NOVPUB
Chapter 434: 430
"To uphold the justice of the law and maintain order stability..."
Yan Lie listened to Gu Jinlai’s words with some emotion.
He understood Gu Jinlai very well.
Having fled to this world from the outside, Gu Jinlai had naturally witnessed countless sufferings brought about by the loss of order and its descent into chaos—one could see as much from the fact that he had arrived alone, without a single friend or relative surviving.
The multitude of hardships had led him to develop such a true self, which was only to be expected.
In Wind and Rain City, there were others with similar true selves.
But...
"The path of your true self... will be very difficult."
Yan Lie said.
"I know."
Gu Jinlai nodded. "But I do not wish to deceive my heart."
"I understand."
Yan Lie took a deep breath.
This path, if one wanted to make it through...
Although difficult,
Wind and Rain City had undergone many changes compared to when it was first established.
Various forces contended in the dark, vying for power and influence.
The entire Holy Dynasty seemed to be sliding back to the state of the Holy Land a hundred years ago.
If there were more people like Gu Jinlai, perhaps they could awaken those truly at the top, who wield power, reminding them of their original aspirations and reminding them what kind of Holy Dynasty they truly wanted to establish.
"The way you handle things in the Southeast Outer City District... the Dean and several Martial Saints may not like it... If you want to ask for their help..."
As Yan Lie spoke, he paused before continuing, "I can only do my best to persuade them."
"If I am to face my true self and seek the true self, then naturally, I cannot rely on others, because this is in itself a process of self-affirmation."
Gu Jinlai said, "This stage itself requires continually breaking through confusion, recognizing the self, firming up the self, and eventually step by step transforming and sublimating, only then can the Martial Arts Will be condensed."
After pondering for a moment, Yan Lie nodded.
Condensing the Martial Arts Will was never an easy task.
Compared to the Undying Will of the Devas, the path of Martial Arts, newly founded, was much more difficult.
If it were not for the rapid advancement of Martial Arts and the strong promotion by the Holy Dynasty, it would have been impossible for so many martial artists to exist in this land.
"Then, for your visit this time..."
"To exchange Contribution Value."
Gu Jinlai took out the box, "I want to exchange all these supplies for Contribution Value and use it to exchange for the cultivation insights and Cultivation Techniques I need."
Yan Lie nodded in agreement.
The cultivation of Martial Kings involves three steps: refining the body, meticulously practicing Combat Techniques, and condensing the Martial Arts Will.
Of these three steps, condensing the Martial Arts Will is the most important. However, cultivating a top-grade Cultivation Technique to Perfection and thereby more perfectly refining the body is also key.
After all, Cultivation Techniques and the body are related to what kind of Martial Arts Divine Power a cultivator can ultimately evolve.
If the evolved Divine Power is too weak, even if one could become a Martial Saint in the future, one would be helpless against those Devas who have achieved Mahayana in Divine Power, wielding top-grade Dao Artifacts.
"These supplies, coming from the Bai Family, the Wan Family, and the Fang Family, should not be accepted by me in theory because of the methods involved in obtaining them,"
Yan Lie said. Nonetheless, he took the box from Gu Jinlai’s hand, "But, no matter how powerful the Bai Family, the Fang Family, and the Wan Family are, their reach doesn’t extend into the Martial Saint Institute, so what does it matter if I help you convert these supplies?"
Gu Jinlai had been prepared to exchange these resources worth four hundred million for only two hundred million in Contribution Value and let Yan Lie handle the relationships with the remaining two hundred million. He hadn’t expected...
"Dean Yan, if it’s troublesome..."
"What’s the trouble?"
Yan Lie said with a smile, "I can sit securely in the position of Deputy Dean because I have the support of the Dean. How can the backgrounds of the people from the Bai Family, the Fang Family, and the Wan Family compare to the Dean? Alright, I’ll have someone appraise the exact value of these resources now. You take my Token to the Library and pick out the things you want to exchange. Once I have the appraisal done here, I will credit you with the corresponding Contribution Value."
"Thank you, Dean Yan."
Gu Jinlai said.
"There’s no need to thank me. I don’t have enough courage to do what you are doing. I can only give you some help within my power, hoping... that you can truly bring some change to the atmosphere of Wind and Rain City."
Yan Lie said while writing an Identity Token and handing it to Gu Jinlai.
"It will, Wind and Rain City will definitely change for the better."
Gu Jinlai said earnestly to Yan Lie, "I promise you, you will see the day when the light of order shines throughout Wind and Rain City."
"Heh, I shall wait and see."
Yan Lie responded with a laugh.
...
With Yan Lie’s Token in hand, this time Gu Jinlai easily made his way to the third floor of the Library.
Resources worth four hundred million could be exchanged for both the Great Thunder Sword Technique and the Thunder Origin Divine Body.
The rest were for two Divine Powers.
Although his swordsmanship was exquisite, once one reached the Martial King and Devas Stages, who would still rely on brute force and True Qi to perform swordsmanship?
What they used was invariably Divine Powers that had condensed a cultivator’s Essence Qi Spirit and drawn upon Heaven and Earth Power to amplify their effects.
Just like an ordinary person whose sword strike only deals physical damage, another person might deal physical damage as well as magical damage, spirit damage, and even come with effects like slow, weakness, and armor break, making the power between them incomparable.
"Thunder Based Divine Powers."
Gu Jinlai searched for Magic Skills on the third floor, "Fire Based Divine Power would also suffice."
Although Martial Arts had risen in the Holy Dynasty, the true pinnacle still belonged to the cultivators.
The path to Human Immortals had direction, but it was said that there was no true Human Immortal in the world today.
The supreme powers of the Holy Dynasty were those Void Immortals.
Especially the Masters of the Six Great Cave Heavens, those six supreme Void Immortals who had earned the acknowledgment of Divine Weapons.
Plus, many top experts from the Sect forces were killed when their powers were shattered, often only the second-tier Devas, or even Primordial Spirit Monarchs, managed to survive and flee to the Holy Land.
Upon reaching the Holy Land, they had no choice but to exchange their Sect’s inheritance for resources.
In such circumstances, the library of the Martial Saint Institute alone had several hundred volumes of Devas Inheritance and Divine Skills, which far surpassed the Martial Saint Inheritance and insights.
Not to mention the collections in the library of the Wind and Rain City Lord’s Mansion.
Gu Jinlai meticulously searched and soon found two Divine Skills that he was fairly satisfied with.
The Thunder Staff and the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light.
Among them, the Thunder Staff was a Divine Skill that condensed the Thunder Power within the body to strike the target.
This Divine Skill was not particularly strong in terms of killing power, but it contained two unparalleled advantages.
One was speed.
The other was that upon being struck by Thunder, the cultivator would experience convulsions and stiffness throughout the body. Even though this effect was very brief for the physically strong Martial Kings or Devas with dense True Qi, in the struggle between strong fighters, a momentary lapse could determine the life and death of a battle.
Therefore, this was an excellent auxiliary Divine Skill.
As for the other, the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light...
It was almost standard for those with the Thunder Origin Divine Body or those who cultivated the power of the Thunder Series.
This Divine Skill was specifically targeted against flying swords, or any metal weapons and War Armor.
Under the sweep of the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, the flying swords and metal objects would lose control and fall into the hands of the opponent.
Gu Jinlai had always been annoyed that in his fights against enemies, he would inadvertently destroy their weapons, which was a significant loss.
The Primordial Magnetic Divine Light perfectly solved this problem.
Moreover...
It was said that this Divine Skill was a simplified version derived from the Great Divine Power—the Great Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, and that in the future, it could form the foundation for cultivating this Great Divine Power, killing two birds with one stone.
The only pity was...
The price was a bit high.
For a Martial King to exchange for a Martial Saint Inheritance, the hard standard was only one billion.
Nevertheless, Devas Inheritance and Devas Divine Skills were not the same.
The Thunder Staff was somewhat better, costing only one hundred and twenty million.
But due to the potential for future cultivation, the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light was valued at two hundred and thirty million.
It was by no means cheap.
"This time I have brought about four billion worth of resources, but in the Law Enforcement Court, I have assets valued at three billion, and aside from some resources I have set aside for my own use or to return to the rightful owners, it’s not difficult to shift an additional one hundred and fifty million."
With this in mind, Gu Jinlai made a decision.
No need to trouble two when one will do.
After leaving the Library, Gu Jinlai quickly found Yan Lie and explained the situation to him.
Yan Lie did not make it difficult for Gu Jinlai and sent a Martial King from the Martial Saint Institute to the Southeast Outer City District, bringing back some additional materials.
And he personally transferred the contribution value worth five hundred and fifty million to Gu Jinlai’s Identity Token.
Looking at this number, Gu Jinlai couldn’t help feeling a bit emotional.
In Wind and Rain City, the annual income of an Ordinary Martial King was often only around ten million.
Five hundred and fifty million would take a Martial King saving up for forty-five years without eating or drinking.
But in reality, Martial Kings need to cultivate and they have their social circles.
Under these circumstances, they might not be able to save that amount even in a hundred years.
Furthermore...
How long is a Martial King’s lifespan?
And how much time would they need to spend to cultivate to the Martial King level?
From this, one can discern how astonishing the sum of five hundred and fifty million is.
No matter what you do, nothing fills the coffers faster than looting.
"You want to face your true self, but also remember, you must never sink into the realm of grand desires. There are too many temptations in this world. You must adhere strictly to your own bottom line, never forget your original intention, and remember your mission," Yan Lie earnestly advised after transferring the money to Gu Jinlai.
"I understand," Gu Jinlai nodded. "I am very clear about what I want and what I need to do."
Seeing this, Yan Lie did not persuade further.
Gu Jinlai went back to the Library and exchanged the two Divine Skills, Thunder Staff and Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, along with the Great Thunder Sword Technique and the Thunder Origin Divine Body—two Cultivation Methods that can reach Martial Saint level.
After exchanging for the Divine Skills and Cultivation Methods, he did not return to the Outer City District but went straight to the Martial Saint Institute’s Cultivation Room.
"Divine Skills, Cultivation Methods..."
Gu Jinlai first looked at the two Cultivation Methods.
To cultivate these methods using Qingguang, he must first achieve entry-level proficiency in them.
If he did not cultivate them to entry-level, he would have to take a shortcut.
That was to use Qingguang to optimize and transform the Great Thunder Sword Technique.
In doing so, the Great Thunder Sword Technique would become an unknown Cultivation Method.
Of course, the transformed Cultivation Method might not necessarily be stronger, and it could potentially become weaker.
The only benefit was that it allowed skipping the initial stage to achieve entry-level directly.
"I have reviewed many martial arts texts lately, and combined with the vast knowledge contained in my mind, optimizing and transforming a Cultivation Method is unlikely to weaken it. Moreover..."
Gu Jinlai intended to return to Qiantian within two years, and before that, he had to have the strength to confront the Heavenly Dragon Wood.
"Time waits for no one." 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
He muttered softly.
After reviewing the Great Thunder Sword Technique several more times, he closed his eyes.
"Let’s begin."
With a thought, a beam of Qingguang immediately infused into the consciousness resting atop Qing Lian.
