There were different views regarding the price of things like Star Cherry Wood. In the past, this commodity had always been in the hands of the Song clan. As a clan with ample experience in trade, their prices would only shock and never delight. Yet, the military had no choice but to buy because of how important the ingredient was and the fact that the final product would be vastly inferior without it.
Currently, there were three such pieces in front of Qianye, and of high quality no less. The restoration medicine made from this material would bring almost anyone below the divine champion rank back to life. How was one to price the life of six high-ranking champions?
Lan Xincheng thought about it for a good while before breaking into a wry smile. “Now this Star Cherry Wood is rather difficult to measure. It wasn’t easy to bring them out, was it?”
“They do take up a lot of space.”
The materials took up valuable storage space. Among the storage gear Lan Xincheng had seen, it was already quite good if they contained two cubic meters of space. Rather than shipping Star Cherry Wood, he would rather stuff more white-fruit wine in.
The Evernight side was where the white-fruit wine would get a truly high price, much higher than Star Cherry Wood. Qianye’s choice to come back with the material spoke of many things.
Lan Xincheng understood Qianye’s intentions. He said with a sigh, “That was considerate of you, Sire. How about this? Each Star Cherry Wood will be appraised as half a box of Dragon Scale Moss. If you can take out three more of them, all the materials will be yours.”
Qianye laughed. “I do want to, but this is all I have.”
“I guess that’s only natural. The Star Cherry Tree is difficult to nurture and mature, all the mature ones have already been picked. With these three, our war on the void continent will be less stressful. We really need to give the nobility some sort of assurance if we want their core fighting power on the field,” Lan Xincheng said with a smile.
That was common logic. People like Zhao Yuying and Zhao Junhong possessed life-saving treasures to ensure that they wouldn’t fall in battle. Restoration medicine was one of them, and it was highly effective. Neither threats nor enticements could compare to a restoration medicine when an elite of the family was to enter the battlefield.
Lan Xincheng looked at Qianye. “We’re making good progress. If you can take out one and a half boxes of Dragon Scale Moss, the stuff on this booklet will be yours. These are hundreds of tons of high-quality boards and plates we’re talking about. It’s not hard to get your hands on a few tons, but only a marshal can mobilize over ten tons of them.”
That was more or less the truth. The Empire produced vast amounts of steel and alloy, but less than one percent of them were allocated to making airship plates. Judging from the quality of Lan Xicheng’s materials, they were probably as rare as tactical resources. Why otherwise would they be listed together with ridge-grade engines and toad-grade cannons?
Qianye said after a while, “I do have some other things, but they might not be easy to price. Also, what do we do about those training courses?”
Lan Xincheng answered, “They’ll be valued the same as a hundred tons of warship boards.”
Qianye raised his brows. “The training is only for twenty people. Do you mean to say that each person is worth five tons of components?”
“Of course.” Lan Xincheng was unmoved. “The Empire’s officer training is done through simulation arrays. Just the operational costs of such an array is equal to a mothership traveling at full speed.”
“How big of an array is that?”
“It’s bigger than your Dark Flame headquarters.”
“That’s quite the investment.” Qianye was somewhat surprised. This so-called simulation array was similar to the ones in the army training centers where two operators would sit behind their control panels and projected images would do the fighting in the middle. It was just that the array would be hundreds if not thousands of times bigger, bringing the operator into a simulated battle in the void. The effects were naturally extraordinary as well.
“There’s a reason the Imperial fleets can hold their own against more powerful enemies.”
Qianye nodded. As someone who had worked for the army, he knew that the void was a different, bloodless battlefield, the cruelty of which was no less than that of the ground wars. When warships were damaged, those of the crew with ordinary cultivation would have almost no way to survive. They would die without a doubt if the rescue was slightly late.
Linken could only save a small part of her crew when Qianye had destroyed her ship. Most of them died immediately when the ship was destroyed, with no hope of escape.
Being able to hold their ground under such circumstances and protect the Empire’s three continents from danger, the Imperial fleet’s glory was actually built upon the superior command strategy… as well as the cold corpses of countless soldiers.
Hearing Lan Xincheng’s explanation, Qianye understood that his idea of asking for an instructor was no longer feasible. “Can these quotas be transferred?”
“Transfer? Of course. But Sire, are you sure?”
“I don’t need that many quotas, but some of my friends might.”
“Very well then. The quotas are yours, so you can do what you wish with them. I must remind you though that the training will last three months and the number of quotas is limited, only a couple hundred each year. Otherwise, how can each spot be worth five tons of materials?”
“I understand.” Qianye nodded.
Dark Flame didn’t have that many talented people, and there was no guarantee to their loyalty. Song Zining might have some way to control these fellows, but Qianye had no such ability. It was easy to see from how things went out of control once the seventh young master had left. If Qianye was the only one who had gone into the Great Maelstrom, the city would probably remain unchanged.
On the other hand, Qianye didn’t really attach that great of an importance to warships, nor did he require warship commanders. What he needed more were qualified cannoneers, people who could maintain on-ship equipment and landing parties.
Qianye had other uses for the large number of airship components, but he wasn’t going to tell Lan Xincheng about it.
Qianye rummaged through Andruil’s space and found a small box. It was merely the size of a palm, but there were quite a few items inside. Lan Xincheng took the box from him with the utmost care, not daring to be careless.
The value of treasures wasn’t related to size. Qianye had already brought out Dragon Scale Moss, white-fruits, and Star Cherry Wood, so the remaining items were worth looking forward to.
The box opened up to reveal a pile of lustrous blue flower petals that filled up half the container.
Qianye had found these items on the two-armed natives and didn’t know what they were used for. Even Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan had no idea what they were. But they looked nice and the natives collected them like treasures, so Qianye collected quite a few of them. They didn’t take up space anyway.
Qianye had brought them out because he wanted to see if Lan Xincheng knew what these crystalline petals were. The man had worked in the armament division for many years and had probably seen a good number of treasures. His judgment was probably well above those appraisers.
After staring at the crystalline petals for a good while, Lan Xincheng pushed the box toward Fang Zhan. “Lil’ Fang, you nobles know more about jewels. What is this?”
Fang Zhan produced a small bag, which opened to reveal a row of intricate tools. He also possessed a spatial gear, but the space inside was quite small.
Qianye had never seen some of the tools before, or even heard of them.
Fang Zhang smiled. “Gem appraisal and crafting is my hobby.”
He fished out a small pair of tongs and covered it with a thin, soft fabric to protect the gem. After picking up a crystalline petal, he placed it under a portable scope. He then set up a small frame with a metallic ball on top. The metallic pearl shot out a beam of light that illuminated the petal.
He peered into the scope and slowly turned the petal around, constantly adjusting the angle and intensity of the light as he did so.
Such a professional appraisal method changed Qianye’s impression of Fang Zhan. From what he remembered, a gem appraiser would just look at the item with his naked eyes or wear a pair of magnifying glasses at most. They were vastly inferior to Fang Zhan in terms of equipment.
It would seem that this man had gotten in on this mission for good reason. Those who spent their days drinking and merrymaking were mere prodigal sons, but those who studied a topic deeply would become masters.
After a long while, Fang Zhan sighed deeply, and his expression became much more gentle. He said while clearing his throat, “If I’m not wrong, these are actual flower petals that have turned into gems for some reason.”
Lan Xincheng was moved. “Like the Marine Lotus?”
“More or less, but the lotus retains a portion of its medicinal effects after the transformation. These petals, on the other hand, don’t have sufficient power. They’re just gems now.”
“Ah, so that’s how it is.” Lan Xincheng seemed disappointed.
Fang Zhan replied, “These petals hold great value as well. Look, the patterns in these petals are formed naturally and no two are the same. And in terms of color, shape, and purity, all of them are top-grade gems.”
Lan Xincheng knew gems were valuable, but he had no interest in decorative items. “Sire, can you show us what other treasures you have?”
Qianye had no opinion on these petals, to begin with. He had even less interest after finding out that they were ordinary gems. He had gained a good harvest in the Great Maelstrom; there had to be something good he could bring out.
Just as he was rummaging through Andruil’s Space, Fang Zhan pulled Lan Xincheng to the side. “General, we should buy those gem petals.”
“This… what’s the use?” Lan Xincheng felt awkward. He knew that these petals were highly valuable, and such a big box of them was more than enough to buy over a hundred tons of warship plates. Yet, he was no ordinary peddler—the reasoning behind his trade wasn’t about equal value in money. He just couldn’t bring himself to use up strategic resources on gems.
Fang Zhan whispered, “General, this type of petal gem is unprecedented in the Empire. No one else has such things.”
Lan Xincheng merely grunted.
Fang Zhan finally became anxious. He said openly, “The Empress’ birthday falls two months later. A highly skilled craftsman can turn these petals into a set of unique treasures! Be it in terms of value or artistry, it will be a great choice for her majesty’s birthday present.”
Lan Xincheng was finally moved.
