Lord Si An said, "To obtain the title of Honorary Marquis, one must have made great contributions! If you carefully read the Exchange Manual, you will find this rule: an Honorary Marquis title... requires 20,000 contribution points to exchange for!"
"Is this the only way?" Dongbo Xueling, of course, had already read it.
But 20,000 contribution points were too far off.
The tasks he could take on now were all Black Iron level, with contribution points ranging from ten to a hundred! A task worth a hundred contribution points was already life-threatening and very time-consuming.
A task worth a hundred contribution points would require two hundred such tasks to accumulate to '20,000 contribution points'!
Even if each task took two months... without rest, he could only complete six tasks a year, and it would take over thirty years to have any hope of accumulating enough! Besides, the list of Black Iron level tasks sent by Longshan Tower was just a stack; there weren't that many tasks worth exactly a hundred contribution points.
"Is there no other way?" Dongbo Xueling asked.
"No," Lord Si An shook his head, "The Honorary Marquis title cannot be obtained through shortcuts; it can only be earned through great contributions. For Title-level experts, it involves multiple life-and-death adventures to accumulate such contributions! That's why the Honorary Marquis title is more respected, as it signifies that someone at the Title level has repeatedly risked their life for it."
"Ah."
Dongbo Xueling closed his eyes.
Father...
Father... what should I do?
I really want to directly attack the Moyang Family and save my father, but the Moyang Family, as an ancient family with a thousand-year legacy, is full of powerful experts. Just Moyang Chenbai, with his alchemical armor, can display Title-level combat power! Not to mention other powerful forces and that Pseudo-Transcendent! Even though it's a Pseudo-Transcendent, it could probably kill me with one move.
"To obtain 20,000 contribution points, going on tasks now would be the most foolish thing to do. I have just awakened my ancient bloodline, and my body is continuously growing stronger under the nourishment of martial qi! My martial qi is also advancing rapidly, and my strength is increasing significantly every day," Dongbo Xueling thought. "Right now, my strength can match that of a Flowing Star level, and it won't be long before I can match the Silver Moon level, and even the Title level!"
"At that time, I will obtain the Bronze Token! I can then directly take on Bronze level tasks, which are worth at least a thousand contribution points, and some dangerous ones are worth ten thousand contribution points. Completing two of those would be enough," Dongbo Xueling thought.
Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the chopping of wood; improving my own strength first will make completing tasks much more efficient!
He understood that this was the fastest way to accumulate 20,000 contribution points.
But...
What about my father?
Can my father hold on until the day I accumulate 20,000 contribution points?
...
The atmosphere in the living room was very oppressive.
The armrest was scattered with fragments, and Dongbo Xueling sat in the chair in silence. Lord Si An could only quietly drink his tea.
"I can't save my father," Dongbo Xueling's voice was somewhat hoarse, "But is there a way to ensure his safety?"
"Moyang Chenbai, although he sends people to torture, also has the alchemical workshop's mages use magic to treat him repeatedly. He shouldn't let your father die," Lord Si An said.
"Shouldn't?"
Dongbo Xueling gritted his teeth, "My father's life cannot be in Moyang Chenbai's control! Moreover, my father has been doing hard labor for several years. Moyang Chenbai might lose interest in torturing him at any time, and at that point, my father might lose his life."
"I must ensure my father's safety," Dongbo Xueling looked at Lord Si An, "With enough gold coins, even Transcendent experts can be hired! I believe in the power of gold."
Money has the magic to make countless people move.
"Lord Si An, how many gold coins are needed to ensure my father's safety!" Dongbo Xueling said. If he could pay ten million gold coins at once, even Transcendent experts would likely smile and help, but the amount of gold needed to hire a Transcendent life... was beyond what Dongbo Xueling could afford.
"Gold coins?" Lord Si An thought for a moment, "If you, Lord, have enough gold coins, I have an idea that might work."
"Please speak."
"When I was investigating your parents, I found that the Dongxiang Lake alchemical workshop where your father is located is a very important core workshop of the Moyang Family. The person in charge is an extremely powerful alchemical master! His mage level is Silver Moon, and he is even more skilled in alchemy, holding a position higher than Moyang Chen and Moyang Chenbai in the Moyang Family," Lord Si An said.
Dongbo Xueling's eyes lit up; a powerful alchemical master... every ancient family would cherish.
"He controls the entire alchemical workshop! In the workshop, the alchemical master's word is law," Lord Si An said, "If he is willing to save your father, it would be easy to ensure your father's safety, and even stop his suffering."
"Please ask him for help," Dongbo Xueling said.
"This alchemical master has very high standards. If the gold coins are too few, he might not even consider it," Lord Si An said, "I think offering 100,000 gold coins should have a good chance. If you can offer 110,000 gold coins... I will help you with this matter. 110,000 gold coins, where 10,000 gold coins are for the benefit of the Longshan Tower personnel involved, and 100,000 gold coins are to bribe the alchemical master."
"If it fails, the 100,000 gold coins will be refunded, but the benefit fee will not be refunded," Lord Si An said.
The Longshan Tower's intelligence network spans the world.
Moreover, the establishment of the Longshan Tower, besides monitoring the world, is also to serve the world's experts. This kind of somewhat gray matter is not considered a violation.
"110,000 gold coins? Alright."
Dongbo Xueling flipped his hand, and a thick stack of gold bills appeared in his hand, "Imperial Bank gold bills, a total of 110,000!"
Lord Si An was startled.
Good grief?
110,000 gold coins.
To think he could just take it out like that. Previously, Bai Yuanzhi, when taking on a disciple, announced a '50,000 gold coins' tuition fee, which was a lifelong commitment to the disciple, but in the end, Dongbo Xueling only presented a Silver Moon heart, not 50,000 gold coins! Because obtaining so many gold coins is really, really difficult.
It seemed that killing the Silver Moon Wolf King and the Shadow Leopard earned him a lot quickly.
But even a Title Knight would not be willing to earn such quick money... because they might encounter a monster beyond their strength, which would cost them their life! In fact, during the encounter with the Shadow Leopard, Dongbo Xueling almost lost his life.
To obtain so many gold coins, adventurers usually go on dangerous adventures or to the Destruction Mountains.
Without risking their lives, obtaining so many gold coins is very difficult.
The 110,000 gold coins Dongbo Xueling took out... included over 70,000 gold coins from selling the Silver Moon Wolf King's fur and other important materials, and the gold coins left over from eliminating the Crescent Blade Alliance! Dongbo Xueling had a total of over 120,000 gold coins, and this time he took out 110,000.
"Rest assured, I will give you news within a month. Don't worry, this matter is almost certain. These mages and alchemical masters... all value money highly. Their experiments consume a lot of materials, and 100,000 gold coins to save a worker in the workshop is feasible," Lord Si An said.
Dongbo Xueling nodded.
If it fails, I will add more money!
The news of killing the Silver Moon Wolf King spread widely, so merchants came to buy the Silver Moon Wolf King's fur and other materials. However, the 'Shadow Leopard corpse' had already been completely dissected and processed but not yet sold.
"Thank you, Lord Si An," Dongbo Xueling said, "If this matter succeeds, I, Dongbo Xueling, will not forget this favor."
"Haha, rest assured," Lord Si An immediately laughed. If he did this favor, Dongbo Xueling would definitely remember it. Currently, Dongbo Xueling's favor is not much, but if he becomes a Title-level expert in the future, it would be different.
...
The internal network of the Longshan Tower is extensive, and Lord Si An quickly contacted the Longshan Tower's head in Doyu County, Dongyu Province, and handed over the matter to that person.
Although the Moyang Family dominates Doyu County, the Longshan Tower is independent!
The Longshan Tower is not influenced by ordinary families. For example, Lord Si An of the Longshan Tower in Yishui City directly called the Si family's ancestor 'Si Lianghong' an old witch! This is because he was not worried about the Si family threatening him, and also because of some personal grudges with the Si family.
Of course, for the top families like the Changfeng Family in Anyang Province, the Longshan Tower in other provinces might still be tough, but the Longshan Tower in Anyang Province has to bow down.
But the Si family and the Moyang family do not have that power.
******
Dongyu Province, Doyu County, Dongxiang Lake Alchemical Workshop.
Dongxiang Lake is a very beautiful lake, like a mirror. Next to the lake is a closed, fortress-like alchemical workshop, with a tall mage tower at the center! This is the mage tower of the alchemical master 'Xu Guangqing'. Although Master Xu Guangqing is only a Silver Moon level mage, he is the top alchemist in all of Doyu County!
Such an alchemical master has been invited by other stronger families, but the Moyang Family successfully lured Xu Guangqing to join, and he even has the status of an 'external surname elder' in the family council.
The reason Xu Guangqing was willing to join the Moyang Family is also because his hometown is in