Immortal Kingdoms

Leonardo touched his chin while thinking, "Can you concoct a pill that could preserve youth and extend lifespan instead? We can take things one step at a time…"

Leo realized that Merlin still had at least seventy to eighty years of life, there was no reason to be in a rush.

"That's more reasonable," the old man also nodded. He liked flexible clients the most.

"Prolonging lifespan will have side effects that would prove counterproductive in the future, those medicines are better left alone until someone is really old, or are unable to make any further breakthrough in cultivation. As for youth preservation, I can concoct a third-tier Frost Nether Nectar pill, the usage is quite simple; dissolve the pill inside clear water and let the person soak in it for a prolonged period of time."

As the old man spoke, he began to rummage through his medicinal herbs for the suitable ingredients, humming lightly to himself as he did.

"How much would it cost for this Frost Nether Nectar pill?" Leonardo moved out of the old man's path and allowed him to continue plucking herbs.

"This type of pill isn't expensive, around 20,000 credits would do. Of course, you can pay in raw ether fragments as well." Responded the old man as his spiritual force enveloped the medicinal ingredients.

Then, violet flames emerged from the void and engulfed the stalk of herbs before descending into a medicinal cauldron to the side. Various inscriptions on the cauldron's surface lit up as worldly energy rushed into the cauldron, quickly making good work of the medicinal ingredients inside.

Within no time at all, a row of nine translucent shining pills was ejected from a compartment to the side of the cauldron, flowing smoothly into a fist-sized bottle in the old man's hands.

"There you go, the haul is pretty good this time."

Leonardo smiled, he didn't know whether these pills were exceptionally good or not as he didn't dabble in alchemy. Nonetheless, their cold aura gave him a good feeling, so he didn't think too much about it.

"I'll transfer the credits to your card directly." Leonardo stored the pills away before taking out his SCC which was now linked to his personal bank account through his spiritual imprint.

"A one-star SCC?" The old man's eyebrows jumped in surprise, even more so when he saw the diamond Azure Luan Bank stamp on the back of the card, muttering something inaudible to himself.

Then, he smiled, "Actually, consider these pills a gesture of goodwill from this old man, how about it?"

The old man clamped down on Leonardo's hand, returning the card back to him.

Leonardo stared blankly for a moment, his tone a bit weird, "What's with the sudden change in attitude? Are you trying to sell me a favor?"

The old man laughed.

"Why would I do that? This old man might be late in his years, but I have a good eye for young talent." The old man pointed at the one-star mark and the diamond stamp, saying, "You're so young, you have an immortal constitution, but you're not like those stubborn martial fools who only think with their strength; I can tell that you have aspirations to climb both the martial and official ranks."

Leonardo's gaze focused, clear killing intent overflowing from his cold gaze.

"Young man, don't overthink things! I didn't intentionally investigate your body, it can't be helped when you walked right into my domain!" The old man jumped in shock from that dense killing intent, quickly waving his hands.

"At first, I assumed you might be some disciple who left the sect for experience, but those sects won't allow their disciples to take official posts in the secular world, and there is no way for the royal court to dispatch someone of your talent all the way here to Lush Skirts Plains Province, this could only mean you're a disciple of some wandering hermit."

"To tell the truth, I'm also tired of these rules and restrictions. Hence, if you make it to a three-star title in the future and establish a manor, or a six-star title and receive an estate from the dynasty, this old man is willing to work for you instead."

The old man hurriedly explained himself.

He wasn't afraid of Leonardo per se, but he didn't want to offend a potentially powerful organization behind him. It is no easy task to allow such a talented cultivator to muddle his way into an official post, hence the old man's apprehensions.

The hostility in Leonardo's eyes dropped significantly, he calmed down.

He was too careless, actually entering the domain of a rebirth realm cultivator without considering the potential consequences. However, this was his first time hearing of the designated official ranks associated with the star count on the SCC.

Junior brother only asked him to climb the official ranks through contributions to the dynasty, but he never mentioned anything about the procedures to climb the ranks.

"How can I go about making contributions exactly?" Leonardo furrowed his brows and asked.

The old man sighed in relief.

He cleared his throat and said, "You can check the missions board in the City Magistrate's Manor in the Central District, they submit tasks passed down from the court to help the citizens with contributions. Those without stars to their names must complete one hundred tasks on unranked missions to get their one-star contribution, and the cycle continues the more you climb."

"Of course, you can also dispatch subordinates to register or complete missions under your name since you already have an SCC, but the higher the ranking of the mission, the harder it becomes. Moreover, these missions come without a reward, at least without a tangible reward as the only guaranteed rewards are connections with the nobility and a higher status, which could be used for both good and bad depending on your personality."

Since they were within the old man's domain, he didn't have any misgivings about telling Leonardo all these things. However, these weren't secrets either, only that a bit of the old man's opinion was sprinkled on the explanation.

"That sounds like a hassle…" Thinking about completing hundreds of missions of free labor, Leonardo immediately shut down any notions of climbing the ranks of nobility.