518 Thriving

The gift-giving went on, and the forces were continuously expressing their sincerity, after which they were faced with various obstacles. However, not everyone returned empty-handed.

It was said that the head of a small group of mercenary corps called the Red Army had sent several less hefty gifts, and did not request any pharmacist to join his army. Instead, he asked for two potions that would help with strengthening Combat Energy. With the help of Yuanli Elixir, both the father and the son broke through after plateauing in their Combat Energy practice and became level-15 Warriors.

For a small mercenary group that only consisted of hundreds of people and had a low status in the Breezy Plains, the appearance of two level-15 Warriors was equivalent to the strength of the entire mercenary group increasing several times over. However, such gains did not mean much to the middle-class forces, for all they were coveting was the chance to recruit a pharmacist.

Gaget, the leader of the White Shadow, had been mercilessly rejected. However, despite the lesson he'd got, he was still as eager about recruiting the pharmacists. In the eyes of those forces, the failure of the White Shadow was because of overeagerness and a lack of sincerity. They believed that they would one day be able to convince the pharmacists as long as they expressed enough sincerity.

While the forces and factions of the Breezy Plains were dreaming about recruiting the pharmacists, the Tower of Dusk was using them to make a fortune.

Under Lin Li's training, the bunch of young pharmacists advanced to senior pharmacist level, and although they were not exactly experienced veterans, they could be said to be familiar with concocting potions for sale and were highly efficient.

The pharmaceutical business of the Glittergold Trade Union and Gilded Rose had been facing issues regarding Lin Li's supply due to the fact that they had a huge sales network throughout the entire Felan. Although it was said that things became more precious and valuable when they were scarce, there was still a limit. Things that were worth 10 yuan[1] might be sold for 1,000 yuan based on scarcity. However, it would be extortion if they were sold for 100,000 yuan. Absurdly high prices would just mar the reputation of the seller's entire business. However, if prices were kept within the acceptable range, the items would often sell out too quickly, and there would then be a deficit in supply of goods. When demand outweighed supply, the business would be blamed for incompetence.

However, the leaders of the two trade unions could finally heave a sigh of relief because the production capacity and volume of the pharmacy of the Tower of Dusk had been greatly improved. It could now entirely fulfill the demand of the two trade unions. Under the operation of the two largest trade unions in the two Felan Kingdoms, the prices of medicine and potions had not decreased too drastically despite the increased production, thus maximizing the benefits.

As the supplier of the two trade unions, the position held by the Tower of Dusk in this partnership could not be compared to that of ordinary suppliers. The leaders of the two trade unions also knew that if they were to leave the Tower of Dusk, even the Pharmacist Guild would not be able to provide so many high-quality potions. Hence, they took the initiative to make a huge compromise in the collection of revenue from pharmaceutical sales even though Lin Li didn't mention anything.

While business was at its peak in the Tower of Dusk, the manager of the Rosen Union of Doland was feeling smug about his decision.

Although the Rosen Union had claimed to control more than 80% of the ore transactions in Doland at the beginning, it was in fact only because of the low profit of the ore transaction and the many other miscellaneous and trivial matters that the other forces could not be bothered to vie with them. Even the retarded son of the leader of Doland City could reprimand Kaman, the President, like a dog, let alone the rest of the Breezy Plains…

However, things were different now. Ever since Kaman had sucked up to the young President of the Tower of Dusk (Yeah, sucked up. Kaman didn't dislike the term at all, because others might not even get the chance to do so. Those fools who'd tried desperately failed because they aimed for the wrong target, and choosing the wrong target resulted in a waste of efforts), he seemed to have struck a huge fortune, for the distributorship of magical equipment had brought him a ton of profits.

Now, the weapons and equipment partnership with the Tower of Dusk had begun to take off and was on a good track. Who would have thought that the Rosen Union, which did not have a great reputation in Doland, had now already established enough capital that would allow them to go against the Blacksmith Guild?

This did not only bring about monetary changes, it also gave Kaman a better reputation in Doland City and the Breezy Plains. Although Kaman was known as the tyrant of Doland, he'd not even been qualified to speak in front of Lord Anjay of Doland in the past. But now, Anjay would definitely send him an invitation to every banquet he held without fail. They were almost like brothers.

Kaman knew who the person who'd given him all of this was. Hence, despite being a money-grubber, he dared not be greedy at all during the cooperation with the Tower of Dusk. He knew very well that the young President Felic was not as difficult to serve and please as other nobles. As long as Kaman was willing to do things seriously, he would definitely stand to gain some benefits without having to use any tricks.

Although Lin Li dealt in the weapons and equipment business, he did not come up with a blacksmith training course. However, that did not affect the development of the business. Although Smithing Masters and Gurus were rare finds in the blacksmithing industry, there were far more intermediate and advanced smiths than pharmacists. Moreover, unlike potions, magic weapons and equipment were not consumables. When a sophisticated magical weapon and equipment was in the hands of those who knew how to maintain it, it could practically remain pristine for the rest of the wielder's life. Therefore, compared to potions, there was a lower demand for magical weapons and equipment. Given the abilities of Smithing Masters, they could create one piece at a time without wasting too much time.

Gerian claimed to be here for free food, but in fact, he barely enjoyed a few days of real leisure. First, he spent more than two months fighting the Syer Bandits in the Dragon Mountains, after which he headed back to Alanna to help Lin Li find the pharmacists. After sending the pharmacists to the Tower of Dusk, he took a break for two days before going to the Malfa Family again to discuss the pharmacy partnership.

Lin Li was very grateful to Gerian, the fat old man who had a bitchy character. Although he had never mentioned it explicitly, he was well aware that Gerian was the only other person in Anril who genuinely cared about him apart from his teacher Andoine. Gerian cared about him in a different way from Andoine, though. He was more like a big brother to Lin Li. Although he was not very competent or capable, he was genuinely concerned about him.

Lin Li felt a sense of urgency and anticipation regarding the calamity that was about to happen soon. If he were lucky, he would be able to acquire some extraordinary medicinal materials from the magical beasts.

Arcane potions had the ability to promote mage apprentices to mages, while mysterious potions could promote mages to Magic Shooters, and rune potions could promote Magic Shooters to Archmages. Did that mean that there was a potion that could promote an Archmage to a Legendary-mage?

There was no answer to this question in the world of Anril, for everyone would think that it was a question that only lunatics would ask. However, as a master of pharmacy, Lin Li knew very well that although pharmacy was not invincible, it could make many impossibilities come true.

With Gerian's potential, he would at most remain an Archmage, and it would be impossible for him to reach the Legendary-realm. Although the lifespan of an Archmage had been greatly extended, it was far from that of a Legendary-mage. Hence, Lin Li hoped to help Gerian enter the Legendary-realm as far as possible. Whenever someone treated Lin Li genuinely well, he would do his best to treat them well too.

Of course, it was still too early to be talking about it. After all, Lin Li might not be able to concoct an extraordinary potion with his current abilities.

However, Gerian had never once complained about the hassle of having to travel around after he returned from the visit to the Malfa Family. Instead, he told Lin Li excitedly about the superior treatment that he received as well as how he made the Malfa Family abandon their pride and give in.

After the operation to annihilate the Syer Bandits ended, Hutton acquired plenty of loot. After all, the Syer Bandits were rather powerful and wealthy since they had seized the assets of plenty of tycoons in the Breezy Plains over the years. The elders of the Malfa Family did not object to the cooperation after seeing the loot that he had brought home, and also began to grow less hostile towards the newly established Tower of Dusk.

Gerian visited the Malfa Family as the messenger of the Tower of the Dusk. Hutton knew the importance of this fat man in Lin Li's heart. They could not afford to make any mistakes at all, especially during this cooperation which mattered greatly to the family. Hence, he informed his family not to act rashly right from the start. He even locked his younger brother Harvey up for a few days.

Gerian and the Malfa family held harmonious negotiations and successfully finalized all the details of the cooperation. The Malfa Family did not harp on a minor profit, and Gerian wasn't unreasonable and wouldn't compromise Lin Li's interests for the sake of his own joy.

Those business gains were enough to ensure that the Tower of Dusk would maintain a stable and big momentum of development in the future. However, Lin Li still had higher requirements for the Tower of Dusk, which seemed to involve a crazy design. He hoped that the completed Tower of Dusk would not be a simple shelter for the mages that would shield them from the wind and rain, but also a sanctuary that could stand strong even during the worst disaster in the world.

It was absolutely a crazy idea. Even Legendary-realm powerhouses might fall during the incoming calamity, and even the sacred Sanctuary-realm ones might not be able to fend for themselves easily. The Darkness Shrine which had once been as strong as the Brilliance Shrine was severely damaged by the magical beasts. This time, the imminent calamity was going to be far larger than the previous one, and it was very likely to destroy the entire Anril.

Hence, in order to create a sanctuary and place of refuge for the world, he had to be prepared to face the impact of the powerful magical beasts, something that perhaps only the High Elves with their Sky Castles could do. Everyone would probably think that Lin Li was being crazy and delusional, but he was well aware that it was possible for him to realize his plans with the resources he now had.

Although the pharmaceutical and weaponry business could continue to bring a lot of benefits, it could only help slowly complete the construction of the Tower of Dusk in a cumulative manner. Even if it took a century to build the Tower of Dusk into what Lin Li wanted, it would seem like an absolutely short period of time to others. However, Lin Li knew that there was only two or three years left for him to prepare for the calamity. If construction could not be completed before the disaster, everything would be a waste of effort. Hence, it all seemed too slow to Lin Li, be it 100 years or five to 10.

Fortunately, the benefits that Lin Li had reaped recently were far beyond imagination, and he finally had the time to organize his loot.

During the trip to the Abyss of Tharlen, Lin Li had not only broken into the Legendary-realm, he also directly encroached the home of the Lord of Darkness, and took the Throne of Darkness created by the Dragon of Destruction. However, what he had to sort out now was not the Darkness Domain, but the accumulation of resources collected by the Lord of Darkness over millions of years[2].

The Lord of Darkness was the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, and naturally accumulated a ton of resources over millions of years, but they were also limited by the environment. Among the resources were various magic crystals as well as the medicinal materials and minerals produced by the Abyss. There were not too many magical weapons and other pieces of magical equipment, and most of them were in horrible condition. The medicinal materials and minerals produced by the abyss each had their own uses, and could not be immediately exchanged for large sums of money.

On the other hand, there was only a very small amount of gold and silver that were often present when it came to treasures. After all, in the endless abyss, there wasn't a complete economic system like that of Anril. Those demons had no choice but to resort to bartering for what they wanted.

A large number of magic crystals could be exchanged for money, but Lin Li needed the magical crystals desperately at this moment. The original Lord of Nightmares in the Summoning Lamp was like a vortex that sucked in endless amounts of magical crystals. Besides, he would require Legendary magical crystals in order to hatch the Dragon of Destruction's descendant. Moreover, the Tower of the Dusk would be equipped with magical crystal cannons in the future; hence, magical crystals were equivalent to ammunition reserves that couldn't be sold.

[1] A bit less than 1.50 USD.

[2] Probably just an exaggeration and should be thousands, but who knows what author's really meant... It ain't the first time millions appear in this context, either.