Chapter 176: They Might Profit A Lot, But I Never Lose
“Are they really that enthusiastic?”
Lin Qi was quite surprised when he heard this. Originally, he had just wanted the players to go and harass the Four Major Powers a bit, to let them know he was not someone to be trifled with.
He had not expected these players to be so serious, actually fighting all the way until now, and not properly learning from Li Ranxing and the others to break through and become Martial Artists as soon as possible.
He was now cultivating three Cultivation Methods at the same time. Relying on Li Ranxing and the other two alone was far from enough for his daily extraction, especially for the three corresponding Secret Techniques. With only Li Ranxing and the other two, it would take who knew how many years before they could reach Proficient Level so that using them would no longer have major side effects.
Compared to ordinary Martial Skills, Secret Techniques might be more powerful at the same level, but the side effects brought by each use were just as great. After all, this was an Extreme burst of the body. The stronger the burst, the stronger the backlash the body suffered. Only by reaching Proficient Level could the side effects be minimized.
At the Seventh Stage, even at Entry-level, just using a Secret Technique once would cause stabbing pain all over the body that would not subside for quite a while. If used continuously, it could practically cost someone their life.
In battles between Martial Artists, it was completely normal to use Martial Skills continuously. If one used them repeatedly while they were only at Entry-level and failed to kill the enemy, then the one who died would definitely be oneself.
“Hall Master, it would be one thing if those Martial Arts Hall Disciples were just constantly harassing the Four Major Powers, but now they are all going to the Territories of the Four Major Powers to fight desperately,” Meng Wei said worriedly. “It was still acceptable in the morning. Our Martial Arts Hall lost fewer people while the Four Major Powers lost more. But by the afternoon, the Four Major Powers directly activated their Foundation.”
“Almost everyone taking action is an Limit Quasi-Martial Artist or Martial Artist wearing B2-level Battle Armor. By now, at least several hundred of our Martial Arts Hall people have died, while the Four Major Powers have suffered few casualties. If our Martial Arts Hall keeps fighting like this, I’m afraid the Martial Arts Hall Disciples will soon be completely exhausted.”
“Once the Martial Arts Hall Disciples are worn out, those other gangs watching from the sidelines will definitely not let go of the Iron Heart Gang Territory we occupy. At that point, it will be very hard for our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to recruit anyone. We must stop those Martial Arts Hall Disciples immediately.”
“I understand, but this is the spontaneous action of the Martial Arts Hall Disciples. I cannot interfere, otherwise it will chill their hearts,” Lin Qi nodded, then said solemnly, “Besides, the tradition of our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is: if others do not offend me, I do not offend them; if others offend me, I will surely execute them. Even if our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and the Four Major Powers fight until both sides are wiped out, we will never retreat half a step!”
“Hall Master? This…” Meng Wei was stunned when he heard this, feeling that Lin Qi had gone insane.
It had not been easy for Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to gain a foothold in the Suburbs after several great battles, obtain the Territory of the Iron Heart Gang, and develop peacefully and quickly.
Yet instead of trying to avoid crossing the sharp edge of the Four Major Powers, he was actually thinking of taking the initiative to fight to the death. Even the Monsters in the Wilderness might not be this crazy.
“Stop trying to persuade me. I strongly agree with the disciples’ choice. Do you have anything else?”
Lin Qi waved his hand, indicating there was no room for negotiation on this matter.
The Four Major Powers were indeed smarter than he had expected. They had known to use their Foundation early and respond with absolute Strength instead of choosing to drag things out, which had indeed raised the Difficulty for the players.
But the advantage of the Fourth Calamity was stubbornness. Losing a little life was nothing compared to inflicting some losses and shock on the Four Major Powers.
Was there anything to hesitate about?
Even if he did not profit, he certainly would not lose.
Seeing that Lin Qi could not be reasoned with, Meng Wei let out a helpless sigh. He felt that he had just escaped from the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair, with not a single peaceful day in sight.
“Hall Master, besides this matter, there is also the recruitment for the Martial Arts Hall,” Meng Wei said slowly. “Right now, although we have taken over the Iron Heart Gang’s former Territory and can let the recruited disciples live in the Suburbs, it is very difficult to recruit any truly useful experts. Houses in the Suburbs and Bits alone cannot attract Apprentices of Advanced and above. We still need a large amount of Martial Artist Resources.”
“Do we not have the Type 1 Energy Potions and Healing Potions seized from the Iron Heart Gang?” Lin Qi looked at Meng Wei in confusion.
After exterminating the Iron Heart Gang, he had asked Meng Wei to recruit new people. After all, there were only a few hundred players, and players also had to Log Off to rest. To manage the entire Territory of the Iron Heart Gang, maintain Public Order at Crimson Moon Mountain in the future, and so on, without several thousand or tens of thousands of people, it would be impossible.
The Type 1 Energy Potions and Healing Potions seized from the Iron Heart Gang had all been handed over to Meng Wei for Management. Under normal circumstances, they should have been enough to Recruit quite a few useful experts.
“Under normal circumstances, yes,” Meng Wei said with a bitter smile. “But the current state of our Martial Arts Hall is not normal. The news that we have gone to war with the Four Major Powers has already spread throughout the City of Light Chasing. Except for those Vagrants with no prospects, no one is willing to join.”
Previously, recruitment for the Iron Heart Gang had been easy. They did not need to provide Energy Potions or Healing Potions; at most they offered some Bits and Houses provided by the gang to live in, and large numbers of Beginner-level and above Apprentices would rush over.
If these Beginner-level and above Apprentices wanted to obtain Type 1 Energy Potions or Healing Potions, they could only Redeem them with gang Contribution and Bits, and they were limited in quantity: only two bottles per month. Even if they became gang elites, they could Redeem only ten bottles a month.
Now, after he had operated in the Iron Heart Gang for many years, and given that this was the main activity area for the Human Race in the Suburbs, he was willing to offer Beginner-level and above Apprentices one bottle per month for free, with Bits 20% higher than usual, and still no one came.
This afternoon, he had even raised the Treatment for ordinary Members to two free bottles per month, with Bits 50% higher, and still no one was willing to join.
Now, in the vast Territory of the Iron Heart Gang, which normally required several thousand people to maintain, there were fewer than two hundred Martial Arts Hall Disciples who were not even Apprentices maintaining it. It was a miserable sight.
If not for the reputation of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, the surrounding gangs would have attacked long ago. Even if they did not attack, they could have harassed the Merchants so that they could not move out, reducing the Territory’s Income.
“In that case, announce to the public that from today on, every disciple recruited by our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall can learn the orthodox Cultivation Method of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall that allows one to become a Martial Artist. As long as they have enough Contribution, they can also Redeem Martial Artist Level Cultivation Methods. The learning fee is only one thousand Bits per time unit,” Lin Qi said with a smile.
“Hall Master, are you serious?” Meng Wei stared fixedly at Lin Qi, hardly able to believe his ears. “You really want to let other Members learn freely? That is the very Foundation of the Martial Arts Hall!”
He had coveted the Cultivation Methods of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall for a long time.
He would never forget the scene of Ye Qinglu becoming a Martial Artist in his entire life. Her Qi and Blood were so vigorous that they seemed denser than his own as a Limit Beginner Martial Artist.
Even without guessing, it was obvious that the Cultivation Methods learned by those Formal Disciples of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were definitely not ordinary Martial Artist Level Cultivation Methods. They were very likely Advanced Martial Artist level methods that the major established forces in the Suburbs would never teach outsiders.
Such Cultivation Methods were things he could not obtain even if he risked his life as a Limit Beginner Martial Artist, let alone learn.
If they were truly opened so anyone who joined could learn, Meng Wei was certain that people wanting to join would line up all the way outside the City, and even Members of other gangs would come to fish in troubled waters.
“Of course. Not only the recruited Martial Arts Hall Disciples, even those who are not Martial Arts Hall Disciples can learn as well, though the learning fee will be higher,” Lin Qi nodded.
The System’s Task did not only require him to cultivate stronger players, but also to cultivate stronger Local Residents. In other words, the more people who learned the Startling Spirit Breathing Technique, the better. Ideally, they would all advance to become Martial Artists, or even higher. That way, his System Permissions would increase, and his own Strength would grow stronger.
Previously, he had lacked sufficient Strength and worried that teaching too many people would cause various problems he could not solve, bringing harm upon himself instead.
But now, he already rivaled a true Advanced Martial Artist, and more and more Martial Artists were emerging among the players. There were far fewer people and Factions in the City of Light Chasing that he feared, so he could naturally act boldly.
“Hall Master, if we recruit like this, I am afraid the Martial Artist Resources we have on hand will be far from enough,” Meng Wei said worriedly. “And if we recruit in this way, the Four Major Powers will definitely not allow us to grow stronger. If they send large numbers of Quasi-Martial Artists equipped with B2-level and above Battle Armor to cause trouble, we will have very little ability to fight back.”
“Do the Four Major Powers have a lot of B2-level and above Battle Armor?” Lin Qi asked in surprise.
Battle Armor of B level and above was strictly regulated in every City. Even Special Grade Potential geniuses in the Martial Artist Association who joined could only Redeem one set of B2-level Battle Armor, and its Price was as high as eighty million Bits. Even Martial Artists who qualified to Purchase it could only Sell one set at most.
It was hard to imagine how many sets a Suburbs Faction could have, let alone a large quantity.
“A lot,” Meng Wei nodded and said seriously. “Just today, a random one of the Four Major Powers had more than ten Limit Quasi-Martial Artists equipped with B2-level and above Battle Armor. Otherwise, our Martial Arts Hall Disciples would not have suffered such heavy losses.”
“How can they have so many?” Lin Qi was shocked.
In his view, it would already be good for these major Suburbs Factions to have a few sets. First, the Price was not cheap; second, there was nowhere to Purchase them, especially Battle Armor of B2-level and above.
Now, any one of the Four Major Powers could casually bring out more than ten sets of B2-level and above Battle Armor. It was simply ridiculous.
B2-level Battle Armor could increase Strength by 1000 kilograms. As long as a Limit Quasi-Martial Artist wore it, they would be a living Limit Beginner Martial Artist. As for B3-level Battle Armor, it was even more terrifying, adding a full 1600 kilograms of Strength. A Limit Quasi-Martial Artist wearing it could even contend with an Intermediate Martial Artist.
“Hall Master, perhaps you did not previously have Territory in the Suburbs or become a Suburbs Faction, so you might not know that any Suburbs Faction that has Energy Ore or Energy Crystals, and one qualification, can freely Purchase B2-level and above Battle Armor,” Meng Wei explained. “But that Purchase qualification is not easy to obtain.”
“Purchase qualification? How does one get this qualification?” Lin Qi asked in surprise.
If B2-level and above Battle Armor could really be freely purchased with Energy Ore or Energy Crystals, then it would be much easier for him to quickly arm a Team to guard the Territory of the Iron Heart Gang and Crimson Moon Mountain.
Especially for himself. If he could get B3-level and above Battle Armor, his Combat Power would increase tremendously.
“This Purchase qualification requires a Faction to have enough Strength,” Meng Wei explained. “Although the Cities restrict B-level Battle Armor, there is a Chamber of Commerce called Red Moon in each City that has been secretly Selling B-level Battle Armor. This Red Moon Merchant Guild is extremely mysterious. For some reason, the Senior Officials of each City know about it, but have never banned it.”
“And the Transaction rules of this Red Moon Merchant Guild are very strange. To Purchase B-level Battle Armor from them, Energy Ore or Energy Crystals alone are not enough. They also look at a Faction’s Power Ranking. The higher the ranking, the more B-level Battle Armor they can Purchase, and the higher the level.”
“Factions ranked in the top one hundred can Purchase each month one set of B5-level and ten sets of below B4-level Battle Armor. Those in the top two hundred can Purchase each month one set of B4-level and ten sets of below B3-level Battle Armor. Those in the top three hundred can Purchase each month one set of B3-level and five sets of below B2-level Battle Armor. Those in the top five hundred can Purchase each month one set of B1-level Battle Armor. Factions ranked after five hundred have no Purchase qualification.”
“A Faction’s Power Ranking? How is that determined? Is it certified by the Martial Artist Association?” Lin Qi could not help feeling curious.
A Faction’s Strength was actually hard to quantify. Even the rankings of Wilderness Gangs made by the Martial Artist Association were very rough. Without real fights, no one knew who was stronger.
And there were countless Factions within the City. One more or one fewer set of B2-level Battle Armor accumulating each month would be no small matter. Few Factions would accept others deciding that arbitrarily.
“This Power Ranking is not assigned by anyone. It is earned through fighting,” Meng Wei said.
“Earned through fighting?” Lin Qi was shocked. “But I have never heard of that many Factions fighting in the City.”
“This ‘fighting’ is not a full-scale war between City Factions. The Factions on the ranking list do not even know who is who,” Meng Wei explained. “The Red Moon Merchant Guild determines this Faction ranking through personal Competitions held in their Merchant Guild. Every Faction in the City only needs to send ten people to participate, divided between Martial Artist level matches and below Martial Artist level matches. It is acceptable if all ten are Martial Artists, or if they are all below Martial Artist level.”
“As long as ten people participate in this Competition, life and death do not matter. The higher their individual overall ranking, the more Points they earn. Martial Artists get double Points. The final ranking is based on the total Points.”
“Although our Iron Heart Gang previously had two Martial Artists, our ranking was poor. In the end, we barely squeezed into the top five hundred, so after developing for so many years, we never had a single set of B2-level Battle Armor.”
As Meng Wei spoke, he was quite helpless and ashamed. Clearly, the gang had two Martial Artists, but their total Points were still lower than many Factions that did not even have Martial Artists. They had practically become the laughingstock of the City of Light Chasing.
“Ten people?” Lin Qi’s interest was instantly piqued. “How do we participate in this Faction ranking?”
