110,000 Gold Coins

"Your Lordship," Si An said, "to earn the title of Honorary Marquis, you have to perform a great service! If you look carefully through the Exchange Codex, you'll find it listed there. The title of Honorary Marquis... costs 20,000 Merit Points!"

"Is that the only way?" Dongbo Xueying had already looked through it, of course.

But 20,000 Merit Points seemed impossibly far away.

The only missions he could take on right now were Black Iron-level. They earned between ten and a hundred Merit Points, and even missions worth a hundred put his life at risk and consumed a great deal of time.

He would need to complete two hundred missions worth a hundred Merit Points each to accumulate 20,000!

Even if each mission took only two months... and he never took a break, he could complete only six a year. It would take more than thirty years to have any hope of reaching the total! Besides, the list of Black Iron-level missions Dragon Mountain Tower sent him was only a few pages long. How could there be so many missions worth exactly a hundred Merit Points?

"Is there no other way?" Dongbo Xueying pressed.

"No." Si An shook his head. "There's no way to game the system when it comes to becoming an Honorary Marquis. You can only earn it through great service. Even Title-level experts have to risk their lives time and again to accumulate that many Merit Points. That's why an Honorary Marquis commands such respect: a Title-level expert has repeatedly risked his life on their behalf."

"Phew."

Dongbo Xueying closed his eyes.

Father...

Father... What am I supposed to do?

He wanted so badly to charge straight into the Moyang Clan and rescue his father. But the Moyang Clan was an ancient family with a legacy spanning more than a thousand years, and its ranks were filled with experts. Moyang Chenbai alone could wield Title-level strength with the help of his Alchemy Armor! And that wasn't even counting the clan's other powerful forces—or the Pseudo-Transcendence expert. Even if that person was only Pseudo-Transcendent, one move would probably be enough to kill him.

"Trying to earn 20,000 Merit Points by taking missions now would be the stupidest thing I could do. I awakened my Primordial Bloodline only recently, and my body is growing stronger every day as it's nourished by Battle Qi! My Battle Qi is improving rapidly, too. My strength is clearly increasing by the day," Dongbo Xueying thought.

"Even under normal circumstances, I'm already as strong as a Meteor Rank knight. It won't be long before I match a Silver Moon Rank knight, or even a Title-level expert!"

"Once that happens, I can get a Bronze Token and take Bronze-level missions. They're worth at least a thousand Merit Points, and the more dangerous ones are worth 10,000. I'd only need to complete two." Dongbo Xueying considered it.

Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. The more he improved his strength first, the more efficiently he could complete missions!

He knew this was the fastest way to accumulate 20,000 Merit Points.

But...

What about his father?

Would his father be able to hold on until the day he accumulated 20,000 Merit Points?

The atmosphere in the living room was oppressive.

Splinters from the broken armrest littered the floor. Dongbo Xueying sat in silence, while Si An could only quietly sip his tea.

"I can't rescue my father," Dongbo Xueying said hoarsely. "But is there a way to keep him alive?"

"Although Moyang Chenbai has people torture him, he also has mages from the Alchemy Workshop heal him with magic again and again. He probably won't let your father die," Si An said.

"Probably?"

Dongbo Xueying gritted his teeth. "My father's life can't be at Moyang Chenbai's mercy! My father has been a laborer for years already. Moyang Chenbai could lose interest in torturing him at any time, and then my father might lose his life."

"I have to keep my father alive." Dongbo Xueying looked at Si An. "With enough gold, even Transcendent experts can be hired! I believe in the power of money."

Money had a magic all its own, enough to stir the hearts of countless people.

"Your Lordship, how much gold would it take to keep my father alive?" Dongbo Xueying asked. If he could throw down ten million gold coins in one go, even a Transcendent expert might come smiling to rescue and protect his father. But the amount needed to hire a Transcendent being was clearly beyond what Dongbo Xueying could afford.

"Gold?" Si An thought for a moment. "If you have enough, I might have an idea that could work."

"Please, tell me," Dongbo Xueying urged.

"When I looked into your parents' circumstances, I found that the Dongxiang Lake Alchemy Workshop where your father is being held is one of the Moyang Clan's most important core workshops. It's run by an exceptionally skilled Alchemy Master. He's a Silver Moon Rank mage, and even more accomplished in alchemy. His standing in the Moyang Clan is higher than Mo Yangchen's and Moyang Chenbai's," Si An said.

Dongbo Xueying's eyes lit up. Every ancient clan would treasure a powerful Alchemy Master.

"He controls the entire Alchemy Workshop! In the workshop, what the Alchemy Master says goes," Si An continued. "If he's willing to save your father, he can easily keep him alive and even make sure he's no longer tortured."

"Ask him for help," Dongbo Xueying said at once.

"That Alchemy Master has very high standards. If the offer's too small, he probably won't even consider it," Si An said. "I think 100,000 gold coins should give us a decent chance. If you can come up with 110,000, I'll handle this for you. Of that, 10,000 will be a gratuity for the Dragon Mountain Tower staff involved, and the other 100,000 will be to buy over the Alchemy Master."

"If it fails, the 100,000 will be returned. The gratuity won't," Si An said.

Dragon Mountain Tower's intelligence network stretched across the world.

Besides keeping watch over the world, Dragon Mountain Tower had been founded to serve the world's experts. A somewhat shady arrangement like this didn't count as a violation.

"110,000 gold coins? Fine."

Dongbo Xueying flipped his hand, and a thick stack of banknotes appeared in it. "Banknotes from the Empire Bank. A full 110,000!"

Si An was startled.

Good heavens.

110,000 gold coins!

Dongbo Xueying had simply taken them out just like that. Bai Yuanzhi had once asked for a 50,000-gold apprenticeship fee when he offered to take a personal disciple. In exchange, he would have been responsible for that disciple for life. But in the end, Dongbo Xueying had given him only a Silver Moon Heart, not 50,000 gold coins! Earning that much gold was incredibly difficult.

It might have looked as though he'd made a fortune quickly by killing the Silver Moon Wolf King and the Shadow Leopard.

But even Title Knights wouldn't willingly make easy money that way... because they might run into a magical beast stronger than they were and lose their lives! In fact, Dongbo Xueying had nearly died when he encountered the Shadow Leopard.

Usually, people earned that much by adventuring in dangerous places and hoping for a lucky break, or by risking their lives in the Destruction Mountain Range.

Without putting their lives on the line, earning that much gold was extremely difficult.

Of the 110,000 gold coins Dongbo Xueying had brought out, more than 70,000 had come from selling the Silver Moon Wolf King's pelt and other valuable materials from its body. The rest had come from the gold he'd kept when he wiped out the Curved Blade Alliance. Dongbo Xueying had just over 120,000 gold coins on hand, and now he was handing over a full 110,000.

"Don't worry. I'll get you an answer within a month. You can count on this working. These mages and Alchemy Masters all care a great deal about money. Their experiments consume a lot of materials. For 100,000 gold, we should be able to protect one worker in the workshop," Si An said.

Dongbo Xueying nodded.

If it didn't work, he'd just offer more money!

Word of his killing the Silver Moon Wolf King had spread widely, so merchants had come to buy its pelt and other materials. But although the Shadow Leopard's body had been completely processed, he hadn't sold it yet!

"Sorry for the trouble, Your Lordship," Dongbo Xueying said. "If this works, I won't forget this favor."

"Haha, don't worry." Hearing that, Si An immediately smiled. If he handled this well, Dongbo Xueying would surely remember the favor. His favor wasn't worth much yet, but if he became a Title-level expert someday, that would be another matter.

Dragon Mountain Tower's internal network was extensive. Si An quickly got in touch with the person in charge of Dragon Mountain Tower in Duoyu Prefecture, East Region Province, and handed the matter over to him.

Although the Moyang Clan ruled Duoyu Prefecture with an iron fist, Dragon Mountain Tower stood apart from it!

Dragon Mountain Tower wasn't an organization that just any family could influence. Si An, the head of Dragon Mountain Tower in Yi Water City, could openly call the Si Family's ancestor, Si Lianghong, an old hag precisely because he wasn't worried that the Si Family could threaten him—and because he had some old grudges with them.

Of course, when it came to a top-tier family like the Changfeng Clan, the strongest family in Anyang Province, Dragon Mountain Tower branches elsewhere might still stand firm! But the Anyang Province branch had to bow its head.

The Si Family and the Moyang Clan didn't have that kind of power.

******

East Region Province, Duoyu Prefecture, Dongxiang Lake Alchemy Workshop.

Dongxiang Lake was a beautiful body of water, its surface like a mirror. Beside the lake stood a vast, enclosed Alchemy Workshop that looked like a fortress. At its center rose a towering mage's tower—the tower of Alchemy Master Xu Guangqing. Although he was only a Silver Moon Rank mage, he was the finest alchemist in all of Duoyu Prefecture!

Other, more powerful families had invited an Alchemy Master like him to join them, but the Moyang Clan had succeeded in recruiting Xu Guangqing. He had even been made an elder of the clan, despite his different surname.

The reason Xu Guangqing had been willing to join the Moyang Clan was that Duoyu Prefecture was his home. Otherwise, he might not have joined them.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter—" Beside a set of scorching gears, a middle-aged man stood bare-chested and drenched in sweat, straining to turn them. It was Dongbo Lie. More workers labored nearby.

"Faster!"

"You're a Heaven-Rank Knight. Put some muscle into it!" The overseer glanced at Dongbo Lie now and then, and occasionally brought his whip down on him.

Dongbo Lie had grown thinner than before.

He kept silent and continued working.

The endless, backbreaking labor, the punishments he was subjected to from time to time—there was no end in sight. It was a living nightmare. But Dongbo Lie gritted his teeth and endured. He hadn't given up hope. He still had things to look forward to: his wife, his two sons... He had too many people to worry about. He had to stay alive.

Even if he had to live like a dog, he would stay alive!

"Master."

"Master."

Suddenly, the overseers around them all shuddered and called out respectfully. Several workers jumped in fright.

An old man with black hair and a red robe strolled in. Everyone bowed to him, hardly daring to breathe. This was an elder of the clan, and the undisputed master of the entire Alchemy Workshop—Alchemy Master Xu Guangqing!

"I need some people to help with a few experiments," Xu Guangqing said casually. "If you agree to take part, you won't have to do this work, and you'll earn more."

Everyone held their breath.

An Alchemy Master's experiments?

The overseers' faces turned pale. Who would be stupid enough to volunteer?

"What prisoners are here?" Xu Guangqing frowned when no one volunteered. The clan's workers still had some freedom, but prisoners could be experimented on however he liked.

"Master, there are over two thousand prisoners here," the overseer in charge immediately replied.

"Give me the list of all the prisoners and their strength. I'll choose some for the experiments," Xu Guangqing ordered.

"Yes, sir."

The chief overseer immediately bowed and accepted the order.

That very day, twelve unlucky prisoners were selected for the Master's experiments. Two were Heaven-Rank Knights, five were Earth-Rank Knights, and five were ordinary Knights! As the other people around them watched with pity, the prisoners went to meet the Alchemy Master, some terrified, some despairing, and some numb with resignation.

"You, Dongbo Lie? Stay behind for now," Xu Guangqing ordered.

The other prisoners had all left. Dongbo Lie stood there nervously in his tattered clothes.

Xu Guangqing lowered his head to look through a file and said casually, "Dongbo Lie, someone paid 100,000 gold coins to keep you alive. From today on, you'll stay here and work as my assistant. You won't have to do delicate work. My apprentices aren't strong enough to handle some of the heavy lifting, so you can do that."

"An assistant?" Dongbo Lie stared at him in surprise.

"Just stay here in peace. No one would dare break into my mage's tower," Xu Guangqing instructed. "All right, from now on, you'll stay in the mage's tower and not go outside. My disciples will assign you your work. You can leave now."

"Yes, Master." Dongbo Lie felt confused and could hardly believe it.

Were those nightmarish days really over?

Working as an assistant in the laboratory was much easier than the backbreaking labor in the workshop.

"Is there a problem with the metal proportions?" Xu Guangqing frowned at the document, studying it. To him, this was a minor matter. He was happy enough to receive 100,000 gold coins. Of course... he wasn't about to take the money and do nothing. Dragon Mountain Tower had paid him! If he accepted money from Dragon Mountain Tower, he had to do the job properly.

As for Moyang Chenbai?

He was just a clan Knight relying on his Alchemy Armor. Xu Guangqing didn't care about him at all. A Master like him, who could continually produce all manner of treasures, was the true foundation of the clan.

"Looks like I'll have to run more experiments. Hmm, we're short on materials. Hmph, those clan elders are always limiting my supply." Xu Guangqing frowned.