"If you select a follower with exceptional innate lightning magic talent and fuse this draconic subspecies bloodline, it might even help your follower break through to hero level..."
After watching the three innate magical abilities of the Thunderwing Dracobeast, William listened to the enthusiastic sales pitch of the guide without responding. Instead, he extended his divine consciousness into the sealing card used for display.
He carefully examined the condition of this draconic subspecies. As his divine sense penetrated deeper, William quickly discerned the genetic structure within the Thunderwing Dracobeast using his divine traits.
He ignored the large clusters of genetic tumors and focused mainly on the standard genetic sequences within the creature.
It only took him a little over thirty seconds to scan through its standard genes. From a rough estimate, the Thunderwing Dracobeast contained around 600,000 standard genes.
Without conducting a meticulous examination, William made a rough comparison and found that the overlap rate between these standard genes and those already parsed in the Swarm’s genetic database was less than ten percent.
He then started mentally calculating how long it would take to fully analyze this extraordinary beast’s standard genes.
"At a rate of analyzing one standard gene every five minutes, it would take more than five years of continuous work, without rest, to completely decode the Thunderwing Dracobeast’s standard genes."
Realizing this, William felt an instant headache and instinctively reached up to rub his forehead—only to remember that he was currently in the Gods' Exchange Continent as a sphere of divine light, without a physical body.
With no other option, he let out a silent sigh.
"For the sake of growing stronger... I just have to grind through it. Five years is nothing new to me. The sacrifices I make today are for the rewards of tomorrow—things will get better!"
After mentally hyping himself up, William finally asked the demigod guide, "How much is this bloodline card per unit?"
"You have excellent taste! This draconic subspecies bloodline is definitely worth the price. A low-tier card costs 8 million divine power per unit," the guide responded enthusiastically upon hearing William inquire about the price.
"A mid-tier card is priced at 19 million divine power, while a high-tier card is the most cost-effective at just 30 million divine power per unit."
As soon as he heard the prices, William quickly did some calculations.
Based on the number of creatures used to extract the bloodline, a low-tier bloodline card required over 100,000 creatures, a mid-tier required over 300,000, and a high-tier required over 500,000.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Converted into individual creature value:
-
A single Thunderwing Dracobeast in a low-tier bloodline card was worth 80 divine power.
-
In a mid-tier bloodline card, each one was valued at 63 divine power.
-
In a high-tier bloodline card, each one was valued at 60 divine power.
"Your pricing seems a bit off. Why is the per-unit cost for low-tier bloodline cards significantly higher than high-tier ones? Shouldn't the high-tier be more valuable?" William asked, puzzled.
The guide, seemingly used to this question, immediately provided an explanation without hesitation:
"The difference in price for high-value bloodline cards mainly comes from the extraction costs."
"To produce a bloodline card, in addition to the extraordinary creatures used as raw materials, a god possessing the [Bloodline Extraction] divine imprint must be hired to perform the extraction."
"For high-value bloodlines like this one, we only employ top-tier gods in the industry. This ensures that the extracted bloodline is of the highest quality."
"We can't risk hiring a rookie who just constructed the divine imprint—if they extract a poor-quality bloodline from tens of thousands of Thunderwing Dracobeasts, resulting in only one innate magical ability, the losses would be catastrophic."
"Since we hire elite gods, the extraction costs are naturally high. Furthermore, bloodline cards are charged per unit of production, with the extraction fee being the same for all tiers. This makes producing high-tier bloodline cards much more cost-effective."
After hearing this explanation, William quickly recalculated.
In just a few seconds, he determined that each Thunderwing Dracobeast was effectively priced at around 55 divine power, while the god performing the extraction could earn only 2.5 million divine power per session.
He couldn't help but think:
"It seems that even after igniting their divine fire and constructing the [Bloodline Extraction] divine imprint, gods still face stiff competition to earn divine power."
William didn't have much knowledge about divine imprints, only that they could be constructed after igniting the divine fire.
Rather than dwelling on the price differences, he simply accepted the market reality. Regardless of the cost, he would never purchase mid- or low-tier bloodline cards.
However, the 30-million-divine-power price tag for the high-tier Thunderwing Dracobeast bloodline card was far beyond his expectations—hundreds of times more expensive than ordinary extraordinary beast bloodline cards.
It was painfully expensive. He had just struggled and risked his life in the resource wells to earn 47 million divine power, leaving him half-crippled in the process.
And now, before he even had a chance to enjoy his earnings, he was about to spend most of it. The thought made his heart ache.
But he had no choice—William understood that this was simply the market price. In a professional marketplace like this, credibility was a fundamental requirement. Businesses that survived here had to balance pricing, service, and quality; otherwise, they would be ruthlessly outcompeted.
"Give me one high-tier bloodline card for the Thunderwing Dracobeast. Also, I need eleven high-tier bloodline cards each for Molten Serpents, Gale Wolves, and Ironhide Jackals."
"Oh, and I also need a Thunderwing Dracobeast corpse. That won't be a problem, will it?"
"Of course not! Please follow me," the guide said, leading William to the circular counter in the center of the hall.
"Here are your requested bloodline cards: 33 high-tier mass-production bloodline cards at 3 million divine power each, plus one high-tier Thunderwing Dracobeast bloodline card at 30 million divine power. Your total comes to 39.9 million divine power."
William didn't hesitate—he made the payment, collected his goods, and left the store, escorted by the enthusiastic staff.
Returning to his divine domain, William didn't immediately use the high-tier bloodline cards. Instead, he did nothing at all—choosing first to return to the real world.
As he once again stepped out of the Divine Link Chamber, William could clearly feel the changes within himself.
Though he still appeared pale and thin on the outside, his strength, reflexes, and mental state had all improved drastically compared to seven months ago.