Chapter 434: Exchange Treasures

"Silence!"

Lin Yuheng cleared her throat, her expressionless gaze sweeping over everyone present. Only when her eyes lingered on Jiang Fan did she pause and smile briefly. Then she resumed her expressionless survey of the others.

Once the entire hall was silent, she spoke: "I have brought all the resources available for you disciples to choose from."

"First, I must state three points upfront."

"Firstly, some resources are unique. If someone ahead of you exchanges for them, those behind will naturally lose the opportunity."

"Secondly, all resources have an equivalent merit point value. Besides merit points, I will not accept any other form of payment. Please do not attempt anything unnecessary."

"Thirdly, exchanges will be made according to your ranking, in sequential order. No scrambling."

Upon hearing this, the disciples with lower rankings naturally grew anxious. The further down the list one was, the fewer top-tier resources would be available for selection.

Jin Zhongming frowned deeply and said, "Yi Lianxing, Chu Xingmeng, and Qin Caihe are not present. Are we to wait for all of them to arrive before we can make our selections?"

Lin Yuheng had anticipated this. After all, it was impossible for everyone to be present when the rankings were announced. However, it was highly unusual for three of the top ten to be absent, as was the case today.

She replied, "That won't be necessary. Those ranked after these three can proceed to choose the resources they desire. However, to prevent these three from missing out on rare resources they might want, for unique resources, you may still select them first, but you can only take them after their opinions have been sought and they decline them. While this might be a bit troublesome, it is a privilege that those with higher rankings should enjoy. After all, who can guarantee that you will be present the next time the rankings are announced? You can't achieve first place only to return and find all the good resources have been picked by those behind you, can you? If that were the case, who would be willing to put in the effort?"

What? Even if they set their sights on something, they would have to wait for the decision of those three female disciples first? Leaving aside the infuriating thought of being suppressed by three seemingly ordinary female disciples, simply waiting for their decision would take several days. To desire something but not be able to take it immediately—who could tolerate that?

"This is preposterous!" Jin Zhongming snorted heavily.

Lin Yuheng looked at him indifferently: "Do you have an objection?"

Jin Zhongming, fuming with anger, retorted, "Junior fully agrees with Specialist Lin's opinion. Indeed, the interests of those with higher rankings should be protected. What this junior objects to is that the merit points of these three women should be re-examined."

At his words, many disgruntled disciples also chimed in. "Exactly, I'll accept that Jiang Fan can complete a Heaven-tier mission. But what about them? Unless they are truly elite disciples secretly trained by the sect, it's impossible for them to have succeeded."

Even Liu Qingxian was highly skeptical about this. She didn't know how difficult a Heaven-tier mission was, but she had nearly lost her life on an Earth-tier mission. Could those three disciples, only at Foundation Establishment fifth or sixth layer, with the strongest merely at the eighth layer, possibly complete a Heaven-tier mission?

Originally, most people couldn't be bothered with the three women. At most, they had stolen some people's thunder. But now that they were causing trouble for everyone to claim resources, it naturally sparked widespread dissatisfaction.

Jiang Fan shook his head slightly. It was truly endless. He had no choice but to cup his hands and bow to Lin Yuheng, saying, "Senior Lin, junior knows what happened with the three women's merits."

In fact, Lin Yuheng also harbored some doubts about the three women's contributions. How did the three of them get a Heaven-tier mission?

Jiang Fan admitted frankly, "Actually, the Thousand-Mile Eagle escort mission that junior undertook was a team mission, requiring four people to cooperate. Junior chose them three as partners, and since the mission was ultimately successful, they naturally received a share of the credit."

The entire hall instantly fell silent.

Many elite cultivators who had been fighting tooth and nail on the front lines felt an urge to spit blood. "Damn it! All my hard work doesn't amount to what three women got by clinging to Jiang Fan's coattails!"

"Junior Brother Jiang, do you still need female companions? I'll come too and snag some Heaven-tier missions while I'm at it."

"You're truly shameless, but if Jiang Fan doesn't mind, I, a grown man, will be shameless for him too."

"Who the hell wouldn't be envious of this? Just a little help, and they've hogged the extremely high third, fourth, and fifth places on the rankings, and even received four hundred merit points."

The crowd erupted again for a moment, but the voices of doubt receded like a tide.

Lin Yuheng scrutinized Jiang Fan, saying, "You're truly generous, that was a Heaven-tier mission. You just casually led people through it. Didn't you ask for anything in return?" She smiled meaningfully.

Liu Qingxian immediately pinched Jiang Fan's arm: "You... you had a very pleasant journey, didn't you? One senior sister, two junior sisters—how could they not serve you comfortably?" She didn't know Chu Xingmeng or Qin Caihe, but she had met Yi Lianxing, who was indeed very attractive.

Jiang Fan hissed, knowing that trying to explain would only make things worse in such a situation, and quickly said, "Specialist Lin, can I select my resources now?"

Lin Yuheng chuckled softly, covering her mouth, and rose to enter the command center. "Come."

She also turned to the disciples behind her and said, "Additionally, for selecting materials, please come one by one." No one had any objections to this. No one wanted others to know what good items they had chosen.

Inside the command center, Lin Yuheng produced a formation array that blocked external scrutiny, leaving only herself and Jiang Fan inside. Then she raised the jade bracelet on her wrist. With a gentle wave, an invisible spatial fluctuation surged from the bracelet. Immediately after, as if by magic, a large array of items appeared haphazardly at her feet.

"These are the unique resources," she said. "There are also numerous elixirs, talismans, magical artifacts, and so on, all within the bracelet. Since there are too many, I couldn't pour them all out; there isn't enough space. So, you can refer to this list. For any non-rare resources you need, I will retrieve the corresponding quantity for you." She handed Jiang Fan a list.

At the top of the list was, strikingly, the third-grade spiritual elixir, Yuanqi Pill! Its price was listed below: three hundred merit points for exchange. The reason for its exorbitant cost was that the Yuanqi Pill was one of the few known spiritual elixirs in the lands of the Nine Sects capable of assisting breakthroughs to the Core Formation stage. It originated from the hands of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master! No more than two pills were distributed to the sect masters of the Nine Sects each year.

Its preciousness was evident. Lin Yuheng's eyes flickered as she said, "Prioritize exchanging for Yuanqi Pills, preferably two of them. The Yuanqi Pill only has a thirty percent chance of helping someone break through to the Core Formation realm. One pill isn't a safe bet. Two pills offer a more than fifty percent chance."

However, Jiang Fan's attention was not on the list at all, nor on the Yuanqi Pill. Instead, he was scanning the pile of unique resources.

Lin Yuheng spoke earnestly, "Jiang Fan, listen to me. Don't be misled by these rare resources. A cultivator's cultivation realm is the foundation of everything. Especially since you are currently stuck between the perfected ninth layer of Foundation Establishment and Core Formation. While they appear to be only one stage apart, in reality, they are worlds apart. The opportunity to form a core is more important to you than any other resource." Given her typically aloof nature, she would usually disdain offering such guidance. Only for Jiang Fan, for whom she entertained the thought of taking as a disciple, did she offer such earnest instruction.

Jiang Fan cupped his hands and said, "Junior appreciates Senior Lin's kind intentions. However, Junior actually already has a method to break through to Core Formation. Everything is ready; I just lack the final piece."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, revealing a hint of excitement. He picked up a fiery red jade box and asked, "Senior, how many merit points is this item worth?"