The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1068: Divine Water, Elder Zephyros

Outer Palace, Grand Exchange Hall

Unlike many places accessible to the Outer Palace Disciples in the Fish-men Domain, the Grand Exchange Hall was not situated in its vast sea but in the void of space above, among the infinite starlight.

That said, it was still reachable from the vast sea.

From a distance, the Grand Exchange Hall looked like a gargantuan group of blue, crystal-like tube corals, spilling huge amounts of seawater from its openings, connecting the vast sea of the Fish-men Domain like an inexhaustible water fountain.

However, this was only the perspective from the bottom of the vast sea.

If one were to observe the Grand Exchange Hall from beyond the vast sea, one would notice its water channels connecting to more distant Grand Exchange Halls of other Star Ocean Domains in the Outer Palace like a nervous system.

When Vaan arrived via one of the water channels connected to the Fish-men Domain, he quickly found out the Grand Exchange Hall was divided into branches.

Besides the main branch, which took up 70% of the space and contained local resources of the Fish-men Domain, the other smaller branches brought non-local resources from the other Star Ocean Domains.

Despite such a vast network of resources, it was a bit surprising to learn that the Grand Exchange Hall lacked some resources that smaller trade fairs possessed.

However, Vaan didn't find it strange upon further thought.

'It seems some disciples like to buy out some rarer resources from the Grand Exchange Hall and hoard them to increase their value and sell them at higher prices at trade fairs…' Vaan thought.

Although he couldn't agree with such unhealthy practices, it was certainly one way to earn Contribution Points from other disciples.

'I'm afraid only beings with significant backgrounds and status are able to pull this off… The Noble Beings, perhaps?' Vaan speculated.

Noble Beings had already received the special privileges of the Myriad Sea God Palace and didn't necessarily lack cultivation resources.

However, if they formed private factions, they would certainly need more cultivation resources to support their subordinates.

'The existing factions could also be in on it…' Vaan thought further before he stopped dwelling on the subject.

It wasn't his problem until it became his problem.

Divine Water was the most demanded cultivation resource, but it was also divided into different grades: Low, Middle, High, Peak, and Supreme.

Low-grade Divine Water was the lowest quality and was always available for exchange. On the other hand, High-grade Divine Water and above were much rarer and always out of stock. R̃αɴỖBÊŠ

As a beginner in the Divine Way, Vaan was fine with Low and Middle-grade Divine Water for the time being.

After all, High-grade Divine Water and above were likely too potent for him to absorb anyway. A small vial of High-grade Divine Water possessed the same amount of pure mana as an Early-stage Divine Lord.

As such, only Divine Lords could use High-level Divine Water.

However, even Divine Lords wouldn't dare to absorb a small vial of High-grade Divine Water all at once. The potency of the High-grade Divine Water would destroy them.

"Is it your first time here, Young Noble?"

A Blue Whale Fish-man Elder suddenly approached Vaan as he was browsing the hexagonal-patterned walls inside the Grand Exchange Hall.

Although the Blue Whale Fish-man Elder didn't appear much bigger than Vaan and wore a gentle expression, he also possessed an enormous presence with hidden power and authority.

Undoubtedly, he was very strong.

Ding!

<The target's information has been extracted and compiled>

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Name: Zephyros Aetherion

Age: 3 million Gaian Years

Cultivation Level: Half-step Divine King

Status: Outer Palace Elder, Grand Exchange Hall Overseer

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"It is. May I ask how I should address you, Senior?" Vaan asked despite learning about the person's name and status.

The person's intention for approaching him was unclear.

"Ah, I apologize for forgetting to introduce myself. You can call me Elder Zephyros, Young Noble. I am the Outer Palace Elder in charge of this Grand Exchange Hall branch."

"You honor me with your presence, Elder Zephyros. The Grand Exchange Hall has a self-service system and doesn't require you to receive disciples personally. Is there something you need from me?"

"While it is true that I don't need to attend to every disciple, a being of noble birth such as yourself certainly deserves to receive my attention, Young Noble. It might be impudent of me to say, but I don't require anything from you; I just want to offer you some word of advice."

"Please offer me your guidance, Senior." Vaan readily accepted with respect.

Although Vaan might not necessarily follow the unfamiliar elder's advice, it wasn't right to refuse a person's good intentions.

"Young Noble came to exchange for some Divine Water, right?" Elder Zephyros checked.

"That's right," Vaan acknowledged.

"Young Noble just joined the Myriad Sea God Palace not long ago. I'm sure you haven't had time to complete any tasks from the Mission Hall. That also means you haven't earned any contribution points and planned to use credits."

"However, I have to strongly advise you against doing so. The credit system may have universal usage in the Myriad Sea God Palace, but it is also a measure of your development grade."

"If you fail to maintain 100 credits or above by the centennial assessment date, your discipleship will be revoked," Elder Zephyros mentioned solemnly.

Vaan nodded.

Indeed, he had already learned about the credit system, its wide range of usage, and its importance. As such, he also knew that credits were harder to earn than contribution points.

After all, unlike contribution points, which could be acquired by exchanging rare resources or completing missions, credits could only be earned through various achievements related to cultivation.

Of course, only most denizens of Chaos would find contribution points easier to earn than credits.

For someone who could lack anything but talent like Vaan, earning credits would be much easier, not to mention safer, than earning contribution points.

"Naturally, Young Noble is born with great talent, and I don't doubt credits would come to you as easily as breathing. Normally, earning back 100 credits within a hundred years wouldn't be an issue for you, but that is speaking normally."

"However, Young Noble has chosen to give up the Myriad Sea God Palace's special privilege granted to Noble Beings. In the process of not offending anyone, Young Noble has offended many beings."

"In the eyes of others, your act of refusing the Myriad Sea God Palace's nurturing and protection is not humbling but sheer arrogance. Young Noble had basically told everyone that you can grow strong without the Myriad Sea God Palace's special help."

"As such, many beings of status might try to suppress you and obstruct your progress to humble you and force you to rely on the Myriad Sea God Palace's special treatment to grow."