Tou Pavilion, 5th Floor
Unlike their previous visit, when they were served by a mere attendant who hadn't even reached the foundation level of cultivation, this time Essim and Aisha were attended by an elder of the Nascent Soul stage. The elder before them, Su Gohu, was the branch head of the Tou Pavilion in Heavenly News City.
At the moment, both Essim and Aisha were poring over hundreds of skill books neatly displayed before them. Each book contained skills that could be used to fill the sub-skill slots they had unlocked after reaching Tier-2. Now that they had ascended, the system provided more detailed information about each skill book.
"Brother, how about this one?" Aisha asked, handing Essim a thin, brown book she had picked up.
(Fatal Shot) – Attack the enemy's weak point, dealing additional damage.
Level: 1 (0/10,000)
Base Damage: 1,200
Rarity: Rare
Cooldown: 1 minute
Requirement: Level 20, Archer
Essim glanced at the book. "Yes, that's good for sneak attacks," he agreed, nodding. "But remember, don't focus solely on attack skills. You'll need speed and defense too."
Aisha smiled. "Got it, brother."
"Mr. Su," Aisha addressed the elder politely, "how much for this skill book?"
Su Gohu glanced at the book and replied, "A rare-level book costs 1,000,000 energy crystals, elite-level books are 250,000 crystals, and common-level ones are 50,000 energy crystals."
Aisha nodded thoughtfully and proceeded to learn the skill (Fatal Shot).
[Learning skill (Fatal Shot). Are you sure?]
"Yes."
As she confirmed, the book disappeared into thin air, its knowledge absorbed directly into her. The skill (Fatal Shot) now appeared in Aisha's status panel, ready for use.
"Amazing… but brother, how do we level up these skills?" Aisha asked, curious about how skill progression worked.
Essim was equally puzzled by her question, unsure how to answer.
The branch head, noticing their confusion, offered an explanation. "Mr. Essim, Princess Aisha… to level up skills, you'll need insight stones."
Su Gohu then pulled out a small, cube-shaped black stone.
[Insight Stone] – Contains universal insights and can be absorbed.
Insight Points: 100
Insight Level: Low
Type: Universal
The elder went on to explain the details. Insight stones could be obtained by killing certain monsters or beings with power cores. Most of these stones were "untradeable," meaning they could only be used by the person who earned them. However, rare universal-type insight stones could be used by anyone. Their rarity made them highly valuable, and thus, very expensive.
"The price of a low-level universal insight stone is 10 high-level energy crystals," Su Gohu continued.
"High-level energy crystals?" Essim asked, slightly confused.
"Yes, Mr. Essim," the branch head explained. "One low-level energy crystal is equivalent to 1,000 medium-level energy crystals, and one medium crystal equals 1,000 high-level crystals. This is the general conversion, but in practice, the exchange rate may vary slightly based on quality and purity."
The elder further clarified that although the exchange was usually done in a 1:1,000 ratio by quantity, it didn't account for the inherent quality differences between the various energy crystal tiers.
"Alright… can I exchange for high-level energy crystals?" Essim asked.
"Certainly, Mr. Essim," Su Gohu responded, his tone respectful. "As a platinum-level customer, you can exchange up to 100,000 high-level crystals."
"Haha, no need for that much," Essim laughed. "I'll just take 10 high-level crystals and 100 medium-level crystals for now."
Essim then casually pulled out a bag containing 11 million energy crystals. "Keep the rest as a tip," he added, deliberately overpaying by 400,000 pure crystals—out of a mix of pride and indulgence.
Su Gohu blinked in surprise. He quickly collected himself, but the unexpected generosity left him momentarily speechless. Though he was a Nascent Soul-level cultivator and a million crystals wasn't a life-changing amount for him, such a substantial tip was rare.
"Thank you, Mr. Essim," the elder finally said with a deep bow.
For Essim, this exchange was trivial. Thanks to his Infinity Duplicate Talent, as long as he had one high-level energy crystal, he could duplicate it 10,000 times once the cooldown ended. With just a few duplications over ten days, he could easily amass a million high-level crystals, far exceeding the exchange limit imposed by the Tou Pavilion.
Essim continued to browse through skill books, looking for ones suited to his swordsman class. Two rare-level books caught his attention:
(Double Slash) – Perform two quick slashes, dealing double damage if both hit the same target.
Level: 1 (0/10,000)
Base Damage: 2,700
Rarity: Rare
Cooldown: 2.5 minutes
Requirement: Level 20, Swordsman
(Sword Aura) – Activates a sword aura for 1 minute, increasing damage and attack speed by 20%.
Level: 1 (0/10,000)
Base Damage: 1,000
Rarity: Rare
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Requirement: Level 20, Swordsman
Essim didn't limit himself to just swordsman-related skills. He purchased as many rare-level books as he could, confident that they would help not only him and Aisha, but also the people under his protection back on the island. These skills would allow even those with low-level core crystals to advance significantly.
Among the other rare skills he acquired were:
(Light Barrier) – Forms a transparent barrier for 5 seconds, reducing incoming damage by 10%.
Level: 1 (0/10,000)
Base Defense: 5,400
Rarity: Rare
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Requirement: Level 20, Universal
(Fast Jump) – Perform a quick jump within a 100-meter radius of the user, gaining high speed and agility.
Level: 1 (0/10,000)
Base Speed: 1,500
Rarity: Rare
Cooldown: 1 minute
Requirement: Level 20, Universal
After about 20 minutes, they had selected 10 sub-skills each, in addition to purchasing dozens of other books to duplicate later. Su Gohu handed them a small bag containing the books, while Essim handed over a bag containing 128 million energy crystals in payment.
"Thank you, Mr. Essim. Please don't hesitate to return if you need anything," Su Gohu said warmly, a genuine smile on his face.
"Of course, Mr. Su. We'll be back," Essim replied with a polite nod.
With that, Essim and Aisha left the Tou Pavilion, ready to take on the patrol mission they had accepted earlier.