Hot Commodity

Lin Yi felt a little curious.

He had no acquaintances on Constant Island, let alone friends, not even a passerby he'd met once. How come someone came to visit him the moment he checked in?

With that in mind, he simply extended his Soul Power.

Then, a slight thought crossed his mind.

Two people were standing on the stone path outside the courtyard gate.

The two were about two steps apart. The one on the left was dressed in golden armor, with a tall and slender figure and short hair that was a very pale silver-white, with a faint icy blue electric spark at the edge of each strand.

The one on the right was much more robust, wearing blue armor similar to Wen Qianfei's. His long, dark brown hair was tied back with a dark red metal ring, and his pupils were dark brown with a faint dark red light shining from the depths of his pupils.

Furthermore, Lin Yi noticed that the Arm Armor had been specially thickened, and the plates at the junction of his shoulder and upper arm were stacked and rolled outwards, like the scales of some ancient ferocious beast piled up on his shoulder.

Moreover, each of his forearms was inlaid with three fist-sized dark red crystal cores. Countless intricate law patterns flowed across the surface of the crystal cores. These patterns pulsated slowly at an extremely regular frequency. With each pulsation, a faint dark red spatial ripple would spread out from around the crystal core, leaving a series of scorching marks in his soul perception.

"The Constant Guard of the Extreme Ice Race, and... a military commander of the Imperial Army of the Fusion Flame Race."

Lin Yi immediately recognized the person who had come.

Upon seeing that it was his colleagues from the Constant Guard outside the door, he did not delay any longer, immediately got up, crossed the courtyard, and pushed open the gate.

The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, a perfectly timed smile appeared on his face.

"I apologize for the intrusion; I hope I have not disturbed you."

The Constant Guard with short, silver-white hair spoke first, placing his right fist against his left chest and bowing slightly.

"I am Jess Arnold from the Silent Vast Cosmos Domain. We saw you entering the Seventh Court from afar when we were returning from the Mission Hall, so we came to pay a visit."

As he spoke, he turned to the side and pointed to his burly companion.

"This is Geke, from the Silent Radiance Cosmos Domain. I arrived at Constant Island around four thousand Epoch ago, while Geke arrived a little later than me."

The burly man in golden armor also placed his right fist against his left chest and bowed slightly to Lin Yi.

"Silent Cosmos Domain, Lin Yi."

Lin Yi returned the greeting, then stepped aside to make way, gesturing for them to come in. "Please come in, both of you."

If a member of some powerful family suddenly knocks on his door and says they want to get to know him, he will definitely be on his guard.

But if it's Constant Guard, that's a different story.

It was not only common practice for the Constant Guard to get to know each other, but it could even be said to be a customary practice.

If it were him, he would also take the initiative to get to know other Constant Guard if he saw them in an unfamiliar place.

The three walked through the courtyard and entered the first-floor reception room, where they took their seats.

Jess's gaze swept around the hall before settling on Lin Yi.

"Brother Lin Yi, you just arrived, right? I haven't seen you here before."

"Not bad," Lin Yi nodded. "I just finished the entry procedures and am still familiarizing myself with the contents of the Constant Island manual. I've seen many cultivation holy sites when I was in Silent City, but compared to Constant Island, they are nothing."

"That's normal," Jess said. "I was the same when I first arrived. Speaking of which, Brother Lin Yi, what are your plans? Have you made any plans to do the trials together?"

Lin Yi gave a wry smile and shook his head frankly.

"To be honest, I've only just begun to familiarize myself with the basics... As for close friends, I don't have a single one."

Jess laughed upon hearing this.

"Brother Lin Yi, you don't need to worry too much about that. Our Constant Guard are always very popular here. Just take a stroll around the mission hall, and you should receive many invitations."

"The trial missions themselves are divided into solo trials and team trials. Solo trials are fine, it depends on each person's ability, but team trials..."

He paused, a faint smile flickering in his icy blue eyes, "In team trials, who doesn't want a reliable teammate?"

Geke didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly, which was considered as agreement with Jess's statement.

Lin Yi naturally understood what Jess meant.

Trial missions can be life-or-death situations, and when it comes to reliability, who is more reliable than the Constant Guard?

In the circles of practitioners, Constant Guard's reputation is almost equivalent to a living advertisement.

Of course, Lin Yi also understood the other meaning behind Jess's words.

Others want reliable teammates, Constant Guard naturally wants them too.

The fact that these two people are visiting is certainly partly due to their acquaintance as colleagues, but they are probably also considering whether they can team up for future collaborative tasks.

"Jess is right," Lin Yi said with a smile, "Who wouldn't want a reliable teammate?"

His statement was both a response and a statement of his attitude.

Upon hearing this, Jess's smile deepened, his icy blue eyes lingering on Lin Yi for a moment before he slowly nodded.

That's exactly right.

Then, he suddenly became serious.

"However, Brother Lin Yi, the difficulty of the trials on Constant Island is not fixed. It is Dynamic adjusted based on the participants' overall strength. If there is a significant difference in strength between a cultivator and the others in the team, problems can easily arise."

Therefore, if you're going to team up for trials, it's best to team up with someone of similar strength and level. A large gap in skill level is disadvantageous for both sides.

At this point, Jess changed the subject, "I wonder what level Brother Lin Yi is at in the Eternal Source Realm, and what his red and yellow rank is?"

"How many reds and how many yellows?"

Lin Yi repeated himself, raising an eyebrow slightly, "What kind of statement is that?"

Jess was taken aback at first, then raised his hand and patted his forehead. "Sorry, sorry, I forgot to explain."

He shook his head with a wry smile. "That's the slang used within Constant Island. Spending so much time here, interacting with those inner island students, you've unknowingly been led astray by them."

"Red refers to Divine-grade Chaos Source Seal Pact. Yellow refers to Saint-grade Chaos Source Seal Pact. In Inner Island of Constant Island, even in the initial trial team formation, the team leader doesn't just look at the cultivation level when selecting members; this is what matters most. The number of Divine-grade and Saint-grade Imprints you have directly determines your position and influence within the team."

As he said this, a hint of emotion crept into his voice.

"Actually, it makes sense when you think about it. Constant Island is the gathering place of the elite among the elites of the Seventh Constant Domain. Who among those who can enter the inner island isn't a genius? Here, cultivation level is just the foundation; it's the seals that truly differentiate people. As for high-quality seals..."

It's something you basically can't say out loud here.

After listening, Lin Yi couldn't help but feel a sense of amazement.

Saint-grade seals are merely the starting point that can be "talked about" on Inner Island of Constant Island, while divine-grade seals are coveted by Wen Xu and his group of aristocratic scions. However, here they are simplified to a single word, "red," a prefix used for quick matching during team recruitment.

However, Lin Yi was not surprised by this difference in levels.

After all, Constant Island is a microcosm of the entire Seventh Constant Domain. Those who can enter the inner island are basically the top geniuses of each universe. The training system these people receive from childhood, the cultivation techniques and books they can access, and the resources they can obtain are on a completely different level from those in the outside world.

In such an environment, holy items have become the standard, while divine items are the real dividing line.

After explaining to Lin Yi, Jess introduced himself.

"I am a seventh-tier Eternal Source Realm, with three red and four yellow attributes. Locke is an eighth-tier Eternal Source Realm, with four red and four yellow attributes."

A hint of surprise flashed through Lin Yi's mind upon hearing this.

Judging from their attitudes just now, Jess was clearly the one who led the conversation between the two. Although Geke also spoke up, he mostly sat quietly to the side, only speaking up when he needed to express his position.

But unexpectedly, Geke's on-paper strength was even stronger Jess's.

Of course, Lin Yi also knew that theoretical strength did not represent everything. The gap between divine-grade seals was sometimes greater than that between saint-grade and divine-grade seals.

Moreover, the combination and matching of seals is a complex subject.

Some divine-grade seals may not seem to offer a high multiplier, but under specific tactical systems, they can deliver combat effects far exceeding their theoretical specifications. Similarly, some holy-grade seals, if perfectly matched with one's own secret techniques, can be more powerful than a less suitable divine-grade seal when used correctly.

The so-called "red" and "yellow" categories are merely a quick screening threshold.

Lin Yi understood why Jess had asked the question.

Since this is the first time the two have met, they need to have a general idea of each other's strength before they can decide whether they can team up.

"Eternal Source Realm, third tier," Lin Yi said frankly. "The third seal hasn't been formed yet; currently, it's two red seals."

Although the Constant Union Seal Pact is a special seal, it is officially recognized as a divine-grade special seal, essentially equivalent to having an extra life. Often, even if one doesn't use an extra life, it gives one a different level of confidence in doing things, not to mention the ability to shoulder responsibilities such as reconnaissance or rearguard action.

After hearing Lin Yi describe his strength, Jess and Geke couldn't help but exchange a glance.

"Eternal Source Realm Tier 3... two completely red ones," Jess said slowly. "Brother Lin Yi, remarkable."

The entry threshold for the Constant Guard is the Eternal Source Realm, but the vast majority of Constant Guard only officially obtain their qualifications after reaching the third level of the Eternal Source Realm.

Lin Yi not only joined the Constant Guard as Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm cultivator, but also possessed two divine-grade seals.

Therefore, the two were well aware of Lin Yi's potential.

Of course, potential is one thing, but there's still a gap between their actual abilities and ours.

"What a pity."

Jess shook his head regretfully, "Brother Lin Yi isn't ready to team up with us for those intermediate or higher-level trials yet. He's a bit too far off; it would be too dangerous for him to participate."

"However, Brother Lin Yi's strength will definitely make him very popular among teams at the Early Order of the Eternal Source Realm."

Geke nodded slowly to the side.

"How about this," Jess stood up, "We don't have anything urgent to do right now, why don't we accompany Brother Lin Yi to the mission hall? There are always quite a few people waiting for teammates there every day, you can familiarize yourself with the atmosphere. If you're lucky, you might find a suitable team today."

Lin Yi had no objection.

He was just pondering how to plan the trial next when Jess and Geke came knocking on his door.

Although these two are quite far below his cultivation level and cannot team up with him for the time being, they have been on the inner island for some time and must have a good understanding of the intricacies of the mission hall, the actual difficulty of various trials, and some unwritten rules of team formation on the inner island.

Going to the mission hall is better than staying cooped up in the courtyard trying to figure things out from the manual.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll trouble you two."

Without further ado, the three of them walked out of the courtyard side by side.

As Jess stepped out of the pale blue protective shield outside the Seventh Court, he glanced back at Lin Yi's courtyard and suddenly smiled, saying, "Your courtyard has a good location. It's close to the energy hub on the east side of the Seventh Court, and the energy concentration in your cultivation room is about half a percent higher than in the courtyards on the west side."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi secretly noted this detail down in his mind.

This kind of information will never be written in the manual; only those who have stayed there will know it.

The three walked along the main road on the north side of the inner island toward the Central District.

The structure of the Inner Island of Constant Island is clearly marked in the manual. The outermost layer is a ring-shaped residential area, including the Seventh Court where they are located. There are twelve similar gardens evenly distributed in various directions of the ring.

Inside the ring, the training facilities area and the trial assistance area are arranged in sequence, while the core hub area, located slightly east of the center, is where the mission hall is situated.

After walking for a while, the three arrived at a giant square.

The plaza floor is paved with finely polished translucent crystals, and countless extremely fine energy threads can be vaguely seen moving slowly inside the crystals.

The ends of each energy thread converged at the very center of the plaza, forming a huge Constant Island Emblem suspended in mid-air. The emblem was slowly rotating at a fixed frequency, and with each rotation, a faint purple energy ripple spread out from the center of the emblem, sweeping across the entire plaza below.

A few practitioners were scattered around the square.

Some stood alone at the edge of the square, probably waiting for someone, while others gathered in small groups, talking quietly among themselves. Occasionally, someone would look up and glance in the direction of the main hall entrance, as if observing something.

Jess took the lead and walked towards the palace gate. As he walked, he turned his head and whispered to Lin Yi, "The square in front of the palace is usually quite crowded, but it's rather deserted today. The trial missions are divided into four levels, and the highest-level trials are usually released only once in a long time. Usually, the warm-up starts half a month in advance, and some teams camp out here to grab a spot. At that time, there are several times more people in this square than there are now."

As he spoke, the three of them crossed the square and entered the main hall.

Lin Yi noticed that the dome inside the main hall was much higher than it appeared from the outside, clearly indicating the use of some kind of spatial expansion technique.

Below the dome, a huge three-dimensional light screen is suspended in the center of the hall, extending from the ground to almost the height of the dome. The light screen is circular, and its surface is covered with dense text. The text scrolls slowly at a constant frequency, and each line contains information about the trial mission.

The floor inside the main hall has a circular stepped structure, gradually decreasing from the central light curtain to the surrounding areas, forming six layers of circular steps.

Dozens of round tables made of dark blue crystal are scattered on each step, with the edges of the tables outlined with the spire pattern of Constant Island by light silver metal wire.

Next to each table floats a vertical, semi-transparent light screen, displaying the specific recruitment requirements for different teams.

[Kalan Squad is recruiting one teammate. Trial Level: Intermediate. Trial Type: Exploration of the Sea Wonders. Requirements: Rank 7 or above in the Eternal Source Realm, at least three red attributes. The team leader must have completed four intermediate trials.]

[The Sharp Edge Squad is recruiting two teammates. Trial Level: Intermediate. Trial Type: High-Risk Wanted Criminal Hunt. Requirements: Rank 7-9 of the Eternal Source Realm, with at least three red and four yellow attributes. The team leader must have completed seven intermediate trials.]

[The Azure Rock Squad urgently needs one teammate. Trial Level: Intermediate. Trial Type: Infiltrate a horde of beasts and slay a Tier 2 Perfected Black Silence Beast. Requirements: Level 8 or above in the Eternal Source Realm, at least four red attributes, Imperial Army background preferred. The team leader has completed three intermediate trials.]

[The Bright Glory Squad is recruiting two permanent teammates. Trial level: Beginner to Intermediate. Trial type: Unrestricted. Requirements: Eternal Source Realm Rank 4 or above, at least one Red Star. The team leader must be ranked 1957th on the inner island, and have completed seventeen Beginner Trials and five Intermediate Trials.]

Lin Yi's gaze slowly swept across the main hall.

The cultivators sitting around the round table had small, different colored star patterns embedded in their chests. According to Jess's explanation, these star patterns are called Mission Marks within Constant Island, representing the number and level of different missions completed.

Lin Yi glanced at the cultivators before looking at the mission information on the central screen.

But suddenly, he noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere of the entire hall.

The lively conversations that had been taking place in the main hall seemed to pause for a very short time.

He keenly noticed that the inner island disciples who were sitting around the round table or who had been frowning and deep in thought in front of the light screen all turned their gazes toward him.

A young cultivator who had been leaning against a pillar with his eyes closed in meditation suddenly opened them.

His face was fairly handsome, except for a very thin, small, dark purple scale on each side of his forehead, the edges of which gleamed with a dark blue light.

He first glanced at the team's light screen in front of him, which had been scrolling for a long time without anyone signing up, then looked at Lin Yi's golden armor. His lips moved silently, as if he was quickly calculating something in his mind.

Several people sitting at a round table not far away also began exchanging glances to urge each other on.

One of them was a slender woman with a high ponytail, slightly prominent cheekbones, and extremely fine pointed ears, clearly indicating that she came from a certain branch of the Anthropomorphic lineage.

Her deep brown eyes lingered briefly on Lin Yi, then she immediately turned her head and glared fiercely at the hesitant captain beside her, urging in a low voice, "Constant Guard! A new face! What are you waiting for?"

On the side of the central light curtain area, a cultivator leaning alone against the high point of the circular staircase turned his head slightly, looking restless.

Lin Yi took in everything and thought to himself, "What Jess said in the yard just now was exactly right."

Soon, several cultivators sitting at the round table in the middle of the circular staircase could no longer contain themselves and stood up from their seats.

At the same time, noises came from another direction.

A male cultivator wearing gray-silver armor with two dark gold runes engraved on his shoulder blades rose from the top of the circular staircase and walked in their direction.

However, Lin Yi had no time to pay attention to these potential teammates who were clearly interested in him.

At that moment, his mind was not on the people who were about to surround him.

Because that casual glance had already firmly drawn his attention to the giant, slowly rolling circular light screen in the very center of the hall.

He stared at the giant screen displaying the mission for a moment, then smiled inwardly.