Li Daqian had previously sold materials from a level nine lifeform, which gave everyone the illusion that this was how such things should be traded.
However, they overlooked why Li Daqian had traded the materials directly.
Because… he couldn’t process them.
The Thousand Beast Villa’s strength lay in their breeding and utilization of battle beasts. Their core was their large-scale beast-pool equipment, but they were far weaker in other areas. After all, both energy and resources were limited—they couldn’t excel at everything.
Thus, when a level-nine lifeform’s corpse fell into their hands, they would think to dissect and sell it piece by piece to maximize profits.
But Cloud Peak was different. Leaving aside Liu Zhenghong’s Gene Life Laboratory’s demand for such precious experimental materials, just considering Ye Zhongming—a top-tier smith—the value he could extract from a level-nine lifeform’s corpse was something non-production job evolved could never comprehend.
This was similar to the relationship between nations before the apocalypse. For a long time, the country had been the world’s supplier of raw materials. Its vast territory and abundant resources provided rich natural and human resources, which were exported to developed nations at low prices, relying on sheer volume for meager profits.
However, once those raw materials reached those nations, they were processed into finished products and sold back to the country at prices many times higher.
There was no helping it—the technological gap ensured that the backward side would inevitably be exploited.
Ye Zhongming and Li Daqian’s positions were reversed. Ye Zhongming possessed the “high-tech,” so naturally, he would sell higher-value finished equipment, which would yield far greater profits than selling raw materials.
But this left Li Daqian, Deacon Water, and Commander Mu in a difficult position.
They wanted to vent their frustration at Ye Zhongming but had no grounds to do so. If they were in his shoes, they’d likely do the same. However, this method of transaction carried too many uncertainties. What would the equipment Ye Zhongming crafted look like? What abilities would it have? What level would it be? Would it even suit them? All of these were questions.
Most importantly—what would the price be? They didn’t doubt that Ye Zhongming would deceive them by passing off non-level-nine-material equipment as the real deal. But equipment made from level-nine materials would undoubtedly be exceptional—gold-grade at minimum, likely purple-grade. Ye Zhongming certainly wouldn’t sell it cheaply, so could they even afford it?
This loss of control was deeply uncomfortable for these powerhouses.
“There will be three pieces of equipment. I can’t guarantee their level, but they’ll definitely be high-quality. When the time comes, you can choose whichever one you like, and we’ll discuss the price based on the equipment’s quality.”
Ye Zhongming’s words put a definitive end to the matter.
The three leaders had no choice but to accept it.
However, Li Daqian made another request—he wanted to purchase the flesh and blood of the Nine-Winged Crow.
After some consideration, Ye Zhongming agreed.
If Li Daqian had asked for the flesh of the Armor King, he would have refused outright. The Armor King’s body was small, with very little flesh, making every pound extremely precious. But the Nine-Winged Crow was different—it was enormous. Ye Zhongming estimated it weighed over several dozen tons, most of which was flesh. Given that, selling some to a heavily depleted ally wasn’t unreasonable.
After some haggling, Li Daqian obtained one ton of Nine-Winged Crow flesh in exchange for 300 level-five giant bears, 200 level-five mutated black apes, and responsibility for taming 500 of Cloud Peak’s battle beasts in the future.
The former would bolster Little Tiger’s Vanguard Battle Squad, while the latter would join the newly established Battle Beast Battle Squad.
In addition to Li Daqian, Commander Mu and Deacon Water also negotiated some collaborations and trades with Ye Zhongming, each securing what they needed.
With their gains mostly satisfactory, the three forces departed, agreeing to return to Cloud Peak once Ye Zhongming finished crafting the equipment. Now, the four factions had allied, and Ye Zhongming would establish teleportation arrays between them for easier travel.
What remained was cleaning up the battlefield and dealing with occasional monster disturbances.
Not all monsters obeyed the deer-like commander, especially the high-level and flying ones. After the Nine-Winged Crow’s death, the commander’s control over monsters had significantly weakened.
The overwhelming scent of blood constantly attracted monsters to the area, forcing Cloud Peak to collect demon crystals and materials while fending off these uninvited guests. The two battlefields tied up four of Cloud Peak’s brigades.
At times, the skirmishes escalated beyond sporadic clashes. The largest wave saw over 100,000 monsters arriving to feed. Two of Cloud Peak’s battle squads fought at full strength for nearly a day before repelling them. A level-eight flying monster even appeared, engaging in a fierce two-hour aerial battle with Yangos before being slain. The badly injured dragon was furious until Ye Zhongming promised it a feast of Nine-Winged Crow flesh, at which point it brightened up and devoured nearly two tons in one go—making Ye Zhongming raise his eyebrows in disbelief.
In the end, the dragon was so stuffed it couldn’t even fly, lying on the ground groaning.
Meanwhile, the undead dragonfish that had consumed the Nine-Winged Crow’s inheritance orb hovered silently above the valley. Unlike the Death King Tree, it hadn’t lost consciousness. Instead, it remained connected to Red Hair as before. But everyone knew it was transforming.
The most obvious change was its body.
It hadn’t been resurrected, but its body had doubled, now sporting two new skeletal wings on each side. Its bones had taken on a strange tricolor scheme—black, red, and white—making it far less aesthetically pleasing than before.
Yet the aura it emitted made it clear—it had grown vastly stronger.
Only after Cloud Peak finished cleaning the battlefield did the undead dragonfish begin to move slowly, indicating that the absorption of the inheritance was nearing completion. It would likely finish entirely soon.
After digesting the Nine-Winged Crow’s flesh for several days, Yangos felt its strength had greatly improved. Once the entire force returned to Cloud Peak, it sought out the fully transformed dragonfish for a sparring match—politely, of course, to ensure Red Hair wouldn’t interfere.