domain rank. You can perfectly use the first-tier Demon Axe and second-tier Thunderfury, but the stronger combat technique Thousand Venerables still places significant stress on you. You should only use it if your life is at risk.

“The fourth stage of the Beast Spirit Codex is enough to deal with the vast majority of special beasts. As for the third stage Cloning Technique, Delusion, we haven’t yet tested its effects.”

Xia Fei smiled and added, “I also have Sly Thrust.”

Phantom replied, “True, but you’ve already attained a perfect grasp of Sly Thrust. You just need to practice it once or twice every day and be done with it. What I wanna say is: You need to improve your four main skills. I’m sure you understand that you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew.”

“I understand it,” Xia Fei casually said. “You think that cultivating too many skills will divide my attention, but I don’t share your opinion. An abundance of martial arts doesn’t weigh anything. I have a use for every special ability and combat technique, so I’ve decided that I’m going to continue improving them together.”

Phantom chuckled. “Of course, I don’t mean that. I just think that in this half a month of journey to reach the capital ring, you should focus on a single attack and do your best to increase it by a stage.”

Xia Fei nodded. “That makes sense. For this half a month, I’ll focus on psychokinesis.”

He removed a thin booklet from his spatial ring. No one except Xia Fei knew about this book.

In his year-long experience on the Heritage Planet, Xia Fei had not only improved his battle sense but, more importantly, also obtained this book on psychokinesis.

Unlike the speed ability, psychokinesis was not an ability that Xia Fei had been born with, but an auxiliary extension ability. His damaged seventh brain region meant that Xia Fei could not improve his speed ability through cultivation, but his second special ability, psychokinesis, was unaffected.

Yes, it was Xia Fei’s special ability, but it stood apart from his seventh brain region. This sort of mystical special ability could only be obtained in a place like Heritage Planet.

Not only did the booklet record how to strengthen one’s brain waves, it also recorded a nameless combat technique which Xia Fei called psychokinesis.

There were nine stages in total to this technique, each corresponding to a certain stage.

At the primary Star Light rank, one could cultivate psychokinesis’ first-tier skill Demon Axe, being able to perfectly unleash Demon Axe once they reach the advanced Star Light rank. At the Star Base rank, one could use Thunderfury, then at Star Domain, one could cultivate the third-tier combat skill Thousand Venerables, and this went on and on.

Xia Fei was currently at Primary Star Domain rank, so while he could use Thousand Venerables, it was not perfected. Forcefully using it would do enormous damage to his body. Xia Fei planned to use the time on this voyage to improve his psychokinesis and, hopefully, reach Advanced Star Domain rank.

…

Cultivating psychokinesis was rather boring. Xia Fei spent every day attempting to use his mind to lift heavy objects and fly them around.

As he improved, he became able to lift heavier and heavier objects with psychokinesis.

Under Xia Fei’s control, a steel ball weighing four hundred kilograms flew circles around the room.

“Change direction!”

Xia Fei roared, and the heavy steel ball stopped advancing along its current trajectory, instead weaving around like a butterfly through flowers while leaving afterimages in its wake.

“Just hold out for the last five minutes!” Phantom encouraged.

Xia Fei gritted his teeth, the immense mental strain making his brain ache.

Five minutes later, the steel ball slowly dropped to the ground, and Xia Fei exhaled and lay down flat on the floor.

“Xia Fei, you did it! Your psychokinesis has reached the Advanced Star Domain rank. with your current level, you can even use your mind to lift yourself and fly!”

Xia Fei panted for breath. Flying was a sort of a definitive threshold to evaluate psychokinesis users. When a person’s mental strength reached this level, they could control weapons from a distance and pull off many techniques, which would seem absurd. It would be very difficult for anything to impede their path.

Xia Fei was fortunate that his special abilities and combat techniques all had synergy with one another. His speed ability could maximize the unpredictability of his Sly Thrust, and the Beast Spirit Codex and Delusion were both mental-type abilities that were necessary to bolster his psychokinesis.

“You can now use Thousand Venerables without hurting yourself! Though it would be quite some time before we can use the fourth-tier combat technique, Fearless,” Phantom excitedly said.

…

Duiwu was an important agricultural planet near the capital ring. Sixty percent of the capital’s fruits were produced here.

Qin Mang’s home was located on a hillside, and from here, he had a view of a boundless strawberry plantation. The sight of the glistening and plump red fruits was heartening to the soul.

Thuram had long ago sent someone to clean up this long-unused mansion. Qin Mang had many friends in the capital ring, and he naturally had people tending to his needs, so there was no need for Xia Fei to concern himself over it.

After bidding farewell to Qin Mang, Xia Fei piloted the Impaler straight to the capital. Parking his ship at a spaceport outside the Venal Galaxy, he and Andre boarded the transit agency’s passenger ship to enter the capital.

“Which planet should our headquarters be on? Besides the six planets reserved for the military, there are twenty-three planets in the capital’s Venal Galaxy available for humans to live in. All of them have their distinct styles and scenery,” Andre said.

Xia Fei replied, “I’ve long decided to locate it on Venal 19. Quantum Holdings is primarily focused on manufacturing military equipment, and the Alliance’s four largest warship corporations, as well as other military manufacturers, are all headquartered on that planet. Having them as neighbors will make communication much easier.

“Plus, the nearby Venal 20 is the Alliance’s economic lifelines, while Venal 17 is where the Alliance’s government is—the upper and lower legislative chambers. The location is pretty good.”

Andre expressed his agreement. He opened his microcomputer and took a look at the real estate prices in the capital ring. He exclaimed in shock, “Good lord! The commercial real estate price index on Venal 19 is more than eighteen hundred, and this is only the sixth highest in the Venal Galaxy! Each square meter of an office building costs an average of six hundred thousand star coins, and the price is even higher at more popular locations!

“Six hundred thousand star coins per square meter! This is robbery!”

Xia Fei helplessly shrugged his shoulders. “This place is the location of the Alliance’s headquarters, after all. The real estate prices have to be high. To tell the truth, I don’t even think six hundred thousand star coins per square meter can buy us the office tower we need, for this price includes the more remote areas. As an A-list military supplier, Quantum Holdings cannot afford to be careless with appearances. If we’re moving, we have to move to the most luxurious city center!”