So Expensive, I Can't Afford It At All

However, what surprised Hao Zhuang a bit was that this young man named Lin Li had an incredibly fast reaction speed.

Most of the dozen or so punches he had thrown back at the other were blocked by Lin Li's arms, with only a few landing on his body.

"Remember, you're a Cultivator, not some thug who only knows how to fight with brute force. When you swing your fist at me, use your Spiritual Energy!"

The timer on the ring below showed only thirty seconds remaining. Hao Zhuang, completely at ease, threw punches at Lin Li, who was desperately defending, while lecturing him.

"Bang."

The moment Hao Zhuang's words fell, Lin Li suddenly erupted. He lifted his right leg and kicked straight at the other's stomach.

Hao Zhuang leaped backward, easily dodging Lin Li's sudden burst, landing five meters away.

"You think I don't want to use Spiritual Energy? It's just not the time yet." Lin Li, having taken a few punches to the chest and stomach, grimaced as he spoke to Hao Zhuang.

"Oh? Then go ahead and use it! Time's almost up. Let me tell you now, I haven't been serious yet. In the last ten seconds, I'll step up my attacks and beat you until you can't stand." Hao Zhuang said to Lin Li with a smile.

But that smile froze on his face the moment he finished speaking, and the same frozen expression appeared on the staff member's face below the ring.

"Whoosh."

A small fireball the size of a pigeon egg appeared at Lin Li's fingertip. In just a few seconds, that pigeon-egg-sized fireball rapidly grew larger.

Within five seconds, the small fireball had turned into a fireball the size of a soccer ball.

Hao Zhuang, a Second-Order Early Stage cultivator, instantly sensed the lethality of this fireball. If he took it head-on, he wouldn't die, but he'd be severely injured by the blast.

Just as Lin Li was about to hurl the fireball in his hand at the examiner in front of him, he heard the other say, "I didn't expect you to have awakened a Flame Ability. Not bad! You've passed this exam."

"Huh?" Lin Li, ready to release the fireball, hadn't expected Hao Zhuang to declare him passed.

"Alright, hurry up and deactivate your ability. Don't blow up the ring." Hao Zhuang said to Lin Li.

Having been suppressed for two whole minutes, he really wanted to throw a fireball at the guy to vent his frustration.

But since the exam was over, he had no reason to toss the fireball.

The ability deactivated, and the fireball floating at his fingertip vanished instantly.

Hao Zhuang walked up to Lin Li, staring at him with piercing eyes.

"What's this guy staring at me like that for? He doesn't have some kind of weird hobby, does he?" Lin Li felt his scalp crawl under Hao Zhuang's gaze.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard the other say, "Do you want to join our Beast Hunter squad?"

"Join your Beast Hunter squad?" Lin Li asked back.

"Our Beast Hunter squad is short one person. You don't have combat experience or experience fighting beasts, but I've got my eye on you. So, what do you say? Want to join?" Hao Zhuang invited.

Lin Li thought it over for a moment, then shook his head at the inviting Hao Zhuang. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not planning to join any Beast Hunter squad for now."

Even though his invitation had been turned down by the newcomer, Hao Zhuang wasn't angry. Instead, he let out a hearty laugh, then pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to Lin Li.

"Here's my card. If you change your mind later, feel free to contact me anytime."

Lin Li took the card Hao Zhuang handed him, nodded with a smile, and then followed the staff member out of the exam room to go collect his Beast Hunter License.

Inside Exam Room No. 6, now empty except for him, Hao Zhuang stood on the ring and muttered to himself, "This young man named Lin Li has an astonishing rate of growth!

In that brief two-minute exchange, he quickly adapted to my attack rhythm and even managed effective counterattacks. He's likely to become someone remarkable in the future."

"Drizzle, drizzle..."

Gloomy dark clouds began to release rain. The raindrops, blown by the wind, slapped against the glass window, forming streaks of water that trickled down.

Looking at the palm-sized Beast Hunter License in his hand, Lin Li's face broke into a happy smile. His plan had taken another step forward.

"Hiss..."

The pain in his right arm made Lin Li suck in a cold breath. During that Beast Hunter Qualification Exam earlier, his right arm had taken many of Hao Zhuang's punches.

It hadn't shown how bad the injury was before, but now his arm was turning blue.

"I think there's still half a bottle of Red Flower Oil at home. When I get back, I'll need to rub it in well to get the bruising to fade faster."

Muttering to himself, he opened his folding umbrella, stepped into the rain with it, and walked toward the street corner in the distance.

At the corner, he crossed the traffic light, turned right, and walked a bit further until a Weapon Shop appeared before him.

Cultivators had weapons made specifically for them. This shop in front of him, named "Jin He," was a Weapon Shop catering exclusively to Cultivators.

Everything sold inside were Spiritual Energy weapons crafted from various Spiritual Energy materials.

"Welcome." The pretty saleswoman greeted Lin Li as he walked into the shop.

He hadn't expected the saleswoman at this Weapon Shop to be wearing a work uniform that was a form-fitting ancient-style cheongsam, which really highlighted her figure.

Her pretty face and slender figure, paired with the ancient-style cheongsam, complemented each other perfectly. Lin Li couldn't help but take a few extra glances at her.

"Is there anything you need, sir?" the pretty saleswoman asked with a smile.

"Ahem." Lin Li averted his gaze and cleared his throat, covering up his embarrassment at being drawn in by her beautiful cheongsam.

"I'd like to buy a Spiritual Energy weapon. Could you recommend one for me?"

"Of course, sir. Please come this way." The pretty saleswoman nodded with a smile and led Lin Li further into the shop.

There were quite a few people looking at weapons in this Weapon Shop, most of them over thirty years old, exuding a rough and rugged aura. One glance was enough to tell that these people were likely Beast Hunters who frequently came into contact with wild beasts out in the field.

"Sir, please take a look. This is our shop's newly arrived Spirit Artifact Longsword, priced at one million yuan. This Spirit Artifact Saber is one point five million yuan, and this Spirit Artifact Spear is two million yuan... And this Spiritual Energy firearm is ten million yuan."

"..." Lin Li, who only had a budget of five hundred thousand yuan, remained silent, quietly watching the beautiful salesgirl as she eloquently introduced one expensive Spiritual Energy weapon after another.

After more than ten minutes, the beautiful salesgirl had finished introducing all the Spiritual Energy weapons on the display counter in front of her, each priced over a million yuan.

It was then that she noticed the young customer before her was staring at the cheapest Spiritual Energy weapon in the shop.

PS: Thanks to "08a" for the 100-point tip.