LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 199: Buying
Luis now vaguely understood why the leader of the Qianyuan Sword Sect would offer such a top-tier martial art for exchange.
Would a cultivator who had practiced the Qianyuan Sword Sutra during the Foundation Establishment stage willingly switch to mediocre techniques upon reaching the Golden Core stage?
"Absolutely not," Luis thought.
If a cultivator wanted to avoid such a compromise, they would have no choice but to work hard, earn military merits, and remain loyal to the Qianyuan Sword Sect—possibly for life.
It was a clever strategy. With this single technique, the Qianyuan Sword Sect had captured the hearts of thousands of sword practitioners across the Ten Thousand Star Sea.
Luis had witnessed the power of sword cultivators firsthand.
He had no doubt that Zhou Mubai, a fellow cultivator, was practicing the same technique. As a sword cultivator and one of the strongest fighters among those of the same level, Zhou Mubai's prowess set the standard.
Even so, Luis knew that Zhou Mubai harbored some dissatisfaction—he had failed to comprehend sword intent during the Qi Refining stage, a shortcoming that weighed heavily on him.
For sword cultivators, such gaps in understanding could mean the difference between mediocrity and greatness.
"Changed!" Luis muttered.
Without hesitation, he exchanged for the Foundation Establishment portion of the Qianyuan Sword Sutra.
Satisfied, Luis continued browsing. This time, he searched for other techniques suitable for future foundation-building cultivators within the Hartmann family.
Soon, he identified five techniques, each corresponding to one of the Five Elements and capable of reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
Of course, Luis could only afford the Foundation Establishment portions. The full versions, which extended all the way to the Nascent Soul stage, were far beyond his means.
As he reviewed his choices, Luis noticed a significant distinction: personal exchange versus family exchange.
With personal exchange, only the individual could practice the technique.
With family exchange, however, all cultivators within the Hartmann family could use it—but at a cost ten times higher than the personal rate.
Still, when calculated carefully, family exchange proved to be far more cost-effective in the long run.
Luis turned back to the introduction of the "Qianyuan Sword Classic" and discovered that there was no option for family exchange—only individual exchange was allowed.
Seeing this, his face fell with frustration.
He had hoped to get a great bargain, but it seemed the Qianyuan Sword Sect had thought of everything.
After some thought, it made sense. The military merit system had been in place for over four centuries. Any loopholes that might have existed in the past would have long been patched by the Qianyuan Sword Sect.
"Forget it. I'll be the sole sword cultivator in my Hartmann family for now. The others can purchase it later," Luis muttered, trying to console himself.
For the Five Elements Kung Fu at the Foundation Establishment stage, an individual needed only 2,500 great merits. However, the price for a family exchange was ten times higher—25,000 great merits.
Now, Luis had only 3,500 great merits remaining.
"The high-level techniques that can be cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage are insanely expensive!"
Luis sighed in distress. "And this is just the portion for the Foundation Establishment stage. If I wanted the complete technique, it would drain all my resources!"
At that moment, he finally grasped how the Qianyuan Sword Sect managed to fund the military expenses for its countless monks on the front lines.
They relied on intangible assets like cultivation techniques, spells, sword arts, and inheritances to generate an endless supply of merit contributions.
These were precisely what independent cultivators and even family-based ones lacked the most.
And yet, Luis couldn't help but feel that any individual or family cultivators hoping to challenge the Qianyuan Sword Sect after acquiring these skills were simply deluding themselves.
Most of the resources plundered from the Izumo Kingdom during the war had already been absorbed by the Qianyuan Sword Sect.
Moreover, the sect's base in the underwater world of the Ten Thousand Star Sea housed complete and complex inheritances unmatched by any other force in the region.
It also ruled over a vast mortal population, its direct jurisdiction spanning an enormous territory. And, most importantly, it carried the legacy of a Mahayana immortal lineage.
Anyone who thought they could use a few techniques to rebel against the Qianyuan Sword Sect was bound to face a fate a hundred times worse than Master Shen Jue's.
After all, Shen Jue had acquired an entire immortal inheritance and even possessed an immortal cave for refuge—and yet, even he couldn't escape destruction.
Compared to him, the major families of the Ten Thousand Star Sea had no such advantages.
"I still have 3,500 great merits left. What should I redeem them for?"
Luis continued searching through the jade slip.
Everything in it seemed invaluable to him. Whether it was various inheritances or substantial treasures, they all had the potential to quickly enhance the strength of the Hartmann family.
But unfortunately, he had too few military merits.
"Well, I'll choose you."
After a long search, Luis reluctantly withdrew his consciousness from the jade slip.
In the end, he didn't select an inheritance or a treasure, but a formation. To be precise, it was a fourth-order mountain protection formation.
Luis examined the list of materials needed to set up the formation. To his relief, none of the items were rare; all could be purchased in Guang'an Prefecture.
Since the required materials were accessible in Guang'an Prefecture, the only cost would be spirit stones—a resource the Hartmann family had in abundance.
In fact, just in the main hall of the West Defense Zone headquarters, nearly 70 million spirit stones were stored.
Moreover, setting up the mountain protection formation wasn't solely the responsibility of the Hartmann family. The Sea View City on Redwood Island would also benefit from the formation.
The Hartmann family would purchase the formation knowledge, while the West Defense Zone would provide the spirit stones needed for the materials. It was a fair arrangement, leaving no room for objections.
With only 500 merits left, Luis placed the jade slip back into his storage bag with a distressed expression.
Now that his decision was made, he planned to find the red-haired monk named Zhang to finalize the exchange the next day.
The next day.
Luis listed all the resources he wanted to exchange.
As he spoke, the red-haired monk's cheeks twitched repeatedly, barely concealing his disbelief.
"Are you sure you want to exchange for the Qianyuan Sword Scripture?"
"Yes!" Luis nodded firmly.
"Take the oath."
Without hesitation, Luis took a great oath, promising not to share the Qianyuan Sword Sutra with anyone else. However, the mysterious vortex within him shielded his soul, rendering the oath meaningless.
The monk seemed unaware as he retrieved the Arc Shadow Plate and began to inscribe the necessary details.
Before long, a slender beam of light shot out from the Arc Shadow Plate and struck Luis' brow. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire
Luis remained calm, understanding this was the standard procedure for exchanging skills.
Luis closed his eyes.
The next moment, a mysterious and intricate skill emerged in his sea of consciousness.
Without taking the time to examine it, Luis opened his eyes and glanced at the Arc Shadow Plate in the monk's hand with curiosity.
"This magic weapon is truly remarkable," he remarked.
"Of course it is," the red-haired monk replied. "It's a crucial tool for ensuring the flawless implementation of our Qianyuan Sword Sect's battle merit system. Without it, it wouldn't be so easy for countless cultivators on the front lines to exchange for their skills."
Hearing this, Luis nodded in agreement.
He was well aware of the extraordinary talent required to refine such a magical weapon. It was clear that the Qianyuan Sword Sect harbored countless hidden geniuses.
As he absorbed the transmitted knowledge, the six techniques and formations gradually settled into his sea of consciousness.
The red-haired monk, Zhang, cast a brief glance at Luis and said, "It's done."
Luis nodded calmly in response.
Seeing his composure, Zhang felt a flicker of understanding.
Now he grasped why both the Zhou family and the Yang family held the young cultivator in such high regard.
It wasn't just Luis' talent that impressed them. It was his demeanor—his steadiness and clarity.
A person with talent alone, who constantly provokes enemies, is bound to falter on their path.
But someone like Luis, who possesses both remarkable talent and a composed temperament, has the potential to walk far along the challenging and intricate road of cultivation.
----
Hartmann Island.
In Luis practice room.
He sat cross-legged on the cushion, slowly closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into the sea of consciousness.
In the sea of consciousness.
At the very center, there is an vortex protecting his body.
Surrounding the vortex are seven faint light balls.
They chase each other and spin continuously, mysterious and beautiful.
These light balls are large and small.
Luis knew.
The knowledge stored in these seven balls of light was exactly what the red-haired monk named Zhang had forced into his sea of consciousness while holding the Arc Shadow Disk.
Among them is the martial arts that Luis is going to practice next - "Qianyuan Sword Sutra".