Chapter 557: The Golden Abacus Strategy

Not long after the eight members of Liangshan left, Lin Dong got up and rushed to the main hall to discuss with Ma Chun the arrangements for establishing the Kongyu Sect. With the current strength and financial resources of Lin’s Inn, founding a small sect was not a difficult task at all. Ma Chun talked to Wang Liuze about Lin Dong’s requirements, and Wang Liuze immediately gathered a group of guards and headed to Dagong Mountain that very afternoon to select a suitable location for the sect’s establishment.

According to the usual procedures for founding a sect, the founder would first gather enough silver, then hire carpenters and blacksmiths to build the sect at the chosen site. For a small sect, it would take about a year to complete construction if there were sufficient funds and materials; those with inadequate resources might take two or three years, if they could complete it at all.

With over a thousand experts at the first level of the Xinni Phase working as carpenters and blacksmiths, the work would surely progress quickly. As Lin Dong had anticipated, about a month would be sufficient.

At the beginning of spring, Wang Liuze sent word that Kongyu Sect had been built. The time taken matched Lin Dong’s expectations perfectly—just about a month in total.

That day, Lin Dong personally led the eight members of Liangshan to Dagong Mountain. Initially, they were skeptical about the newly established Kongyu Sect, wondering if it would just be a few wooden houses, given that it had only taken a month to build. But after seeing it with their own eyes, they truly realized just how powerful Lin Dong was. Although built on a scale suitable for a small sect, Kongyu Sect had everything needed—secret chambers, treasure vaults, training grounds—all constructed from extremely sturdy stones.

Although the land area wasn’t very large, the gardens and farms necessary for a alchemy sect were quite extensive, all located in highly concealed spots with natural defenses. The walls were eight zhang high, the gates seven zhang high, and the three characters “Kongyu Sect” were so imposing that they inspired awe.

The eight members of Liangshan couldn’t find any flaw in the new Kongyu Sect.

The founding ceremony, presided over by Lin Dong, who was at the ninth level of the Xinni Phase, proceeded smoothly. With just a slight demonstration of his power, the sect leaders and elders who had come for the banquet abandoned any thoughts of suppressing Kongyu Sect in its infancy.

A warrior at the ninth level of the Xinni Phase was more than enough to help Kongyu Sect overwhelm all nearby sects. Since Kongyu Sect hadn’t caused trouble to the surrounding sects, it was already their good fortune, so naturally, they wouldn’t go looking for trouble with them.

As for having a tiger lying beside them, the sect leaders and elders were initially uneasy. Upon learning that Lin Dong was not the leader of Kongyu Sect but merely acquainted with the new leader, they secretly checked the strength of the new leader, Liang Shan, with their minds and then calmed down completely. At the second level of the Mental Energy stage, such strength meant that even any ordinary elder could easily crush them. As long as they didn’t cause trouble for Kongyu Sect, there was no reason for Kongyu Sect to send someone at the ninth level of the Heart Reversal stage to help. The appearance of Kongyu Sect was nothing more than having another neighbor for them.

Ding: Congratulations on completing the hidden task of founding a sect. You have received the Golden Jade Abacus as a reward.
After the sect-founding ceremony, Lin Dong exchanged a few polite words with Liang Shan and others. On his way back to the inn, the system prompt arrived as expected. Lin Dong stopped and quickly chose to claim it. The next moment, an abacus glowing with golden light, interlaced with shades of green jade, appeared on the ground. Quickly picking it up, Lin Dong considered it for a moment before mentally equipping it.

Ding: Congratulations on successfully equipping the Golden Jade Abacus.
Instantly, Lin Dong felt a surge of pure energy rapidly expanding in his dantian. Under the impact of this energy, it burst out momentarily before forming again. At the same time, his meridians were also struck by an unknown energy, expanding dozens of times in an instant, with all impurities within them disappearing. The spiritual energy in the world suddenly became more familiar, and the entire world seemed clearer to Lin Dong.

All of this happened in just a second or two. This sudden change left Lin Dong utterly astonished. After his body showed no further reactions, he hesitated for a long time before suddenly having an idea. With a wave of his right hand, a towering tree that was wide enough for five people to hold hands beneath it soared into the air a hundred meters away.

“A peak warrior!”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but swallow hard, unsure of what exactly had happened that allowed him to suddenly rise from the ninth level of Heart Reversal to the first level of Heart Riding. Could it be… the Golden Jade Abacus? He would never believe he could suddenly achieve enlightenment and become a peak warrior. The only explanation was the Golden Jade Abacus he had just equipped, which seemed to have the ability to enhance strength. Without hesitation, Lin Dong picked up the abacus and mentally examined its attributes.

Golden Jade Abacus: After equipping, it can raise one rank (limited to living beings).

Lin Dong’s eyes suddenly became extremely bright. The reason was that the limitations of this attribute weren’t too severe. In other words, not only could it raise his own level after he equipped it, but it could also elevate a ninth-tier spiritual beast by one rank. Perhaps even more, it might allow such a beast to become something beyond the ninth tier. A spiritual beast that surpassed the ninth tier—wouldn’t its strength be beyond even the mightiest peak warriors?

Great! Over the past month, Lin Dong had wondered what the rewards for these hidden tasks might be. His best expectation had been a recipe for medicinal cuisine. But instead, he got a golden abacus that could upgrade any living being. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility that could drive him crazy. If he reached the ninth level of the Heart Riding Phase and then equipped this golden abacus, wouldn’t that mean he could successfully enter the ranks of those beyond even the peak warriors?

World-shattering in an instant, thundering with a mere wave of the hand—this was the goal pursued by all peak warriors throughout their lives, a height that countless of them could never reach. The reward for this task was truly fierce! So fierce that Lin Dong momentarily doubted whether the golden abacus would still be useful after he reached the ninth level of the Heart Riding Phase. After all, this hidden task didn’t seem to be of such earth-shattering significance.

The fact that the golden abacus wasn’t an upgradable item also indicated it didn’t match the level of the Rainbow Bed. Yet, apart from being limited to living beings, its attributes listed nothing else. No other restrictions meant no limitations at all. After pondering anxiously for a long time, Lin Dong forced himself to believe that the golden abacus would still be useful even when equipped by a peak warrior at the ninth level of the Heart Riding Phase. Otherwise, there was no explanation for the lack of other restrictions. Others might make mistakes, but heaven surely wouldn’t.

As for the golden abacus seeming even more powerful than the Rainbow Bed, it could only be explained by the fact that the Rainbow Bed was only at level 4, far from reaching its attribute limits. Moreover, it might also be explained by the value of an item depending greatly on who possessed it. After all, in his hands, the golden abacus could only help him reach the ranks of peak warriors. In the hands of an ordinary person, its value might not even compare to a hundred or eighty taels of silver.

Sigh…

Taking a deep breath, Lin Dong tried his best to calm his turbulent emotions. He began to consider other uses for the Golden Jade Abacus. He rarely fought with others, and Lin’s Inn already had plenty of peak-level experts. A spiritual beast that could surpass them would only be useful when facing Tianwei Pavilion or Shangtian Sword Sect in the future. If the Golden Jade Abacus remained on him or a ninth-tier spiritual beast, its usefulness would be limited. Moreover, if it were on him, peak-level experts would take even longer to advance, and any supplementary cultivation materials would be ineffective, even hindering their progress.

After much thought, Lin Dong suddenly came up with where the Golden Jade Abacus could be used.

Ma Chun!

Elevating a level by using the Golden Jade Abacus wasn’t necessarily limited to strength. For someone like Ma Chun, it might also benefit his companion attributes. Top chefs like Jiang Kui and Cheng Bao would surely see an improvement in their culinary skills as well.

Equipping Ma Chun with the Golden Jade Abacus to raise his level would significantly enhance his eloquence and wit, bringing endless benefits to Lin’s Inn.

The only issue was the safety of the Golden Jade Abacus.

Lin Dong frowned slightly. It was crucial for his future goal of becoming someone beyond peak-level experts. No matter how loyal Ma Chun was, he couldn’t take that risk—the consequences would be too severe. In fact, aside from Yun Lan, he wouldn’t tell anyone about the Golden Jade Abacus.

Becoming someone beyond peak-level experts could drive anyone crazy. Aside from Yun Lan, he wasn’t sure about Old Ding either. After all, Old Ding’s lifelong pursuit had been to become such a being.

After racking his brains, unable to think of another solution, Lin Dong stopped overthinking it. The reward of the Golden Jade Abacus had already far exceeded his expectations. If it couldn’t help Lin’s Inn, it wasn’t much use anyway.

He placed the Golden Jade Abacus in the counter. Just as he was about to act, he paused and instinctively tapped his head.

“This brain of mine even gets short-circuited sometimes!”

Lin Dong couldn’t help but mock himself. The Golden Jade Abacus was an item rewarded by the inn’s system, and only he, Lin Dong, could decide whether to equip it or remove it. Even if others knew about it, it wouldn’t be of any use.

If something went wrong with Ma Chun, he could simply take back the Golden Jade Abacus. Besides, once equipped, it didn’t seem to need to stay with its owner—meaning he could keep it with him at all times, though its attributes would be applied to Ma Chun instead.

Whenever he wanted to use the Golden Jade Abacus, he only needed to think about it to cancel the binding between it and Ma Chun at any time, eliminating all the previous concerns about trouble. With the problem solved, Lin Dong was overjoyed. He first canceled the binding of the Golden Jade Abacus on his body, then immediately sped up as fast as he could, eager to rush to Lin’s Inn. Such great news made him unable to wait to share it with Yun Lan. A powerful warrior at the ninth level of the Heart Reversal Phase naturally moved swiftly, and in just a moment, the city’s endless city walls came into view. In the blink of an eye, they reached the back yard of Lin’s Inn. Climbing in and entering the yard, Lin Dong headed straight for Yun Lan’s room but stopped halfway. By the stone table, Ma Chun was pacing back and forth, seemingly preoccupied with something.