Chapter 73 - 55: Purchasing Technology
Chapter 73: Chapter 55: Purchasing Technology
Lin Yu quickly flipped a few pages into the item list, expertly found *Basic Rune Theory* and *Fundamentals of Rune Application*, and selected "Purchase."
For the past few days, Lin Yu had noticed that the research institute had been slow to begin its work on Spiritual Weapons. He knew they were stuck on two prerequisites, *Basic Rune Theory* and *Fundamentals of Rune Application*, so he had located both items in the technology branch of the points mall.
He hadn’t bought them at first, hoping he could get them for free, but alas, it was not to be.
After spending Ten Thousand Points—5,000 for each—two motes of light, representing the knowledge of *Basic Rune Theory* and *Fundamentals of Rune Application*, appeared in Lin Yu’s hand and then vanished in a flash.
"My Lord? What just happened?" Lin Chenxi couldn’t help but ask, having seen the flash of light in Lin Yu’s hand.
"Heh heh... Go eat first. I’ll tell you after you’ve finished."
Just then, a guard brought breakfast. Lin Chenxi had a healthy appetite, and the few pieces of fruit she’d eaten earlier hadn’t been nearly enough. The moment she saw the delicious meal, she dug right in.
"Mmm~ Delicious!"
"I’ve been eating nothing but fruit these past few days. I really missed the food you invented, my Lord," Lin Chenxi mumbled through a full mouth, slurping her congee while holding a steamed bun in one hand and a filled bun in the other.
Lin Yu watched in amusement. "Slow down. There’s no rush, no rush!"
"It is a rush!"
"I have to get back and keep searching for research materials!"
"There’s really no need! We have the materials now. You can just go back and make arrangements after you eat." Lin Yu’s grin widened.
"Fah weal?" Lin Chenxi mumbled, her mouth so full of food that the sound was unintelligible.
"For real. I wouldn’t lie to you about something like this!"
"Then it’s still a rush! I have to finish eating quickly and get back to delegate the work."
Lin Chenxi rapidly finished her meal, wiped her mouth, and bolted down the World Tree.
This left Lin Yu alone atop the crown of the World Tree to relieve his boredom by reading other people’s chat logs or randomly shifting his perspective to one of the citizens within his territory.
On her way back to the Wisdom Library, Lin Chenxi made a detour to the Demon Race encampment. She recruited over forty of the relatively weaker demons who were unskilled in combat (Fox Demons, Cat Demons, Rabbit Demons, Chicken Demons, and the like).
While she was at it, she recruited some pixies to be assigned as their assistants.
After returning to the research institute inside the Wisdom Library, Lin Chenxi immediately pulled the deputy leader from Team Three. She had him form a fourth research team with the new demons. He was tasked with leading them to complete the research on the Sun and Moon Breathing Technique, while also training them to become qualified researchers.
Team Two (which had already completed its research on professional-grade cultivation techniques) and Team Three were respectively assigned to research *Basic Rune Theory* and *Fundamentals of Rune Application*.
After delegating the tasks, Lin Chenxi went back to organizing materials in the library. Having unintentionally unlocked the Sun and Moon Breathing Technique earlier, she had developed a keen interest in the books from the Energy District.
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Meanwhile, after half a day of boredom, Lin Yu decided to venture outside his territory.
The Vein of Life had used "Rapid Growth" twice and was now only two days from completion. It would be finished before the end-of-the-month tally, which rekindled Lin Yu’s interest in taking the top spot on the leaderboard.
He currently had twenty "Recruitment Scrolls (1,000 Units)," allowing him to bypass the caps of any Recruitment Office and raise 20,000 soldiers.
If he recruited Druids, he could increase his combat power score by at least 20 million before the end of the month.
If he recruited Death Devourers, the increase in combat power would be far greater.
This gave him a renewed sense of drive. He couldn’t just laze around until the month-end tally.
’As for reading in the library to better myself or continuing my training at the Jade Sanctuary... I’ll deal with that after I get back from this trip.’
A short while later, Lin Yu arrived at the northern border of his territory.
Meiying, leading a twenty-man Hero Squad and a mixed company of five hundred Druids, was already waiting for him.
The captain of the Hero Squad was a Legendary Tier Monkey Demon named Yuan Xiaobo. His performance in previous battles had been outstanding, so despite his young age, he had been promoted to lead his own squad.
The Druid contingent was led by Kirkland, who had successfully ascended to hero status during the frequent and fierce battles of the previous month. The contingent was composed mostly of new recruits, with a handful of veterans from past battles mixed in.
This expedition into the wilds served a dual purpose: to find a suitable Recruitment Office and to give the novice Druids some experience to level up.
Lin Yu hadn’t brought Lin Chenxi this time, mainly because she was swamped with work, leading the research projects at the institute.
"Master, we are ready."
"Very well. Let’s move out."
The column assumed a marching formation, sent out scouts, and advanced toward their objective.
Sentinels had scouted the region north of the territory over the past few days, pinpointing several structures that were likely Recruitment Offices. Thus, the group didn’t need to search aimlessly; they could head straight for their objectives.
Beyond the territory’s border, a boundless Great Prairie stretched out before them. The grass was incredibly tall, reaching a full three meters in height. It completely concealed anyone walking within, making it extremely easy to get lost.
However, with Druids flying overhead to guide them, Lin Yu’s party had no fear of losing their way.
Their first objective was a massive tree stump, upon which sat an enormous beehive.
As Lin Yu’s party arrived, countless thumb-sized venomous bees swarmed out of the hive.
They then descended upon Lin Yu’s party in a unified swarm.
"BZZZZ—"
"BZZZZZZ—"
The buzzing was incessant.
"Combined Casting! Elemental Shield!" At Kirkland’s command, the Elemental Druids in the company immediately linked their Spiritual Power and cast in unison. A large Wind Element Shield materialized above their heads.
This instance of combined casting was different from previous ones. It wasn’t assisted by a Magic Array, but was instead a new technique the Druids had recently developed themselves.
During their previous battles, they had discovered that combined casting was far more effective than individual spellcasting in large-scale engagements.
So, during their recent few days of leave, all the Elemental Druids had gathered to figure out how to perform combined casting without the aid of a Magic Array.
By studying the principles of the Combined Spell Formation, they had developed a preliminary version of this new technique.
The only catch was that, without using a Magic Array, only Druids sharing the same elemental affinity could cast together.
That was why this expeditionary force was composed of only two types of Elemental Druids: fire and wind.
"Combined Casting! Fire Rain!"
Facing the dense swarm of venomous bees, Kirkland issued another command.
At the fire-aspected Elemental Druids’ command, a rain of fire fell from the sky, blanketing the entire area.
The venomous bees’ wings were set ablaze, and they plummeted to the ground in flames, one after another.
Many drops of fiery rain struck the Wind Shield, only to ricochet off in all directions at even greater speeds.
"Beautiful!"
Lin Yu stood beneath the Wind Shield, watching the sparks dance in the air, and couldn’t help but voice his praise.
His praise was directed as much at the combat prowess the Druids had displayed as it was at the beautiful spectacle unfolding before him.
The tens of thousands of venomous bees in the sky were quickly annihilated by the fire rain. After finishing off any survivors on the ground, the party walked up to the massive tree stump.