Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 3204 - Myriadpath Valley's Tycoon

That was essentially his current level. Any further opponents would still be twelfth-level cosmic cartographers, but they would mostly be from the Three Exalted Houses and have combat abilities above their level. They could likely contend with rex mundi.

Even if Tianming could fight his way up, it would be a desperate struggle.

"The increase in merit and springwater won't be significant if I don’t manage to enter the top twenty. When I break through again, I should be able to get into the top twenty, placing just below those eighteen genius foundationeers!"

The eighteen individuals who reached Foundation before the age of five hundred were the most monstrous in the entire astralscape. Tianming was less than a fifth of their age but was already threatening to catch up to then. At least for now, it was clear who had the universe's greatest talent!

However, Myriadpath Valley still had its biases. Only when Tianming truly topped the Fortuna Ranking would these peak cosmic cultivators genuinely believe in his invincible talent.

Ranking forty-fifth this time already made him extremely satisfied. When he stopped challenging and came down from the Fortuna Arena, Suishen Yao and her brother were calculating his rewards for his ranking on the Fortuna Ranking.

"Forty-fifth place, the normal annual merit reward is 3000?" Suishen Yao asked, her pink eyes wide open.

"Yes! With the tenfold reward, that’s 30,000 merit points annually." Suishen Zhao almost choked as he spoke.

For context, newly ranked disciples on the Fortuna Ranking normally received a hundred merit per year. 30,000 merit points equated to three hundred years of earnings; most people couldn't even earn that many merit points by the age of five hundred!

Starting now, the techniques, battle arts, manna, and artifacts Tianming could exchange for were innumerable.

"I'm ranked third on the Fortuna Ranking and only earn 50,000 a year! If he reaches my rank, wouldn't he earn 500,000 every year?" Suishen Yao was stunned.

"Yes.... It’s ridiculous. The first on the Fortuna Ranking receives 100,000 annually, the highest in Myriadpath Valley. If he could earn 500,000, it’d be incredible...." Suishen Zhao was in a daze.

"Did the person who set the tenfold reward rule ever consider someone under a hundred years old reaching the top three on the Fortuna Ranking?" Suishen Yao asked.

Eminent Jiguang, standing nearby, laughed, "Definitely not."

Such a person was indeed deemed impossible.

"I'm only ranked forty-fifth. Reaching the top three is still challenging...." Tianming awkwardly scratched his head as he heard their conversation.

"What challenge? You're under a hundred years old, with over four hundred years to go. It’s when, not if!" Suishen Yao was excited at the thought of a black ring disciple reaching the highest position on the Fortuna Ranking. She loved seeing rules broken—especially by her disciple, who made her immensely proud.

"Sis, are you dumb? The tenfold reward is only for those under a hundred. If Tianming doesn't advance within twenty years, the tenfold reward will be gone. However, he still has a hundred years of fivefold rewards, which is impressive. The top rank on the Fortuna Ranking receives 100,000 annually, and with a fivefold reward, that's 500,000. If he receives it for a hundred years, that's 50,000,000 merit points.... My goodness, does Myriadpath Valley even have that many?" Suishen Zhao was bewildered.

"Merit points are just numbers, of course there are enough. But if he receives so many, Tianming will definitely become Myriadpath Valley's tycoon, able to exchange for anything he wants. His private stash would surpass even yours," Eminent Jiguang gently laughed.

Tianming was somewhat overwhelmed. Tenfold reward! What a delight.

Now, 30,000 a year is already near the top ten’s rewards! But to truly transform, I need to break into the top ten! Only then will I reach hundreds of thousands of merit points annually! He estimated that, to enter the top ten, he would need to increase his cosmic charts by two and become an eighth-level cosmic cartographer.

There was hope!

Regardless, it's much better than the precarious time when I first arrived at Myriadpath Valley, he thought. In Myriadpath Valley, merit could be exchanged for anything except Myriadpath Sourcespring springwater.

Artifacts, manna, pills, battle arts, techniques, and other cultivation resources would greatly benefit my relatives, friends, and everyone else in the Infinitum Mundus. Even if I don’t use them, they can! Thinking of them, he was reminded of red dust.

"Right, the Myriadpath Sourcespring!" Tianming quickly asked Suishen Zhao, "How much springwater do I receive every year now?"

Suishen Zhao, filled with envy, sighed and said, "I remember the hundredth rank on the Fortuna Ranking receives one bowl annually. At forty-fifth, it should be three bowls annually. With the tenfold reward, you’ll get thirty bowls!"

Bowls? The unit of measurement felt odd to Tianming. "How many bowls make one keg?" he asked.

"A thousand," Suishen Zhao replied.

"That’s quite a large bowl!" Thirty bowls annually? It would require thirty-three years to get one keg.

Yumo Yuanni, who hadn't even entered the top hundred, could directly use a full keg of springwater for cultivation, even if it was a one-time occurrence. It showed that the Three Exalted Houses could use some special provisions beyond the rules.

Suishen Zhao also wasn’t in the top hundred, but he had definitely used a considerable volume of springwater!

The rewards from the Fortuna Ranking were just one source for them, but for Tianming and other disciples, they were everything.

"It's time to celebrate. I'm third and only receive fifty bowls a year." Suishen Yao couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Springwater is more critical than merit. It's truly scarce, and its distribution is extremely controlled. Elders need springwater for cultivation as well! Your tenfold reward applying to springwater is incredible. Let me calculate...." Suishen Yao's eyes gleamed as she stared at Tianming. "If you reach first on the Fortuna Ranking within twenty years, you'll get a keg of springwater every year! Even if you reach first after you hit a hundred, that's still five hundred bowls!"

Hearing that, Suishen Yao couldn't help but exclaim. The Prehistoric Path was a one-time reward with a tenfold increase. However, Tianming's youth meant that he would have many years to accumulate ranking rewards, leading to astronomical figures.

One keg a year? That should be enough to save them from red dust, right? Tianming thought. In any case, it would be a good start!

To them, a year felt as short as a few days did before. Ten years would pass in the blink of an eye, and he would have ten kegs.

Even Yumo Yuanni had acted like he’d received a lot of springwater when he had a single keg of it. It showed just how extraordinary Tianming's tenfold reward was.

Thus, being ranked forty-fifth was good for now!