Chapter 244 - 117: With a Lovely Wife and Beautiful Concubines at Home, How’s Your Stamina?

Chapter 244: Chapter 117: With a Lovely Wife and Beautiful Concubines at Home, How’s Your Stamina?

Zhao Wen smiled faintly and also put brush to paper, using the little merit he had. But since he only had one Mansion Official, it wasn’t a great loss.

Zhao Yan continued his introductions, and each one caused a stir.

At first, the scions of the great clans remained composed, but eventually, even they couldn’t contain themselves.

After all, the library held many treasures they had only heard of in legends, and some they had never heard of at all.

A smile touched the corners of Zhao Yan’s lips as he watched their reactions.

After all, the very purpose of this tour was to get them fired up, to make them compete desperately for missions.

Zhao Ci stopped posturing.

He silently wrote down the Ten Thousand Wood Roots and the Quenching Spirit Liquid.

The former was a necessity for Feng Kucha.

The latter could improve his Flame Grade and Fire Control Ability.

He had to get them.

As for Yang Mo...

Zhao Ci followed his gaze and saw he was staring at the three words on the label: "Self-Reflection Pill."

This pill could help a person discover their true self, clarify their innate advantages, and even deepen those talents to some extent.

If mediocrity is simply talent in the wrong place, then the Self-Reflection Pill could avert that tragedy.

It... could even act as a guiding light.

Of course, for someone with exceptionally poor aptitude, it was completely useless.

"Brother Ci, I..."

Yang Mo’s voice was hoarse. What made him most desperate was the feeling that he wasn’t good at anything.

Although Zhao Ci claimed to be optimistic about this "investment," Yang Mo had tried asking a few times exactly what potential Zhao Ci saw in him, but Zhao Ci always fudged the answer.

He even suspected that Zhao Ci’s belief in his future potential was just the result of a fortune-telling session with Kan Tianji.

’This won’t do.’

’I have to find a way to turn things around.’

Zhao Ci smiled. "We’ll get it!"

With that, he wrote it down.

[System Notification]: Wish fulfilled. Reward: Insight +100, Heaven-Defying Talisman x1.

[System Notification]: Wish fulfilled. Reward: Insight +1000, Talent: Wood Marrow.

[Heaven-Defying Talisman]: Toss it to the sky to reverse the current weather.

[Wood Marrow]: Increases Wood-element affinity to a high grade.

Zhao Ci: "???"

’A Heaven-Defying Talisman?’

’To reverse the weather?’

’How "heaven-defying" of you!’

The three items cost twenty merit points each. Added to the six Body Refining Pills from before, he had already spent a large chunk of his merit.

Although he still had the most merit remaining, it was no longer enough to exchange for a spot in the War God Tower.

And...

Zhao Yan then moved on to the final item. "The Imperial Family and the seven great Merit Clans cultivate a total of sixteen Divine Patterns, both primary and secondary. These are all important legacies within their respective clans. Outsiders have virtually no access to them. Even if they did, their differing Cultivation Techniques would make it nearly impossible to form the corresponding Divine Pattern."

"But here, as long as you have merit, you can request an Elder from any of the clans to lay the foundation of a Divine Pattern for you."

"If the condensation is successful, you are guaranteed at least a Profound Grade Divine Pattern. Earth Grade Divine Patterns are common, and it’s even possible to form a Celestial Grade one."

"The price is the same as entry into the War God Tower—fifty merit points—but there is no limit to how many you can purchase."

The crowd gasped.

Their eyes were filled with an obscene amount of greed.

Even top masters, through normal cultivation, could at most form Earth Grade or higher Divine Patterns in two of their Divine Treasures.

This was because Divine Patterns were the secret, unteachable legacies of each clan. The sixteen Divine Patterns of the eight great clans were the only known Earth Grade or higher Divine Patterns that could be reliably passed down through generations.

It wasn’t unheard of for someone to have a fortuitous encounter and awaken a new Divine Pattern on their own, even reaching Earth Grade or higher.

But even if they did...

...their lack of foundational knowledge would prevent them from passing it down completely to the next generation.

Furthermore, the Divine Techniques that accompanied the eight great clans’ Divine Patterns were incomparably potent. The most iconic example was the Feng Clan’s Demon-Binding Rope, used to control beasts. Just obtaining it was enough to send one’s status soaring.

For an outsider, the only path to obtaining one was to become a core Household Servant.

But in the mansion competition, there was, in theory, a chance to achieve the feat of collecting five different Earth Grade Divine Patterns.

But...

Fifty merit points.

To obtain even one over the three years of the mansion competition would be a remarkable achievement.

"Damn it!"

’Damn it!’ Zhao Ci was practically drooling. ’With my Insight, I can cultivate every Divine Treasure to the Harmony Realm, giving each one the solid potential to reach Celestial Grade. If I could form five Celestial Grade Divine Patterns... wouldn’t I ascend to heaven right then and there?’

’But that would require a massive amount of merit, and a massive amount of Insight.’

’Looks like I was born to grind.’

He shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the pressure for now.

Zhao Yan finished his presentation, and once everyone had made their exchanges, he led the group out of the Merit Library.

Then, they all went their separate ways.

...

「Two hours later.」

「Tenth Prince’s Mansion.」

「The Practice Room.」

Everyone was sitting in meditation except for Zhao Ci and Kan Luotang.

When Zhao Ci had left that morning, he had specifically asked Kan Luotang what she wanted. She’d replied that her cultivation method didn’t rely on resources; all she needed was a high-ranking official title before they started taking on missions.

He glanced at his Mansion Officials and smiled. "Go on, take your medicine!"

At his command, they all swallowed their chosen pills and potions, clearly having been impatient to start.

Zhao Ci circled them, placing a Taotie Talisman on Zhu Li, Yang Mo, and Feng Kucha.

The talismans would help them fully absorb the medicinal effects.

The items that cost twenty merit points were all genuine Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, well worth the use of a Taotie Talisman.

After applying the talismans, he began to observe the group.

Of the sixty-six merit points he’d spent today, sixty-five of them had been a worthy investment.

The only exception...

...was Zhang Da Yong!

[Current wish of Zhang Da Yong (Huangfu Song)]: To figure out what kind of person Zhao Ci is. Reward for fulfillment: Insight +100, Insight Talisman x1.

’That bastard Huangfu Song wasted one of my merit points and took up a Mansion Official slot!’