Rise of the Demon God

They had actually created an economy using the credits, which was intriguing. It was like the prison had become a small city. It had sects, gangs, businesses, and everything else.

"That's right. And the ladies pay some of that credit to others in exchange for the materials they use in making wine. The rest is their savings. Not a bad business."

"Are there other businesses too?" Long Chen asked. 

"That's right. There are quite a few. In fact, you can also start one if you want. But you'll need to come up with an idea, secure supply, arrange for the land which you'll have to pay rent for and so on. It's a hard process," Zia Uzhi answered. 

"In fact, most prisoners can't start a business here. The businesses that still work are the ones that were established a long time ago when there were less people," he added. "Since then, it's been going on like this."

"So these ladies pay rent for this land?" Long Chen asked. 

"Yeah. They pay in credits. The rent is the first thing that makes it difficult for anyone to open a place. In fact, you'll have to collect your credits for a hundred years without spending anything to be able to afford the land. And that too is only for one month."

"If you didn't regain that money from your business with profit, you're gone. Moreover, even if you established a business, it's still hard to turn a profit."

"Why?" Long Chen asked. "I mean, if these ladies can run this business for profit, I'm sure others can too. For example, if someone else opened a restaurant and offered cheap food and wine, which is better, people would come there. The profits of this restaurant will pour there instead."

"That's not entirely correct," Zia Uzhi replied. 

"Even if you establish a restaurant after a hundred years, you won't be able to earn much. Most people have already become accustomed to this place. And they are lazy. They won't change places. Many people tried before you. That's why I told you," he continued.

"Anyway, let's not think about it. It's impossible to establish a place with credits. It's very hard work. You're just better off enjoying your life with the credits you receive."

"I don't think I have any credits. How will I get it?" Long Chen asked. 

"You'll get it at the start of next month. It doesn't matter if you're new. Credits are only given at the start of the month. You came here in the middle of the month," Zia Uzhi replied. "Don't worry about credits though. I'll pay for you this time."

He took Long Chen inside the restaurant and found a place to sit. 

A dark-haired woman approached them. "How may I help you two?"

"Bring us two bottles of your best wine," Zia Uzhi ordered. "And bring two plates of Golden Meat too."

The woman walked away after taking orders. 

"What's golden meat?" Long Chen asked Zia Uzhi after the lady had left. 

"It's the meat of Golden Rhino. That's the most common beast in the surroundings of Heavenly Prison. It's pretty tasty as well," Zia Uzhi answered. "Even though it's not a delicacy of the Heavenly Realm, it's the best we can get in the outer quarters."

"Won't that be expensive in that case?" Long Chen asked. 

"Well, yeah. The order today costs a person's one month of credits. So it's certainly not cheap," Zia Uzhi nodded. 

"Why are you spending that for me then? I can understand that you're willing to get me up to things by informing me, but you're spending your own credits too? That doesn't seem right."

"Man, stop worrying about such things. I've been here for a long time. And I don't spend my credits much. So I have plenty of them. One month of credits isn't much. Moreover, I also collect extra credits. So I'm safe."

"Extra credits?" Long Chen asked. "What do you mean?"

"On top of your monthly allotted credits, you can get extra credits for performing various tasks, like helping at various places. You can even get credits for going inside the Dark Tower and getting a certain score," Zia Uzhi answered. 

"Dark Tower? Isn't that the place where you can get promoted after you get a top ten score?"

"That's right. Getting your score in the top ten will help you get promoted. But it doesn't mean other scores are useless. Even if you score lower, you can get Credits for that. I didn't get a good score, but what I got gave me quite a few credits," Zia Uzhi explained. 

"And after that, I go there every month to get an even better score and more credits. It's a neat hack which quite a lot of us use," he continued. 

"Interesting. So even if there's no hope of getting the top score, it's still useful to go inside," Long Chen muttered. "Now I want to go inside even more. I want to see what's inside and get some benefits too."

"You can give it a try, as long as you're careful, but it's not easy. You'll need to spend credits to get an entry there. I can give you some of my Credits, but are you sure you want to try it?" Zia Uzhi asked. 

"I am sure. Since it isn't dependent on cultivation, I think I can do good. And even if I don't get top ranks, I have faith to get enough to get some credits," Long Chen nodded. 

"Alright. In that case, I'll take you there tomorrow. For today, just understand more about this place."

The waitress returned with two bottles of wine which she placed on the table. "Golden Meat is being prepared. Till then, please enjoy our best wine."

The waitress turned and left. 

"Go ahead. Drink. I'm sure you never drank something as good as this since you're not from Heaven. You'll experience what a true wine is like after drinking it," Zia Uzhi said, smirking. 

He picked up one of the wine bottles and poured it into a glass. He also poured it into Long Chen's glass. 

Both of them picked up the light-colored wine glass.

Long Chen took the first sip of the wine. 

As soon as the first droplet of wine passed through his throat, he understood what Zia Uzhi was speaking about. This wine was certainly very good. In fact, it was actually the best he had ever drank. 

The taste was good, but there was something else about it that was even better. The wine was filled with Qi and Origin. As soon as he drank it, he could feel his cultivation increase slightly. And that was just after one sip. 

He wondered if he could break through with this.