The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon hearing Eda's comment, they all agreed with her statement.

From that group, the three captives freed by Minos' actions had already heard from Peter about the local ruler's cultivation speed. And because of that, they were aware that young Stuart would advance in levels much faster than they did.

Consequently, Minos could face more powerful opponents with a higher level and get better items for the Reward's Hall!

And when that happened, then finally they could enjoy this option that the Black Plain Army's headquarters had for its soldiers!

Finally, as they walked through that room, the five people could see that there was also a payment area in addition to the shop windows with the items at their disposal. In that place, two cashiers were attending, making the transaction of soldiers who were exchanging merit points for items.

Joey then finally passed in front of the window where the spatial rings of this place were.

In that place, there were more than 40 rings of different colors and designs. Each of them had a universal size, which would fit the user's finger.

As for storage, the smallest could hold ten cubic meters, while the largest would store up to a hundred cubic meters. That was explicitly the difference between medium-level grade-1 and high-level grade-1 spatial rings.

The smallest of all spatial rings could hold two cubic meters, but there was no low-level grade-1 ring in this place.

As for the price in front of each of these items, the ten cubic meters rings cost 5 thousand points, while the others cost 10 thousand.

This disproportionate difference in prices is because the efficiency of higher-grade products grew a lot compared to the lower-grade ones. Because of this, items of a higher level would, in general, be more cost-effective.

The costs of materials involved in these items of only one level difference, to the same degree, were not high. In fact, most of the price difference was due to the cost of the array master's work.

However, the price did not go up so much from a medium-level grade-1 array to a high-level grade-1 array. Moreover, with greater spiritual strength and, in some cases, different specialized techniques, higher-ranking array masters could manipulate the arrays much more easily.

It definitely would be faster and less laborious for a high-level grade-1 array master to create items at this level than a medium-level grade-1 array master to do the similar!

And that price had been calculated from the standard market price of these items and converted to the scale of 2 spiritual crystals for one merit point.

Such items that would usually be sold at 10,000 and 20,000 low-grade crystals were being sold at 5,000 and 10,000 points. However, this is not as simple as it sounds, as it is much easier to get merit points together than crystals.

After all, the crystals are used for cultivation and pay for the daily support of the soldiers' families. Therefore, it would be much more challenging to gather 20,000 crystals, which can be used in different areas, than to gather 10,000 merit points that are only used in the army.

But not only that, there was no certainty that they would gain extra crystals on missions, as had happened more recently.

However, earning merit points was a sure thing, as long as they completed those same missions.

For example, not every expedition would be about fighting enemies who might leave crystals behind. In some cases, soldiers might just have to watch something, escort someone, etc. Something that might not generate deaths.

But even in situations like these, soldiers would still get their points for completing the mission, which is helpful at headquarters!

Anyway, while Joey was looking closely at the rings in that place, the two women who had come with him to the Dry City were also looking at these items.

None of them had spatial rings, as they had lost theirs to the pirates who had previously kidnapped them. Consequently, the three of them wanted to get items like this again.

"Oh, I would like them to have at least low-level grade-1. One of those would work for me…" Joey commented in a low voice.

"Hmm, I think these rings are the only things I've seen here that interest me. The rest isn't much use to me right now." Barbara commented.

Finally, the group stopped by for a few more moments, looking at the prices of the items and understanding the ratio between crystals and merit points.

The spiritual arrays in this place were naturally the most expensive. After all, items like these had far greater uses than pills and spiritual weapons.

In the Spiritual World, the price charged for arrays was on top of all items in the spiritual professions, being the most expensive of all.

The second was spiritual artifacts produced by blacksmiths, which generally cost much more than spiritual pills. Such a thing was also expected, as items of this nature could be used multiple times and, in some cases, could even be repaired if not wholly destroyed.

And at the third position were the pills. These items were for single use only and still left unwanted impurities behind. Because of this, this was by far the cheapest of the products produced by professionals from the three greatest spiritual professions in this world!

To give you an idea, the cheapest pill in this Reward's Hall cost 50 points, while the most expensive one, a high-level grade-1, is 500 points. On the other hand, the items produced by blacksmiths, which were cheaper, had a price of 250 points and the most expensive, with the same rating as the pill, 2,500 points.

Finally, for the arrays, the cheapest goes out for 2,500 points and the most expensive for 10,000 points.

These were the prices at which the items in this place varied, at least for most of them, which professionals in those three major areas produced.

However, there were other artifacts for sale in this hall related to other spiritual and non-spiritual professions.

As an example, there were some paintings and kitchen items!

That's right, kitchen items.

Contrary to what might be expected, spiritual cooks did not buy their items but produced them!

Like the seers, these culinary professionals had the opportunity to refine their support objects in order to produce utensils more compatible with their techniques. With this, it was so much easier and more practical to cook, as the quality and flavors of the dishes would be significantly enhanced!

As for how others could use those items linked to the spirituality of cultivators, as in the case of one seer's Orbs of Fate, well, that was simple. Such things are refined and compatible with the spirituality of those who refine them. However, these items would be left behind if these people die. They are palpable and tangible items, ultimately free of restrictions!

But obviously, there were some requirements for using such items. Thus, for example, in these professions, adding these new artifacts could only be done when the cultivation of these individuals rose on stage.

That's when they had a chance to refine new supporting artifacts. And precisely because of that, it was not easy, and people like the seer that Vivian had visited earlier would not have hope of recovering...

Finally, unlike what happened with the three primary professions in the Spiritual World, the other areas were not so regularly priced. After all, the offer of these items depended on more unstable factors, which could vary a lot depending on the time or place.

However, none of these items had caught the attention of the five people who were visiting the place.

And after a few moments there, they finally left this building and finished visiting the headquarters of the Black Plain Army.

They had already seen that there was a smaller version of the city's public cultivation tower at this headquarters, as well as some platforms for fights. And finally, as they walked near a mural, Robin suddenly saw something that caught his eye...