A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Kalina remained silent for a moment.

Her mind raced as she weighed every possible choice.

Should she really refuse?

No.

That thought disappeared almost as soon as it appeared.

The person standing before her was, in her eyes, a Nascent Soul King. Even if he belonged to another faction within the Shinayin Empire, he was still her senior.

There were certain things juniors simply could not refuse, as long as their seniors did not cross a certain line.

After calming herself, Kalina slowly accepted the situation.

’It is only compensation,’ she thought.

’A Great Elder King may make demands of a junior. That is only natural.’

She did not think King Kainaat intended to bully her. Not really.

Kings had their own pride.

Why would someone of such status ruin his own reputation over a mere Core Formation Lord?

More importantly...

She doubted he wanted these resources for himself.

Kings naturally looked down upon ordinary third-order treasures. To them, such things were merely items they casually rewarded to their disciples and subordinates.

Kalina guessed that King Kainaat probably wanted to reward one of his juniors. That was why he had demanded compensation.

Although she could not understand why the owner of such a successful trading company would lack third-order resources, it was something she could ignore.

As long as she showed enough sincerity, the matter would end peacefully.

She also believed she would not suffer a true loss. The King had already said he would compensate her in return. Someone like him would never cheat a junior over a few third-order resources.

At worst, he would exchange them for a fair amount of mid-grade or high-grade Spirit Stones. Although she did not want to part with her hard-earned treasures, this was probably the best outcome she could hope for.

One had to know that third-order resources were never easy to obtain. It was not simply a matter of having enough Spirit Stones.

Many treasures could not be bought even if someone offered two or three times their estimated value.

Not because the Shinayin Empire lacked such resources.

On the contrary.

Compared to the Dadangar Subcontinent, the Shinayin Empire possessed an astonishing amount of cultivation resources thanks to its trade with the Eternal Sea.

The problem was control.

Third-order resources were available, but only to those with the right connections.

Every third-order and fourth-order resource was tightly managed.

The majority of them were first divided among the imperial factions led by the Nascent Soul Kings.

After that, another large portion was allocated to the smaller factions under those Kings. These factions were usually led by late-stage or peak-stage Core Formation Lords who had pledged their loyalty to one imperial faction or another.

Only the small amount left over would eventually reach the open market. Even then, ordinary wandering cultivators rarely obtained them. After all, members of the imperial factions were still allowed to participate in auctions and bidding contests.

They could simply outbid these wandering cultivators by offering far more Spirit Stones. This was still considered fair competition, even though it left most wandering cultivators without a background with almost no chance of obtaining such resources.

After all, how could they compete with those backed by powerful factions? Forget the monetary aspect. Even having the connections to learn about the availability of these resources was a huge advantage.

With their wealth and backing, members of the imperial factions and those closely associated with them usually secured most valuable items before outsiders even had a chance.

Most importantly, competition existed everywhere, even within the same faction.

Resources were rewards. Those who completed difficult missions, earned great merits, or displayed exceptional talent received more. Those who failed were forced to work harder while watching others advance ahead of them.

In a way, these imperial factions had adopted the task-and-reward system of the sects while largely removing the nurturing aspect. Given the abundance of talented cultivators in the Shinayin Empire, this approach actually worked.

No one received anything for free. The stronger one’s cultivation became, the fiercer the competition grew. Compared to that environment, the Dadangar Subcontinent seemed almost peaceful.

There were indeed many conflicts on the subcontinent, but at least cultivators could still rely on the organizations they belonged to for support. At least, most of the time.

This was largely because Lords represented the peak of power in the eyes of the subcontinent’s cultivators. And with so few Lords in existence, they rarely fought one another to the death.

There were conflicts, but not many life-and-death feuds among the Lords of the subcontinent. Even members of the righteous and demonic sects could occasionally gather together and discuss various matters amicably, setting aside their differences for a short while.

For example, Haitin Blackblood’s marriage to Siya Solaris was attended by members of both the righteous and demonic sects. When Aksai first met these Lords during that event, he could not even tell who belonged to which faction at first glance.

It was similar to corporate CEOs from Aksai’s previous world, each leading their own companies, initiatives, and alliances, gathering at a conclave and interacting with one another while temporarily setting aside their fierce market competition.

Such an event would have been extremely rare in the Shinayin Empire. There, decades and sometimes even centuries of conflict had created deep hostility between factions, making it difficult for Lords from rival factions to gather peacefully, even for a brief social occasion.

The Shinayin Empire was different from the Dadangar Subcontinent. Or rather, this was a difference between two cultures.

Its abundant resources allowed many cultivators with average talent to become Core Formation Lords. As a result, the empire had far more Lords than the Dadangar Subcontinent.

However, the imperial factions could not give unrestricted access to third-order resources to cultivators they could not fully trust. After all, no imperial faction wanted someone to use the organization to gain access to these resources, only to abandon the faction later and disappear into the Eternal Sea.

Abundance did not mean they could rely on people’s gratitude to secure their loyalty. Besides, what if those resources were later used against the very organization that had provided them?

In a way, access to third-order resources was like having access to firearms. The Dadangar Subcontinent was similar to a country where firearms were almost completely banned for the majority of the population, so there was little need for strict gun-control policies.

The Shinayin Empire, on the other hand, was like a country with an abundance of firearms. As a result, it enforced much stricter control measures to ensure that easy access did not become a threat to society or lead to large-scale infighting between various factions.

Core Formation Lords were capable of causing destruction and chaos far beyond what ordinary firearms from Aksai’s previous world could achieve. In this comparison, third-order resources were like the ammunition that allowed them to unleash such power.

At this point, the empire had roughly as many Lords within its territory as the Dadangar Subcontinent had Experts. However, most of those Lords remained stuck in the early stage for the rest of their lives.

Breaking into the middle and late stages was an entirely different matter. That required genuine talent. No amount of resources alone could replace it. Only a handful managed to reach those heights.

Kalina was one of them.

Her talent had already been recognized by her faction. She had received careful guidance from Nascent Soul Kings since her younger days.

She understood every stage of the Core Formation Realm in great detail. Every breakthrough had been refined until it was almost perfect.

That was why she had completely overwhelmed the Purple River Lord earlier, despite both of them being late-stage Core Formation cultivators. It was not because the Purple River Lord lacked talent.

On the contrary, his talent was probably equal to—or perhaps even greater than—hers.

The difference was opportunity. And that opportunity had been created by access to crucial third-order resources.

The Purple River Lord had never received proper guidance from a Nascent Soul powerhouse. Everything he knew had been learned through trial and error. He had relied entirely on himself while walking an incomplete cultivation path.

Kalina, on the other hand, had been taught how to fully unlock her potential from the very beginning.

That difference had created an enormous gap in combat strength.

This was the difference between having access to certain types of resources and not even being aware of their existence.

As these thoughts settled in her mind, Kalina slowly exhaled.

She had already made her decision.

No matter how painful it felt, she would hand over one of her precious treasures. It was better than offending a Nascent Soul King.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!