Chapter 308 – Cultivation Skills

Clap~ Clap~ Clap~

First, four treasures emitting a faint blue glow were successively placed on the viewing platform.

Mu Yuan displayed their information, and the Lords examined them one by one.

The first item was an Outstanding-grade material; the next three, from the second to the fourth, were three identical Outstanding-grade spell scrolls, “Thunder Dragon Roar.”

This was an offensive-type spell. Its maximum power was insufficient to annihilate powerful Fourth Order BOSSes, but it could wipe out large numbers of elite monsters in a single use.

It could be employed to target and eliminate multiple Third Order elite monsters or to clear out hordes of enemies. After all, human Lords were always at a numerical disadvantage when facing monsters.

As one-time-use spell scrolls, and relatively common offensive ones at that, their value fell short of Outstanding-grade materials. However… the demand and audience for spell scrolls far exceeded that of any single type of material.

Materials might not be needed by every Lord, but scrolls could be used and stockpiled by anyone.

Several Lords on the scene showed signs of interest, including seasoned top-tier Lords like the Great Dragon Lord.

Even though they had the capability to slay Third or even Fourth Order BOSSes, that didn’t mean they had no use for such scrolls. Their territories were vast, and they had formed numerous exploration teams and hunting squads—not every team possessed the ability to take on Third or Fourth Order BOSSes.

If they could acquire a few spell scrolls, the safety of their secondary or tertiary hunting squads would be significantly enhanced.

“The core structure of the Thunder Dragon Roar spell is the most destructive element: lightning. Additionally, it possesses a shaping ability, maintaining the form of a thunder dragon for over ten seconds during the spell’s activation, allowing it to maneuver, strike enemies, and lock onto targets. To be honest, this spell is quite exquisite. If its energy Rank weren’t so low—specifically assessed as only Elementary Outstanding—I estimate it would even have the power to eliminate top-tier Fourth Order BOSSes.”

A Lord skilled in spellcraft praised it sincerely, seemingly gaining much inspiration from it.

He could tell that this spell was specifically designed to counter Third Order BOSSes. Compared to some offensive spell scrolls whose spells might miss, as long as the user locked onto the target with Mental Energy in advance, the thunder dragon would automatically track and engage the enemy.

If the user had stronger Mental Energy, they could even control the thunder dragon to perform more intricate maneuvers.

“Speaking of which, why are the descriptions of these three spells exactly the same, as if they were printed from the same template? I wonder where the Tianyuan Lord obtained these three scrolls… Wait, the Tianyuan Lord himself must greatly need such scrolls. It seems he has obtained far more than just three Outstanding scrolls.”

Envy!

For the three scrolls, including the Outstanding-grade material, Mu Yuan did not restrict the trade to Outstanding items.

He sold them directly for Soul Crystals.

Although he currently held the four thousand Soul Crystals gifted by the Goblin Prince, upon careful consideration, he wasn’t exactly wealthy. His household had too many “big eaters” to feed.

Intelligence commissions, acquisitions of Epic Remains, and so on—all required money and couldn’t function without it.

In the past, he had been reluctant to spend, but now that he had more money and was willing to spend, his funds were rapidly dwindling.Four items were sold one by one.

Among them, the Great Dragon Lord, with their immense wealth, directly purchased two scrolls.

Lord Mu couldn’t help but express: “Bro, you’re loaded!”

With the four treasures traded, the exchange gathering was about to come to an end. What remained was eating, drinking, and some casual boasting before the lords dispersed one by one.

However, Tianyuan still showed no intention of stepping down from the stage.

He reached into his storage ring again and, with a snap, produced two more treasures emitting a faint blue glow.

Although the glow was only a pale blue, indicating that these two treasures were of a lower tier among the Excellent grade, they…

Instantly captured the attention of the lords present.

“Remnant Souls of the Excellent grade!”

“Someone actually dares to sell Excellent Remnant Souls!!”

Most of those present already possessed generals of the Excellent grade. But as the saying goes, no one ever has too many Excellent-tier troops. The vast majority of powerful lords only had two or three, maybe three or four, Excellent-grade generals under their command. Gaining even one more such general could significantly boost the overall strength of their territory.

In the past, they could only acquire one by calling in favors or spending accumulated Contribution Points to exchange on the Taixuan Covenant. In short, obtaining an Excellent-grade Remnant Soul was extremely difficult. Seeing one today in such a small Secret Realm was both surprising and delightful.

The Black Knight and the Mountain Rock Giant were both highly practical and powerful troop types, at least more favored than the likes of Goblin Chieftains or Minotaur Commanders!

Immediately, at least half of the lords present had a fervent gleam in their eyes.

On the other hand, minor lords like Liu Miumiu and Jiang Luoxing weren’t too concerned. They had relatively stable acquisition channels. Besides, their own Excellent-grade generals were far from fully trained yet.

For them, the top priority was to train their generals to the Third Order or even the Fourth Order as quickly as possible.

Mu Yuan scanned the surroundings and spoke slowly.

“My trading requirements for these two Excellent Remnant Souls are…”

Naturally, he couldn’t just sell them cheaply for Soul Crystals.

Excellent Remnant Souls not only far surpassed materials and tools of the same grade in value but also had a very broad appeal, making it entirely a seller’s market.

Unless the lords present could offer Epic Remains, specific treasures, blueprints, or intelligence, he would not consider selling the Remnant Souls.

These two Remnant Souls were purchased from the Mystery merchant. Mu Yuan had originally planned to use them himself, but now that the Secret Realm had reconnected and he had opened up foreign trade channels, using them himself would be somewhat wasteful.

He didn’t lack two Excellent-tier troops, but these two Remnant Souls presented an opportunity to exchange for something he truly needed.

‘What a pity. I didn’t know the Secret Realm would reconnect so soon. Otherwise, I would have gritted my teeth and bought one or two Three-Star Excellent Remnant Souls.’

‘The appeal of a Three-Star Excellent Remnant Soul far exceeds that of a One-Star. Many great lords would be tempted.’

‘But then again, given the value of a Three-Star Excellent Remnant Soul, the Elven Courtyard market is a bit too small for it.’

In the end, these two precious Remnant Souls remained unsold.

No lord could produce treasures of comparable value.

Mu Yuan wasn’t disappointed. “I will station a Hero here in the Secret Realm long-term. If any lord obtains suitable treasures, I am always open to trade.”

He had merely cast out a bait.With this bait, buyers would undoubtedly work even harder to find the treasures he needed, including epic-grade remains.

Only then did the trading gathering come to a perfect conclusion, leaving the lords quite satisfied. However, many kept glancing over frequently, making Mu Someone rather uncomfortable.

What’s the big deal? It’s just two Excellent Remnant Souls we brought out.

Afterward, Mu Yuan continued chatting casually with the more familiar lords, while Jiang Someone enthusiastically boasted about his glorious exploits.

“Thinking back to that day, how fierce I was—I charged straight at the tribal chieftain and stabbed him with my spear, making him howl in pain… Under my leadership, we achieved one brilliant victory after another.”

Discounting 90% of the bragging, Jiang Luoxing was indeed formidable.

Their progress in this cohort far surpassed that of previous ones. And among his peers, Jiang Luoxing now ranked within the top ten.

“Boss Tianyuan, your achievements are quite impressive too, right?”

“As for me, I just encountered a surviving force from a previous civilization and sniped a powerful enemy, that’s all.”

“A previous civilization force? That’s as rare as a giant panda. I’d really love to see one.”

“It’s not that extraordinary. Aren’t forces like the Holy Griffin Empire, Star Luo Holy Temple, and the Qisuo Anta Federation also legacies passed down from ancient times? The difference is they aren’t remnants but well-preserved major powers.”

However, these forces were too distant for them. They rarely had the chance to meet lords and powerhouses from the other six great nations, let alone these major powers located deeper inland in safer regions.

Most people, including lords, knew about the Holy Griffin Empire and others only from very limited texts.

Mu Yuan didn’t know much either. He only remembered the grand spectacle of angels lining up in formation months ago in Dragon Court Land when a high-ranking figure from the Holy Griffin Empire arrived.

Someday, I’ll have a majestic display of dragons blotting out the sky too.

Before leaving, Mu Yuan entrusted Liu Miumiu to purchase some materials he needed for his breakthrough to the Legendary Realm. Such materials were usually available in major cities and not difficult to procure.

“B-breakthrough materials for the Legendary Realm?!”

“Just preparing in advance. When I have extra funds, I stock up more—better safe than sorry. If the secret realm passage gets cut off again, we won’t be left helpless, right?”

The others suddenly understood.

Truly worthy of Tianyuan Giant, his planning for the future is so meticulous. He’s even preparing for something as distant as a Legendary breakthrough so early—no wonder he’s far above us, leaving us unable to even see his back.

We still have a lot to learn.

But just now, they actually had a fleeting… a fleeting thought that ‘Tianyuan Giant might be close to breaking through to the Legendary Realm.’ How absurd!

How could they even think such a thing?

Mu Yuan gave Liu Miumiu a sum of money and a purchasing fee. To him, it didn’t matter who he entrusted—of course, it was more reliable to ask an acquaintance, and why let outsiders profit?

Jiang Luoxing looked resentful.

To be fair, Mu Yuan had originally planned to entrust Jiang Someone with the task—after all, the guy was quite efficient with errands, but…

“Didn’t your territory also get relocated outward? It’s not so easy for you to reach the regional hub now, is it?”

Emmmmm, you’re right, boss, but it’s so frustrating!

Clearly, I’m Boss Tianyuan’s number one sidekick!Mu Yuan sent Jiang Luoxing a red packet and asked him to continue gathering all kinds of messages, big or small, as he would accept them all. When it came to being well-informed, Jiang Someone could easily outdo the homebody Liu Miumiu by a long shot.

“If you can get some useful information, I’ll give you a Zhuo San’s Remnant Soul in a few months.”

He said.

Jiang Luoxing: “!!!”

“Ahem, I’m not really craving any Remnant Soul or anything, but I’ll definitely get the job done for you, boss.”

He thought for a moment and said, “I’ve also asked my friends about the situation in Stone Ridge Town, but with communication being unreliable these days, I’ve only managed to get a rough idea.”

“It’s said that Stone Ridge Town was also displaced, but there aren’t any major issues at the moment. Some big shots from the Pioneer Group are already heading there…”

…

Stone Ridge Town, central area.

On the third floor of the Outstanding-class cultivation building, the Mind Cultivation Pavilion, a woman with a high ponytail and dressed in practical attire sat with her eyes closed.

Around her, arrows shimmering with pale blue starlight traced mysterious trajectories, seemingly aligning with some profound principle in an intangible way—both mystical and beautiful.

She was Seventeen, currently cultivating her ‘Mind Power’.

Back in her elite archer days, Seventeen had Awakened the talent ‘Mind Arrow’. Among Outstanding-tier troops, this talent was considered above average—rare, excellent, and practical. But among Epic-tier beings, a talent like Mind Arrow was quite ordinary.

A certain General had Awakened at least ten such common talents.

However, Seventeen had exceptional aptitude in the Dao of the Mind. She had long ago pushed Mind Arrow to its limits and beyond, using it as a foundation to pry open the door to the Dao of the Mind.

Yet, the Dao of the Mind was difficult to enter, master, and advance in. Seventeen considered herself a slow learner, so she could only keep practicing, exploring, and stumbling forward.

Later, she temporarily took up the position of ‘Honored Retainer’ in Stone Ridge Town, granting her free access to the town’s cultivation buildings.

The Lord had written in the Brocade Sack, “We’ll step in at critical moments, so feel free to use these Miracle Buildings—they’re reasonable compensation. Your task is to improve your strength as much as possible. Many things can only be done with sufficient power.”

She thought about it and agreed.

If she were already a Legend, wouldn’t she be able to go find the Lord?

Thus, Seventeen cultivated relentlessly. Thanks to the ‘super abundant’ cultivation package provided by Town Chief Cui Long, her progress was extremely fast. She did feel it was wasteful for one person to use cultivation resources meant for ten or even dozens, and she wanted to take them back for her younger siblings. But remembering the Lord’s words in the Brocade Sack, she put all her effort into cultivation.

As an official frontline stronghold built with massive investment, Stone Ridge Town not only had strong defensive capabilities but also many cultivation buildings.

These were all official investments.

Given time, Stone Ridge Town might well become a second Boulder City.

The Mind Cultivation Pavilion was the highest-level cultivation building in Stone Ridge Town, offering buffs like Advanced Focus, Mental Purification, and Comprehension Boost. It could be used by experts for learning and practicing skills, and it also aided in Breaking Through major tiers.

For Seventeen, the greatest effect of the Mind Cultivation Pavilion was the amplification of her Mind Power.

Thus, while cultivating, she began to cultivate her mind.After hundreds of repetitions of cultivation, refinement, re-cultivation, and further refinement, Seventeen gradually developed a set of mental cultivation techniques suitable for herself.

—Mind Imprint Engraving.

Using arrows as her brush, she traced mysterious patterns, engraving images in a realm invisible to ordinary people. Throughout the entire process, she had to manipulate the arrows using her Mind Power.

Mind Power inherently cannot interfere with reality, but thanks to this Miracle Building and the connection between the Starlight Arrows, the Myriad Arrows Artifact, and herself, Seventeen turned the impossible into reality.

Each time she completed engraving an image, her Mind Power would noticeably increase by a tiny fraction.

As if there were no limits.

Her practice process was not smooth but rather bumpy. Sometimes, if the final stroke deviated slightly, the entire cultivation process would end in vain.

When she successfully engraved the Mind Imprint images ten times in a row, she seemed to gain a new enlightenment.

At the same time,

Lord Mu, who had just stepped out of the Secret Realm Gate, heard two notification tones in his ears.

「Notification: You have paid a total of 65.9 Soul Crystals in cross-domain taxes.」

「Notification: Your unit Seventeen has self-created a cultivation skill: ‘Mind Imprint Engraving’.」

Damn… oh?

(End of Chapter)