Dimensional Slime Rancher-Chapter 9: Foundation Establishment!

"My Host, congratulations on earning two thousand Spirit Stones and completing the mid-term financial objective. The System reward is being released..."

The System’s solemn voice rang out in Ren’s mind, startling him and waking him up from his satisfied contemplation of the retreating Beast Tamer.

He hadn’t even realized that his account had hit the next milestone so quickly.

The recent influx of panicked nobles and arrogant stewards had done wonders for his bottom line.

Even Ren’s perpetual poker face twitched, and a genuine, capitalistic smile appeared as the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Young man aiming to become the Rancher King, congratulations on completing the ’Local Monopoly’ sales mission. You have once again taken a step toward achieving multiversal dominance.

Reward: Blueprint for ’Stellar-Dust Nutrient Paste’, ’Quantum Splicer’ modification tool, and one fragment of the ’Rancher King Authority Crown’."

"Stellar-Dust Nutrient Paste?!"

When Ren heard the solemn voice of the System say this phrase, he subconsciously licked his lips. He was very familiar with the concept of this item from his gamer days; it was the ultimate, universal beast feed.

Ren was joyous that he finally unlocked a mass-producible, high-tier consumable. He was so excited that he almost wanted to jump out of his recliner.

A fresh batch of Stellar-Dust Nutrient Paste would be incredibly versatile. It was synthesized from ambient void energy and raw Spirit Stones, meaning it had no specific elemental bias.

Any beast could eat it, and it would perfectly optimize their genetic growth while remaining cheap to produce.

As a beast consumed it, the rich, neutral energy would create a flawless foundation for future, more dangerous mutations.

It was a product that would completely monopolize the low-to-mid-tier pet market.

Ren endured the urge to immediately run into the Workshop and start synthesizing the paste, checking the details for the ’Quantum Splicer’ instead. Strictly speaking, he was not an amateur when it came to fixing things anymore, but true genetic modification was a whole different ballgame.

"Quantum Splicer Modification Tool: As a young man aiming to become the Rancher King, you need to be superb with your genetic manipulation. The Splicer mode will now be activated in the Workshop. Completing daily synthesis training will award you with Splicer experience points and improve your success rate. When you master the Quantum Splicer, your scalpel will be as precise as a laser as you flawlessly graft traits from different dimensions onto a single host."

Ren was startled, then the transparent blue character panel naturally appeared in his vision.

Host: Ren

Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment - Early Stage

Ranch Talents: [Basic Mechanic] (Max), [Intermediate Geneticist] (New)

Skills: Level One Quantum Splicer (0/100)

Tools: Fragments of Rancher King Authority Crown (1/4)

Overall Rating: Adept Merchant

System Level: Two Stars (Progress to Three Stars: 45%. Conversion ratio is at 15%.)

After Ren finished reading the updated panel, he took a deep breath and exhaled a long sigh to calm his agitation.

As he lifted up his hand and exerted his will, he felt a heavy, river-like burst of energy swiftly flowing through the meridians in his arm, gushing out from his palm like a stream of condensed, glowing blue liquid.

Foundation Establishment! He had actually reached Foundation Establishment! Ren’s mouth opened slightly in shock.

He felt as if he had just used a cheat code in a hardcore RPG; it felt wonderfully unfair to him.

In order to break through from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment, a normal cultivator needed years of meditation and thousands of Spirit Stones worth of elixirs.

Ren had earned two thousand stones in profit.

With the System’s 15% ’laundering’ conversion ratio, he had absorbed three hundred stones’ worth of absolutely pure, flawless Qi directly into his core without lifting a finger. Thus, he was able to effortlessly shatter his bottlenecks.

Ren had just been a weak Stage 3 Qi Condensation rookie a few days ago, and now, he had stepped into the realm of true experts. Even he found the speed of his own leveling to be slightly ridiculous.

If any of the "geniuses" in the capital were to witness this, they would probably vomit blood and abandon cultivation entirely.

However, Ren’s astonishment did not last long, and he quickly calmed down.

He was different from the combat maniacs outside.

Even though his true energy density was at Foundation Establishment, if he were to fight against someone like Zhao Feng in a pure sword duel, he would still be easily sliced into ribbons.

His cultivation level was high, but his martial arts fighting prowess was absolutely zero.

"However, so what if I don’t know martial arts? I have a brass robot that punches through the sound barrier, and a slime that breathes fire," Ren thought smugly.

"System, how much pure true energy do I need to launder to reach Core Formation?" Ren asked curiously.

[Core Formation requires a net profit of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Nascent Soul requires ten million Spirit Stones. Spirit Severing requires one billion Spirit Stones,] the System solemnly replied to Ren.

Ren clutched his chest as he resisted the sudden urge to cry... How incredibly frustrating! How many bouncing puddles of water would he need to sell to get a billion Spirit Stones?

It was definitely more than enough to make him work until his hair turned gray.

"It looks like my hopes of covertly acting like a hidden combat god in the near future are dashed..." Ren regretfully said with a heavy sigh.

"If a Nascent Soul expert needed ten million stones, then a Spirit Severing old monster would need a billion... My heavens, a billion stones! If it was piled into a mountain, it would literally crush my shop to dust.

"If I continue calculating the divine realms... Good heavens!"

Ren shuddered and did not dare to continue doing the math. He calmed down. Whatever Nascent Soul or Spirit Severing was, it was something completely unrelated to his current tax bracket.

There was no need for him to stress about it right now.

Ren felt that his current life of scamming nobles was pretty damn good.

After ensuring the shop was locked up tight, Ren immediately headed into the Workshop to do some late-night research on the tantalizing Quantum Splicer. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Meanwhile, at the Grand Exhibition Plaza in front of the Imperial Palace.

The massive, iron-wrought gates of the plaza were wide open as row upon row of heavily armored Sect disciples marched in, dragging enormous, terrifying beasts in chains.

As the sound of war-horns resounded in the air, the heavy thud of war-drums responded in kind, shaking the very earth.

The scene within the plaza was filled with a savage, militaristic festivity.

At the highest point on the viewing platform, the Emperor was sitting on a gold-colored dragon throne.

The table in front of him was filled with delicacies, while his Royal Guards stood rigid, their hands resting on their sword hilts.

Seated below the Emperor, on the left, was the arrogant Sect Elder Gu of the Beast Tamer Sect, sneering down at the capital’s forces. Next to him was the smiling, calculating Crown Prince, Xia Long. On the right was the fierce Second Prince, Xia Wu, and the calm Third Prince, Xia Ming; the political tension between the three princes was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Further below them in the VIP seating were the high-ranking court officials of the Grand Xia Empire and the prestigious noble families invited to the spectacle.

The family members of the Luo and Ouyang clans were seated in the same section. Xiaoyi, who had been dragged here by her grandfather, was sitting next to Luo Qing, looking incredibly bored.

Luo Lan, on the other hand, was anxiously staring at a massive, steel-plated rhinoceros that the Sect had just paraded into the arena.

Like Luo Lan, the Three Bears of Ouyang were frowning deeply as they stared at the terrifying war-beasts.

There was a distinct similarity between the two families right now: none of them looked particularly impressed. It was a strange sight within the cheering plaza.

These beasts were all personally trained by the Beast Tamer Sect’s elite elders.

Their destructive power was undeniable, and they could be said to be the most terrifying weapons within the surrounding empires.

However, the Luo siblings and the Ouyang brothers all looked at the roaring monsters with barely concealed disdain.

"These beasts are really ugly. They’re far worse than Boss Ren’s clean, bouncy slimes..." Xiaoyi complained, kicking her small feet against her chair. She had no interest in giant, smelly rhinos.

Even though the same childish disdain did not appear on Luo Qing’s beautiful, icy face, there was no sign of awe in her eyes. She was only calmly watching the brutish display of power.

"The only reason we’re here is because the Emperor ordered mandatory attendance. If it wasn’t for the fact that Boss Ren closed the shop for the morning, I wouldn’t even bother to come to this loud circus. These mutated wolves can’t even compare to the purity of Boss Ren’s basic Hydro Slimes!"

Luo Lan said with a heavy sigh, gently patting the Fuzzball hidden in his robes.

When the Three Bears of Ouyang heard what he said, they fiercely nodded. Ouyang Zhen crossed his massive arms and said, "Boss Ren’s slimes are truly miraculous! Even meatheads like us with burned-out meridians were instantly healed! These Sect beasts just look like they’d give you a rash!"

"Tch! You’re just exaggerating to sound unique. How could a shady alleyway store have any beasts better than the Sect’s?"

Zhao Feng was elegantly sitting nearby, nursing his bruised ego. When he heard their conversation, he immediately sneered at them.

"What the fuck are you laughing at, Naked Zhao?! If I say the slimes are better, then they’re better!" Ouyang Zhen roared, angrily glaring at Zhao Feng, looking ready to throw a chair at him.

"The elders of the Beast Tamer Sect have spent centuries perfecting bloodlines. They went through countless grueling trials to breed these monsters.

How could a mere, lazy merchant from a dead-end alleyway compare to a continental superpower?

If you’re praising him over the Sect, are you suggesting that the Emperor is a fool for welcoming them?" Zhao Feng cleverly deflected, using politics as a shield.

Even though Xiaoyi sometimes felt that the smelly boss was a greedy capitalist, she absolutely hated it when someone badmouthed him. Her large eyes glared at Zhao Feng as she poutingly yelled, "Have you even managed to buy one of Boss Ren’s beasts yet?! If you haven’t, then shut your mouth, you poor loser!"

Zhao Feng’s arrogant expression instantly froze, and he felt as if an invisible, highly accurate arrow had pierced directly into his fragile pride.

"The main event! The ’Savage Blood-Ape’ exhibition!"

Just when Zhao Feng was about to furiously retaliate, the sharp voice of the Chief Eunuch resounded out.

Then all of the guests started cheering wildly as the climax of the exhibition finally arrived.

Zhao Feng snorted, recovering his composure. He pointed toward a massive, iron-barred cage being dragged into the center of the arena and said,

"Do you see that Blood-Ape? Just that one beast’s raw power is enough to crush that entire alleyway restaurant into dust!"

The Savage Blood-Ape was the number one siege beast of the Beast Tamer Sect...

He was absolutely confident that nothing in a glass jar could compare to it.