Purchasing a Manual

Inside the bar on the first floor of the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo, over a dozen Warriors chatted. At one table sat several individuals, none other than the Fire Hammer Squad. Luo Feng walked in. "Hey, Luo Feng." "Crazy, you're here?" The entire bar greeted him warmly. Luo Feng smiled and responded, then joined the Fire Hammer Squad's table. Gao Feng, Wei Tie, Wei Qing, Chen Gu, Luo Feng, and the disabled Zhang Ke sat down, laughing and drinking until past nine, when they saw Zhang Ke off. Only the five of them remained at the table. "Luo Feng," Gao Feng said with a smile, "what should we do with the monsters we hunted this time?" "In my opinion, just sell them for cash," Wei Tie blurted out. Luo Feng shook his head. "Captain, I plan to sell my share of the monster materials to the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall to earn contribution points! My current contribution points are a pitiful few hundred. I haven't even reached One-Star Tier." These few hundred contribution points were from selling a small portion of the over ten thousand beast soldier-tier monsters he'd killed during his frenzied hunt. "That's right, Luo Feng hasn't reached One-Star Tier in contribution points yet," Gao Feng nodded. The others also smiled and nodded. "Yes, you need to accumulate contribution points. High contribution points offer many benefits," Chen Gu said with a smile. "For example, when buying manuals, you have to buy them yourself. With enough contribution points, buying manuals is the most cost-effective! And only with a Star Tier can you access some special training rooms in the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall for training." Luo Feng nodded. Some high-tech, extremely expensive training rooms were beyond the reach of even major powers. Only colossal organizations like the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo and Thunder Dojo could build such unique training rooms in every Base City. However, these training rooms only granted a limited amount of training time annually once a certain level of contribution points was reached. "How about this?" Gao Feng pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. It listed the monster materials the Fire Hammer Squad had acquired from this hunt. "These are our gains this time. Each material has an estimated market value. The total estimated value for all materials is around 2.2 billion." Gao Feng's voice was low. It was late, and there weren't many people left in the bar. Even if others overheard, it wouldn't matter much. "This time, Luo Feng and I were the main contributors to hunting the monsters, with Chen Gu, Wei Tie, and Wei Qing assisting. So, Chen Gu, Wei Tie, and Wei Qing each get 10%, which is 220 million each. Luo Feng and I each get 35%, which is 770 million each!" Gao Feng looked at everyone. "Any objections?" The Fire Hammer Squad members all smiled. Objections? In the past, they'd earn around 100 million in a year or two. This time, in such a short period, Chen Gu and the other two each earned 220 million! Of course, this was also due to their increased strength from taking gene-enhancing fluids. Without that improvement, they wouldn't have been able to assist Luo Feng and Gao Feng in the outskirts of City 003. "Luo Feng, choose monster materials worth 770 million. You decide how to handle them." Gao Feng handed over the paper and called out to the bar, "Get me a pen." Luo Feng looked at the paper carefully. After the pen arrived, Luo Feng quickly marked off materials totaling nearly 770 million. Nowadays, due to frequent online communication among Warriors and fierce competition among managers acquiring monster materials, prices were transparent, usually with little error. "Luo Feng, are you selling to the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall for contribution points to buy a manual?" Gao Feng asked. "I plan to buy the first four levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' manual," Luo Feng said helplessly. "Actually, I only need to buy the fourth level, but unfortunately, they don't sell single levels!" Manuals are usually sold in sets of initial levels. Luo Feng actually wanted to buy the first five levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade'. Unfortunately... To buy the first five levels, it would cost 2 billion. Half price would be 1 billion. But the condition for half price was reaching 'Three-Star Tier contribution points'. That's a whopping 1 million contribution points! If he were to buy contribution points with money, at 10,000 Huaxia币 per contribution point, it would cost a staggering 10 billion! Even though selling monster materials to the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo for contribution points was more cost-effective, Luo Feng didn't have that many monster materials. So, for now, he could only buy the first four levels. The first four levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' cost 500 million Huaxia币 at full price, and 250 million Huaxia币 at half price, with the half-price condition being 'Two-Star Tier contribution points', which is 100,000 contribution points. "Selling manuals is indeed the biggest rip-off," Wei Qing couldn't help but nod. "The HR Alliance sells manuals at a slightly lower price than the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo's full price. But compared to the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo's half price, it's much more expensive." "I know. The first four levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' here at the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo are 500 million at full price, 250 million at half price. While the HR Alliance has no contribution point requirement, it still costs 400 million!" Luo Feng shook his head helplessly. In terms of attractiveness, the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo's half price was indeed the lowest on the market! Unfortunately, this half price required very high contribution points. "After weighing my options, selling monster materials to the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall is more cost-effective." ... The next day, the Fire Hammer Squad went directly to the HR Alliance Mall in Jiangnan Base City. First, Captain Gao Feng, Wei Tie, Wei Qing, and Chen Gu retrieved the monster materials from their large storage boxes. Then, Luo Feng's chosen monster materials were all given to him. The Warrior's backpack, unzipped layer after layer, reached a height of 1.2 meters to accommodate all the materials. Gao Feng, Wei Tie, Wei Qing, and Chen Gu all sold their monster materials to the HR Alliance. After some haggling, they received slightly more than the estimated price. Gao Feng earned 780 million, and Wei Tie, Wei Qing, and Chen Gu each earned a little over 220 million. "Let's go to the Grand Hall now." The Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall was the headquarters of the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo in Jiangnan Base City, a place Luo Feng rarely visited. "Gao Feng." "Big Cannon." "Crazy." As they entered the first floor of the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall, many Warriors recognized Luo Feng and his group, greeting them warmly. Luo Feng and his companions also chatted cheerfully with everyone. Most Warriors met during their rest periods at supply bases. And now, Luo Feng's reputation was quite significant. Led by a woman in a blue suit, they took the elevator to the 23rd floor. *Ding!* The elevator doors opened. "Please follow me," the woman in the blue suit said with a smile, leading Luo Feng and his group into an office where a middle-aged woman sat in front of a computer. "You must be the Fire Hammer Squad. Welcome, welcome," the middle-aged woman said with a smile. "My name is Luo Yunqin." "Manager Luo and I share a surname," Luo Feng said with a smile. "Manager Luo, these are the monster materials we brought this time. Please take a look." With that, he placed his oversized backpack on the ground, untied the ropes, and a large quantity of monster materials poured directly into a large metal basin nearby. Luo Yunqin's eyes lit up. She immediately took out her password box, opened it, and retrieved her tools. *Beep beep beep beep~~* Under the instrument's scan, the quality, name, and price of each monster material appeared directly on the screen. No manual inspection was needed. Soon, the total price appeared on the screen. "The total value is 510 million, and the contribution points are 255,000," Luo Yunqin said with a smile. Luo Feng nodded slightly. If these monster materials were sold to the HR Alliance, they would fetch around 770 million. At the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall, they only sold for two-thirds of that price, 510 million, a difference of about 260 million. However, he gained 255,000 contribution points. If he were to obtain contribution points purely through donations, it would require a staggering 2.55 billion. In other words... selling monster materials to the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall meant losing 10 million to gain 10,000 contribution points. This was ten times more cost-effective than donating! Clearly, the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo wanted everyone to earn contribution points by hunting monsters. Donating money to the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo for contribution points was considered a shortcut, hence the rate of 10,000 Huaxia币 for 1 contribution point, which had a punitive nature. "Are you sure you want to sell?" Luo Yunqin asked, smiling at Luo Feng. "Confirmed," Luo Feng nodded. The Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall, unlike the HR Alliance, did not allow bargaining. Of course, the Extreme Martial Arts Grand Hall's prices were generally fair and transparent. "Please count two beginner-tier beast general monster materials towards my combat record," Luo Feng said. "Alright. Your Warrior rank is now 'Beginner-tier Warlord'," Luo Yunqin nodded and entered the information directly. Warrior rank was determined by one's combat record in hunting monsters. For example, to reach 'Beginner-tier Warlord', one must have a record of hunting two beginner-tier beast general monsters! ... However, the combat record here generally didn't have absolute credibility. Because no one knew if the monster was killed by the individual themselves; after all, one could simply buy monster materials and claim them as their own. However— The so-called Warrior rank wasn't very useful. Within the Warrior community, everyone knew who was strong and who was weak by reputation. If a rich young master bought the corpses of two beginner-tier lords and claimed to have killed them, thus becoming a 'Beginner-tier Wargod' in rank, it would easily attract challenges from other Warriors. If they had the strength, fine. But if they didn't, a 'Beginner-tier Wargod' being humiliated by a group of Warlords would be truly embarrassing. So, without sufficient strength, most people were unwilling to claim such titles. "I killed over ten thousand beast soldier-tier monsters in two months, mostly high-tier. Most Warriors already consider me a beginner-tier Warlord! I suppose Li Wei's parents, when investigating potential suspects, would also conclude I have the strength of a beginner-tier Warlord based on this. Since that's the case, I might as well officially make my Warrior rank 'Beginner-tier Warlord'." ... Late that night, in Luo Feng's home theater. The 'Extreme Home' website was displayed on the wall screen. The most prominent feature on the webpage was a list: Name: Luo Feng, Gender: Male, Address: Huaxia Nation Jiangnan Base City, Warrior ID: 426123 2056 0801 0002, Rank: Warlord (Beginner-tier), Contribution Points: 255,612 (Two-Star Tier), Currency Balance: 1,189,800,000 Huaxia币. "Online Mall, Manual 'Ninefold Thunderblade'," Luo Feng quickly tapped the wireless keyboard's touchscreen, entering the purchase page for the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' manual. He browsed carefully, particularly noticing the top line: "'Ninefold Thunderblade' all nine levels — Price 100 billion Huaxia币 (full price), 50 billion Huaxia币 (half price, requirement: Four-Star Tier contribution points)." This was an exorbitant price! More expensive than the Water of Life, and it also required Four-Star Tier contribution points. Luo Feng shook his head and gently tapped the purchase button for the first four levels of the manual. "Please confirm if you wish to purchase the first four levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade'. A payment of 250 million Huaxia币 is required!" "Confirm!" Luo Feng clicked. "Please verify with your fingerprint to confirm again." Luo Feng placed his finger on the wireless keyboard's fingerprint scanner, shaking his head with a sigh... It was a shame that purchasing the first five levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' at half price required 'Three-Star Tier contribution points', which he didn't have. He could only buy the first four levels for now. According to common knowledge, the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' became progressively harder in its later levels. He had managed to master the third level through a stroke of luck under special circumstances, but the fourth level would likely take a very long time, unless another opportunity arose. *Beep!* "Fingerprint verification passed." "Purchase successful!" "Deduction successful!" "The first four levels of the 'Ninefold Thunderblade' manual will be delivered to Mr. Luo Feng's home within 24 hours," a series of prompts appeared on the screen. Luo Feng let out a long breath. "The manual has been purchased. Now I need to figure out how to safely sell the dragon egg, and that combat suit and sword!"