Chapter 199: A Player Is Killed
Regardless of how Song Jiulai was grinding his teeth in jealousy, the three players over at the True Treasure Pavilion were so happy they were about to pass out.
Buy one, get one free. To think such a wonderful deal existed.
Even though it was only a Xuan Grade item, it was free. They would have been happy even with a Mortal Item.
Even Zhang Sheng understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
To refuse now would be not knowing what was good for them.
An Xiu still had his eye on the Thunder Element Flying Sword from the beginning.
Honghuang, on the other hand, set his sights on a brush-type Magic Treasure.
The brush attacked by creating strokes of ink that fell from the air. It dealt continuous damage to any enemy in their path and could also slow down a Cultivator’s speed.
In theory, the more strokes it created, the greater the damage it would deal.
However, it also had its drawbacks.
A Xuan-grade Magic Treasure like this with a wide area of effect was slow to activate. Furthermore, the more strokes it created, the more Spiritual Energy it would consume.
It was likely best used in coordination with teammates.
Of course, aside from the fact that Honghuang simply liked its appearance, the Magic Treasure itself was perfect for coordinating with An Xiu.
Zhang Sheng had originally leaned toward a combat-oriented style, but considering the money they were spending, he knew they would have to grind monsters for a long time to come.
Since he planned to team up with Honghuang and An Xiu, he chose a more support-oriented item.
It was a blank scroll. When activated, it allowed Zhang Sheng to trap any person or group of people within its range, pulling them into the scroll itself. He could then use other abilities to attack the people or demon beasts trapped inside.
Those with great strength could break free quickly, but it was still highly effective against powerful single targets.
With this, they could at least try to hunt high-level demon beasts.
Honghuang would slow them, and he would trap them with the scroll.
Alternatively, he could trap them first, then Honghuang could slow them down for An Xiu to deal damage.
It formed a perfectly synergistic strategy.
An Xiu and Honghuang, however, were a little surprised.
Honghuang said, "Zhang, you don’t have to build around us, you know. That Magic Treasure is more of a support item. What are you going to do during the competition?"
Zhang Sheng said, "Trap... trap them, then attack!"
Whether for attack, defense, or support, every Magic Treasure has its use.
Zhang Sheng was insistent, and after a couple of tries, Honghuang and An Xiu gave up trying to persuade him.
Nearby, Nan Qi watched them. She found it quite remarkable that the first Magic Treasures the three of them chose actually formed a synergistic combo.
’After all, it’s their first Magic Treasure. Most Cultivators prefer ones meant for direct attack.’
’Support or defensive Magic Treasures like these, unless required by a specific Cultivation Technique, don’t sell as well as Attack Magical Treasures.’
’Their prices are also a bit lower.’
Honghuang’s brush cost forty-five Mid-grade Spirit Stones, and Zhang Sheng’s scroll was also forty-five.
An Xiu’s was the most expensive of the three.
The total for all of them came to exactly one hundred and fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
After a twenty percent discount, the total was one hundred and twenty.
A whole top-grade spirit stone!
Even though their hearts bled at the cost, they still chose to take out a loan from the Sect.
Since the Sect was currently in a critical period, it couldn’t provide a long-term supply of Spirit Stones. Therefore, the loan’s term was only one month.
If they couldn’t repay the loan in a month, their accounts would be directly banned.
It was a good thing Song Jiulai had made a windfall selling Second and Third Rank Spirit Grass earlier. Otherwise, the players wouldn’t have been able to borrow such a large sum of Spirit Stones at all.
The Sect operated on a simple principle: it would lend out what it could. If its reserves were depleted, it would announce that the Sect’s balance was temporarily insufficient.
This prevented players from suddenly embarking on a project only to discover the Sect had no funds, causing them to fail instantly.
Fortunately, borrowing Spirit Stones came with interest, and since cashing in with points was also very expensive, not many of the more frugal players were willing to borrow from the Sect.
After buying their Magic Treasures, the three of them also picked one of the Xuan-grade Magical Treasures that Nan Qi had gifted them. This time, they all chose an attack-type.
A Xuan-grade Magical Treasure could be used all the way until the end of the Foundation Establishment Stage, so it should be saved for a critical moment.
This Xuan-grade Magical Treasure was indeed powerful, but unfortunately, it was a disposable one.
’How do you even refine a disposable Magic Treasure?’
’Whoever figured it out is a genius!’
Honghuang, quick to speak, was about to ask just that when An Xiu jabbed him with an elbow.
The moment Honghuang so much as breathed, An Xiu knew what he was about to say.
Zhang Sheng, who was still struggling with his speech, was even less likely to say anything.
After they had finished their purchases and paid, Nan Qi asked, as if it were an afterthought, "Since Senior Zhai recommended you, which Sect are you from?"
This time, Honghuang looked at An Xiu.
’If you won’t let me say anything, then you answer her! You do it!’
An Xiu replied, "We’re from the Feique Sect."
"Oh, I see..."
Nan Qi nodded as if in understanding.
’In truth, she had never heard of it.’
’But she couldn’t just come out and say that; it would hurt their feelings.’
’As the owner of the True Treasure Pavilion, she knew far too little about these small sects.’
’Still, she thought, a Sect that could casually drop a top-grade spirit stone to buy three Xuan-grade Magical Treasures at once couldn’t possibly be a small sect, could it?’
’Nan Qi knew full well that an ordinary Sect couldn’t possibly come up with such a large sum.’
’The reasoning was simple.’
’A small sect’s entire treasury might not even be enough to afford three Xuan-grade Magical Treasures. They would never let their disciples waste the funds on such things, instead saving the money for more critical purchases.’
’Most would pour all their resources into their single most outstanding disciple.’
’Nan Qi couldn’t gauge the talent of these three with the naked eye. Since they were at the Late-stage of Qi Refining, maybe they were the children of some Sect Elder? That would explain why they were so wealthy.’
’They had to be from a reputable, medium-sized Sect at least.’
’There were so many Sects on the Yunzhou Continent. They must be from a Sect other than the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect, which is why she’d never heard of them, right?’
’Besides, Senior Zhai had recommended them.’
’He must have had his reasons for sending them here.’
An Xiu and the others, unaware of her inner thoughts, simply nodded and said respectfully, "Thank you, Senior."
Nan Qi waved her hand. "Just call me Manager Nan. My surname is Nan, as in the word for ’south’."
She scratched her head. "It feels a bit strange when you call me Senior."
’I might not even be as old as the three of you.’
She didn’t give them her first name.
"Thank you, Manager Nan."
After the three of them politely thanked her, they left the True Treasure Pavilion.
Nan Qi watched their retreating figures, thinking about how she had closed three deals in a row today.
’And I even managed to give away some of those Disposable Magical Treasures I had no use for. At least now no one can say I only know how to refine useless things, right?’
’Someone is bound to need them!’
Meanwhile, Honghuang received a sudden private message from Fan Guzhou.
Fan Guzhou: Honghuang, do you guys need a sponsor for this competition? Boss Han and I can pool our resources to get you one Xuan-grade Magical Treasure. All we’d need is for you to help us farm some specific Demon Beast Materials afterward.
Honghuang was so frustrated he could have cried.
Honghuang: Man, why didn’t you say so earlier!!! We just took out a loan from the Sect to buy our Magic Treasures! We literally just paid for them!! But it’s for the three of us; we all bought one and split the cost.
Fan Guzhou: Three of them? Damn, you guys really went all out. In that case, I can’t help you anyway. Lin Yuyu already borrowed a chunk of my money.
Honghuang: ...
Just as he was about to reply, a frantic message erupted in the Sect channel.
Jiang Lianhan: FUCK, FUCK, I’m dying! I’m being killed!! The attacker is a Cultivator from the Fierce Eagle Sect!!!! I can’t die like this! Avenge me!!