Rebirth: Supreme Soul Master

William noticed the stares directed at him, but he paid them no heed. He continued walking toward the market, ignoring the people around him.

What if other people want to know what's wrong with him? They hadn't even paid attention to him before. Why would he bother people who had never bothered to help or care for him before?

As soon as he arrived at the market entrance, his appearance attracted even more attention. Although it was still early, the market was already open, and many vendors were waiting for their disciple and master to come and make purchases.

"Excuse me, friend, are you here to sell these things?" Just as he walked past several stalls, one of the merchants, who had been surprised, came out and greeted him warmly.

He was a short, stout man, around forty years old, who looked like a long-lived and knowledgeable elder. He moved quickly, far exceeding the speed allowed for his massive frame. The respectful look in his eyes as he gazed at William made him feel like the best person in the world.

This is a standard merchant's trick—to make everyone think he's the best. But that didn't matter to William. He only cared about getting the best deal on his things and getting more crystals from that deal.

“Yes, what are you willing to offer for all of this?” William didn’t feel tired at all. Excitement overshadowed his fatigue; he was only thinking about gaining wealth and buying demon cores.

William gently opened the bag, revealing its contents. He stepped aside, allowing the merchant to inspect his belongings.

"Hmm, a single fur coat is worth twelve crystals." The seller was thrilled to receive such a good price so early in the morning. But he didn't intend to let young William have an easy life.

In this world, not only strength is valued, but age and appearance are also important. In the eyes of such an experienced businessman, William was just one of those students from poor and disadvantaged families who were admitted to the academy.

He came alone, dragging everything by himself. He had no attendants, no porters to help him carry all his spoils. He was also very young, only eight years old, and looked frail, dressed in a useless white porter's uniform. This meant he was naive and inexperienced, and had even misjudged the uniform and chosen the wrong one.

The businessman never imagined that William hadn't made a mistake in choosing his clothes; he was actually the college's real porter.

After all, porters can't stop anything from helping their masters. And for such a disciple to bring these spoils of war shows that he possesses strength far beyond what a porter should have.

"As for the monkey needles, each one sells for two crystals," the merchant added, feigning a struggle.

"No agreement was reached," but William's swift and decisive decline shattered all the merchant's dreams. "The fur is worth at least twenty crystals, and the needle five," he offered, then threatened, "If you don't buy, then get out of my way. I don't want to waste my money." Time had been wasted on shoddy deals.

He showed not a shred of respect in his words, then closed his bag, intending to continue his search for other merchants. He knew the furs and needles might not be of much value, but their actual worth was far greater than what this stingy merchant had offered him.

"Wait, young master, please wait a moment." The merchant panicked. He felt his luck was getting worse and worse: "How about sixteen crystals per cent, or four crystals per needle?" The merchant didn't want to lose such a valuable deal, but he also didn't want to suffer a loss.

William knew this was the market's base price. But this was to prevent him from only selling a portion. His past experience came to the fore, and he firmly stated:

"It's worth every single crystal compared to the price I offered you. If you're not willing, I believe many others would be."

Showing sympathy for a businessman is a serious mistake. He knows that a businessman will never make a losing deal.

"Fine, I'll go get them all," the merchant cursed inwardly. Who says age matters? This eight-year-old is behaving like an adult! Even a difficult one to deal with.

“Then they’re all yours,” William said, feeling a bit better after getting what he wanted. “Have someone count them and prepare some crystals for me.”

"Alright, alright," the merchant said, his face and attitude revealing nothing of his true feelings. "Come and sit down. May I ask this young master's name?"

“William,” William said, without mentioning his surname. After all, he knew his family was nothing in the eyes of such a cunning merchant.

The merchant wanted to know William's surname so he could make a deal with him later. Something told the merchant that the little boy's market visit was not the end, but only the beginning.

Learning more about a client's background is a standard practice he and other businesspeople like to take. By understanding more, they can discern the true value of the people they're dealing with. This helps avoid future troubles arising from disrespecting the descendants of extended families or showing greater respect to those from less privileged or unknown backgrounds.

But William refused to introduce his family to him, leaving the businessman to treat him with extreme caution.

"Alright, here are the crystals we agreed on." After sitting in the spacious stall and drinking a cup of fragrant tea worth more than a dozen crystals, the merchant returned carrying a bag filled with the agreed-upon price.

“Thank you.” William didn’t even open it; he just shook the bag to know how much was inside. William used his experience to calculate the number of crystals and the weight of the bag. This simple, natural action, however, caught the keen eye of the merchant.

It's important to know that there are a large number of crystals inside. The sheer weight and the sound of the crystals colliding together demonstrate William's extensive experience in handling wealth.

"Do you sell demon cores?" Now that William had finally acquired his meager fortune, he couldn't wait to try out his theory and put it to the test.

"We have all sorts of cores. What level of core do you want?" With a way to get some money back, the merchant's smile became even brighter.

“I need white cores, at least five, from any monster.” William slowly stated his conditions. The merchant nodded repeatedly, then disappeared from the stall and returned with a small bag.

"Here, one hundred crystals for each." The merchant's smile widened, and his mood improved even more. In just a few breaths, he had retrieved five hundred crystals.

William completed the deal and hurriedly returned to his cabinet. From this day forward, he would focus on only one thing: becoming stronger.

As a mover, he usually works for several hours every morning. But he decided not to follow that schedule.

With his current soul power of thirty-five, he could easily enter the academy and become a formal disciple. So why would he bother doing manual labor? Serving others and wasting time instead of training and becoming stronger?

Not to mention his goal was to climb even higher. He decided to start by testing these five cores. If his abilities worked, his daily life would change.

He was just worried that his abilities might not be effective against all monsters, and if he couldn't absorb the five crystals, then things would be troublesome.

But if that were feasible, he would rather hunt monsters in the forest at night and train during the day after buying and selling monster cores.

But he had to solve a simple problem. The academy wouldn't allow him to linger aimlessly at its gates. So he had to demonstrate his abilities as soon as possible and gain entry into the academy as a formal disciple.

For a porter like him, who had been a weak and useless porter for two consecutive years, to become a formal disciple of the academy would likely cause a huge uproar. This was simply unheard of.

William knew it would happen. Instead of worrying about it, he decided to work even harder, to instill fear, not shock, in everyone. He wouldn't attempt to enter the academy now; he would wait a week before assessing his soul power.

His goal is to enter the second year of the academy, a class that admits children with a soul power level of 100 or higher; the bronze soul master level. His aim is to cause an upheaval within the academy.

As his teacher often said: If you're going to do something, you have to do it with style!