"Right!"
Grinning foolishly, Zhao Xuan suddenly pulled a diamond-shaped crystal from his pocket and asked,
"President Lian, do you happen to know what this thing is—!"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Lian Jie's incredulous exclamation cut him off.
"Land King Crystal!"
"Land King Crystal!?"
Zhao Xuan raised his head to look at Lian Jie, only to find the latter frozen stiff in place.
His eyes were wide open, fixed unblinkingly on the crystal in Zhao Xuan's hand—
His face filled with shock!
With disbelief!
With utter astonishment!
At that very moment, waves of turmoil were crashing through Lian Jie's mind.
He recalled Zhao Xuan mentioning that he'd discovered a natural relic.
A bold, absurd thought suddenly surfaced in his head.
"Could it be… that this Tier-4 Land King Crystal came from a Land King beast that Zhao Xuan himself killed!?"
No, no, no, no, no—
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
There's a chasm between Tier 3 and Tier 4—no one can just leap across it like that!
For a moment, Lian Jie's mind was a complete mess.
Then suddenly, he remembered what had happened that morning at the entrance of the Mystic Bird Relic.
"Don't tell me… don't tell me…"
That outrageous thought in his heart grew even stronger.
"Huuuh—!"
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and fixed his sharp gaze on Zhao Xuan.
"Zhao Xuan, my young friend," he asked seriously, "where did you obtain this Land King Crystal? Don't tell me… it came from that natural relic you found?"
"Yes," Zhao Xuan nodded. "After clearing the final trial of that relic, I dug it out from the head of the gatekeeping boss."
As soon as he finished speaking—
The office was filled with the sound of Lian Jie sucking in a sharp breath.
"Hissssss—"
He stood there dumbfounded.
It took him quite some time before he finally snapped back to his senses.
The way he looked at Zhao Xuan had completely changed.
No longer was it the gaze of an elder looking at a junior—
Now, he regarded Zhao Xuan as an equal.
"Young heroes truly rise early!" Lian Jie said, patting Zhao Xuan on the shoulder.
"To tell you the truth, before today, I didn't expect too much from you in the National Examination. After all, everyone who qualifies for that competition is a genius among geniuses—a monster among monsters."
"Your strength was impressive, but compared to those born into powerful families, you still seemed a little behind."
"But now… I realize I've seriously underestimated you!"
Zhao Xuan scratched his head with a modest smile. "You flatter me, President Lian."
"I look forward to seeing your performance in the National Examination," Lian Jie said, his eyes gleaming.
"I'll do my best." Zhao Xuan clenched his fist.
"Alright, enough small talk—let's get back to the Land King Crystal."
Lian Jie returned to the topic at hand. "In short, a Land King Crystal is an energy crystal condensed within Tier-4 or higher Land King-type beasts. It contains an immense amount of pure energy and serves as one of the key materials for producing Mid-Grade Energy Liquid."
After a pause, he added, "This Tier-4 Land King Crystal of yours should fetch about three million."
"I see."
Zhao Xuan nodded gratefully. "Thank you for the explanation, President Lian."
"No need to be so formal," Lian Jie said with a kind smile. "If you don't mind, just call me Brother Lian instead of President—it sounds too distant otherwise."
"In that case," Zhao Xuan chuckled, "I'll gladly comply—Brother Lian it is."
"Hahahahaha! Good, good, Zhao my brother—no need for such politeness."
…
By the time Zhao Xuan left Lian Jie's office, the sun was already setting.
He quietly opened his status panel and glanced at it.
Noticing that his Armament Haki—thanks to the little "shock training" he'd just experienced with Lian Jie—had gained four proficiency points and broken through from Beginner to Proficient, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
He didn't leave the Ability Users' Guild right away. Instead, he went to Xiao Liu's counter and sold the Land King Crystal to the guild.
Proceeds: 3,000,000 credits.
But the moment he received the three million, Zhao Xuan immediately spent all of it on Energy Liquid and various cultivation resources.
As a bonus—
He also spent over a million more to purchase a batch of specially made blue bricks from the guild.
After that, he went straight to a furniture store in the city and placed an order for a whole set of furnishings.
As for why he bought all this stuff—
Well, isn't it obvious?
Of course he planned to build himself a house inside the Desert Relic!
A place to rest, store supplies, and train comfortably—
Practical and efficient!
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