Jiang Yan had stayed up all night, busying himself with these sword manuals and array canons.
Over the years, he had read extensively, devouring countless sword manuals and array canons. His own attainments in swordsmanship and the Dao of arrays were astonishingly high, reaching the point where he could create his own sword techniques.
The sword manual he had produced now was called the Luoyun Sword Technique, which Jiang Yan had created himself during those years in seclusion, belonging to the intermediate Earth grade.
He had spent a considerable amount of time last night transcribing this sword technique, which was firmly imprinted in his mind.
"Where did the Senior Brother get this sword manual? The ink still looks like it hasn't dried yet," Liu Ruyan said, simply flipping through a few pages and noticing that her fingers were stained black with ink, prompting her to ask in surprise.
"It must be due to the humid weather recently. Don't dwell on it," Jiang Yan refused to answer, casually making up an excuse to brush it off.
"If this truly is an intermediate Earth-grade martial skill, looking across the entire Xuan Province, it would be absolutely priceless and utterly unobtainable. Is the Senior Brother really going to sell it to me?" Liu Ruyan asked, somewhat in disbelief.
Although she was the daughter of the wealthiest merchant, she knew that such an item would be staggeringly valuable, and she might not have the financial resources to buy it outright.
"If I were to take it outside for an auction, Junior Sister, what price do you think it would fetch?" Jiang Yan countered.
Liu Ruyan thought about it very earnestly, and after a long moment, she said, "The starting bid would be at least eighty thousand spirit stones, and it would very likely be driven up to around two million!"
"So valuable!"
Hearing this, Jiang Yan's eyes lit up. Had it not been for this conversation today, he wouldn't even have known how much wealth he was hiding.
"How about this? I'll sell this sword manual to you for one million spirit stones, Junior Sister. What do you think?" He licked his somewhat dry lips.
One million!
In Liu Ruyan's eyes, it was definitely worth it. But the problem was that reaching the sum of one million already exceeded the scope of what she could afford; there was simply no way she could produce that much on the spot.
Perhaps she would have to find someone to take a letter back to the Holy City and have her family send it over. But going back and forth like that would waste far too much time. Besides, mobilizing such a large sum of spirit stones would inevitably alarm the elders of the Liu Family, and she wouldn't have a good explanation when they asked about it later.
After deep thought, Liu Ruyan finally decided without further hesitation, "One million it is. But Senior Brother must give me some time; such a huge sum of spirit stones has to be sent over from my family."
"No problem!"
Jiang Yan was ecstatic, never having imagined in his wildest dreams that a sword manual he created himself could sell for such a staggering price. Last night's hard work had not been in vain; it felt as though all his fatigue had vanished into thin air at this very moment.
"It's great to be the child of a wealthy family. One million spirit stones... and she doesn't even blink an eye. How many batches of medicinal herbs would I have to ruin to earn one million?" Lin Yuan muttered, feeling like crying without tears.
"If you can't be a second-generation rich kid, then become a first-generation rich kid yourself. Junior Brother's attainments in alchemy are already at the high-tier Grade Two. As long as you work a bit harder and eventually become a Grade Three or even Grade Four alchemist, what kind of spirit stones can't you earn?" Jiang Yan encouraged him.
Qin Feng's mouth twitched. "Senior Brother, Junior Sister spent a million spirit stones on just a single sword manual. Then what about these array canons and pill recipes of ours..."
"Rest assured, Senior Brother won't rip you off. They will definitely be much cheaper than the market price." Jiang Yan spoke with great magnanimity. Having just earned one million spirit stones, he was in a fantastic mood.
Soon, after mutual appraisal and discussion, everyone arrived at a valuation for the array canons, pill recipes, and body-tempering techniques.
Comparatively speaking, the pill recipes were the cheapest, requiring only ten thousand spirit stones. The array canons were slightly more expensive, reaching thirty thousand, while the body-tempering techniques reached a hefty fifty thousand.
This was still a friendly price given by Jiang Yan, considering they were poor and knowing that they were far from having Liu Ruyan's deep pockets; if he asked for too much, even if they wanted to buy, they wouldn't have the capacity to do so.
"Compared to Junior Sister's sword manual, our things are indeed much cheaper. But even so... ten thousand, thirty thousand, fifty thousand—these are simply not amounts we can produce," Yun Flyang said with a self-deprecating smile.
"There is always a way out if people put their minds to it. Senior Brother knows you're poor, so I've already figured out a path for you. You don't need to pay for these things all at once; just pay me in installments."
"Installments?" Everyone was startled upon hearing this.
They heard Jiang Yan continue, "Take Junior Brother Lin Yuan's pill recipe as an example. The total price is ten thousand spirit stones. I'll let him pay it off in installments over five years, which means he only needs to give me twenty thousand spirit stones a year. Broken down, that's less than two thousand spirit stones a month. Wouldn't you make that much just by selling a few more medicinal pills?"
"If it really is less than two thousand spirit stones a month... I suppose I can accept that." Lin Yuan calculated inwardly. With his current attainments, routinely reselling some pills and herbs, combined with the sect's monthly distribution and occasional rewards, he could indeed cover it.
In the end, Jiang Yan drew up repayment plans for each of them. Lin Yuan would pay in installments over five years, at less than two thousand per month. Qin Feng's array canon required thirty thousand spirit stones, so he would pay in installments over ten years, averaging thirty thousand a year to Jiang Yan. As for Yun Feiyang's fifty thousand, he was given an installment period of as long as twenty years.
The thought of bearing a debt for as long as twenty years at such a young age made Yun Feiyang feel quite pressured. On top of that, he had previously borrowed twenty thousand spirit stones from Liu Ruyan for the Body-Tempering Pill.
"Considering that we are all fellow apprentices, I didn't even ask you for a single cent of interest."
Soon, the IOU slips were written. After being signed and fingerprinted, Jiang Yan collected them and handed the array canons, pill recipes, and other items over to Yun Feiyang and the others.
About seven days later.
The Liu Family from the Holy City sent over the one million spirit stones.
Liu Ruyan brought this one million spirit stones to Jiang Yan.
Under the cover of night.
After a whole day of studying, once Yun Feiyang and the others had left, Jiang Yan sat cross-legged alone inside Qixian Residence.
"A little over one million spirit stones..."
"I wonder if I can successfully charge into the Dao Severing Realm this time?"
Jiang Yan muttered to himself. Aside from the one million from Liu Ruyan, there were also the tuition fees sent to him by various peaks during this period, plus the twenty thousand spirit stones Yun Feiyang had borrowed from Liu Ruyan for the Body-Tempering Pill, adding up to around one hundred thousand spirit stones in total.
This time, Jiang Yan intended to play a big hand. He wanted to absorb all of this million-plus spirit stones in one go, eager to charge into the Dao Severing Realm as quickly as possible.
Furthermore, he had prepared for this well in advance, setting up a special grand array on Ru Peak. When the time came, even if he truly succeeded in his breakthrough and drew down the Heavenly Tribulation, to outsiders, Ru Peak would still appear entirely serene and peaceful, as if nothing had happened at all.