Chapter 102

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Two soldiers were happily sparring with each other in a sand pit.

One of the two soldiers was tall while the other one was quite short. It was obvious that the shorter soldier wasn’t the taller soldier’s opponent, and he was driven back repeatedly. Just as it seemed like he was about to be knocked out of the ring, a bracelet on his body suddenly began to glow. Next, the shorter soldier suddenly exploded with a powerful burst of energy as he unleashed a punch. The taller soldier was immediately sent flying.

The taller soldier was enraged and wanted to counterattack, but the shorter soldier seized the moment to leap forwards, unleashing a lightning-quick barrage; punch after punch prevented the taller soldier from even making a move.

As the bracelets around his arms and legs began to glow brighter, the shorter soldier’s speed increased, as did his strength, culminating into a final blow that sent the taller soldier flying.

The onlookers broke out into a hubbub, obviously shocked at the shorter soldier’s display of strength.

When Xiao Feinan saw this, he muttered in a low voice, “Indeed, it’s the Ferocious Race’s Totemic Inscriptions.”

“There’s a few differences,” Su Chen said. “I used a few other methods to improve its power; it draws on both Origin Energy and physical energy to activate itself, thus fully utilizing the advantages that we humans have.”

The shorter soldier was obviously using Su Chen’s Hemolytic Totem. Compared to before, the Hemolytic Totem didn’t have any major changes, but there were a few improvements to some minor details. The surface area of the inscriptions had decreased, and a few of the inscriptions had also been simplified. More importantly, the light and sound produced when using the technique had improved as well. Every time it activated, the Hemolytic Totem would glow with complex inscriptions in the corresponding area, giving it quite a cool look.

Good items needed to have good packaging. After having gained experience in both Clear River City and Swallow River City, Su Chen’s evaluation method for his problems had become more well-rounded.

The flashy effects when the shorter soldier used the Hemolytic Totem had become even more shocking. The government officials would definitely like it when they saw it.

Indeed, the officers standing to the side seemed to discuss things with one another before someone asked, “How much does it cost to make a single one of these inscriptions?”

“Not much. A single one is seven hundred Origin Stones, but each totem has some small differences.”

“Only seven hundred Origin Stones?” Everyone was stunned.

Seven hundred Origin Stones for such a massive increase in strength was simply too cheap.

“Yes, but there’s one drawback; once you’ve inscribed it, there’s no way of removing it, and it cannot increase in strength as a person gets stronger. Its power is limited, so it’s only effective on lower-tier cultivators. Once you reach the Yang Opening Realm, it won’t be very useful anymore,” Su Chen said. “And the inscription process also hurts like hell.”

“That’s not a problem,” one of the officers said immediately. “You can use special Origin Skills to increase someone’s strength or speed, and even Yang Opening Realm cultivators like to use those skills. The main pillars of strength of our army are the Yang Opening and Blood Boiling Realm cultivators. As long as this group of individuals becomes stronger, our entire army will become stronger.”

“You can also add skills that increase a person’s defensive and recovery rates,” another officer said. “You can never have too many defensive or recovery Origin Skills.”

“You can use it to inscribe some powerful Origin Skills that have a comparatively larger number of prerequisites needed to use them.”

“You can use it to inscribe Origin Skills and combine them. One of the benefits of the Hemolytic Totem is that not only can many users control the same few Origin Skills, but also that there is no delay when you use it.”

“You can make joint Origin Skills that increase the effect an Origin Skill has and strengthen an entire group of weaker cultivators.”

“Not only is it useful for drastically reducing the amount of time needed to increase one’s strength, but it can also supplement a person’s shortcomings. There are a few Origin Qi Scholars who will have no way of using certain Origin Skills from birth, but the Hemolytic Totem can fill those in. That’s why even Light Shaking Realm cultivators can use it.”

These officers conversed with one another. They were truly worthy of being veterans, given how quickly they were able to pinpoint the special points of the cultivation technique, its advantages, and how it could be used contextually. Even though it had the flaw of not being able to grow stronger with time, these officers brushed it aside immediately, instead focusing on the best way to use it and why it existed.

As for the fact that the inscriptions would hurt, it wasn’t even worth mentioning. What was a soldier who couldn’t even endure any pain? In fact, it could be used to figure out who was soft and who was tough.

If everything went according to their plan, the Hemolytic Totem would be extremely useful for them.

Someone asked directly, “This technique is extremely outstanding. How much are you planning on selling it for?”

Su Chen replied, “Three thousand Origin Stones.”

“Thirty million[1. For whatever reason, Chinese base units are in the ten thousands. As such, three thousand and three thousand ten thousands share the same base number, hence the “confusion”.]? Fine, no…… Wait, did you say three thousand?” The officer was stunned.

“Yes, three thousand Origin Stones,” Su Chen said as he nodded firmly.

“Why that cheap?” Su Feinan asked.

Su Chen replied, “Because I’m planning on selling it to other people as well.”

“You can’t!” One of the officers smacked the table and stood up. “This will be an important tool for the kingdom. With it, our army would become much stronger, so how could you sell it to just anyone? We should be the only ones to control it.”

Su Chen said, “I would rather it become an important tool for all humans to use, something that can protect everyone and raise everyone’s strength – not just the strength of the Ferocious Exterminating Army. Yes, Flowing Gold Fort does need it to defend against the Ferocious Race, but Liao Ye Country needs it to defend against the Feathered Race, Cloudwind Country needs it to defend against the Beast Race, and Owl Country needs it to defend against the Spirit Race. There are too many people in need of it……”

As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned.

Even though the Seven Kingdoms had split, they were constantly under pressure from powerful enemies and banded under the same flag. The Seven Kingdoms were united in a common effort and rarely fought with one another, at least on the surface.

When Su Chen said this so righteously, no one knew how to respond to him.

Su Feinan sighed deeply. “I never would have thought that you would harbor such grand ambitions.”

“My ambitions have always been grand,” Su Chen said without pretense.

“But doing this will also support our enemies, right? The more people that know about it, the harder it is to keep a secret,” one of the officers said. “As soon as this technique falls into the hands of our opponents, then we will have lost our advantage.”

Su Chen nodded. “That’s true, but there is no such thing as a secret that lasts forever. Most importantly, not just anyone can use this technique. The Ferocious Race have their Totemic Inscriptions, and since the Hemolytic Totem relies on Origin Energy, they won’t be able to use it, so it doesn’t matter even if they get their hands on it. The Spirit Race don’t have physical bodies, so it’s also useless to them. The Feathered Race can use it, but their physical bodies are weak and they have a hard time resisting pain, so most of them won’t use it. The only people that will probably be able to use it are the Sea Race, but everyone also knows the situation of the Sea Race. If we gave it to them, everyone should be more at ease. We also don’t have any real conflict with them, as our enmity is only because of what happened during the Illustrious Divine Dynasty. If it were me, I would rather hand over the Hemolytic Totem to the Sea Race to try and smooth over the relationship between our two races.”

One thing that Su Chen had said was absolutely correct – how could selling it to a single buyer compare in price to selling it to a whole bunch of people? Su Chen deeply understood the purchasing power of a large group of people after having experienced it himself a number of times.

As soon as Su Chen had finished speaking, the officers began to converse with one another.

People were huddled in intense discussion. Some were nodding, while others were shaking their heads.

Finally, an officer said, “We cannot make the decision on behalf of the higher-ups, but your words do make sense. We will pass on what you have said. However, we are still hoping that you can reconsider your stance; the Flowing Gold Fort is willing to pay a higher price……”

Su Chen shook his head. “This isn’t about money. It’s about the rise of the human rae to prominence. The biggest talking point of the Hemolytic Totem is that it is incredibly cheap and will strengthen more than one person – it will strengthen all human beings. If it’s only useable by the Flowing Gold Fort, that would be such a huge waste. And if it was only distributed within Long Sang Country, it would eventually spread once people found out about it. I’d rather sell it myself than let someone profit itself off of my hard work.”