D-Grade Nutrient Pod

"Hahahaha! Don't tell the old Patriarch about this yet; let's give him a surprise when the time comes. Hah, I bet those people in the Main Sect will have their jaws drop to the floor! Hmph! They usually act so high and mighty, stingy as misers. If it weren't for the upcoming Peak Genius Tournament and the Ancestor's decree, they wouldn't even have granted our Yanhe Branch a single spot for enlightenment. This time, I'll make them open their eyes!"

The Patriarch of the Yanhe Lingtong Race had originally been cultivating inside the main star of the Twin Star System where Yanhe Planet was located, only to be hurriedly summoned back by Elder Luo.

After understanding the situation and having Jiang Yao demonstrate his domain once more, this current Patriarch of the Yanhe Branch, who appeared as a burly youth, laughed repeatedly, looking at Jiang Yao as if he were a priceless treasure.

Elder Luo, who looked like a kind old man, teased, "It seems your previous number one treasure, that kid Kuman, is going to be demoted to second place."

The young Patriarch waved his hand, his face beaming: "They're both treasures! Both treasures!"

Hearing these suggestive words, Jiang Yao couldn't help but roll his eyes.

After the youth finished his merrymaking, he reined in his smile and spoke gently to Jiang Yao: "Since you have awakened a domain, there is no point in wasting time at the Planetary Level. I think you should reach the ninth rank of the Planetary Level as soon as possible. When that time comes, I will teach you the secret technique for our Lingtong Race Spirit Readers to break through to the Stellar Level, so you can awaken your Bloodline Divine Ability as early as possible."

"Elder Luo, what is your opinion?"

The old man laughed: "It should be so, it should be so. I don't think the other three elders will have any objections."

The youth nodded: "Good! Prose, take Jiang Yao to the core area and activate the D-Grade Nutrient Pod! I have just granted you the authorization!"

It wasn't just Prose; even Elder Luo was somewhat startled: "A D-Grade Nutrient Pod?"

Even Jiang Yao was shocked. The Messenger within the Taihuan Token couldn't help but mutter: "According to the information I've gathered in the Virtual Universe, if it were a C-Grade Nutrient Pod, it would take you half a year to reach the ninth rank. If it's a D-Grade, I'm afraid three days would suffice. I didn't expect your Patriarch to be so generous. But it's strange, how can a small place like yours afford a D-Grade Nutrient Pod? Did I misread the price?"

A nutrient pod, also known as a Warrior Evolution Pod, was the best piece of equipment the entire Yanhe Branch possessed. They only had one, and it was capable of repairing and evolving the bodies of even Domain Lord experts, potentially creating Universe-Level Experts.

Such an item was extremely expensive, valued at 15 billion Universe Coins. The entire net worth of an average Domain Lord wouldn't be enough to buy one. Naturally, the Yanhe Branch couldn't have bought it on their own; this D-Grade Nutrient Pod had been provided by the Main Sect.

It was an emergency measure to be used only when the Yanhe Branch encountered danger or high-level battles with other factions, allowing Universe-Level Experts to recover quickly after being injured, or to allow a Stellar Level Martial Artist to step into the Universe-Level and serve as an elder if there were fewer than three Universe-Level Experts available.

These were only to be activated in dire straits.

After all, using it consumed nutrient fluid, and the nutrient fluid for a D-Grade Nutrient Pod was incredibly expensive. The Main Sect wouldn't cover future consumption for free; once the fluid was used up, the Yanhe Branch would have to purchase it themselves, and the D-Grade Nutrient Pod was indeed running low on its original supply.

"Hmm." The youth continued to look at Jiang Yao with a cloying gaze and sighed: "It's a pity such a talent appeared so late. We are racing against time now; why bother saving a little nutrient fluid?"

Seeing that the Patriarch had made up his mind, Elder Luo nodded and stopped objecting.

As the Patriarch said, it was indeed a bit late. If Jiang Yao had been born a few hundred years earlier and received the inheritance from the Main Sect, his domain might have had a chance to reach the seventh level or higher before the Peak Genius Tournament. With the assistance of his Bloodline Divine Ability, he might have... he might have had a chance to set a historical record for the Lingtong Race in the two peak universe tournaments, becoming a catalyst for the Lingtong Race to advance further.

Although there was the Universe-Level Expert Tournament in 2,800 years, in addition to the genius tournament in 300 years, the intensity of competition between the Universe Level and the Stellar Level was not on the same scale.

In the genius tournament, top-tier Stellar Level geniuses, even with inferior resources, could achieve great results through their superior talent, thereby entering the core of the Virtual Universe Company or the Giant Axe Coliseum, or joining the Three Great Dao Halls of the Xuanshang Universe Kingdom and other super-factions within the kingdom, embarking on the path of the strong.

However, the Universe-Level Expert Tournament had much higher requirements for resources. Even among Stellar Level geniuses of the same tier, if one grew up within a super-faction and the other lacked significant resource allocation, there would be a massive gap between them by the time they reached the Universe Level.

Therefore, those who truly achieved great results in the Universe-Level Expert Tournament were basically monopolized by the Three Great Dao Halls of the Xuanshang Universe Kingdom and other super-factions.

The way super-factions cultivated geniuses was to have them participate in one genius tournament first. If they didn't enter the core of the Virtual Universe Company or the Giant Axe Coliseum, they would allocate resources based on their performance in the genius tournament, hoping they would shine in the expert tournament and enter the core of the five great powers of the human race.

Civilian players only had a chance to stand out through their talent in the genius tournament.

Even though the Lingtong Race was known as one of the six Sacred Lands of the Kasolo Empire, they could only be considered civilian players.

Subsequently, Jiang Yao left the island with Prose to activate the D-Grade Nutrient Pod and prepare for his upgrade.

Watching the burly figure of Prose—who was a match for the Patriarch—walking away, followed by the slender youth, Elder Luo suddenly asked: "Why didn't the Patriarch report this to the Main Sect? According to custom, if a branch produces a genius exceeding the top grade, they should be sent to the Main Sect for cultivation. The cultivation environment there is truly incomparable to ours."

The burly youth snorted coldly: "Once bitten, twice shy. Haven't we learned the lesson from Gaichen? If a little guy who just entered the Planetary Level goes to the Main Sect, wouldn't that be like a meat bun thrown at a dog—never to return?"

Elder Luo smiled helplessly; he knew this was something the Patriarch held a grudge over.

"Hmph, they are stingy about granting a single spot for enlightenment, but they are incredibly proactive when it comes to poaching people."

In the Primal Universe, lone-wolf experts were not the mainstream. Most experts had ties to races, bloodlines, or factions. In race-based factions like the Lingtong Race, where bloodline was the inheritance, the sense of belonging that experts felt toward their race was very strong, just as experts in the human race felt a strong sense of identity with their race even at the highest levels.

The most common way for race-based factions like the Lingtong Race to develop their strength was to split into branches.

After all, the prime areas of the Kasolo Empire were limited and had already been carved up by the six Sacred Lands and the Emperor. If the Lingtong Race wanted to expand their sphere of influence, the other five Sacred Lands and the Kasolo Empire Emperor would not agree.

Therefore, just like other factions based on bloodline races, the Lingtong Race constantly branched out, splitting small sects from the Main Sect to go to regions outside the Kasolo Empire to multiply and thrive.

The benefits were immediate. Aside from the initial investment of resources to support them, once the branches gained a foothold in the local star systems and civilizations and entered a virtuous cycle, the Main Sect no longer needed to provide major support.

Moreover, they could continuously absorb geniuses from the branches; it was a business with no risk and high returns.

Of course, the downsides also stemmed from the experts' sense of belonging to their own race.

Once a branch had been separated for a long time, it would develop a desire for independence. Although they still needed high-level resources from the Main Sect, the members of these branches would develop an increasingly strong sense of belonging and identity toward their own local branch.

Even worse, some powerful small branches would grow and develop over time, or obtain some fortuitous encounter and become strong rapidly, directly breaking away from the Main Sect to establish their own major sect.

Of course, this could be considered a good thing for the race as a whole—a clever rabbit has three burrows—as it allowed them to better cope with major crises and expanded the living space of the entire race.

It was just that the leaders of the Main Sect were certainly not happy to see branches break away and become independent.

The Yanhe Branch had a history of over a thousand epochs. By the time it reached the current Patriarch, the sense of belonging to their own home was already very strong. Even if ordinary Stellar Level experts went to the Main Sect for advanced studies, they would still be attached to the place where they were born and raised and would return to the Yanhe Branch after becoming strong.

Young Planetary Level individuals might not be able to hold out, as the Main Sect had all sorts of tricks to absorb and assimilate geniuses from the branches.

In the eyes of the Patriarch of the Yanhe Lineage, this was nothing but bloodsucking.

Of course, the cultivation conditions at the Main Sect were better, with more resources and a higher level, so the Patriarch was happy to let his geniuses go to the Main Sect for advanced studies, but it was best to eat the sugar-coated shell and return the bullet.

Therefore, one had to be at least at the Stellar Level to be safely sent to the Main Sect.

The burly youth argued forcefully: "It's not like our Yanhe Lineage has no way to help him awaken his Bloodline Divine Ability. We have the secret techniques and the resources; why send him to the Main Sect now?"

Elder Luo was thoughtful: "So that is why the Patriarch insisted on having young Jiang Yao use the D-Grade Nutrient Pod?"

The Patriarch smiled without a word.

If he didn't bestow favors now, when would he?

Both the C-Grade Nutrient Pod and the D-Grade Nutrient Pod could allow Jiang Yao to reach the ninth rank in the short term, but the costs involved were not on the same level; the price difference between the two types of pods and their nutrient solutions was more than an order of magnitude.

Even if Jiang Yao didn't understand now, he would understand later.

Once Jiang Yao continued to grow, the Yanhe Lineage would no longer have the opportunity to bestow such a "small" favor at such a cost.

It was a pity, but the boy was still too young.

The young man sighed: "Actually, it's more than that. If we send Jiang Yao to the Main Sect now, Longshan Company will definitely make a move on the road."

Elder Luo was startled: "I heard from Prose that he immediately ordered the connection between Starry Sky Building and the Virtual Universe to be cut off, and I just issued a gag order..."

"It's useless!" The young man interrupted Elder Luo directly: "Longshan Company has invested so much effort into our clan, and I don't know how many spies they've planted. Right now, Jiernuo must already know. Sigh, why did this have to happen during the assessment? It's impossible to hide. I was actually on the verge of losing my temper at Prose earlier; why didn't we notice this before?"

Elder Luo's expression turned ugly: "Even if Longshan Company knows, they should understand the significance of such a genius to our clan. This isn't just a matter for our Yanhe Lineage; would they dare to act?!"

If the Yanhe Lingtong Race had any enemies, it was the master of the primary cosmic civilization kingdom to which their star system belonged, the Longshan Federation—Longshan Company.

Although both sides maintained a peace where they didn't interfere with each other, small conflicts were frequent.

"We cannot harbor any wishful thinking, otherwise our clan will suffer a great loss!"

On Yanhe Planet, on the opposite side of the planet, tens of thousands of kilometers away from Starry Sky Building, stood another tall building with a sign bearing the words "Longshan."

This building was the office of the Longshan Federation stationed in the Yanhe Star System.

Naturally, it was also the office of the Longshan Company, the master of the Federation, stationed in the Yanhe Star System.

It was truly two signs for the same group of people.

On the top floor of the building, Jiernuo, the representative of Longshan Company in the Yanhe Star System and a Universe Level powerhouse, wore an expression of disbelief: "A Planetary Level with a domain? Are you sure about this news?"

The subordinate reporting the news looked grave: "It is absolutely true!"

After confirming the news repeatedly, a complex expression of resentment and jealousy appeared on Jiernuo's face. The pressure of a Universe Level powerhouse was fully revealed; if not for a shred of restraint in his heart, the subordinate standing before him would have been doing more than just trembling.

"Immediately transmit this news to headquarters. No, I will report it to headquarters personally in a moment. Also, kill him! Kill him!"

The subordinate was somewhat startled, bracing himself to ask cautiously: "How do we kill him?"

This question pulled Jiernuo back to his senses.

This was the capital of the Yanhe Lineage of the Lingtong Race, and furthermore, such a genius was surely under tight protection. In the orbit outside the planet, those D2-Grade Laser Cannons were not just for show.

Moreover, Jiernuo had always suspected that there were even more powerful weapons on Yanhe Planet, and it was not impossible that there were even E-Grade weapons.

Who knew how many trump cards the Lingtong Race of the Jiuyuan Holy Land had given to the Yanhe branch when they split off?

The Yanhe Lingtong Race was on the front line of the resistance against Longshan Company.

"According to custom, such a genius must be reported to the Jiuyuan Holy Land and will be sent there for cultivation. We must find out the exact information and then strike on the road!"

"My lord, such a genius is not ordinary. Will acting against him..."

"Hmph, would the Jiuyuan Holy Land really fall out with Yinhu Island over him? As long as we don't leave direct evidence of our involvement, what can the Lingtong Race do to our Longshan Company?"

Jiernuo wore an excited expression.

Longshan Company was a famous "dragon crossing the river" in the universe. Five hundred epochs ago, they obtained the permission of the Kasolo Empire Emperor and the approval of the Xuanshang Universe Kingdom to establish the primary civilization kingdom of the Longshan Federation, ruling over two hundred star systems, far exceeding an ordinary primary civilization kingdom.

Yet, there was this one local snake that was extremely hard to chew.

Although the Yanhe Lingtong Race only occupied the Yanhe Star System, the geniuses within the clan often received cultivation from the Main Sect—the Jiuyuan Holy Land. As such, they were not lacking in Universe Level powerhouses, and their weapons and warships were also very sufficient.

Furthermore, as a branch of the Jiuyuan Holy Land, every generation of the Yanhe Lingtong Race Patriarchs who broke through to the Domain Lord level would be inducted into the Council of Elders of the Jiuyuan Holy Land, giving them a very solid backing.

Although Longshan Company also had a solid backing, they could do nothing against the Yanhe Lingtong Race.

He, a dignified Universe Level powerhouse, was a master in any other star system, yet he had to be stifled as an office representative in the Yanhe Star System under the watchful eyes of the Lingtong Race, proving that this was still a star system under the direct jurisdiction of the Longshan Federation. His heart was filled with more than just frustration.

Of course, there was also jealousy. After all, although he was at the Universe Level, he did not have a domain. Powerful Universe Level powerhouses or Universe Level geniuses would naturally not be exiled here to suffer.

A Planetary Level with a domain? If he didn't get rid of such a genius early, even if Longshan Company could accept it, he himself could not.