A little clarity....12K crystals was for 13 packs of Huyang shards, no?
So, between the free 55 and say getting 100 from the pack, that's 155. The 12k was the price for 100 shards, not to gain full access to the character tree. There is like 7 tiers of rewards under the character path for Huyang and completing feats gets you completions of different things. Some require more than 155 shards to collect.
Is that a problem? Yes. Absolutely, but the 12K was for shards not total tree access. The huge problem there is you are forced to spend to complete the tree. If you get lucky and pull enough shards in the pack to 7 star, you can do it. But short of that, cash is the the only way to do, which is wrong. Dangling those other achievements in your face showing how many more shards you need to go is just crass advertising. Look how close! spend spend spend to get that next level. It is literally up there with free drinks, extra oxygen, and no windows in casino's to keep the players gambling.
WIth a game so far into profit, it's a massively pathetic as well to stoop this low.