Wei Lidao finally let out a breath of relief.


    In the end, this move was nothing more than shifting the payroll of the Western Defense Zone Allied Forces to the Central Bank in Sea View City.


    It was a minor inconvenience for the soldiers, nothing more.


    And for something this trivial, would Qi Refining Stage soldiers really dare to challenge Foundation Building cultivators or noble families?


    The Next Day


    At the Western Defense Zone Allied Forces'' military camp, soldiers lined up in long, orderly queues, waiting for their pay.


    From above, six snaking lines stretched out in front of the six designated pay distribution points.


    Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out.


    "What the hell? Where are the spirit stones? Why are you handing me a piece of paper?"


    A hot-tempered soldier exploded in anger after receiving five Spirit Stone Coins, each with a face value of 100.


    The officer in charge of distributing wages—an early Foundation Building cultivator—nced at him coldly.


    "What are you yelling about? Don''t you have eyes?"


    As his aura red, a crushing Foundation Building presence descended upon thete-stage Qi Refining soldier, nearly knocking him to his knees.


    The soldier instantly snapped out of his outburst.


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    He hurriedly bowed and stammered, "Please forgive me, sir! I didn''t mean it—I was just caught off guard."


    Seeing that the soldier had calmed down, the Foundation Building cultivator nodded slightly. He then pointed to arge noticeboard nearby.


    "Learn to read. The exnation is right there."


    Without another word, he turned away and resumed handing out payments to the soldiers behind him.


    Nie Zhong was ate-stage Qi Refining casual cultivator from Guang''an Prefecture.


    Originally, he had worked as a spirit nter on one of the many spirit veins controlled by the Zhou family—nothing more than a tenant farmer cultivating spiritual fields for them.


    In reality, despite his cultivation, the spirit stones he earned in a year were far less than what some roaming cultivators could make by forcing mortals to farm for them.


    Later


    The Yang family took the lead in establishing the Guang''an Immortal Alliance, developing numerous spiritual veins on inds within a thousand-mile radius around Jinwu Ind.


    They also invited cultivators from other regions to settle on these inds, cultivating spiritual fields and growing spiritual medicines.


    For Nie Zhong, who had long suffered under the Zhou family''s oppression, this was a golden opportunity.


    Without hesitation, he packed his belongings and rushed to the Guang''an Immortal Alliance''s territory.


    Unfortunately, his good days didn''t evenst very long.


    A zombie tide erupted on Lotus Ind, and the once-powerful Zhao family—a renowned family in Guang''an Prefecture—waspletely wiped out.


    This tragedy sent waves of fear through all independent cultivators in the region. For Nie Zhong, a merete-stage Qi Refining cultivator, the threat felt insurmountable.


    During that time, he could barely focus on cultivation. Every rustling leaf, every shadow in the night made him uneasy, fearing that his ind would be the next to fall to these monstrous creatures.


    Luckily, the Zhou family took charge, organizing the Guang''an Prefecture Coalition and establishing five major defense zones to stabilize the region.


    With that, the scattered independent cultivators finally had a backbone to rely on.


    Nie Zhong was among the first to enlist.


    In his mind, the coalition forces were the safest bet—after all, they were led by Purple Mansion cultivators, whose power alone could deter most threats.


    For low-level cultivators like him, safety was the ultimate priority.


    The only regret?


    He wasn''t assigned to the Central Defense Zone—the Zhou family''s stronghold—which was, without question, the safest ce in all of Guang''an Prefecture.


    Still, the Western Defense Zone had its own advantages.


    Although it was weaker, it was the farthest from the Eastern Defense Zone, meaning it was less likely to face direct attacks from the Lotus Ind zombie tide.


    Moreover, the Hartmann family, which controlled the Western Defense Zone, had been developing spiritual veins on inds near Redwood Ind, offering independent cultivatorsnd to establish spiritual fields and cultivate spiritual medicines.


    For Nie Zhong, this was an opportunity he couldn''t ignore.


    Atst, he felt a sense of stability return.


    His n was simple: serve in the Western Defense Zone Coalition, survive, and save up enough spirit stones.


    By the time his service ended, he hoped to have umted enough wealth to carve out a better future.


    He went to rentnd on the spiritual veins around Redwood Ind to cultivate spiritual fields. With his skills as a spiritual farmer, developing these fields was an easy task.


    From what he knew, the Hartmann family''s spiritual veins around Redwood Ind were not only second-grade but also of the highest quality. On top of that, the cost of rentingnd was much lower than in Guang''an''s main cities.


    If his calctions were correct, he wouldn''t just be able to open up spiritual fields—he would also have enough spirit stones to grow high-value spiritual medicines.


    Just as he was looking forward to receiving his first military pay, he was shocked to find that he had only been given five banknotes.


    Banknotes?


    No, these were just five pieces of talisman paper!


    Although he wasn''t sure what materials they were made of, years of handling spiritual nts had given him a keen sense of smell. He could tell that these papers carried the scent of spiritual nts.


    Were they really trying to embezzle his hard-earned military pay with just five pieces of paper?


    At that moment, all the anger and humiliation he had suppressed from being oppressed by powerful families over the years came rushing out.


    But it onlysted a few seconds.


    The overwhelming pressure of the Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of payments quickly crushed his defiance, forcing him to back down.


    Following the official''s instructions, he turned to read the notice beside him. That''s when he finally understood what these banknotes were for.


    "So... I can exchange them for spirit stones at the Central Bank in Sea View Fairy City? And I can even use them directly in shops there? Is this real?" Nie Zhong muttered.


    "Hurry up! If we''re toote, all the spirit stones at the bank might be gone!"


    "Yeah! The higher-ups must have introduced this paper money because they don''t have enough spirit stones for military sries. This is just another trick!"


    "Quick! Let''s go before it''s toote!"


    Hearing this, Nie Zhong had a sudden realization. Without hesitation, he activated his Wind Control Technique and rushed toward Sea View Fairy City.


    Unlike Lingzhou Fairy City or Zhou Main City, Sea View Fairy City had no entry tax.


    Monks from the entire Ten Thousand Star Sea could enter freely without paying a single spirit stone.


    Rather than relying on entry fees, the Hartmann family focused on the profits and taxes generated by trade.@@novelbin@@


    The city itself was vastrger than Zhou Main City—but most of itsnd was still undeveloped. Thepleted sections made up only about one-tenth of Zhou Main City''s total area.


    Even so, more than 200,000 cultivators had already gathered in this small fairy city, making it lively and bustling with activity.


    Today was payday for the soldiers.


    Arge number of them took their spirit stone coins and headed to the Central Bank in the heart of Sea View Fairy City to exchange them for actual spirit stones.


    The bank had a total of sixteen working windows.


    However, with tens of thousands of soldiers arriving to exchange their sries, the long queues stretched across the street, causing aplete blockage.


    Inside the Central Bank


    Apanied by Lei Zhen, Xiao Wei observed the bustling soldiers exchanging their spirit stone coins. A vague sense of unease crept over him.


    "General Lei, do you think the soldiers will ept the spirit stone coins issued by our city?"


    Lei Zhen thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don''t know."


    "Luis said that the value of currency depends on the goods it can buy. As long as the spirit stone coins we issue can actually purchase elixirs, magic tools, talismans, and othermodities, they should hold value, right?"


    Hearing this, Lei Zhen hesitated before replying. "Like the Qianyuan Sword Sect''s military merit system?"


    "It''s a vividparison, but still different from military merit," Xiao Wei responded.


    After nearly a month of training under Luis, Xiao Wei had gained a deep understanding of the nature of money.


    He now realized that the industrial development of Hartmann Ind couldn''t progress without a widely circted currency.


    Spirit stones were widely used, but their supply was limited—at least in Guang''an Prefecture, there simply weren''t enough of them.


    In the Crowd


    Nie Zhong waited in the long line until, finally, it was his turn.


    Stepping up to the counter, he spoke loudly, "I''d like to exchange five hundred spirit stones."


    As he spoke, he handed over five spirit stone coins, each worth 100 spirit stones.


    The bank teller looked at him and asked, "Are you sure you want to exchange 500 spirit stone coins for 500 spirit stones?"


    "Yes, yes! Please hurry!" Nie Zhong urged.


    Through the window, he could see mountains of spirit stones stacked inside the bank. If not for the faint but overwhelming pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator filling the hall, he might have done something reckless.


    For a brief moment, the thought of taking a risk shed through his mind.