Lin Zhao put the guild formation token into his package with a happy face. He glanced at Shen Xingchen and said, "After we return to the city, will you and Chen Xue go with me to form the guild?"
"Yes!"
Shen Xingchen nodded with a smile. At this moment, she felt a sense of pioneering that she hadn't felt in a long time. The first guild formation token for the Scarlet Moon Knights had finally dropped. Next up would be forming the guild, recruiting members, and leveling up the guild.
Lin Zhao walked forward and began to inspect the boss's drops. After collecting all the gold coins, he divided them into three parts and shared them equally with Shen Xingchen and Qing Ning. There were over 1800 gold coins, and each received over 600. Qing Ning's beautiful eyes curved into two crescent moons with happiness. That was 10,000 universal coins, enough to save a lot of money!
As for the equipment dropped by this Ten Realms Sword Cultivator, there were four items: a round leather helmet, a shield emanating a powerful aura, a pair of cloth leg guards adorned with flames, and finally, a long sword shimmering with streaks of lightning. The moment his gaze fell upon the sword, Lin Zhao's heart began to race. This was something to look forward to; it was very likely to be good. After all, it was loot from the top-tier boss in the Yunshang County territory, and it should drop a decent sword-type weapon.
He picked up the leather helmet and brushed his hand over it. The attributes floated before his eyes. They were quite ordinary—
[Dusk Leather Helm] (Gold Grade)
Type: Leather Armor
Defense: 180
Agility: +35
Stamina: +32
Special Effect: Precision, Hit Rate +25%
Special Effect: Toughness, increases user's HP cap by 800
Additional: Increases user's attack power by 8%
Requires Level: 70
...A very standard leather helmet. The defense was quite high due to its level, but the other attributes were rather average. Overall, it was street stall fodder, worth about 50 universal coins. At this stage, what high-level assassin would need such an item? It was basically impossible.
"It can only be sold for money."
Shen Xingchen smiled slightly, "Street stall fodder."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao directly threw the helmet into his package and began looking at the second item, a shield that exuded a solid aura. The outer side of the shield had a gilded lion head pattern, while the inner side was covered in engraved runes. It exuded immense power and was clearly no ordinary item. When Lin Zhao brushed his hand over it to reveal its attributes, Shen Xingchen and Qing Ning were both slightly stunned—
[Lion God Shield] (Flowing Gold Grade)
Defense: 550
Block Rate: +100
Strength: +90
Stamina: +88
Agility: +85
Special Effect: Damage Reduction +6%
Special Effect: Physical Dodge +8%
Special Effect: Damage Absorption +5%
Special Effect: Toughness, increases user's HP cap by 3500
Special Effect: Magic Resistance, reduces magic damage taken by 15%
Additional: Increases user's attack power by 18%
Additional: Increases user's defense by 18%
Requires Level: 70
...
"550 defense?"
Qing Ning chuckled lightly, "That's exaggerated..."
"Indeed."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and said, "The attributes of this shield are a bit heaven-defying. Both the physical and magic resistance are quite astonishing. What should we do? None of us need it. Should we sell it? Or... keep it in the guild?"
"This..."
Qing Ning hesitated for about a second and then smiled slightly, "Let's keep it in the guild. I'll listen to the two guild leaders."
Lin Zhao also hesitated.
At this moment, there was a 'ding'. Shen Xingchen sent him a private message: "Chen Xue really needs this shield. If Chen Xue can get this shield, in most situations, no one will be able to defeat her. We must keep it within the guild, but we can't let Qing Ning suffer. After all, Qing Ning's contribution to defeating this boss is indispensable."
"I know."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "The price of this shield in the auction house is at least 1.5 million. If we keep it internally, we'll have to subsidize Qing Ning a lot."
"It's fine."
Shen Xingchen smiled slightly, "You can waive my share. We're not short of this amount. As for Qing Ning... let's allocate 250,000 from the studio's funds for her. That should be enough."
"Alright."
"You tell her."
"Okay."
Lin Zhao, holding the Lion God Shield, turned to Qing Ning and said, "Qing Ning, Shen Xingchen and I both think it's better to keep it within the guild. Firstly, our Scarlet Moon Knights are in the early stages of development and need an extremely strong Paladin to withstand the pressure. Secondly, the attributes of the Lion God Shield are a bit too good. If we sell it to someone else and they become a formidable opponent, it will be quite troublesome. Therefore... we'll keep it internally at half the market price. I'll give you 250,000. You give up your one-third ownership of this shield. Is that okay?"
"Ah?"
Qing Ning's small mouth parted slightly, "No... no need for so much. Guild Leader, just give me a little token. Besides, I'm just here to make up the numbers. You're the one who received the quest, and the main force during the boss fight was you and the Vice Guild Leader. I actually just added some healing. Any random nomad could have done that. I can't take so much money. How about... you reduce it a bit? Otherwise... I really won't have the face to accept it..."
Shen Xingchen burst out laughing and privately messaged Lin Zhao, "Our Qing Ning sister is so cute~~~"
Lin Zhao smiled knowingly at her and turned back to Qing Ning, "How about this, I'll give you 200,000 universal coins."
"No, no, no, it's still too much."
Qing Ning widened her beautiful eyes, "Guild Leader!!! Listen to me, Lu Li and I are playing games to earn money for our tuition. We're already very happy that you can bring us along. The Scarlet Moon Knights have already given us a lot of money when we signed the contract. How can we possibly ask for so much now? I, Ah Ning, understand the rules of the world. I only take what belongs to me, and I will never overstep... How about this, give me 100,000... oh no, 80,000. I can accept this number..."
Lin Zhao was speechless, "When has anyone ever cut their own price like this?"
Shen Xingchen held back her laughter, finding these people too adorable.
Qing Ning pursed her red lips and said with a serious expression, "I know that the Guild Leader isn't exactly wealthy. The funds for our Scarlet Moon Knights were built up by the Guild Leader bit by bit. It's not easy, and you also have to maintain your flying sword. The daily expenses for the Sea God Rock are also considerable. Therefore, I only need 80,000. Any more would put too much pressure on the Scarlet Moon Knights. I am also a member of the Scarlet Moon Knights, so I naturally have to consider the guild and not always think about my own benefits..."
She raised her head, her beautiful eyes crystal clear, "Mainly... I'll feel guilty if I take more~~~"
Shen Xingchen covered her mouth and chuckled. That was the truth. What a pure-hearted girl Qing Ning was, she was truly wonderful.
"Got it."
Lin Zhao directly transferred 80,000 to her and smiled, "Then I'll thank you on behalf of Ah Xue~~~"
"You're welcome!"
Qing Ning also happily accepted the money. It was a windfall. She should think about where to take Lu Li for a delicious meal next time.
...
Lin Zhao continued and looked at the third item, a pair of flaming cloth leg guards—
[Golden Silk Flame Leg Guards] (Flowing Gold Grade)
Type: Cloth Armor
Defense: 260
Spirit: +88
Stamina: +85
Agility: +82
Special Effect: Damage Reduction +5%
Special Effect: Physical Dodge +7%
Special Effect: All elemental spell cooldown reduction by 10%
Special Effect: Toughness, increases user's HP cap by 1500
Special Effect: Burn Enhancement, fire spell damage effect +20%
Additional: Increases user's spiritual attack power by 18%
Additional: Increases user's defense by 18%
Requires Level: 70
...
Lin Zhao directly handed the leg guards to Shen Xingchen and said, "Your equipment."
"Mm."
Shen Xingchen smiled, "Then I'll take it?"
Qing Ning nodded with a smile, finding nothing wrong with it.
Shen Xingchen equipped the leg guards, and the corners of her mouth curled up. Her combat power had increased again!
Lin Zhao "clanged" as he pulled the long sword dropped by the Star River Realm Sword Cultivator from the碎石 (crushed stones). This sword was much longer and wider than the Qinglu Sword; it was a greatsword. The blade was carved with obscure runes, and streaks of flowing light rotated in the grooves. The sword's edge shimmered with streaks of lightning, making it somewhat blinding at first glance. He reached out and brushed his hand over it, and the attributes floated out, immediately leaving Shen Xingchen and Qing Ning dumbfounded—
[Thunderclap Sword] (Flowing Gold Grade)
Attack: 750-1000
Strength: +92
Stamina: +90
Agility: +88
Special Effect: Lifesteal +12%
Special Effect: Sword Skill Damage Increased by 15%
Special Effect: Damage Boost, user's attack damage +10%
Special Effect: Armor Penetration, ignores target's defense by 35%
Special Effect: Deals 45% splash damage to targets within 5 yards of the target.
Special Effect: Thunderclap Blade, has a 50% chance to unleash a Thunderclap Blade when attacking a target, dealing an additional 300% damage to the target.
Additional: Increases user's attack power by 18%
Additional: Increases user's defense by 18%
Lore: An ancient immortal discovered a thunderous mire in a famous mountain. They took the mysterious iron from the Heavenly Mountain and soaked it in the mire for natural tempering, eventually obtaining this Thunderclap Sword. It is said that once the Thunderclap Sword is wielded, it can summon the divine thunder of the Nine Heavens, with astonishing power.
Requires Strength: 600
Requires Agility: 300
Requires Level: 70
...
"That's it..."
Shen Xingchen looked at the monstrous attributes of the Thunderclap Sword and said, "Top-tier sword-type weapons are already rare, and the demand in the national server is high. This Thunderclap Sword with a 1000 attack cap is truly super monstrous. Your Qinglu Sword can also be retired. Just as you thought, before entering Tianji City, you, the Sword Hero, will almost have a complete set of graduation equipment."
"Congratulations, Guild Leader!"
Qing Ning said with a sweet smile.
"Heh heh..."
Lin Zhao clasped his hands and smiled, "Thank you, Miss Qing Ning!"
Shen Xingchen rolled her eyes, "Back when we were on the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, was it this serious and earnest demeanor that made Ah Yan favor you? Hmph... speaking of which, it's infuriating."
Lin Zhao looked a bit awkward and scratched his head, "Actually, I don't know why Miss Leng would look at me differently..."
"Then what do you plan to do?"
Shen Xingchen narrowed her beautiful eyes and smiled, "The Xu family group, it's almost the number one conglomerate in Ning City. If you truly become the son-in-law of the Xu family group... you won't have to worry about anything for the rest of your life."
"I have no such plans."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "I am very grateful for Leng Yan's affection towards me, but... she and I are impossible?"
"Oh? Why?"
Shen Xingchen tilted her head and looked at him.
Lin Zhao scratched his head again, "Perhaps because... we are not people from the same world..."
"Hmph!"
Shen Xingchen smiled and said nothing more.
...