novelODS Chapter 438 - 434: Tier Nine, Saint’s Path
Chapter 438 - 434: Tier Nine, Saint’s Path
"If you want to trade, you’ll need to add something more."
The Tier Nine Lord clearly noticed Lin You’s change in expression and said lightly.
Generally, the price of an ordinary Tier Nine Species Token is around fifty million, and those with excellent Skill Attributes can easily exceed one hundred million.
If you don’t have something good, you might not be able to make the trade.
Lin You pondered for a moment and then took out the Humanoid Species Secret Treasure from his personal space.
"How about adding this? Will that be enough?"
An SSS-level Secret Treasure is worth at least thirty million, which is more than enough to cover the difference between the two Tokens.
The Tier Nine Lord glanced at the attributes and was once again surprised.
"I didn’t realize you had so many good things. This Secret Treasure is a rare gem for the Humanoid Type. Including it, I’d be getting a bargain, so I’ll add ten million Magic Energy for you."
"Deal!"
Lin You’s face lit up with joy, and he immediately sent over a trade request.
The Tier Nine Lord had many things on his stall to sell and wasted no words, confirming the trade and placing up the Illusion Sword Grass Token.
After a few exchanges, both parties got what they needed.
"Thank you."
Lin You expressed his gratitude, happily storing away the Token.
The Tier Nine Lord ignored him, casually responded, and returned to his stall to organize things.
He seemed to be a solitary person.
And with Lin You’s current Level, he could hardly catch the eye of a Tier Nine Lord. Talking to him this much was already considered very friendly.
Lin You didn’t mind.
After scanning the stall for anything he could use and finding none, he turned away and continued browsing other stalls.
This time, luck was on his side.
After just wandering through two platforms, he found a stall in the corner where someone was selling Species Upgrade Scrolls—and there were two at once!
After some haggling.
He successfully used the "Master of Command" Sacred Artifact, to acquire both Scrolls in an equivalent exchange.
The stall owner initially wanted to raise the price further, given that the Species Upgrade Scrolls are of Rare Level, and using them to level up Tier Nine saves a hundred Territory Essences.
But as luck would have it, the stall owner was also of the Humanoid Type, and happened to be looking for a Battle Array Class Territorial Sacred Artifact.
A willing buyer and a willing seller.
He ultimately couldn’t resist the allure of the Sacred Artifact in Lin You’s hands.
As a result, Lin You now possessed nine Upgrade Scrolls in total.
Apart from the seven Royals, he still had two left to upgrade other Species, like the ninth Royal Family.
After storing the Scrolls safely and making another round on the platform to sell the unused Species Secret Treasure in exchange for Magic Energy,
Lin You transported back to his Territory, both expectant and nervous.
After all the time spent running and preparing, he finally gathered all the requisite conditions to upgrade to Tier Nine, a Level he had longed for.
And his Yellow Sand City.
Would become the only Tier Nine Territory in this Border Region.
With this in mind.
He hesitated no longer.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly approached the World Tree and opened the Territory upgrade interface.
[The Territory meets the upgrade conditions. Do you wish to upgrade?]
The cold prompt sounded much more melodious than before.
Lin You glanced around, took a look at the distant Yellow Sand City, and slowly spoke.
"Upgrade!"
As his words fell, the area surrounding Yellow Sand City, including within and outside of the forest, suddenly erupted with a thunderous roar and began to shake violently.
The lush World Tree above unexpectedly unleashed a vast, boundless Life Aura that swept in all directions.
"What’s going on?"
"Is it an earthquake?"
"Could it be a Demon attack?"
"Quick! Go get weapons!"
The citizens in the forest cried out repeatedly, thrown into chaos and confusion by this sudden upheaval.
Wei Gang, who was patrolling the city, also hurried over with his team to join Xue Changgui and the other stewards outside the city, all appearing as if facing a formidable enemy.
The Tier Nine Cultivators, Yue Daonan and Xiao Congyun, who were cultivating in the forest, swiftly emerged and quickly joined them.
"Elder Yue."
"Instructor Xiao."
Upon their appearance, Wei Gang, Xue Changgui, and the other stewards hurried to greet them.
Yue Daonan and Xiao Congyun gestured to them, and then looked towards the source of the tremor, the towering World Tree in the forest’s center.
"This aura, could it be..."
Their spirits lifted, identical expressions of surprise appearing on their faces.
"It must be advancing to Tier Nine!"
"Tier Nine?"
"The Lord is becoming a Tier Nine Lord!?"
Hearing their words, Xue Changgui and the others were immediately stunned, eyes wide open.
A Tier Nine Lord.
Even within the entire Duchy, that’s an extremely rare existence.
It’s said that their Great Wilderness Duchy has only a few dozen, and they’re mostly located in the very center of the Duchy, gazed upon by countless admirers.
And their Lord was about to become one of those exalted Tier Nine Lords?
Doesn’t this mean.
Yellow Sand City would also advance to a Tier Nine Territory??
Thinking about this, Xue Changgui and the others couldn’t help but feel excited, their faces flushing with enthusiasm.
It’s worth noting.
They have watched as Yellow Sand City evolved from a Tier Six Territory, rising step by step.
They have also witnessed Yellow Sand City’s gradual transformation from a small border town to a major border city.
Such feelings are truly hard to put into words.
"No, we can’t just stand here any longer, we must quickly maintain order, to prevent any mishaps."
After the excitement, Wei Gang quickly came to his senses.
"Yes, yes, yes, let’s first reassure the citizens, definitely don’t let the Lord get distracted."
Xue Changgui’s spirit was invigorated, and he snapped back to reality.
It’s now the critical moment for the Lord’s upgrade; they can’t just stand here doing nothing.
If any disturbances occur that affect the Lord’s upgrade, even dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough to atone.
So, soon, the group hurriedly left, each gathering their people to maintain order, leaving only Yue Daonan and Xiao Congyun to guard the perimeter.
At this moment.
Lin You’s territory upgrade reached the most critical point.
Under the vast life aura that enveloped everything, the forest around the territory began to expand outward, and trees and vegetation rose from the ground.
At the center, the World Tree rapidly grew, with lush branches and leaves extending out.
Finally, as it grew to nearly five hundred meters, with a "buzz," a green beam rose abruptly, instantly illuminating the sky within a range of hundreds of kilometers.
Lords who were casually chatting on the Duchy channel were also attracted by this unusual phenomenon.
"What’s going on? Why did a light suddenly appear to the east?"
"I saw it too, what a terrifying aura!"
"This aura... could it be someone’s upgrading to Tier Nine?"
"A Tier Nine Lord? Do we have a new Tier Nine Lord in our Duchy?"
"Judging by the location, it seems to be in the Border Region. I remember there’s only a Tier Eight Lord there, right?"
"Are you suggesting... Yellow Sand City!?"
The entire Duchy channel is abuzz with discussions about this sudden upgrade phenomenon.
Many have also deduced from the location that the one upgrading is Lin You, finding it hard to believe.
As far as they know, Lin You only upgraded to Tier Eight less than half a year ago, and now he’s already advancing to Tier Nine?
This speed is simply terrifying!
In half a year.
Many estimate they couldn’t even upgrade one tier, let alone advance to Tier Nine, the rank closest to Tier Ten.
...
Capital.
Inside the Royal Palace Hall.
Ji Xinghe, sitting on the throne, looked with surprise at the Duchy interface in front of him, also having learned of Lin You’s upgrade.
"Your Majesty, I have already dispatched someone to investigate, and the upgrade indeed involves the Lord of Yellow Sand City," a minister bowed and reported.
"Hmm, I already know." Ji Xinghe closed the interface, a faint smile appearing on his face, "I didn’t expect, in such a short time, he would reach such heights. I wasn’t wrong about him."
"Your Majesty, how do you think we should respond?" another minister inquired.
A Tier Nine Lord is certainly the mainstay in the Duchy, a pillar-like existence.
Even when weighing national strength among duchies, the number of Tier Nine Lords holds significant weight, making it impossible not to take seriously.
Other duchies often secretly send people to entice Tier Nine Lords from other duchies to relocate to their own.
This is also why Tier Nine Lords typically reside at the center of the duchy.
Because they basically occupy the best resources in the entire duchy.
Ji Xinghe contemplated for a moment, then said, "I recall that his Yellow Sand City is developing trade routes, so why not send someone to connect with him, and also connect the route to the capital."
Having Lin You relocate his territory into the interior of the duchy is clearly unrealistic.
Ji Xinghe also realized this, so he came up with an alternative method, using trade routes to bind Lin You.
Once Yellow Sand City and the Great Wilderness Duchy have intricate connections, even if Lin You wanted to leave, he would consider the pros and cons.
It’s fair to say Ji Xinghe’s move was exceedingly clever, precisely targeting Lin You’s soft spot.
At this moment.
Within Yellow Sand City.
After more than ten minutes of territorial expansion.
Lin You’s territory finally successfully advanced to Tier Nine, ushering in a series of long-awaited prompts.
[Territory upgrade successful, current level: Tier Nine]
[Species limit increased, building limit unlocked, Tier Nine combat power ranking activated...]
[Sacred Artifact level unlocked, activating territory skill: Natural Balance]
[Origin Space advanced, unlocking new function: Storage Space]
[Level requirements met, automatically activating quest: Saint’s Path]
...
Saint’s Path?
Lin You’s attention was immediately captured by the last prompt.
After upgrading to Tier Nine, a quest would automatically activate?
Saint’s Path.
The road to Saint Level.
The name alone indicates it’s related to Tier Ten.
Without hesitation, he quickly opened the quest details.
[Saint’s Path (Territory Quest): Break through the shackles to become a Saint by collecting the following items to condense a Divine Fragment.]
[Magic Energy (4 billion/50 billion)]
[Power of Faith (626/500,000)]
[Tier Nine Territory Essence (3/80)]
[Origin Space (1/1)]
[Rule Fragment (0/1)]
...