Bargaining

Virtual Universe, Jiuyuan City, Senate.

A small meeting centered around Jiang Yao was convened at the same time he arrived at the main sect of the Lingtong Race.

It was not a meeting of the full Senate, but a secret gathering attended by only a few individuals.

Meng Yi was one of the participants.

The three Sector Lord elders who managed the secular affairs of the Jiuyuan Holy Land sat at the head of the table, while four Domain Lord elders were seated in the lower positions.

This was actually the first time Meng Yi had been able to attend such a small meeting. While the Senate of the Lingtong Race was said to hold a lofty status, it was merely a method for the main sect to win over its branches and strengthen its own power.

Including the elders from the main sect and all the various branches, there were three or four hundred in total, but the true power remained in the hands of the few Sector Lord elders and the few Domain Lord elders from the main sect who handled daily affairs.

Usually, when the Senate was convened, it was merely to announce decisions; there was hardly any real power to speak of.

The reason Meng Yi was able to participate in such a small meeting today was naturally because the content of the meeting concerned him.

The Sector Lord in the center of the head seat spoke: "Yinhu Island has agreed to the conditions we put forward: four immortal weapons and twenty life fruits."

"A bit strange. Since when has Yinhu Island been so reasonable?"

"The Old Ancestor directly threatened Jinlun God Lord of Yinhu Island with war. I heard that Jinlun God Lord took in a Stellar Level genius disciple who even stepped into the threshold of the Origin Law of Wind; he might be afraid."

"I have also heard of that genius from Yinhu Island, but why would he be afraid while staying on Yinhu Island?"

"Perhaps this matter really was the work of that Mo Hong alone, and Jinlun God Lord feels he is in the wrong?"

"Hmph, that old fellow has lived for over nine hundred epochs, hasn't he? He's just a man on the verge of death; it's very likely he was pushed out as a scapegoat."

"Alright, the Old Ancestor has already settled this matter. We accept the compensation from Yinhu Island, and this affair ends here. Do not disclose this to those below. As for this little guy Jiang Yao, whether it is possessing a domain at the Planetary Level or activating a new Bloodline Divine Ability, it all proves that he has potential worth cultivating.

His Bloodline Divine Ability collapsed, which is a significant loss, so we must provide some compensation.

Meng Yi, tell us what kind of compensation you want."

The Sector Lord elder on the right looked at Meng Yi with a smile, which greatly boosted Meng Yi's confidence.

The weapon he used to kill the mysterious Domain Lord of Yinhu Island, the Wushen Thorn, was lent to him by this very Sector Lord elder, and he had a relatively good personal relationship with him.

"Jiang Yao awakened the ninth high-grade Bloodline Divine Ability of our Lingtong Race. The top priority is naturally to allow him to re-nurture the ability. Besides that..."

Meng Yi paused for a moment and continued: "I heard that in 17 years, once the Stellar Level geniuses from all the branches arrive, a competitive selection will be held. The prizes are Grade 5 weapons and Grade 4 weapons. I think it would be better to use a Grade 5 mind-power weapon belonging to the Origin Law of Fire as compensation."

As far as he knew, because the Old Ancestor attached great importance to this genius competition, the main sect of the Lingtong Race had already prepared eight Grade 5 mind-power weapons and eight Grade 5 force weapons as the top rewards. In addition to these, there were Grade 4 weapons to motivate the geniuses within the race preparing for the peak battle.

One must know that this reward was not a loan, but a gift.

Usually, a Grade 5 force weapon or mind-power weapon was worth at least 100 billion universe coins at a minimum, and those Grade 5 weapons usable by Stellar Level individuals were even more expensive. Each one was a treasure of astronomical value; even for the Domain Lord elders in the Jiuyuan Holy Land Senate, the vast majority could not afford one even if they emptied their entire family fortune.

As soon as Meng Yi finished speaking, the three Sector Lord elders at the head did not speak, but the Domain Lord elder sitting opposite him, who was from the main sect and responsible for daily affairs, immediately spoke up.

"I think that is inappropriate. Grade 5 mind-power weapons have law secret patterns engraved on them, and most can only be used by Sector Lords. Only a few are backward-compatible, but for a Stellar Level to use one, their domain must reach at least the seventh level or higher.

As far as I know, Jiang Yao has possessed a domain for less than two years. The possibility of him reaching the seventh level of domain within three hundred years is extremely slim. Even if he could reach the seventh level, he might not be able to unleash the power of a Grade 5 mind-power weapon.

You and I both know that in a real battle, the weapon that suits you is the best. It is not the case that using a Grade 5 weapon will unleash more power than using a Grade 4 weapon; in fact, it is often the opposite.

Otherwise, in every genius competition, the top geniuses who can participate in the peak finals and have comprehended the Origin Law, or even stepped into the threshold of the Origin Law, are everywhere, yet those who use the nine great Controller divine weapons are few and far between.

This is precisely because mind-power weapons are by no means better the higher their grade. A weapon that can fit one's own domain and even better unleash the Origin Law one has comprehended is a good weapon.

Although our Lingtong Race does not lack resources, it is better not to waste them. I think gifting that child a Grade 4 mind-power weapon as compensation is actually more appropriate and practical.

Usually, as long as one possesses a domain, one can control a Grade 4 mind-power weapon, and the child could use it immediately upon receiving it. Wouldn't it be more awkward to receive a Grade 5 mind-power weapon and be unable to use it?"

Listening to the other party's earnest instruction, which sounded as if he were lecturing a child, Meng Yi almost couldn't help but be so angry he laughed.

Does this kind of nonsense logic need you to explain it to me?

Let alone at Jiang Yao's age, how many of the Stellar Level geniuses in the main sect who have practiced for thousands of years can reach the seventh level of domain? Are there any who can control a Grade 5 mind-power weapon?

Why use Grade 5 weapons as rewards? This is actually just to motivate geniuses to cultivate and, incidentally, to provide more cultivation resources to the seeded players among them.

A Grade 5 weapon, if resold, is worth at least 100 billion universe coins, enough to buy a thousand or eight hundred Grade 4 weapons. For the geniuses who win the competition, this is both a goal that allows them to "work hard to cultivate and strive to be able to use a Grade 5 weapon," and if the goal cannot be achieved, it ensures that the geniuses will not lack resources during their subsequent growth.

It is even more of a hook to catch the various branches; after all, this is equivalent to wealth worth hundreds of billions. Even if only a portion is returned to the branches, it is still very substantial.

It is precisely because of the bait of Grade 5 weapons that the various branches can be motivated to go all out to screen and invest all their resources into their Stellar Level geniuses, and then send them to the main sect.

Why play dumb?

Meng Yi was grinding his teeth in hatred, but he knew in his heart that this Domain Lord elder from the main sect who was playing dumb did not just represent his own opinion.

The main sect was naturally unhappy to see these astronomical treasures fall into the hands of branch geniuses. It was partly out of concern that such astronomical wealth, if it fell into the hands of the branches, would increase the foundation of the branches and strengthen their tendency to separate, but it was mainly due to sectarian bias.

But sectarian bias was unsolvable, because the fundamental problem of sectarian bias was a struggle for interests and a struggle for resources.

In the eyes of an immortal god like the Old Ancestor, all the Lingtong Race, including the branches, were his children, his race.

But the Sector Lords and Domain Lords below, they had offspring, disciples, friends, and relatives. The elders from the main sect certainly wanted to keep the resources within the main sect.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have done something like waiting 17 years to let the branch geniuses come to the Holy Land, and then holding a competitive selection as soon as they arrived. Wasn't it just to keep the resources and the Old Ancestor's attention on the geniuses of the main sect as much as possible?

Meng Yi gathered his breath and gritted his teeth, saying: "If Yinhu Island hadn't attacked Jiang Yao, there wouldn't be the four immortal weapons and twenty life fruits as compensation from Yinhu Island."

The implication was naturally not to forget the well-digger when drinking water. What kind of wealth were four immortal weapons and twenty life fruits? It was probably over a hundred Hunyuan. It was only right to extract one percent of it as compensation for Jiang Yao.

However, the Domain Lord elder who managed the affairs of the main sect showed no intention of backing down: "Yinhu Island has always been overbearing. If the main sect hadn't threatened them with war, how could they have made compensation for this? However—"

Perhaps feeling that he shouldn't be too shameless, he changed his tone: "The path of the strong requires one to have high aspirations, but one must not be overly ambitious. This little guy is currently only at the Stellar Level 1, and he cannot make use of overly precious resources at this stage. It would be better to save them; the main sect can grant him the status of a core disciple until he becomes a Domain Lord."

Meng Yi hesitated. The treatment for core disciples of the main sect was quite generous, lacking nothing in terms of treasures, weapons, secret techniques, or even ultimate arts. He would also be able to remain in the Jiuyuan Holy Land, and if he were lucky, he might even be taken as a disciple by a World Lord elder.

Although he knew this was a two-birds-one-stone scheme by the main sect—not only keeping the resources within the main sect but also directly assimilating the talented descendants of the branch into the main sect.

However, Meng Yi truly hoped that the geniuses emerging from the Yanhe branch could go further. Even if they were being courted, they would likely still hold a sense of gratitude toward the Yanhe branch. It was just like another Domain Lord elder who originated from the Yanhe branch; he was a disciple of the World Lord elder on the right, and Meng Yi had also been accepted as one of his own by this World Lord due to that connection.

Moreover, Meng Yi had already realized that this Domain Lord who was contradicting him was merely a representative pushed to the front. He was certainly conveying the thoughts of the World Lord elders of the main sect, perhaps even the intentions of one of the three World Lords at the head of the table.

It was just that the World Lord powerhouses were responsible for making decisions and could not personally step down to argue with a Domain Lord elder from a branch, as it would cause them to lose face.

Meng Yi sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to agree, his expression suddenly shifted, and then his face took on a strange look.

After a while, he gritted his teeth and said: "There is no need for him to become a core disciple of the Holy Land. I would like to exchange for a different compensation. I hope to allow Jiang Yao to go to Yuluo Island in the Holy Land to meditate."

The other Domain Lord elders were all stunned. Yuluo Island was located within the Jiuyuan Holy Land, which was to say, inside the Divine Kingdom. On the island were numerous stone walls of various sizes, engraved with all kinds of secret techniques, ultimate arts, and law insights that the Lingtong Race had created and collected throughout history. It could be called the most important place in the Holy Land.

Usually, the secret techniques and ultimate arts that the Lingtong Race members practiced were all rubbed from the stone walls on Yuluo Island, and there was no need for them to go to Yuluo Island themselves.

Those who truly needed to go to Yuluo Island to meditate were those observing law insights or studying secret techniques and ultimate arts that involved profound origin laws.

This was because a great deal of information regarding origin laws could often not be expressed clearly in words; it was either in the form of paintings or direct law secret patterns.

Most of the time, they were law secret patterns. To record insights into origin laws in the form of a painting, one's realm had to be quite high, requiring one's understanding of origin laws to reach an extremely profound level, even forming one's own path.

Usually, only Universe Level geniuses who had perceived origin laws, or those who had reached the Domain Lord level, needed to go to Yuluo Island to meditate. After receiving approval from the race, they were only allowed to meditate on the stone walls related to what they were practicing or those that shared their own origin law, which was to prevent the large-scale leakage of secret techniques and ultimate arts.

After all, the stone walls on Yuluo Island stored the most important foundation of the Lingtong Race. If the majority of the secret techniques, ultimate arts, and law insights left behind by generations of powerhouses were to leak out, it would be a loss that the Lingtong Race could hardly bear.

The Domain Lord who had been refuting Meng Yi was first startled, then felt it was absurd.

For a little Stellar Level guy to go to Yuluo Island to meditate, wasn't that redundant? The main sect would not be stingy in imparting secret techniques to these geniuses from the branches; there were already rubbed copies of the texts. What difference was there between the text on the stone walls of Yuluo Island and the rubbed copies?

As for the insights involving origin laws, or even systematic secret techniques and ultimate arts, most of them existed in the form of law secret patterns, just like the secret patterns engraved on a Grade 5 weapon.

If you hadn't perceived the origin law and didn't understand it, even if you memorized it, you would forget it the moment you turned around. Was he just looking to broaden his horizons and see the world?

Suddenly, he realized that the Yanhe branch must be aiming for the massive amount of low-level cultivation methods and secret techniques on Yuluo Island that did not involve origin laws.

For the main sect of the Lingtong Race, those law secret techniques, ultimate arts, and insights accumulated over generations were the most important foundation.

From the perspective of the branch, weren't those massive amounts of cultivation methods below the Domain Lord level that didn't involve origin laws also a foundation?

In fact, the content on the vast majority of the stone walls on Yuluo Island consisted of these low-level cultivation methods suitable for the Universe Level and below. It was just that in the eyes of the high-level Lingtong Race, these had no value, as they were all in the rubbed copies.

But no matter how little value they had, they wouldn't be given away for free. These cultivation methods below the Domain Lord level that didn't involve origin laws cost anywhere from one or two Xuanshang Coins to thousands or tens of thousands of Universe Coins, and expensive secret techniques were usually related to improving one's domain.

Even when cultivating geniuses from the branches or even the main sect, they would only provide free cultivation methods that matched the attributes of those geniuses.

To purchase a large number of these low-level cultivation methods that the Lingtong Race had accumulated over tens of thousands of epochs would require an astronomical amount of wealth.

Was the Yanhe branch trying to skip the purchasing process and go directly to Yuluo Island to freeload?

At this moment, the World Lord on the right suddenly spoke: "I don't think this is such a big deal. The compensation for Yinhu Island is worth over a hundred Hunyuan. This is also because the Yanhe branch has cultivated a genius like Jiang Yao, and furthermore, his bloodline divine ability collapsed because of this. It would be unreasonable not to provide some compensation."

With the World Lord elder expressing his stance, even the Domain Lords from the main sect dared not easily refute him.

Thinking about it, it was indeed the case. In fact, the value of all those low-level cultivation methods collected by the Lingtong Race over tens of thousands of epochs might not even equal that of a single Grade 5 weapon; it was just that the quantity was large.

Besides, for a little guy who had just entered the Stellar Level, even if he spent day and night memorizing, how much could he possibly remember?

Thinking of this, the Domain Lord of the main sect even kindly advised: "Although this little guy's divine ability has collapsed and his potential is damaged, his natural talent is still quite high. At this time, he most needs to re-nurture his divine ability and work hard to improve his domain. Wasting time and energy on other things would be putting the cart before the horse."

Meng Yi gave a light snort. Pretending to be a good person.

"That is not something you need to worry about."