Chapter 263 It’s easier if we don’t talk about money

In fact, on the very night that the Rose Holy Sanctuary submitted its report, the internal operations of the Holy Sanctuary's professional center were urgently mobilized, once again making the Rose Holy Sanctuary, which was at the center of controversy, the focus of glory.

However, this was after all one of the ten major challenges in the rune world, the 'Third Order Rune Fusion.' The Rose Holy Sanctuary Center clearly did not dare to rashly conclude with a preliminary certification. They immediately dispatched a special envoy to submit it to the headquarters in the Holy City for secondary inspection and multiple layers of approval.

By the time the final argumentation results and official announcements from the Holy Sanctuary Center were made public through the Light of the Holy Sanctuary across the Blade, five days had already passed. This officially announced report, made public by the Rune Professional Certification Center, was extremely detailed in its conclusions.

First, it confirmed the effectiveness of the 'Snow Queen,' stating that it could be used directly and had widespread applicability, suitable for equipping elite forces. Warriors with Wolf-level soul power could use it, with no requirements for soul seeds. It also outlined two methods of use: defensive and offensive, significantly enhancing the combat strength of soldiers.

Moreover, it emphasized that Wang Feng and the Rose Holy Sanctuary had indeed solved the age-old problem of the 'First Three Orders Rune Fusion' and summarized several fusion laws that could be written into textbooks.

The solution to such an age-old problem, and even the summarization of theoretical laws, held even greater significance than the 'Snow Queen' itself. One can imagine that the rune masters of the Blade, building on these verified laws, would avoid many detours in their future research on the three major order runes, potentially leading to a surge in the development of rune technology in the Blade.

Accompanying this argumentation result was an internal announcement from the Holy Sanctuary, with the rewards and honors for Wang Feng being the highlight. Additionally, there were commendations for Karida.

It was precisely because of Karida's reform in expanding recruitment that talents like Wang Feng had the opportunity to enter the Holy Sanctuary. The reformists revisited old issues, emphasizing that it was due to Karida's reforms that the previous awakening of the orcs had occurred. These two individuals were absolute examples of the success of the reforms. Even the leaders of the most conservative factions, who had once strongly opposed the reforms, now chose to lower their flags and cease their opposition. After all, in the face of such facts, any rebuttal seemed weak and powerless.

The news spread throughout the Blade with lightning speed, reaching everyone overnight.

Old Wang became famous, Rose became famous, and the reforms succeeded.

This time, the Rose Holy Sanctuary felt a great sense of vindication, as if they had left the adjacent Judgment far behind, unreachable even by galloping horses. After all, even if Judgment had capable fighters, their achievements paled in comparison to what was before them.

All of this was thanks to President Wang Feng!

Just a few months ago, Rose was being ruthlessly suppressed by Judgment, with the threat of merger looming at any moment. But now? Who would merge with whom was truly uncertain.

...

A purple-gold thorn medal lay on Karida's desk. Old Wang, upon seeing it, felt a toothache, finding it too sour.

"Not again, Brother Karida?" Old Wang’s face was as bitter as a Chinese herb: "Just how poor is our Holy Sanctuary? The last time they gave me that Golden Occupation Medal, it was actually made of copper. Now it’s almost rusting in my drawer, utterly useless..."

"This is different," Karida shot him a half-smiling, half-serious glance. The Purple Gold Thorn Medal wasn’t just any ordinary occupation medal; it was specifically established to honor those who had made outstanding contributions to the Holy Sanctuary. It could be considered the highest honor within the Holy Sanctuary, one that even renowned heroes found hard to obtain.

And perhaps only this guy could so casually dismiss the Purple Gold Thorn Medal, which represented the pinnacle of occupational honor in the Holy Sanctuary. Trying to explain its glory to him would be like playing the lute to a cow, so she decided to stick to practicalities.

"Your deeds will be announced throughout the League of Blades, and your name will be inscribed on the Honor Wall at the Rune Occupation Center..." Karida said coolly: "Possessing the Purple Gold Thorn Medal is equivalent to having a privileged status within the Holy Sanctuary. It will make everything much easier for you. When you’re older and have support, you could even run for a seat in the Holy Sanctuary Senate, with a truly limitless future. Honestly, I’m a bit envious."

It all came down to the same old talk. What good was it to be able to run for a senator when you were seventy or eighty? Old Wang rolled his eyes; there wasn’t a single practical benefit.

"Just this? Some people at Temple Headquarters really need to get their act together. This is no different from posthumously honoring me as a martyr. Luckily, I’m still alive... Can’t they give me something more substantial?" Old Wang complained: "Besides, even if everyone at the Holy Sanctuary is a bunch of fools, you, Brother Karida, are a smart person... Remember what Grandpa Lei said last time? He said we must encourage such innovation and put that encouragement into practice, so everyone can see... Right, Brother Blue?"

This wasn’t just empty boasting; Lei Long had a very good impression of Old Wang, making him someone with real backing now.

Seeing Old Wang’s bitter expression, Blue Sky, standing beside him, maintained his usual icy handsome demeanor, looking as if he had expected this all along.

"Be serious," Karida couldn’t help but scold: "This is an award from Headquarters. Do you think you can pick and choose? Don’t think that just because Grandpa acknowledges you, you can get cocky!"

"Injustice, Brother Karida!" Old Wang cried out, grabbing Blue Sky by the arm: "Brother Blue, you tell them! Haven’t I been loyal and dedicated to the League of Blades? I’ve always been serious and never joked around. And remember what Grandpa Lei said last time..."

Blue Sky remained silent, his gaze straight ahead without a word.

"Alright, alright." Karida’s ears were ringing from Old Wang’s complaints, but this guy had indeed done a great job this time. She couldn’t just beat him up immediately, so she had to endure: "Wang Feng, you are a disciple of the Holy Sanctuary. Don’t look at everything through the lens of money. The Purple Gold Thorn Medal is the highest honor in the Holy Sanctuary. Many famous heroes within the Holy Sanctuary can only look at it from afar throughout their lives, yet you have achieved such an honor at a young age. You should be proud of this heavy honor. Don’t feel that the Holy Sanctuary has wronged you; your path is long."

Karida paused, uncharacteristically speaking against her better judgment.

She knew this kid’s character too well. The Holy Sanctuary only bestowed honors without giving any tangible rewards, always talking about honor, which many young people today found hard to accept. "Blue Sky and I know your personality, but others don’t. They naturally won’t see it that way. Solving such an ancient problem, you must be seen as a great figure, valuing virtue over wealth. Rewarding you with mundane things would be an insult. Wang Feng, you want to do great things with me, right? Then show some magnanimity, don’t always focus on money."

Is she flattering me now? Though being flattered by Brother Karida felt good for the first time, still...

Old Wang chuckled; it seemed that Brother Karida had quite the talent for persuasion, but this was just playing around with your husband, wasn't it!

No wonder Blade has always been unable to compete with Nine Gods, and often loses talented people. Just look at how stingy they are with their brainwashing tactics, and what honor, indeed! Honor you in the face of a ghost!

I've heard that Nine Gods rewards such R&D personnel generously, with all sorts of protections. There are countless Rune Masters and Alchemists who have become as rich as nations by taking commissions from just one or two highly practical innovative runes or potions. This isn't an exaggeration; the strength of the Nine Gods Empire truly lies in its emphasis on talent.

"I'm not without honor," Old Wang said with a worried expression, "but I'm just scared of being poor. Brother Karida, you don't know how, back then, to save some money, Fantasi and I would steal clothes from Judgment to refine potions, even trying to scrape off the silver from those clothes... They say poor children grow up fast, and others say you don't understand the value of things until you manage a household. You should give me something, even if it's just a token gesture, to make me feel better, right? We can't let our heroes' hearts turn cold..."

"What reward do you want?" Karida couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. This kid wouldn't be swayed by anything but money: "How about I dig into my own pocket and give you ten thousand or twenty thousand?"

"That would be too embarrassing, Brother Karida is so poor, forget about the money..." Old Wang immediately put on a smile: "Don't you still have the algae cores?"

Karida remembered the last time they 'partnered' to buy algae cores. Speaking of which, she did have a large sum of money stored with Wang Feng. Was this kid thinking about that money?

To be honest, if it were the old Wang Feng, Karida would have 'openly robbed' him, but now he was one of her own.

Thinking about the algae core business, she had only helped a little bit on the side, without investing a single penny. Directly taking half of his earnings was indeed a bit much. At the time, it was mostly a joke. Besides, while the algae cores were valuable, it was because the auction houses in the inland areas deliberately controlled the supply and price, and had a complete monopoly. If there were a large influx into the market, the price drop would be inevitable. The hard work of the people who had built up the algae core market wouldn't allow them to watch their brand be destroyed. Whether they could sell them at all would be another matter. Making a small profit on top of breaking even would be considered good. Of course, if they could make a big profit, it would be due to Wang Feng's skills.

"Alright!" Karida smiled slightly: "It's yours!"

Old Wang was overjoyed. Selling the algae cores would be a loss, besides, Clara was also his little lover, and it wasn't right to ruin her carefully cultivated algae core market. He never intended to sell the algae cores anyway.

They were meant for refining new potions, and he hadn't started because he was concerned about the dividend share with Brother Karida. It wasn't just a few million. Just as he was about to shout "Long live Brother Karida," he heard Karida add: "But..."

Old Wang dreaded hearing "but." Fortunately, what Brother Karida said next had nothing to do with money.

"But from now on, you must take your duties in the Autonomous Council seriously and stop loafing around like you used to." Karida said solemnly: "I know you're used to being lazy and don't care much about these tasks. In the past, the Autonomous Council was just a trial, so I turned a blind eye to your lack of commitment as president, but times have changed!"

"Now that Rose is famous, the entire Holy Sanctuary, even the entire Blade, is watching us closely. Any tiny issue could be blown out of proportion by our potential rivals. We can't afford to be careless!"

"The algae nucleus is yours as a reward from me. No matter how much you earn, it's none of my concern, but from now on, all matters concerning the Rose disciples will be your responsibility. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you accountable!"

"Got it, got it!" As long as it didn't involve money, Old Wang’s spirits soared, and he gave an OK sign: "Bro Karida, rest assured! On my honor as Wang Feng, and on the head of my best brother Fantasi, if anything goes wrong, just chop away!"

Karida had gradually grown accustomed to his bizarre gestures, understanding them as a sign of agreement. But this kid even tried to cheat when making a vow, using someone else’s head as collateral...

Karida said with a mix of amusement and exasperation: "I have no interest in your brother’s head. If something goes wrong, I’ll only chop yours!"

"Cough, cough..." Old Wang let out a couple of nervous laughs. His trick had been seen through by Bro Karida, so he quickly gave a thumbs-up: "Bro Karida, you’re wise! Chop both, chop both!"