90: Only a table of contents?

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Cui Family Patriarch opened the "Star Guidance Technique, Stage Two."

The table of contents was standard, even giving a sense of a modern book.

But when he turned to the main text, everyone was stunned.

The smile on the Cui Family Patriarch's face vanished.

Blank?

Why is it like this!

He abruptly looked up at Jiang Zhenhai, his eyes filled with incomprehensible anger.

The next moment, he seemed to understand what was going on.

He had personally supervised the inventory of the secret vault, so there couldn't have been any mistakes.

The missing medicinal kings must have been taken by a clan member during the escort process.

Everyone else only received one book, but he received two, even if one was just a table of contents.

The reason was easy to explain: not many medicinal kings were missing, perhaps only one or two plants.

When he saw Jiang Zhenhai's cold gaze, the Cui Family Patriarch reacted, immediately putting on a warm, spring-like smile.

When he turned his head, his teeth ground with a loud crunch, and a sudden feeling of being screwed over rose within him.

What could he do now that things had come to this?

At most, he would investigate thoroughly when he returned, then dismember the clan member who had hoarded the medicinal kings and feed them to dogs.

The Jin Family Patriarch, who also received two cultivation methods, appeared much calmer on the surface, but the killing intent in his eyes was almost uncontrollable.

What was this?

Public humiliation?

Compared to only getting a table of contents, it would have been better to be like everyone else.

Everyone present was a shrewd individual; they already understood why Jiang Zhenhai had made such arrangements.

The other eight families felt somewhat relieved after seeing the reactions of the Cui and Jin Family Patriarchs.

But at the same time, a genuine fear arose within them for He Ming, who was hidden behind the scenes.

"Patriarch Jiang, you must put in a good word for us."

Someone started, and the patriarchs immediately surrounded Jiang Zhenhai.

Jiang Zhenhai set down his teacup and said calmly, "Do you now understand the methods of that person from Star Sea?"

"We understand, we understand! Give me three days; I will certainly make up for the missing medicinal kings!"

"This, this effect!"

The patriarchs turned around and looked; good heavens, the Qian Family Patriarch had already started cultivating.

"Such results from merely a basic cultivation method."

Someone noticed something amiss.

"This isn't the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; this guided energy is incredibly pure!"

"Old Qian, what are the specific effects?"

Patriarch Qian's eyes glowed, and his fists clenched.

"Compared to my Qian Family's cultivation method, the cultivation speed of this Star Guidance Technique is at least seven times faster."

"Moreover, this cultivation method guides the power of the stars, so in truth, it might be even more than seven times."

His words weren't entirely clear, but everyone present understood perfectly.

Immediately, the patriarchs on the right no longer hesitated, stepping forward one after another to express their intentions.

They looked as if they wished they could hand over their entire family fortunes, just to obtain the complete cultivation method.

Jiang Zhenhai waved his hand to stop the commotion.

"Even if you surround me to death, I cannot make decisions on this matter."

At these words, everyone calmed down.

The truth was just as Jiang Zhenhai said; the Jiang Family was, at best, a pawn, and the cultivation method was in the hands of the Big Boss behind Star Sea.

"Don't panic, everyone. Think carefully, what does Star Sea need most right now?"

Jiang Zhenhai's words were like a revelation, bringing clarity to those present.

"My Qian Family has thirteen precision instrument processing plants. If Star Sea needs them, we are willing to provide services free of charge!"

Zhao Shuang clenched his fist and said, "My Zhao Family can use all its connections to procure large quantities of rare metals from around the world, without charging a single cent!"

At these words, everyone simultaneously looked at Zhao Shuang.

If it was truly as Zhao Shuang said, the Zhao Family would definitely be making a huge sacrifice this time.

"The Jin Family is willing to provide free use of thirteen ports, both domestic and international. Material transportation is also not an issue!"

"Our Wang Family can provide twenty large engineering teams!"

...After receiving the commitments from the patriarchs, Jiang Zhenhai smiled contentedly; the objective of setting up this display today had been achieved.

On the left side.

A greedy glint flickered in Blazing Phoenix's eyes. He knew that since the Jiang Family had released the second-stage cultivation method, it proved that the Jiang Family surely also had the third, and even fourth, stages of the Star Guidance Technique.

The rules were already clear: more effort, more gain. To get more, one must demonstrate sufficient value.

"The path to immortality, eh..."

Blazing Phoenix was a man of action; after greeting Jiang Zhenhai, he turned and left.

Ji Wushuang and Li Hui exchanged a glance, everything unspoken.

In their view, the person from Star Sea possessed the divine ability to deduce the future, so mere words would certainly be useless.

A month later.

Starry Sky Posthouse.

He Ming stood on the second-floor balcony, leaning on the railing and looking towards the core base of the Starport, where the final finishing touches had been completed.

The reason for such rapid construction progress was, naturally, the precision engineering machinery that was centuries ahead of its time.

Using this complete set of engineering machinery to build a space elevator was overkill, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

No tower cranes, no manual labor, fully intelligent control throughout.

Large machinery equipped with flint modules could operate suspended 24/7, with an efficiency fast enough to make jaws drop.

After all, machines don't need rest.

Even if damaged, smart robots controlled by jarvis would repair them immediately.

"jarvis, what are the life indexes of Zhang Zhifei and Bai Xiaofei?"

"Sir, Zhang Zhifei's life index is: 11220."

"Bai Xiaofei's life index is: 13250."

"When is the space elevator expected to be completed?"

"Sir, it is expected to be completed within ten days."

He Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Ten days.

The construction period seemed to have shortened considerably.

"Is the Jiang Family putting in more effort?"

Virtual screens appeared before He Ming's eyes.

Large quantities of rare metals transported by sea, large precision instrument processing plants that recently underwent a sudden transformation, over fifty large engineering teams that suddenly emerged in Xinjiang, and over twenty trillion in additional funds on the books.

"Compared to last month, construction progress has increased by 47.9%."

"Jiang Zhenhai seems even more capable than I expected."

"The domestic situation is no longer a concern; now it's just a matter of dealing with foreign capital."

He Ming returned to his room and retrieved his notebook.

"List a percentage chart of ancient martial arts factions' contributions to Star Sea's resources."

The text disappeared, and the answer appeared.

"Qian Family: 13.35%"

"Jin Family: 11.47%"

"Jiang Family: 10.69%"

"Yan Family: 9.37%"

"Wang Family: 8.32%"

...He Ming quickly scanned through, already having a general idea.

He raised his hand and looked at his smart bracelet.

"life index: 46722"

The notebook's prompt indicated that a life index of 43,000 points was sufficient to enter the Ailao Mountains and safely retrieve the imperial seal of china.

He Ming felt it wasn't safe enough; after all, safety and being completely unharmed were two different concepts.

"With my current life index, plus a full nano-coverage armor, with seraph on standby, what is the difficulty of entering the Ailao Mountains and retrieving the imperial seal of china? List it as a percentage."

"0%"

"Secure."

"List the optimal plan for retrieving the imperial seal of china."