Galaxy Martial God Temple - Reincarnation (8)
Siwoo's words left me stunned. The amount showing in the account was only one-fifth of my total assets? That meant the full sum was five times larger? Holy crap, just how much alimony did Grandma wring out of them?! Being the candidate for the Cheon Clan's young clan head really paid that well?
Siwoo pulled up photos of real estate and land on the screen.
“It’s all just fields?”
There were a few buildings, including the house I currently lived in, but most of it was mountains and farmland. And those mountains and fields were worth nearly four times the amount in the account? I looked at Siwoo, completely lost.
She smiled gently and explained.
“These are not ordinary fields. They are Grade 1 black soil with optimal composition, and the largest Dragon Vein on the planet runs directly beneath them. These are fields that cultivate the highest-grade spiritual herbs used in elixirs. One pyeong of this land could buy roughly 100 hectares of an average spiritual herb field.”
One hundred hectares was about three hundred thousand pyeong. In other words, the land value differed by a minimum factor of three hundred thousand. And that was just for ordinary fields—land capable of growing spiritual herbs would be outrageously expensive on its own.
“Who farms there?”
“As far as I know, the Inner Hall of the Cheon Clan leases the land and runs the spiritual herb cultivation.”
“Then are all the elixirs I’ve been eating from there?”
“Not all of them, but a significant portion likely are. By custom, they send samples of the produce to you, the landowner. However, since you are currently consuming the special elixirs reserved for direct descendants of the Cheon Clan, we have simply been storing them.”
Apparently, the human body had limits on how much elixir it could absorb depending on its physical condition, age, and martial realm. Exceeding that limit could hinder growth or, in the worst case, cause Qi Deviation. For that reason, elixir consumption had to be measured with microscopic electronic scales and taken with absolute precision according to prescribed dosages.
Elixirs, huh… I wondered if they would work just as well on my main body or other avatars. Probably not as effectively as on this young avatar, who had been secretly fed them since birth as a direct descendant of the family. It might be smarter to focus investment on this reincarnation avatar’s growth. Once it became strong, I could absorb it and create a new, even stronger avatar with my main body.
“Most of the other investment assets consisted of bonds issued by the Cheon Clan and the interest earned from them. We also held a small number of corporate stocks, though a significant portion was liquidated to pay inheritance taxes.”
Bonds had better liquidity than real estate but were nowhere near as liquid as cash. According to the investment report, the Cheon Clan’s credit rating was exceptionally high, so the bonds themselves traded at a premium. However, the interest they generated was actually lower than that of a regular fixed deposit.
When the clan issued bonds, they adjusted the interest rates. Even with such low rates, demand was so high that prices skyrocketed. In other words, the Cheon Clan’s prestige was sky-high, but the actual returns were almost nonexistent. Of course, bonds were debt, not equity like stocks, but investment wasn’t driven purely by logic. People bought them because simply holding Cheon Clan bonds symbolized authority within the clan, and they expected the price to rise further as more people wanted to own them—just like stocks.
“Nice. Bought at the knee, sold at the top of the head.”
The bonds had been purchased when the previous clan head’s illness became public and prices had dropped considerably. They were sold around the twentieth year after the current clan head announced he had reached the Star Transcending Realm, becoming 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—the absolute pinnacle of power. People throughout history loved rankings and went crazy over pitting experts against each other. Since the Nine Heavens Beyond Heaven were literally beyond comparison, they were excluded, and the strongest martial artists in the galaxy were ranked instead.
Some people made lists of the top hundred and called them the Galaxy’s Hundred Masters. Others went as far as the top thousand or even ten thousand. Most settled on the top hundred. If they went all the way to ten thousand, they’d have to include experts at the Profound Realm, which were far too numerous. Usually, the Hundred Masters ranking stopped around the Life and Death Realm, those stuck at the threshold of the Natural Realm. The Profound Realm was simply too crowded.
Anyway, the exact criteria and the people included varied, but the Ten Kings of the Universe were universally acknowledged as the ten strongest martial artists alive in the galaxy. Once the Cheon Clan’s clan head entered that rank, the value of their bonds had soared to the point where further increases were unlikely.
“Unless the Sword King surpasses the Star Transcending Realm and reaches the Ecstasy Realm, I don’t believe the price will rise any further,” Siwoo said.
The Sword King was the title of Cheon Jasu, the current clan head. For reference, the Nine Heavens Beyond Heaven were divided into the One God, Three Stars, and Five. The One God was the Martial God Cheon Yu, who had reached the Martial God Realm. The Three Stars consisted of the Buddha Star, Demon Star, and Spear Star at the Ascension Realm. The Five were the Sword, Fist, Blade, Shadow, and Killing at the Ecstasy Realm.
The Ten Kings of the Universe were the Sword King, Poison King, Spear King, Demon King, Overlord, Killing King, Thunder King, Heavenly Buddha, Sword Immortal, and Fist Immortal. I wasn’t sure why Heavenly Buddha, Sword Immortal, and Fist Immortal were grouped together with the others despite not having “King” in their titles. Well, they were all active leaders or retired supreme elders of major factions, so they were essentially on the same level as kings.
“Our living expenses are legally capped at 100 million nyang per quarter by your legal guardian, Cheon Gyeong-ho, and the asset manager. Any amount beyond that requires their approval.”
“One hundred million nyang per quarter? That’s more than generous.”
“It is. The money we spend comes primarily from deposit interest and rent.”
“Really?”
I nodded and checked the deposit account history, only to discover that 2 million nyang was being deposited monthly from the Cheon Clan’s Veterans Affairs Office.
“Ah… that is the survivor’s pension for families of fallen warriors from the Martial Force Unit. I believe it is paid for twenty years following the date of death.”
Right. She did mention he died in battle.
“Out of the quarterly limit of 100 million nyang, we’re only using about 15 million? With 5 million per month, couldn’t we spend a bit more?”
Looking at the spending breakdown, roughly 7 million nyang went toward my personal costs, while 8 million covered household maintenance and Siwoo’s upkeep. If we included the elixirs and other support provided by the clan, the total amount spent on me alone would easily exceed 100 million nyang.
“But this is Young Master’s money. Even if I have become your proxy, how could I possibly use it recklessly?”
“Looking at the account history, it seems like your maintenance costs alone used to run as high as 30 million nyang per quarter in the past?”
“That was only because I was serving as a sparring partner for your father. The dantian recharge and maintenance costs were higher then.”
At Siwoo’s explanation, I examined the detailed records.
“The regular maintenance interval has gotten longer too. You only did it twice after I was born?”
“That was also because I was acting as a sparring partner before then…”
“You’re still sparring with me and performing Chugunggwahyeol for me. Increase the quarterly maintenance budget to 30 million nyang.”
“But…!”
“Tsk! That’s an order.”
At my firm tone, Siwoo looked troubled.
“Even if we use that much, there’s still plenty of room left within the quarterly limit.”
“Still, as Young Master grows, there will be more expenses in the future. We don’t know what might happen. Increasing maintenance costs every quarter is…”
“In that case, we can just ask the legal guardian and asset manager to raise the limit. If we say it’s absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t refuse, right?”
I had no intention of embezzling my own assets, and it was supposedly impossible anyway. At my pointed remark, Siwoo was left speechless.
“This is all an investment. Once my body grows, I’ll be sparring more seriously. It would be a loss if something happened to you.”
“…My realm is the Transformed Realm.”
“No matter how high your realm is, a martial artist can still get hurt if they let their guard down, right? What if I grow rapidly and you get injured because of me?”
Faced with my stubbornness, Siwoo let out a small chuckle as if she had no choice.
“I look forward to the day you achieve such growth.”
“Yeah, you’d better.”
After saying that, I added,
“So, how much should my allowance be?”
“Allowance?”
Siwoo looked at me with narrowed eyes. It was the face of someone who suspected my real reason for checking our assets and raising her maintenance budget was to butter her up. I subtly avoided her gaze.
While telling her not to skimp on her own maintenance costs wasn’t purely to win her favor, I had checked our assets to see how much I could realistically divert as pocket money.
“Uh, they say it’s important to instill economic awareness through allowance from a young age!”
“I was planning to start that after you entered elementary school at the very least. It doesn’t seem like something a preschooler should be saying.”
“Still, I think learning the value and importance of money is crucial… I mean, yes.”
“The sudden use of polite speech makes me think you realize you’re still too young for this.”
I looked up at Siwoo with sparkling, hopeful eyes.
“No…?”
“Hmm… It’s not that it’s impossible.”
Siwoo was wavering.
“What exactly do you want to buy with your allowance? If you just tell me, I can purchase anything appropriate within reason. Is an allowance truly necessary?”
At her question, I smiled and answered.
“Experiencing things for yourself is the best way to learn, right? Buying things with your own hands, feeling joy when they’re good, and disappointment when they’re not—that’s how people grow. They say failure is the mother of success.”
Siwoo let out a small sigh at my response.
“I’m starting to regret giving you that computer. Your vocabulary is far too cunning for your age.”
Cunning? That’s a bit harsh. Siwoo seemed to think I had picked up all sorts of knowledge while fiddling with the computer. That made sense. She had been taking care of me since I was a newborn, and she hadn’t taught me complex vocabulary yet. So the only places I could have learned from were documentaries or the internet.
“Very well. Although it feels a bit early, I will provide you with an allowance. However, there is one condition.”
“What is it?”
“You must keep a detailed allowance ledger.”
“Deal! That’s easy!”
With permission granted, I was overjoyed.
“So, how much allowance would you like?”
“Hmm… 3 million nyang per month… is probably too much, right?”
When Siwoo’s gaze turned icy, I immediately backed down.
“…Two million?”
“Two million nyang is roughly the monthly salary of an average adult. Wouldn’t 100,000 nyang be sufficient?”
“That’s way too little! How about 1.9 million?”
After a long back-and-forth, we eventually settled on 500,000 nyang per month. It was an overwhelming defeat on my part. I had expected to meet somewhere in the middle at around 1 million.
Now that I had an allowance, I immediately bought a portable camping toilet set and a tent-style shower kit. Naturally, the total weight exceeded one kilogram, so I sent the unassembled parts to my main body in several separate shipments.
Finally, I had won the battle for human dignity. It was an emotional victory.
(To be continued in the next chapter)