Yun Ze nodded in approval and said, "That's indeed quite good. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy must be treating you like a treasure now."
"Mm." Gu Yuena continued, "The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy is already grooming me as the next dean.
"The academy has granted me many privileges—unlimited access to materials, unrestricted resources, and free access to all available research materials. As long as I need it, anything can be arranged.
"Furthermore, a few days ago, the Vice Dean of the Federation Research Institute personally came to see me. They hope that I will directly join their institute."
"What did you say?" Yun Ze asked as he and Gu Yuena both took their seats.
"Of course, I refused. The environment at the Federation Research Institute is too closed-off. Entering it would only bring disadvantages to me and to our plans, without any benefits.
"Besides, if I stay at the academy for a few more years, I'll be going to the Spirit Pagoda with Teacher Leng Yaozhu. There's no way I'd join the Federation Research Institute."
Gu Yuena spoke indifferently, showing no interest in the Federation Research Institute. With her talent, she could completely self-study and master even higher-level soul tools.
A few years ago, due to her extraordinary talent in martial souls, she had been noticed by the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda, Leng Yaozhu, who had accepted her as a disciple.
"A wise choice," Yun Ze replied.
"By the way, how was your martial soul awakening today?" Gu Yuena suddenly remembered this and instinctively tried to sense Yun Ze's soul power. Upon doing so, her expression changed slightly.
"As expected—it's a Phoenix Martial Soul," Yun Ze replied.
"Why does it seem like your innate soul power is at rank twenty?" Gu Yuena asked uncertainly.
Upon hearing this, Di Tian and the others also took notice. They slightly probed Yun Ze's soul power and were indeed surprised to find that it was at rank twenty.
They were all shocked. Wasn't the maximum innate soul power for human soul masters only rank ten?
"This should be a special case," Yun Ze pondered for a moment before answering.
Gu Yuena quickly accepted this explanation, given Yun Ze's uniqueness, and soon calmed down. However, she asked somewhat anxiously, "Now that your martial soul has awakened, what do you plan to do next?"
Yun Ze glanced at Gu Yuena and smiled. "What else? I'll follow your lead and enroll in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy.
"That academy is directly under the Federation government. Studying there will be more beneficial to our plans."
"Alright! You'll come to Mingdu with me then," Gu Yuena said happily.
"This time, it's not just the two of us going to Mingdu. Everyone is coming," Yun Ze added, looking at the others.
Gu Yuena looked at him in confusion, while the others also turned their attention to him. Clearly, Yun Ze was the core of their group.
Understanding their curiosity, Yun Ze explained, "Now that my martial soul has awakened, once I absorb a soul spirit, I will become a Rank 20+ Grand Soul Master.
"With my Phoenix Flames and your assistance, I can refine the Transformation Pill.
"After taking the Transformation Pill, all of you will truly be no different from human soul masters. You will be able to move freely across the continent without worrying about being discovered by human experts.
"Xingyue City is nice, but it's only decent—not as good as Mingdu. To develop faster, we need to build our forces in Mingdu."
"In the past, we stayed in Xingyue City because we were afraid of attracting the attention of powerful soul masters. Now that this issue is resolved, it's time to move to a better place."
"That's great!" The group cheered excitedly. They had been looking forward to the Transformation Pill for a long time.
"Thank you," Gu Yuena said gratefully. She had no doubts about Yun Ze—if he said he could refine the Transformation Pill, then he definitely could.
The truthfulness of his words had already been proven time and time again through practice.
This powerful being from another world gave her a feeling of omnipotence—someone she could trust and rely on.
"This is all thanks to the Golden Essence of Life you provided. It's a fair exchange; there's no need to thank me," Yun Ze chuckled.
Despite his words, Gu Yuena still kept this favor in her heart.
"Bi Ji, have we completed the inventory of our assets in Xingyue City?" Yun Ze turned to the green-dressed woman beside Di Tian.
"Yes," Bi Ji stood up, bowed slightly to Yun Ze and Gu Yuena, and reported:
"Our fixed assets include a Yaowang Pavilion store, a forging shop, and this building, with a total market value of nearly one billion Federation coins.
"The medicinal herbs, pills, metals, and finished metal products in one store alone are worth approximately three billion Federation coins.
"Over the past few years, we have accumulated about fifteen billion in funds, bringing our total assets to approximately nineteen billion."
"How is Yaowang Pavilion's business doing?" Yun Ze asked.
Bi Ji smiled and glanced at Yun Ze with gratitude before answering, "The Foundation Pill and Breakthrough Pill you developed continue to sell well.
"Right now, Yaowang Pavilion generates nearly seven million Federation coins in revenue every day, and this number will only increase."
The Foundation Pill and Breakthrough Pill were medicinal pills that Yun Ze had developed based on the world's existing rules.
They were relatively basic, but in order to make them easier to refine, he had deliberately simplified the pill formulas.
"It seems that the success rate for these two pills is still too low," Yun Ze remarked.
Even though these were simplified versions, their effects remained significant. The Foundation Pill could increase a soul master's innate soul power by one rank.
The Breakthrough Pill could allow soul masters below the Soul Sect rank to break through bottlenecks instantly. Even for major bottlenecks, taking a few more pills would ensure a breakthrough.
If the refining success rate was high enough, the daily income should have exceeded ten million, not just seven million.
Bi Ji's delicate face flushed red with embarrassment as she awkwardly explained, "I can refine them normally, with about a 60% success rate.
"But the hired alchemists have a success rate of less than 10%. Even with more than a dozen of them, they only produce a few pills per day—not even as many as I can refine alone.
"So... it's my fault for not teaching them well." Bi Ji blamed herself, unwilling to make excuses.
As the person in charge of Yaowang Pavilion, she felt fully responsible for this situation.
"This isn't your fault. Those people are just too incompetent. If they can't refine pills properly, it has nothing to do with you," Di Tian comforted her.
"If their efficiency is so low, then let's temporarily shut it down. Sell off our stores and relocate to Mingdu. We'll start over there.
"With our current funds, we can develop quickly in Mingdu."
In the forging shop, Xiong Jun was the only real blacksmith. Since he was definitely moving to Mingdu, the shop no longer served any purpose.
Seeing Bi Ji's guilty expression, Yun Ze reassured her, "You don't need to blame yourself. Like Di Tian said, this isn't your fault.
"You do have talent in alchemy, and you're also a capable manager. After we move to Mingdu, Yaowang Pavilion will still be under your control."
"Mm," Bi Ji nodded, feeling a little less guilty as she sat down.
"Now, let's talk about the plan moving forward," Yun Ze said, sweeping his gaze over the group.
(End of Chapter)