Forty millenniums of cul.., p.446
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 446
…
In the secret workshop at the center of Sparkle, there was a giant cylindrical tank that was filled with thick, bright gold liquid. Ripples were spreading out on the surface of the liquid, as if a sleeping ferocious beast was breathing peacefully.
Waving his artificial arms, Mo Xuan quickly operated the light beam.
After a crisp sound, the gate below the tank was opened, and the bright gold liquid was gradually extracted.
Soon, a tall armor in the shape of a human was revealed. Gold dew was shimmering on the plate, reflecting glamorous colors.
Li Yao found it hard to breathe, and his hands were tremoring beyond his control.
The newborn Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit left him with the impression that it was not a cold crystal suit but a living devil!
The crystal suit was still pure black. But it was not the black of the night sky, not the black of an abyss, but more like the black of an expanding blackhole that was absorbing all surrounding light and vision. The less determined people would inevitably have the illusion that the crystal suit was growing and swallowing everything nearby.
The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit in the past was embedded with abundant body materials of Skeleton Dragon and the scraps of ancient magical equipment from forty thousand years ago that it had looted.
Also, Li Yao had brought a lot of trophies from the battles against the apocalypse, including the remains of his 'Apocalyptic Extension', to Mo Xuan.
After half a year's refinement, all the materials had been perfectly combined. The crystal suit seemed naturally-made and showed no hint of being an amalgamation of so many materials whatsoever.
The surface of the black armor did not reflect any light. But when Li Yao closed his eyes and perceived the crystal suit with his spiritual threads, he could vaguely 'see' the flowing gold brilliance that looked like flashing dragon scales behind the blackness, as well as the undissolving color of blood in the deepest part of the gold brilliance.
The helmet of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was perfectly arced and looked like a waterdrop. Three red crystal cameras were embedded to the upper half of the facial cover in the shape of a downward-pointing triangle. Other than that, there was no redundant paint or decoration. The simplicity of the crystal suit adorned it with an awe-inspiring beauty.
Li Yao stuck his right hand to the tank softly.
The sleeping Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit slightly shivering. Roars of the dragon were echoing from the inside of the crystal suit, as if a sword was about to be unsheathed.
Li Yao felt that the glass tank had become burning iron planks that had melted his fingers. Five hot streams flooded into his heart from his fingertips. His heart was beating faster and faster and was about to burst out of his chest into the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
"Are you satisfied?" Mo Xuan smiled. "To realize the designs that you desired, especially the one regarding the embedded sheath on the back of the crystal suit, we ran so many computations that twenty-three super crystal processors exploded!"
Li Yao gave no response and simply gazed at the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
At that moment, he would not have bothered to move his eyes even if a star was exploding next to him.
…
An hour later, ten thousand meters away from Sparkle, a ragged crystal warship sailed slowly in the universe.
The starship was seriously wrecked during an assault of space pirates and was beyond repair. It was then modified into a target starship by Mo Xuan and his team.
By remote control, they activated the spiritual shield and the defense network of the starship. A hundred beast puppets were placed inside each cabin of the starship, too.
"It has been a long time, old friend!"
A black lightning suddenly flashed in front of Sparkle and blended in with the dark universe in the next second. Weird black waves covered the distance of ten thousand meters in the blink of an eye and appeared in front of the target ship!
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
A colorful, dazzling air defense fire net was interweaved around the target ship.
The streaks of blackness turned into a cluster of raging black mists and passed through the net instantly like a drop of water. Then, it drilled into the thick armor of the target ship like a scorching needle!
Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha!
Inside the target ship, all the beast puppets sensed the arrival of an intruder.
Organized by the telepathic thoughts that were input previously, they crowded toward the cabin that the intruder had barged into.
The intruder did not stop at all. He crouched and lunged out, turning into a streak of blackness again and going on a rampage in the narrow cabins.
Passing by several beast puppets, the intruder waved his hands casually, and several streams of black fog darted out. The beast puppets were immediately frozen as if a spell had been cast upon them.
A moment later, after a 'huala' sound, they collapsed to the ground and broke into the most fundamental components.
BOOM!
The intruder accelerated again. Wreathed in weird materials that looked both like liquid and gas, he blew up several decks and charged at the engine compartment, the center of the target ship.
"Come on out, Black Wing!"
For the sake of heat dissipation, the engine compartment was usually the largest cabin on a starship.
After he reached the place, a black flying sword suddenly appeared in front of the intruder.
The flying sword seemed to be made of an intact black jade. It was transparent, warm, and smooth. Inside the body of the sword that seemed to be filled with gels, black threads, which looked like capillary vessels, were shivering as if they were alive.
This was the latest form of Black Wing after it absorbed countless high-quality crystals!
Black Wing roared and, hovering in midair briefly, darted into the embedded sheath in the center of the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. It was neatly fixed to the sheath without the tiniest gap.
Black Wing seemed to have become the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit's 'spine'. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which had already been daunting enough, spurted out thousands of streams of black gas.
Motivated by Li Yao's surging spiritual energy and manipulated by his spiritual root, the intense black gas was condensed to his back on the two sides of Black Wing. It was continuously compressed and condensed into new forms.
"Ahhh!"
Li Yao unleashed the terrifying strength of the superlative height of the Building Foundation Stage with absolutely no concerns. The black gas gradually formed six wings behind the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit!
BOOM!
The six wings looked like burning black torches. The longest two were more than twenty meters, and the shortest two were almost ten meters. They made the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit even more like an unstoppable devil walking on the earth!
Shua!
Behind the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, a red cloak of light flames hovered and extended to almost a hundred meters away like a dragon soaked in blood!
This is the source of my strength!
Clenching his fists, Li Yao savored the satisfaction when the strength of his every cell was fully unleased and significantly enhanced by the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit!
Although the barrier on Black Wing was not cracked yet, and it could not be used as a weapon directly, Li Yao had redesigned the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and combined Black Wing into it.
With the hardness and speed of Black Wing, it would not only greatly increase the general toughness of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit but also allow the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit to surpass its speed limits time and time again!
Fengyu Zhong? The Temple of Immortals? Immortal Cultivators?
Li Yao roared and dashed at the high-pressure crystal reactor like a black spear after flapping the six black wings!
…
Inside Sparkle, the five spectral Cultivators were monitoring Li Yao's field test wholeheartedly.
The hundred light spots on the light beam that represented the beast puppets died down quickly one after another, like an area of candles that had been swept over by a furious wind.
Suddenly, the remaining twenty light spots were gone in the same second!
On the light beam, an orange fireball appeared in the middle of the target ship and tore it in half instantly.
Like metastasizing cancer, the fireball consumed the broken target ship.
On the light beam nearby, a glittering number was jumping continuously, shocking the five spectral Cultivators.
"From the beginning of the test to the time when he blew up a starship, it only took…
"79 seconds!"
Chapter 665: Cultivation Bond |
One day later, in the Cross Wind Union Bank…
After a day of field testing, Li Yao was very satisfied with the performance of the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. His next step would be to start crafting his tailor-made version of the Unparalleled Extension according to his combat style and the features of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
However, even without the Unparalleled Extension, Li Yao was confident that he could fight against enemies in the Nascent Soul Stage with the help of Black Wing.
After taking back the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, Li Yao had no other business in the Cross Wind Space Zone apart than one thing—borrow money!
For Cultivators at his level, the resources they consumed every day were beyond the wildest imagination of ordinary people.
Since the Glorious Sunlight Group was still developing, the capital available to the company was rather tight. Besides, he could not pay for his own training with the money of the group directly even though he was the Chairman of the Board, considering that there were other shareholders.
To be listed was definitely the best approach to raise funds.
With the current scale and future prospects of the Glorious Sunlight Group, it was more than easy for the company to be listed.
However, Li Yao was not planning to do that.
Once it was listed, there would be even more shareholders in the company, and he was not sure that he could remain as the actual owner of the company anymore.
Besides, after the company was listed, the financial report and the business status of the company would have to be published regularly, not to mention the audits and the supervision.
Sparkle was Li Yao's biggest trump card and had consumed a lot of resources of the Glorious Sunlight Group. The big hole in the balance sheet would be discovered immediately if professional accountants were to audit it.
Li Yao did not intend to expose Sparkle to the world, at least for now.
He did not want his company to be listed, but he was in dire need of a large sum of money for his own training. While Li Yao was experiencing a huge headache, the Cross Wind Union Bank, which had cooperated with him before, presented a rather tempting proposal.
"Manager Zhao, it's only been a short time since I came to space. Although I've heard about Cultivation Bonds before, I have never gotten to know their details. Please to enlighten me," Li Yao said in a smile.
There were only four people in the small meeting room: Wu Zhengyang on his side, a red-faced obese middle-aged man across the desk, and a plain-dressing, slender old man who seemed rather haughty and gloomy.
The fat middle-aged man was named Zhao Hongguang. He was the vice manager of the Cross Wind Union Bank in charge of the credit loans.
Although he looked rather unattractive, he was actually an admin-type Cultivator in the Core Formation Stage. Wu Zhengyang had been in touch with him since the Glorious Sunlight Group was first established and spoke very highly of him.
The cold old man was 'Master Heavenly Eye' according to Zhao Hongguang. He was the leader of the Heavenly Eye Sect as well as the president of Heavenly Eye Consultancy, a company.
But Li Yao had no idea what the Heavenly Eye Consultancy was actually about.
"The full name of the Cultivation Bond is 'Cooperative Bond for Cultivators'. It's actually very simple. You will understand what it is as soon as I explain to you." Zhao Hongguang smiled. "Chairman Sand, you may consider it a tool to get you listed."
Li Yao frowned and said, "The Glorious Sunlight Group does not intend to be listed yet."
Zhao Hongguang's face remained unchanged. He replied casually, "I'm afraid you misunderstood me, Chairman Sand. I was not talking about the Glorious Sunlight Group, but you, yourself, Sand Scorpion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau. You will be listed."
"Huh?" Li Yao raised an eyebrow and looked at the manager with suspicion.
Zhao Hongguang had never met Li Yao before and did not know the background of the guest from Iron Plateau. Therefore, he decided to explain it in the most straightforward way. "The most important factors about Cultivation are 'wealth', 'residence', 'arts', and 'companions'. The debate as to the order of the latter three remains unabated to this day, but 'wealth' has been acknowledged by everyone as the top priority all.
"Nothing can be done without money. It has been so since the ancient Cultivation world forty thousand years ago. Cultivators consume hundreds of times more resources than ordinary people do every day, and when they are preparing for a major breakthrough, say, from the Refinement Stage to the Building Foundation Stage or from the Building Foundation Stage to the Core Formation Stage, they have to prepare a great sum of money and tremendous resources for themselves.
"Then, here comes the question. Marvelous as Cultivators may be, they cannot turn stones into gold. Besides, most of them are training hard every day. How do they have the time to make money?
"Therefore, ancient Cultivators, righteous and evil alike, had to reign over ordinary people. They would levy taxes, con the underprivileged, or even rob them directly, exploiting ordinary people for money.
"The righteous Cultivators managed to maintain basic morals. They pretended to be 'deities' or 'grand masters' by fooling the ordinary people with exotic appearances and unbelievable techniques so that the ordinary people would be willing to offer their money promptly.
"It is needless to mention the evil Cultivators. They resorted to all kinds of inhuman methods in order to retrieve resources.
"When a righteous Cultivator ran into an evil one, or two righteous Cultivators met each other, as long as there were no witnesses, it was nothing usual for one of them to slay the other and loot the victim's treasures.
"That was the reason for the chaos and lawlessness in the ancient Cultivation world forty thousand years ago.
"But after forty thousand years, we are all civilized people today. Naturally, we cannot exploit ordinary people and gather resources in such crude and rough ways.
"Besides, anyone who knows the first thing about economics will realize that both the feudal system that the righteous Cultivators employed and the slavery system that the evil Cultivators counted on have a very low efficiency in resource collection."
Zhao Hongguang paused for a moment. He seemed to have sensed the impatience in Li Yao's eyes and immediately got to the point. "It is better to allure the ordinary people with benefits and win together than to rob their money by force.
"With this principle in mind, Cultivation Bonds appeared in the Flying Star Sector several thousand years ago.
"For example, in the ancient Cultivation world, if a Core Formation Stage Cultivator sensed something and realized that the time to enter the Nascent Soul Stage had come, what would he do when he needed resources but was short of money?
"If he did not have the support of his sect or his family, he would have to resort to robbery or exploiting ordinary people, wouldn't he?
"But now is different.
"Right now, the Core Formation Stage Cultivator can release his own 'Cultivation Bond', say, a hundred dollars apiece. He can make a deal with the purchasers, promising that they will receive a dividend of ten dollars annually for certain years, and that if he successfully enters the Nascent Soul Stage, he will return the principal with a bonus of thirty dollars or even more.
"Think about it. If a Core Formation Stage Cultivator really makes a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Stage, his connections, social position, and influence will all increase a lot. The extra payment will not be the slightest problem for them.
"This is the mechanism of the Cultivation Bond.
"It is a win-win for Cultivators and ordinary people.
"By releasing Cultivation Bonds, Cultivators can raise a large sum of funds for their training. If his training yields a satisfactory result, the ordinary people who purchased his Cultivation Bonds will receive huge returns, too."
Li Yao immediately understood it. But he thought of something that did not seem right and asked, "Wait, what if the Cultivator fails to enter the Nascent Soul Stage or even unfortunately becomes mentally deranged and dies during the breakthrough? The investors who bought the Cultivation bonds will have a huge loss, won't they?"
Zhao Hongguang smiled and said, "Don't worry. That could only happen when the Cultivation Bond was just born. After thousands of years of development, the regulations about the Cultivation Bond are quite mature. It is no longer a simple certificate of loans, but a financial product like shares and futures.
"Firstly, if a Cultivator plans to raise money for his training through the Cultivation Bond, they must be assessed by a qualified evaluation company first.
"There are only eleven companies with such qualifications. Their credit can all be dated back to a thousand years ago."
Li Yao glanced at Master Heavenly Eye, who was sitting in front of him.
Master Heavenly Eye was observing him in great interest. His two eyes were like glittering crystal cameras, and he did not hide his staring, which was almost rude, at all.
Li Yao finally realized why the manager of the 'Heavenly Eye Consultancy' had showed up there.
"Secondly," Zhao Hongguang continued, "the Cultivator must be endorsed by one or several eligible sects, groups, or financial institutions. If the Cultivator does not spend the money he raised in training but dedicates himself to personal entertainment or even worse nonsense, the sects, groups, and financial institutions will share liability.
In the secret workshop at the center of Sparkle, there was a giant cylindrical tank that was filled with thick, bright gold liquid. Ripples were spreading out on the surface of the liquid, as if a sleeping ferocious beast was breathing peacefully.
Waving his artificial arms, Mo Xuan quickly operated the light beam.
After a crisp sound, the gate below the tank was opened, and the bright gold liquid was gradually extracted.
Soon, a tall armor in the shape of a human was revealed. Gold dew was shimmering on the plate, reflecting glamorous colors.
Li Yao found it hard to breathe, and his hands were tremoring beyond his control.
The newborn Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit left him with the impression that it was not a cold crystal suit but a living devil!
The crystal suit was still pure black. But it was not the black of the night sky, not the black of an abyss, but more like the black of an expanding blackhole that was absorbing all surrounding light and vision. The less determined people would inevitably have the illusion that the crystal suit was growing and swallowing everything nearby.
The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit in the past was embedded with abundant body materials of Skeleton Dragon and the scraps of ancient magical equipment from forty thousand years ago that it had looted.
Also, Li Yao had brought a lot of trophies from the battles against the apocalypse, including the remains of his 'Apocalyptic Extension', to Mo Xuan.
After half a year's refinement, all the materials had been perfectly combined. The crystal suit seemed naturally-made and showed no hint of being an amalgamation of so many materials whatsoever.
The surface of the black armor did not reflect any light. But when Li Yao closed his eyes and perceived the crystal suit with his spiritual threads, he could vaguely 'see' the flowing gold brilliance that looked like flashing dragon scales behind the blackness, as well as the undissolving color of blood in the deepest part of the gold brilliance.
The helmet of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit was perfectly arced and looked like a waterdrop. Three red crystal cameras were embedded to the upper half of the facial cover in the shape of a downward-pointing triangle. Other than that, there was no redundant paint or decoration. The simplicity of the crystal suit adorned it with an awe-inspiring beauty.
Li Yao stuck his right hand to the tank softly.
The sleeping Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit slightly shivering. Roars of the dragon were echoing from the inside of the crystal suit, as if a sword was about to be unsheathed.
Li Yao felt that the glass tank had become burning iron planks that had melted his fingers. Five hot streams flooded into his heart from his fingertips. His heart was beating faster and faster and was about to burst out of his chest into the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
"Are you satisfied?" Mo Xuan smiled. "To realize the designs that you desired, especially the one regarding the embedded sheath on the back of the crystal suit, we ran so many computations that twenty-three super crystal processors exploded!"
Li Yao gave no response and simply gazed at the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
At that moment, he would not have bothered to move his eyes even if a star was exploding next to him.
…
An hour later, ten thousand meters away from Sparkle, a ragged crystal warship sailed slowly in the universe.
The starship was seriously wrecked during an assault of space pirates and was beyond repair. It was then modified into a target starship by Mo Xuan and his team.
By remote control, they activated the spiritual shield and the defense network of the starship. A hundred beast puppets were placed inside each cabin of the starship, too.
"It has been a long time, old friend!"
A black lightning suddenly flashed in front of Sparkle and blended in with the dark universe in the next second. Weird black waves covered the distance of ten thousand meters in the blink of an eye and appeared in front of the target ship!
Zi! Zi! Zi! Zi!
A colorful, dazzling air defense fire net was interweaved around the target ship.
The streaks of blackness turned into a cluster of raging black mists and passed through the net instantly like a drop of water. Then, it drilled into the thick armor of the target ship like a scorching needle!
Sha! Sha! Sha! Sha!
Inside the target ship, all the beast puppets sensed the arrival of an intruder.
Organized by the telepathic thoughts that were input previously, they crowded toward the cabin that the intruder had barged into.
The intruder did not stop at all. He crouched and lunged out, turning into a streak of blackness again and going on a rampage in the narrow cabins.
Passing by several beast puppets, the intruder waved his hands casually, and several streams of black fog darted out. The beast puppets were immediately frozen as if a spell had been cast upon them.
A moment later, after a 'huala' sound, they collapsed to the ground and broke into the most fundamental components.
BOOM!
The intruder accelerated again. Wreathed in weird materials that looked both like liquid and gas, he blew up several decks and charged at the engine compartment, the center of the target ship.
"Come on out, Black Wing!"
For the sake of heat dissipation, the engine compartment was usually the largest cabin on a starship.
After he reached the place, a black flying sword suddenly appeared in front of the intruder.
The flying sword seemed to be made of an intact black jade. It was transparent, warm, and smooth. Inside the body of the sword that seemed to be filled with gels, black threads, which looked like capillary vessels, were shivering as if they were alive.
This was the latest form of Black Wing after it absorbed countless high-quality crystals!
Black Wing roared and, hovering in midair briefly, darted into the embedded sheath in the center of the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. It was neatly fixed to the sheath without the tiniest gap.
Black Wing seemed to have become the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit's 'spine'. The Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, which had already been daunting enough, spurted out thousands of streams of black gas.
Motivated by Li Yao's surging spiritual energy and manipulated by his spiritual root, the intense black gas was condensed to his back on the two sides of Black Wing. It was continuously compressed and condensed into new forms.
"Ahhh!"
Li Yao unleashed the terrifying strength of the superlative height of the Building Foundation Stage with absolutely no concerns. The black gas gradually formed six wings behind the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit!
BOOM!
The six wings looked like burning black torches. The longest two were more than twenty meters, and the shortest two were almost ten meters. They made the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit even more like an unstoppable devil walking on the earth!
Shua!
Behind the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, a red cloak of light flames hovered and extended to almost a hundred meters away like a dragon soaked in blood!
This is the source of my strength!
Clenching his fists, Li Yao savored the satisfaction when the strength of his every cell was fully unleased and significantly enhanced by the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit!
Although the barrier on Black Wing was not cracked yet, and it could not be used as a weapon directly, Li Yao had redesigned the back of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and combined Black Wing into it.
With the hardness and speed of Black Wing, it would not only greatly increase the general toughness of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit but also allow the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit to surpass its speed limits time and time again!
Fengyu Zhong? The Temple of Immortals? Immortal Cultivators?
Li Yao roared and dashed at the high-pressure crystal reactor like a black spear after flapping the six black wings!
…
Inside Sparkle, the five spectral Cultivators were monitoring Li Yao's field test wholeheartedly.
The hundred light spots on the light beam that represented the beast puppets died down quickly one after another, like an area of candles that had been swept over by a furious wind.
Suddenly, the remaining twenty light spots were gone in the same second!
On the light beam, an orange fireball appeared in the middle of the target ship and tore it in half instantly.
Like metastasizing cancer, the fireball consumed the broken target ship.
On the light beam nearby, a glittering number was jumping continuously, shocking the five spectral Cultivators.
"From the beginning of the test to the time when he blew up a starship, it only took…
"79 seconds!"
Chapter 665: Cultivation Bond |
One day later, in the Cross Wind Union Bank…
After a day of field testing, Li Yao was very satisfied with the performance of the new Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. His next step would be to start crafting his tailor-made version of the Unparalleled Extension according to his combat style and the features of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit.
However, even without the Unparalleled Extension, Li Yao was confident that he could fight against enemies in the Nascent Soul Stage with the help of Black Wing.
After taking back the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, Li Yao had no other business in the Cross Wind Space Zone apart than one thing—borrow money!
For Cultivators at his level, the resources they consumed every day were beyond the wildest imagination of ordinary people.
Since the Glorious Sunlight Group was still developing, the capital available to the company was rather tight. Besides, he could not pay for his own training with the money of the group directly even though he was the Chairman of the Board, considering that there were other shareholders.
To be listed was definitely the best approach to raise funds.
With the current scale and future prospects of the Glorious Sunlight Group, it was more than easy for the company to be listed.
However, Li Yao was not planning to do that.
Once it was listed, there would be even more shareholders in the company, and he was not sure that he could remain as the actual owner of the company anymore.
Besides, after the company was listed, the financial report and the business status of the company would have to be published regularly, not to mention the audits and the supervision.
Sparkle was Li Yao's biggest trump card and had consumed a lot of resources of the Glorious Sunlight Group. The big hole in the balance sheet would be discovered immediately if professional accountants were to audit it.
Li Yao did not intend to expose Sparkle to the world, at least for now.
He did not want his company to be listed, but he was in dire need of a large sum of money for his own training. While Li Yao was experiencing a huge headache, the Cross Wind Union Bank, which had cooperated with him before, presented a rather tempting proposal.
"Manager Zhao, it's only been a short time since I came to space. Although I've heard about Cultivation Bonds before, I have never gotten to know their details. Please to enlighten me," Li Yao said in a smile.
There were only four people in the small meeting room: Wu Zhengyang on his side, a red-faced obese middle-aged man across the desk, and a plain-dressing, slender old man who seemed rather haughty and gloomy.
The fat middle-aged man was named Zhao Hongguang. He was the vice manager of the Cross Wind Union Bank in charge of the credit loans.
Although he looked rather unattractive, he was actually an admin-type Cultivator in the Core Formation Stage. Wu Zhengyang had been in touch with him since the Glorious Sunlight Group was first established and spoke very highly of him.
The cold old man was 'Master Heavenly Eye' according to Zhao Hongguang. He was the leader of the Heavenly Eye Sect as well as the president of Heavenly Eye Consultancy, a company.
But Li Yao had no idea what the Heavenly Eye Consultancy was actually about.
"The full name of the Cultivation Bond is 'Cooperative Bond for Cultivators'. It's actually very simple. You will understand what it is as soon as I explain to you." Zhao Hongguang smiled. "Chairman Sand, you may consider it a tool to get you listed."
Li Yao frowned and said, "The Glorious Sunlight Group does not intend to be listed yet."
Zhao Hongguang's face remained unchanged. He replied casually, "I'm afraid you misunderstood me, Chairman Sand. I was not talking about the Glorious Sunlight Group, but you, yourself, Sand Scorpion, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau. You will be listed."
"Huh?" Li Yao raised an eyebrow and looked at the manager with suspicion.
Zhao Hongguang had never met Li Yao before and did not know the background of the guest from Iron Plateau. Therefore, he decided to explain it in the most straightforward way. "The most important factors about Cultivation are 'wealth', 'residence', 'arts', and 'companions'. The debate as to the order of the latter three remains unabated to this day, but 'wealth' has been acknowledged by everyone as the top priority all.
"Nothing can be done without money. It has been so since the ancient Cultivation world forty thousand years ago. Cultivators consume hundreds of times more resources than ordinary people do every day, and when they are preparing for a major breakthrough, say, from the Refinement Stage to the Building Foundation Stage or from the Building Foundation Stage to the Core Formation Stage, they have to prepare a great sum of money and tremendous resources for themselves.
"Then, here comes the question. Marvelous as Cultivators may be, they cannot turn stones into gold. Besides, most of them are training hard every day. How do they have the time to make money?
"Therefore, ancient Cultivators, righteous and evil alike, had to reign over ordinary people. They would levy taxes, con the underprivileged, or even rob them directly, exploiting ordinary people for money.
"The righteous Cultivators managed to maintain basic morals. They pretended to be 'deities' or 'grand masters' by fooling the ordinary people with exotic appearances and unbelievable techniques so that the ordinary people would be willing to offer their money promptly.
"It is needless to mention the evil Cultivators. They resorted to all kinds of inhuman methods in order to retrieve resources.
"When a righteous Cultivator ran into an evil one, or two righteous Cultivators met each other, as long as there were no witnesses, it was nothing usual for one of them to slay the other and loot the victim's treasures.
"That was the reason for the chaos and lawlessness in the ancient Cultivation world forty thousand years ago.
"But after forty thousand years, we are all civilized people today. Naturally, we cannot exploit ordinary people and gather resources in such crude and rough ways.
"Besides, anyone who knows the first thing about economics will realize that both the feudal system that the righteous Cultivators employed and the slavery system that the evil Cultivators counted on have a very low efficiency in resource collection."
Zhao Hongguang paused for a moment. He seemed to have sensed the impatience in Li Yao's eyes and immediately got to the point. "It is better to allure the ordinary people with benefits and win together than to rob their money by force.
"With this principle in mind, Cultivation Bonds appeared in the Flying Star Sector several thousand years ago.
"For example, in the ancient Cultivation world, if a Core Formation Stage Cultivator sensed something and realized that the time to enter the Nascent Soul Stage had come, what would he do when he needed resources but was short of money?
"If he did not have the support of his sect or his family, he would have to resort to robbery or exploiting ordinary people, wouldn't he?
"But now is different.
"Right now, the Core Formation Stage Cultivator can release his own 'Cultivation Bond', say, a hundred dollars apiece. He can make a deal with the purchasers, promising that they will receive a dividend of ten dollars annually for certain years, and that if he successfully enters the Nascent Soul Stage, he will return the principal with a bonus of thirty dollars or even more.
"Think about it. If a Core Formation Stage Cultivator really makes a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Stage, his connections, social position, and influence will all increase a lot. The extra payment will not be the slightest problem for them.
"This is the mechanism of the Cultivation Bond.
"It is a win-win for Cultivators and ordinary people.
"By releasing Cultivation Bonds, Cultivators can raise a large sum of funds for their training. If his training yields a satisfactory result, the ordinary people who purchased his Cultivation Bonds will receive huge returns, too."
Li Yao immediately understood it. But he thought of something that did not seem right and asked, "Wait, what if the Cultivator fails to enter the Nascent Soul Stage or even unfortunately becomes mentally deranged and dies during the breakthrough? The investors who bought the Cultivation bonds will have a huge loss, won't they?"
Zhao Hongguang smiled and said, "Don't worry. That could only happen when the Cultivation Bond was just born. After thousands of years of development, the regulations about the Cultivation Bond are quite mature. It is no longer a simple certificate of loans, but a financial product like shares and futures.
"Firstly, if a Cultivator plans to raise money for his training through the Cultivation Bond, they must be assessed by a qualified evaluation company first.
"There are only eleven companies with such qualifications. Their credit can all be dated back to a thousand years ago."
Li Yao glanced at Master Heavenly Eye, who was sitting in front of him.
Master Heavenly Eye was observing him in great interest. His two eyes were like glittering crystal cameras, and he did not hide his staring, which was almost rude, at all.
Li Yao finally realized why the manager of the 'Heavenly Eye Consultancy' had showed up there.
"Secondly," Zhao Hongguang continued, "the Cultivator must be endorsed by one or several eligible sects, groups, or financial institutions. If the Cultivator does not spend the money he raised in training but dedicates himself to personal entertainment or even worse nonsense, the sects, groups, and financial institutions will share liability.
