Chapter 152: The Treasure Of The Azure Sky And New Business
Outside the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, in the small plaza.
As an incomparably luxurious flying car slowly came to a stop, everyone was drawn to it, whether it was the vagrants in the expansion area outside the hall or the players inside.
“This flying car is so cool! I wonder when our hall will open up redemption. I’m definitely going to redeem one. It’ll be so much more convenient going back and forth to Crimson Moon Mountain then.”
“What do you think, if I dump points on these NPCs, will they sell me this flying car?”
“I think you can give it a try. As long as you succeed, I’m willing to pay double the price to buy it.”
“I’ll pay triple.”
Several super rich newcomers in A6-grade battle armor looked at the descending flying car and could not help discussing it, wanting to rely on their pay-to-win power to improve efficiency and catch up with the experts of the first tier.
The ordinary players nearby, hearing these rich veterans talk, were almost dying of envy.
They dig holes to earn points, all with their bare hands, but these rich veterans directly buy A6-grade battle armor, instantly gaining strength comparable to a beginner apprentice, and their reaction speed is insanely fast. Their digging efficiency is on a whole different level; they are basically ruthless digging robots.
The holes they dig in a normal day are not as many as those rich veterans dig in two or three hours.
If hall contributions could be transferred, they suspected these rich veterans would reserve training machine No. 1 outright and have it guide their cultivation twenty-four hours a day.
“So many super rich players came in this time?” Lin Qi heard the conversations of these newcomers in A6-grade battle armor and strongly suspected the system had deliberately let in so many super rich players to stimulate spending.
Otherwise it was hard to imagine that, out of more than one million people drawing lots for only two hundred quotas, more than a dozen would end up being super rich players. That probability was ridiculously high.
Still, thanks to these super rich players spending on so many sets of A6-grade battle armor, he had recovered a lot of points from the players, which somewhat balanced the economic system and allowed more ordinary players to gain enough profit in the high martial arts world, without worrying that there would be no more players entering it in the future.
While Lin Qi was thinking for that brief moment, two people stepped down from the flying car. One was Feng Ge Lin, a steward from the Martial Artist Association, and the other was Xia Ling from the Phosphor Fire Gang.
“Hall Master Lin, I am sorry to intrude today.” Feng Ge Lin saw Lin Qi walking out of the hall and took the initiative to greet him with a smile.
“Steward Feng, what brings you here specially today?” Lin Qi asked curiously.
“There is indeed something.” Feng Ge Lin gave a wry smile. “But it is better to have Xia Ling explain this matter.”
If he could, he really would not have come, nor did he want to have too much contact with Lin Qi, but this was a task from the association, and he could only brace himself and come.
Lin Qi looked at Xia Ling in puzzlement, not understanding what this matter had to do with her.
Xia Ling paused, then explained softly, “Hall Master Lin, you went to Emerald Sky this time, so you should know how important Emerald Sky is to the major powers of the City of Light Chasing. Lord Feng Ge Lin brought me here because he wants to make it clear that this matter is related to Emerald Sky. Or rather, the various forces in the suburbs of the City of Light Chasing contacted the senior officials of the association by name, wanting the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to immediately complete the supplies mission for Maple Forest Town. It seems these suburban factions all intend to act against the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
“Our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall did indeed go to Emerald Sky, but wasn’t everyone there getting their harvests based on their own abilities? And so many factions went to Emerald Sky. Those suburban forces wouldn’t go so far as to unite against just our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, would they?” Lin Qi was even more confused after hearing this.
Many factions from the City of Light Chasing went to Emerald Sky this time; just the ones he knew of numbered no less than twenty, and among them were quite a few wilderness gangs. But from what Xia Ling was saying, those suburban gangs were clearly targeting only the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
“This matter is very likely because of the current rumors,” Xia Ling explained. “Right now, all the major wilderness gangs and suburban gangs have received a message that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall managed to snatch a precious treasure from the Emerald Sky branch of the Martial Artist Association.”
“There is a lot of speculation about this precious treasure. Some say it is Emerald Sky’s secret cultivation method that they never pass on, some say it is the remains of a lord-level monster treasured by Emerald Sky, and some say it is a top-grade potion developed by Emerald Sky. On top of that, the three major cities have already issued an order forbidding anyone from approaching Emerald Sky again, so the factions in the city turned their attention to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.”
“However, according to my investigation, several factions are fanning the flames in this matter, including the White Feather Gang and the Gorilla Gang. These two gangs probably want to kill with a borrowed knife, which is why more and more exaggerated rumors spread, such as the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall obtaining a high-level cultivation method that allows one to cultivate beyond bone forging, potions that break the bottleneck of advanced martial artists, and even treasures that allow one to easily control a fixed city, and so on. Very far-fetched.”
“In fact, many factions do not believe these rumors, but there are always some that do. They used their connections to reach the senior officials of the association, wanting to force you, Hall Master Lin, to complete the supplies mission so they can bind some people and threaten you into handing over the precious treasure.”
“……”
For a moment, Lin Qi did not even know what to say. He had to admit that the people in the White Feather Gang and Gorilla Gang were really something; they had actually guessed right.
Of the three treasures obtained from the Martial Artist Association, the cultivation methods needed no explanation; they were indeed rare secret techniques.
As for that blood-red bead, it was extraordinary. Just holding it in his hand, he could feel his internal force intensity increase by a full fifty percent. Calling it a precious treasure was no exaggeration.
Lin Qi even felt that if he kept holding that blood-red bead, he could suppress and beat intermediate martial artists without battle armor, since his internal force intensity was increased by fifty percent.
If a normal lightning force strike carried 1500 kilograms of strength, then holding the blood-red bead, lightning force could reach 2250 kilograms, stronger than a martial artist who had just stepped into the intermediate level.
Moreover, unlike battle armor, the blood-red bead was not a fixed boost in strength. When he became an advanced martial artist with 3000 kilograms of internal force, holding the blood-red bead would let him strike with 4500 kilograms of force, which was far more terrifying than the boost from B6-grade battle armor.
The third item, the damaged blueprint, was equally shocking. It was an ancient minerals map discovered in Emerald Sky, which recorded many mineral deposits, including a large mine vein of Rem Titanium Gold.
Of the three items he obtained, the one of highest value was, without a doubt, the damaged blueprint.
If the information on the blueprint leaked, never mind just the City of Light Chasing; even a dozen surrounding cities might suffer disaster or even be wiped out.
Rem Titanium Gold, as the top-tier B6-grade raw ore, could be used to forge C2-grade and above alloys. Alloys of this level could even damage the skin of lord-level monsters. Its value was self-evident.
Anyone who controlled a mine vein of Rem Titanium Gold could not only rule a single city, but ruling an entire region would not be difficult.
Faced with such temptation, a war involving more than a dozen cities would be nothing. Even triggering a hundred-city war would be no surprise.
The Martial Artist Association branch in Emerald Sky probably understood how dangerous this minerals map was, which was why they had sealed it away. Once exposed, even that mobile city of Emerald Sky would be doomed.
“So Steward Feng, you came to tell me that I must now send people to Maple Forest Town with supplies, otherwise the Martial Artist Association will punish me?” Lin Qi looked at Feng Ge Lin.
“Hall Master Lin, please don’t misunderstand. This truly is not my idea. It all comes from the higher-ups.” Feng Ge Lin looked at Lin Qi and could not help feeling a chill in his heart.
He really could not afford to offend a genius martial artist. Only those unafraid of death, or those who themselves did not fear genius martial artists, would dare become enemies with one.
“Tell me, if I do not send people, what punishment will the association impose?” Seeing Feng Ge Lin’s panic, Lin Qi understood he was not lying; otherwise he would not have brought Xia Ling to explain.
“Normally, if a faction fails to complete tasks assigned by the association, the faction is directly delisted. All faction members are expelled from the city and forever forbidden from entering the city limits. If any are found, the city’s garrison will be dispatched to eliminate them,” Feng Ge Lin said nervously. “But Hall Master Lin, you are a special grade potential genius certified by the association, so you personally will not receive any punishment.”
“The faction is directly delisted, but I personally am fine?” Lin Qi laughed. “The association is really ruthless. Without a faction, no matter how strong I am personally, a martial artist without a faction in a city is just a beast with its teeth pulled. Any suburban faction could easily get rid of me. How long is the deadline the association gave?”
Before he had read much of the Martial Artist Association’s dossiers on powerful individuals, he had been quite confident in his own strength.
But after reading many records, he realized that in this high martial arts world, unless you are truly invincible, even a genius strong enough to control life and death in a city could still be buried under waves of people by a major power, or forced to death.
“Tomorrow is the final deadline,” Feng Ge Lin said nervously.
“Tomorrow?” Lin Qi nodded. “Alright, I understand. Tomorrow I will send people to Maple Forest Town to transport supplies.”
“Hall Master Lin, our Phosphor Fire Gang has plenty of manpower. If you do not mind, we can dispatch one hundred quasi-martial artists to assist with the transport. As long as those suburban factions do not go crazy, they probably will not attack the supply convoy,” Xia Ling offered.
“Thank you for your kindness, Miss Xia, but this is our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s own war. It is best if we resolve it ourselves,” Lin Qi said with a smile. “By the way, Miss Xia, didn’t you want to come train at our hall? In a couple of days we will bring in some training equipment. Come and practice then; I believe it will help you in the upcoming Five Cities Competition.”
Right now he had plenty of energy ore on hand, so yesterday he had already modified five primary training rooms. In just two more days, all the modifications would be complete, and the primary training rooms could officially start operation. For those who lacked life-and-death tempering, this would be extremely helpful.
“Hall Master Lin, it is a deal then. See you in two days.” Xia Ling smiled at Lin Qi, feeling that this visit had indeed been worthwhile.
After Lin Qi sent the two of them off, he immediately returned to the hall. After fiddling around in the lounge for a while, he posted an A4 sheet on the notice board.
The Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is launching a long-term new service.
Elite disciples and above are welcome to lead new disciples in accepting team transport supply missions. For each new disciple brought, there is an additional reward of two hundred contribution points. Each elite disciple can bring up to five new disciples, and each core disciple can bring up to ten new disciples. For each completed transport supply mission, elite disciples and above will receive a reward of one thousand contribution points.
As soon as the notice came out, both the veteran players still cultivating desperately in the hall and the new players exploded with excitement.
