Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 93 Resource Allocation through Points Exchange

When the notification sound of points being credited in the task hall rang, several students around stopped what they were doing.

Ten thousand points. The number popped up in Lin Chen's campus card balance column, clearly displayed in black letters on a white background. A small notification scrolled across the light screen in the lobby: Lin Chen from Core Class One, completed the A-level mission of hunting the Shadow Leopard, points +10000. This notification only scrolled once before disappearing, but it was enough for dozens of people in the lobby to see it.

The staff member was a young woman with a ponytail and black-rimmed glasses. She glanced at the numbers on the screen, then looked up at Lin Chen, her expression changing. It wasn't fawning, but a respectful scrutiny—she had worked there for two years and seen many new students, but those who could earn their place on the 10,000-point task could be counted on one hand.

"Lin Chen, your 10,000 points have been credited to your account. You can use them now." She handed the campus card back with both hands, her tone more respectful than when she had greeted other students earlier.

Lin Chen took the card and turned to walk towards the exchange area. Su Muyue followed behind him, while Leng Feng walked at the very back, his right arm bandage replaced with a new white one that shimmered under the lights. Su Ling'er walked in the middle, tiptoeing and peering at the exchange screen, a mint she'd grabbed from the entrance of the mission hall still in her mouth, her cheeks puffed out slightly.

The exchange area is a semi-circular cubicle with frosted glass on three sides and one side open to the outside. A touchscreen is embedded in the wall directly in front; it's a bit slow to respond, taking about half a second to register a tap. The screen displays categories: pills, cultivation techniques, weapons, formations, secret realm slots, training rooms… Each major category has further subcategories, with densely packed items, and point values ​​ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands.

Lin Chen didn't browse the other categories and went straight to the pills and medicinal herbs section.

He swiped his fingers rapidly across the screen, scrolling down line by line. The pill section had many items, with the most common ones being healing pills and qi-gathering pills, priced inexpensive, ranging from tens to hundreds of points. He continued scrolling down, but stopped when he reached the middle to later sections.

Cleansing Grass. A rare medicinal herb that grows in places rich in spiritual energy. It can clear away evil toxins from the body and purify the meridians. Required points for exchange: 1200.

Below is a line of smaller print: Inventory tight.

Lin Chen didn't hesitate and clicked "redeem". A confirmation box popped up on the screen, and he clicked it again. The transaction success notification flashed by, and 1,200 points were deducted.

He scrolled down a few more lines and found the Soul-Gathering Flower. This herb was a bit more expensive than the Evil-Clearing Grass, costing 1,500 points, which he also exchanged for. He then exchanged for three other herbs, all listed by Daoist Xuan Chen in his letter, the kind that could suppress the blood poison in Su Muyue's body. The five items together cost 5,100 points.

Su Muyue stood beside him watching him select the herbs, initially remaining silent. But when she saw Lin Chen's fingers slide to the next herb, she finally reached out and pressed down on his wrist.

"Lin Chen, that's enough." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "This is enough for me for a long time. You need to save your own points too. You need a cultivation room and cultivation techniques, don't you? You can't give me everything."

Lin Chen turned to look at her. The light from the exchange screen shone on her face, making her look excessively white, but the look in her eyes was very serious. It wasn't just politeness; she genuinely didn't want him to spend all his points on her.

He smiled, removed her hand from his wrist, squeezed it briefly, then let go and turned back to tap the screen.

"Your health is the most important thing." He said as he continued scrolling down, making sure there were no other necessary medicinal herbs before leaving the medicine section. "You can earn more points. Your injury can't be delayed. These herbs can stabilize the blood poison, and once we get the Star Marrow Liquid in the secret realm, it will be completely cured. That's the most important thing right now."

Su Ling'er, with a candy in her mouth, leaned closer, her cheeks puffed out, her voice a little muffled: "Sister Mu Yue, please accept it. Brother Lin Chen is right, if you recover well, you can help us set up formations in the secret realm. Besides, I understand these medicinal herbs, and when combined with the pills I refine, the effect will be even better, much better than if you ate them alone." As she spoke, she chewed the candy in her mouth, making a crunching sound.

Chu Fan stood outside the exchange area, leaning against the frosted glass wall, his notebook spread out on his left palm, his right hand writing something. He wrote a few strokes, looked up, and adjusted his glasses: "Team resources should be prioritized for core members. Your condition is crucial to the survival of the entire team. This isn't a favor, it's a tactical arrangement. Don't refuse."

Leng Feng stood on the outermost edge, his right arm crossed in front of his chest, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He glanced at Su Muyue and said only four words: "Listen to Lin Chen."

Su Muyue looked at the group of people, her lips moved slightly, but she didn't speak. She lowered her head, blinked, and a little water glistened on her eyelashes. Back in the Su family, she was the eldest daughter, and everything was arranged for her, but that arrangement was the family's responsibility and the elders' duty. These people in front of her were not related to her by blood, and she hadn't known them for long, yet they were willing to spend the points they had earned through life-and-death situations on her without hesitation.

She didn't refuse again, but simply nodded slightly. Lin Chen noticed her eyes redden slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

After exchanging the medicinal herbs, 5,100 points were deducted, leaving a balance of 4,900 points.

Several students nearby had been secretly watching the screen, and when they saw Lin Chen spend over five thousand points in one go, one of them gasped. This number was no small amount for a freshman; an average freshman might not be able to accumulate that many points even after a whole semester.

Lin Chen didn't stop, and clicked into the formation area again.

Chu Fan paused for a moment.

Lin Chen rummaged through the array formation area and found a set of high-level array plate materials. This set wasn't a finished array plate, but rather a semi-finished product—several copper plates engraved with basic runes, a few unactivated array flags, a small bottle of prepared spirit ink, and an instruction manual for setting up the array. The materials weren't cheap, costing 1800 points. He flipped through a few more pages and found an ancient array formation fragment. The book was a rubbing; the original was in the school's secret archives, and students could only exchange for rubbings to read. The price wasn't expensive, though, at 600 points.

The two items together cost 2,400. Lin Chen clicked to redeem.