[Target has external injuries. 8 Minor-level injuries, requiring 80 Points; 10 Middle-level injuries, requiring 1000 Points;

Target has Internal Injuries. 3 Minor-level Internal Injuries, requiring 90 Points; 3 Middle-level Internal Injuries, requiring 900 Points:

Total treatment requires 2070 Points. Heal?]

"Damn it, what a huge loss!"

Cheng Zongyang didn’t choose the full treatment. He opted for a partial one instead. The Internal Injuries had to be treated at the very least; it would be a problem if the man died from them.

Therefore, he treated Li Lu’s Internal Injuries but ignored the external ones, leaving them for Zhang Jinquan to handle.

This saved him 1080 Points.

According to the calculation method he had researched before—

For external injuries, a [Minor] Level wound cost ten Points. A [Middle] Level wound cost one hundred Points, and a [High] Level wound cost one thousand Points.

For Internal Injuries, a [Minor] Level one was thirty Points; a [Middle] Level one, three hundred Points; and a [High] Level one, Three Thousand Points.

Comminuted fractures were considered Middle Level external injuries, while missing limbs were considered High Level.

That’s right—as long as you had enough Points, even severed limbs could be regrown.

As for High Level Internal Injuries, those involved completely severed meridians and shattered internal organs.

In short, as long as you had enough Points and the person was still breathing, the wooden bed could bring them back from the brink!

After the 990 Points for treating the Internal Injuries were deducted, he checked his own balance.

——

Points: 1442

——

These were his remaining Points.

As the Points were deducted, Li Lu was enveloped in a cocoon of light.

Since the external injuries weren’t being treated, there was no visible sign of healing, but the process still required some time.

Cheng Zongyang paid it no mind. He found Zhang Jinquan and told him to stanch Li Lu’s bleeding in a bit. Then, he went to Luo Dingran and asked, "Are there any Middle Tier Soul Crystal Stones left?"

’They cost me nearly a thousand Points. I have to squeeze every last drop of value out of those people!’

"We’re out," Luo Dingran said with a wry smile. "We don’t have enough Points. If it’s urgent, we can sell the Red Cloud Ore. That would get us over four thousand Points."

"Then keep trying to buy the High Tier ones!" Cheng Zongyang said through clenched teeth. "What happened outside just now..."

Cheng Zongyang explained the situation outside to Luo Dingran. Upon hearing what had transpired, Luo Dingran also fell silent.

After a moment, Luo Dingran looked at Cheng Zongyang. Disregarding the grudges and disputes from outside, he asked, "So, my lord, your objective is to extract the maximum possible value from them?"

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly.

Luo Dingran said, "The things we can obtain from them are Lifespan, their corpses, Cultivation Techniques, and intelligence.

"For now, the most valuable thing for you, my lord, is intelligence on their respective families. If we interrogate them separately, even if we don’t learn everything, we can at least get a general sense of each family’s situation.

"Only by knowing our enemy and ourselves can we respond effectively. Their strength is no match for yours, my lord, so you can afford to be more assertive. Only by doing so will you deter them from making a move against you in the future.

"Therefore, my suggestion is this: capture all of them and sever the tendons in their hands and feet to prevent them from escaping our control. We can decide how to use them later, once we have more Soul Crystal Stones. We can also try to bind them with an Oath Contract.

"Later, when you re-enter the city, you should use swift and decisive force to kill some key Martial Artists from the family occupying West City. However, we should do our best to avoid antagonizing too many other families at once.

"This will act as a deterrent, but it won’t push them into a corner where they feel forced to retaliate for the loss of core members. At the same time, it won’t give the six families an excuse to ally against us.

"My lord, this process cannot be done in secret. It must be done out in the open, where everyone can see.

"They’ve just entered the city, which makes this the perfect opportunity. We can intimidate them before they establish a foothold and carve up the territory, and at the same time, we can declare our claim over West City. Ideally, we should seize all of West City at once, rather than having to split it."

After listening to Luo Dingran, Cheng Zongyang found his reasoning sound. He thought for a moment before saying, "I understand. Let’s give your plan a try."

With that said, he headed back toward the marketplace cottage.

Luo Dingran, for his part, planned to talk to Zhang Jinquan later.

’Since the Red Blood Pills, so effective on livestock, are selling this well, I should have Zhang Jinquan research more elixirs that can be mass-produced. That’s how we can earn more Points.’

’The production of Red Blood Pills is constrained by the Red Jade Ganoderma, so the output is limited. We can’t seem to acquire any more Red Jade Ganoderma, and there’s a limit to how high we can set the price. They won’t sell on consignment for more than 150 Points each, which means that’s likely their price ceiling.’

’If we can find a substitute ingredient and a method for mass production, it wouldn’t matter if we have to sell them for less. We’d just make up for it with high volume and small margins.’

The goal was to quickly earn more Points for Cheng Zongyang.

「The Marketplace Cottage.」

When Cheng Zongyang entered, he saw that the wooden bed had finished its treatment of Li Lu. Zhang Jinquan was now applying medicine to his wounds.

Aside from his tattered and blood-soaked clothes, the bleeding from his external wounds had largely been stopped.

He immediately took Li Lu and left the cottage, reappearing in the assembly hall.

However, when Cheng Zongyang saw the state of the people in the hall, he froze.

The people in the hall stood frozen in place, as if their pressure points had been hit. Yet, their faces were a myriad of expressions—some smiling, some shocked, some fearful, and others ferocious.

The sight left Cheng Zongyang puzzled.

But in the next moment, he suddenly recalled the Soul Gathering Stele’s new Soul Suppressing function.

’None of these functions came with an explanation, so I don’t know what they do exactly.’

’But comparing this time to the last, the difference is that the people trapped before could still move.’

’This time, with the Soul Suppressing effect added, they’re completely motionless. The only explanation must be the Soul Suppressing function.’

’Could it be that the Soul Suppressing effect forces them to be immobile, while the Illusion effect is still active, causing them to make these faces?’