Chapter Seventy-Four: Purchasing a Large Quantity of Spirit Stones
Although the Martial Arts Association’s administration was rather lax, the competitiveness among provincial branches was intense. Each province’s association had its own unique characteristics—for instance, Shan Province was renowned for its abundance of spiritual herbs and pills. To Lin Yi’s delight, he discovered that the Sichuan branch offered spirit stones for sale.
Lin Yi inquired, “What’s the price of a spirit stone in Sichuan’s Martial Arts Association?”
Qiao Weiliang hurriedly replied, “Mr. Lin, the association has adopted a points system these past years. The spirit stone I just gave you is a low-grade one; its price is ten thousand points.”
“Points?” Lin Yi found the concept novel.
“Yes, one can exchange one point for ten thousand yuan, or earn points by completing tasks or trading rare treasures,” explained Qiao Weiliang.
Lin Yi’s face betrayed little, but inwardly he calculated. The spirit stone Qiao Weiliang gave him was worth ten thousand points—that was one hundred million yuan. A single low-grade spirit stone cost a hundred million; his medium-grade stones must be even more valuable.
“What about medium-grade spirit stones?” Lin Yi asked, intrigued.
“Medium-grade stones are priced by the gram—one gram costs ten thousand points,” Qiao Weiliang answered truthfully.
One gram for one hundred million yuan—far more precious than any gemstone or diamond. The medium-grade stone Lin Yi had acquired before weighed about two hundred grams, making it worth over twenty billion.
Money meant little to Lin Yi, but he wondered about the Sichuan branch’s medium-grade spirit stone reserves.
“It seems necessary to visit Sichuan,” Lin Yi mused, his gaze profound.
Qiao Weiliang lowered his head and dared not speak further. He felt a pang of regret; though he was a grandmaster, he still needed resources for cultivation, and his funds were nearly depleted.
“Alright, you may leave now,” Lin Yi said, losing interest in entertaining the pair.
“Mr. Lin, until we meet again.” Qiao Weiliang cupped his hands and departed.
Fortunately, Qiao Weiliang had exercised restraint; Hong Wu looked miserable, but it was only a few broken bones. With his nearly grandmaster-level physique, such injuries didn’t impede his movements.
Hong Wu eyed Lin Yi with apprehension, then quickly followed Qiao Weiliang.
Once outside the neighborhood, Hong Wu cautiously asked, “Grandmaster Qiao, who exactly is Lin Yi?”
Qiao Weiliang stared at Hong Wu, expressionless.
Smack.
He slapped Hong Wu across the face and said coldly, “You fool, you nearly got me killed. He’s the young grandmaster who recently appeared in Shan Province.”
Hong Wu shuddered; he’d heard tales of Shan Province’s young grandmaster—who had defeated Qiao Weiliang in just a few moves.
He hadn’t expected his luck to be so terrible; the young man he’d provoked turned out to be that grandmaster.
No wonder Grandmaster Qiao feared him so much.
The realization that he’d danced so close to death sent chills down Hong Wu’s spine and made his legs weak.
Seeing Hong Wu’s cowardice, Qiao Weiliang grew more irate. “Unless you prepare ten billion, I doubt the Seven Stars Society will survive this incident.”
Hong Wu, face drawn, replied, “Don’t worry, Grandmaster Qiao. I’ll personally deliver the ten billion tomorrow.”
He dared not refuse; Qiao Weiliang had many who would act on his behalf.
The Seven Stars Society had hoped to win Qiao Weiliang over with spirit stones, but it had backfired, and they’d inadvertently offended a young grandmaster.
“This is a costly lesson—let’s treat it as such,” Hong Wu muttered to himself.
Meanwhile,
Lin Yi tossed the spirit stone in his hand and began absorbing its energy.
Even a tiny mosquito is still meat.
Within ten minutes, Lin Yi had completely absorbed the low-grade spirit stone, which could normally sustain a grandmaster’s cultivation for a month.
“Low-grade stones are still too inferior. Medium-grade stones are much better. I wonder what treasures Jiang Province’s association holds.”
Lin Yi recalled his last visit to the Martial Arts Association—it must have been fifty years ago, after which he stopped frequenting it.
Back then, the association didn’t offer much. Perhaps with advances in technology, more hidden treasures had been unearthed.
That suited Lin Yi just fine.
He was eager to condense eighteen golden cores and break through to the Nascent Soul stage in one go.
After finishing his cultivation, Lin Yi received a text from Cai Qing.
"Lin Yi, my sister's surgery just finished successfully. The doctor says her muscle atrophy is showing signs of recovery; another surgery should do the trick. Thank you for the money—I’ll definitely repay you."
Lin Yi glanced at the message and replied, “Glad to hear it went well.”
Then he called Wang Yang.
“Do you know where Jiang Province’s Martial Arts Association is?” Lin Yi asked.
He hadn’t visited in decades, and if it had moved, he wouldn’t know.
“Yes, I do,” Wang Yang replied.
“Good, take me there.”
Not long after, Wang Yang arrived at Lin Yi’s home.
“Teacher, here’s a gold membership card for the association,” Wang Yang said, handing over the card. “You need a membership card to enter. The gold card allows you to bring three guests; ordinary cards offer no privileges.”
Lin Yi nodded. Without regulations, the association would have been infiltrated by other organizations long ago.
“By the way, teacher, may I ask what you plan to do at the association?” Wang Yang was curious.
“I want to buy some cultivation supplies,” Lin Yi replied, without elaborating.
He needed many items: spirit stones, spiritual herbs, jade treasures. If golden cores were available, he’d buy those as well.
Last time he acquired a golden core at auction—it was pure luck.
Upon hearing that his teacher wished to shop, Wang Yang quickly said, “Teacher, I have ten billion in funds.”
“No need, I have plenty myself,” Lin Yi responded.
He had over a hundred billion—more than enough. If money wasn’t sufficient, he could trade pills.
He possessed over a thousand Blood Qi Pills, not to mention various other elixirs.
“Very well, shall we head out now?” Wang Yang asked.
“Yes,” Lin Yi agreed, having nothing else to do.
Soon, they arrived at the Martial Arts Association.
To Lin Yi’s surprise, Jiang Province’s association was located beneath a bar—which explained why he hadn’t noticed it.
Of course, Lin Yi had never deliberately sought it out.
Inside, the hall was bustling. Some came to exchange items, others to claim benefits or take on tasks.
Lin Yi asked, “Do you have spirit stones?”
A petite, charming woman smiled brightly. “Yes, sir. Low-grade stones are ten thousand points each; medium-grade stones are ten thousand points per gram.”
Her nametag read: Xia Mi.
Lin Yi was delighted—Jiang Province also had spirit stones, and their prices matched those in Sichuan.
“Then I’ll take a thousand grams of medium-grade spirit stones,” Lin Yi said.
“Ah?” Xia Mi was startled.
Where did this silly boy come from? Was he joking? A thousand grams of medium-grade spirit stones equaled ten million points.
That’s a hundred billion in cash—more than enough for a lifetime of luxury.
Moreover, a single low-grade spirit stone could sustain a grandmaster for a month, while medium-grade stones were reserved for spirit masters.
And asking for a thousand grams, as if medium-grade stones were cabbages.
“I’m sorry, sir. Our association’s total reserve of medium-grade spirit stones is only two hundred grams,” Xia Mi replied with a polite smile.
Lin Yi wasn’t disappointed; two hundred grams was still considerable. He nodded, “Alright, I’ll take all the medium-grade stones. How many low-grade ones do you have?”
Once more, Xia Mi was stunned. If not for Old Wang’s presence, she might have thought Lin Yi was teasing her.
“We have three hundred low-grade stones,” Xia Mi said, regaining her composure.
If this deal went through, her commission would be substantial.
“Fine, I’ll take them all,” Lin Yi said, producing a black card.
Upon seeing the card, Xia Mi’s doubts vanished.
At that moment, a few men nearby couldn’t hold back.
If Lin Yi bought all the spirit stones, what would they use for cultivation?
“Hey, brother, isn’t this a bit much?” a man at the seventh level of innate cultivation protested.
Lin Yi glanced at him coolly, “I’m paying for what I want—how is that excessive?”
“If you buy all the spirit stones, how will we cultivate?” The man’s aura pressed toward Lin Yi.
“Yeah, money isn’t everything,” others chimed in.
They had all worked hard to earn points for a single spirit stone.
Yet this fellow treated money like dirt.
Wang Yang stepped forward and rebuked, “Enough! Mr. Lin is my honored guest. If anyone says another word, the Wang Family won’t be so polite.”
Seeing Wang Yang, the man’s aura instantly deflated. The Wang Family was currently ascendant; crossing them meant offending all the major clans.
He had thought Lin Yi was just a regular person—to bully and maybe profit from.
Who would have guessed Lin Yi knew the Wang Family?
Though his aura receded, the man still muttered stubbornly, “Don’t think this is over.”
With that, he slipped into the crowd, likely fearing Wang Yang’s retaliation.
“Teacher, please don’t mind them,” Wang Yang said.
“It’s fine,” Lin Yi replied, shaking his head. He understood—if someone cut off his cultivation resources, he’d fight just as fiercely.
He then looked at Xia Mi. “Can we proceed with the transaction now?”
“Yes,” Xia Mi nodded eagerly.
She fetched the POS machine to process the payment, when suddenly the hall erupted in commotion.
“Look, the Snake King is here!”
“They say his strength is nearly at grandmaster level, able to withstand ten moves from a grandmaster.”
“This guy’s in trouble—the Snake King is a lone wolf. He fears no factions. If Lin Yi buys all the spirit stones, there’ll be fireworks.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps approached. Lin Yi looked over and saw a towering man stride in.
To say he was tall was an understatement—he stood nearly two meters thirty or forty. Any adult beside him would look like a child.
On his shoulder was a patterned python, thick as a thigh and four or five meters long, sending chills through the onlookers.