NOVPUBChapter 728 -677: Astonishing Amount of Tax
After receiving Lin Tianchen’s response, Lin Rui couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
This business with armament would take up an entire day again—he practically hadn’t had a moment’s rest.
But this second General-in-Chief was not just the benefactor who had promoted “Thunder,” but also a natural ally against the Longevity Association. Helping Lin Tianchen was, in essence, helping himself.
Lin Tianchen’s True Spirit issue absolutely needed to be resolved as soon as possible, or else Li Xianglong would be left isolated within the Security Bureau.
Gu Ying Tiandao (Lin Rui): Understood, I’ll arrange for the time.
At this moment, Lin Rui was inside “Rui Fang’s Hospital” near the Starport Governor’s Mansion, checking his physical data.
This armament hospital had taken three months to construct and consisted of five buildings, the tallest reaching 472 meters with 75 floors. Even the shortest had 70 floors. The architecture combined the styles of Sky Extreme Star and Federation buildings, presenting a breathtakingly elegant appearance.
There was even a Divine Emblem of the Divine Law Venerable embedded outside the buildings, personally set by the Divine Law Heavenly Girl. She claimed it would provide a guarantee for the hospital, ensuring the safety of its armament offerings and surgical procedures.
Inside the hospital, over two thousand doctors and more than seven thousand nurses were busily preparing for the grand opening. Meanwhile, Lin Rui had only brought over one set of top-tier diagnostic and medical containment equipment, reserved exclusively for the National Guardian Marquis and his affiliated forces.
One advantage of the Great Song Starport was that anything related to the Heavenly Demon could be conducted openly.
“Comprehensive spiritual power score: 62,821. Spiritual strength score: 53,231. Spiritual sensing score: 84,214. Spiritual intensity: 92,311 points—all far exceeding the standard for a General and approaching the threshold for a One-star Marshal.”
The person conducting the testing for Lin Rui’s alien body this time was Si Malin. He focused intently on Lin Rui’s test data, amazement flickering in his eyes.
After Lin Rui successfully underwent Dragon Transformation, the East Asia Science Academy placed increasing hope in their “X Project.”
The academicians who had initiated the research project originally took a scattershot approach, hoping to gather as much data as possible. Yet they had not anticipated that the concentration of X Source Essence in Lin Rui’s body would escalate so significantly. Even various pseudo-X Main Armaments displayed signs of further Abyss Transformation.
Thus, they hoped to further observe and gather detailed data on Lin Rui’s alien form.
However, Lin Rui currently trusted only Si Malin and was only willing to let him view the most critical physical data, which left Si Malin feeling somewhat humbled.
“Comprehensive physical fitness score: 32,411 points—just over 3,000 more to reach the threshold for implanting that pseudo-X-level ‘Divine Power Pillar.’ I never expected that after entering the Sixth Realm, your cultivation progress could be so rapid. The key is that despite your speed, there’s not even a hint of instability or disorder in your foundation. It’s truly unbelievable.”
Si Malin shook his head slightly as he made this observation.
The baseline for a General’s physical and spiritual attributes was 30,000 points. The standard for a One-star Marshal was 100,000 points.
Thus, Lin Rui’s spiritual and physical attributes had, in essence, fully reached or even surpassed the Seventh Realm.
The frightening part was that when Lin Rui had recently replaced his entire set of advanced armaments, his body had undergone a comprehensive restructuring. Any part that needed enhancement had been enhanced, and any area needing integration had been integrated.
Currently, all of Lin Rui’s Main Armaments were pseudo-X-level. Furthermore, he possessed five SSS-level bloodline abilities, four SSS+ bloodline abilities, and two pseudo-X-level bloodline abilities. The intensity of his bloodline abilities would enable him to reach the Super Monarch Rank even in the Eighth Realm!
As for his martial arts accomplishments, they were no less extraordinary. His skills were extraordinary to saintly—he was practically a hexagonal warrior with no weaknesses.
Even his Battle Dragon had reached a pseudo-X level. In theory, it could transform into any type of dragon and had been derived from the “Vajra Battle Dragon Seed” provided by the Earth Federation. Naturally, it could utilize 40% of the “Vajra” concept, 30% of the “Defense” concept, and 30% of the “Solid” concept, and it would further strengthen as Lin Rui’s cultivation improved!
This was nothing short of a monster!
Even without relying on any external strength, Lin Rui could directly withstand an Eight Realms Super Emperor, and he was even approaching Quasi-Member-level strength. How was Han Xian’er supposed to win against someone like that?
Si Malin was now seriously considering whether he should place a bet in the gambling pool. Currently, Lin Rui’s odds were still favorable, at approximately 2.4:2.6.
Lin Rui, on the other hand, merely gave a wry smile upon hearing this: “I have no choice but to be this fast. Even Yi has reached the Seventh Realm. Besides, Professor, aren’t you aware of my current situation? It’s the circumstances forcing me forward—”
As he spoke, Lin Rui consulted the skill lists of Slot 2 and Slot 3 in the Battle Spirit Ring.
Excluding higher-tier martial arts such as Tongtian and Divine Illumination, 13 Dragon Stage-level Body Refinement methods remained. However, there were no cultivation methods left for Primordial Spirit or soul power; he had already copied all of them.
Lin Rui estimated that by acquiring three more, he could meet the requirement to implant the “Divine Power Pillar.”
Yet his accumulated soul power points were nearly depleted, leaving only 134,000 points—barely enough to exchange for one Dragon Stage Grandmaster-level Body Refinement method.
Over the past two months, Lin Rui had been frantically exchanging resources, using the “Radiant Holy Altar” to assist in refining. This frenzied pace was what had enabled such rapid cultivation progress.
Even so, Lin Rui remained dissatisfied, wishing he could go even faster.
He had to figure out a way to collect more soul power points. Additionally, his Blood God Wings were lacking in refined Blood Qi.
Lin Rui couldn’t help but think of the countless demons within the Ten Thousand Dragon Tower, licking his lips with yearning.
Truthfully, Si Malin wasn’t entirely correct. Such rapid cultivation carried significant risks. Lin Rui had already sensed the power of the Great Sun Venerable growing rampantly within his body, infiltrating at an alarming rate. Even employing the “Pure Method” and “Radiant Holy Altar” failed to fully purify it.
However, reaching the Seventh Realm was critical for Lin Rui. Only at this level could he ensure that he would have the ability to protect himself in most situations and avoid suffering a repeat of the Invincible Dharma King’s surprise assault.
Without deploying Abyss Concepts, Lin Rui knew he wouldn’t be able to defeat the Invincible Dharma King. However, with the pending arrival of nine SSS-level Outer Elixirs, two newly acquired Emperor Rank Magic Artifacts, and his Blood God Wings secret technique, Lin Rui could escape even in the presence of Senior Divine Envoy-level or Super Divine Envoy-level opponents.
If he could flee to Luo Wangshu’s location or the Divine Palace in the East Abyss, no one would be able to lay a hand on him.
At that point, Lin Rui would also have access to more powerful Abyss Source Cores and greater Abyss Source Material, providing him with longer-lasting support for his Abyss Concepts.
Thus, only after reaching the Seventh Realm could he pause to consolidate, gradually eliminating potential risks.
Right now, Lin Rui had to spare no expense, charging full speed ahead on his path to the Seventh Realm.
The following morning, the Great Song Starport held a grand opening ceremony.
It was truly a gathering of all kinds of devils and demons! The Earth Federation Government had not only sent a delegation led by the President’s Chief of Staff to attend the ceremony but also dispatched various high-ranking officials and business tycoons. These figures congregated at the Starport, preparing to inaugurate their respective Chambers of Commerce.
In contrast, Great Song’s presence appeared far less impressive. Apart from the Second Divine Envoy Yu Huaxuan, Lin Hao, and Han Baxian from the Divine Palace overseeing the event, the rest of Great Song’s high-ranking officials, noble families, and sect leaders were notably absent. Most had merely sent delegates, stewards, or shopkeepers, resulting in an event bustling with people.
This demonstrated that various factions on Sky Extreme Star were still apprehensive about trading with the Heavenly Demon and sought to avoid suspicion.
However, the real spectacle would take place after the ceremony. The Earth Federation had organized a trade fleet of 15,000 ships to commence trade at Starport. They aimed to secure a good start, using trade tax revenue to impress the Great Song Court and pave the way for further trade liberalization.
Lin Rui, Yu Huaxuan, Han Baxian, and the Grand Steward of the Emperor’s Inner Court all sat in the Governor’s Mansion, quietly awaiting the accounting results from the financial offices.
Thanks to Lin Rui’s prior arrangements, the first wave of opening-day trade would be tallied within two hours, and the corresponding tax revenue calculated.
Among the four, Han Baxian was the most impatient, glancing outside from time to time.
He was now notably clad in red robes, having attained the rank of Red Priest.
Nevertheless, Han Baxian was keenly aware that his career in the Divine Palace was now inexorably tied to Lin Hao and the policies he represented. Thus, he placed great importance on the tax calculations for this trade.
Yu Huaxuan, by contrast, calmly sipped tea. His expression remained serene, though he had refilled his teacup 27 times without changing the tea leaves.
About an hour and a half later, Han Baxian could no longer contain himself. “National Guardian Marquis, you must have a rough idea of the scale of this opening trade. Could you provide us with an estimate of the tax revenue for this Starport?”
“An estimate?” Lin Rui had actually already received preliminary figures from Ji Xueying and others surveying the accounting offices.
Pretending to ponder, he then smiled. “I would estimate between 43 million and 49 million taels of Divine Gold.”
In reality, the figure was approximately 44.23 million taels, with some portions unaccounted for. The final total probably wouldn’t exceed 46 million taels.
Frankly, even Lin Rui himself was astonished by the unexpectedly high trade volume and hadn’t yet figured out the reasons behind it.
Yu Huaxuan’s hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, and his expression grew grave.
The initial licensing fees and land lease payments for the Starport amounted to 58 million taels of Divine Gold, roughly equivalent to 40% of Great Song’s annual land tax revenue—a figure that had already exceeded his expectations!
But now, the first day’s tax revenue was reportedly this high?
How could this be? How could the Starport’s trade revenue possibly be this enormous?
Yet if it were true—
Yu Huaxuan could already envision the scenes of Great Song’s court ministers and Divine Palace elders reacting to this figure!
This astounding tax revenue would undoubtedly shock Great Song’s entire court and might even catch the attention of the Divine Spirits. Lin Rui’s position would become even more unshakable.
The Grand Steward of the Inner Court wore a complex expression, a mix of doubt, shock, happiness, and wariness.
His doubts stemmed from disbelief, his happiness from the potential relief this revenue could bring to the Great Song Court, and his wariness from Lin Hao himself—both Lin Hao’s capabilities and the wealth and power he commanded.
Only Han Baxian felt pure joy in his heart. He trusted that Lin Hao would not speak without basis, and even if the revenue was halved, it would still be remarkable.
At that moment, a voice echoed outside the Governor’s Mansion: “Where is National Guardian Marquis Lin Hao? On this day, Han Xian’er of Great Wei has come as promised to challenge you to a duel!”
The people in the hall all showed a reaction upon hearing these words, turning their gazes outward in unison.
