Li Jingyuan was stunned when he heard this. He thought he had arrived quickly enough, so how could someone else have beaten him to the punch?
He looked carefully at the area where the green lights were located and realized with a jolt that they were all in the most central, most prosperous part of the Star City — the kind of locations that always boasted the best positioning and the highest foot traffic.
Understanding dawned on him immediately. These were the shops that the Void Land itself had reserved!
The Star City belonged to the Void Land, so it was only natural that the owners would keep the best spots for themselves. Every Star City had this kind of arrangement. Li Jingyuan silently lamented the missed opportunity, but still pointed his finger at the shops one by one. "This one, this one, and this one…"
In a single breath, he selected more than a dozen locations, all at intersections where multiple streets converged.
Though Li Jingyuan was only a Fourth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, he was ultimately a businessman with an extremely sharp eye. He could easily tell that these dozen-plus spots would become the places where foot traffic was most concentrated in the future. If he could secure them first, the Juyuan Trading Company would gain the upper hand in the Void Land, and any business conducted from them would turn a guaranteed profit.
"I'm afraid I must apologize, sir," the steward interrupted him abruptly. "The Grand Governor has issued a directive — within our Void Star City, no single party may hold more than three shops under their name. You've selected too many."
Li Jingyuan froze. "There's such a rule?"
He had visited plenty of Star Cities before, but this was the first time he had encountered a restriction like this. Just how confident was the Void Land to have made such a decision? They were so certain the Star City would become a raging success that they had preemptively limited the number of shops anyone could own!
Still, after a moment's reflection, considering everything he had seen and heard over the past three days, he came to terms with it. Barring any unforeseen disasters, the Void Star City had enormous potential.
After a brief pause, he plastered a smile on his face and made a subtle movement within his sleeve, discreetly placing a spatial ring on the table in front of the steward. "My lord, my Juyuan Trading Company deals in a wide variety of goods. Three shops really aren't nearly enough. Do you think perhaps you could make an exception?"
The steward glanced at the spatial ring on the table and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry. The Grand Governor's orders are clear. I am merely carrying out my duty."
"Is there truly no other way?" Li Jingyuan pressed, unwilling to give up.
The steward shook his head without a word.
Li Jingyuan's eyes suddenly flickered, and he smiled. "Three it is, then."
He reselected the three best shops and asked with a hint of urgency, "How much would it cost to take all three?"
The steward replied, "Star City shops are available for rent only — they are not for sale!"
Li Jingyuan furrowed his brow slightly. "All of them?"
"Not a single exception!"
Li Jingyuan clicked his tongue. In other major Star Cities, while it was true that shops in prime locations were sometimes not sold, there were always at least some that could be bought and sold. He had never expected that the Void Star City had no intention of selling its shops at all.
Not wanting to belabor the point, Li Jingyuan said, "Then I'll rent these three shops."
The steward continued, "Shop leases come in two terms — ten years and one hundred years. The prices differ accordingly. Which would you prefer?"
Li Jingyuan's mouth twitched involuntarily.
…
It was quite some time before Li Jingyuan finally walked out of the Governor's Office. He had visited plenty of Star Cities before and dealt with the people who managed shop leases, but he had never encountered a Star City with as many rules as the Void Star City.
The Void Star City's foot traffic hadn't even built up yet, and it was already holding itself aloft as though waiting for the highest bidder — truly infuriating.
Moreover, the rent here was anything but cheap. It was roughly twenty percent higher than what he had estimated in his mind. Had it been an ordinary Star City, he might not have been willing to bleed this much. But he genuinely believed in the Void Star City's future potential, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and sign the lease agreement with the steward.
He had originally planned to send his subordinates to lease several more shops, but he had abandoned that idea. The rent at the Void Star City was simply too steep. Even though he was optimistic about the place's development prospects, he had to guard against the possibility of misjudging the situation. Three shops would be enough to test the waters — even if he took a loss, it wouldn't be devastating.
That had been his plan…
But in just two days, he was already regretting it.
The reason was that in the span of those few short days, a massive influx of cultivators had poured into the Void Land. From a distance, he had looked toward the dock and seen flying Artifacts lined up in several long queues, all waiting for the dock's inspection before they could enter the Star City.
In front of the Governor's Office, the flow of people was likewise unceasing. He had even spotted several familiar faces among them — stewards from other trading companies.
No need to guess what they were there for. They were also there to lease shops.
By the time he had steeled his resolve and entered the Governor's Office again, hoping to have his subordinates lease more shops, he discovered that on the topographical map, the shops he had previously had his eye on — the ones in excellent locations — had already fallen into other people's pockets.
The Star City was coming alive.