Everyone congratulated Qi Hanmo on his breakthrough in his musical craft.
This left Qi Hanmo rather embarrassed. He repeatedly demurred, saying he was still far from becoming a master musician and had a long road ahead of him, and so on.
His reaction made everyone laugh.
Then, while the atmosphere at the banquet was good, Li Ping clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
Only after everyone had quieted down and turned to look at him did Li Ping smile and speak. "You all know my talisman-making skills have reached the second tier. Out of concern for your safety, I've specially prepared a second-tier lower-grade Spirit Talisman for each of you for this gathering. It might just save your life at a critical moment."
With that, under everyone's delighted gazes, Li Ping took six offensive Spirit Talismans from his Storage Bag and handed them to the six of them.
All six thanked him. "Thank you, eldest brother."
A second-tier lower-grade Spirit Talisman was worth fifty spirit stones.
Of the six, only Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng were at the late Qi Refining Stage. Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and Teng Feng were at the Mid Qi Refining Stage, while Bai Qing was still only at the early Qi Refining Stage.
For the four other than Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng, a second-tier lower-grade Spirit Talisman was undoubtedly a considerable fortune.
With power equivalent to a strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it might help them escape with their lives in a truly dangerous situation, or even turn the tables and kill their enemy!
Once Li Ping had finished distributing the Spirit Talismans, it was time for each of the seven to contribute to the "Foundation Establishment Fund." This was also Li Ping's first contribution since successfully reaching Foundation Establishment.
Before this, to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill and the other spiritual items needed for Foundation Establishment, Li Ping had not only emptied his own coffers but also spent the entire Foundation Establishment Fund.
Under the rules the Shared Boat Association had previously established, Li Ping's income had increased substantially now that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he was required to contribute at least 100 spirit stones to the Foundation Establishment Fund each year.
Before the gathering, Li Ping had given it some thought. As a Second-Tier Talisman Maker, he could now earn spirit stones at a rate ordinary Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivators could not begin to match.
Instead, the oath he had sworn upon joining the Shared Boat Association was a constraint on him until it was lifted.
The others wanted to reach Foundation Establishment sooner, and he wanted to be released from his oath sooner as well.
Thus, without much hesitation, Li Ping announced his decision to everyone. "It was with your support that I successfully reached Foundation Establishment. As your eldest brother, I ought to contribute more to the Foundation Establishment Fund, so I've decided to contribute 300 spirit stones each year. That way, I can help everyone reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible!"
At these words, Zhang Tie immediately beamed with joy. His age, cultivation, and contributions to the Foundation Establishment Fund were all second only to their eldest brother's, making him the next person to receive an opportunity to reach Foundation Establishment!
If Li Ping was willing to increase his contribution, Zhang Tie would undoubtedly be the first to benefit.
Gu Musheng and the others were somewhat surprised, but after that brief moment of surprise, they too were delighted.
Li Ping increasing his contribution was good news for them as well.
After all, the younger one was when attempting Foundation Establishment, the higher the chance of success.
If they delayed until their fifties, when their bodies had begun to age and their blood and vitality were ebbing away, their chances of success would drop considerably even with a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Li Ping took 300 spirit stones from his Storage Bag, then placed them straight into another, empty Storage Bag under the six others' burning gazes.
After Li Ping, it was Zhang Tie's turn.
Grinning, he took thirty spirit stones from his Storage Bag and placed them on the table. "Eldest brother, these are my contribution."
"Mm." Li Ping nodded, but did not hurry to put the spirit stones away. He planned to wait until everyone else had taken theirs out, then collect them all together.
After Zhang Tie came Gu Musheng's turn.
According to the rules, since he had broken through to the late Qi Refining stage, he too should contribute thirty spirit stones.
Under everyone's watchful gazes, Gu Musheng hesitated, then finally took a deep breath and tipped a small pile of spirit stones out of his Storage Bag.
Faced with the others' puzzled looks, Gu Musheng tugged the corners of his mouth into a stiff smile. "Since my breakthrough, business at the shop has improved quite a bit, so I've decided to contribute 100 spirit stones to the Foundation Establishment Fund."
Gu Musheng had originally joined the Shared Boat Association because other rogue cultivators had bullied him while he was doing business, leaving him no choice but to find someone powerful to shelter him.
Deep down, he had never believed in the Shared Boat Association's founding purpose, much less that Li Ping would truly turn around and help the rest of them reach Foundation Establishment after achieving it himself.
So even later, as his business grew and his private wealth quietly became the greatest in the association, he had only contributed the fixed minimum number of spirit stones each year, treating it as protection money.
As for contributing more spirit stones, surpassing Li Ping's contributions, and gaining higher priority for Foundation Establishment?
The thought had never even crossed his mind.
First, his cultivation was far below Li Ping's. No matter how hard he tried to catch up, he could not reach the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining before the Foundation Establishment Fund had accumulated enough spirit stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Second, he did not think their eldest brother, Li Ping, was someone foolishly bound by rules. If he dared oppose him and try to snatch food from his mouth, there was no telling what fate awaited him.
Third, the Foundation Establishment Fund had always been in Li Ping's safekeeping. Even if he truly reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and surpassed Li Ping's contributions, qualifying for priority access to the Foundation Establishment Fund...
Gu Musheng believed Li Ping would have a hundred ways to put him off and refuse to give him the spirit stones.
In short, Gu Musheng did not dare compete with Li Ping.
But Zhang Tie was a different matter. Gu Musheng had never thought much of this second brother, considering him rather brainless.
Moreover, his cultivation was now at the seventh level of Qi Refining, only one level below Zhang Tie's.
With his connection to Master Hu's disciple, he could easily close that gap by consuming pills regardless of the cost, catching up to Zhang Tie or even surpassing him!
Then, if he also surpassed Zhang Tie in contributions to the Foundation Establishment Fund...
Once he reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, he would rank ahead of Zhang Tie in priority for using the Foundation Establishment Fund, qualifying to draw on it first!
Although he was three years younger than Zhang Tie and seemingly less pressed for time when it came to Foundation Establishment...
Given the choice, who would not want to reach Foundation Establishment first?
After saying this, Gu Musheng did not look at Zhang Tie or the other four at all. He merely watched Li Ping covertly from the corner of his eye.
Strictly speaking, the Foundation Establishment Fund's rules only set a minimum contribution for each of them, with no restrictions on the maximum. If he was willing to contribute more, no one had grounds to object.
What he was doing complied with the rules.
The problem, however, was that as the Shared Boat Association's founder and a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Ping was the association's rules!
Gu Musheng knew that if Li Ping opposed him, no matter how eloquently he argued or how unwilling he felt, he could only obediently do as he was told.
Eldest brother met Zhang Tie first, and the two of them are the closest. So between Zhang Tie and me, he'll definitely favor Zhang Tie, Gu Musheng thought to himself. But eldest brother keeps his promises and respects the rules. He shouldn't simply trample on rules he established himself.
Besides, I brought Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and Bai Qing into the association. Eldest brother has seen my contributions too!
Just as Gu Musheng had expected, Li Ping was indeed troubled as he looked at the spirit stones Gu Musheng had brought out.