Chapter Thirty-Three: Rest and Recuperation on the Journey Home

Luo Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed, and with a single thought, his attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Luo Yuan
Power: Apprentice Level (Advanced Warlord)
Strength: 55,000 kilograms
Speed: 303 meters per second
Defense: 55,000 kilograms
Spirit: 35,000 kilograms
Evasion Technique: Subtle Level
Cultivation Method: Five Hearts Toward the Heavens, Guide Technique “Ninefold Primal Source” (First Level)
Skills: Movement “Streamlight” (First Level), Blade Technique “Thunder Blade” (First Level)

Looking at his current stats, Luo Yuan smiled. On this trip through the wilderness, he had picked up many attribute increases, greatly enhancing his strength; the gap to the Wargod level was now not so far. Only his spirit stat lagged behind somewhat—relying solely on picking up spirit attributes dropped by Luo Feng and some low-level illusion foxes was too slow. He decided that once he had rested, he would venture again into the wilderness to seek high-level monsters with spirit attributes.

“Luo Yuan, we’re back! Come downstairs, time to split the money!” came Gao Feng’s cheerful shout.

Luo Yuan composed himself and went downstairs. Seeing the bright faces of the Fire Hammer squad, he knew at once that they’d sold the monster materials for a good price.

“Luo Yuan, we’ve settled the accounts. For the beast general-level monster we killed, you contributed the most, so your share is the largest—ten billion Huaxia credits. Luo Feng is next, with six billion. I’ll transfer your money to your account right now,” Gao Feng said with a smile as he operated the computer. Next to him, Luo Feng’s face was alight with joy.

“Alright, thank you!” Luo Yuan replied with a laugh. He was stunned for a moment at the sum of ten billion. Martial artists really did earn quickly—an ordinary person could hardly spend that much in several lifetimes.

After this, Luo Yuan treated the team to a feast at the finest hotel in Jiangnan Base City.

…

Yangzhou City, Bright Moon Complex.

It was deep into the night. A special-use vehicle from the Extreme Martial Hall—a Volkswagen Touareg SUV—entered the complex unimpeded.

“Beep!”

The Touareg pulled up directly at the entrance to the Extreme Hall, where families of Chen Gu, Zhang Ke, and Luo Feng were already gathered, along with the Hall Director, Wu Tong.

As Luo Yuan and the others got out of the car, the families of Chen Gu, Zhang Ke, and Luo Feng came forward for joyful reunions. Watching their warm embraces, Luo Yuan smiled with genuine goodwill. Yet in his heart, there was a tinge of envy and bitterness. After returning from battle, there was no family waiting to welcome him.

“Our four heroes have returned safely. It’s late now, everyone get a good rest,” said Hall Director Wu Tong with a smile. The group exchanged happy farewells, and Luo Feng went home with his family.

…

Back in his villa, Luo Yuan changed into his training clothes and went to the media room. Browsing the warrior forum, he found it deserted—everyone was likely cultivating, with no time for idle chat. So, he searched the monster database for spirit-type beasts. Only three types appeared: foxes (including the illusion fox he had previously purchased), fish, and snakes.

Spirit-attacking fish and snakes were rare, especially fish, which were mostly found in the deep sea—far away and extremely dangerous, out of reach for anyone short of a Wargod’s power. Luo Yuan focused his attention on the foxes. The database showed that the more tails a fox had, the stronger its spirit attack and growth potential.

Luo Yuan posted a task on the forum’s commission board: “Seeking information on illusion foxes of beast general level or higher, reward: ten million!”

He then checked the online store for anything useful. Out of curiosity, he compared the prices of identical items in the Extreme Home and HR Alliance online shops. He found that, in terms of price alone, equipment from the HR Alliance was several times more expensive than in Extreme Home.

However, Extreme Home required contribution points and higher levels to purchase more valuable items—and contribution points were far more valuable than Huaxia credits. Without them, one could only donate huge sums of credits to gain contribution levels—and only if one was an Extreme Martial Hall member.

Luo Yuan marveled at the sky-high prices in the HR Alliance store; it was no wonder their money-making ability was so formidable. No surprise, then, that later the Li Yao couple could put up a bounty of one hundred billion credits for the killer of their son.

This also made clear how precious the two hundred million reimbursement quota that Zhuge Tao had given him was—the quota carried no contribution level requirement, and everything he bought was at half the already lowest price in Extreme Home. Apparently, a supervisor at Extreme Martial Hall received this kind of discount, and Luo Yuan had been using Zhuge Tao’s privileges to make purchases.

After browsing the online store, Luo Yuan felt his ten billion credits didn’t seem so impressive—there was little of true value it could buy. Martial artists might earn quickly, but their expenses were even faster.

He decided that when he hunted high-level monsters in the future, he would sell them to Extreme Martial Hall; it was the most cost-effective choice.

Luo Yuan glanced at his freshly cleaned combat suit, Bloodshadow Blade, and flying knives. With a wry smile, he realized his gear was worth a fortune—it was no wonder people from the HR Alliance store ogled it with envy.

In the end, Luo Yuan bought a high-tech sports car for daily use—being a warlord-level martial artist, he couldn’t ride the bus every time he went out, or he’d be a laughingstock.

Afterward, the Fire Hammer squad entered a period of rest. Luo Yuan returned to the Extreme Hall to resume his daily attribute harvesting—though his main focus was on the veteran warriors cultivating the “Ninefold Thunder Blade,” because his own progress felt too slow.

Each day, after collecting attributes, Luo Yuan would relax in the first floor lounge of the Extreme Hall, sipping tea and enjoying snacks. Out of boredom, he became acquainted with many fellow warriors—most of them attractive female martial artists. Though he’d once had a fleeting encounter with a woman named Wang Qian, Luo Yuan was not one to fall for women easily. Besides, in the universe, strong, beautiful female warriors were like goods on display, for anyone to pick—his primary objective remained to grow stronger.

So far, in Luo Yuan’s heart, the only woman who had truly moved him was Yu Qian, who had helped him when he was weak. But his feelings were mostly gratitude.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

October 7th, 2056. Saturday—the day the seven members of the Fire Hammer squad had arranged to meet at the HR Alliance Mall.

Morning.

A sleek, elegant coupe glided into the plaza of the HR Alliance Mall, coming to a gentle stop at the entrance to the HR skyscraper. Luo Yuan and his party, dressed in simple, casual clothes, got out of the car and, welcomed by the doorman, entered the lobby.

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