Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 94 Resource Allocation through Points Exchange

After exchanging the items, Lin Chen turned and waved to Chu Fan: "Come and see, are these the ones?"

Chu Fan walked over and looked down at the order details on the screen. His finger paused on the material description of the copper coin, then looked at the specifications of the array flag, and finally glanced at the table of contents of the tattered scroll. He pushed up his glasses, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, barely noticeable, but those who knew him well knew that he was smiling.

"That's enough," Chu Fan said. "This set of materials can be used to set up a level-one trapping formation. Combined with this incomplete scroll, even if we encounter an opponent at the Transformation Realm in the secret realm, we can hold our own for a while."

Lin Chen confirmed, and 2400 points were deducted. He then went to the pill section and picked out a high-quality alchemy furnace for Su Ling'er. The alchemy furnace wasn't a physical item, but a voucher, which could be redeemed at the alchemy department's equipment warehouse. The furnace cost 1200 points. He flipped through a few more pages and found the seeds of several rare herbs—Dragon Saliva Grass, Ice Heart Lotus, and Purple Ganoderma—each seed wasn't expensive, ranging from tens to a hundred points, totaling a little over 300 points.

"Ling'er's." Lin Chen called Su Ling'er over and showed her the order on the screen.

Su Ling'er swallowed the candy, leaned closer to the screen, and her eyes lit up. She reached out to tap the screen, but pulled her finger back halfway, turning to look at Lin Chen: "I've been eyeing this alchemy furnace for a long time. It costs 1200 yuan, too expensive."

"I ordered it," Lin Chen said.

"Really ordered?"

"I ordered it."

Su Ling'er jumped up and down, her ponytail swinging so hard it almost hit Chu Fan's face. Chu Fan stepped aside and wrote a few words on his notebook without any expression.

With a little over a thousand points remaining, Lin Chen entered the weapon section and found the amplification rune category. Runes came in many varieties—engraved on blades, swords, and gauntlets—each with varying prices. He flipped through a few pages and found an amplification rune suitable for a battle blade, its attributes being sharpness and armor penetration, significantly enhancing Leng Feng's swordsmanship. The rune was engraved on a thin jade piece; it was activated with true qi and integrated into the blade upon application, requiring no reforging.

Price: 800 points.

Lin Chen clicked "Redeem".

At this point, all 10,000 points were spent. The balance was reduced to zero, completely empty, not a single point remained.

Su Ling'er held the alchemy furnace exchange coupon like a precious treasure. She examined it several times, folded it neatly, stuffed it into the inner pocket of her vest, patted it to make sure it wouldn't fall out, and then felt relieved.

"That's wonderful!" Her voice was filled with undisguised excitement. "With these materials, I can refine higher-grade pills, whether for healing or exorcising evil spirits. That'll be enough for the secret realm. I won't be afraid of any poisons or evil energies I encounter."

Chu Fan carefully packed the array materials and fragments into his backpack, wrapping each item in cloth before stuffing it inside. He zipped up the backpack, stood up, dusted off his trousers, and said to Lin Chen, "Thank you."

Leng Feng accepted the amplification rune without saying thank you. He held the rune in his palm, rubbing the surface of the jade piece with his thumb to feel the patterns inside, then carefully placed it in the inner pocket of his camouflage uniform and zipped it up. After doing this, he nodded to Lin Chen. The nod was heavy, heavier than usual.

Su Muyue took a cloth bag out of her backpack. The bag was blue, faded slightly from washing, and the drawstring was tied tightly. She untied the drawstring and poured out a stack of talisman papers. The talisman papers were neatly folded, each one the same size, with the edges aligned perfectly. She counted them, divided them into five groups, and handed one to each person.

"Exorcism Talismans, ten for each person. They can resist the erosion of evil power. When encountering evil beings or trapped by evil formations, you can stick them on your body or the ground to use them." She then took out another stack of talismans, a darker color than the Exorcism Talismans, with different patterns drawn on the surface. "Teleportation Talismans, also ten for each person. In an emergency, crush them to randomly teleport to a safe location within a hundred meters. Accuracy cannot be guaranteed, but it can save your life."

Su Ling'er took the talisman and examined it from all angles. She leaned closer to smell it; there was a faint scent of ink mixed with the smell of hand cream on Su Muyue's hands.

"Sister Muyue, did you draw all of these yourself?" Su Ling'er asked.

"Yes." Su Muyue nodded, "It took three days to draw."

Su Ling'er looked again at the dense patterns on the talisman paper. Every line was drawn extremely finely and evenly, without any broken strokes or excess ink spots. She herself was an alchemist, and drawing talismans had something in common with alchemy—both required excellent patience and control. Drawing fifty talismans in three days, not counting those that might be ruined, was no easy task.

She carefully put away the talisman, folded it twice, and stuffed it into a compartment in the medicine box.

Lin Chen separated the talismans, keeping the exorcism talisman close to his chest and the teleportation talisman in his waist pouch, within easy reach. He looked at the four people, his smile fading, and his tone became serious.

"The new student secret realm won't be peaceful. Not to mention the ferocious beasts and rivals from other schools, the evil race and Qin Hao's people will also be active there. Once inside, you absolutely cannot split up; stay together."

He looked at Su Muyue: "You are in charge of setting up the defense formation and breaking the restrictions in the secret realm."

Su Muyue nodded.

"Chu Fan, you will assist Mu Yue in setting up the formation, constantly detecting the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations, and providing early warnings of any ambushes."

Chu Fan adjusted his glasses: "Understood."

"Ling'er, we're counting on you for the medicine and the wounded. You have plenty of stuff in your bag, so check the inventory regularly and let me know in advance if you need anything."

Su Ling'er patted the pocket of her vest: "Don't worry, I check the medicine box every night."

"Leng Feng, you're in charge of holding the line, it's your job to charge into battle. But your arm injury hasn't fully healed yet, don't fight recklessly. If you can't hold on, retreat, I'll cover for you."

Leng Feng didn't speak, but he tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife in his left hand to indicate that he had heard.

"I'll lead the attack and deal with the strongest enemies. If anyone encounters a problem they can't handle, just call me. Don't hold back."

All four of them were looking at him.

Lin Chen extended his right hand, palm down. Chu Fan was the first to place his hand on it, followed by Su Ling'er, who had to jump to reach it. Leng Feng placed his left hand on top, his large hand almost covering everyone else's. Su Muyue was the last, gently placing her hand on the back of Leng Feng's hand.

"We obtained the Star Essence Liquid, the Secret Realm Inheritance, and everyone returned safely," Lin Chen said.

"good!"

The four people responded in unison. The voices weren't loud, but in the semi-enclosed cubicle of the exchange area, the frosted glass vibrated and hummed.

The redemption screen was still lit, and at the bottom of the category bar in the corner was a line of very small, grayish-white text that was easy to miss if you weren't looking closely. Lin Chen glanced at it unintentionally, and his gaze stopped.

Star Essence Liquid – an exclusive item from the core area of ​​the Newborn Secret Realm, only one available, the highest reward in the Secret Realm.

The words were small and placed in a corner, inconspicuous. But Lin Chen stared at them for several seconds, as if trying to etch them into his eyes.

He turned off the screen and turned to walk out.

Outside the mission hall, it was completely dark. The streetlights on campus were on, their orange glow forming a continuous stream, like a luminous river, stretching from the teaching buildings all the way to the dormitory area. In the distance, the windows of the training rooms were lit, one by one, like a grid, under each light someone cultivating, improving themselves.

The five people walked out of the mission hall and parted ways at the entrance. Su Ling'er returned to the alchemy department dormitory, Chu Fan headed towards the formation department, and Leng Feng went to the military training camp. Lin Chen and Su Muyue walked together and stopped at the fork in the road in front of the core teaching area.

Su Muyue lives in the west, and Lin Chen lives in the east. The two will part ways here.

Under the streetlights, Su Muyue's face was softened by the light, her daytime pallor fading and replaced with a warmer hue. She clutched the cloth bag containing the medicinal herbs to her chest, looked at Lin Chen, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then remained silent.

Lin Chen reached out and tucked a strand of hair that had blown into her face by the wind behind her ear. The movement was so natural, as if he had done it many times before.

"Get some rest," Lin Chen said. "Start using the medicinal herbs tonight, don't delay."

"Um."

"Stop staying up all night drawing talismans, take good care of yourself these next few days. You'll have plenty to do once you enter the secret realm."

"Um."

"Go inside, I'll watch you leave."

Su Muyue stood there for a few more seconds, then turned and walked away. After taking a few steps, she looked back again. Lin Chen was still standing under the streetlight, his hands in his pockets, his shadow stretched long by the light, all the way to the flower bed across the street.

Su Muyue turned around and continued walking forward. After walking a dozen steps, she didn't look back.

Lin Chen stood under the streetlight, watching her white figure grow smaller and smaller until it turned a corner and disappeared into the shadows of the dormitory building. He stood there for a moment, then turned and walked back towards himself.

The lights in the cultivation room were still on. The moment the door was pushed open, a rich spiritual energy rushed in, and the humming sound of the spirit-gathering array emanating from the walls was deep and steady.

Lin Chen took off his coat and sat cross-legged on the futon. The Star Martial Core in his dantian slowly circulated, and silver star power flowed along his meridians like a quiet river.

He has to get up early to cultivate tomorrow. The secret realm won't wait for anyone, nor will the enemies. All he can do is make himself stronger before he goes in.

Even if it's just a little bit stronger, that's enough.