Chapter 481 - 463: Merit Exchange
Over the next few days, Black Stone City bustled with excitement once again as news of the Inner City’s triennial Martial Examination spread.
"Have you heard? This time, it’s being held jointly by the Inner and Outer Cities. The scale is massive, and the prestige of this Martial Examination is incredibly high!"
"Of course. The rewards this time are astonishing as well. I heard that just entering the top one hundred will earn you a Bone Marrow Tempering Pill! It’s said that this pill can cleanse one’s roots and bones, increasing foundational strength. Although it’s not as good as the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Bone Forging Pill, it’s still a top-tier pill!"
"And then there’s the honor. If you can make it into the top one hundred, you’ll be recognized as an absolute genius in Black Stone City! Even if you enter the Inner City, you can hold your head high!"
At the Su Mansion.
After Su Yu and Zhen’Er sparred for a while, the two came to the stone table and sat down.
Ai’Er placed the prepared watermelon on the table. Resting her chin on her hands, she said in boredom, "Brother Su, your Mo Yuan Saber and Deep Sea Cold Iron Divine Gold have already been sent to Blacksmith Wang. You can get them back in two days.
"Is there anything else I can do?"
Eating a slice of watermelon, Su Yu smiled and said, "I’m going to the Inner City this afternoon. If you’re bored, you can come stroll around the Inner City with me."
"That’s great!"
Ai’Er jumped up in excitement. Because she was wearing a cool, short white jacket, her movements instantly caused a jiggling wave.
Although her assets were not as impressive as Zhen’Er’s, they were still quite dazzling.
Inner City, Wanbao Street.
Su Yu rode the Crimson Flame Dragon Scale Horse, advancing slowly along the wide, flat bluestone Long Street.
Ai’Er sat sideways in front of him, wearing a bright and beautiful teal short-sleeved skirt. Her hair was tied back in a simple, cute ponytail.
As the horse’s back rose and fell, the two silver bells dangling in the girl’s black hair emitted a crisp, melodious ringing sound.
Su Yu looked towards both sides. Wanbao Street truly lived up to its reputation as a famous bustling area in the Inner City.
The Long Street was a full thirty meters wide, lined with row upon row of shops featuring ornate flying eaves and beautifully carved beams.
In front of a restaurant, colorful banners fluttered in the wind. A waiter hung up a wine shop sign and shouted vigorously, "Newly brewed Spirit Fruit Wine! Come in and have a taste!"
Walking past the restaurant, the refreshing fragrance of Spirit Medicine from an apothecary overflowed, noticeable even out on the street.
A few steps further, the CLANG CLANG CLANG of forging echoed from a weapon shop.
Further ahead, there were shops selling Exotic Beast Fur, Treasure Fish Spirit Meat, pearls, and jade stones. At a glance, the dazzling array of goods was too much to take in.
On the street itself, the crowds wove together, with a continuous, bustling stream of carriages and horses.
The Martial Artists with weapons at their waists all possessed astonishing auras. In just this short while, several experts in the Muscle Forging Realm had walked by.
An Iron Armor Wild Bull Carriage fully loaded with goods drove down the street, its wheels rolling over the bluestones with a CREAK.
Ai’Er’s eyes shone like a pool of clear spring water—pure and moving. Her delicate cheeks turned left and right, her high ponytail brushing past the tip of Su Yu’s nose.
"Brother Su, look quickly! Such a huge pearl!"
"There, over there! What exquisite pastries!"
The girl was so charming, bright, and full of youthful vitality that she drew frequent glances from many young Martial Artists along the way.
Su Yu supported her slender waist to prevent her from tumbling off the Dragon Scale Horse in a moment of excitement.
"Sit tight. Since I brought you here today, we can take our time looking around."
The two strolled for a while. Ai’Er enjoyed some sweet pastries and bought beautiful pearls before they finally arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion.
However, it now bore the new plaque of the Zhenwu Mansion.
Su Yu brought Ai’Er into the mansion and temporarily left her with Liu Wu, while he headed to the Zhenwu Mansion’s Merit Pavilion.
"Sir, your current balance is twenty-five thousand Merit Points. This is the list of available items for exchange. Please have a look."
Su Yu took the list and quickly flipped through it.
Compared to the Outer City’s, the Zhenwu Mansion’s Merit Pavilion held far more good things. It not only included various Treasure Medicines and Divine Golds but also a wide array of Cultivation Techniques.
Right now, the cash and Treasure Medicines in his mansion were bottoming out, and he had no good channels to replenish them for the time being. Su Yu planned to spend these Merit Points.
Soon, his gaze locked onto three suitable rare treasures.
The first was the Red Flame Profound Lingzhi, with an exchange price of six thousand Merit Points.
He still had a similar stalk of Lingzhi in his Sumeru Mustard Seed, which he had obtained from the Huyan family’s storehouse, named the Blood Flame Profound Lingzhi.
Both types of Lingzhi were Ancient Wonders that could replenish a massive amount of Spiritual Qi upon consumption. They were absolute treasures in ancient times. But nowadays, they didn’t replenish much Qi and Blood, so their value was not very high. Otherwise, they would have cost at least tens of thousands of Merit Points to exchange.
The second was the Earth Core Spirit Milk.
Eight thousand Merit Points could be exchanged for one bottle, which contained ten drops in total.
The Earth Core Spirit Milk was born near underground Spirit Veins. The Spiritual Qi of the mountains and rivers seeped into the rock layers, precipitating for hundreds of years, before finally condensing into a milky-white Spiritual Liquid inside stalactites.
It was also an excellent treasure for restoring Spiritual Qi, but for Martial Artists, it could only serve to nourish the body’s roots and bones, enhancing their foundation. A large quantity might bring about a qualitative change, but just ten drops were definitely not enough.
The third was the Cyan Jade Embryo.
This was a type of jade stone that resembled a human’s Spirit Embryo. Its surface was warm, smooth, and soft, with a cyan light contracting inside it, much like a breathing heart.
It wasn’t an ordinary ore, but a strange anomaly of heaven and earth that existed somewhere between vegetation and jade. It would actively absorb the free-floating Spiritual Qi in its surroundings and condense Cyan Spirit Jade Marrow within its body.
In ancient times, this Cyan Spirit Jade Marrow was a top-tier Spiritual Liquid for cultivation, but nowadays, it could only nourish a Martial Artist’s spirit, offering little practical use.
However, because this Cyan Jade Spirit Stone could be used indefinitely—automatically condensing a drop of Cyan Spirit Jade Marrow every few months—its value was not low, requiring ten thousand Merit Points.
"Exchange these three for me, and have them delivered to the Su Mansion in the Outer City."
"The Outer City?"
The steward was somewhat surprised at first, but after confirming it once more, he nodded respectfully.
After Su Yu left, he muttered to himself that it was quite rare for a Great Commander from the Outer City to have so many Merit Points.
The next day.
Upon receiving the three rare treasures, Su Yu’s eyes burned with fervent anticipation.
He summoned his panel to check the progress of his Martial Arts and Breakthrough Points.
[Martial Arts]: Cyan Wood Shadow Ape Fist (Great Success 360/4000)
[Martial Arts]: Demon Ape Demon-Vibrating Saber (Great Success 2230/4000)
[Martial Arts]: Vajra Fearless True Sound (Broken Limit 1 Time) (Traits: Divine Sense Heart Sound)
[Martial Arts]: Spiritual Ape Demon-Slaying Saber (Broken Limit 1 Time) (Subduing Demons)
[Martial Arts]: Black Stone Body Forging Skill (1st Floor) (Broken Limit 1 Time) (Formless Flowing Gold)
[Martial Arts]: Lingxi Beast Taming Technique (Broken Limit 1 Time) (Spirit Rhinoceros Blood Contract)
[Martial Arts]: Money Tossing (Broken Limit 1 Time) (Traits: Spiral Armor-Breaking)
[Martial Arts]: Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step (Broken Limit 3 Times) (One Step Startling Swan, Two Step Rushing Thunder, Celestial Thunder Step)
[Martial Arts]: White Ape Long Arm Fist (Broken Limit 3 Times) (Traits: Ape Shadow Gale, Hundred Fierce Peaks, White Ape Extreme Stance - Instant Shadow Thousand Strikes)
[Martial Arts]: White Ape Six Transformations (Broken Limit 3 Times) (Traits: Heart Monkey Clarity, Violent Ape Blood Fury, White Ape Saint Body)
[Skill]: Casting Net (Broken Limit 3 Times) (Traits: Listening Wave Positioning)
[Skill]: Reading (Broken Limit 3 Times) (Traits: Five Senses Divine, Shattering Illusion and Revealing Truth, Divine Sense - Clear as a Fire)
[Martial Arts]: Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape Fist (Perfection)
[Martial Arts]: Bibo Fish Dragon Skill (1st Floor) (Perfection)
[Breakthrough Point]: 1 Point (Progress 95%)
"By consuming these four rare treasures this time, my Breakthrough Points will definitely surge. Once I break the limits of my Martial Arts again, my strength will undoubtedly experience a massive boost.
"I am absolutely bound to win the competition for the Martial Arts Examination Nomination Order this time!"