My Crazy Upgrade System

Elder Luo nodded, not denying it. Yi Tianyun was right; it was much the same for any race. But when hatred was involved, the treatment was bound to be different.

If the human race possessed some top-tier Fire Attribute Fruit, the Phoenix Race would undoubtedly try to seize it. The principle was the same.

Elder Luo said no more and continued to lead Yi Tianyun deeper inside. After passing through layer after layer of guards, they finally arrived before the treasury. A Spirit King Stage expert stood guard, leisurely sipping fragrant tea off to the side, looking utterly carefree.

"Eh? Elder Luo... is this a human?" When the sixth-level Spirit King Stage expert saw Yi Tianyun, a hint of hostility flashed in his eyes. Had he not seen Elder Luo escorting the man, he would have attacked already.

"Elder Feng, he brought my granddaughter back and informed me of Huang’Er’s situation. To repay him, I brought him here to the Divine Hall to select a Treasure," Elder Luo explained simply.

"Don’t tell me..." Elder Feng couldn’t help but ask, though he didn’t finish the question.

"Yes. The old burying the young..." Elder Luo sighed.

"My condolences..." Elder Feng nodded, then looked at Yi Tianyun and said, "Thank you for your kindness. It’s rare for a human to go to such lengths."

His attitude was much better than Elder Lei’s. Once he understood the situation, it softened immediately.

’It seems not everyone is as extreme as Elder Lei,’ Yi Tianyun thought. ’But they all detest humans deep down. That much is consistent.’

"Although a reward is in order, the rules state he can only choose one item. No more," Elder Feng said as he gave the large door a light push. When his palm rested on it, several rays of light flared up. The door then slowly opened, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

"I am aware of that rule." Elder Luo led the way inside. Yi Tianyun nodded to Elder Feng and followed him in as well.

Upon entering, his eyes were met with countless Treasures arranged on shelves. They were perfectly sorted into several categories: weapons, armor, Elixir Pills, and more. Everything one would expect to find was here.

As a Divine Country Power, they wouldn’t deserve the title if they had anything less. The Phoenix Nest was indeed a Divine Country Power; otherwise, the Celestial Nether Divine Kingdom or other factions would have invaded and annexed them long ago.

’Their foundation is truly astonishing...’

Yi Tianyun’s gaze swept across the room. There were numerous Sacred Artifacts, a good number of fifth and sixth-grade Elixir Pills, and even Heaven-rank Martial Arts on display. Such a collection was worthy of a Divine Country Power, and this was only a small fraction of their total wealth, not the complete collection.

For example, there were no Divine Artifacts on display. The Phoenix Race barely had enough for their own use, so putting any here for the taking was out of the question.

"You may choose any one Treasure here. This is the official reward we offer to outsiders. Anyone who performs a great service for the Phoenix Race and meets the conditions may come here and select one item. My personal reward to you will not be limited to this; we are simply following the rules by having you choose one thing now." Elder Luo had no intention of letting a single Treasure suffice. The act of bringing his granddaughter home could not be repaid so easily.

Especially seeing how attached his granddaughter was to him, he knew Yi Tianyun must have treated her well. Otherwise, she wouldn’t act like that. If he had, for instance, frequently extracted her Essence Blood, would she cling to him? Certainly not.

"Elder Luo, do you also harbor a hatred for the human race in your heart?" Instead of immediately choosing a Treasure, Yi Tianyun asked an awkward question.

"To be honest, yes, I do," Elder Luo said, shaking his head. "If not for the fact that you brought my granddaughter home, my attitude would be the same as the other elders—full of hostility. Therefore, once you’ve chosen your Treasure, you should leave. Some may have had a change of heart about you, but most of their views cannot be changed so easily."

Yi Tianyun nodded. That was the truth. ’Even if completing the quest grants a hundred favorability points, it’s useless,’ he thought. ’The reason is simple: their favorability toward me is already in the negatives. Adding a hundred might just bring it back to zero. It won’t actually make them like me.’

Only Elder Luo, the direct beneficiary, would have a significantly better attitude toward him.

"I understand. In that case, I’ll choose my Treasure." Yi Tianyun walked over and began examining the shelves, looking for something that suited him.

He definitely didn’t need a weapon. There weren’t even any high-grade Sacred Artifacts here, so weapons were out of the question. He also ruled out Elixir Pills. Consuming them wouldn’t grant him any experience points; only special elixirs like the Soul-Nourishing Pill had that effect.

For example, the sixth-grade Void Spirit Pill was very suitable for a Void Spirit Stage expert’s cultivation. It would have some effect if he took it, but it would only grant a tiny amount of experience—a pitiful one million points at most.

While a million experience points was a lot, this was a sixth-grade Elixir Pill, with a rarity comparable to Soul-Nourishing Grass. It would be a better use of the pill to give it to Shi Xueyun and the others.

He didn’t need weapons, and he didn’t need armor. As for Martial Arts, the Heaven-rank techniques were nice, but he didn’t need those either. He could get them to drop from killing Cultivators, so choosing one here wasn’t worth it. Besides, he already had plenty of Heaven-rank Martial Arts.

Finally, his gaze settled on the Alchemy Furnaces. The Phoenix Race’s mastery of fire was astonishing, so practically all of them were Alchemists. He had originally hoped to find a Divine Rune Pen, but he discovered there were very few, with the best being at the Soul Artifact Level. There were no Divine Rune Pens of the Holy Artifact Level, which was a shame.

There were, however, several Holy Artifact Level Alchemy Furnaces. The choice was now obvious. His current Purple Fire Divine Furnace couldn’t be upgraded, and its grade was too low. He was in desperate need of a better Alchemy Furnace.

"Elder Luo, are there no high-grade Divine Rune Pens here?" Yi Tianyun inquired.

"No, there are not. My race has few members who are skilled in that art, so our collection of Divine Rune Pens is rather small," Elder Luo answered truthfully.

"Very well, then I’ll choose this Blazing Divine Furnace!" Having confirmed this, Yi Tianyun selected a small furnace from a nearby shelf. Its surface was engraved with several phoenixes that looked so lifelike they seemed ready to leap off the Tripod Furnace.

"You know Alchemy?" Elder Luo asked, puzzled.

"A little," Yi Tianyun said modestly. In truth, his skill could reach the Master level at any moment. Or rather, he was just a hair’s breadth away from becoming a Master Alchemist.

He had a vast amount of unspent Skill Level points accumulated. He planned to save them until a skill was just a few tens of thousands, or perhaps a hundred thousand points short of a crucial and immediate upgrade.

Therefore, he could become a Master Alchemist whenever he pleased. Reaching the level of Master Alchemist at his age was a feat that would shock anyone who heard of it.