Zong Shou took the list and glanced at it, then let out a soft chuckle. He mused that Qiao Han, the outer disciple steward of the Kongqi Sect, had been thoroughly tricked by him just a few months prior; it would be strange if the man didn't harbor a deep, bone-deep hatred for him.

As for those Fire Thunder Arrows and Ice Blast Arrows, he never expected the Kongqi Sect to craft them with painstaking care for him. So long as they were serviceable, that was enough. Qian Tian Mountain still housed tens of thousands of Spirit Masters; there was no worry about them counterfeiting the goods.

As for the few lines of advice that followed from Ren Bo, Zong Shou simply pretended not to have heard them. He merely pondered inwardly: if he treated the envoys from Taoyun City with more kindness now, would the Lord of Taoyun City show him any mercy later? If the situation were to reverse, and Qian Tian Mountain regained its former glory, would Taoyun City still dare to disrespect him, Zong Shou, over such a minor humiliation?

The final section of the list detailed the required expenditure of spirit stones. All the bows, arrows, armor, provisions, and medicines had already been prepared by Ren Bo, drawn from Qian Tian Mountain's reserves. The most costly items were the merchant ships requisitioned, followed by these spirit arrows purchased from the Kongqi Sect. In truth, the artifact refiners within Qian Tian Mountain City could also forge those Fire Thunder Arrows and Ice Blast Arrows. However, the required quantity was too small; even working day and night, they could probably only produce a few thousand.

The total cost came to five thousand fourth-tier Beast Crystals. It seemed Steward Qiao of the Kongqi Sect truly hated him to the core. The price had been aggressively raised by a factor of four, a hefty extortion.

Furthermore, requisitioning the merchant ships cost about a thousand stones as well. If any were damaged, they would need to be compensated for at market value afterward.

By this time, Qian Tian Mountain's treasury was already utterly depleted. In the end, the funds still had to be drawn from his personal coffers to cover the expenses.

Zong Shou paid it no mind, tucking the list away, then smiled at Ren Bo: "Prime Minister! As for these Beast Crystals, and those three hundred Three-Armed Spirit Crossbows, I don't require reimbursement from the state treasury. Consider them my initial investment. All I ask is for ten percent of the proceeds when I return from the Cloud Sea Hunt."

Ren Bo's complexion instantly turned ashen. He found the situation utterly bizarre. Isn't Qian Tian Mountain ultimately Zong Shou's own domain? Now that Qian Tian Mountain City was perched on the brink of collapse, any capable, wise ruler would be digging deeper into the inner vaults to bolster the city's strength as much as possible.

Yet this Sovereign, on the other hand, not only guarded his own purse strings tightly but also schemed at every turn to extract money from Qian Tian Mountain's national treasury. Didn't he understand the principle that if the skin is gone, what can the hair attach to? If Qian Tian Mountain's foundation crumbles, what good will the money in his pocket be?

In the past few days of observation, Ren Bo had noticed that his new ruler was perhaps extraordinarily astute; he grasped many matters instantly, possessing surprising ingenuity and a mastery of strategy. However, his temperament was truly too eccentric.

It was also hard to dismiss him as merely stingy. When the proposal to establish a Silver Bank was brought up previously, he had unhesitatingly provided the startup capital without hesitation.

Puzzled, Ren Bo could only reply with suppressed annoyance: "Half a percent is the absolute maximum!"

In the past, when Qian Tian Mountain dispatched Cloud Ships to hunt beneath the Cloud Sea, even when Zong Weiran personally led the expedition, the maximum yield was never more than one hundred thousand fourth-tier Beast Crystals. Even though the recent spirit tide showed signs of warming, leading to a massive surge in the number of demonic beasts, Ren Bo estimated that this expedition's yield would absolutely not exceed that figure. Half a percent would amount to only five thousand fourth-tier Beast Crystals.

To exchange that for three hundred Three-Armed Spirit Crossbows and these second-tier spirit arrows was quite a good deal; one could even call it profitable. Since this time it involved a joint effort by the three cities of Taoyun, equipping more lethal weaponry was certainly prudent.

"Half a percent?"

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, showing displeasure, then surprisingly nodded in agreement: "Half a percent will suffice! However, Prime Minister, you will need to inform the various clans about this matter..."

Next, Ren Bo presented him with a sheet of beast hide. Zong Shou unfurled it and saw a list of names and official titles. This was precisely the outline for the Six Ministries and the suggested candidates for those positions that he had requested days ago.

Upon closer inspection, it bore a resemblance to the Three Departments and Six Ministries system of the Central Plains Dynasties. Yet, it wasn't a mere copy; it had been slightly modified based on Qian Tian Mountain's specific situation, making it better suited for the wilderness of the East Lin Cloud Continent.

As for the suggested officials, it was clear that Ren Bo held no selfish intentions. The candidates listed were all individuals he had recently assessed as highly capable and of impeccable moral character. Several of them even held grudges against Ren Bo himself.

Zong Shou offered no opinion, also tucking the list into his sleeve. Then he smiled: "This matter is not urgent. Let's discuss it after I return from the Cloud Sea. My prestige is not yet established; hastily implementing reforms will only cause unrest among my subordinates. Qian Tian Mountain's immediate priority is this hunt."

Ren Bo felt a surge of exasperation upon hearing this. In reality, Qian Tian Mountain's administrative structure was already quite close to the Six Ministries system. Zong Weiran had intended to guide the governing structure for years, and it already surpassed many other cities. All that remained was a formal title. Establishing the designation of Three Departments and Six Ministries would only serve to further stabilize the populace.

Therefore, when Zong Shou previously proposed establishing the Six Ministries, Ren Bo hadn't voiced any objection, mainly because the preliminary preparations were already complete. Now, upon reflection, Zong Shou's deferral—could it be that he still didn't fully trust Ren Bo? Did he need to scrutinize the names on the list further?

Thinking this, Ren Bo fell silent. The machinations of an emperor were truly hard to fathom. Even knowing that Zong Shou’s approach was the correct path for a monarch, he couldn't help but feel disheartened and listless, for the first time entertaining the thought of resigning his post. Recalling the harmony between ruler and minister when Zong Weiran was alive felt like a bygone era, leaving him wistful.

A new emperor brings new ministers; if this new Sovereign doesn't embrace the old guard, what is the use of keeping him?

Zong Shou, utterly unaware of Ren Bo's internal turmoil, continued with a smile: "Oh yes! Prime Minister, if you are free in the coming days, perhaps you could draft another budget?"

"Budget?" Ren Bo's eyebrows arched slightly in confusion.

"Yes, a budget!" Zong Shou nodded, then realizing this concept likely didn't exist in this era, he clarified: "It means estimating the income and expenditures of Qian Tian Mountain City for the coming year, tallying up all the various expenses and outlays. The principle of spending according to income..."

Zong Shou himself wasn't entirely clear on what this 'budget' entailed, so he could only offer a vague explanation. Ren Bo, however, grasped the concept immediately, only to be completely stunned by Zong Shou's next sentence.

"Feel free to calculate it as ten times the expenditures of previous years! The price of Beast Crystals has not bottomed out yet; they are depreciating rapidly. It is far more profitable to spend it all now and acquire more supplies to construct buildings!"

Ren Bo stared blankly, taking a long moment before recovering his senses. Ten times meant at least three million fourth-tier Beast Crystals. Did this Zong Shou treat the Cloud Sea like his personal backyard? Where on earth did he get the confidence to hunt such an enormous bounty of Beast Crystals and spirit stones beneath the Cloud Sea?

It wasn't just Ren Bo who was perplexed; the group of attendants beside him wore expressions of similar shock.

Ren Bo arrived burdened with worry and departed in a fit of pique. Watching the aging minister's retreating figure, Zong Shou couldn't help but draw his lips into a bitter line. He had spoken the truth, but he had utterly failed to account for the fact that, given his current age and lack of established authority, his subordinates were far from ready to trust him. Instead, they perceived him as arrogant and impractical.

With a soft sigh, Zong Shou turned to those beside him. He saw Chu Xue, Ruo Shui, and the others glancing at him with questioning eyes. He flared up in anger: "Don't tell me even you all doubt me?"

Chu Xue hesitated briefly, then stopped herself. After a moment, she decided honesty was the better course: "Young Master! Ten times—that's over three million fourth-tier Beast Crystals! I once heard Father mention that Qian Tian Mountain has only just over ten thousand innate experts in total."

Over there, Xuan Yun Lan also raised her delicate eyebrows slightly: "Perhaps Your Majesty is unaware of the conditions beneath the Cloud Sea. While ferocious beasts and evil spirits have indeed increased there recently, the dangers have also grown year by year. Even our Qing Yin Sect only nets about six hundred thousand fourth-tier Beast Crystals per hunt. Even the Ten Great Sacred Lands wouldn't acquire much more. Your Majesty should temper your expectations for this trip..."

Zong Shou was momentarily speechless. If he told these people that, in his past life, he had explored the abyssal depths beneath the sea in the Divine Emperor game, and in reality, he had ventured there alone to hunt ferocious beasts, gaining intimate knowledge of the terrain and the distribution of specters and fiends—they would never believe him, would they?

Shaking his head slightly, Zong Shou couldn't be bothered to explain. He strode toward his flagship. In any case, facts would speak for themselves later. The reason he had tasked Ren Bo with requisitioning four hundred merchant ships capable of carrying a hundred thousand shi of cargo was not for show.

His personal Five-Tusk Flagship was the most magnificent vessel in Hongcheng Port. It stood twenty zhang tall, divided into twenty tiers. It could accommodate five thousand soldiers and store ten thousand shi of supplies.

However, the interior decoration was extremely simple. Like the Han Yan Palace atop Qian Tian Mountain, it followed Zong Weiran's style: plain and pragmatic, yet possessing an air of grandeur.

Zong Shou frowned deeply. This was far too spartan. Though he lived for the path of the sword and could disregard everything else—enduring the daily torment of the underwater vortex or burying himself in sand for months—when conditions allowed, he placed a high value on the quality of life. After all, one should enjoy life while they can. As for whether such indulgences would erode one's will, Zong Shou had his own unique perspective: if one couldn't maintain their true heart even amidst luxury and decadence, then pursuing the extreme heights of the sword path was merely empty talk, and it would be better to quit early. Being able to experience extravagance and revelry while maintaining an unwavering Dao Heart was the true refinement. Forcing oneself into an ascetic life was not necessarily the truest measure of a firm Dao Heart.

His quarters were located in the very center of this massive Five-Tusk vessel, immensely spacious. There were forty rooms flanking it, all allocated for his personal maids and guards, resembling a small temporary palace.

After entering his 'sleeping chambers' and settling in, Zong Shou dismissed everyone. He pulled out a classical text and began flipping through the pages one by one. Within his soul sea, starlight flickered as he simultaneously memorized and desperately extrapolated calculations. This was one of the secret manuals Wei Xu had left him before departing, and it happened to be quite beneficial to his World-Shaking Spirit Art.