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"What did you do?"

Lin Qi glanced at the system prompt, then quickly shifted his gaze to One Leaf Floating Cloud, who was in a state of near madness.

"I succeeded!"

"I really succeeded!"

One Leaf Floating Cloud completely ignored his bleeding arm, holding up his rubber spear and celebrating as if a beggar had won the lottery.

After a brief moment of ecstatic joy, One Leaf Floating Cloud calmed down quickly upon hearing Lin Qi's question.

"Dojo Master, I lost my composure. Please forgive me," One Leaf Floating Cloud suppressed the surging joy in his heart, covering his spurting, severed arm with his one good hand. He paused before continuing, "I was just trying out a martial skill I learned before. It had a huge side effect, which is why I'm like this. Dojo Master, please don't worry, I'll clean up the room soon and definitely won't cause you any trouble."

No one was willing to violate the new rules of the martial arts hall, especially now that success had been achieved.

This meant he now possessed the combat power of Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei, no longer being in the second tier of players. If he were kicked out of High Martial Descent now, he would be devastated.

"Alright, this time it's fine. Clean this place up later."

Lin Qi looked at One Leaf Floating Cloud, who was unwilling to explain further, and understood that no player would explain to an NPC how to recreate a skill from another virtual game within High Martial Descent.

It would be more efficient to eavesdrop from the side than to waste time asking.

"Old Ye, you're amazing!" Fang Zhen exclaimed, looking at the blood-soaked One Leaf Floating Cloud with awe. "I always thought you were just a casual, wealthy player. I never expected you to be able to recreate the ultimate move of a Tier 3 Spearman from the God-Devil Battlefield. Incredible! Truly incredible!"

While the fantasy virtual game, God-Devil Battlefield, couldn't compare to the martial arts masterpiece Pilgrimage in terms of popularity, it was still a masterpiece with hundreds of millions of players online.

Players could assume various roles such as swordsmen, knights, spearmen, and mages, each with numerous skills. The higher the tier, the more powerful the skills learned.

The current maximum tier in God-Devil Battlefield was Tier 5. The Spiral Demon Spear Kill, a Tier 3 Spearman skill, normally capable of leveling mountains with a single thrust, was a terrifying attack akin to a railgun.

Fang Zhen truly hadn't expected a player like One Leaf Floating Cloud, who clearly had the demeanor of a wealthy individual, to be able to recreate the Spiral Demon Spear Kill. Although it was a simplified version with less than one percent of the original power, the ability to recreate it directly earned him a five-stage martial artist evaluation from Instructor Number One. Anyone would have called it impressive.

"It's fortunate. If my Star Explosion Meditation Technique and physical fitness hadn't both broken through, I probably wouldn't have been able to do this," One Leaf Floating Cloud laughed heartily. "I feel that if my physical fitness and the Star Explosion Meditation Technique can improve a bit more, I should be able to fully unleash the Spiral Demon Spear Kill."

"No wonder! I was wondering why you could spin so fast, it was like the 'Electric Light Poison Dragon Drill.' The explosive power of the spear at the end, I feel like even with my peak Quasi-Apprentice physical fitness, I couldn't achieve that with Crushing Stone Fist. So you broke through," Twilight of the Gods' eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Then, if I want to use that move, I just need to find a way to improve my physical fitness and the Star Explosion Meditation Technique!"

"The gameplay of this game is truly deeply hidden," Outlander Gunslinger sighed. "No wonder the Dojo Master sold the Star Explosion Meditation Technique so cheaply before. He was preparing us to create our own martial skills."

Everyone present suddenly understood, realizing that the game developers were truly meticulous in their planning.

Lin Qi, eavesdropping from outside, broke out in a cold sweat.

He hadn't really thought that far ahead. He just wanted to repair the martial arts hall and have a formal place to live.

"However, the 20 additional recruitment slots I received this time can alleviate the problem of staff shortages," Lin Qi looked at the system's recruitment slot limit displayed at the bottom of his vision.

It had increased from the original 10 to 30, a significant improvement.

The Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was enormous, about the size of a normal stadium. Even after recruiting a hundred people from the abandoned areas, the internal repairs of the hall relied entirely on the players.

And winter in this world was fast approaching. Based on his understanding of winters in the High Martial world, they were exceptionally brutal, with average temperatures below minus fifty degrees Celsius, and reaching as low as minus eighty degrees Celsius in the coldest periods.

At such terrifying low temperatures, even Quasi-Martial Artists wouldn't survive the winter without sufficient cold-weather clothing and heating equipment.

Although players could respawn infinitely, for the sake of gameplay, he had to prepare cold-weather clothing and heating equipment for all players.

And cold-weather clothing and heating equipment were a significant expense.

Currently, although he had Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat and over a hundred kilograms of Blood Essence Rice, these items couldn't be sold carelessly. Even if they were sold, the money obtained would likely only be enough to barely repair the martial arts hall.

If ten players were all focused on repairing the hall, no one would be earning money afterward, and he would still be penniless.

The current twenty additional slots were a lifesaver.

City of Light Chasing, Azure Crystal Weapon Shop.

A Big Three-Wheeler carrying a cartload of ore slowly drove up to a seven-story building. The streets were bustling with people of various races, which left Outlander Gunslinger and Peerless One Shot, who were sitting on the Big Three-Wheeler, completely awestruck by the scene before them.

"This is incredible! It's like a perfect fusion of cyberpunk and wasteland."

"I never imagined this was the outskirts. It's really lucky that the Dojo Master chose me to come here this time!"

The two of them, like curious babies, frantically observed their surroundings, completely captivated by the grand scenes designed in High Martial Descent.

Especially the contrast between the suburban scenery and the abandoned areas, it was like night and day.

One was futuristic cyberpunk, the other was a post-apocalyptic wasteland – two entirely different worlds.

Upon arriving in the suburbs, the two of them gained a greater sense of anticipation for the future development of the game High Martial Descent. After all, if the game developers had designed such a city, then they, as players, would surely come to live here in the future.

Otherwise, the game developers wouldn't have put so much effort into creating such a grand suburban area.

"Don't say anything later. Do as I tell you, understand?" Lin Qi got off the vehicle, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

Initially, he hadn't planned to bring players to the suburbs. After all, the suburbs had too many people, and the amount of information they could access was immense. Even if players could only understand the human language, they could still acquire a considerable amount of information.

However, Lin Qi reconsidered. The martial arts hall had now activated the contribution system. Players, compared to the value of points, likely cared more about contribution points. Especially since these players were all focused on creating their own martial skills, they weren't as concerned about the number of points as they were about how much contribution they could earn.

Under these circumstances, he could completely allow players to understand the concept of Bits. Even if players knew that the Bits they earned from quests were very, very small, the quests offered contribution points, which were more important than money.

Of course, there were two more important reasons for bringing the two of them here.

The first was unloading!

Moving this cartload of ore by himself would take a long time. But if he had players do it, it would only cost five contribution points, and not even points were required.

Second, we need to procure some supplies.

With twenty more slots introduced, and the martial arts hall only having enough supplies for ten people, we need to buy more alloy shovels and food and water for twenty people for a month. This will likely require another small truckload.

"Dojo Master, please rest assured. If you tell us not to speak, we won't say a single word."

"That's right, Dojo Master, we won't open our mouths at all!"

The Outlander Gunslinger and Peerless One Shot nodded repeatedly, wanting to gain as much favor with Lin Qi as possible. That way, the next time they went out, Lin Qi might bring them along again.

"Alright, you two go move the goods." Lin Qi nodded, gesturing for the two to start moving the ore.

Upon seeing this, the two of them jumped directly from the back of the carriage and began to move the ore.

"Why isn't Luo Qi here?"

Lin Qi looked at the staff from the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop who had come to receive the goods and asked curiously.

"You mean Luo Qi?" The young employee from the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop, who had three eyes, hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's best if you just assume she's not here. It's better for both you and her."

"What do you mean?" Lin Qi asked, his expression turning somewhat grim.

As an employee of the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop and a formal resident of the City of Light Chasing, Luo Qi should have a certain level of security within the city. Otherwise, Luo Qi wouldn't have been able to run to the abandoned area alone to deliver goods for him so often.

It was hard to imagine anything happening to Luo Qi.

"Don't be angry," the three-eyed young employee said calmly. "You should know that this is how it is in our line of work. We employees usually handle weapon deliveries, even if it's to the wilderness. This time, Luo Qi took an order from the Green Sparrow Gang for twenty weapons and twenty pieces of armor, but they were intercepted by the White Feather Gang, the Green Sparrow Gang's sworn enemy, on the way."

"Although the Green Sparrow Gang sent quite a few people to escort them, the White Feather Gang had more people, several small teams in fact. In the end, all the Green Sparrow Gang members died. The White Feather Gang then demanded a ransom from the Green Sparrow Gang to release Luo Qi. Naturally, the Green Sparrow Gang isn't foolish. Luo Qi isn't one of their members, so they naturally wouldn't pay. Our weapon shop has always been neutral, and we are just employees. The shop owner certainly won't pay the ransom."

"So, the situation is at a standstill. The White Feather Gang people have also made it clear that they will wait for three more days at most. If no ransom is paid, they will kill her, and then it will be none of their business."

"How much is the ransom?" Lin Qi asked, his brows furrowed tightly.

"I've already said, it's best if you just assume she's not here. It's better for both you and her," the three-eyed youth said, shaking his head slightly as he looked at Lin Qi, who was preparing to pay the ransom. "As a formal resident of the City of Light Chasing, Luo Qi is insured by the shop. Even though she went to the wilderness, the shop will still receive a considerable compensation payment."

"How much!" Lin Qi directly stared at the three-eyed youth and questioned him.

The three-eyed youth sighed as he looked at Lin Qi, who was becoming somewhat angry.

"300,000 Bits!"