Chapter 434: Mountain of Wealth, Great Financial Power (Combined Chapter, Requesting...)

After memorizing the contents of the Book of Bloodlines Part One, Li Zhangsheng still needed some time to fully master this knowledge before attempting to refine his Spirit Essence.

Li Zhangsheng did not stay in his bedroom for long; seeing that the day was still early, he took the initiative to seek out Clan Leader Li Wenbo.

Although the Li Clan would be hosting a grand banquet that evening, Li Wenbo had long since delegated the work, which left him at leisure. At this moment, he was sitting in the Clan Leader's residence with his legs crossed, idling away the time.

Li Zhangsheng stated his purpose immediately.

"Oh? You want to donate a batch of books? That is a good thing!" Li Wenbo immediately became serious and said with a solemn expression, "It just so happens I am free; let us go to the Secret Technique Pavilion to handle the handover now!"

Since he had nothing better to do, Li Wenbo led Li Zhangsheng toward the Secret Technique Pavilion.

Li Zhangsheng's donation of books was related to the fact that the vast majority of them were useless to him. Rather than occupying a large amount of space, it was better to donate them to the clan to improve the knowledge accumulation and cultural foundation of the clan members.

Unlike the Cai Clan, the Li Clan did not have a Library Pavilion; the Secret Technique Pavilion served as the place for collecting books. It not only housed a large number of books but also secret techniques and beast taming manuals.

The Secret Technique Pavilion faced south, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof with a two-story brick-and-wood structure. Lifelike statues of a Azure Dragon and a Fire Phoenix stood at the entrance, appearing solemn and majestic.

The importance of the Secret Technique Pavilion was self-evident; the energy restrictions here were in an activated state at all times, and a Clan Elder was stationed there year-round.

As soon as he entered the Secret Technique Pavilion, Li Zhangsheng saw dazzling shelves of books and several clansmen burying their heads in writing.

They were mainly clansmen working in the Secret Technique Pavilion, and among them, Li Zhangsheng saw a familiar figure.

As if sensing something, Li Runfeng, who had been burying himself in hard work, raised his head in confusion. Upon discovering that Li Zhangsheng and Li Wenbo had entered, he hurriedly put down his work.

"Clan Leader, Chang... er, Great Clan Elder!"

Li Runfeng stood behind the Secret Technique Pavilion Clan Elder and greeted the two, though when it came to Li Zhangsheng, he hurriedly corrected himself and addressed him as Great Clan Elder.

In the Li Family Manor, Li Runfeng naturally had to abide by clan rules.

While Li Wenbo and the Secret Technique Pavilion Clan Elder were conversing, Li Zhangsheng and Li Runfeng went to the side, and he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Runfeng, what are you doing here?"

"I'm short on resources, so I found a temporary job here. My main work is to transcribe books from Yuanling Academy to enrich the collection in our Secret Technique Pavilion."

Li Runfeng rubbed his sore right hand, having no intention of hiding anything. This job was a bit tiring, but it provided a relatively stable income, had no danger, and allowed him to review the old to learn the new.

However, Li Runfeng's Mental Power was limited, so most of the time he could only transcribe by hand.

Due to the burden of his family background, among the Li Clan Four Heroes, Li Runfeng naturally lagged behind Li Jingyi and Li Tianyu in terms of resources. To obtain enough cultivation resources, he had to be self-reliant.

"Are they the same?"

Li Zhangsheng looked at the others, who had also stood up and were looking at Li Zhangsheng and Li Wenbo with respectful gazes.

"Yes, they are all clansmen from other academies."

Many of the books in the Li Clan's Secret Technique Pavilion came this way; it could be said that they had gathered the 'book collections' of many academies.

Like the Li Clan, other families operated the same way, which was also an important means for them to obtain books.

According to Li Runfeng, for every ten basic books transcribed that had not been collected by the Secret Technique Pavilion, one could receive a reward of one Soul Crystal. If one transcribed advanced books or large volumes with many pages, the earnings were naturally higher.

At this time, Li Runfeng asked in confusion, "Zhangsheng, what are you doing here?"

Great Clan Elder was the public title; in private, Li Runfeng naturally addressed Li Zhangsheng by his name.

"I plan to donate a batch of books to the clan!"

"I see!"

Li Runfeng felt a bit envious, but he also knew his own capabilities. Although he was also a member of the Li Clan Four Heroes, the gap between him and Li Zhangsheng was growing ever larger.

Second Rank and Fourth Rank—there was simply no comparison!

Thinking back to over four months ago, the strength of the two was not much different, and Li Runfeng felt his own rate of improvement was not slow, yet compared to Li Zhangsheng, he still paled in comparison.

At this moment, Li Wenbo and the Secret Technique Pavilion Clan Elder finished their pleasantries.

Li Wenbo pointed to the open space on the side and said, "Zhangsheng, you can just put the books you want to donate here."

"Clan Leader, it is too small here; it won't fit at all!"

"Ah, there are that many?"

Li Wenbo exclaimed in surprise. This open space could hold at least a thousand books; the number of books Li Zhangsheng was donating completely exceeded his expectations.

Li Zhangsheng turned to the Secret Technique Pavilion Clan Elder and took the initiative to say, "Elder, the second floor is spacious; let us go up instead!"

"Since that is the case, please come upstairs with this old man!"

The Secret Technique Pavilion Clan Elder took the lead, with Li Zhangsheng and Li Wenbo following behind. Li Runfeng also shamelessly tagged along; he mainly wanted to watch the excitement.

The Li Family was not a place where one person had the final say; power was relatively dispersed, which could be described as everyone performing their own duties.

Therefore, even as Clan Leader, Li Wenbo's Patriarch Token could not open the restrictions of the clan's Important Area.

Soon, the Secret Technique Pavilion Clan Elder opened the Prohibition Light Screen located at the stair entrance. He did not chase Li Runfeng away and led them up to the second floor.

Except for a bookshelf and dozens of stone platforms, there was nothing else on the second floor, making it appear exceptionally empty.

"I am going to release them!"

As Li Zhangsheng's intent stirred, the entrance to his Space Ring opened, and book after book flew out in a swarm, piling up on the open space to the side.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

As if it were a bottomless pit, Li Zhangsheng's Space Ring continuously spewed out a massive quantity of books.

In just a few breaths of time, a mountain of books that grew higher and higher appeared before the four of them, and Li Zhangsheng showed no signs of stopping.

Gulp~

Li Runfeng watched, dumbfounded. His throat moved as he stared blankly at the mountain of books that was growing ever higher.

Calculated at the price of one Soul Crystal for ten books, even excluding some duplicate books, these books were worth at least a thousand Soul Crystals, and looking at Li Zhangsheng's manner, the quantity was far more than that.

This is too much!

Li Runfeng thought to himself. His second thought was where Li Zhangsheng had obtained so many books; it was as if he had robbed an entire faction.

He guessed correctly; Li Zhangsheng had indeed robbed a faction.

At this very moment, even the knowledgeable Li Wenbo and the Beast Garden Elder had their brains go blank. The two looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

In such a quiet atmosphere, not long after, the Space Ring finally stopped spewing out books.

At this time, more than a dozen small hills made of books had appeared on the second floor of the Secret Technique Pavilion, totaling, at a rough estimate, seventy or eighty thousand books.

This is only the books on the first floor of the Cai Clan Library; as for the books on the second and third floors, Li Zhangsheng will have to look at them later, as he presumes there will be some knowledge he needs to absorb inside.

As for these basic books, they are not very important, and many of them are merely the experiences and insights of the Cai Clan's predecessors.

These Cai Clan predecessors were only at the First or Second Rank, and while their experiences and insights are very effective for Li Zhangsheng, he naturally does not wish to spend his limited energy on these books.

"That's all of it, you all can sort through them slowly!"

Li Zhangsheng shrugged; sorting through so many books requires a massive amount of time, and he naturally had no intention of helping.

How to categorize these books is for the Clan Leader and the Secret Method Building Elder to worry about; besides, given the scale of the Secret Technique Pavilion, it could not hold these books anyway.

After this incident, the expansion of the Secret Technique Pavilion is bound to be put on the agenda.

Li Wenbo wore a look of joy on his face and said with deep emotion: "Sigh, Zhangsheng, the family owes you too much. If there is anything you need, just speak up! Even if you want to be the Clan Leader, I can give it to you!"

As long as it is beneficial to the family, Li Wenbo does not care about personal gains or losses at all, and it is precisely because of this that the family can flourish.

Furthermore, neither Li Wenbo nor the Secret Method Building Elder asked about the source of these books; they knew that if Li Zhangsheng wanted to say it, he would naturally say it.

"Clan Leader, there really is a matter that requires the family's help. Didn't I open an auction house in the Pengcheng Academy District some time ago? It is currently lacking some personnel for security!"

During its first auction, the Starry Sky Auction House could be described as an overnight success, with many sellers coming by name to consign items, most of whom were Monster Tamers from the Academy District.

Even without Li Zhangsheng's support, the Starry Sky Auction House has already entered a virtuous cycle.

In these past two months, the Starry Sky Auction House has held two more small auctions, and both were complete successes.

In this way, the growth speed of the Starry Sky Auction House has been extremely fast, and it already has a faint trend of becoming one of the top ten auction houses in Yuan Province.

Of the top ten auction houses in Yuan Province, only three are located in Peng City, while the remaining seven are located in other major cities of Yuan Province.

With the current trend of the Starry Sky Auction House, it will surely replace one of them in the near future.

The more prosperous the Starry Sky Auction House appears, the more profit it provides for Li Zhangsheng; even ignoring the precious auction items provided by Li Zhangsheng, the commissions and ticket fees alone can generate thousands of Soul Crystals in profit every month.

If the auction items provided by Li Zhangsheng are included, it could even exceed ten thousand a month.

However, where there is profit, there is strife.

The rise of the Starry Sky Auction House naturally touched the interests of some forces; after all, the cake is only so big, and they naturally do not want more people to come in and share it.

Consequently, the Starry Sky Auction House inevitably faced some targeting.

The Starry Sky Auction House has the background of the Yuanling Academy, and Li Zhangsheng's growth speed is monstrous, which makes them somewhat hesitant to act, so naturally, no one was stupid enough to target it openly.

Their response method was very simple, mainly focusing on slandering the Starry Sky Auction House in the dark, and occasionally inciting some greedy people to set their sights on the auction items of the Starry Sky Auction House.

Over time, the Starry Sky Auction House exposed its weak security issues.

The Starry Sky Auction House naturally hired some Monster Tamers, but their strength was mostly low, almost all were First-rank Beast Masters, and most were Loose Cultivators.

Not only was their strength limited, but they also could not be given enough trust like the clansmen.

This is also the main reason why Li Zhangsheng is seeking the family's help; as long as a complete and efficient security system is established, the interests of the Starry Sky Auction House can be better protected, leaving no opportunity for petty villains to succeed.

"Fine, I will arrange it for you as soon as possible!"

Li Wenbo naturally agreed readily, but he also had a hidden worry in his heart; the clansmen willing to leave their hometown to go to Peng City were few after all, and he could only try his best to persuade them.

Although Li Wenbo's expression was restrained quickly, it was still noticed by Li Zhangsheng, who was good at observing people's expressions, and with a slight movement of his mind, he understood the reason.

It is hard to leave one's native land; this is a very realistic matter.

Many clansmen have spent their whole lives huddled within the scope of Luo City.

Li Zhangsheng pondered for a moment, quickly thought of a way, and said: "Clan Leader, I have an idea that can both let the clansmen go to Peng City with peace of mind and effectively improve the family's strength!"

Li Wenbo asked hurriedly: "What kind of idea?"

"I have decided to donate thirty High Quality Fairies every year. Any clansman willing to work for the auction house for one year can choose one at will. What do you think?"

Li Zhangsheng did not mention wages, because their wages for this year would be the High Quality Fairy; he only needed to cover their food and lodging.

To increase the appeal to the clansmen, Li Zhangsheng naturally would not put out the worst High Quality Fairies, mainly focusing on High-Level Servants.

Even so, a High Quality Fairy of a Servant Race is worth at most about fifty Soul Crystals, mostly between twenty and thirty.

In this way, it is equivalent to them only having a salary of two or three Soul Crystals per month, which is not much different from the salary of the Loose Cultivators hired by the auction house, it is just paid in advance.

Besides this, Li Zhangsheng can also internally digest some High Quality Fairies; the market is only so big, and if he sells a large number of High Quality Fairies in the short term, the value will inevitably drop.

Additionally, as the clansmen's strength improves, the family's strength will naturally improve as well.

This can be said to be killing many birds with one stone!

Of course, if it were the relatives of the Clan Leader or Clan Elders, a High Quality Fairy would naturally not have much appeal to them.

But for ordinary clansmen or collateral clansmen, the appeal of a High Quality Fairy can be said to be fatal, especially for those parents who have offspring.

Pity the hearts of parents everywhere; who does not want their children to win at the starting line? A High Quality Fairy is enough to have the ability to change their destiny.

"Thirty!"

Li Wenbo's breathing suddenly became rapid, and his chest heaved violently; this news was truly too shocking.

Thirty High Quality Fairies every year; what kind of concept is this? This is even higher than the output of the Li Family.

Li Wenbo thought about it again and felt it was a matter of course; according to the market price, thirty High Quality Fairies would cost at most one thousand Soul Crystals, which Li Zhangsheng could easily afford with his financial resources.

However, Li Zhangsheng's next sentence made him even more impulsive to give up his position as Clan Leader and help Li Zhangsheng manage the auction house.

(End of this chapter)