After everyone left the private room, Lu Tao was invited over by Manager Feng alone.
"Manager Feng, you've got money now?"
The two had become quite familiar with each other, and Lu Tao spoke much more casually.
Manager Feng's lips twitched slightly, and he said, "I do want to trade chopsticks with you, but I have another deal to discuss with you."
"Another deal?"
Lu Tao was slightly taken aback and asked, "What kind of deal?"
"I'm going to sell you some information, young friend, information that should be priceless to you," Manager Feng said with a smile, keeping Lu Tao in suspense.
Lu Tao was speechless. What a riddle-teller! He hated it the most.
Lu Tao asked directly, "What news? It's not related to Red Flower Valley, is it?"
"No, it's about your... future, news about how high you can go in the future."
Manager Feng's expression was somewhat serious when he said this.
Upon hearing this, Lu Tao's expression also became much more serious. He was determined to become the strongest person, so he naturally cared about the information that Manager Feng had given him. "Manager Feng, just tell me, how much?"
Manager Feng slowly raised one finger and then uttered a number, "One hundred million."
Lu Tao's eyes widened instantly as he stared at Manager Feng in shock, speechless for a long time, and even wanted to turn around and leave.
One message worth 100 million?
This is blatant robbery!
However, Lu Tao's understanding of the martial arts world was very limited, and since Manager Feng said it was related to his future prospects, Lu Tao could only suppress the urge to leave and asked, "What specific news? You can't just make me pay without telling me anything, can you?"
"No need, let me tell you first, then you can pay."
Manager Feng smiled faintly and said, "I believe that after hearing this news, you will think it is worth the price, unless... you already knew."
Upon hearing Manager Feng's words, Lu Tao's curiosity was piqued. "Alright, tell me. If it's really worth the price, I, Lu, will never renege on my promise."
"Before we discuss the deal, let me ask you a question: What are your qualifications?"
Seemingly worried that Lu Tao might suspect him of having ulterior motives, Manager Feng added, "If you don't even meet the requirements, then this news is worthless to you."
"A superior grade of ordinary quality?" Lu Tao replied somewhat weakly.
Manager Feng's lips twitched, sensing that Lu Tao did not trust him, so he said in a deep voice, "Lu Tao, I am sincerely doing business with you, and I have no other intentions."
"Or, could you tell me what qualifications are required? I'd like to see if I meet them."
Lu Tao hesitated for a moment before speaking, seemingly worried about offending Manager Feng. He added, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that... I have my own reasons, I hope you understand."
Lu Tao was helpless; his item was indeed of superior quality, what could he do?
He had already said it, but the problem was that Manager Feng didn't believe him, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Manager Feng nodded in understanding and said, "At least top-quality qualifications are required."
Lu Tao sighed silently.
This again involves his blind spots in knowledge.
Regarding aptitude, he only knew of one mortal grade, so Lu Tao had no choice but to ask, "Excuse me, how much difference is there between a top-grade aptitude and a mortal grade?"
Manager Feng glanced at Lu Tao silently for a while before replying, "The talent and aptitude in the martial arts world are somewhat similar to the techniques, divided into four grades: ordinary, good, excellent, and heavenly. Each grade is further divided into upper, middle, and lower levels."
Based on this calculation, a superior grade of ordinary quality is four grades away from being a top grade.
Lu Tao thought for a moment. Previously, the Dust Removal Pill he refined with a little bit of grass leaves was able to improve his aptitude by two grades. Now that he has a whole Dust Removal Grass, improving it by four grades shouldn't be a problem, right?
That's right. After about ten days of cultivation, the grass root finally started to sprout. As long as you can buy the spiritual liquid, it can grow and mature quickly.
Lu Tao nodded decisively and said, "I achieved it."
"..."
Manager Feng was speechless. For some reason, after this exchange, he felt that what Lu Tao had said about the ordinary grade being of superior quality was true. However, he felt that the talent was not really that high.
However, since Lu Tao said the deal had been reached, Manager Feng continued the transaction.
Shopkeeper Feng pondered for a moment before slowly asking, "Lu Tao, you know there are nine realms in the martial arts world, right?"
"That's right, that's a generally accepted fact, everyone knows it."
Lu Tao was very curious as to why Manager Feng suddenly brought up this issue.
Then Manager Feng said, "Actually, in the martial arts world, besides these nine realms, there is another hidden realm. However, only some major powers know about this realm, and very few people can achieve it. Those who can achieve it are all exceptionally talented individuals."
Before Lu Tao could ask, Manager Feng continued, "This realm is called the Marrow Refining Realm."
"Marrow Refinement?"
Upon hearing the name of this realm, Lu Tao immediately thought of the first four realms of martial arts training and blurted out, "Senior, are you saying that after refining the internal organs, there is a realm of refining the marrow?"
"That's right. This realm mainly involves tempering the bone marrow, spinal cord, and brain marrow. The Marrow Refining Realm not only grants the same strength as the Innate Realm, but also enhances one's talent."
Shopkeeper Feng pointed to his head and said, "This talent doesn't just refer to physical aptitude, but also comprehension. When you cultivate this realm to perfection and then advance to the Innate Realm, your strength will be even greater than that of other geniuses of the same level."
"Do you think this news is worth a hundred million?"
"value!"
Lu Tao nodded heavily.
He knew too little about the martial arts world. If Manager Feng hadn't told him, he would have had no idea that such a realm existed.
Moreover, and most importantly, the strength of this realm is actually the same as that of the Innate Realm, which is equivalent to having an extra realm compared to others.
Lu Tao asked directly, "Senior, how can one advance to the Marrow Refining Realm?"
He knew that, generally speaking, once one reached the peak of the Organ Refining Realm, one could try to break through to the Innate Realm and skip the Marrow Refining Realm. Without a special method, one would definitely not be able to enter the Marrow Refining Realm.
Seeing that the transaction was about to be completed, Manager Feng couldn't help but smile and said, "Advancing to the Marrow Refining Realm shouldn't be difficult for you. You just need to create a body refining technique of at least Earth Rank low grade, and then..."
"etc."
Before Manager Feng could finish speaking, Lu Tao interrupted him, asking uncertainly, "What grade did you say, senior? Lower Earth Rank?"
"good."
Shopkeeper Feng nodded, puzzled, "What? Is it difficult? I see that you created a low-grade Xuan-rank cultivation technique in just a few days. Even if the low-grade Di-rank is a bit high, you should be able to create it yourself if you spend more time, right?"
"..."
Lu Tao was speechless.
He discovered that Manager Feng had even more confidence in him than he did in himself.
However, his self-created cultivation technique requires grinding experience to level up. The upper-grade Xuan level already requires 1 trillion experience points, and the lower-grade Di level requires 100 trillion.
Based on the fact that it took him two and a half hours to gain 100 million experience points, he would need to work non-stop for 2.5 million hours to gain that amount by himself.
He simply cannot do it.
Moreover, this is only a low-grade Earth-rank technique; a mid-grade Earth-rank technique requires 1 trillion experience points, and as for the Heaven-rank…
Lu Tao didn't even dare to think about it.
It was precisely because so much experience was required that Lu Tao had the idea of establishing a sect.
As for now.
Lu Tao couldn't meet the first requirement to advance to the Marrow Refining Realm.
Seemingly sensing Lu Tao's predicament, Manager Feng frowned, wondering if he had overestimated Lu Tao's comprehension. He then offered a reminder: "If you can't create it yourself, you can buy it."
"???"
Lu Tao looked at Manager Feng with a resentful expression, having countless complaints he couldn't express.
"You should have said you could buy it earlier, you made me worry for so long."
Lu Tao suppressed the urge to complain and continued to ask, "And then what happens after you get the cultivation technique?"
"Once you have the cultivation technique, you need to comprehend it to perfection, then cultivate the other four realms to their extremes, and then gather your Qi, blood, bone strength, and the power of the five elements to fully refine your bones. When you reach a certain critical point, you can break through to the Marrow Refining Realm in an instant."
Manager Feng finished explaining the conditions and methods for advancing to the Marrow Refining Realm in one breath, and then emphasized: "Of course, there is a prerequisite: your aptitude must be at least top-grade."
He still had some doubts about Lu Tao's qualifications.
"I see."
Lu Tao suddenly realized why so few people could advance to the Marrow Refining Realm; the requirements were indeed too high.
Both aptitude and comprehension must be exceptionally high; lacking either one will prevent you from succeeding.
"This news is indeed worth 100 million. Thank you, senior."
Lu Tao decisively took out two thousand pairs of chopsticks and placed them in front of Manager Feng. He was very satisfied with the news and did not think it was expensive.
Looking at the chopsticks in front of him, Manager Feng thought that Lu Tao's aptitude probably didn't meet the standard, so he felt a little embarrassed to accept the payment and couldn't help but ask again, "Lu Tao, is your aptitude really top-notch?"
"Don't worry, why would I give you a hundred million taels of silver for nothing if you don't meet the standards?"
Seeing that Lu Tao didn't seem to be lying, Manager Feng believed him and accepted the chopsticks.
Then, after thinking for a moment, Manager Feng took out another bone and handed it to Lu Tao, saying, "Didn't you want to buy high-level demon beast bones before? This one is for you."
Lu Tao's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked eagerly, "What realm?"
"Grandmaster level".
Upon hearing this, Lu Tao was filled with excitement. It was actually a Grandmaster level bone! With this bone, his experience gain speed would be a hundred times faster.
"Thank you so much, senior. You're very grateful."
Lu Tao grabbed Manager Feng's hand and shook it vigorously, practically moved to tears. "Senior, you really gave it to me? A Grandmaster's bone must be very expensive, right?"
"This bone no longer contains any vital energy, bone strength, or the aura of a Grandmaster. Apart from being hard, it's useless. Since you want this thing, I'll give it to you."
Lu Tao had previously bought a bone at the Refining Organs realm from him, and had originally wanted to buy one at a higher realm, but unfortunately he didn't have any.
He acquired this bone from a friend a couple of days ago, originally intending to sell it to Lu Tao and make a hefty profit. However, now that he has received 100 million taels of silver from Lu Tao, he suspects that Lu Tao's qualifications are not up to par and feels somewhat guilty, so he reluctantly gives it to Lu Tao.
"Thank you so much, senior. I am deeply grateful."
Lu Tao didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the bone. He then asked Manager Feng to break the bone into several pieces.
This makes it much easier to gain experience points.
Next, the two made another deal: Manager Feng spent 100 million silver notes to buy 2,000 pairs of chopsticks from Lu Tao.
Lu Tao suspected that the 100 million yuan he received was likely obtained from the 1,000 pairs of chopsticks he sold to Lu Tao.
Sure enough, middlemen make the most money.
Lu Tao felt that he had made a huge profit from this transaction with Manager Feng, especially the bones of a demon beast at the Grandmaster level. He thought it was worth it, even if it were worth a billion, let alone a hundred million.
With the transaction complete, Lu Tao returned to the courtyard satisfied, gathered the others, and began grinding experience points for his equipment...
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