Chapter 80: The Compensation Packages

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The Compensation Packages

But that opportunity had to be earned. If Steven failed, Xavier would simply find someone else.

That was the real reason he had given Steven the 3rd-Grade Vitality Elixir. It was not charity. It was an investment.

And now, Steven had two days to prove that investment was worth it.

By the time Xavier Kane returned home, he had already made another decision. The information Steven Holloway had provided was useful, but Xavier was not willing to leave something as important as Helena’s safety entirely in his hands.

His mother in law’s life was at stake, and Mira’s emotional state was already fragile after learning that her mother might still be alive.

The Extraordinary Division needed to be involved.

Xavier picked up the old phone Samuel Bush had given him and called the minister directly through his Mr. X identity.

"Minister Bush, I’ve received information concerning Helena, Mira’s mother," he said.

"She may have been taken by an organization called the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction." His voice became serious. "I’d like the Extraordinary Division to investigate."

There was no reason for Xavier to hold back the information. Samuel had already proven willing to help Mira, and after everything Xavier had given the Division the previous night, Samuel certainly had enough reason to take this matter seriously.

Once the call ended, Xavier put the phone away. His gaze fell on Snow. The little white tiger was still fast asleep.

Ever since Xavier had stuffed her with a ridiculous amount of elixirs inside the Hunting Ground, Snow had barely moved.

She had remained curled up in deep sleep, completely oblivious to everything happening around her.

Xavier reached down and rubbed her head.

"When are you planning to wake up?" he asked.

Snow did not respond.

Xavier chuckled. He had been tempted to experiment with the strange effects of the system by feeding Snow even more elixirs, but he eventually decided against it.

There was no need to rush. He already had plenty of resources on hand.

Instead, Xavier settled down and returned his attention to cultivation. He took out a Creation Pill and swallowed it before placing several spirit stones around himself.

As long as he had the Saint Purification Pill’s effect to eliminate the negative effects caused by consuming too many elixirs, he could continue using cultivation resources to accelerate his progress, at least until he reached the Star Sea Realm.

The only problem was the sheer size of his spiritual space.

His spiritual space was far larger than that of an ordinary martial artist, and while that gave him extraordinary potential, it also meant that every advancement required an enormous amount of energy.

Four hours passed in silence. By the time Xavier completely absorbed the Creation Pill, the sun was already beginning to set.

He opened his eyes and slowly exhaled.

"One Creation Pill, a supply of spirit stones, and more than four hours of cultivation," he murmured, examining the chaotic energy circulating through his spiritual platform.

"I’ve only increased it by about ten percent." He frowned slightly.

"At this rate, it’ll probably take another week before I can break through to the second level of the Spirit Platform Realm." He could not help sighing.

"I almost miss the Body Tempering and Foundation Establishment stages. Back then, my cultivation speed was ridiculous."

If another Spirit Platform martial artist heard him complaining, they would probably want to beat him senseless.

A normal martial artist’s spiritual space was nowhere near as large as Xavier’s. For an ordinary 1st-Level Spirit Platform martial artist, advancing to the second level could take an entire year of painstaking cultivation.

Xavier, on the other hand, could accomplish the equivalent of roughly a month’s worth of cultivation in a single day. And he was complaining because he needed a week to advance.

His cultivation speed was already absurd. Yet Xavier had no idea just how outrageous his progress looked from an outsider’s perspective. He simply felt that he was not advancing quickly enough.

Days passed in this monotonous rhythm. Cultivation. Absorption. Recovery. Then cultivation again.

By the evening of the second day, Snow still had not woken up. Lydia had briefly regained consciousness once, but after Xavier fed her a small amount of chaotic energy, she had quickly fallen asleep again.

Mira, meanwhile, had returned to Arcadia Academy.

The school had informed its students that the Annual Cup would resume on May 10th, so Mira had spent most of her time cultivating and preparing for the competition.

Xavier had been cultivating quietly at home when his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen.

Samuel Bush.

Xavier immediately answered.

"Minister Bush," he said.

"Mr. X," Samuel’s voice came through the phone. "We haven’t found Helena yet. The investigation is still underway."

Xavier’s expression remained calm.

"Understood," he said.

There was a brief pause before Samuel continued.

"Actually, that’s not the reason I called," he said.

Xavier raised an eyebrow.

"The elixirs you gave me have now been fully evaluated," Samuel said.

"We’ve confirmed their value." His tone became slightly more serious.

"After discussing the matter with several senior members of the Extraordinary Division, we’ve come up with three possible compensation packages."

Xavier’s interest immediately sharpened.

"Compensation packages?" he asked.

"Yes," Samuel chuckled. "The resources you’ve provided are simply too valuable. The items we’re offering in exchange aren’t ordinary either, so I’d rather discuss the matter with you in person."

Xavier sat up. He was genuinely curious now. What could the Extraordinary Division possibly be offering that made even Samuel so cautious about describing it over the phone?

"All right," he said. "I’ll come over."

Not long afterward, Xavier arrived at the Extraordinary Division’s headquarters. After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Samuel, he got straight to the point.

"So, what are the three options?" he asked.

Samuel smiled.

"Let’s start with the first," he said, reaching into his spatial ring and producing a small, rhomboid piece of metal roughly the size of his palm. A faint white glow surrounded its surface. "This is a rune fragment with a Vitality effect."

Xavier’s attention immediately focused on it.

"It was recovered from the Spider Nest Secret Realm sixteen years ago," Samuel continued. "The fragment can be embedded into close fitting protective equipment. Once installed, it significantly enhances the wearer’s natural healing and recovery." He paused before adding,

"More importantly, if you activate the rune with your mental power when you’re severely exhausted, it can instantly restore your body to peak condition."

Xavier’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Instantly?" he asked.

"Yes," Samuel nodded. "There is one limitation. After activation, the rune needs roughly a month to recover before it can be used again."

Even so, Xavier was impressed. A treasure that could restore a severely injured and exhausted martial artist to peak condition was practically equivalent to having another life.

He had heard of the Spider Nest Secret Realm.

Sixteen years ago, it had been considered an extremely dangerous secret realm that could only accommodate martial artists at the Star Sea Realm.

Human experts had managed to clear it within half a month of its appearance, after which the realm closed.

A treasure recovered from a secret realm of that level naturally had extraordinary value. Xavier had never even heard of this particular rune fragment before.

Samuel put the first option away and brought out the second.

"This one is considerably more valuable," he said, placing a thick martial manual on the table. Then he drew a long sword from his spatial ring. The instant the weapon appeared, the temperature in the room seemed to rise. Heat waves distorted the air around its blade.

"The second package contains the 7th-Grade Star Tempering Body Technique, a 6th-Grade Blazing Sun Sword, and ten thousand Extraordinary Division points."

Xavier’s eyes immediately became more focused.

Samuel picked up the martial manual.

"The Star Tempering Body Technique has nine levels in total," he said.

"It’s a cultivation focused technique and one of the signature techniques created by the legendary Peerless Fist Saint, Simon Keel. According to the complete technique, mastering all nine levels allows a martial artist to reach the Great Perfection of the Divine Power Realm." He tapped the manual.

"Unfortunately, this copy only contains the cultivation method for the first seven levels. It also contains Simon Keel’s personal cultivation insights for the first level."

Xavier’s expression became thoughtful.

Simon Keel. Even Xavier had heard that name. The Peerless Fist Saint was a legendary figure who frequently appeared in national news.

He was already around eighty years old, yet his physical condition remained extraordinary. More importantly, he had already surpassed the Divine Power Realm and reached the Venerable Realm.

He was considered one of the strongest martial artists in the entire Dragon Kingdom.

A cultivation technique personally created by someone at that level, along with his cultivation insights, was practically priceless. And that was not even counting the 6th-Grade Blazing Sun Sword.

Samuel continued.

"The ten thousand Extraordinary Division points can be exchanged for resources from our warehouses across the country," he said. "We’ll also transfer the points directly to your A-Level identity account."

Xavier leaned forward slightly. This offer was genuinely tempting. But before he could make a decision, Samuel put the second package aside.

"There’s still the third option," he said.

Xavier looked at him.

"What is it?" he asked.

Samuel’s expression became noticeably more solemn.

"The third option is a little different," he said, reaching into his spatial ring once more and removing two things. The first was a mid grade spirit stone. The second was a small coin.

Xavier stared at it. At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about it. One side was gold. The other was pitch black. Apart from that, it looked completely ordinary.

Samuel placed it carefully on the table.

"This is a sacred artifact known as the Coin of Destiny," he said.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed.

"No one knows exactly where it came from," Samuel continued.

"According to the records, it may have survived from the Great Destruction a century ago. There are very few of these coins left in the world. Once a day, you can toss the coin. If it lands on the golden side, your overall strength will increase by twenty percent for one hour." He paused.

"If it lands on the black side, your strength will decrease by twenty percent for the next hour."

Xavier stared at the coin. That was certainly an unusual treasure.

"There’s another limitation," Samuel added.