Chapter 120: Treasury

Lucian went over to the nearest store shelves and had a look at the cultivation materials on display inside.

Now that Magnus had gone he could finally go and have a look at the treasury without any distractions.

The materials had been split up into various sections according to quality. Each section had a little plaque on it indicating its grade so that the cultivators could easily find the materials they required.

Lucian started going through them one by one.

Tier 1.

Tier 2.

Tier 3.

The collection went all the way up to Tier 6.

His eyes moved up through the higher tiers and then down towards the lower ones.

’There are thousands of Tier 1 resources alone.’

He wasn’t in the least bit surprised by the size of the treasury. The materials of the higher grades were well represented in large numbers, although of course you’d expect the numbers to diminish as you went up the scale.

When he got to the final section he had approximately eight Tier 6s.

Lucian was genuinely impressed.

Tier 6 materials weren’t something that ordinary cultivators could just get their hands on. They were packed with energy and could be of enormous value to someone who was getting close to the higher cultivation realms.

Yet Magnus had let him use all of them.

’Uncle Magnus is really going all out on this.’

This wasn’t just a pile of spare resources for the sake of emergencies. It was a significant chunk of Silverwood City’s accumulated wealth.

Every bit of the material had been accumulated over the years and some of it would have taken a fair bit of effort to get.

Magnus just handed it all over without even asking for a guarantee.

Lucian looked across the shelves once more.

’Will this actually be enough?’

The question had been on his mind since he’d put forward the proposal.

His talent could draw cultivation resources directly, just the same, but the rate at which it consumed them was absolutely staggering. With thousands of materials at his disposal he still couldn’t be sure he’d make it to the realm he wanted.

He started off by making an estimate of the energy in the various levels.

The lower tier resources were in vast quantities but had very low energy content. The higher tier materials were vastly more valuable, though there were far fewer of them.

Even if he ate the entire treasury, he’d still be a long way from Martial King Realm.

And that was assuming the process went smoothly.

’The Tiger Monster is at least a Martial Emperor. If it’s really at Peak Stage then even a Martial King might not be sufficient.’

Lucian remembered the sheer size of the thing and the way it had just casually picked up one of his Shadow Soldiers.

He had absolutely no intention of underestimating it.

A direct confrontation against a Peak Martial Emperor would be dangerous, even with Magnus fighting beside him. His plan relied on combining his own power with that of his Shadow Soldiers and giving the city’s defensive formation sufficient time to suck the energy out of the creature.

But first he’d have to be strong enough to take part in that battle.

He let out a quiet breath.

’Just thinking about it won’t help. I need to make the best use of what I’ve got.’

Before he even started on cultivation there was one other thing he needed to sort out.

His gaze shifted inward.

Lucian entered his Sea of Soul.

The familiar space unfolded before him.

There were thousands of Shadow Soldiers in the area, arranged in neat rows. Some were just sitting there, eyes closed. Others were practising their movements, others were out with their weapons.

A few were doing things that had nothing to do with the training.

They’d developed their own routines when Lucian wasn’t giving them instructions. Their intelligence was still very low, but they were certainly getting better at carrying out tasks on their own.

Lucian swept his gaze across the formation.

’About 9,900.’

That was the number of Shadow Soldiers he had at his disposal.

He’d lost contact with a hundred Shadow Soldiers as a result of Shadow One’s teleportation and their subsequent displacement to some unknown location. He was absolutely sure they were still alive though. The link was very weak, but he could still feel them.

Nevertheless, nearly ten thousand soldiers were more than adequate to carry out a number of operations at the same time.

Lucian looked at them for a moment.

His first thought was to use them to aid his cultivation. They could draw upon the resources in the treasury and thus he could absorb energy from a number of different sources without having to go through each one himself.

But then another possibility came to him.

’Why restrict myself to the resources in the Treasury?’

His attention shifted toward the wilderness beyond Silverwood CiThe surrounding area was full of Monster Beasts. Some lived in the forests, some in the mountains and there were countless numbers of them throughout the wilds.ness.

Their bodies contained energy that could be absorbed.

If his Shadow Soldiers hunted and devoured those creatures, they could gather additional cultivation energy while he focused on breaking through.

It was a simple solution.

Rather than waiting for the treasury to provide everything, he could turn the surrounding wilderness into another source of resources.

Of course, one problem remained.

He couldn’t afford to let the soldiers waste time fighting unnecessary battles.

Their objective was to collect as much energy as they could prior to the Tiger Monster launching its attack.

Lucian mused over the arrangement for a moment before coming to a decision.

’I’ll send a thousand of them to Aldric.’

Aldric was already operating in the wilderness with the other Shadow Soldiers. Having another thousand soldiers join him would considerably increase their hunting speed.

More importantly, Aldric could coordinate their movements and deal with stronger opponents.

Lucian raised his hand.

One thousand Shadow Soldiers immediately stepped forward from their rows.

They moved without hesitation and assembled before him.

Lucian looked over the group.

"Your next assignment is to join Aldric."

The soldiers just stayed there, waiting for his word.

"Once you get to him, just follow his orders and start hunting every Monster Beast you encounter. I want you to eliminate as many creatures as possible and devour their energy. Don’t waste time chasing insignificant targets if doing so will slow you down. Your priority is to get as much energy as possible."

He paused before issuing another instruction.

"If you come across a powerful Monster Beast that you can’t take on by yourself then co-ordinate with Aldric. Use his body to combine your strength when required and get the job done as quickly as possible."

The troops acknowledged the order.

Lucian’s expression became firm.

’Speed is the key. Don’t spend too long on one individual. If you can take it, do so. If it’s simply beyond your individual capabilities then use Aldric and the others to take it down together.’

The soldiers bowed slightly.

Then without any further delay they were off.

One by one their figures vanished from the Sea of Soul.

Lucian just watched them all go.

’That should increase their hunting speed considerably.’

A thousand more soldiers and Aldric would have sufficient manpower to cover a vastly larger area. If they were efficient, the number of Monster Beasts they could kill in a few hours would be enormous.

And every creature they killed would give them more energy.

Lucian turned his attention toward the remaining soldiers.

There were still thousands of them.

He intended to put all of them to use.

Returning his attention to the Treasury Hall, Lucian looked across the collection of cultivation materials.

The next part was straightforward.

He’d use his Shadow Soldiers to devour the available resources while he focused on absorbing the energy needed for his breakthrough.

That way the whole thing could go ahead at the same time.

Lucian gave his next order.

’Go ahead and start consuming the resources. Don’t leave anything to waste.’

The rest of the Shadow Soldiers were already in motion.

They came out of the Sea of Soul and spread across the treasury. Some went towards the lower quality, some towards the higher quality.

They started off with one resource and then went on to consume the next one.

Medicinal herbs, monster cores and all sorts of cultivation materials were just gone into their hands.

The soldiers didn’t bother to go through the individual items. They just took Lucian’s word for it and started eating everything they could lay their hands on.

Lucian headed off in the direction of the Tier 1 section.

Thousands of resources were stored there.

Although each one contained relatively little energy, their combined quantity was considerable. It was the best place for him to begin.

He stopped in the middle of the section and looked around.

Cultivation materials surrounded him from every direction.

Lucian slowly lowered himself and sat cross-legged on the floor.

’Let’s see how much I can absorb.’

He closed his eyes.

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

Then he activated his talent.

A faint fluctuation spread from the center of his body.

The energy contained within the nearby materials began to stir.

At first, the movement was barely noticeable. A few strands of energy escaped from the medicinal herbs and monster cores, drifting slowly toward Lucian.

But the flow didn’t stop.

More energy began pouring out of the surrounding resources.

The faint fluctuations quickly intensified, and the air inside the treasury began to tremble.

Lucian remained completely still.

His talent continued drawing energy from every nearby material, pulling it toward his body.

The scattered streams gradually converged around him.

A moment later, the energy began rotating.

A whirlpool-like vortex formed around the center of his body, growing larger with every passing second.

Whoosh!

The sound of a rush of wind went through the treasury.

Loose dust and bits and pieces on the floor were sucked into the rotating stream. The energy stored in the shelves was being drawn towards Lucian and the materials around him were beginning to go out.

One by one their energy was sucked out.

The vortex grew stronger.

Lucian’s clothes were flapping about under the force of the current, but his stance was absolutely unchanged.

He focused on keeping the absorption going.

’More.’

The energy kept on pouring into him.

The first few materials had already been completely drained, but there were still thousands of them left. His Shadow Soldiers were also consuming the resources all over the treasury, nothing going to waste.

The whole hall had become a huge source of cultivation energy.

And Lucian was at its center.

He’d promised Magnus he’d find a way to protect Silverwood City.

Now, he was putting all his energy into keeping that promise.

Outside the Treasury Hall the city was still getting on with the business of preparing for the coming disaster.

Inside the energy vortex was getting increasingly violent.

Lucian’s cultivation had finally started.