A ten blue-robed outer sanctum disciples were walking in the vicinity of the hill, their expressions couldn’t help but gravely change when they heard a roar. Many of them cried out all at once…
“It’s awful! A demon has come here! We must escape.”
“Ah! Quickly… Escape!”
The outer sanctum disciples all descended into a state of panic.
…
Su Yu had no idea about all of this, as he was still standing before the Transcendence Palace. He was somewhat startled when he discovered that the five blue-robed outer sanctum disciples, who were in charge of the palace’s guard, were all at the Level Six Fairy Realm or above.
Moreover, he could still faintly feel a Divine Master’s aura that was coming from inside the palace. Besides the 18 great factions, most of the factions had just one Divine Master, along with many Fairy experts. Such was the case for many great families as well. However, such a Divine Master was here just to guard one of the Red Blood Palace’s outer sanctum palaces!
Su Yu stepped forward and inquired about how he could enter. “You need 500 merit points for each entry,” the guard replied.
As another guard sized up Su Yu, disdain for him welled up in his heart. He then waved his hand at Su Yu impatiently and said, “There are always newcomers trying to enter. You should have a proper understanding of the outer sanctum’s rules. You need to go back and try to find a way to earn 500 merit points before coming back.”
Faced with their grumpy attitudes, Su Yu simply waved his sleeves and looked coldly at the guard who had just spoken and said, “I was awarded a one-time free pass. Do you take any issues with that?”
The five guards who were present looked at him in surprise upon hearing this. After all, entry to the Transcendence Pond could only be bought with merit points. Only very rarely would someone be permitted a direct entry to it!
“Why were you awarded such an impressive reward?” The guard was startled, and he sized up Su Yu once again as he questioned him.
Su Yu put his hands behind his back as he replied, “I got the number one place in the recruitment exam. Is that enough of an explanation for you?”
The expression of the guard changed gravely as he asked, “Are you talking about the outsiders recruitment exam, which just ended?”
He didn’t really believe Su Yu, and the other four guards couldn’t help but furrow their brows at such a moment as well. After all, Su Yu’s cultivation was too weak, and it didn’t seem plausible to them that a mere Level One Fairy could get first place. Moreover, he was extremely old, not one of the young disciples.
When the guard was just about to continue speaking, Su Yu’s expression became somewhat gloomy as he said, “Fine. Even if I don’t get to enter today, I will go ask Elder Li whether Palace Master Kong Chan is obliged to come here to instruct all of you personally to allow me to enter.”
Su Yu had come here just to pass the Transcendence Pond’s baptism, yet he was being obstructed by these five guards! Although he wasn’t really angered by this, he was still quite displeased.
“Wait!” The expression of the guard changed several times. It was only because he found Su Yu’s cultivation too weak that he looked down upon him. But, now that he noticed that Su Yu was quite serious, he didn’t dare obstruct him any longer.
But, it was too late. Su Yu turned a deaf ear to his words, while he continued to walk away.
His actions made the guard quite anxious. After all, these guards were in charge of protecting the palace and guiding newcomers by teaching them how they could use merit points to gain entry into the Transcendence Pond.
If they had enough merit points, they would let them in. Otherwise, they would refuse them entry. They mustn’t do anything apart from this one main task. As such, the guards were now concerned about overstepping their bounds.
If their elder didn’t care about Su Yu’s complaint, then it would be fine. But, if he took Su Yu’s complaint seriously, then they would be severely punished. Moreover, it seemed like the old man before them had some great backers behind him.
“Junior brother, please wait.” The guard walked down the flight of steps and tried to stop Su Yu from leaving.
At this moment, the Transcendence Palace’s gate was quietly opened, while an old man with a goatee appeared before it. He wore a warm look, but his eyes contained a slight trace of anger.
“Greetings Palace Master Long.” The guards were all startled, and they greeted him hurriedly in unison. The guard who had left to follow Su Yu quickly came back, then lowered his head and greeted him as well.
The goateed old man swept his gloomy gaze over the guards before he snorted coldly and said, “Your monthly mission will come to end now. You don’t need to come back here to carry on such a task anymore. Please leave.”
The expression of the other four guards changed gravely when they heard his words, and they became somewhat restless. In the Red Blood Palace, each outer sanctum’s disciple must carry out, at the very least, one mission each month. Regarding such missions, there were good ones and bad ones.
The bad ones were exhausting and difficult, and they might even put the guards’ lives in danger, while only rewarding them a small amount of merit points. On the other had, the good missions were usually given to the well-informed disciples, who had close relationships with the mission assignment palace staff. For this reason, it was difficult for ordinary disciples to get such missions.
The Transcendence Palace mission was one of the top-notch intermediate missions, as it had a generous reward of merit points that was many times higher than ordinary missions’.It was also extremely safe and easy, but it was quite difficult for ordinary disciples to get assigned this mission.
As the five guards were all disciples whose families had close relationships with the goateed old man, they had been allowed to be assigned to this guard duty mission each month. As that talkative guard was directly deprived of his privilege of getting such a mission in the future, it was a great loss to him.
When the talkative guard heard this, he fell on his knees and entreated Palace Master Long, “Please forgive me! I was just being muddle-headed for a moment and violated the rules. Please forgive me!”
When such matters had happened in the past, Palace Master Long had usually turned a blind eye to them. But, unexpectedly, Palace Master Long was quite angered today, even to the point of disregarding his close relationships with this guard’s family.
Palace Master Long’s goatee shook as he snorted softly, then asked, “How could my small palace keep a great person like you within it? You have refused the outsiders requirement test’s number one disciple, who was appointed by Palace Master Kong Chan, entry! You should look for a new placement immediately.”
Palace Master Long ignored his pleas as he waved his sleeves and threw him down the stairs. Palace Master Long revealed a faint smile, while he descended the stairs.
He then asked Su Yu, “You are Su Yuxian, right? Elder Li mentioned you, and I have been awaiting your arrival for a long time. The guards offended you because they didn’t know your status, so please don’t pay this any attention.”
Seeing that a Palace Master had just willingly condescended himself to him, even though Su Yu was displeased, he decided to give up on it out of respect for him.
“Palace Master, don’t think any more of it. After all, it’s just a small misunderstanding,” Su Yu said. “May I ask you, how can I enter the palace?”
Palace Master Long chuckled, then asked, “Did you bring your identity badge with you?”
Su Yu nodded. Many elders had mentioned it to him several times, always asking him to carry it with him. They had explained to him that, if the law enforcement division found anyone not carrying it, the person would suffer a strict interrogation.
“I have it on me.” Su Yu nodded.
Palace Master Long pointed to a place beside the gate, where there was a blue smooth wall, which seemed translucent and was sparkling, like beautiful jade. There was a hollow hole, which was as thin as a needle, in the middle of the wall, and the identity badge could be put into it easily.
Su Yu understood what he had just implied, so he walked over and inserted his identity badge into it. Immediately, three sentences appeared…
Merit points: One thousand. Additional free entry: One. By entering, the additional entry will be used.
The 1,000 merit points was the reward that Su Yu had received by winning the exam’s first place position, and the free entry into the Transcendence Pond was also a reward that had been given to him.
“You may enter now, just this once, by using your free entry. However, the next time you come here, you will need to consume your merit points. You will then need to pay 500 for each entry. No one can be exempt from such a rule,” he explained to Su Yu.
He then added, “If I dared to allow such exemptions, then the formation inside the palace would start ringing, and as the Palace Master of this place, I would end up being punished by the outer sanctum.”
Su Yu revealed a faint smile when he heard his words. “Thank you for your trouble Palace Master Long.”
After Su Yu collected back his badge, both of them entered. As they were walking, Su Yu asked, “Senior, as I have just arrived here, can I ask you some questions?”
Palace Master Long was quite magnanimous. “You don’t need to call me senior, as even though I’m already quite old, I still have only managed to reach the early stage of the Divine Master, so I can’t be compared to someone as gifted as you. You can just call me by my position title, Palace Master Long. If you have any questions, then you can ask me freely.”
Su Yu’s name had already spread among the outer sanctum’s Divine Masters, and they all knew that another demon, apart from the four demons, managed to enter the fiftieth layer of the Carp Leaping over the Dragon Gate. Such a new demon was greatly valued by Palace Master Kong Chan and Palace Master Hua, so Su Yu’s future prospects and achievements would be limitless! As such, many people wanted to befriend Su Yu.
Su Yu thanked him, then asked, “Palace Master, may I ask you… What exactly are merit points? What can they be used for, and how can they be earned?”
Palace Master Long explained it to him eagerly, “Think of merit points like the Red Blood Palace’s currency. They can be used to buy anything besides some special objects that are forbidden by the Red Blood Palace. In fact, they can even buy things like cultivation opportunities, such as the chance of cultivating within the Transcendence Pond.”
He then added, “As long as you have enough merit points, you can buy anything from cultivation method manuals to elixirs, charms, and magical treasures. You can even buy spirit cultivation techniques and legendary cultivation techniques!”
He smiled proudly. “Moreover, if you wanted to slightly relax and entertain yourself after cultivating, you can go to some cities and use them for currency there. You can use them to buy goods in any cities that are governed by the Red Blood Palace.”
He was clearly proud of such a system.”This is the great exchange system that has been set up by the Red Blood Palace. You can even use merit points to make trades with other outer sanctum disciples. For example, you can hire them to go with you on an expedition, or you can have them work for you! You can also buy their goods, as long as they are willing to exchange with you.”
He smiled again before he concluded, “In short, merit points are dispensable objects that are used for daily life in the Red Blood Palace. You can use them to buy a grand amount of cultivation resources. As for the exact amount of resources you are able to get, that is obviously determined by how many points you possess.”
Su Yu understood everything after hearing this thorough explanation. In his understanding, merit points were like a type of currency, which could get one cultivation resources, beautiful women, as well as people’s respect and love!
Su Yu now had 1,000 merit points, which was an amount that could be considered as a significant wealth within the outer sanctum. But, if he just idled around and used them all up, then they would be completely consumed in just a short period of time. Then, he would be poor!
“Then, how can I get more merit points?” Su Yu asked, while he thought of the prospect of becoming poor and shuddered.
Palace Master Long explained it to him patiently, “There are many ways, but the most prevalent among them are broken down into four methods. The first method is to exchange crystals for them. Although, this isn’t a very cost-effective method.”
