Upon returning to Qingzhou Prefecture City, Liu Ruyan went to Xuntian Guard headquarters to submit the mission. She had successfully gathered the Mystic Ice Lotus and eliminated the threat of the Ice Scale Python, so the mission was rated Grade C Upper (Excellent). She received 1,000 contribution points. As agreed, Liu Ruyan transferred 600 points to Li Yifan.
With that, Li Yifan had secured the basic rewards from the mission: 600 contribution points, bringing his personal total to 600. He knew the Xuntian Guard's contribution-point system was separate from the outside world. The points could not be directly exchanged or traded at ordinary shops; they were primarily used to redeem goods at the Martial Merit Hall within the guard post, and were an important way to obtain techniques, pills, and intelligence.
Next came the biggest spoils of the mission: the materials from the entire Ice Scale Python, which had been at the mid-stage of Muscle Refining. In Li Yifan's plans, their value was key to obtaining a large sum of silver, which he could then use to seek out resources in the outside world.
"Captain Li," Liu Ruyan said after finishing her business at the guard post, "regarding these Monster Beast materials, please come with me to the Liu Trading House in the city. It belongs to my family, and its experienced shopkeeper will give you a fair appraisal. It'll also be convenient to make the trade there."
"Sorry for the trouble, Captain Liu." Li Yifan nodded.
They left Xuntian Guard headquarters and walked through Qingzhou Prefecture City's bustling streets. The Liu Trading House stood in a prime location in the city center, its building grand and imposing. When they entered, the manager saw Liu Ruyan and bowed respectfully. "Second Miss!" His manner was deferential. Li Yifan recalled hearing his colleagues chat about the Liu Family's aging founder, who was at the peak of the Innate Realm. With a gap looming in the family's ranks of Innate experts, resources were being heavily tilted toward the eldest grandson, Liu Ruyan's elder brother, in the hope that he would break through. Still, the family treated this gifted, self-reliant second miss with great respect, and the siblings were very close. The trading house's conduct now showed that the rumors were true.
Liu Ruyan gave a slight nod. "Is Manager Sun here?"
"He is. I'll fetch him at once." The manager hurried off to inform him.
Before long, Sun Dehai, the head manager in charge of purchasing rare materials, strode over. Seeing Liu Ruyan, he broke into a genuinely warm smile. "What brings you here today, Second Miss?"
"Uncle Sun," Liu Ruyan said by way of introduction, "this is Captain Li Yifan of the Xuntian Guard. We worked together on a mission, and we have some Monster Beast materials for you to appraise."
Manager Sun looked at Li Yifan, sensed his mid-stage Muscle Refining cultivation, and showed a flash of surprise and admiration. He cupped his hands. "Sun Dehai greets Captain Li. So young, yet already so accomplished. My respects!"
The three of them went into a private room. Li Yifan laid out the Ice Scale Python materials one by one. After carefully inspecting them, Manager Sun praised their quality and offered a fair price: 7,500 taels of silver for the python hide, 3,200 for the sinews, 1,800 for the fangs, 3,800 for the venom sac, and 15,000 for the gallbladder, for a total of 31,300 taels of silver.
Li Yifan nodded in agreement. Liu Ruyan said, "Uncle Sun, the trading house will take them at that price. Please settle the payment with Captain Li."
"Certainly!" Manager Sun agreed, then asked, "Captain Li, would you like the payment in silver or banknotes? Official gold notes from Huitong Bank are the safest."
"Gold notes," Li Yifan replied. By the official rate of the Great Xia Dynasty, one tael of gold was worth one hundred taels of silver.
Soon, an attendant brought over a wooden case containing three gold notes worth one hundred taels each and one worth thirteen taels, for a total of 313 taels of gold—equivalent to 31,300 taels of silver. Li Yifan checked them and put them away. This was the largest amount of cash he had ever possessed.
With the deal done, Li Yifan did not leave. Instead, he asked Manager Sun, "Your establishment must sell all sorts of cultivation pills as well, right? I'd like to buy some."
Manager Sun smiled broadly. "Of course! Just tell me what you need, Captain Li." Liu Ruyan also looked at Li Yifan with some curiosity.
"I just broke through to the mid-stage of Muscle Refining," Li Yifan said. "I urgently need pills to consolidate my cultivation and push for the late stage."
Manager Sun immediately motioned for an attendant to fetch a catalog of pills. Li Yifan leafed through it carefully:
"Strengthening Tendons and Bones Pill": a basic pill, priced at 2,000 taels of silver per bottle of ten.
"Blood Exchange Pill": a precious pill with remarkable effects for breaking through to the Blood Refining Realm, priced at taels of silver per bottle.
"Body Tempering Pill": aids in tempering the body and strengthening the foundation of one's qi and blood, priced at 1,500 taels of silver per bottle (15 taels of gold).
"Qi Replenishing Pill": quickly restores true qi, priced at 8,000 taels of silver per bottle.
"Blood凝结 Pill": used by Blood Refining Realm cultivators in their daily practice to refine their qi and blood, priced at taels of silver per bottle (100 taels of gold). Li Yifan glanced at it and moved on. It was too early for him to need this.
Li Yifan quickly did the math. He had 313 taels of gold and planned to spend it all on pills to improve his cultivation as much as possible. While he was at it, he also asked Manager Sun about techniques.
Manager Sun said, "Captain Li, to be frank, the highest-grade techniques we keep in stock are Yellow Grade Upper. For example, this Dragon Swimming Steps manual is Yellow Grade Upper and costs 800 taels of gold. Techniques of Yellow Grade Supreme and above usually only appear at auctions."
Eight hundred taels of gold! Li Yifan's heart jolted. It was far beyond what he could afford at present—he had only 313 taels. He immediately realized that buying a high-grade technique with the proceeds from this mission was out of the question.
If he couldn't afford a good technique, he would put all his resources into improving his cultivation instead. Realm was the foundation. As long as his realm was high enough, his Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique and Scorching Sun Finger would still give him formidable combat strength. Once he improved his cultivation, he would naturally become better at earning wealth; he could pursue a high-grade technique then.
With that in mind, Li Yifan made up his mind. "Manager Sun, I'll hold off on the technique for now. I'll buy some pills for cultivation first." He opened his Panel to take a look.
[Name]: Li Yifan [Realm]: Body Tempering · Muscle Refining (Middle Stage: 201/800) [Position]: Qingzhou Xuntian Guard, Captain of the Seventh Squad (Eighth Rank) [Techniques]: Nine Yang Burning Heaven Technique (Yellow Grade Upper) - Great Accomplishment (350/5000) Iron Bone Technique (Yellow Grade) - Great Accomplishment (100/1000) [Martial Skills]: Burning Wood Saber Technique (Yellow Grade Upper/Incomplete) - Great Accomplishment (150/5000) Scorching Sun Finger (Yellow Grade Upper) - Great Accomplishment (110/5000) Spirit Fox Steps (Yellow Grade Middle) - Minor Accomplishment (300/500) [Skill]: Investigation - Minor Accomplishment (150/300) [Assets]: 600 contribution points
His next priority was to cultivate the Iron Bone Technique to perfection, then break through to the Blood Refining Realm as soon as possible.
He decided to buy ten bottles of Body Tempering Pills and ten bottles of Strengthening Tendons and Bones Pills, for a total of 350 taels of gold—far more than the 313 taels he had. Without changing his expression, Li Yifan continued, "I have 313 taels in gold notes. Would it be possible to use some contribution points to cover the difference?" He asked tentatively, though he knew the chances were slim.
As expected, Manager Sun looked troubled and apologized. "Please forgive me, Captain Li. The Xuntian Guard's contribution-point system is separate. Even if we had contribution points, we couldn't exchange them for goods." Liu Ruyan also gave a slight shake of her head, confirming it.
Li Yifan nodded. He had only been asking. In truth, contribution points were far more valuable than gold or silver. For example, a bottle of Strengthening Tendons and Bones Pills cost only 100 contribution points, while buying it outside cost 2,000 taels of silver. Fortunately, he had built up quite a bit from completing missions over the past few months, so he took out his savings and made up the difference.
As they left the Liu Trading House, Liu Ruyan praised Li Yifan's practical choice. "Captain Li, I hope you break through soon."
Li Yifan cupped his hands. "Thank you, Captain Liu. I've gained a great deal today, so I'll need to go into seclusion for a while."
They said their goodbyes.
Li Yifan returned to his quarters, tallied the gains from the mission, and updated his Panel:
Looking at his nearly empty cash reserves and the pills filling his pouch, Li Yifan's gaze grew resolute. His choice was clear: for now, he would give up on pursuing high-grade techniques outside the guard and focus all his resources on improving his cultivation. He believed that once he broke through to the late stage of Muscle Refining, or even the Blood Refining Realm, everything would be different.
With pills and resolve in hand, Li Yifan began another round of secluded cultivation.
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