Chapter 439

Chapter 439: Beyond Expectations

More than ten days had passed in the blink of an eye. With the previous intermittent training, Yi Chen successfully broke through to the second level of Yuan Immortal.

In total, it took him about half a month.

This was due to the expeditionary army successfully conquering the Karter Tribe and the Lisi Tribe, as well as all the areas under the influence of these two large tribes, causing his territory to expand to 850 million square kilometers, which provided him with an 850-fold talent bonus. This significantly increased his training speed over these past days.

Otherwise, it would have taken even more time.

According to his estimates, with his current talent bonus, it would take at least a month to break through from the second level of Yuan Immortal to the third level.

The further he progressed, the harder it became.

Of course, this was just his perspective on the increasing difficulty.

To break through from level 120 to level 122 only required one month, and even the Tree-Dwelling Tribe leader, who was known for having the strongest talent throughout the entire super star cluster, would consider this speed of improvement to be quite good.

In the eyes of the strongest members of this star cluster, they would definitely be dumbfounded.

Moreover, Yi Chen’s talent could be significantly enhanced as his territory continued to expand.

This was the most terrifying aspect.

When looking at the entire super star cluster, his current talent bonus still lagged far behind the strongest members of the three dominant tribes: the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, the Time Tribe, and the Reincarnation Tribe.

However, these strongest members had their talents mostly fixed, and even if they obtained materials to enhance their talents, the increase would not be substantial.

In contrast, Yi Chen now only controlled one exile planet and about one-third of the blood-colored planet.

His potential for growth was immense.

“It’s about time to discuss interest with the Giants of the Federation.”

Compared to enhancing his own strength realm, Yi Chen was more eager to acquire the materials needed for the third generation of ‘Cave Paradise.’

Sharpening the knife does not delay the work of chopping wood!

The significant increase in the average strength of the Great Flame Empire meant that the speed of expansion could be guaranteed.

A rapid expansion speed indicated a substantial increase in his territory and a continuous rise in his talent bonus.

His training speed and the development of new skills to enhance his strength would also increase significantly as a result.

Pausing his training, Yi Chen took out the communication stone and focused his divine consciousness into it.

A stream of spirit power flowed into the communication stone, allowing him to communicate with it, energized with his Energy Aura.

In the distant Milky Way,

Inside the conference room of the headquarters of the Federal Parliament, the communication stone placed on the conference table began to vibrate slightly.

Beside it, Lu Qingxian’s spirits lifted.

The group of Giants from both the parliament and military who remained in the conference room all showed expressions of joy.

They quickly contacted other parliament and military leaders to have their virtual images come over for discussion and negotiation.

Lu Qingxian took a deep breath, worried that Yi Chen might stop contacting them, and sent a pulse of spirit power into the communication stone.

The next second, Yi Chen’s image appeared before everyone.

However, they could only see Yi Chen’s image and could not view the scene inside the flying treasure he was in.

The communication stone was not lacking this function; it was just that Yi Chen had not activated this feature.

"Country Lord, we meet again!"

Lu Qingxian quickly bowed respectfully.

"The Great Flame Kingdom has now been renamed the Great Flame Empire!"

Yi Chen spoke calmly.

"Your Majesty!"

Lu Qingxian immediately corrected himself.

"I am here to collect the second batch of interest. I have already informed you about this, and I believe you should be prepared."

Yi Chen continued.

"Yes! As soon as we received the notice from Your Majesty through Deputy Commander Bai, we have been preparing for this matter."

Lu Qingxian nodded, and his demeanor resembled that of a warehouse manager.

This was the result of discussions among the Giants of the parliament and military; they showed as much respect as possible.

After all, this matter did not cost them any money.

"Well then, let’s see what interest I want! You can receive it with your divine consciousness."

Yi Chen transmitted the second batch of interest he planned to collect with his divine consciousness.

Lu Qingxian quickly used his divine consciousness to receive it.

As he read through the various items, he became dumbfounded.

The Giants from the Federal Parliament and the Military grew anxious.

Their thoughts were quite simple: they needed to fully meet Yi Chen’s conditions and even exceed the requirements he proposed.

Only after satisfying Yi Chen would they be qualified to make their own requests.

However, seeing Lu Qingxian’s expression, it was clear that these conditions exceeded what they had anticipated.

"Um… this is crucial. There are many materials here, some of which I have never heard of. Can I confirm these materials first?"

Lu Qingxian asked carefully.

"Sure! I will contact you again when I have time."

Yi Chen nodded and promptly ended the communication.

His image vanished without a trace.

"What did Yi Chen demand?"

Marshal Iron Blood asked.

"Most of the materials are unfamiliar to me. One material is called the Insight Stone by Yi Chen. This Insight Stone should be what we discussed during our negotiations, the Tian Ning Stone."

Buzz…

The Giants from the parliament and military fell silent for a moment.

Marshal Iron Blood asked anxiously, "How much does he want?"

"Seventy thousand tons…"

Lu Qingxian’s face turned grim.

"…"

The Giants were left speechless.

For over ten days, they had been discussing various details.

They guessed that Yi Chen might want higher-quality spirit mines similar to the Comprehension Stone.

They had already begun to investigate and collect such materials.

Their goal was to find eighth-grade Spirit Stones, which had the same properties as the Comprehension Stone but were of a higher grade.

As for the Insight Stone that Yi Chen mentioned, they had reviewed related materials and found it to be a low-grade immortal mine with similar properties but better quality.

They had originally planned to gather a batch as a pleasant surprise for Yi Chen.

However, they did not expect Yi Chen to give them a massive shock.

He abruptly skipped the Spirit Stones and demanded the Insight Stones.

He opened with a staggering request for seventy thousand tons.

Goodness, the total amount of Insight Stones collected across the entire Federal Parliament and Military was just over ten thousand tons.

"What does he want with so many Insight Stones? Surely, the average cultivation level of the Great Flame Empire’s citizens hasn’t all reached the Crossing Tribulation Stage?"

A military Giant muttered in frustration.

"Definitely not; it’s likely that Yi Chen wants a one-and-done solution. After all, Insight Stones can help cultivators below level 110 better comprehend the principles of heaven and earth."

"Requesting enough Insight Stones directly is better than asking for Spirit Stones first and then having the top geniuses needing Insight Stones once they break into the Crossing Tribulation Stage. It’s efficient to get it all at once."

"Does he really see us as a resource warehouse?"

"What else can we do?"

The Giants were furious but felt helpless.

"It’s not just the Insight Stone issue; the other materials are also unfamiliar. From my estimate, their grades likely won’t be lower than the Insight Stones."

Lu Qingxian suddenly spoke up, "Considering the first batch of interest, many of the other materials seem to revolve around the fifth-grade Comprehension Stone; they are suitable for enhancing the properties of the Comprehension Stone."

"Besides that, Yi Chen also brought up the five million orphans again. Last time, he only increased the number to five million; this time, he directly asked for fifty million."

The Giants were dumbfounded.

"Fifty million? Has he lost his mind? Including the previous batch of five hundred thousand orphans, the total population of the Great Flame Empire is only about sixteen million."

"With adults totaling less than eight million, raising five hundred thousand young children already leaves us short-handed. How can we take care of fifty million children under three?"

"Exactly! If it weren’t for his ruthless style on the exile planet—where he is harsh but surprisingly lenient towards humanity—I would even suspect he wants so many children for some terrifying purpose."

Everyone felt an immense headache; Yi Chen’s conditions far exceeded their expectations.