Chapter 176 : The Value of Top-Tier Talent
Chapter 176: The Value of Top-Tier Talent! The Old Spear King’s Calculations!
Zhang Ji’s detailed information panel was as follows:
————
Name: Zhang Ji.
Level: 24.
Race: Human.
Tier: Tier-Three.
Status: Moderately Aged, Mildly Fatigued.
Base Attributes (excluding skill amplification):
Health 2400, Mana 7200, Strength 288, Agility 288, Spirit 768, Willpower 912.
Talents: Saint of Medicine, Healing the World, Light of Merit, Talent of a Prefect, Innate Divine Physician, Self-Recovery.
Skills: Myriad Qi Reversion Pill, Divine Strength-Enhancing Pill, Body-Purifying Detoxification Pill, Endless Vitality Pill, Heart-Protecting Tranquility Pill, Hundred Devouring Qi Poison Pill, Golden Needle Soul-Nailing Technique, Golden Needle Soul-Binding Technique, Golden Needle Soul-Transference Technique…
Essence Value: 32533 / 240000.
————
It could be said to be extremely luxurious.
There were as many as nine max-level skills of no lower than Green Grade.
These nine Green max-level skills were all top-tier Green-grade abilities. Among them, three were secret Golden Needle techniques and six were secret alchemy arts. Apart from “Hundred Devouring Qi Poison Pill”, which possessed offensive power, almost all the other abilities were purely support, control, or healing-type skills.
In terms of direct combat strength—
Five Zhang Ji together would still lose to a single Zhou Cang.
However, the value that this old divine physician could produce was something Zhou Cang could never rival.
Besides possessing nine top-tier Green-grade support skills, Zhang Ji also had six talents. Even excluding the Self-Recovery talent granted by the territory, the remaining five were innate aptitude or fate-based talents.
These talents were the real key.
Zhang Ji’s most important and core talent was “Saint of Medicine”.
Saint of Medicine, Fate Talent (Purple): Automatically awakens the crafting ability of an Advanced Alchemy Specialist. Alchemy failure rate reduced by 50%. When crafting standard medicines, there is a 100% probability of Quality Improvement and a 10% probability of Quality Explosion. There is a certain probability of deducing the corresponding formula through analyzing finished medicines, and a certain probability of comprehending crafting formulas through raw materials. This talent can further awaken and evolve as the user’s tier increases.
A purple talent.
Never seen before.
Simply terrifying!
Even Zhou Cang’s Abyss Physique—Azure Demon Flame Bone—was only a Blue talent!
Under the influence of the Saint of Medicine talent, Zhang Ji had already mastered Advanced Alchemy. He could refine Blue-grade medicines and Tier-Three medicines, and his success rate was far higher than that of ordinary alchemists.
More importantly—
When Zhang Ji refined medicine, there was a 100% chance of Quality Improvement and a 10% chance of Quality Explosion.
For example.
If the same Healing Pill were refined using Red Moon Grass that was not fresh, damaged, or of poor quality, an ordinary alchemist could at most produce a Low White-Grade Healing Pill.
Such a pill had extremely poor recovery effects.
Not only was the health recovery speed slow, the total recovery amount was only a few dozen points.
But if the same materials were placed in Zhang Ji’s hands, he could produce at least a Mid White-Grade Healing Pill one hundred percent of the time.
This was the Quality Improvement effect during the refining process.
And sometimes—
A critical burst could occur.
Causing an explosive increase in quality.
What was known as a Quality Explosion meant that the grade would increase by at least two tiers.
For example, a low-quality Low White-Grade medicine could instantly become a High White-Grade medicine. If it were already high quality, the medicinal effect could break through its limits, and there was even a small chance of directly evolving into a Green-grade medicine.
The resulting added value—
Could range from several times to even dozens of times!
This ability alone was already extremely overpowered.
But the effects of the Saint of Medicine talent did not stop there.
The truly terrifying aspect of Zhang Ji’s talent was that he could comprehend formulas through finished pills and raw materials.
For example—
If Hang Yu discovered a certain medicine on the Trading Market that possessed extraordinary attributes and extremely high commercial value, he could buy large quantities of that medicine and let Zhang Ji study them.
Through repeated analysis of the finished medicines, Zhang Ji could, with a certain probability, reverse-engineer and comprehend the formula and refining method.
In other words, even without the original recipe, he could master how to produce that medicine.
One must know—
A single top-tier alchemy formula could easily cost tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand Abyssal Magic Crystals.
These formulas were like Spirit Fields—production assets that functioned as money trees.
The probability of obtaining them from treasure chests or rewards was extremely low. Even with money, one still needed extraordinary luck and opportunity to obtain the exact formula required.
But from the moment Zhang Ji was recruited—
The territory would save the cost of purchasing most formulas, and no longer rely on luck.
As long as a certain medicine became popular on the market, Hang Yu could simply buy enough finished products and let Zhang Ji slowly research them until he mastered the formula.
Not only could Zhang Ji personally produce these medicines, he could also use the Skill Tower to transmit the formulas as skills, quickly teaching them to the territory’s Alchemy Specialists and expanding the territory’s industries.
Besides reverse-engineering formulas—
Zhang Ji could also independently develop new formulas through raw materials.
Normally, this ability could only be possessed by Master-level Alchemy Specialists.
Even these abilities alone were already astonishing.
But the Saint of Medicine talent had another critical feature—
It could grow on its own.
In other words—
Even without special talent enhancement measures, the talent would continue to awaken and grow stronger as Zhang Ji’s tier increased.
Aside from this core ability—
Zhang Ji possessed four additional talents.
————
Talent of a Prefect, Aptitude Talent (Green): Before Tier Three, each level gained provides Health +100, Mana +100, and +12 to each of the four main attributes. Cooldown of all support-type skills reduced by 20%.
Innate Divine Physician, Aptitude Talent (Green): Before Tier Three, each level gained provides additional growth of Mana +200, Spirit +20, and Willpower +26. Essence cost for upgrading healing skills reduced by 50%.
Healing the World, Fate Talent (Green): Effectiveness of healing and support spells increased by 20%.
Light of Merit, Fate Talent (Green): Buff effects applied to oneself increased by 20%, while debuff effects applied to oneself reduced by 20%.
Among them, Talent of a Prefect and Innate Divine Physician were aptitude-type talents.
These were similar to Zhou Cang’s “Advanced Commander”. Individually, the attribute growth they provided was not extremely high. If someone possessed only one of them, they would likely reach only the elite level.
But Zhang Ji possessed both.
Thus his combined attributes could reach the threshold of a commander.
As for Healing the World and Light of Merit, both were fate-type talents with fairly strong effects.
Overall, Zhang Ji was a special kind of talent.
He was neither a military general who expanded territory and strengthened the army, nor a civil official who directly improved administrative efficiency and fiscal income.
Instead, he was a top-tier support and production-type figure.
His growth potential and fate level—
Were likely no worse than Jia Xu within this map.
However, his irreplaceability might even surpass Jia Xu.
After all, although Jia Xu was extremely powerful, talents like him were not rare in the Three Kingdoms era.
But people similar to Zhang Ji—
Aside from Hua Tuo—
There was likely no third person.
Even Hua Tuo might not necessarily be more valuable than Zhang Ji.
Hua Tuo focused more on medicine.
Zhang Ji focused more on alchemy.
Both might possess the Saint of Medicine talent, but their effects would likely differ.
The former’s medical abilities would probably be stronger.
The latter’s alchemy amplification would probably be greater.
Hang Yu decided to formally grant Zhang Ji the Starsea Mark, allowing him to form a contract with the territory.
Once the contract was completed—
Zhang Ji would become a member of the Starsea Offspring.
From then on, he could use Blessing Points, awaken Fate Skills, utilize various Starsea buildings, and even be brought into the Land of the Stars to witness a broader world.
Of course—
He would also be subject to certain restrictions.
For example, Hang Yu could monitor his actions at any time.
As long as the Starsea Mark remained, he could neither betray the territory nor the lord.
Zhang Ji had no hesitation about this.
He had already decided to join the territory.
Moreover, he greatly longed for the Land of the Stars.
Because the Stars possessed more knowledge, more medicinal materials, and countless top-tier Alchemy Specialists.
All of these could improve his alchemy level—
Bringing him closer to fulfilling his ideal.
The moment Hang Yu completed the mark granting—
Zhang Ji immediately sensed a prompt from the Will of the Stars.
“Ding! You have unlocked Fate Skills: Light of the Medicine Saint (Purple), Salvation Aura (Blue), Merit Aura (Blue)!”
Light of the Medicine Saint, Fate Skill (Passive): Influences Alchemy Specialists within the territory. Reduces their alchemy failure rate by 25%. When crafting standard medicines, there is a 50% probability of Quality Improvement and a 1% probability of Quality Explosion. Growth speed of all spiritual plants planted within the territory increased by 20%.
Salvation Aura, Fate Skill: Consumes 300 Mana. Increases the effect of healing and support skills used by all territory units within a 500-meter radius by 20%. Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 1 hour.
Merit Aura, Fate Skill: Consumes 300 Mana. Within a 500-meter radius, increases buff effects received by territory units by 20% and reduces debuff effects by 20%. Duration: 1 hour. Cooldown: 1 hour.
Hang Yu was extremely satisfied.
As expected, Zhang Ji had also generated Fate Skills.
Among them, the most useful was undoubtedly Light of the Medicine Saint.
Not only did this skill reduce alchemy failure rates and enhance the effects of common recovery medicines, it also accelerated the growth speed of medicinal materials within the territory.
All spiritual plants—including those in Spirit Fields—would mature 20% faster.
This effect—
Was simply divine!
What did it mean to shorten cultivation time by one-fifth?
It meant that within the same time period, the territory could produce far more materials.
That translated directly into greater value.
Not just hundreds or thousands of profit—
But tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even more in additional income as the territory expanded.
Most importantly—
It was a passive skill.
As long as Zhang Ji remained in the territory, it would remain active.
A purple fate talent and purple fate skill—
Truly terrifying!
He was a treasure-like figure whose value rivaled thousands of soldiers.
The title of Sage of Medicine was absolutely well deserved!
As for the other two Fate Skills—
They were also extremely powerful.
Especially when used together, they could produce miraculous effects and greatly increase the army’s combat strength.
However, their effective range was limited and they could only function on the battlefield.
For safety reasons, someone like Zhang Ji would usually remain in the rear, so they would rarely be used compared to the Saint of Medicine talent.
Next—
Hang Yu formally introduced Zhang Ji to the territory’s citizens and employees.
For a moment—
The players erupted into cheers.
Both online and offline, discussions exploded into a frenzy.
“Big news!”
“Real big news!”
“Divine Physician Zhang has officially joined the territory!”
“After Zhou Cang, another major figure has joined us!”
“And he’s fighting alongside players and helping us. This is amazing!”
“Zhang Ji is now the territory’s High Minister and Chief Alchemy Specialist!”
“That’s a heavyweight NPC!”
“Wait, seriously? Won’t Uncle Bai Mu lose his job now? His alchemy can’t compare to the old master!”
“This is great. With Divine Physician Zhang, the territory will have even more hidden skills!”
“I heard from top players that he has a skill called Pill Devour that can poison even a Tier-Three Commander to death!”
“Forget about it. You haven’t even learned all the skills in the Skill Tower yet. Hidden NPC skills are for top-tier players only.”
“…”
When Bai Mu, Yan Ling, and the other territory employees learned about Zhang Ji’s identity and abilities—
They were completely shocked.
A native figure with Tier-Three cultivation had been so easily recruited by the lord.
Perhaps being human was not a disadvantage after all.
If Lord Hang Yu had not been human—but instead something like a Flame Demon, Orc, Troll, or Lizardman—
Convincing such heroes to serve him would have been extremely difficult.
Zhang Ji’s value did not lie in his cultivation.
When Bai Mu and the other Alchemy Specialists felt the blessing of the Medicine Saint Aura—
Every one of them was stunned.
Purple… a purple Fate Skill!
Even among the countless territories of the Stars—
Such skills were extremely rare.
Not only was it purple—
It was also a production-enhancing Fate Skill with enormous amplification effects!
Bai Mu himself had once been a lord.
He clearly understood how terrifying the Medicine Saint Aura was.
Leaving aside Zhang Ji’s other talents and abilities—
Just this one fate talent and fate skill alone—
Would make him a treasure-tier talent across the Stars.
If he publicly revealed his abilities and sought employment—
All the top powers and great lords would scramble to recruit him.
Even Legendary Lords would personally visit to invite him.
They would not hesitate to spend millions of Abyssal Magic Crystals to hire him.
This talent—
This Fate Skill—
Was worth that price.
Hang Yu watched the celebration among the players and the shock on Bai Mu and Yan Ling’s faces with satisfaction.
Zhang Ji’s alchemy level was that of an Advanced Alchemy Specialist.
That alone already surpassed Bai Mu’s Intermediate level by a large margin.
With the Saint of Medicine talent—
Even Master Alchemy Specialists would pale in comparison.
“Lord!” Bai Mu approached Hang Yu.
Hang Yu asked, “What is it?”
Bai Mu said, “I wish to resign from my position as the chief alchemist of the Luoshui City Alchemy Workshop. Divine Physician Zhang is clearly more qualified.”
The chief alchemist position had excellent benefits, treatment, and commission.
Of course Bai Mu wanted to keep it.
But the brilliance and potential of the Medicine Saint made him feel unworthy of sitting in that seat.
This great territory deserved an even greater alchemist.
Before Hang Yu could respond—
Zhang Ji stroked his beard and smiled.
“Master Bai Mu need not think so. The lord has appointed me as High Minister of Luoshui City and entrusted me with managing medicinal materials and researching new medicines.”
“My daily responsibilities are already quite heavy.”
“The Alchemy Workshop is a place for mass production of medicine.”
“It is not within my responsibilities.”
“The position of chief alchemist of Luoshui City is something this old man absolutely cannot take.”
Bai Mu hesitated.
Hang Yu smiled.
“Bai Mu, don’t overthink it. Each profession has its specialty.”
“Divine Physician Zhang’s job is to research new materials and formulas.”
“Your job is to lead the territory’s production.”
“Their roles are different—but equally important.”
By now—
As the territory expanded and more monster species appeared—
The number of materials stored in warehouses had increased dramatically.
Only a small portion of them came from Spirit Fields.
Most materials were obtained by the Calamity Army through exploration or monster drops.
Their variety was countless.
Even though Hang Yu was an outstanding graduate of the Starsea Lord Academy—
He could not possibly remember the properties of every material.
Especially when many of them were unique products of this plane.
Yes—
Most were trash.
Fit only to be recycled into Material Essence.
But some might possess enormous practical or economic value.
The territory needed a professional to manage these resources and analyze their properties.
This was Zhang Ji’s role.
Even more importantly—
The Medicine Saint’s greatest task was research.
Hang Yu planned to buy popular attribute medicines from the market—
Then have Zhang Ji reverse-engineer their formulas.
This alone was an enormous workload.
Although Bai Mu could not compare with Zhang Ji in alchemy ability—
Their responsibilities were completely different.
One focused on innovation and research.
The other focused on managing large-scale production.
Letting a top-tier talent like Zhang Ji spend all day mass-producing pills would be a waste.
Moreover—
Unlike Starsea employees who needed commissions and Contribution Points to exchange for Essence—
Zhang Ji and Zhou Cang were Hang Yu’s trusted aides.
Hang Yu did not need equivalent contributions to invest Essence in them.
They were already deeply bound to the territory.
As long as it served the territory’s strategy—
Hang Yu could invest millions of Essence into raising their levels and skills.
Thus—
Bai Mu kept his position.
He would remain the chief alchemist of the Luoshui City Alchemy Workshop.
Zhang Ji might occasionally help—
But the main production force would still be Bai Mu and the Flower Sprite sisters.
The territory had gained a top-tier talent.
Logically, a grand welcome banquet should be held.
However—
There was no time.
The Day of Absolute Darkness in the Wan City Region was approaching.
Hang Yu still had many plans to execute.
The next few days would be extremely busy.
After arranging Zhang Ji’s appointment—
Hang Yu immediately began planning new tasks.
First—
Capture Xinye City.
Although it was a corrupted ruined city, capturing a large settlement would yield abundant rewards.
More importantly—
It could activate a Blessing Point capable of enabling resurrection.
Once the Calamity Army gained a respawn point in the Wan City Region—
Their true power could finally be unleashed.
In addition—
Xinye contained the powerful boss Demonized Deng Ai.
If successfully killed, it would yield huge rewards and additional talent points.
Hang Yu already possessed five Tier-Three Talent Points.
If everything went well—
He could accumulate enough to activate his first Tier-Three Lord Talent.
This would greatly strengthen his foundation.
Demonized Deng Ai would certainly be extremely powerful.
The current Calamity Army could not defeat him.
Therefore—
To save time and improve efficiency—
Hang Yu planned to personally lead troops and use the Teleportation Staff to quickly travel to Xinye.
The goal was to capture it before the Day of Absolute Darkness arrived in three or four days.
In addition—
Hang Yu had promised Wen Pin two thousand elite troops.
But the Wan City Map required Level 9 to enter.
Currently, fewer than one thousand players had reached Level 9.
Although Hang Yu could temporarily lower map restrictions during major events—
The overall player level was still too low to execute the plan smoothly.
Even just to harvest more “leeks” later—
More players needed to level up quickly.
With this thought—
Hang Yu immediately distributed the prepared quests to the players.
…………
Meanwhile—
Zhang Hong, leader of the Blood Spear Battalion, hurried into the courtyard.
Zhang Xiu was meditating.
A blood-soaked spear floated several feet away, slowly circling him.
It emitted an aura like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Just approaching it—
Zhang Hong felt immense pressure.
Illusions of battlefield carnage filled his vision, forcing him to slow his steps.
The Old Spear King did not even hold the spear—
Yet his spear intent alone affected the surroundings for dozens of meters.
His mastery of the spear had grown unfathomably terrifying.
At that moment—
The illusion suddenly disappeared.
Zhang Xiu opened his eyes.
“What is it?”
Zhang Hong quickly said,
“General Wen has returned!”
When Zhang Xiu arrived at the hall—
Wen Pin was already waiting.
He briefly explained everything that had happened over the past two days.
When Zhang Xiu heard that the opponent was a human lord—
His expression showed obvious contempt.
When he learned that Wen Pin’s defense had been broken by a single strike—
He was surprised but remained calm.
But when he heard the next piece of news—
“What did you say? The divine physician has defected to the Starsea Lord?!”
Zhang Xiu finally lost his composure.
“That damned old man!”
“He would rather serve outsiders than serve me!”
Wen Pin understood why Zhang Xiu was so furious.
Although Zhang Ji was important to all factions in Wan City—
He was especially crucial to Zhang Xiu.
For example—
The Blood Spear Battalion was Zhang Xiu’s most loyal and core force.
Because of their special cultivation methods—
Each Blood Spear deathsworn had a lifespan of less than ten years.
Only the divine physician could extend their lives.
Now—
Not only had Zhang Ji refused to return—
He had even joined an enemy.
To Zhang Xiu—
This was outright betrayal.
Under normal circumstances—
Zhang Xiu would immediately lead troops to attack Luoshui City.
But the Day of Absolute Darkness was approaching.
New Wan City could not fight on two fronts.
This anger could only be swallowed for now.
As for the two conditions Wen Pin had negotiated with Hang Yu—
Zhang Xiu was somewhat dissatisfied but did not object.
After all—
These conditions were acceptable.
With Zhang Ji in the enemy’s hands—
Most intelligence would eventually be exposed anyway.
As for the Starsea Lord wanting Xinye—
Let them take it.
Xinye stood before the gateway of the Sixfold Fate Formation.
If the Starsea forces occupied it—
It would effectively become a shield in front of New Wan City.
It could even help reduce the pressure from Dian Wei’s attacks.
“Good,” Zhang Xiu said coldly.
“Using this opportunity, I will personally meet this Starsea Lord.”
“I want to see if he is truly as difficult as Zhongye claims.”
Wen Pin immediately replied,
“City Lord, we have already reached cooperation with the lord. At this moment we must prioritize the bigger picture and must not fight him.”
Zhang Xiu waved his hand.
“I know my limits.”
In his heart, he sneered.
Ever since he secured the position of city lord—
The major clans had constantly been making small moves behind the scenes.
They had only refrained from action because the Blood Spear deathsworn stood at his side—
And the Extreme Yin Sect supported him in the shadows.
Wen Pin’s cooperation with the lord this time—
Might very well be an attempt to introduce a new power to balance and test him.