Chapter Twenty-Three: Acquiring Secret Manuals and Equipment

Luo Yuan's gaze fell upon the massive screen mounted on the wall of his audiovisual room. One button was flashing incessantly, bearing the message—“You have two new emails.”

He tapped lightly on the wireless keyboard’s touchpad, opening his inbox.

A whoosh! The first email opened, immediately revealing a video.

“Hello, Mr. Luo Yuan.” On the enormous screen, a middle-aged man in a black suit appeared, smiling. “I am the assistant to Director Zhuge. The Director’s promised twenty million in start-up funds should already be in your account. As for purchasing movement techniques, blade techniques, internal energy manuals, and equipment, you may buy directly through the internal network, provided the total does not exceed two hundred million. All purchases within this limit will be reimbursed, costing you nothing. If the price exceeds two hundred million, you will need to pay the difference yourself. On behalf of the Director, I also congratulate you on passing the martial artist combat assessment.”

With that, the video ended abruptly.

“The Extreme Martial Arts Hall certainly has impressive efficiency,” Luo Yuan muttered as he clicked on the second email.

This one too was a video.

“Dear newly promoted martial artist ‘Luo Yuan’, greetings. On behalf of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, I welcome you to our family.” A sweet-looking young woman smiled warmly. “This is your first time entering the internal network—Extreme Home! Allow me to introduce its functions.”

The girl in the video then detailed the features, though Luo Yuan didn’t pay much attention. He only caught one phrase: “If you have enough contribution points, all the items above are half price!”

“There are two main ways to earn contribution points,” she explained.

“The first is hunting monsters and collecting important materials from their bodies. Sell these materials to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, and you’ll gain both money and contribution points.”

“The second is to donate money to the Hall. The more you donate, the more points you receive. Currently, the rate is… donate ten thousand Huaxia credits to earn one contribution point! Donations start at ten million credits, and martial artists can donate up to ten billion. So, through donations, the maximum you can earn is one million contribution points!”

Listening to this, Luo Yuan still felt monster hunting was the best way to earn points—it brought both contribution and wealth. Donation, on the other hand, was clearly a trap for wealthy but untalented people. Nevertheless, he donated ten thousand credits to get one contribution point, so he could enjoy the half-price discount.

The internal network of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall—‘Extreme Home’—was indeed useful. With money, one could directly hire warrior-level or even war-god-level experts for one-on-one online instruction. Still, Luo Yuan preferred free options.

Extreme Home had numerous functions and sections: task acceptance and posting, private chat, training modules, donation system. But what attracted Luo Yuan most were the ‘Martial Artist Forum’ and the ‘Online Mall’.

He browsed the Martial Artist Forum for a while, expanding his horizons—he hadn’t realized martial artists had so many intricacies. Though many opinions were just individual views, he didn’t dwell on them.

“Let’s check out the online mall,” he thought, tapping his wireless keyboard’s touchpad to enter the store.

Immediately, the giant screen in the audiovisual room displayed a range of detailed item categories. Luo Yuan selected ‘Manuals’—‘Offensive Techniques’, clicking three times in succession, and soon the screen showed photos of manuals, their names, and prices.

“World Destroyer,” category: Spear Technique. Rating: Ultimate. Price: One hundred billion Huaxia credits (full price), fifty billion (half price, requires four-star contribution points).

“Ninefold Thunder Blade,” category: Blade Technique. Rating: Ultimate. Price: One hundred billion credits (full price), fifty billion (half price, requires four-star contribution points).

…

“Phantom Blade Art,” category: Blade Technique. Rating: SS level. Price: ten billion credits (full price), five billion (half price, requires three-star contribution points).

…

“Mist Sword,” category: Sword Technique. Rating: S level. Price: three billion credits (full price), one and a half billion (half price, requires three-star contribution points).

…

…

Without hesitation, Luo Yuan purchased the first three levels of “Ninefold Thunder Blade,” using one hundred million from his reimbursement quota at half price. The set included matching top-tier movement and internal energy techniques—a great deal. He decided to spend his remaining hundred million on equipment, since the first four levels of “Ninefold Thunder Blade” at half price would cost two hundred and fifty million, far beyond his means.

At the bottom of the webpage, a striking red warning appeared: “Ninefold Thunder Blade is an ultimate blade technique, extremely difficult to master. Many martial artists worldwide choose it, but most fail to even grasp the first level. Please consider carefully before purchasing!”

Luo Yuan regarded the warning with some uncertainty. He hoped he could succeed in mastering it, but wondered if he could pick up the relevant attributes for Ninefold Thunder Blade.

Next, Luo Yuan opened the weapons list and quickly found the ‘Blood Shadow War Blade Series No. 2’.

Blood Shadow War Blade No. 2 Series, Model A1—Price: one hundred thousand credits (full price), fifty thousand (half price, requires one contribution point).

Blood Shadow War Blade No. 2 Series, Model A2—Price: five hundred thousand credits (full price), two hundred and fifty thousand (half price, requires one contribution point).

…

No. 2 Series, Model A5—Price: six million credits (full price), three million (half price, requires one-star contribution point).

…

Gritting his teeth, Luo Yuan bought the A9 model Blood Shadow War Blade, suitable for fighting high lord-level monsters. At half price, it cost him five million credits. He also purchased a premium backpack, a top-grade combat communication watch, a B6 model shield, and a full set of D9 combat gear. Calculating that he had twenty million credits left in his reimbursement quota, he decided to buy a few throwing knives as backup.

After much deliberation, Luo Yuan finally bought six No. 9 series throwing knives. If strong enough, they could even harm high lord-level monsters. At half price, they cost him twenty million credits, leaving his two hundred million reimbursement quota completely spent.

Staring at his remaining twenty million credits in start-up funds, Luo Yuan was torn about what to buy next. After some thought, he decided to save them for later.

He had considered buying genetic potions, but after reading their descriptions, abandoned the idea. These low-grade genetic potions could temporarily boost strength, but once the effects faded, further progress became difficult. It was like forcing growth, detrimental to future advancement. Only those who had reached their limits and had no hope of further improvement would use them.

However, Luo Yuan had seen discussions about Dragon Blood in the forum—a rare potion that could enhance physical constitution. Using it would greatly increase cell activity, raising one’s strength by at least two levels. It was valued at eighty billion credits, far more potent than attribute picking.

PS: Dear true gods, please reward, vote, and collect. Luo Yuan bows in gratitude.