CHAPTER 579: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

To be fair, it wasn’t instant.

And because of that, it was really better not to see the elders while they were in the process of rebuilding themselves.

See, upon learning the truth about the outside, Elder Shen decided to take immediate action. This, of course, scandalized the other elders who had been there far longer and prided themselves on not rushing into "foolish" decisions.

"What?! That many?!"

"Yes! With that many people, how much faith should there be to go around? And yet it seems like there are no working deities anywhere!"

"Have they all been slacking off?"

"Shhh! I’m thinking!" Elder Shen declared.

"Don’t. It’s never good when you do. At this rate, you might lose the last of your remaining sensibilities," Elder Feng shot back.

"Aish! This is why you’ve gone senile! Can’t you see the problem here? With this many people and this many chances to acquire faith, do you really think no one would want to work?"

They all went quiet for a moment until Elder Pao Xi finally spoke. "I don’t think it’s about wanting to work."

"What do you mean?"

"That child, Jax, showed me the store Lord Luca runs from that floating contraption. He says the items sold there—like the fruits and vegetables farmed from here—are so rare they could even be used for marriage proposals."

The elders exchanged uneasy glances.

"So, going by that, it must not just be bad outside," Pao Xi continued. "Especially when the children are raised knowing they’d eventually end up dying on the battlefield."

"Then what do you suggest?" Elder Wei asked, finally joining the conversation after silently listening.

"I suggest we try to get our bodies back so we can regain more of our cultivation levels."

"I feel like even with a fraction of our power, we’d be able to churn out more things at least."

"These people are attempting to feed planets after all!"

"But how? Sure, we’ve been cultivating through farming and have gotten a decent amount of spiritual energy, but if we do this normally, we’ll be done by the time we meet their great-great-grandchildren!"

"And that’s assuming they survive that long."

"We’ll have to ask Lord Luca to look at the items in the Trove. I believe we could petition a purchase if we can prove the benefit of having our cultivation back."

"Considering resources are tight, and how the Lord refuses to buy himself candy from the Trove, we should probably ask if we could try it with just one of us first. Maybe if we show a great return, we can convince him to help the rest."

It was a good plan.

A conservative one that actually made sense.

But who would’ve thought the CP-pinching Dungeon owner wouldn’t require any persuasion at all?

All he asked was, "Elders, would there be side effects for you? Would there be a chance for it failing, a backlash, or something similar?"

Which, honestly, was the only thing Luca was worried about. He’d long wanted to do something for the Elders who had been nothing but helpful to them.

Although they had initially had a rough first meeting when they first established a contract, Luca firmly believed they wouldn’t have made half the progress they did without the elders’ help and guidance.

"Well, there are risks to anything, but even while doing it the normal way, there are still risks. So when presented with a chance, won’t it be better to take it?"

Luca thought about that and was immediately reminded by D-29 of his early days taking pills.

Cough! Cough!

"Would you like me to replay the videos, Host?" asked the little system, trying to be helpful.

"N-no! I think I understand," Luca said quickly, cheeks heating. "But I think I need to search the Trove for something useful."

At that, the elders actually rattled off a few ideas. There was the Spirit Kiln of Reclamation, something called an Ancestral Corporeal Anchor, and one sutra whose name Luca didn’t even catch.

While they all sounded viable, Luca didn’t like how restrictive they were. One only allowed them to have corporeal bodies in designated areas, like vengeful ghosts waiting for visiting hours. The other would give them bodies but cap their maximum cultivation level. And while Luca hadn’t fully grasped what cultivation really was, he was pretty sure "putting a limit on it" was bad.

Then D-29 spoke up with something unexpected.

"Host, there is another one you might be interested in."

"What is it?"

D-29 hesitated, as if weighing whether Luca might survive the shock. "There is this... Reconstitution Seed, Host."

[Reconstitution Seed]

[1,000,000 CP]

[Item Description: A living core designed to restore corporeal form to skeletal cultivators. When mounted in the sternum and fueled with Spiritual Energy, it weaves muscle and skin over three days, creating a stable, functional body.]

[Corporeal Body Restoration]

[Initial Restoration of 35–45% of Former Cultivation]

[Requires Spiritual Energy]

[Permanent after Reconstitution]

"Whoa!" Luca blinked at the listing. First, the price made his jaw drop—it was even more expensive than the pocket dimensions he had passed on. But when he read what it could do, he thought it was the most viable option yet. No restraints. No caps. And an actual corporeal body at the end.

He practically bounced off to find the elders.

The four skeletal cultivators froze when they heard him out. They hadn’t even considered such an item as an option—it was rare enough that even they, in their prime, might not have been able to get their hands on it.

And that price? They only had to know that D-29’s mecha body hadn’t even cost that much, and Luca had needed time to earn the CP for that. The elders instantly hesitated. This felt too much to ask for, especially when resources were tight.

"Lord Luca, do the other options we mentioned not exist?" Elder Wei asked carefully.

"They do, Elder Wei, but I’m not sure we should pick those because of the restrictions. I think this should be better."

"While it’s not going to restore 100% of your cultivation levels, it doesn’t seem to have an actual upper limit to your future cultivation!"

The four elders exchanged glances, then huddled together like conspirators. Instead of the usual self-promotion and dramatic monologues, they began tossing names around like hot coals.

"I vote Elder Feng," Elder Shen said instantly. "He’s got the most patience for tedious processes."

"What? No! I vote Elder Wei. He’s the most meticulous—look at his furrows!" Elder Feng shot back.

"Don’t look at my furrows! I vote Elder Shen because he’s already loud enough to scare pests out of the fields," Elder Wei countered.

They went in circles, each nomination getting more absurd. At one point, Elder Feng nominated Luca "just to test it," which was swiftly vetoed.

Finally, Elder Wei tried to mediate. "We should choose whoever can offer the most benefit to the dungeon—"

"Exactly!" they all agreed. "So Elder Wei it is."

"What?!" Elder Wei froze, pointing at himself. "How did this turn into me?"

"Herbal medicine," Elder Shen said.

"And farming output," Elder Feng added.

"Dual purpose," Elder Pao Xi finished.

And just like that, the decision was made. Elder Wei, victim of his own usefulness, had been unanimously "honored" with the first turn.

They turned back to present him to Luca... only for Luca to stare back at them in confusion.

"Why are you picking one person?" he asked. "You’re all getting one."

"!!!"

The silence was deafening. The elders were shocked. The cadets nearby were shocked.

Didn’t that mean... four million CP?

It did.

And Luca, for the first time in history, thought it was a steal.

Because having a price that could save someone?

Just having a number made him feel better.