Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 17. Galactic Martial Arts World – Reincarnation (8)

I couldn’t help but be astonished by what Siu said.
The money in the account was only one-fifth of my total assets?
So the total assets were five times this amount?
Insane—how much alimony did Grandmother squeeze out?!
Did the heir candidates of the Cheon Family Clan really earn that much money?
Siu displayed photos of real estate and land on the screen.
“It’s all fields?”
Besides the house I was currently living in, there were a few buildings, but most of it was mountains and fields.
Mountains and fields worth nearly four times the amount shown in the account?
I stared at Siu in confusion. She smiled softly and explained.
“These aren’t ordinary fields. The soil is premium grade-one black earth, and they’re located where the planet’s largest spiritual vein passes through, making them fields for cultivating the highest-grade spirit herbs used in spirit medicines. A single pyeong of that land could purchase at least 100 hectares of ordinary spirit herb fields.”
100 hectares was roughly 300,000 pyeong.
That meant the land value differed by at least 300,000 times.
Even if it was described as ordinary, land capable of growing spirit herbs would be extraordinarily expensive.
“Who farms there?”
“According to my knowledge, the inner disciples of the Cheon Family Clan lease the land and cultivate spirit herbs there.”
“So all the spirit medicines I’m consuming now come from there?”
“Not all of them, but a considerable portion likely does. By custom, samples of the agricultural products are sent to you as the land owner. Currently, since you’re consuming spirit medicines provided to the direct bloodline of the Cheon Family Clan, we’re simply storing the rest.”
It’s said that humans have limits to how much spirit medicine they can absorb depending on their physical condition, age, and cultivation level.
Consuming beyond that limit actually hinders growth, and in the worst cases, it can lead to deviation sickness, so spirit medicine consumption must be measured with precision on a micro-scale electronic balance and taken according to proper dosage.
I wondered if spirit medicine would be as effective if my main body or other avatars consumed it.
It might not be as effective as this avatar’s body, which has been young and continuously consuming spirit medicine as a direct member of the clan.
If I absorbed the avatar and created new ones with my strengthened main body, it might actually be better to concentrate investment in the reincarnated avatar’s growth.
“As for other investment assets, most were bonds issued by the Cheon Family Clan and their interest income, and we held a small amount of corporate stocks, but a considerable portion was liquidated for inheritance taxes.”
Bonds had better liquidity than real estate, but not as much as cash.
Looking at the investment report, the Cheon Family Clan’s creditworthiness as the bond issuer was very high, so the bonds themselves commanded high prices, but the interest income they provided was lower than fixed deposits.
When the clan issued bonds, they adjusted the interest rate, and despite such low rates, many people wanted to buy them, driving prices higher.
In other words, the Cheon Family Clan’s valuation was high, but the dividends were almost nonexistent.
Of course, bonds were debt, not equity like corporate stocks, but investment didn’t operate purely on rationality.
Simply holding bonds gave one the sense of possessing authority over the Cheon Family Clan, and if more people wanted to buy bonds like stocks, prices would rise further—so people purchased bonds with that expectation.
“Well done. You bought at the knees and sold at the crown of the head.”
The bonds were purchased when the previous patriarch’s illness was revealed and bond prices had dropped considerably, and they were sold around twenty years after the current patriarch achieved the Stellar Ascension realm and became one of the Ten Kings of the Universe.
The Ten Kings of the Universe referred to the ten strongest martial artists in the Galaxy, excluding the Nine Heavens Beyond Heaven, who were the Galaxy’s ultimate powerhouses.
In any era, people loved ranking things and were obsessed with pitting them against each other to see who was stronger.
The Nine Heavens Beyond Heaven were truly beyond the heavens, so they were excluded from rankings, and instead, the rankings were made of the Galaxy’s strongest individuals.
Different people had different ways of deciding—some ranked up to 100 and called them the Hundred Masters of the Galaxy, while others ranked up to 1,000 or 10,000, calling them the Thousand Masters or Ten Thousand Masters.
Most ranked the top experts up to the hundredth tier.
If we were to rank experts up to the ten-thousandth tier, we’d probably have to include those at the Heavenly Realm as well. Probably.
Typically, when discussing the top hundred experts, the ranking cuts off roughly at the Life-and-Death Realm, blocked by the Natural Realm. But the Heavenly Realm had far too many masters.
In any case, the ranking order differed from person to person, and the individuals included in the rankings varied, but the Ten Inner Kings were the ten most powerful martial artists recognized by everyone living in the Galaxy.
With the patriarch of the Cheon Family Clan now among such martial masters, the value of the promissory notes had skyrocketed to the point where it could rise no further.
“Unless the Sword King were to transcend the Starlit Realm and reach the Ecstatic Realm, I believe there is no further increase possible.”
The Sword King was the epithet of Cheon Ja-su, the patriarch.
For reference, the Outer Nine Heavens were divided into the One Divine, the Three Stars, and the Five Venerables.
The One Divine included the Divine of the Divine Realm, Cheon Yu.
The Three Stars included the Buddha Star, Demon Star, and Spear Star of the Ascension Realm.
The Five Venerables included the Sword Venerable, Fist Venerable, Blade Venerable, Shadow Venerable, and Slaughter Venerable of the Ecstatic Realm.
And the Ten Inner Kings were the Sword King, Poison King, Spear King, Demon King, Tyrant King, Slaughter King, Thunder King, Heavenly Buddha, Sword Immortal, and Fist Immortal.
The Heavenly Buddha, Sword Immortal, and Fist Immortal have epithets that aren’t “King”—I’m not sure why they’re grouped together as the Ten Kings.
Well, they’re all current or emeritus sect leaders or patriarchs of the Major Sects, so they’re essentially equivalent to kings.
“My living expenses are limited to 100 million nyang per quarter by my legal guardian, Cheon Gyeong-ho, and my asset manager. If I need more than that, I require their consent.”
“100 million nyang per quarter, not per year—that’s quite generous.”
“Yes. The money spent is primarily used for deposit interest and monthly rent.”
“Is that so?”
Nodding, I examined the deposit account details and discovered that 2 million nyang was being deposited monthly from the Cheon Family Veterans Affairs Bureau.
“Ah… that’s the bereaved family pension for those who died in service. I believe it’s paid for 20 years from the date of death.”
Right, I mentioned he died in service.
“Out of the quarterly limit of 100 million nyang, you’re using about 15 million nyang? At 5 million nyang per month, couldn’t you spend a bit more?”
Looking at the consumption details, approximately 7 million nyang went to my expenses, and 8 million nyang went to household maintenance and Siu’s upkeep.
If I included the medicinal supplements and other support from the family, the amount spent on me alone would easily exceed 100 million nyang.
“However, this is your money, Young Master. Even though I’ve become your proxy, how could I use it so recklessly?”
“Looking at the account history, in the past Siu’s maintenance costs alone went up to 30 million nyang per quarter?”
“That was only because she was serving as a sparring partner for your father, so the dantian charging and maintenance costs were higher.”
At Siu’s words, I examined the detailed records.
“The regular maintenance intervals have gotten longer too. Since I was born, it’s only been done twice per quarter.”
“That was also because she had been serving as a sparring partner before then….”
“She’s still my training partner and performs acupuncture treatments for me. Increase her quarterly maintenance costs to 30 million nyang.”
“But…!”
“Shush! That’s an order.”
At my firm words, Siu looked troubled.
“Even with that spending, we’ll still be well within the quarterly limit.”
“Still, as you grow in the future, there will be more places where money is needed, and we don’t know what might happen. Increasing maintenance costs every quarter is….”
“In that case, we can just ask your legal guardian and asset manager to increase the limit if it’s truly necessary. Surely they wouldn’t refuse?”
I had no intention of embezzling my own wealth, and besides, it would be impossible to do so anyway.
At my point, Siu was left speechless.
“This is all an investment. Once my body grows stronger, I’ll be sparring with you, so if something goes wrong with your body, it’s a loss for me.”
“…My realm is the Flame Stage.”
“No matter how high your realm, warriors get hurt if they let their guard down, right? What if I grow so quickly that I end up injuring you?”
Faced with my stubbornness, Siu let out a helpless chuckle.
“I look forward to the day you achieve such growth.”
“Yeah, you better.”
After saying that, I added something else.
“So how much should I get for pocket money?”
“Pocket money?”
Siu looked at me with narrowed eyes.
Her gaze suggested she suspected my reasons for checking the assets and raising her maintenance expenses were merely attempts to win her favor.
I averted my gaze slightly.
While my insistence on not skimping on Siu’s maintenance costs wasn’t about winning favor, checking the assets was indeed to determine how much I could allocate for my own pocket money.
“Hey, it’s important to instill economic awareness through pocket money from a young age!”
“I was thinking that would be appropriate only after entering elementary school. It doesn’t seem like something a preschooler should be saying.”
“Still, I think it’s important to learn the value and importance of money…”
“The fact that you suddenly switched to formal speech suggests you think I’m still too young for this, doesn’t it?”
I looked up at Siu with sparkling eyes.
“Is it… not okay?”
“Well… it’s not that it’s impossible.”
Siu was wavering.
“What would you like to buy with pocket money? If you just tell me, I’ll purchase it within reasonable limits. Do you really need pocket money?”
I answered Siu’s question with a smile.
“Direct experience is always better, isn’t it? When you buy things yourself, experience joy, feel disappointment—that’s how people grow. They say failure is the mother of success.”
At my answer, Siu let out a small sigh.
“I’m beginning to regret giving you that computer. I’m concerned about the sophisticated vocabulary that doesn’t match your age.”
Sophisticated? That’s harsh.
Siu seemed to think I’d learned various knowledge by using the computer.
Well, Siu had been caring for me since I was a newborn, and before she taught me complex vocabulary, the only places I could learn from were documentaries and the internet.
“Very well. Though it seems rather early, I’ll give you pocket money. However, there’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“You must keep a pocket money ledger.”
“Sure! That’s no problem!”
With permission granted, I was delighted.
“So how much pocket money would you like to receive monthly?”
“Hmm? 3 million nyang a month… probably not, right?”
As Siu’s gaze turned cold, I quickly backed down.
“…2 million?”
“2 million nyang is a typical adult’s monthly salary. Wouldn’t 100,000 nyang be sufficient?”
“That’s way too little! How about 1.9 million nyang?”
Siu and I haggled back and forth until we finally agreed on 500,000 nyang per month.
It was an overwhelming defeat for me.
I’d thought we’d settle somewhere in the middle at one million nyang.
With the allowance in hand, I immediately purchased a camping portable toilet set and a tent-style shower room set.
Naturally, the total weight exceeded one kilogram, so I sent the components to the main body in pieces across multiple shipments before assembly.
At last, I could claim victory in this battle for human dignity.
It was a moving triumph.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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