LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 198: Merits II
Hearing this, The red-haired monk named Zhang looked at Luis thoughtfully and smiled. "Although the Qianyuan Sword Sect doesn't allow the exchange of spiritual stones for military merits, privately, among the soldiers, the exchange rate is about 10 small merits for 12 spiritual stones."
Zhou Minghao, standing to the side, waved his hand dismissively. "Let's go with the price Fellow Daoist Luis suggested."
Turning to Luis, he asked, "How much military merit are you planning to exchange?"
"I plan to exchange 50% of the elixirs supplied by the Hartmann family for military merits."
"Fifty percent?" Zhou Minghao nodded. "Alright, no problem. On behalf of the Guang'an Prefecture coalition, I agree to your Hartmann family's request!"
"Thank you, Senior Zhou," Luis said respectfully.
"No, I should be the one thanking you."
Zhou Minghao's expression turned solemn. "If we win this battle, your Hartmann family will have made an invaluable contribution!"
Luis waved his hands quickly. "I don't deserve such praise!"
Still, he knew in his heart that the Hartmann family's support was critical to shoring up the fragile logistics of the Guang'an Prefecture coalition forces at such a crucial time.
Next Steps
The Zhou family immediately dispatched two flying warships to accompany Luis back to Hartmann Island to retrieve the elixirs.
One Day Later
Luis returned, accompanied by the two flying warships.
From a distance, he saw Zhou Minghao waiting anxiously in front of the headquarters' main hall.
As boxes of elixirs were unloaded from the Flying battleships, Zhou Minghao eagerly stepped forward. He opened one of the wooden boxes and inspected the neatly packaged bottles of elixirs inside.
A smile spread across his face.
"Good! Good! Good!"
He picked up a bottle, broke the seal, and inhaled deeply as a wave of medicinal fragrance filled the air.
These were the detoxification pills that were in high demand on the front lines.
Seeing Zhou Minghao personally inspecting the pills, Luis bowed slightly and introduced them: "This time, my family has brought a total of 540,000 detoxification pills, 300,000 evil-breaking pills, and 230,000 energy-recovering pills—a total of 1.07 million elixirs."
Zhou Minghao quickly scanned the contents with his spiritual sense, confirming Luis' statement.
He nodded and said, "According to the price we agreed upon, 50% of the elixirs will be paid in spirit stones, and the other 50% in military merits. The East Defense Zone Allied Forces owe your family 5.35 million spirit stones and 53,500 great merits.
"I've already prepared the spirit stones; you can withdraw them at any time. As for the military merits..."
He turned to the red-haired monk beside him.
The monk nodded and said, "Since the frontline soldiers are willing to exchange their military merits, I can transfer the East Defense Zone coalition's merits to your family."
With that, he took out a disc-shaped magical instrument and tapped it lightly.
A projection of light appeared before them.
"This is the Arc Shadow Plate, a magical device crafted by the Qianyuan Sword Sect specifically for recording military exploits."
The red-haired monk began sliding his fingertips across the light projection, performing a series of operations.
Watching the scene, Luis suddenly felt like he was seeing a holographic projection from a high-tech movie.
Unaware of Luis' thoughts, the red-haired monk finished his task, nodded, and said, "All 53,500 military merits have been transferred to your name.
"You can now use these merits to exchange for any resources offered by the Qianyuan Sword Sect."
He handed Luis a jade slip, adding, "This contains the full list of resources available for exchange, along with their prices. Take it back and review it at your leisure."
As he spoke, a subtle smile appeared on his face. "It's rare to see someone earn so many military merits without stepping onto the battlefield."
Luis' expression stiffened slightly at the remark.
Sensing a possible misunderstanding, the red-haired monk quickly waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Luis, please don't misunderstand me. I only meant that the monks in your family must be truly fortunate."
"Thank you for the compliment," Luis replied with a smile. "The monks of my family have always been lucky."
The red-haired monk said no more after that.
Deep down, Luis understood.
As a frontline cultivator who had started as a casual monk, the red-haired monk must have endured countless battles to achieve his current standing.
Despite his years of experience on the battlefield, the red-haired monk couldn't help but feel a twinge of unfairness when he saw the massive benefits Luis had gained from his business dealings.
However, he quickly reminded himself that these military merits were not solely Luis' accomplishment. They were the result of a year's hard work by hundreds of alchemists in the Hartmann family. With this understanding, his feelings of envy faded.
Back in the spiritual residence prepared for him by the Zhou family, Luis eagerly took out the jade slip from his storage bag and began reading it carefully.
The resources offered by the Qianyuan Sword Sect were incredibly comprehensive.
In general, they could be divided into two main categories:
Knowledge Resources
Material Resources
The knowledge resources included skills, spells, alchemy techniques, weapon refining methods, talisman-making practices, formation techniques, and puppetry arts.
The material resources consisted of treasures such as unprocessed spiritual minerals, herbs, spiritual plants, and other rare spiritual items. There were also processed treasures like magical instruments, elixirs, talismans, and formation plates.
After skimming through the list, Luis noticed a trend.
It was far more cost-effective to exchange military merits for knowledge resources. On the other hand, exchanging military merits for material resources was less advantageous compared to purchasing them directly with spirit stones.
The variety of resources recorded in the jade slip was overwhelming, leaving Luis unsure of what to prioritize.
Fortunately, he had already set his goals for this exchange.
The first priority was to acquire cultivation techniques for the Hartmann family.
At present, the family possessed only one foundation-building technique: the Red Yang Gong, which had been purchased at an auction.
While the technique wasn't inherently bad, it was rather ordinary and offered limited options.
The Hartmann family couldn't rely on a single technique indefinitely. If, for example, a cultivator with a water-attributed spiritual body were to appear in the family, they would have no suitable technique to practice.
Therefore, it was essential to secure at least one foundation-building stage or golden core stage technique for each of the Five Elements. Ideally, these techniques would have a high potential for growth.
Luis' attention was drawn to the Qianyuan Sword Sutra, the foundational technique of the Qianyuan Sword Sect. This technique was renowned for its exceptionally high upper limit.
"I heard that the Qianyuan Sword Sect made all their sect-protecting techniques available for exchange on the front lines. Seeing it listed here confirms it," Luis thought.
As he studied the details of the Qianyuan Sword Sutra, he noticed some intriguing differences.
The Qianyuan Sword Sutra could indeed be exchanged by frontline cultivators, but only the Foundation Establishment portion of the technique was available.
To access the subsequent stages, a cultivator would have to travel to the Qianyuan Sword Sect in person to complete the exchange.
This limitation was designed to prevent Izumo's enemies from infiltrating the Ten Thousand Star Sea and stealing the sect's core techniques.
"There are indeed some restrictions," Luis mused, nodding in understanding.
He had expected this. If there were no restrictions, he would have been genuinely surprised.
The Qianyuan Sword Sutra was, after all, said to have been created by Qian Yuanzi, the founder of the Qianyuan Sword Sect.
Qian Yuanzi was a Mahayana cultivator, a powerful figure who eventually ascended to the upper realm. The skills he left behind were widely spread by his descendants, a testament to his legacy.
At this moment, Luis couldn't help but feel a deep sense of curiosity about the leader of the Qianyuan Sword Sect. What kind of person could exhibit such immense courage and generosity?
To openly share the sect's treasured martial arts with the world required an extraordinary level of vision and selflessness.
At least, Luis thought, it was far more selfless than he could be.
For example, he couldn't imagine sharing the Hartmann family's industrial alchemy and refining techniques with the world, even if doing so would significantly enhance the strength of the entire Ten Thousand Star Sea.
Whether it was due to short-sightedness or simply his focus on protecting his own family, Luis knew he wasn't capable of such selflessness.
In his heart, the only people he truly trusted were those connected to him through his vortex.
"The Foundation Establishment portion of the Qianyuan Sword Sutra requires 30,000 great merits..."
Luis couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
This was merely a technique restricted to personal practice, yet its value was equivalent to that of a third-level spiritual vein.
Although Luis had thought himself quite wealthy with 53,500 great merits, seeing the exchange price of the Qianyuan Sword Sutra made him realize just how "poor" he still was.