The battle with Orochimaru came to an end a few minutes later.
Orochimaru's assessment of Chen Yi, who had used every trick at his disposal, was that he possessed the strength of an elite Jonin, though his methods were still lacking.
What he did not know was that it had taken Chen Yi just over half a year to go from an ordinary person to this point.
"Does Fire Dragon need to rest?"
Fire Dragon shook his head and continued striking the wooden post.
His originally orange-red skin had gradually begun to darken under the effects of the Medicinal Bath, becoming tougher and more resilient.
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's assessment of Fire Dragon was that he was currently all flash and no substance. He needed to continually practice his moves before he could use them in battle.
Chen Yi was not in a hurry about that. Both he and Fire Dragon still had plenty of time to grow.
The only problem was, where would they earn Copper Coins?
They had trained with Strong Projection for less than half a month, yet the two of them had already spent over 80,000 Copper Coins.
At this rate, they would have to start the game early again.
That evening, at Xiao Liu's restaurant.
Xiao Liu proudly brought out her masterpiece.
Xiao Liu's Grilled Meat Quality: Blue Quality Quickly restores a certain amount of stamina and restores 300 HP over 15 seconds. Rating: Both the ingredients and the thought behind it are a fitting match.
Xiao Liu cared greatly about Fire Dragon turning darker. She... liked him even more now!
In her eyes, this was a sign that he was developing toward becoming a Shiny Pokémon. Come on, Pokémon like that were incredibly rare, okay?
Following Chen Yi's advice, Xiao Liu had spent the huge sum of 100 Copper Coins to purchase Blue Quality ingredients that virtually no other players wanted.
After constantly experimenting with the ingredients, she had finally created grilled meat in the Game World that bore Xiao Liu's name.
Xiao Liu lay sprawled across the table, staring at Fire Dragon eating with a lovestruck expression. She even unhappily shoved Chen Yi aside.
"How are you not done eating yet? Don't you know this is the best angle to admire Fire Dragon from?"
Chen Yi was speechless and moved out of the way.
He had always been very tolerant of people who could help him save Copper Coins.
Xiao Liu suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Chen Yi, has something major happened in the Game World lately?"
Chen Yi thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Then that's strange. A lot of my customers have been complaining that missions in the Game World have been getting harder lately, and that many recorded worlds have changed."
"For example, bosses that were originally there suddenly becoming stronger, or characters who should have gotten killed off long ago somehow becoming the final boss."
Chen Yi suddenly recalled that someone in Plants vs. Zombies had indeed said something like that before.
But what did that have to do with Xiao Liu, a cook?
Seeing that Chen Yi said nothing.
Xiao Liu muttered to herself, "Do you think it was a mistake for me to give up becoming a player? I escaped from the game, but I didn't want to leave this place either, so I opened a restaurant with barely any customers."
"If I hadn't found a big customer like you, I might have been kicked out next month because I couldn't afford the Game World's rent."
Chen Yi was not good at comforting people, and not everyone could adapt to the Game World.
He had merely grown tired of being ordinary and wanted to live a different kind of life.
He handed Xiao Liu 1,000 Copper Coins for the meal.
Xiao Liu stared unblinkingly at the pile of Copper Coins on the table. "Hey! What do you mean by this? Don't tell me you're trying to keep me! Let me tell you, I'm not that kind of person. Don't think that a mere..."
"1,000 Copper Coins."
"Oh, right, a mere 1,000 Copper Coins... 1,000 Copper Coins!!!"
Xiao Liu pounced on them. "Mine, they're all mine."
Only after a long while did she come back to her senses, putting on an unprecedentedly gentle attitude.
She spoke in a sugary voice and struck a welcoming pose. "Mr. Chen Yi, is there anything else you'd like to eat? This humble girl will certainly satisfy you."
Chen Yi shuddered.
1,000 Copper Coins was a lot for Xiao Liu, who could not enter games, but for Chen Yi, it was less than an hour's spending at the Arena.
It was a lot as meal money, but far from enough to buy Blue Quality potions.
If this woman could produce such effects when cooking for anyone besides Fire Dragon, she could get rich just by cooking.
"Fire Dragon and I should reach Level 20 after the next game. I hope I can still see you in the next town."
There was something else Chen Yi did not say aloud: cooks who could save him so many Copper Coins were rare.
Xiao Liu, who had been excited just moments ago, suddenly fell silent. Advancing to a new town was not easy. In the past, Xiao Liu would never have dared dream of it.
Seeing Xiao Liu's dejection, Fire Dragon gently patted her head. "Roar."
Chen Yi translated, "He says he'll find a way to come see you."
Xiao Liu looked at Fire Dragon. There was no sign in his eyes that he wanted to force her, but that only made her feel more unwilling to give up.
After returning to Chen Yi's personal space, Fire Dragon, who had just been gently comforting Xiao Liu, suddenly had tears in his eyes. It seemed Fire Dragon really did like Xiao Liu.
"Hey, hey, don't cry..."
Fire Dragon's mature behavior had made Chen Yi forget that his Fire Dragon was actually still quite young.
"Everyone has their own path. Some can walk it with you, while others will slowly become scenery along the way."
"Remember to respect other people's choices!"
After wrapping up recent matters, Chen Yi turned his attention to the unappraised Staff of Healing in his backpack.
He was considering how to deal with this weapon.
At first, he had planned to keep it, because this weapon came with an area healing skill. In other words, it had the power to turn the tide.
But Chen Yi could not remain at this stage forever.
"I should appraise it first."
Ding! Appraising the Staff of Healing requires 10,000 Copper Coins. Pay?
"Pay."
The staff disappeared before Chen Yi's eyes and was Teleported back nearly half a minute later.
Staff of Healing Quality: Deep Purple Physical Attack: 5-6 Magic Attack: 10-12 Intelligence +2 Effect: Increases healing effects by 10% (this effect increases with level) Level: 1 (0%) (Absorbs Experience Points to grow. Unlocks the Strong Heart effect at LV20 and the Shared Heart effect at LV30. Player-binding restrictions have been removed; it can be bound to a guild, and only players of that guild may use it.) Rating: A weapon that can grow stronger—you've seen one now.
After the Game World's rules changed, this staff had become useful in a wider range of situations.
"I should still sell this staff. My own strength is true strength. I can't delay my progress toward becoming stronger for the sake of a single healing effect."
There had been no choice in that previous world. The highest-level magical creatures there had only been Level 18.
Even if Chen Yi did not feed the staff, it could only reach Level 18 at most. After that, it would no longer gain Experience Points because its level was too high.
Reaching Level 18 would not bring any substantial breakthrough to Chen Yi's strength, but feeding the Healing Staff was different.
The Empire had not been friendly at the time, and the Faction Quest Chen Yi had chosen was also the church. Leveling the Healing Staff could be considered politically correct, while Strong Heart had been an unexpected bonus.
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