As the war concluded, the people of the Dragon Palace returned to the city, dragging their weary bodies, but their eyes were filled with excitement and exhilaration.
Although a certain proportion of their gains would be deposited into Zhou Ningdong's Dragon Palace account by the system, this time's harvest was the most bountiful they had experienced in a long time. In terms of wealth alone, the earnings of each person in the Dragon Palace's four great legions today could rival the total annual fiscal revenue of all countries worldwide.
One Holy Stone was equivalent to ten thousand Spirit Stones or Gold Coins, which was comparable to a hundred million Gold Coins. The harvest from killing a single soldier was no less than three such stones. This meant that even the world's richest individuals would be humbled by the acquisition of just one, despite their net worth being in the trillions. They might possess immense wealth, but if asked to produce a few hundred billion, they would surely suffer a severe blow.
Across the Nine Divine Cities, Holy Stones and Immortal Stones held equal value, with only Divine Stones being the most precious, one of which was worth ten of any other eight Holy Stones.
This time, in addition to the over a million various Holy Stones Ye Yun gained from personally killing enemies, he would also receive half of the profits from Fengle City and the repayment of his prior investment. This meant that Ye Yun's gains from this battle would be more than double that of Mu Ziming!
"Heh heh, boss, how was I today? Wasn't I awesome?" Mu Ziming, leaving the remaining enemy forces for them to handle, scurried back to the city wall. Seeing Ye Yun still lazily swaying on his reclining chair, he found a chair and sat beside him.
"Hmm, passable. You earned so much money, you have to treat us." Ye Yun glanced at him, then looked up at the sparse stars scattered across the night sky.
"Boss, what are you looking at?" Seeing Ye Yun's lack of enthusiasm, Mu Ziming asked in confusion. They had killed so many enemies; it was a glorious victory. There was no reason for their boss to be unhappy.
"Woody, do you think the stars in this game are like those in the real world, actually planets, or perhaps maps?" Ye Yun pointed to the few stars in the night sky and asked calmly.
"Huh, you mention it, and it does make you wonder. Why would there be stars in this game?" Mu Ziming looked up at the night sky after hearing Ye Yun's words. He could vaguely see a few stars, but the light was dim, and one wouldn't notice them without careful observation.
"And, they even seem to resemble the legendary Big Dipper, the seven stars in a line? Boss, you're right, when you look at it this way, this game seems no different from reality. Look, when you get injured in combat, you feel pain, and when you die, your consciousness seems to plunge into endless darkness."
"Seven stars in a line? Pain?" Ye Yun's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Mu Ziming's words. A strange feeling suddenly arose within him, yet he couldn't quite grasp it.
"Uh, boss, could you give me a few辟谷丹 (Bi Gu Dan - pills for abstaining from grain)?" Mu Ziming, with a bashful face, sheepishly asked Ye Yun.
After the last time, Ye Yun had given this fellow quite a lot of Bi Gu Dan. He hadn't expected them to be gone so quickly.
"What's your talent level now? And what's your strength in the real world?"
Since Ye Yun's Bitter Sea Dragon Palace was established, the Dragon Palace on Blue Star had completely handed over management to Zhou Ningdong. Therefore, he wasn't as deeply aware of the specific situations of each team member as he used to be.
"My talent is max4. As for my cultivation realm, I'm currently at the peak of the Great Sage realm. I feel like after this stat increase, I should break through to the Main God realm."
"Should? Woody, accumulate steadily. Your current combat power is more than enough to handle various battles. I suggest you focus on increasing your talent first. Otherwise, the heavenly tribulation for your breakthrough could lead you to eternal damnation."
Looking at Mu Ziming, Ye Yun sat up from his reclining chair. Mu Ziming's current talent level was severely holding back his progress in real-world strength. Setting aside the fact that advancing realms required more attribute points, the heavenly tribulation alone could finish him off.
"Talent is the foundation of a cultivator. Without talent, trying to forcibly overcome a heavenly tribulation you cannot withstand will only damage your foundation. By then, it will be too late to regret."
Previously, Ye Yun only considered talent to be a hidden attack multiplier. However, having reached such heights in this life, Ye Yun now clearly understood the importance of talent for breakthroughs in real-world strength. It was no wonder that powerful figures like Yao Die accumulated so much wealth, even if their attribute points were lower than others, they prioritized increasing their talent.
Otherwise, with their accumulated wealth, their attribute points would not be significantly lower than Ye Yun's. The primary reason was that talent was incredibly expensive. Thinking about it, reaching max1 Divine-grade talent alone required over ten thousand trillion Gold Coins. How many players could afford that? Even someone as powerful as Yao Die, who had colonized several worlds over several years, was still at max9.
"I understand. I'll save them for now and upgrade my talent when I've accumulated enough." Mu Ziming also understood that the disparity between his and their talent and strength was now significant. He had relied on Ye Yun's intervention during his last tribulation; otherwise, he might not have survived.
"Yes, it's good that you understand the implications. Your level is also about to reach level 60. After this matter is resolved, go play in the Divine Realm with Old Wang and the others. With your strength there, you'll be able to increase your talent quickly. Alright, I'll leave this to you. Once things are settled here, arrange for the teleportation array to return to Blue Star."
"Return to Blue Star?"
"Yes, the fusion of the game's map with the Ghost Clan's territory has been completed for a long time. It won't be long before the stellar regions in the real world also merge." Ye Yun said calmly.
"Okay, I'll arrange it immediately."
No one knew what changes the fusion of the real world would bring, but Mu Ziming understood that once the real world was involved, the pressure would undoubtedly far exceed that of the game. After all, in the real world, humanity had not yet risen.
"A storm is brewing. I wonder how many humans will die on Blue Star this time." Ye Yun continued to lie on the reclining chair, his eyes closed. His consciousness, however, had already withdrawn from the game, and he then flashed back to Blue Star.