Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 369: Advancement

Li Pin looked at Zhang Dongwang, who was continuously channeling astral energy on the altar.

"So, this is how efficient the Royal Empire is?"

He had promised Su Dongfeng that he would finish dealing with matters here in a month or two and then help them resolve the threat of Death Valley.

What matters did he have to handle here?

There was only the Royal Empire's counterattack.

The Royal Empire had managed to leisurely hold a meeting for over half a month without coming to any conclusion. They allowed Li Pin to confine Zhang Dongwang, one of their Master Astral Cultivators, as he wished.

Hearing Li Pin's words, Zhang Dongwang looked a little embarrassed.

However, he didn't back down. "The Royal Empire spares no effort in supporting the Special United Squad. Although our strongest have not yet acted, there are three Legends within our borders who have joined the Special United Squad. This shows the level of our support. Given the manpower shortage, our efficiency will definitely be lowered."

This remark pointed out that Li Pin only engaged in infighting among humans and did not contribute efforts to eradicate demonic creatures.

Li Pin said calmly, "So the Royal Empire's Legends are so great. I thought the Royal Empire's strongest, Ge Lin and the others, were too busy guarding the Slave Valley and the Royal Empire capital to spare any effort.

"Furthermore, since the Royal Empire is so selfless, I happen to have found a perilous region with quite a few lord-level demonic creatures, including a Legendary Ghoul. Would you be so kind as to help me restrain it, Zhang Dongwang?"

Zhang Dongwang grew horrified. "Restraining a Legendary Ghoul!? You want to use me as a pawn!?"

"What do you mean by using you as a pawn? It's just that words alone are no proof and I need you to help to prove it for me."

Zhang Dongwang was momentarily speechless.

At that moment, Xing Ying approached Li Pin and whispered, "The extraction device from Taibai has been calibrated and installed. Would you like to attend the inauguration ceremony?"

"There's no need for that," declined Li Pin. "First, extract all the Primordial Electric Crystals we have stored."

He then paused slightly. "Also, the allocation of training materials needs to be prioritized."

"Hall Master Shi has submitted a proposal. I will send it to you right away."

"You can give me a brief overview."

"Yes." Xing Ying nodded. "Hall Master Shi's idea is to slightly improve our internal contribution system and link it to the internal currency system we plan to implement."

"Using Astral Crystals as a currency system?" Li Pin asked.

Shi Shihu had brought up this to him before. In fact, it wasn't just them; there had also been relevant proposals within the Human Alliance.

In today's world, each one of the Six Extremities had its own currency, with varying exchange rates. Additionally, some smaller countries also had their own currencies.

Because of this, An Na, the Human Alliance's Secretary-General had suggested more than once to establish a globally unified currency using Astral Crystals as the standard.

Currently, there was indeed a trend in some higher-level trade fairs to use Astral Crystals as currency.

After all, Gaia was different from Blue Planet, with ferocious beasts and demonic creatures roaming freely. Unless there were Master Astral Cultivators providing protection, trade transport between countries was not safe at all.

How many Master Astral Cultivators could each country have? Even a country as strong as the Royal Empire, one of the Six Extremities, probably only had around eighty to a hundred of them.

Without smooth trade routes, powerful countries would not have pressing demands for basic resources from weaker ones, nor would they need those small countries' currencies as foreign exchange. In this case, accepting only Astral Crystals would be the best choice.

Xing Ying said, "Astral Crystals, like astral equipment, are categorized into inferior, genuine, superior, exceptional, rare, and legendary. Among these, Inferior, Genuine, and Superior Astral Crystals are based on the decimal system.

"A Superior Astral Crystal or above costs about two hundred million Tianyuan currency or one hundred million Royal Empire currency. Since exceptional Astral Crystals are equivalent to strategic materials, much like top-tier astral equipment, they have a significant markup, reaching up to four billion Tianyuan currency!

"Superior Astral Crystals cost about two hundred million Tianyuan currency or one hundred million Royal Empire currency. Since Exceptional Astral Crystals are equivalent to strategic materials, much like top-tier astral equipment, they have a significant markup, reaching up to four billion Tianyuan currency!"

"I'm giving approximate values. There will still be some discrepancies when converting to Tianyuan currency."

Li Pin nodded.

She continued, "Thanks to the Skill Crystals you've bestowed us with, Sect Master, the Martial Gods have a decent understanding of the Martial God path. However, they lack adequate training materials. Among these, the overall performance of the Thunder Stone is slightly superior to that of the Primordial Electric Crystal. We have priced it at sixteen million yuan, equivalent to eight inferior Astral Crystals.

"As for salaries... According to your instructions, we have divided the salaries into twenty levels for different positions. The vice hall master is at level fifteen, with a monthly salary of thirty Thunder Stones, which amounts to... four hundred and eighty million. The salaries of elders and protectors range between levels fourteen and twelve, with monthly salaries of fifteen, ten, and five Thunder Stones, respectively."

"Do you want to make any detailed adjustments?" asked Xing Ying.

"No need. Let's keep it like this for now."

He had these people serve him for ten years, and theoretically, he did not need to pay them. However, if they weren't paid, they would rely entirely on him to obtain Thunder Stones. Moreover, as the number of Martial Gods grew over time, he wouldn't have the time or energy to handle everything.

So, he simply established a salary system: the better the performance, the higher the salary.

Of course, besides the basic salary, there were also incentive plans to ensure everyone's proactivity.

"Additionally, Secretary-General An Na from the Human Alliance has already set off with his delegation. They are not using any flying transportation but are traveling by land and will officially start their visit to the Celestial Martial God Hall in four days," Xing Ying informed Li Pin.

Li Pin was a little surprised. "Four days later? So soon?"

This secretary-general was more proactive than I expected.

He had initially thought that after he captured Zhang Dongwang, the Royal Empire would react like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—exploding with rage, most likely sending Legendary Astral Cultivators to attack him directly. That would have given him the perfect opportunity to fight a Legendary Astral Cultivator and test the weight of such a world-class top-notch expert.

At the same time, it would also allow him an opportunity to truly prove himself to the world!

Proving that the martial arts lineage could also stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Legends.

To his displeasure, more than half a month had passed, yet there was no movement from the Royal Empire at all. There was none of the arrogance or dominance typical of one of the Six Extremities.

He couldn't help but feel quite disappointed.

His plan to once and for all resolve the problem of people coveting the Skill Crystals had also fallen through.

"Only Legends... are truly considered the pinnacle of the world," Li Pin muttered.

But without a Legend coming to prove it in an actual battle, even if he shouted everywhere that he had the combat power of a Legend, who would believe him?

He couldn't possibly take the initiative to attack them, could he?

This thought made his heart stir instantly.

It was feasible.

He was already given a reason to do this.

Lin Xingchen was considered half his disciple.

Li Pin demanded the Royal Empire to release him more than one time, but the Royal Empire never made a move. They clearly did not take him seriously.

Since that was the case, it was time to make a move and show the world the deterrent force of a Martial God who was undetectable to the Astral Cultivators.

"Hall Master, are you planning to announce the news about the Skill Crystals through the Human Alliance's channels and sell them shortly after?" Xing Ying asked.

"Yes." Li Pin nodded. "Calculate what materials the Celestial Martial God Hall on Hualong Mountain needs for development, and what resources they require for cultivation. Draft a charter, and after organizing all the expenses, convert the remaining proceeds entirely into Primordial Electric Crystals, related resources, and Astral Crystals."

"I'll relay the orders right away." Xing Ying immediately agreed. "May I ask... what the total budget is?"

"The price of rare astral equipment often reaches hundreds of billions, and purchasing legendary astral equipment requires the power of an entire country. Even if the price of Skill Crystals doesn't match that of legendary astral equipment, it won't be far off. My ideal base price is one trillion, but considering many people are still unsure of the exact function of Skill Crystals... we'll cut it in half for now. The base price will be five hundred billion, with no upper limit."

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Li Pin paused. "We will sell ten Skill Crystals first. If the sales go smoothly, the revenue will exceed five trillion. That will be the total budget."

Although Xing Ying knew the value of Skill Crystals was astonishing, she never thought it could reach such heights!

They would sell ten pieces, netting them five trillion!

She hadn't expected this at all. She had even thought that one or two trillion would've been about right.

However, she quickly thought of something else.

The Ghoul King Hall could cultivate a batch of Ghoul Kings in half a year, with an average of thirty Ghoul Kings produced each time. In one year, there would be sixty. That would amount to thirty trillion!

What did that mean?!

Great Shang's financial revenue was only nineteen trillion, less than two-thirds of the Celestial Martial God Hall's projected revenue from selling Skill Crystals.

If they could truly sell the Skill Crystals at such a price, the entire world would be working for the Celestial Martial God Hall.

For a moment, Xing Ying felt a mix of excitement and a touch of fear. She didn't know exactly what she was afraid of.

She couldn't help but ask in a trembling voice, "Hall Master... the price... is it too high?"

"I know what I'm doing." Li Pin said calmly, glancing at Xing Ying, "The news of the skill stones can't be kept secret, but the fact that they can be mass-produced can be. Announce that there are limited Ghoul Kings in the Black Gold Mine, and they have almost all been hunted down. This sale of skill crystals might be the first and also the last."

After saying that, Li Pin seemed to think of something, and he said, "Didn't someone from the Royal Empire infiltrate the Black Gold Mine? They must have searched for a long time before finding a single Ghoul King. They can verify for us."

Xing Ying felt a chill run through her heart as she listened.

The truth about the Ghoul King Hall's capacity to cultivate Ghoul Kings was known only to a select few. Selling the Skill Crystals for over five trillion under the assumption that this resource was one-time-only... was indeed feasible.

"If we sell this batch of Skill Crystals, won't people become suspicious later if we continue to produce Martial Gods?" Xing Ying inquired.

"Later?" Li Pin responded calmly. "With these five trillion yuan injected, within a year at most, even if we reveal the true production capacity of the skill crystals, no one would dare to question us."

Hearing this, Xing Ying immediately recalled the time Li Pin had taken to develop the path of the Martial God up to this point!

If he were given one more year....

"By that time, they will be grateful," Xing Ying said with admiration on her face, "Grateful that we are willing to share such an incredibly precious treasure as the Skill Crystal at such an affordable price."