First Steps into the White Tiger Domain
[A few days later.]
The final round of the Baodi City Seven-City Grand Competition is in full swing.
Seven teams from the seven major cities of the Azure Dragon Upper Domain Dangang City.
[The official announcement from Baodi City team officially entered the fray.]
Lu Ping of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association is absent from the finals of this year's Seven-City Grand Competition due to "personal reasons."
[The news caused an immediate uproar in the betting markets, with Baodi City's odds of winning the championship skyrocketing once again.]
[Those retail investors and gamblers who heavily invested in Baodi City after the qualifying rounds, or even took over the betting contracts at exorbitant prices, were immediately plunged into despair.]
[You don't care about these things, nor do you pay much attention to them.]
[You have obtained the Fourth-Level Alchemist Certificate from the Azure Dragon Merchant Association headquarters.]
[You have swept away Sha Soul Crystals on the surface of Baodi City.]
[You have arrived at the Teleportation Hall of Baodi City.]
This Teleportation Array is an inter-domain Teleportation Array.
[Towards the White Tiger Domain.]
[This is the real purpose of your trip.]
The remaining materials for the Star River Myriad Blades are all in the White Tiger Domain.
[Standing before the massive Teleportation Array, its Array Patterns emitted a blinding White Light.]
[You have paid a hefty inter-domain transfer fee.]
[A beam of White Light shot into the sky.]
[A feeling of weightlessness, as if space itself is being torn apart, washes over you.]
[You feel as if every bone in your body is being repeatedly kneaded by an invisible giant hand, and a tearing pain is shooting through your meridians.]
You feel that you'll need to buy "Teleportation Accident Insurance" sooner or later.
[Hundred-Forged Medicine Body Formula, in operation.]
[After an unknown amount of time, the ground beneath my feet suddenly became heavy.]
[You open your eyes and step out of the blinding White Light of the Teleportation Array.]
You took a deep breath, and then your expression changed.
[The concentration of Spiritual Qi here is in no way inferior to that of Baodi City, yet it is mixed with a chilling aura.]
[With just one inhale, the chilling aura seeped into his meridians.]
[You feel a sudden, inexplicable unease, Killing Intent rising within you, even causing your Spiritual Power to become sluggish and blocked.]
[Sha Qi?!]
[Salty Fish, in effect]
Your Dao Heart is as firm as Mount Tai.
[ For Heavy Tomato Users, this is in effect]
[A chilling aura, unable to harm you.]
[The Azure Origin Dao Canon within your body circulates automatically, isolating this chilling aura from the outside.]
[You step out of the teleportation array.]
[A checkpoint was set up at the exit of the main hall.]
Several cultivators clad in greyish-white armor stood guard, casually observing each person who entered the fray.
[You step forward.]
"First time entering the domain?"
The lead soldier glanced at you, pulled a palm-sized plaque from under the table, and tossed it onto the table.
"Here's the White Tiger Token."
[You pick up the plaque; it's extremely heavy, and the back is engraved with intricate Array Patterns.]
[Just as you were about to ask what this was, the armored soldier slammed a contract onto the table.]
"This sign can activate a protective micro-array to isolate wandering Sha Qi. Without it, you wouldn't be able to walk three blocks in the city before the Sha Qi and drives you insane."
"Of course, if you have a 'Sword Heart Clarity' or a 'Dao Heart Like Iron,' and can withstand this all-pervasive Sha Qi on your own, then this token will only serve as an identification."
[The armored soldier pointed listlessly outside the hall.]
"That's why this godforsaken place of ours is known as having 'a million Sword Cultivators.' The sharp edge of Sword Cultivators is the best counter to these sinister things."
"But looking at your delicate skin, you don't seem like a peerless Sword Cultivator."
The armored soldier pushed the contract forward, pointing to the clauses on it.
"Let's use the Formation Technique properly. Activating the Formation Technique requires filling it with Sha Soul Crystals."
"It's alright if you don't have Sha Soul Crystals; the White Tiger Hall provides military merit loans."
"Sign this contract, and you'll receive an advance of 100 military merits in exchange for a Sha Soul Crystal. That'll be enough to keep your reputation shining for half a year."
[You stared at the contract, your eye twitching.]
[In the Azure Dragon Domain, the daily Breathing Tax is four Low-Grade Spirit Stones.]
[Upon arriving in the White Tiger Domain, even Spirit Stones are useless; it seems they've resorted to signing indenture contracts?]
[Now you finally understand why no one Sha Soul Crystals in such a large materials market as Baodi City.]
[Because this thing isn't even a material for Artifact Refining in the White Tiger Domain.]
[It is an essential anti-pollution consumable for everyone; it is a necessity among necessities.]
[Moreover, the production and distribution of this item are absolutely monopolized by the White Tiger Hall.]
You touched your Storage Ring.
[You swept up Sha Soul Crystals on the market in Baodi City.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: Take out the Sha Soul Crystal and fill it into the White Tiger Token. Pretend that you cannot resist the Sha Qi.]
[B: He grabbed the contract and shattered it into pieces. Mere Sha Qi, what can it do to Salty Fish like him!]
[C: Submit him a "Financialization Plan for the Downstream Market of White Tiger Domain Anti-Pollution Consumables," suggesting the issuance of "Sha Qi Immunity Insurance," with a asking price...]
Little C's suggestion is good.
Unfortunately, Lu Ping wasn't here for a business promotion.
As for Little B, being new here, keeping a low profile is the best strategy.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You take out a Sha Soul Crystal from your Storage Ring.]
"Thank you, I brought my own."
The soldier looked at you with a hint of surprise.
[You fill the White Tiger Token with the Sha Soul Crystal.]
[A very faint gray light shone on the surface of the White Tiger Token, enveloping you, before it returned to its ordinary form.]
A cool aura spread out, keeping the surrounding Sha Qi at bay.
"Okay, you came prepared."
The soldier glanced at you but didn't ask any further questions.
[You hang the White Tiger Token on your waist and walk out of the Teleportation Hall.]
[You have arrived in Maoyuan City, the largest city in the White Tiger Domain.]
[You stand on the street, looking at the scene before you, and only two words come to mind: desolation and bleakness.]
[There is none of the prosperity and madness of the Azure Dragon Domain here.]
[There are no towering, glazed pavilions, no dazzling light shuttles flying everywhere, and certainly no flashy betting odds or advertisements.]
The entire city was built from massive, greyish-white stones.
[The buildings are low and heavy, with very small windows, resembling fortresses ready for defense at any moment.]
[The monks walking down the street were almost all dressed in standard grey and white armor.]
[Everyone reeked of blood, moved hurriedly, and their eyes were wary.]
[You arrive at the supplies exchange area on the side of the main hall.]
[Your main purpose in coming to the White Tiger Domain this time is to gather the materials for the "Star River Myriad Blades".]
[We've already purchased over three thousand units of items like Void Iron Essence and Silverfrost Mystic Copper.]
The biggest gap is the Sha Soul Crystal.
[You look up at the scrolling list of materials on the light screen at the exchange counter.]
[You saw a line of text]
"Sha Soul Crystal, 100 Military Merits."
[But it was marked with blood-red text.]
"Strategic control over supplies; trading is prohibited without authorization from the White Tiger Hall."
[Even with Spirit Stones, you can't buy it.]
[And three thousand Sha Soul Crystals require three hundred thousand military merits.]
[You turn your head and look at a huge notice posted next to the light screen.]
"The White Tiger Hall is recruiting soldiers."
"Those who enter the temple shall serve a minimum of thirty years."
"Killing Wandering Sha earns one military merit. Killing Military Sha earns ten military merits. Killing Resentment Sha earns one hundred military merits."
"For the next thirty years, life and death will be determined by fate, and military merit will be the sole measure of success."
To gather the materials for the Star River Myriad Blades, you'll need to kill at least 300,000 Wandering Sha.
[This is under the premise of triple pay after Overtime is implemented.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: Since we're already here, thirty years is thirty years. For the sake of the Star River Myriad Blades, we'll just have to endure it.]
[B: Go straight to the Military Supply Department, grab all the materials and run, focusing on a free purchase.]
[C: He stopped the recruiting cultivator and asked mysteriously, "Brother, do you have any internal quotas? I'm Fourth-Level Alchemist, you can invest your skills and I'll give you a share of the profits."]