[Bonus Chapter for 500 powerstones]
Ryu didn't waste any time. His footsteps seemed slow and deliberate, but if one looked closely, it was as though the wind glided him forward several meters with every step. Those in the Circle of Elites were either wealthy individuals or strong cultivators, usually both. As a result, the depth of Ryu was something that intrigued many and caught their interest.
Soon, Ryu made it to the Alchemy Association. As expected, as any proper Alchemy Association should, they had their own Herbology Department. Though Ryu never dabbled in alchemy, the depth of his knowledge of herbology was far beyond what those here could contend with, so he planned on taking advantage of this fact. Unfortunately, it seemed Valor City was set on forcing him to waste time.
As an unknown customer, he could freely buy Common Grade Herbs, but should he want to buy Spiritual Herbs of a higher grade, he had many hoops to jump through.
Though Ryu's facial expressions didn't change as he listened to the explanation of the receptionist, he would be lying if he said he wasn't annoyed. It seemed everything in Valor City revolved around one's status, and they seemed to look down on those who wanted to throw money at every problem.
If Ryu wanted to spend ten million gold on Common Grade herbs, he'd be out of luck. Deals revolving around Common Grade herbs were usually handled with silver which were worth a hundredth of a gold coin. Even if he was willing to spend ten million gold, he wouldn't reach that amount even if he bought the Association's entire stock.
To make matters worse, even if the Association had that many Common Grade herbs to sell, they would never allow Ryu to clean them out with one purchase because it would imbalance the economy too much, not to mention inconvenience others.
"… Unfortunately, young master, the only way to skirt these rules is by having a Valor Honor Card or becoming an Earth Grade Alchemist of our Association, or Black Grade, considering your age. Or, young master can become a Disciple of one of Valor City's Sects. The use of Sect Contribution Points have no such rules attached to them, though you have to use Universal Contribution Points which are worth much more than Sect specific Contribution Points."
Finally, a new piece of information. Universal Contribution Points were worth a thousand times that of Sect specific ones. One would have to join a Sect and earn a thousand points before trading them in for one that could be used anywhere within Valor City territory, including the other two Sects.
Ryu realized just how important status was here. The Pedestal Plane must be aware that there were individuals overflowing with gold on the Mortal Planes. No matter where you were, gold was a universal mineral recognized by all. So, how could the arrogant Immortals allow mere Mortals to flaunt their wealth as they pleased? This method was a way of dividing those who had true strength from those who didn't.
'It's a good thing that I had planned on joining a Sect anyway, hm?' Once Ryu understood the fundamental rules of the Pedestal Plane, he wasn't discouraged. If anything, he was excited. He'd force the Faith of the Outer Ring to revolve around himself and play them in the palm of his hands. The day he left this place would be the day the name Ryu Tatsuya was immortalized.
"Thank you for the information." Ryu said faintly. "As a normal individual, what are my purchase limits?"
"Replying to young master, you can freely buy Common Grade herbs, but you're limited to three stocks per herb type. There are no price limits, just quantity caps. Here is what we have available in our inventory currently." The receptionist handed Ryu one of the many Memory Jade copies they kept on hand for moments like these.
Ryu nodded, taking the white Memory Jade in his hand.
"Wait a moment." Ryu suddenly paused. "You said that if I become a Black Grade Alchemist, I can buy freely from your Association, correct? Do you all not have graded Herbologists?"
The receptionist was shocked by the question. It wasn't that Ryu had said something ridiculous, or, maybe it was that… The reason the receptionist hadn't brought this up was because it was more likely for a youth below twenty to become an Earth Grade Alchemist than even a Common Grade Herbologist. This was how exaggerated the differences were.
An alchemy disciple took a cultivation technique handed down to them by their Master and followed strict procedures to reproduce a long since vetted method. However, Herbologists had no such structure to their system. Knowing the names and properties of Spiritual Herbs was only just one small aspect. It was necessary to understand how to grow and foster growth in herbs, how different environments affected these herbs, what sorts of mutations could happen or be caused to happen, the chemical structure of these herbs, what changes could occur when splicing or separating these structures… The list was so long that even an entire day wasn't enough to list them all.
The best Herbologist they had in Valor City was an old monster who was a Half-Step Heaven Grade Alchemist, she would garner respect even in the Inner Ring, yet even she was only a Higher Black Grade Herbologist.
Comparing Herbology and Alchemy was like comparing doctors to medical pioneers. Of course, doctors had a difficult job, but much of their task was executing concepts and methods already tested and vetted by those who pioneered new fields of their own. One was clearly much more difficult than the other.
"Let me guess." Ryu said when an almost resigned sigh. "It takes several months, maybe years, to set up an appropriately difficult exam and administrator of said exam?"
The receptionist blinked before grasping her bearings once more. "N-no… Actually, the exam for Herbology is standardized across the Pedestal Plane. It's an exam that takes place in a Small Realm and is automatically marked and graded as it happens… Theoretically, if an individual can pay, they can take it immediately and as many times as they want or can afford."
Ryu was pleasantly surprised by this response. "Is that so? I'd like to take it then."
"T-this…" The receptionist stuttered.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-no… It's just that it's very expensive."
"How much gold?" Ryu raised an eyebrow.
"Not… Not gold, but Qi Stones. One Common Grade Exam costs ten Inferior Qi Stones, a Black Grade Exam is… It's ten Medial Qi Stones..." The receptionist seemed to duck away, afraid of Ryu's reaction
"Oh…" Ryu mumbled. "That's all?"