Nine Million

Linhai City Equipment Materials Trading Center.

This was one of the busiest and most prosperous places in the entire city.

The spacious, brightly lit hall was packed with people, with well-equipped and powerful Professionals visible everywhere.

The cries of vendors and haggling customers rose and fell, filling the place with lively bustle.

The moment Yang Yu and Jiang Shuyue entered, they drew quite a few looks.

Mainly because Jiang Shuyue was simply too eye-catching.

Her features were exquisite, her skin fair as snow, and even her casual clothes looked incredibly expensive.

Moreover, many people in the city recognized her.

The A-Rank prodigy and Linhai No. 1 High School's beauty queen was the center of attention wherever she went.

However, when people saw her following behind a youth dressed like a Wild Boar, looking like his little attendant, their expressions turned strange.

"Isn't that Jiang Shuyue, the Jiang Family's eldest daughter? Who's that guy beside her? Some poor brat wearing a Wild Boar King Set managed to hook up with such a gorgeous girl?"

"No idea. Never seen him before. They definitely seem close."

"Damn... for Miss Jiang to follow him around like that, who the hell is this guy?"

Yang Yu paid no attention to the discussions around him.

He walked straight to the materials recycling counter.

"Hello, I'd like to sell some materials."

Behind the counter, a sleepy-looking employee replied without even raising his head, "Put them up here. Let me take a look."

Without wasting words, Yang Yu dumped all the Spoils of War from his Storage Space onto the counter at once, aside from the Legendary materials.

Monster pelts, claws, crystal cores of all grades... they piled into a small mountain.

The employee was startled by the sight and instantly woke up.

"Holy crap, that much?"

He rubbed his eyes and began counting the items one by one.

"Common-level Wild Boar hides, seventy-seven pieces..."

"Elite-level tusks, thirty-eight pairs..."

"Boarman King whips, two..."

Was this... really one person's haul?

Had this kid emptied out the entire Wild Boar Cave?

Even the equipment he was wearing came from the Wild Boar Cave.

"The total comes to... fifty-three thousand six hundred Dragon Kingdom Currency."

Yang Yu nodded. The price was fair enough.

"Wait, I have more."

As he spoke, he took out several more items from his Storage Space.

They were several dragon scales emitting a dark crimson glow, still clinging with the aura of the Abyss, along with a broken dragon horn.

They were materials dropped by the Abyssal Demon Dragon Projection.

The instant those items appeared, a faint Legendary-grade pressure spread through the air.

The entire Trading Hall fell silent.

Everyone's gaze was drawn over.

"W-What kind of material is that? The energy fluctuations are so strong!"

"Looking at that aura... could it be... Legendary-grade material?!"

"No way! How could Legendary-grade materials appear in some small place like Linhai City?"

The employee behind the counter nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets.

With trembling hands, he carefully picked up a dragon scale and examined it closely.

The longer he looked, the more shocked and excited he became.

"H-Heavens! They really are Legendary-grade materials! Abyss Demon Dragon scales! And a dragon horn!"

He cried out in disbelief.

That shout was like a bomb dropped into a calm lake.

The entire hall instantly erupted!

Countless Professionals stared at Yang Yu as though they were looking at a monster.

Legendary-grade materials!

Those were things that existed only in legends!

Not just in Linhai City—even across the entire province, there might not be more than a few of them.

Who exactly was this kid? Where had he gotten something like this?!

"Quick! Go get the manager!"

The employee came back to his senses and shouted at a colleague behind him.

Before long, a capable-looking middle-aged man in a suit hurried over.

"What's going on? I heard... there are Legendary-grade materials?"

When he saw the dragon scales and horn on the counter, his breathing caught.

He quickly stepped forward, put on a pair of special gloves, and picked up a dragon scale to inspect its detailed information.

"That's right! Legendary-grade materials of extremely high quality! Sir... young sir, are you certain you want to sell these materials?"

The manager's attitude became incomparably respectful.

"Yes. Name your price," Yang Yu said calmly.

He had expected this reaction.

"Of course! Of course!" The manager nodded repeatedly.

He invited Yang Yu and Jiang Shuyue into a VIP room and personally brewed them the finest tea.

After a professional and complicated appraisal and valuation, the manager held up five fingers.

"Student, for these Legendary-grade materials, our Trading Center is willing to offer... five million Dragon Kingdom Currency!"

Five million!

Jiang Shuyue, standing beside him, couldn't help sucking in a breath at that number.

This was no longer merely a sum of money. It was a fortune!

It was enough to buy a luxury villa in Linhai City!

Yang Yu, however, remained calm.

He knew the value of Legendary-grade materials.

This price was not high, but it was not low either.

He urgently needed money right now and could not be bothered to compare prices elsewhere.

"Fine. Deal."

Very soon, the five million Dragon Kingdom Currency, combined with the previous fifty thousand or so, the one million given by President Zhou, his remaining money, and his gains from the Tan Lang War Band...

The balance on Yang Yu's bank card shot up to an astonishing figure.

Nearly nine million!

Looking at that long string of zeroes on the terminal, Yang Yu felt a surge of boldness.

He was rich!

Next came the spending!

He still had empty equipment slots.

This was the perfect chance to complete his gear.

"Boss, take us to look at some equipment."

"Of course, student. This way, please."

The manager personally led them to the Trading Center's most high-end equipment section.

The lowest-quality equipment here was Rare grade, and there were quite a few Epic-level pieces as well.

Yang Yu immediately took a liking to a pair of Level 20 Epic-level combat boots with excellent attributes.

He asked, "How much are these shoes?"

The saleswoman smiled and quoted the price. "Hello, sir. These Wind-Treading Boots are priced at... five million two hundred thousand Dragon Kingdom Currency."

"What?!"

Before Yang Yu could say anything, Jiang Shuyue cried out first.

"Why are they so expensive? I remember that last month, shoes of the same quality cost at most around a million, didn't they?"

The saleswoman gave an apologetic smile.

"Miss, you may not be aware."

"It's the final month before the college entrance examination. The prices of all high-quality low-level equipment, items, and Skill Books have risen sharply."

"Especially those in the Level 20 to Level 30 range. Their prices have increased several times over."

"There's nothing to be done about it. Everyone wants their children to get good results in the college entrance examination and enter a good university. For their children's future, parents are willing to spend however much it takes."

Yang Yu was dumbfounded.

Holy crap!

Dragon Country is way too competitive!

The college entrance examination could actually drive equipment prices up this much?

This is ridiculous!

He looked at the prices of the other equipment. Every one of them was more frightening than the last.

A single pair of Rare-grade leg guards cost five hundred thousand.

This was practically robbery!

Yang Yu immediately gave up on buying equipment.

The Wild Boar King Set he wore already had extremely strong attributes and was completely sufficient.

Spending that kind of money on transitional equipment simply was not worth it.

"Then... what about Skill Books?" Yang Yu asked.

His attack methods were still too limited.

Aside from Blade Draw Slash, he had no other offensive skills.

It was fine against a single BOSS, but against large groups of weaker monsters, that long, narrow Sword Qi was still too slow.

He needed a powerful area-of-effect skill.

"Skill Book prices have risen even more," the manager said with a bitter smile.

"Especially for the Warrior class. Rare-grade area-of-effect skills start at one million, and Epic-level ones are practically impossible to find on the market."

Yang Yu frowned.

That expensive?

He might have money now, but he could not just let himself be fleeced.

"Is there nothing... more cost-effective?"

The manager pondered for a moment, seemingly recalling something.

"There is one Skill Book that's fairly cost-effective..."

"However, that Skill Book is somewhat unusual, and the price... isn't cheap either."

"Take me to see it."

The manager nodded and led them to a crystal display case that was separately secured.

Inside the case lay an ancient book that emitted a golden glow.

[Skill Book: Myriad Swords Return to Origin]

[Quality: Epic-level]

[Learning Requirements: Strength 200, Spirit 100, Class: Warrior]

[Skill Effect: ??? (Cannot be viewed before learning)]