The members of the Huaxia team were all stunned by Ling Tian's grand gesture.
Normally, these individuals hailed from ancient aristocratic families, families that had amassed immense wealth over millennia.
However, these families also had a large number of members. While they might receive millions or even tens of millions in pocket money from the family each year, they also required substantial funds to purchase resources for their cultivation.
For Ling Tian to casually spend nearly 50 million US dollars was simply astonishing.
Ling Tian's reasoning was straightforward: no one would refuse to befriend a generous benefactor, and even if they didn't want to befriend him, they certainly wouldn't want to offend a wealthy patron.
When money reaches a certain level, it becomes merely a number. For some, money could be used to crush others.
Ling Tian understood clearly that while the island was fraught with danger, the dense spiritual energy also presented numerous opportunities.
To haggle over a small sum of money now, leading to insufficient rest or nourishment, and consequently delaying matters, would result in losses far exceeding the current expenditure.
However, the primary reason Ling Tian chose to act this way was that he genuinely had no shortage of funds.
Bing Tian Pharmaceutical was currently making a fortune, with Ling Tian's daily dividends approaching tens of millions.
Bing Tian Pharmaceutical's two cosmetic products, Ice Pure Eye Cream and Ice Clean Facial Cleanser, had almost monopolized the high-end cosmetic market in Huaxia due to their potent effects.
Now, with the launch of Bing Tian Xiaoke Pill, a hypoglycemic drug effective in treating type 2 diabetes, Bing Tian Pharmaceutical had become a veritable money-printing machine.
This was, in fact, something taught to him by his fifth master, the business prodigy Gu Tianxi.
Much like Batman in Marvel comics, his greatest ability was his "money power." Most problems in the world could be solved with money; if money couldn't solve it, it simply meant there wasn't enough money.
Ling Tian's expenditure of 50 million US dollars drastically altered the perception of him among the group. No one now believed he was merely here for a superficial experience.
Some developed a favorable impression of his righteous conduct, while others became wary, silently warning themselves not to provoke this wealthy individual.
The island staff accepted the cards, produced a card reader, processed the relevant fees, and then led Ling Tian and his group towards the villas in the distance.
Upon arriving at the villas and seeing the facilities, almost no one was dissatisfied.
Compared to the residences in the previous building, these villas were as different as luxury villas were from low-income housing.
What particularly pleased everyone was that the building was unobstructed for a radius of 50 meters, with a vast expanse of lawn.
Normally, a residence would have walls and railings for a sense of security. However, for this group, walls and railings were of little consequence.
Especially for those formidable ability users, even a city wall might not be able to contain them.
Rather than having useless walls and fences, it was better to have no obstructions. This 50-meter distance provided ample time for the occupants to detect intruders and react.
The three-story villas contained over a dozen rooms, all fully equipped. It was more than enough for two people to share a room.
Since Ling Tian had paid for everything, Su Dacheng arranged for Ling Tian to have a room to himself, and no one raised any objections.
After everyone settled into their rooms and put away their luggage, Xuanyuan Jie quickly convened a meeting to discuss security arrangements for their accommodation.
Out of the 20 people, 14 were assigned to guard duty, observing the surroundings from the third-floor platform 24 hours a day.
Xuanyuan Jie dared not entrust their safety solely to the rules of Ice Fire Island.
The stronger an individual, the more they tended to disregard rules. As long as one possessed sufficient strength, they could disregard all rules.
Naturally, Ling Tian was among those not assigned to guard duty, and no one commented on this.
Ling Tian was originally designated as part of the logistics support, so his exemption from guard duty was perfectly reasonable.
Furthermore, Ling Tian had demonstrated his strength to everyone. His formidable financial power was also a part of his strength, and who would dare to say anything about it?
After the tasks were assigned, everyone returned to their rooms almost immediately, packed their belongings, and began to cultivate.
As their ship approached within a kilometer of Ice Fire Island, they could already sense the difference in the concentration of spiritual energy in the surroundings.
The spiritual energy here was nearly four to five times denser than in the natural environment, comparable to the effect of the double spirit gathering formations installed in Ling Tian's home.
For these cultivators, becoming stronger was their greatest desire, and cultivating here was immensely beneficial, potentially even leading to breakthroughs.
As Ling Tian settled into his room, someone knocked on the door. Ling Tian opened it to find Xuanyuan Jie, Zhuge Tianji, and Su Dacheng visiting him together.
"Ah, esteemed leaders, please come in, have a seat..." Ling Tian warmly invited them into the room and closed the door.
Zhuge Wuji got straight to the point: "My boy, you truly are wealthy. You paid so readily, without even batting an eye."
"This is nothing. Just a bit of pocket money..."
While Ling Tian's words appeared humble, they were, in fact, a subtle display of his wealth.
"Enough, we're all experienced individuals, let's not play games with each other.
Tell us what you want!
As long as it's not excessive or violates principles, we'll do our best to accommodate you!" Zhuge Tianji stated directly.
Seeing this, Ling Tian didn't hesitate and spoke his mind.
"I have two requests!
Firstly, besides us, there will be many wicked and unorthodox individuals on the island. I have personal grievances with some of those people. If the opportunity arises, you must allow me to kill a few of them!"
As soon as Ling Tian said this, the three of them chuckled. Xuanyuan Jie spoke up.
"I promise you. In fact, you didn't even need to ask. This is more than just a personal grievance.
Eliminating those individuals on this island is also one of our objectives for this operation!
We will do our utmost to eliminate those wicked elements whenever possible!
You saw our Eastern Princess, even if they manage to leave this island alive, they won't escape safely across the ocean!"
Ling Tian was very satisfied with Xuanyuan Jie's response. Xie Liheng had actually informed him of this earlier, but hearing Xuanyuan Jie confirm it personally gave Ling Tian greater peace of mind.