197: Chapter 197 The Purple Gold Merchant Alliance Specialist Returns! Trading Extraordinary Materials!

Three days later, Golden Flame Castle.

In the reception room.

Rowan sat in the main seat, holding a cup of red tea with a relaxed expression.

In the guest seat opposite him was Julian from the Purple Gold Merchant Alliance. He was still wearing mage robes, and at this moment, his face was filled with amazement as he said:

"My Lord, I didn't expect you to have killed another Lord-tier magical beast."

Julian set down his teacup and sighed with emotion:

"It's only been a little over three months since you slew the Lord of Frost Howl, right? Truly incredible!"

Rowan smiled and didn't dwell on this topic, merely saying lightly:

"Just good luck. I ran into a Razor Lynx that had only recently advanced; its strength was much worse than the Lord of Frost Howl from last time."

Upon hearing this, the corner of Julian's mouth twitched slightly.

A Lord-tier magical beast, even if it was just early-stage, was not something that could be killed casually.

Once they reached the Lord-tier, magical beasts possessed intelligence no less than humans, had their own territories and protectors, and knew to run if they couldn't win. Without overwhelming strength, it was generally extremely difficult to make a kill.

However, he didn't pursue the matter further, simply picking up his teacup to take a sip, then turned to chat about the recent weather in the Northland and the state of the trade routes.

After a few rounds of pleasantries, Rowan set his teacup down steadily and stood up:

"Sir, please follow me. Let's look at the goods first."

After speaking, he turned and walked toward the door.

Seeing this, Julian immediately stood up to follow.

The two arrived at a secret room on the first underground floor of the castle.

In the center of the secret room lay the body of a processed Lord-tier Razor Lynx.

The entire body had been processed extremely cleanly and efficiently.

The fur had been completely peeled off, the bones and muscle tissue had been cleanly separated, and the main materials had all been classified by part and properly stored.

Seeing this, Julian's eyes lit up, and he walked forward quickly to observe them closely.

Then, he took a pair of silver-threaded gloves from his portable storage bag and checked them one by one.

His technique was professional.

The entire inspection process lasted about half an hour.

Rowan waited quietly without disturbing him.

When Julian finally straightened up, a thin layer of sweat had seeped onto his forehead.

He removed his gloves, wiped his hands, and said with a look of satisfaction on his face:

"The artisan in your service who processed these materials is truly skilled, my Lord."

"The completeness and preservation quality of this batch of materials are very high, especially that hide; it has almost no damage."

He paused, took a small booklet from his bosom, flipped through a few pages, and then looked up:

"According to the Alliance's latest market guide for the Northland, my comprehensive valuation for all the transcendent materials of this Razor Lynx is—"

"1935 standard magic crystals."

He paused and added:

"It is a bit lower than the Lord of Frost Howl from last time, mainly for two reasons."

"First, the Razor Lynx's body size is inherently small, so the yield of bone materials and hide is limited."

"Second, it must have just advanced not long ago, so the magical power accumulation in its core materials is not deep enough. Compared to the Lord of Frost Howl, which had already been settled in the Lord-tier for many years, there is indeed a gap."

Rowan nodded, his expression calm:

"Reasonable."

He quickly calculated in his heart.

After the last transaction with Julian, he had a balance of 785 magic crystals.

Later, he used 6 crystals to charge the Crystal Meditation Method, leaving 779.

Adding the 1935 from this time, his current total magic crystal reserves were 2714.

This number made him feel a little more at ease.

The two returned to the reception room.

A young maid walked in carrying a tray and replaced their tea with freshly brewed hot tea.

Amidst the swirling tea fragrance, she bowed slightly, gently closed the door, and retreated.

Rowan leaned against the back of his chair, tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, and asked with a smile:

"And the things I wanted?"

Julian's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

Without any unnecessary words, he took a small box the size of a palm directly from his magic storage bag.

He lifted the lid, revealing what was inside—

A potion contained in a transparent crystal vial.

The potion presented a pure, milky white color, emitting a soft luster under the light.

When shaken gently, one could see fine silver light spots slowly sinking and rising within it.

Cycling back and forth like this, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Julian placed the box in front of Rowan and said:

"My Lord, please take a look. This is the Second-tier Knight Breakthrough Potion you requested."

"It is of superior quality, from the hands of a veteran potion master, and has a shelf life of more than three years."

"There aren't many of these potions circulating on the market; I also had to put in quite an effort to reserve it for you, my Lord."

He quoted the price:

"60 standard magic crystals."

Rowan picked up the potion, examined it carefully for a moment, then put it back in the box and nodded.

Seeing this, the smile on Julian's face deepened.

He began to take out more items:

"Next, are the Wind-element and Fire-element mage inheritances you requested, my Lord..."

As he spoke, he took out two inheritance magic stones the size of a fist.

One was pale cyan, with faint swirling airflow patterns on the surface.

The other was crimson, with patterns inside resembling burning flames.

Julian placed the two inheritance magic stones side by side on the table and said solemnly:

"Full set of Wind-element inheritance, priced at 1030 magic crystals."

"Full set of Fire-element inheritance, priced at 1120 magic crystals."

"The two sets total 2150 magic crystals."

"However, my Lord, you are a regular customer, so I can take the liberty of giving you a discount. How about 2100 magic crystals for both sets?"

Rowan did not answer immediately.

He lowered his eyes and quickly calculated in his mind.

Second-tier Knight Breakthrough Potion: 60 magic crystals.

Two sets of inheritance: 2100 magic crystals.

Total: 2160 magic crystals.

He currently had assets of 2714 magic crystals, and after deducting this expense, he would have 554 left.

He thought for a moment, nodded, and said decisively:

"Fine! Deal!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Julian's face.

He immediately took out a formal Alliance transaction voucher from his storage bag, which already had the Purple Gold Merchant Alliance's seal stamped on it, with clear terms and a specific amount.

Rowan took the voucher, checked it carefully, and after confirming there were no errors, he made the transaction and signed it.

Both parties counted the items on the spot, and the transaction was completed.

After doing all this, Rowan picked up his teacup and took a sip, feeling quite good. Then, as if remembering something, he asked casually:

"By the way, Mr. Sinclair."

"Do you have any Third-tier Knight Breakthrough Potions in your Alliance? What is the price?"

Julian was just holding his teacup to drink tea, but his movements paused upon hearing this. After pondering for a moment, he said:

"Third-tier Knight Breakthrough Potion... That is good stuff indeed."

He extended a finger and pointed in the air:

"This kind of potion is a key auxiliary agent used to help Peak Knights break through to the Great Knight realm."

"To be honest, the difficulty of production is extremely high; without a potion master-level figure, no one would dare to attempt refining it."

"Moreover, the materials are extremely rare."

He paused and lowered his voice:

"One of the main ingredients is a type of magic plant that only grows near the Abyss zone."

"My Lord, you must surely know that the danger level of such an area far exceeds that of ordinary wilderness."

"Every year, many herb gatherers die in there; not many can bring them back alive."

"Therefore, if you need it, my Lord, I can apply to the Alliance headquarters to transfer the stock. A friendly price—"

He paused and uttered a number:

"800 standard magic crystals."

After hearing this, Rowan silently put down his teacup and waved his hand, indicating he would not consider it for the time being.

At the same time, he secretly gasped in his heart.

A bottle of Second-tier Knight Breakthrough Potion used to break through to Peak Knight cost only 60 magic crystals.

Yet a bottle of Third-tier Breakthrough Potion used to break through to Great Knight was priced more than ten times higher.

This number was equivalent to sixteen years of magic crystal income in the territory.

Seeing this, Julian didn't say much more, just smiled, stood up, and said goodbye:

"My Lord, if you have any more Lord-tier magical beast materials next time, please be sure to contact me again. I will buy as much as you have, and the price is guaranteed to be fair."

Rowan also stood up and shook hands with him:

"Certainly."

He personally saw Julian out of the castle's main gate.

The wind of early spring blew against his face, carrying the moist scent of thawed soil.

Rowan stood at the door, watching the departing merchant fleet, and began to ponder in his heart.

For some time now, he had gradually realized a fact.

In the entire Golden Flame Territory, the only resource that could provide substantial help to experts at the Great Knight level and above was that small magic crystal mine.

The other industries, while capable of providing a steady stream of gold coin income for the territory, seemed somewhat pale in the face of truly high-level transcendent resources.

At this level, the method of transaction was often simple bartering.

And magic crystals were nothing more than a stepping stone.

In other words, for high-level experts, if they did not need to cultivate subordinates and forces, gold coins were actually of little significance; they were just currency at the mundane level.

Given this status quo, it was no wonder that Count Farrell had let Commander Miles remain stuck at the threshold of a Peak Knight for so many years without being willing to give him a breakthrough potion.

I'm afraid even Count Farrell himself felt that magic crystals were not enough, so how could he be willing to spend them on his subordinates?

Thinking of this, Rowan withdrew his thoughts and turned to walk back into the castle...