Star Martial Era: The Way of Star Light Cultivation
Chapter 298 - 146 Taoist Merit Harvest and the Eldest Martial Sister (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Votes)_2

Chapter 298: Chapter 146 Taoist Merit Harvest and the Eldest Martial Sister (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Votes)_2

"The total Taoist Merit you’ve earned from these Star Cores is 1090 points," said Vice Hall Master Ling Mao.

This left Xu Jin slightly disappointed. Although 1090 points of Taoist Merit was not a small amount, after facing life-and-death situations, to only receive this much felt insufficient. It wasn’t even enough for a month’s cultivation, let alone the cost of one trip up the Heavenly Ascending Stairs.

To say he wasn’t disappointed would be a lie.

Earning Taoist Merit felt much harder than earning silver.

Xu Jin’s hint of disappointment did not escape Ling Mao’s notice.

"Don’t worry, this isn’t the final number for your Taoist Merit!"

With Xu Jin looking surprised, Ling Mao continued to calculate, "According to Dachen’s military merits, there are five levels, ranging from First Tier to Fifth Tier: Small Merit, Great Merit, Special Merit, Miracle Merit, and Unparalleled Achievement.

In many Star Domains or special environments, captures are subject to the multiplicative effects of the merit levels.

Simply take the base merit and multiply it by the tier number to get the final amount of merit you’ve earned.

By the rules, Xu Jin, your achievement in reclaiming the Fire Radiant Star Domain is considered Miracle Merit, so you’ve ultimately earned 4360 points of Taoist Merit. If there are no objections, I will allocate them to you now," Ling Mao said.

"No objections."

Over 4,000 Taoist Merit, worth over 40,000 taels of silver, seemed to pass muster.

"Xu Jin, don’t rush. These are just the Taoist Merit points you’ve captured. The real rewards are yet to come. The State Preceptor has already reported the battle to the court, and in a few days, the results should come through," Ling Mao said.

"Xu Jin, since you’re here, I’ll also give you this month’s cultivation resources for a True Disciple. As long as you remain a True Disciple, you’ll receive it every month through your Star-picking Order."

"Thank you, Hall Master Ling."

Moments later, Xu Jin saw a deposit of 4860 points of Taoist Merit to his account, and he felt very pleased.

Even just the basic monthly deposit of 500 points of Taoist Merit made being a True Disciple worth it.

According to the rules of the Da Chen National Daoist School, True Disciples enjoy 500 points of Taoist Merit each month for cultivation resources, up to three years. Core Disciples get 200 points per month, while Inner Court Disciples receive only 100 points.

That’s the bare minimum: 6000 points of Taoist Merit per year. If you include the two free uses of the Heavenly Ascending Stairs provided annually, that’s 26000 points of Taoist Merit.

Mountain Master Dong Zhao mentioned that considering various resources, excluding teaching support, the national institute invests about 50,000 points of Taoist Merit per year on a True Disciple. Core Disciples get 20,000 points, and Inner Court Disciples about 5,000 points.

It’s a significant investment.

50,000 points of Taoist Merit a year, when converted to silver, is half a million taels.

An enormous sum!

Such support even surpasses that of the richest man in Jinshan County.

Despite the wealthiest man in Jinshan County having assets over one million taels of silver, he can only spend about one to two hundred thousand taels per year.

No wonder even someone like Lu Xianbing, who hails from a family of local officials, struggles so hard to compete – these are tangible benefits in hard silver.

But as fast as Taoist Merit comes, it’s spent just as quickly.

By the time Xu Jin left, out of the freshly acquired 4860 points of Taoist Merit, only 2760 points remained.

Xu Jin had purchased three bottles of ordinary Star Refining Pills and three bottles of top-grade Star Refining Pills.

This amount was barely enough for half a month of cultivation.

Thus, Xu Jin’s wealth at the Star-picking Tower dwindled significantly.

[Taoist Merit: 2760 points]

[Starlight: 246 strands]

Worth mentioning is, upon leaving, Vice Hall Master Ling Mao of the Foreign Affairs Hall added Xu Jin as a friend and told him to directly contact him when visiting the hall for faster and more convenient service.

Xu Jin gladly accepted the friend request.

Xu Jin knew this was another investment in personal relationships.

But why not accept a favor from someone who values his potential and offers convenience?

Most rewards for the favor would come incidentally later on.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Jin arrived at the Star-Picking Plaza of the Da Chen National Daoist School – the earthly location for Da Chen Star Tower. The Third Tier Star Power Secret Realm of the Star Tower was right here.

The advantage of being a True Disciple was once again evident.

Due to the high use of the Star Power Secret Realm, both Core and Inner Court Disciples needed to schedule their time in advance, but True Disciples could enter as they arrived.

A position in the secret realm, regardless of the tier, is always reserved for True Disciples.

"Junior Brother Xu, you’re from Jinshan Tao County, you must be the same Xu Jin from Jinshan Taoist Institute that I know, correct?" A senior brother receiving Xu Jin’s identity waist card suddenly smiled as he handed it back.

"Are you... Senior Brother Wu Dong?" Xu Jin suddenly remembered the senior brother he had met earlier in the Star Tower.

"I didn’t expect you to remember me!" Meeting a friend online led to a warm chat, and they got along quite well.

Wu Dong even shared many details and gossip about the Star Power Secret Realm with Xu Jin.

The Star Power Secret Realm is actually today’s Star Tower.

Different floors have different concentrations of Star Power, but entering costs a fee.

This "fee" isn’t paid by the disciples to the National Daoist School.

It’s paid by the National Daoist School to the Star Tower.

According to Wu Dong, each year the National Daoist School has to provide a substantial amount of resources to the Star Tower to maintain many of its functions.

Otherwise, the Star Power Secret Realm would have been opened up to disciples without restriction.

True Disciples also have privileges in the Third Tier Star Power Secret Realm.

True Disciples below the Star Refining Realm get five two-hour periods in the Third Tier Star Power Secret Realm each month, Core Disciples get two hours, and Inner Court Disciples one hour.