Ten Thousand Points

"For one thing, I naturally heard that our East Spirit has produced another outstanding talent..."

Ding Feng exchanged pleasantries with a smile, only to see the young man opposite him resting a hand on his sword hilt, his eyes half-closed as though he had already drifted into a dream. He immediately understood that the other party disliked such talk.

He hurriedly changed the subject.

"I heard that Young Master made a deal with the Four Seas Merchant Guild. Might I ask what price they offered?"

Ding Feng probed, "It is not this Old Ding boasting, but whether in goods, prices, or delivery speed, my Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild surpasses them by quite a bit. We certainly will not let Young Master suffer a loss."

"Young Master may go out and ask around. The prices Old Ding gives his friends are never even a bit lower than anyone else's."

Jiang Ding smiled. "What sound of wind did Shopkeeper Ding hear?"

Yet a shadow clouded his heart.

A treasure like a stage-breaking pill had indeed drawn the covetous eyes of the Native Powers.

"Could it be stage-breaking pills?"

Ding Feng tested him. "I know Long San; he is also an old friend. For all these years, he had been stuck at Minor Accomplishment of Inner Qi, with no path forward. How did he suddenly break through after making one trip here to see Young Master? He must have encountered some heaven-shaking opportunity."

"On top of that, the Four Seas Merchant Guild has been making far too great a fuss and yielding far too much profit. It is difficult not to make connections."

"Young Master Jiang."

He said solemnly, "No matter how much the Four Seas Merchant Guild offers, or what they offer, my Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild is willing to pay double!"

Jiang Ding said nothing.

He was currently quite satisfied with the Four Seas Merchant Guild's work. Every day, they delivered over ten thousand pairs of Blue Fluorescent Butterflies. Relying on Great Open Mountain, the speed at which specimens were collected had also increased greatly. Thus far, their cooperation had been fairly pleasant.

As for double the price, that was even more laughable.

The Four Seas Merchant Guild was a major merchant guild spanning the entire Yue Kingdom. It was merely at a disadvantage in East Spirit Prefecture. Other than a little gold and silver, what qualifications did the Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild have to claim it could offer double any price?

No matter how much gold and silver there was, what use did it have besides exchanging it for some ordinary currency whose origin could not be explained?

"My elders taught me that integrity must not be cast aside."

Jiang Ding raised his teacup. "Moreover, the Void Breaking Pills given by my elders have already been promised to the Four Seas Merchant Guild. Shopkeeper Ding, please return."

In truth, it would not have mattered to give the other side one or two pills as reassurance. There could never be too many Blue Fluorescent Butterflies.

But he had already revealed enough. One merchant guild was still manageable, but if there were two, would that not lead people to suspect that he possessed a large number of stage-breaking pills?

Even the slightest possibility was enough to drive people mad and draw an endless pack of wolves.

Ding Feng's expression turned ugly.

Yet he did not doubt the existence of the elders Jiang Ding spoke of. How precious were pills for Breaking Stages of Inner Qi? How difficult were they to refine? Only Very Few forces, such as the three sects and the imperial family, had always been capable of refining them.

A youth of sixteen or seventeen could not possibly do so.

"If Young Master changes his mind, you may send someone to notify this Old Ding."

Ding Feng reluctantly cupped his hands, then took his leave.

Jiang Ding set down his teacup.

"Steward Huang!"

"Master..."

Huang Deyou hurried over in a small run, his face filled with unease.

He knew how much Jiang Ding valued the specimens, but with the renowned head of the Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild personally arriving, how could he have dared to stop him?

"Clean this place up and reopen as soon as possible," Jiang Ding said indifferently. "Apologize properly to our regular customers. Today's purchase prices will be doubled."

He paused, pointing at the brocade cloth on the Eight Immortals table and the other furnishings.

"Sell all of these. Donate the money to the city's widows, widowers, orphans, and solitary elderly."

"Yes, Master!"

Not long afterward, Long San hurried over while escorting two carts of Blue Fluorescent Butterflies.

"Young Master Jiang, that Ding Feng of the Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild..." Long San hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

"Shopkeeper Long, our cooperation will not waver." Jiang Ding waved a hand. "However, I need Blue Fluorescent Butterflies—enough of them, delivered at the exact time. There can be no problems with this. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Long San said solemnly, "Please rest assured, Young Master. My paternal granduncle, Long Zhengwu, is at Inner Qi Perfection and is currently stationed at East Spirit Mountain. From now on, he will gather multiple Blue Fluorescent Butterfly convoys together and personally lead the merchant guild's elites in escorting them."

"Furthermore, This Association is on good terms with the Major Powers in the city. When necessary, we can clear the way with money, and they will lend us a hand as well."

"The Brocade Dragon Merchant Guild cannot turn the sky upside down!"

Jiang Ding nodded. "It is good that you are confident."

After speaking, he finished checking the goods, then took out an Emerald Green jade bottle and handed it to Long San. This was the second one, meaning that three hundred thousand pairs of Blue Fluorescent Butterflies had already been purchased.

"Young Master is truly generous."

Delight appeared on Long San's face. He hurriedly took his leave, clearly intending to make arrangements at once so that no oversight would arise.

Jiang Ding cultivated for a while, then used a specimen mesh bag to pack up the Blue Fluorescent Butterflies. After shouldering the pile of specimen boxes that had already been exchanged, his figure disappeared from sight.

He waited in the room for a while.

Chirp chirp!

A kingfisher dispelled its invisibility and flew in through the window, followed by a second, slightly smaller one.

Without wasting words, they expertly picked up the Blue Fluorescent Butterflies and specimens in the mesh bag, used a spell to shrink them down, turned invisible, and flapped away.

Jiang Ding sat cross-legged on his bed and cultivated. More than an hour later, his phone began vibrating from time to time.

[Library Points: 9542]

[Library Points: 9580]

...

The points rose rapidly. Soon, they crossed the threshold and reached 10012.

"Ten thousand points."

Excitement surged in Jiang Ding's heart before slowly settling. He continued cultivating, nourishing and tempering the tiny branch meridians of the Twelve Meridians, until he finally fell into a deep sleep at two in the morning.

The next day, when the dismissal bell sounded, Jiang Ding shot out of school in a puff of smoke and took the bus to the library.

Breathing in the scent of books at the tip of his nose, Jiang Ding went alone to a private reading room, logged into his own Immortal Sect Library account, and checked his Library Points.

"Array Spirit, I want to deduce the <Great Sun Sword Scripture—Seed Sword Refining Technique>. Deduction direction: tailored for my own cultivation," Jiang Ding said in a low voice.

"Would you like to consume ten thousand Library Points to deduce the <Great Sun Sword Scripture—Seed Sword Refining Technique>?"

The Array Spirit's distinctive mechanical voice sounded.

"Confirm."

The computer in the reading room projected a beam of blue light, carefully scanning Jiang Ding all over his body to obtain data on his meridians, muscles, bones, and more. It then accessed the database and retrieved all his experiences since beginning cultivation after enrollment, his academic records, areas of expertise, hobbies, and interests.

"Uploading deduction. Estimated time required: 3:34:23."

At present, it was only drawing upon the Banyan City Array Spirit Computer, so the deduction could not be completed instantly.

Jiang Ding was not in a hurry either. He sat cross-legged and cultivated, quietly waiting for the moment the deduction was complete.

More than three hours later.

Ding!

Jiang Ding opened his eyes and found that the deduction progress on the computer screen had finished. Displayed there was an image of a dark-blue thread-bound book, its title—

<Great Sun Sword Scripture—Seed Sword Refining Technique (Jiang Ding Version)>.

"Ding! You have contributed a new book to the Immortal Sect Library. You have been awarded 124 Library Points."

This was an unchangeable procedure. No matter what kind of knowledge it was, it belonged to the Immortal Sect collective.

Jiang Ding's face stiffened in embarrassment. "Change the name. Use Version 21."

He had taken a shortcut; he did not dare use such a name.

"Duplicate title. Unavailable."

Jiang Ding was stunned, then immediately understood. Ten thousand Library Points were a great many, but many descendants of major families did not lack them. Even for such an obscure cultivation technique as a sword-refining method, others had already conducted adaptive deductions.

"Randomize it. Don't use my real name."

"Yes. The new knowledge you have contributed to the Immortal Sect Library is <Great Sun Sword Scripture—Seed Sword Refining Technique (Version 41)>."