"What Tier do you want?"
"Hmm...let's go with sixty at Tier 4 and forty at Tier 3." William said after a moment of thought. Tier 2 Pills weren't very useful to him anymore, and he'd probably need Tier 4 Pills when his Cultivation increased further.
Buying the Pills outright was a waste of money, but he didn't have the time to refine so many Pills at once. Not to mention it felt bad to intentionally mess up the refining process just so he wouldn't have to deal with a Tribulation.
Despite the ten percent discount provided by his Moneybags Title, William would still have to pay 54 Gold Coins per Tier 3 Pill and 72 per Tier 4, for a total of 6,480 Gold Coins.
Since he only had 42 Gold left, William traded in 7 Mana Stones for the entire lot, then received his change of 520 Gold Coins. This interaction reminded William of just how valuable Mana Stones were. Since he had 6446 Mana Stones, he technically was a millionaire in Gold Coins.
The Alchemist was also a bit surprised to see William casually using Mana Stones as payment. His surprise changed to shock as William stored the Alchemy ingredients in a Space Ring.
"You shouldn't do that! You're going to damage the ingredients!" the bald Alchemist exclaimed in worry.
"It's a specialized Space Ring," William replied simply. He didn't blame the man for misunderstanding, since specialized Rings were very rare. Not to mention William hadn't revealed the Ring when opening the portal, so the old man could only guess.
"Ah, I see. It seems you come prepared, Mr. Yuming." the man calmed down, then walked off to help a customer that had just walked in. With the battle cleanup still ongoing, the Alchemy Hall was still a bit short-staffed.
William and Carl left the Alchemy Hall following their interaction. As they walked, Carl showed off a newly completed scroll containing five more Magical Beasts that he had captured during the battle. There were two Sand Golems, a Marauder Scorpion, a Sandicore, and a Desert Beetle.
He had originally planned to catch two Sandicores instead of the Desert Beetle, but when he saw how swiftly they could tunnel through the sand, he changed his mind. It would be useful to have a Magical Beast that could probe a new environment.
"Here are your Pills by the way." William handed Carl the Tier 3 Pills, while keeping the Tier 4's for himself.
"Thanks, how much do I owe you?" he asked.
"Don't worry about it, you can buy me something later if you really want." William replied.
Just before the final Hydra was slain, a man in a black cloak appeared in the distance. This time, he was leading ten Soul Formation Hydrae with pale yellow marks on their foreheads. The Elders of the Sect recognized him immediately, their expressions turning grim as they knew what was to come.
"You've rejected my invitation many times, this is your last chance." Tenebris warned.
"We have no intention of joining you!" Elder Fan shouted. His face was beet red with anger, and even the white hair on his head started to bristle. Arcs of electricity spread on his fingertips and clouds formed above his head as he prepared to battle with the cloaked man, knowing full well that he would die.
Tenebris waved his hand and a large portal appeared, created by a subordinate from far away that had been given the coordinates in advance. He spoke.
"I don't care about you old folks. Unlike other Sects, you actually assisted the younger generation in this battle. This portal isn't for you, but for your Disciples."
"What do you mean?" Elder Fan asked warily. He didn't care how nice Tenebris' words sounded, he wouldn't believe the man for a second.
"Exactly that. Disciples of the Spirit Ascension Sect, join Retribution and fight with us to stop the Beast Tides. We must capture William, the criminal responsible for absorbing the Cores that maintain peace in the Magical Beast's territory!" he proceeded to ramble on a long speech like he did outside Blue Moon City.
When he was done speaking, however, no one moved. Tenebris looked at the group of Disciples below, who didn't even take a single step towards the portal he had created with much effort. Even worse, he could sense Supreme Left flying at high speed in his direction.
"Tch! Suit yourselves!" he ordered the Soul Formation Hydrae to attack the Spirit Ascension Sect, then disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Fria prepared herself for another difficult battle, but she was held back by Elder Fan. The old man smiled at her amiably, "He may not be good, but he isn't wrong. This isn't your fight. Leave it to us old fogeys."
Elder Fan gathered Mana of the Lightning Element to his fingertips while at the same time expanding the range of the clouds above. The moment they gathered over the heads of the Soul Formation Hydrae, a pillar of lightning dropped from the sky and enveloped one of the Beasts.
Coordinating with Elder Fan, the other Elders simultaneously launched their strongest attacks at the Hydra, killing it in just a few waves. Fria watched in awe as the old men rushed towards the remaining nine Hydrae, stalling for time while they prepared to single out another Beast.
Seeing Tenebris' aura disappear, Supreme Left returned to his residence, which was close by. He couldn't afford to let the leader of Retribution distract him, else his own family might be in danger.
Supreme Left couldn't care less about the Spirit Ascension Sect's well-being, but he also knew that they didn't need his help anyway.