Retch-

49

Earlier, the hospital had said Jiang Fu needed Vitality Pills.

At the time, his Blood Energy had been scattered.

Vitality Pills would indeed treat that symptom.

But the real cause of his condition was a depleted Origin and exhausted potential.

Only the Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill Shi Jiu had mentioned could truly solve that problem.

Judging by her expression, though,

the pill had to be extraordinarily rare.

Shi Jiu looked at Jiang Fu and said, each word deliberate, "Don't worry. I'll find a Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill!"

Her gaze was resolute.

She said nothing about how valuable the pill was,

or what it would cost her to obtain one.

Jiang Fu looked at Shi Jiu.

Before he could stop himself, he gently reached out

and patted her head.

Shi Jiu went rigid.

The fierce, murderous air around her vanished in an instant.

She stared at Jiang Fu, at a loss.

Jiang Fu awkwardly withdrew his hand.

He picked up the Fishing Rod that had been lying on the coffee table.

"Well, there's no need to rush... You said yourself that my Sequence is pretty ridiculous."

"Maybe I'll fish up a Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill one day."

If I multiplied my chance of fishing one up by ten,

that should do it...

He still had four Abyss Fruits.

Once he felt his luck was good in a few days, he would try eating another.

Shi Jiu looked at Jiang Fu.

Then she glanced down at the High-grade Heavenly Rank Cloud Patterned Gloves on her hands.

...He might have a point.

"Oh, right."

Jiang Fu thought for a moment. "Are there any other pills with effects similar to the Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill? Weaker ones would be fine."

Shi Jiu sat down beside him.

She frowned and considered it briefly.

"Lesser Origin Pills!"

"They work similarly to the Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill, but they're nowhere near as potent."

"They can't completely heal your injury..."

Jiang Fu's eyes lit up.

There really was one!

Then what was there to worry about?

Multiply by Ten.

Shi Jiu continued, "But Lesser Origin Pills are made by the Authorities. You need their Contribution Points to buy them."

Jiang Fu paused. "Contribution Points?"

Shi Jiu nodded. "The Authorities created Contribution Points to encourage Martial Artists to hunt Mutated Beasts in the Wilderness Area."

"You can exchange them for exclusive items from the Authorities that aren't sold on the market."

"You earn them by hunting Mutated Beasts."

"Sell the beasts through the Martial Artist Guild or another official channel, and you'll receive Contribution Points along with the money."

"A Tier 1 Mutated Beast earns one point."

"A Tier 2 Mutated Beast earns ten."

"A Tier 3 Mutated Beast earns a hundred... and so on."

Jiang Fu had already taken out his phone and opened his bank account.

Account balance: 9,236,549.33 yuan.

...The combat suits from yesterday had sold for three million in total.

The money had arrived that morning.

Beneath his account balance

was another line showing his Contribution Degree balance.

100 points.

He and Shi Jiu had split the Contribution Degree from the Red-tailed Rat and Silver Moon Wolf they sold the day before yesterday, fifty-fifty.

Jiang Fu's eyes lit up even brighter.

"That's all it takes?"

Whether he could fish up a Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill was another matter.

There was too much luck involved.

But he could get Lesser Origin Pills straight from the Authorities!

If they weren't potent enough, he could make up for it with Multiply by Ten!

All he had to do was hunt Mutated Beasts, right?

He could turn one Mutated Beast into a hundred parts... or even more!

Seeing how excited Jiang Fu was,

Shi Jiu tugged at the corner of his shirt. "Little Jiang Jiang, I know you're excited, but hold on..."

Jiang Fu froze.

He stared at Shi Jiu in disbelief. "What did you call me?"

Shi Jiu blinked. "...Little Fu Fu?"

Jiang Fu: "..."

He coughed, his face inexplicably warming.

"I'll hunt Mutated Beasts and earn the Contribution Points myself."

"Consider it training for Tianhuang Martial Arts University."

Tianhuang Martial Arts University

was Xia's top Martial Arts University.

To get in, students needed more than qualifying Blood Energy or Spirit Power.

They also needed a record of fighting Mutated Beasts.

It seemed Contribution Degree was how that record was measured.

Contribution Degree couldn't be transferred. Only official institutions such as the Martial Artist Guild could award it.

There were surely other rules, but Jiang Fu didn't know them.

Shi Jiu nodded slightly.

"All right. I'll look for a Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill while you earn points. We'll tackle this from both sides."

"But don't rush into the Wilderness Area yet... I'll put you through some special training over the next couple of days."

Jiang Fu immediately remembered what had happened to him in the Wilderness Area.

The Azure Flame Owl that had swooped down from the sky, and the Blood-Eyed Golden Tiger lurking in the wilds.

His Spirit Power hadn't even detected them.

He definitely needed training!

Shi Jiu had already taken out paper and a pen.

Leaning over the coffee table, she began drafting a training plan for Jiang Fu.

Jiang Fu watched her lovely profile.

After a moment, he said, "Oh, right. If you do find a Heavenly Treasure Origin Pill, don't buy it just yet."

"Take me to see what it looks like first."

Shi Jiu looked up. "So we can team up and steal it?"

Jiang Fu: "...That works too."

That afternoon.

"Brain strength multiplied by ten."

"Brain load capacity multiplied by ten."

"Spirit Power multiplied by ten."

"Spirit Power strength multiplied by ten."

"Spirit Power coverage radius multiplied by ten."

"Duration: until the next time I practice the Star Gazing Chart on a Rainy Night."

In the next instant,

Jiang Fu's Spirit Power rose from 155 to 1,550.

The radius of its coverage reached 150 meters.

Then,

Jiang Fu and Shi Jiu changed into their school uniforms and headed to school.

The lunch break had just ended.

The Senior Third Building was noisy and chaotic.

Jiang Fu stopped.

"Oh, right. Head back to the classroom first. I'm going to see Teacher Xu."

Shi Jiu nodded. "Okay."

Teacher Xu had paid Jiang Fu's hospital bills.

After subtracting the refunded VIP Ward fee, plus the later nutrition and medical expenses,

Jiang Fu still owed Teacher Xu around 120,000 yuan.

Teacher Xu didn't have it easy, either.

Jiang Fu had to pay him back.

Following his memory,

Jiang Fu soon reached the Head Teacher's office.

But Teacher Xu was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Fu extended his Spirit Power

and searched the school with it.

He still couldn't find Teacher Xu.

Jiang Fu frowned.

Could he not be here yet?

That couldn't be right.

Given how dedicated Teacher Xu was to his Senior Year of High School class,

he would have lived at the school if he could.

I'll ask someone in class.

Senior Three Class Fourteen.

The students were chatting animatedly among themselves.

When some of them saw Jiang Fu return,

they greeted him as naturally as ever.

They didn't seem surprised to see him back.

Jiang Fu's seat

was in the middle of the front row.

He shared a desk with Zhang Qilin.

But someone else was sitting beside Zhang Qilin now.

When Jiang Fu returned,

a flicker of discomfort crossed Zhang Qilin's face.

A moment later, he turned away,

pretending he hadn't seen him.

Jiang Fu couldn't be bothered with him.

He walked straight toward the back of the classroom.

There were plenty of empty seats in the rear rows.

Shi Jiu sat by the window in the second-to-last row.

The seat beside her was empty.

She wasn't on her phone.

Head down, she continued working on Jiang Fu's training plan.

"Jiang Fu!"

Just then.

A slightly impatient female voice rang out.

"You broke your promise. You didn't bring back what I asked for."

"So, we're done."

"Please don't pester me again."

Han Ruobing stood before Jiang Fu.

Her arms were folded across her chest, the disgust in her eyes undisguised.

As her words fell.

Shi Jiu looked up from the back row, unable to help glancing at Jiang Fu.

Jiang Fu stared at Han Ruobing before him.

A long-dead scent suddenly came back to life.

And landed a devastating roundhouse kick on Jiang Fu.

Then—

"Bleurgh—"