Chapter 85 – Conditions

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

When Wen Yu arrived at the Central Castle, he happened to see Kuangliu emerging from an empty room.

The Military's elite powerhouses were with him.

As soon as Xiao Xue spotted Wen Yu approaching, her eyes lit up. She greeted him with a smile, then leaned close to Kuangliu's ear and whispered something.

Kuangliu nodded slightly.

At the sight of this, Wen Yu immediately had a bad feeling.

"I can't shake the feeling that they're plotting something…"

Wen Yu sent the message through their mental link, and One-Eye immediately began barking.

"Woof, woof!"

"They're definitely plotting something!"

"You'd better be careful, Boss!"

"Just look at that woman's crafty smile…"

A stream of barks poured from One-Eye's mouth. Aside from Wen Yu and his Soul Pets, who could roughly understand what he meant, Kuangliu and the others were utterly bewildered.

Wen Yu's lips twitched at the sight.

Little Soul Beast and Xing, on the other hand, immediately began protesting.

"Dog-Ge, you traitor…"

"What happened to our alliance?"

One-Eye rolled his eye dramatically from Wen Yu's arms.

"You're both too young!"

…

Ever since Wen Yu had traded away all his low-level Magic Crystal pieces, his three Soul Pets had reached a consensus.

They would form an alliance!

Together, they would oppose Wen Yu's attempts to "sell" the delicious rations meant for the three of them!

Their method of resistance was to refuse to say a single word to Wen Yu and let him die of loneliness…

Unfortunately, it now appeared that their alliance was anything but solid. One-Eye, in particular, had far more "life experience" than Little Soul Beast and Xing, so he had promptly "betrayed" their short-lived alliance.

Instead of wasting time on something doomed to fail, he was better off staying in his Boss's good graces. Maybe then he would be rewarded with a few extra bites of Magic Crystal someday!

Seeing the devious, shameless expression on One-Eye's face as the dog wriggled incessantly in his arms, Wen Yu rapped him hard on the forehead before turning to Kuangliu.

"What's going on? Is there a new development?"

Kuangliu looked Wen Yu up and down, an indescribable mixture of emotions in his eyes. After a long moment, he shook his head and flashed Wen Yu a broad smile.

"Nothing new. We're holding a meeting shortly. Since you're already here, that saves me the trouble of looking for you."

Judging by Kuangliu's expression, Wen Yu became certain that these people were scheming something involving him.

…

Before Wen Yu could press him for details, Kuangliu spoke first.

"You wouldn't have come all this way without a reason either, would you? Is there something you need us to take care of?"

After mulling it over, Wen Yu set aside thoughts like "these people are plotting against me" and "these people are trying to harm me" and got straight to the point.

"I'd like to trade these with the Military for Magic Crystal pieces that share the same Attribute."

As he spoke, Wen Yu took the remaining Level 4 Magic Crystals from his Spatial Ring.

Kuangliu accepted them and carefully examined the crystals before slowly replying, "Sure. These Magic Crystal pieces are of fairly good quality, and their Attributes are relatively pure. What Attribute do you want in exchange?"

Kuangliu's answer came as no surprise to Wen Yu.

The Military had more than enough Class Holders to make use of Magic Crystal pieces of various Attributes. Besides, granting Wen Yu such a minor favor would earn them some goodwill from him. There was no reason for the Military to refuse.

Wen Yu thought for a long moment before answering Kuangliu.

"Beast Attribute will do."

"You don't want Rare Attribute? We can exchange those for you too."

The moment Wen Yu finished speaking, Kuangliu jumped in with an offer that immediately caught his interest.

"Dark Attribute too?"

Seeing the doubt on Wen Yu's face, Kuangliu nodded without hesitation.

"A one-to-one exchange rate. No objections, right?"

"None!"

Wen Yu answered immediately, clearly afraid that Kuangliu might change his mind.

Upon hearing his answer, Kuangliu took the Magic Crystal from Wen Yu and handed it to Xiao Xue behind him, signaling for her to handle the exchange. Then he continued.

"The Military doesn't have much Dark Attribute Magic Crystal in stock. Level 4 Magic Crystal is especially scarce. But…"

Kuangliu deliberately paused there and looked at Wen Yu.

Wen Yu immediately understood what he meant.

"Keep the rate at one-to-one. I need an unlimited exchange quota. In return, I'll owe the Military a favor!"

In Wen Yu's eyes, that favor was no small thing.

There was no need to explain what Dark Attribute Magic Crystal meant to Wen Yu and the Little Soul Beast. By Wen Yu's estimation, he would have agreed even if the Military had demanded a two-to-one exchange rate!

If all of the Little Soul Beast's remaining Physical Attribute was raised using Dark Attribute Magic Crystal, the Skill it received after Promotion was certain to be of exceptionally high quality!

Kuangliu gave a slight nod.

"I may not be able to promise an unlimited quota, since I don't know how many Magic Crystals and Points you have left. But I can guarantee that the Military will make every piece of its Level 4 Dark Attribute Magic Crystal available for this exchange!"

For the Military, obtaining Level 4 Dark Attribute Magic Crystal was not particularly difficult.

For example, it could exchange Level 3 Mixed Attribute Magic Crystal through an Exchange Pillar for Level 4 Magic Crystal, which had a small chance of producing Magic Crystal with a Special Attribute.

Alternatively, exchanging ten Level 3 Dark Attribute Magic Crystals for one Level 4 Magic Crystal was guaranteed to produce Level 4 Dark Attribute Magic Crystal.

Neither option was difficult for the Military.

As for why the Military did not simply give the Dark Attribute Magic Crystal to Wen Yu…

Wen Yu had not forgotten what Kuangliu had told him in the car when he first arrived at the Yanjing Settlement.

"After reaching Level 4, it's best to use the Points you earned yourself to exchange for the Magic Crystal needed for Promotion."

Since Kuangliu had specifically told him that, there had to be a reason behind it!

Wen Yu nodded without hesitation.

"Then it's settled! What do you need me to do?"

…

"Doing business with you really is convenient!"

Kuangliu said with a smile as he gave Wen Yu an overly familiar pat on the shoulder.

The gesture sent a shudder down Wen Yu's spine.

"I knew there was no way I'd get such a good deal from the Military for free!"

Wen Yu shook his head with a wry smile, though there was no resentment in his voice.

He had no idea what the Military was going to "ask" him to do, but gaining a reliable channel through which he could exchange for Dark Attribute Magic Crystal was an undeniable benefit.

As far as Wen Yu was concerned, so long as the request was within his abilities, he had no reason to refuse.

Kuangliu did not say anything else. He merely motioned for Wen Yu to follow, then headed toward the third floor of the Central Castle.