"Swish!"
A golden rain of light descended from the sky. At level 150, he was now qualified for the third advancement of a Sword Master.
At the same time, the body of the female ghost Taohua gradually dissolved in the wind, scattering a large pile of treasures. A Heaven-tier Boss had been solo-killed, and the owner's charm value was as high as 100. The drop rate was bound to be high. Lin Zhao was not in a hurry to advance. He crouched down in front of the pile of spoils, first collecting all the gold coins, and then examining the equipment. There were five pieces of equipment in total, and basically all of them were useful.
[Taohua Fan] (Heavenly Artifact): Weapon, specialized for magic users, extremely high spiritual attack power.
[Taohua Wedding Dress] (Heavenly Artifact): Robe, specialized for magic users, extremely high damage reduction and defense, and a chance to recover health when attacked.
[Shattered Heart Armguards] (Earthly Artifact): Leather bracers, average stats.
[Shattered Heart Chestplate] (Earthly Artifact): Leather chest armor, average stats.
[Taohua Ring] (Earthly Artifact): High critical hit, high life steal, with a pursuit effect. A top-tier ring.
...
Basically, all five pieces of equipment could be sold for money.
Lin Zhao felt ambitious. He had already profited greatly from this trip to the Ghost Realm, not only recouping the ten Feiyu coins for the entrance ticket but also having a surplus. Just then, he looked down and saw a broken green tortoise shell lying in the grass. Its surface shimmered with a faint flame glow. At first glance, it was clearly no ordinary item, and it wasn't equipment. This left only two possibilities: one was a magical treasure, and the other was an item that triggered a quest. Either way, it was a guaranteed huge profit, especially a magical treasure. What players lacked most at this stage were high-grade magical treasures. A decent magical treasure was worth far more than high-level equipment. This was also why Li Canghai, Ding Chunqiu, Youling Wang, and others would sell their belongings to join the Upper Five Realms sects.
He took a deep breath and held the broken tortoise shell in his hand. Instantly, a scorching heat permeated his palm. When he checked its attributes, he was taken aback. It was indeed a supreme item!
[Xuanwu Armor] (Magical Treasure)
Grade: Immortal-tier Mid-grade
Effect: Greatly enhances the user's survivability.
Effect: Greatly enhances the user's attack power.
Trait: Upon equipping Xuanwu Armor, there is a 20% chance to trigger true damage upon attacking. This damage cannot be evaded, blocked, or reduced.
Innate Divine Ability: [???]
...
After his gaze swept over the attributes of the Xuanwu Armor, Lin Zhao's heart almost stopped. There was no need to guess the specific refining effects of the Xuanwu Armor; these attributes alone were enough to place it among the top magical treasures. Moreover, the heaven-defying 20% chance of dealing true damage made it an indispensable divine item for top players to kill and plunder!
"Beep!"
A message, from Chen Xue: "Eating?"
"Mm, no rush yet."
After replying to Chen Xue, Lin Zhao shared the illustrated cards of the five pieces of equipment in their private group chat with Chen Xue and Shen Xingchen. He also shared the illustrated card of the Xuanwu Armor. For a moment, the two young ladies were dumbfounded. How could someone be so unreasonable, getting so many drops in one day? Other top-tier players might not even get one piece in a week!
"All from today?" Shen Xingchen asked.
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded: "And they were all dropped by the same Heaven-tier Boss. But I'm hesitating now. It seems both Xingchen and A Xue can use this Xuanwu Armor, and the Heavenly Artifact equipment is similar. But we're short on money right now, so I'm wondering if we should list these items on the auction house to sell? That way, we can solve the urgent financial needs of Feiyue Transport first?"
"Okay, I support your idea."
Shen Xingchen smiled: "Actually, for our Feiyue Knights, the combat systems in the game like magical treasures, equipment, and levels are the software foundation. In reality, Feiyue Transport is our hardware foundation. Neither can be lacking. Our strength in the game is already sufficient, so it doesn't matter if we don't have these items. Instead, we urgently need funds in reality to bolster the infrastructure of Feiyue Transport."
Chen Xue said: "Mm, I support Xingchen's view. Matters of priority. Since we've started building Feiyue Transport, we must invest heavily. There's no need to hesitate. Lin Zhao, take these items to the auction house and sell them. The money earned will be considered your personal share of investment into Feiyue Transport's capital fund. In addition, we will all do the same. Except for items we use ourselves, all equipment we get will be sold. Let's learn to save money and prepare for our future."
Lin Zhao smiled and nodded. With the approval of these two vice-leaders, his heart was at ease. After all, Chen Xue was sensible and understanding, and Shen Xingchen was knowledgeable. The combined wisdom of these two was a very important consideration for him.
"Alright."
Lin Zhao smiled: "You two go eat. I'll go auction the items and then go for my third advancement in Baidi City. That... A Xue, help me pack a bowl of rice, use one of those big bowls from the cabinet on the left, with 65% rice. Put all sorts of good dishes on top of the rice. If there's not enough space, you can use chopsticks to press it down, just don't crack the bowl."
"Got it, Fatso Alliance Leader." Chen Xue rolled her eyes at him.
Shen Xingchen covered her mouth and chuckled: "Alright, then you continue being busy. We're going to eat."
...
Everyone in the studio logged off, while Lin Zhao crushed a return scroll and returned to Baidi City.
"Swish!"
In the evening, Baidi City was bathed in the beautiful glow of the sunset. Lin Zhao, with a slightly tired figure, stepped into the auction house. It was one of the auction house's peak operating hours, with a dense crowd of players talking to auctioneers, choosing their desired equipment and items. Most of the equipment was listed through silent auction, with the highest bidder winning within 12 hours.
Lin Zhao didn't think much about it. He listed the five pieces of equipment one by one, all with 12-hour bidding periods. Then, he cautiously put the Xuanwu Armor up for consignment. Instantly, the magical treasure's ranking "swished swished swished" upwards, directly reaching the first position in the magical artifact category. Not far away, an old gentleman in a blue scholar's robe sitting by the window frowned and got up: "Such a dense fluctuation of spiritual energy. It seems there's a treasure in the auction house!"
Lin Zhao glanced at him, didn't think much of it, and turned to proceed with his third advancement.
...
Baidi City, Profession Training Hall.
On the vast plaza, various mentors of the nine professions were located in their respective office halls. The Sword Master's recruitment hall was on the left, situated in a rather ancient and elegant hall. When Lin Zhao stepped into the hall, three Sword Master mentors came into view. In the center was an old man in a gray robe, holding a long sword full of ancient charm. He was a Star River realm Sword Cultivator. The two beside him were likely his disciples, a man and a woman, both Golden Core realm Sword Cultivators.
The Sword Master mentors in Baidi City were not very high in cultivation.
This was unavoidable. Which Sword Cultivator in the Upper Five Realms of this world would be willing to sit here all day and serve those players who spoke so strangely? Even the ten-realm Sword Cultivator elder in front of him had been reluctantly invited from the mountain by Baidi City with a lot of Jinzheng coins. This was necessary; the pretense still needed to be maintained.
Lin Zhao, in white clothes with two swords on his back, cupped his fists and smiled lightly: "Senior, I'm here for my profession advancement."
"Oh?!"
The old Sword Cultivator looked at Lin Zhao and instantly discerned the depth of Lin Zhao's sword dao cultivation. This was a nine-realm Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator. He had already awakened two Sword Embodiment Lakes, both of which contained immortal swords. In his Spiritual Ruins, he also nurtured seventeen flying swords. Five of them were medium-refined immortal swords, and the twelve small-refined ones seemed to be famous swords with a rich ancient aura. Furthermore, a trace of extremely profound and powerful sword intent flowed through this young man. This sword intent made the old Sword Cultivator feel, at first glance, that a Sword Immortal was above, a being he might never reach in his lifetime.
"Esteemed fellow Daoist."
The old Sword Cultivator narrowed his eyes and smiled: "I didn't expect Baidi City to have such a young prodigy! Who said that after Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua, our human race's Sword Cultivators have reached a dead end?! I don't think so!"
Lin Zhao's stomach rumbled, but he didn't rush the old Sword Cultivator's monologue, smiling: "Senior praises me too much."
"Mm!"
The old Sword Cultivator was increasingly satisfied with the young Sword Cultivator before him. He looked at his two proud disciples beside him. After cultivating for over a hundred years, they were still in the Golden Core realm. He didn't know when they would reach the level of this young friend. It seemed far away!
"Senior?"
Lin Zhao respectfully cupped his fists, reminding the old Sword Cultivator. He seemed to have forgotten why he had come.
"Oh, oh..."
The old Sword Cultivator was slightly embarrassed and smiled: "Esteemed fellow Daoist, your strength is already sufficient to bear great responsibility. As long as you pay 1000g, you can be promoted to a renowned Great Swordsman!"
"Okay."
Lin Zhao immediately confirmed and paid 1000g. A chime sounded in his ear—
"Ding!"
System prompt: Congratulations on successfully advancing to the third tier and obtaining the title "Great Swordsman"!
...
The previous title was Swordsman, and now the title is Great Swordsman, a clear upgrade. Moreover, according to information revealed by the official, the title for the Sword Master's fourth advancement at level 200 is "Sword Dao Grandmaster," and after the fifth advancement at level 250, the title will be the legendary "Sword Immortal." Of course, the fifth advancement will undoubtedly be extremely demanding, and the officials will not allow all Sword Masters to be qualified to obtain the title of Sword Immortal. Lin Zhao also learned from Leng Yan last time that at the maximum level of 255, players have a slim chance to advance further, from the ordinary title of "Sword Immortal" to "Enfeoffed Sword Immortal." The so-called Enfeoffed Sword Immortal should be the Sword Immortal standing at the pinnacle of the world.
Just thinking about these things was enough to make one's blood boil!
"Hoo..."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and logged off to eat.
...
In the evening, around 8 o'clock.
As Lin Zhao was practicing his punches and nourishing his sword intent in front of Tianranju, a message arrived from a stranger named "Nangong Muyun": "Alliance Leader Baiyi, is the Immortal-tier Mid-grade magical treasure Xuanwu Armor in the auction house consigned by you?"