The loan business of the gang was a front, but it was a wealthy front.
It wasn't producing as much money as their prostitution business. In fact, it was hemorrhaging money because they were lending money that was never going to get repaid, but it was also in charge of all their money, which made it very easy for Arthur to acquire most of their liquid assets.
He earned 57 gold coins from the raid and more than a hundred thousand karma points from the lives of the gang members even though he only managed to kill half of them.
He couldn't kill all of them because their business was widespread and because they were already alert as soon as he appeared in their territory.
So some of them were able to get wind of his massacre of their gang members. These people told others and escaped with their lives immediately.
They didn't repeat the mistake of the Black Band gang of falling back to their headquarters in hopes that their boss would be able to negotiate a truce and save them.
They deserted their gang, which is usually an offense punishable by death. But this turned out to be a smart decision because it saved their lives.
After destroying the bulk of the gang, he could finally relax and concentrate on other things without wondering why he hadn't been accosted by them yet or deliberating on whether he should make the first move and go after them or not.
He was able to focus on his wine, personal training, and dojo. It was a good thing because he became popular after that fight, which made his wine business and dojo soar.
Many people wanted to buy his expensive wine, and many people wanted to listen to his free lecture. This made him become rich in both money and karma.
Instead of increasing his production output of wine, he maximized his income by producing the same amount of wine but auctioning it. This limited supply drove up its value and made him rich.
His wine is actually one of the best in the area, if not the best. But its value soared beyond that enough to make him richer than his mother.
Then there is a dojo. Because of the increase in popularity, he rarely has less than a thousand students in his class.
On a good day, he has up to two thousand students in his class. They sit in a large circle around him, listening to what he has to say.
He has to shout so that everyone can hear him, and he has to get a large blackboard, which he needed a ladder to use properly, but all of these inconveniences paled to the income of karma he was getting daily.
What's more is that his popularity is only increasing.
The sight of so many people from different walks of life sitting around a single person who appears to be a boy with a red lion's mane for hair always drew attention and inquisition.
People going in and out of the city would see his class and become curious. They would ask around for information about him.
They would learn about him and tell others about what they learned. This way, more and more people were hearing about him, and more people were coming over to take advantage of his kindness.
He became the talk of the city for a long time. But his matter was quickly overshadowed by the news of those who passed the regional sect examination and would be admitted to sects.
Then the matter of the next round of the regional sect examination became the talk of the town after that. But overall, things were peaceful for Arthur.
After nearly a year of being on his own in the city, he became 12 years old and finally achieved the seventh transformation.
With this kind of power, nearly no one in the first mortal coil could defeat him, and his chances of being accepted into a sect are almost certain. But he still didn't choose to participate in the regional sect exam yet.
The limit of examinees allowed to participate in the regional sect examination is the tenth transformation of the first mortal coil. This kind of power before the age of 24 is enough to get accepted into a sect, but it is not enough to be exceptional.
There are many grades above pass in the regional sect examination. which will determine which kind of sect one can get into and what kind of sponsorship they will acquire after they enter the sect.
Even though the limit is the tenth transformation, examinees have to be special in one way or another in order to stand above their peers. Those are the things that will be tested in the exam.
If they are not exceptional, they might even fail the exam and fail to enter any sect. It was what happened to Arthur's father, Augustus.
Augustus was talented and powerful. His family also had enemies. This caused him to be ganged up on during the examination.
So he failed the examination and had to return home in shame. A few months later, a certain red-haired beauty appeared in his life.
He was having a crisis of self-worth, so she was a breath of fresh air in his life. Her adoration and admiration of him, plus her beauty, caused him to be smitten with her.
12 years later, the product of their union is contemplating how to increase the chances of his success and grades in the regional sect examination.
He had just had dinner and was sitting at home on his front porch with Ruff's head on his lap.
He said to himself, "The best way to be certain is to be able to match a first transformation stage of the second mortal coil."
He was stroking Ruff's golden fur as he thought about how to achieve this goal.
If it were someone else, they would only have one choice in how to achieve this, and it would be to acquire a powerful weapon. That's what the children of powerful families do.