Devouring Soul Emperor

Sun Daxiong first took Chu Qingyun and Xia He to the registration office. After handling some trivial paperwork, they were each assigned their own living quarters.

Within the County City, every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. The price of housing was astonishingly high; without significant wealth, one simply couldn’t afford a home.

The East District was even more exceptional. It was home to both the Great Xia Dragon Guard and the Four Great Clans of Lianshan County City. Anyone living in the East District was undoubtedly either rich or noble.

Without the power of a high-level Martial Artist or a deep-seated background, it was impossible to acquire a house in the East District, no matter how much money you had.

Although the Great Xia Dragon Guard’s garrison was large, ordinary members still had to share a room with several others.

Fortunately, since Chu Qingyun and Xia He both held the rank of Captain, they were each assigned a private room.

After they settled into their rooms, Sun Daxiong took them straight to the place where Military Merits were exchanged.

Along the way, he continuously pointed things out, giving the two of them a deeper understanding of the Great Xia Dragon Guard in Lianshan County.

The place for exchanging Military Merits was called the "Exchange Office."

Staring at the sign in front of the building that read "Exchange Office," both Chu Qingyun and Xia He were a little speechless. ’This is a bit too... plain, isn’t it?’

"Haha, the Great Xia Dragon Guard is an official organization. We never bother with fancy names. Besides the Exchange Office, we have the Merit Office, the Mission Office, the Complaint Office... I like names like these. They’re straightforward!"

Sun Daxiong said, leading the two of them inside.

The instant they stepped inside, both Chu Qingyun and Xia He involuntarily shivered.

They both keenly sensed several gazes on them, coming from all directions. It felt as if they were being seen through completely.

Yet when they looked around, they found nothing—not even the faintest trace of an aura!

Sun Daxiong, however, seemed completely oblivious and just kept walking deeper inside.

In one of the rooms in a pavilion of the Exchange Office, a few figures—men and women—stood together. They all looked quite old, but their auras were restrained and profound.

"Those two kids have sharp senses."

"They seem like promising talents. The young one, the Level Nine Martial Artist, I have a good feeling about him. His Martial Soul’s aura feels very powerful."

"Haha, on the contrary, I think the Level Eight Martial Artist is even more impressive."

"Oh? Just because he’s younger?"

"No. Because when he looked in our direction, his gaze lingered for several extra seconds..."

The Exchange Office, being a vital location within the Great Xia Dragon Guard, was naturally not as lax as it appeared with only a few staff members on duty.

These old-timers were all Earth Spirit Realm experts who had retired from their positions as Grand Commanders!

Despite their advanced age, it would be extremely unwise to underestimate their power.

After entering the main building of the Exchange Office, someone inspected their three Tokens and led them into the "Captain District."

"Chu, Xia, this Exchange Office is divided into districts. Different ranks have different privileges, which affects the treasures you can view and purchase."

"Take us Captains, for instance. In the Captain District, we get a ten percent discount. We can buy any treasures sold in the Captain District, and we can also view the treasures sold in the Military Guard District."

"It’s a real pain-in-the-ass rule. There are so many treasures you can only look at but can’t buy. You need to be Army Guardian Level to purchase them."

"And don’t even think about having someone buy things for you. If you get caught, the punishment is severe."

Sun Daxiong grumbled as he explained on the way.

Chu Qingyun and Xia He understood immediately. This rule was likely meant to motivate them to train harder.

’Being able to see what the next rank can buy, while being unable to afford it yourself... I guess that’s one form of motivation,’ they thought.

The Captain District was further subdivided into many smaller sections, such as the Secret Manual District, the Spirit Medicine District, the Secret Technique District, and so on.

Each district displayed various items with detailed descriptions. Some displays only had descriptions, with no physical item present.

Chu Qingyun understood. Those were items that only someone with Army Guardian Level clearance could buy. Captains like them could only look on helplessly...

"Secret Technique: Demon Ape Battle Body. Price: 1,000 Military Merits. Requires Captain Level."

"Wind Meteorite. Price: 2,000 Military Merits each. Requires Army Guardian Level."

"Tier Two Spiritual Medicine, Bihan Grass. Price: 20 Military Merits per stalk. Requires Ordinary Level."

...

The three of them did a quick tour of the area. The sheer variety of treasures was so dazzling it made their heads spin.

"Chu, you could spend ten days or half a month in here and still not see everything. You should figure out what you need first, then we can go to the right district to find it."

"Oh, and a reminder: most of us use our Military Merits to buy Secret Techniques, Secret Manuals, or rare Spiritual Medicine ingredients. It’s best not to use merits to exchange for things you can buy outside with Primordial Stones or Primordial Spirit Liquid."

"This is one of the perks of being in the Great Xia Dragon Guard. I can’t speak for everything, but the treasures in this Exchange Office are absolutely the best in all of Lianshan County!"

Remembering that Chu Qingyun had a history of exchanging Military Merits for Primordial Spirit Liquid, Sun Daxiong couldn’t resist giving him a little reminder.

In truth, this trip was mainly for Chu Qingyun to spend his Military Merits.

Sun Daxiong hadn’t earned many Military Merits from the last mission, so this trip was a bust for him.

As for Xia He, he wasn’t interested in anything he could afford with his few hundred Military Merits. He couldn’t even be bothered to go to the Merit Office to transfer them, so he figured he’d just exchange them for some Primordial Spirit Liquid and Primordial Stones.

’What do I need...’

Chu Qingyun pondered for a moment. The first thing that came to mind was Primordial Spirit Liquid.

’To break through from a Level Eight to a Level Nine Martial Artist, I’ll probably need several hundred drops of Primordial Spirit Liquid.’

’But exchanging all fifteen thousand of my Military Merits would only get me one hundred and fifty drops. That’s not enough for a breakthrough, and it’s a terrible return on investment for increasing my actual power. So that’s out.’

’Other than that, there’s the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern Secret Technique.’

Chu Qingyun used this Secret Technique often, but he only possessed the first two Layers.

Moreover, because his training resources had always been scarce, he hadn’t even had enough to practice the first two Layers to perfection.

’I’ll just pour all fifteen thousand-plus Military Merits into the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!’

"Let’s go look at the Secret Techniques first," Chu Qingyun said.

Once they reached the Secret Technique District, Sun Daxiong pointed directly at one display and said to Chu Qingyun, "Chu, the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern."

"Oh? You knew I was looking for this?" Chu Qingyun asked, surprised.

"Hehe, the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern. I noticed you using it during the first part of the assessment."

"The Profound Celestial Divine Pattern is one of the top-tier Secret Techniques here. While it doesn’t provide the same explosive boost to Physical Strength as some others, its main advantage is the lack of side effects. But the price..."

Speaking of the price, Sun Daxiong couldn’t help but shake his head. Clearly, this Secret Technique was far beyond what someone at the Captain Level like him could afford.

"Secret Technique: Profound Celestial Divine Pattern (First Layer). Price: 2,000 Military Merits. Requires Captain Level."

"Secret Technique: Profound Celestial Divine Pattern (Second Layer). Price: 3,000 Military Merits. Requires Captain Level."

"Secret Technique: Profound Celestial Divine Pattern (Third Layer). Price: 4,000 Military Merits. Requires Captain Level."

"Secret Technique: Profound Celestial Divine Pattern (Fourth Layer). Price: 6,000 Military Merits. Requires Army Guardian Level."

"Secret Technique: Profound Celestial Divine Pattern (Fifth Layer). Price: 8,000 Military Merits. Requires Army Guardian Level."