Right now, Li Yang could only afford one Anticancer Agent. He still had to earn more money for the other.

Upon hearing this, Shao Jie smiled. "Of course. Every new member of the Celestial Origin Palace receives a set amount of contribution points to start. You can use these points to buy things, so if you join, you can get an Anticancer Agent right away using just points."

"Buy it directly with contribution points?" Li Yang’s eyes lit up.

’So, according to Shao Jie, if I join the Celestial Origin Palace, I can get the Anticancer Agent immediately.’

After a moment’s thought, Li Yang asked, "What would be required of me after I join?"

Shao Jie smiled. "I know what you’re worried about. Our Cultivator organizations are very flexible. For the most part, you can do your own thing without anyone bothering you. But sometimes, missions are posted. You can choose to take them on, but they’re completely voluntary. If you join and don’t want to do them, no one can force you."

"Of course, I did just mention that the Celestial Origin Palace has medicinal herbs for cultivation and other resources. You need contribution points to trade for them. You can earn points by completing missions. Without points, you can’t get those herbs. If you don’t do any missions, then you naturally won’t have access to the Palace’s resources."

Li Yang nodded. No pain, no gain. He understood that principle.

’So, it seems these Cultivator organizations are much better than I imagined.’

Seeing that Li Yang didn’t immediately agree to join, Shao Jie didn’t press him. He smiled and said, "Let’s add each other on WeChat. It’ll make it easier to stay in touch."

He took out a smartphone, and in a somewhat bizarre moment, the two Cultivators added each other on WeChat.

After they exchanged contact info, Shao Jie pointed at the lobster monster beside Li Yang. "You killed this mutated giant lobster. I’d like to buy it from you."

"Buy it?"

Li Yang was taken aback.

Shao Jie nodded. "Besides Cultivators, a small number of creatures on Earth have mutated. They are much stronger than before, just like this giant lobster, which has Profound-Level strength. They’re too much of a threat to ordinary people. One of our duties as Cultivators is to eliminate them."

Li Yang nodded, though he thought to himself, ’I’ll have to be more careful about hiding my octopus clone. If a stronger Cultivator finds it and kills it, I’ll have no recourse.’

"So, how much is it worth?" Li Yang asked.

Shao Jie said with a slight smile, "For the corpse of a Profound-Level mutated beast, I’ll give you two hundred million."

"Two hundred million?"

Li Yang froze, his eyes revealing a trace of shock.

"Haha, no need to be shocked. If you join our Celestial Origin Palace, you’ll find out that money really isn’t a big deal to us Cultivators," Shao Jie said with a laugh.

"Just give me your bank account number."

Li Yang nodded and recited his bank account number.

Shao Jie then made a phone call. Barely ten seconds after he hung up, Li Yang’s phone buzzed. As he read the text message from his bank, his eyes filled with absolute astonishment.

The two hundred million had been deposited!

Financial regulations in Hua Country were notoriously strict. Withdrawing a few million required an appointment, and transfers in the hundreds of millions were subject to intense scrutiny. Yet now, this enormous sum had arrived in just over ten seconds!

The speed of the transfer was a clear testament to the status of Cultivators!

Even top-tier wealthy families like the Zhao family were desperate to establish ties with Cultivators.

Li Yang looked down at his phone—at the text confirming the transfer—and suddenly asked, "If I join the Celestial Origin Palace, can you guarantee my family’s safety?"

As a Cultivator himself, he was well aware of their terrifying power. With his own abilities, dealing with an ordinary person would be trivially easy.

He was worried that if he had a conflict with other Cultivators, they would come after his family.

In that moment, Li Yang was truly tempted to join the Celestial Origin Palace. Shao Jie didn’t know that if it hadn’t been for the two hundred million, Li Yang would have probably already taken the initiative to ask.

After all, he could get the Anticancer Agent just by joining, and Li Yang was eager to get his hands on it as soon as possible.

But he now had 340 million. At the foundation’s auction tomorrow, he had a very real chance of buying both Anticancer Agents outright!

Hearing Li Yang’s question, Shao Jie smiled calmly. "Li Yang, you have nothing to worry about on that front. Conflicts between Cultivators stay between Cultivators. Families will not be involved. No one dares to violate this rule."

A look of awe flashed in his eyes. "That’s because this rule was established by our leader himself."

Hearing this, Li Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

’If the rule was made by the strongest expert alive—the one who took on a nuclear blast—then I’ll have nothing to worry about if I join.’

"So, Li Yang? What do you say? Want to join?"

Shao Jie extended the invitation again. "The stronger you are when you join, the greater the rewards. You’ve already reached the Earth-Level, so your signing bonus would be quite substantial."

’The stronger I am when I join, the richer the rewards?’ Li Yang’s mind raced at Shao Jie’s words.

When Li Yang remained silent, Shao Jie assumed he was still on the fence.

He smiled, not wanting to push him. "Think it over some more. I have other business to attend to, so I’ll be going now. If you decide you want to join, just message me on WeChat."

With a flick of his right hand, the four-meter-long lobster suddenly flew into the air and landed directly in his grasp.

"What was that?" Li Yang stared in astonishment.

’Telekinesis?’

’My physical body is strong, but I have nothing like this ability.’

Then, before Li Yang’s astonished eyes, Shao Jie suddenly shot into the air. He moved with incredible speed, disappearing into the night sky in just two seconds.

"A King-Level expert!"

Standing on the beach, Li Yang watched Shao Jie depart, utterly dumbfounded. ’Flying through the air... that’s the sign of a King-Level expert! And I actually met one today!’

’In all of Huaxia, there are no more than ten King-Level experts!’

Envy was clear in Li Yang’s eyes.

’Flying... That’s something I dreamed about doing as a kid. I really want to know what it feels like to fly through the air.’

*Hooo...*

After a long moment, Li Yang finally looked away, his expression returning to one of calm.

’If it hadn’t been for that two hundred million, I really would have agreed to join the Celestial Origin Palace right then and there.’

Li Yang mused to himself; joining a Cultivator organization would indeed be hugely beneficial for him.

But he had still hesitated. Aside from the money, there was another, very important reason.

’Shao Jie said the stronger you are when you join the Celestial Origin Palace, the greater the rewards. I’m at the Mid-Earth-Level right now, but my strength is still improving constantly!’

’The Body Refining Chapter Cultivation Technique that came from the mysterious small sword is incredibly powerful. Based on my own assessment, my cultivation speed is definitely far, far faster than other Cultivators!’

’At this rate, I’ll finish the third stage of refining in less than two weeks, and then I’ll enter the fourth stage!’

’The fourth stage of the Body Refining Chapter corresponds to the Celestial Level!’

’The stronger you are when you join, the better the rewards. If I join as a Celestial-Level expert, wouldn’t the benefits be even greater?’

That was why Li Yang had hesitated. For him, it was merely a matter of waiting another two weeks.