163: Chapter 163 Good Deeds, Great Merits and Small Merits
Unlike the gold, silver, and copper coins of the outside world, merit points are the currency system exclusively for Disciples within the Dragon Snake Sect.
As the name suggests, merit points represent one's achievements and serve as a measure of a Disciple's contribution to the Sect.
"One merit point is roughly equal to a thousand taels of silver. The former can be exchanged for the latter, but the latter cannot be exchanged for the former."
Li Qing clicked his tongue slightly. A single merit point worth a thousand taels of silver was a lifetime's worth of wealth for a low-level Martial Artist!
And this was merely the basic unit for exchanging resources in the Dragon Snake Sect.
A Mingjin Martial Artist earns two or three taels of silver a month, twenty or thirty a year. For a thousand taels, a Mingjin Martial Artist would have to save for fifty years without eating or drinking!
Even for a Hidden Force Martial Artist earning ten taels a month, or a hundred and twenty to thirty a year, it would still take seven or eight years.
Huajin Martial Artists, however, could not be judged by common logic. Outside the Dragon Snake Sect, even in Longshan City at the foot of the mountain, a Huajin Martial Artist held a high status. In a place like Shangyun City, they were enough to establish their own School. Their ability to attract wealth depended on the situation, but it would always be measured in years.
On his journey from Shangyun City to Longshan City, aside from the ten thousand taels he brought with him, Li Qing had only received a few thousand taels in 'tributes' from various mountain bandits along the way.
Now, he only had twelve thousand taels of silver on him. Converted to merit points, that was only twelve points.
Originally, he thought ten thousand taels was a lot. Two years ago, he wouldn't have dared to imagine he would be this wealthy.
Even three days ago, he estimated it would be enough to cover his expenses for several years.
"How difficult is it to obtain them?"
Li Qing continued reading.
"A Utility Disciple can obtain one merit point in half a year. Hmm, the Dragon Snake Sect is fairly generous.
Named Disciples... hmm, Named Disciples need to perform a Sect mission every three months. They can take the initiative to choose a mission in advance; otherwise, they will be forcibly assigned one. Huajin-level missions, depending on the difficulty and danger, grant 1-5 merit points each. That's more than I expected."
Phew~
Li Qing let out a breath.
"'Depending on the difficulty and danger,' with a range of 1-5 merit points... it seems there's a lot of depth to this!"
Such a large variation indicated that missions differed vastly from one another. Considering the conflict between the Family Faction and the Master-Disciple Faction within the Sect, there would surely be no shortage of friction.
"There's no rush. I have a year of quiet Cultivation."
Finally, there were the resources that could be exchanged with merit points.
These were nothing more than silver, Medicinal Pills, weapons, commissioned tasks, Cultivation Techniques, techniques, and secret techniques.
That's right. If one had enough merit points, they could even commission others to do things for them, which showed just how precious they were.
Li Qing had no other requirements for now and focused on the Medicinal Pills section.
There were over a dozen types of Huajin-level Medicinal Pills. Two of them could actually be exchanged for silver, but with certain limits.
huang ya pill, 1 merit point for ten. A basic Medicinal Pill for increasing Huajin blood and Qi, enough for one month of use. Note: Can be purchased with an equivalent amount of silver, limit of ten bottles.
blood recovery pill, 2 merit points for ten. Helps restore blood and Qi force to cope with the rapid consumption from cultivating a Fundamental Law, enough for one month of use. Note: Can be purchased with an equivalent amount of silver, limit of five bottles.
Li Qing looked at the effects and finally shook his head.
"I don't know about the blood recovery pill, but I don't need the huang ya pill."
A Huajin-level Medicinal Pill like the huang ya pill, which could increase the blood and Qi of a Huajin Martial Artist, was quite rare in a place like Shangyun City. Its effects were bound to be extremely powerful, so such pricing was understandable.
However, let alone Huajin, Li Qing had already reached the limit of the Body Tempering Realm and even broken through to the fourth Realm. With no room for further progress, he naturally didn't need it.
As for the blood recovery pill being for the 'rapid consumption from cultivating a Fundamental Law,' Li Qing would only know once he started practicing.
Finally, Li Qing looked at the thing he needed most for his Core Formation Breakthrough: a spiritual item.
Spirit Snake Lineage spiritual item, azure jade lotus. Required merit points: 1,000.
"..."
1,000 merit points.
Li Qing did the math. Even if he did the hardest missions for 5 merit points each, he would have to do 200 of them. With one mission every three months, that would take 600 months—50 years!
After a long while, Li Qing sighed. "Not to mention, Disciples need to exchange for Medicinal Pills for their daily Cultivation. Most Disciples probably take on a large number of missions beyond the mandatory ones just to maintain their Cultivation while saving up for a spiritual item."
How could that be easy?
Li Qing put himself in their shoes and felt despair just thinking about it.
"Fortunately, I won't be like that."
Li Qing's strength was unsurpassed in the Body Tempering Realm, and he only needed to save merit points. Moreover, he already had spiritual items—two of them, in fact.
The xuanyou flower and the huanyou lotus.
The former was entrusted to him by Senior Sister Xu Lingji to be given to the Spirit Snake Lineage Master, Song Zhinian; he couldn't touch it.
But the latter was something he had seized himself. If there was a channel for bartering, he might be able to exchange it for an azure jade lotus immediately.
"Finally, besides merit points, there are great merits and small merits, which are awarded for performing major services for the Sect. For example, killing Disciples of enemy Schools or achieving significant success in Sect-assigned missions."
Great and small merits can also be used to exchange for Sect resources, but some extremely rare items can only be obtained with them.
"They can be exchanged for specially made divine Sharp Weapons, one-on-one customized Medicinal Pills, and Family Decrees for establishing families in various cities to avoid interference from local powers..."
All sorts of benefits that were unattainable for those who hadn't performed such services.
"Similarly, slots for Secret Realms and evaluations for key Sect positions all require Great and small merits as a benchmark."
Li Qing closed the Entry Guide.
He now had a general understanding of the various rules, structure, and interests within the Dragon Snake Sect.
"As expected of a colossus that has stood for a thousand years, its internal structure is complete, sophisticated, and well-organized."
Li Qing cleared his mind and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
Several people were up early in the courtyard practicing martial arts, occasionally sparring with each other.
Li Qing appropriately showed his insights from reaching Major Achievement in his Fist Technique. After exchanging ideas with the other three, he immediately earned their praise and a hint of respect.
"As expected of Junior Brother Li. You are the youngest among us, yet your understanding of martial arts far exceeds ours. It's like looking down from a great height; I've benefited immensely!" Huo Zonglin praised.
Li Qing was only eighteen, but he claimed to be twenty-four. Even so, he still seemed a bit young among them.
"You flatter me. With Senior Brother's understanding of martial arts, your technique will reach Major Achievement in just a couple of months," Li Qing said.
Huo Zonglin looked on with a hint of longing. If his Palm Technique could break through to Major Achievement, his future missions would be much easier.
After chatting for a while, Li Qing asked, "May I ask my three Senior Brothers and Senior Sister, I know very little about the missions within the Sect. What's the trick to them?"
Huo Zonglin said confidently, "I'm quite familiar with that. It's—"
Knock, knock, knock.
Before Huo Zonglin could speak, a knocking sound came from the courtyard gate.
Zhao Heng, being the closest, opened the door to look.
"Is this the residence of Disciples Zhao Heng, Xue Ting, and Li Qing? These are your identity tokens."
"Oh, so our identity tokens have arrived." Zhao Heng took the three tokens handed over by the Disciple.
That Disciple left in a hurry after finishing his task, leaving Zhao Heng, who had just pulled out a banknote to 'make a connection,' feeling bewildered.
However, he soon found out why.
A group of people was seen walking slowly and arrogantly from a distance, clearly not coming with good intentions.