Unknown Note

And with that, his Swallow Song Sword Art had expanded from its four basic forms to six:

Falling Leaves, Whirling Slash, Arc Dance, Flying Swallow Chain, Swallow's Return, and Three Questions!

The last two were flying-sword techniques.

Flying-sword techniques belonged to the individual. They were kept secret and would never be revealed to anyone else.

Unless they were passed from father to son, taught to a direct disciple, or bestowed by royalty.

So strong.

This was seriously strong!

I'm even scared of myself now!

Delighted, Xu Yuan shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice, then picked the fish from his tray and put it on Yang Xiaobing's to share his joy.

Yang Xiaobing was a fish-loving cat, so naturally she did not refuse.

She gave him the beef from her bowl in exchange and reminded him softly:

"Study hard this afternoon. Do your best on tomorrow's written exam too, or your total score won't be enough."

Enough for what?

To get into a top-tier university like Nine Luminaries or Luofu.

She did not say it outright.

But Xu Yuan knew what she meant.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. I still need to work hard on the written exam."

With that, Xu Yuan began eating the beef.

The group battle tested practical skills and their application.

The written exam tested foundational knowledge across nine subjects. It mattered too.

If he could not tell one kind of talisman from another, did not know what Soul Art was, could not identify the various Spirit Plants in the wild, and had no idea how strong different monsters were or what skills they possessed—

He might as well be preparing to throw his life away at any moment!

He wolfed down his meal like a gale sweeping away clouds, then picked up the spirit tea on the table and took a sip.

He had just seen what he had gained from lighting up the meter.

Now.

It was time to check the other two rewards for winning the match!

At Xu Yuan's thought, lines of text appeared before his eyes in the air:

"Shop deployment (random event) confirmed."

"Your shop, the Qi Refiners' Combat Prep Room, has been deployed to the event 'City Annihilation War' ten years ago."

"From now on, any equipment or object from that event may randomly appear in the shop."

Holy hell, holy hell, holy hell!

It could do that?

Startled, Xu Yuan began racing through what he might have a chance to obtain.

What had been in that City Annihilation War event?

The woman with seven or eight long black legs.

The Flood Dragon.

Every cultivator in the city.

That was incredible!

What if...

"Could the shop start offering something like a slave trade?" Xu Yuan asked.

A red sign immediately popped up on the shelf:

"No such service!"

"Good," Xu Yuan said, changing his tune. "Just as I'd expect from my shop. You've always walked the righteous path. Now I can rest easy."

Another sign popped up on the shelf, bearing two icons.

One was a city wall.

The other was a face.

This shop was my own awakened ability, and now it's mocking me?

Xu Yuan was a little annoyed, but after thinking it over, he let it go.

Why quibble?

This shop-deployment event was unbelievably good!

Even if he got nothing more than a Gatling gun from the troops stationed at the border city, he would come out far ahead.

Thinking back.

When he had asked how to raise the grade of the shop's goods, the answer had been:

"Win a 'Hard' match for a chance to raise the shop's level or bring about some other change."

"Once the shop changes, the quality and level of its goods will change accordingly."

Well, then.

The shop had not leveled up.

But it had been deployed to the Border City Battle ten years ago!

He had never seen anything like it.

What could he buy?

Wait—

After killing all those monsters, how much money do I have now!?

A line of numbers sprang up:

"Current gold coins: 444."

That number was unlucky!

Spend some!

Xu Yuan immediately spent one gold coin to refresh the shop.

Three brand-new items appeared on the shelves.

"Spirit Ruins Phantom Shoulder Bag (women's)."

"Excellent grade. Spatial storage. Luxury backpack."

"Description: This shoulder bag has one hundred cubic meters of space, thirty of which can be heated or refrigerated for easier cooking and food preservation."

"—Top Music Sect cultivator Ms. Tang Yunyu endorses the 'Spirit Ruins' brand."

"Price: 30 gold coins."

Thirty gold coins!

That's so expensive!

My Swift Wind sword was only three gold coins, wasn't it?

Xu Yuan clicked his tongue.

Then he looked at the second item.

"Spirit Ruins Wanderer Backpack (men's)."

"Fine grade. Spatial storage. Luxury backpack."

"Description: Holds two hundred cubic meters. Features three lockable compartments. Once bound to a soul signature, it can be opened and closed with a thought, without any incantation or movement."

"—Demon-Subduing Adept Xie Fuguang endorses the 'Spirit Ruins' brand."

"Price: 50 gold coins."

Two bags had appeared at once.

...Was the Border City Battle a war of luxury goods?

Xu Yuan shook his head and looked at the third item.

It was a slip of paper.

"Unknown Note."

"Intelligence. Rare grade."

"Description: This appears to record something that happened during the Border City Battle. Even in your era, no one has learned of it."

"Price: 100 gold coins."

Xu Yuan did not find that expensive.

The event had happened ten years ago.

Information about it had always been sealed away.

Ordinary people had no way of knowing what had happened.

Any intelligence concerning it had to be precious.

Besides, the note contained something that "even in your era, no one has learned of."

No one knew what it was!

That alone made it worth a hundred gold coins.

But—

What would I buy it for?

It won't do me any good in my life!

Xu Yuan fell into thought. For some reason, he recalled the expectant look in the little boy's eyes.

Intelligence...

Should I spend a hundred gold coins on intelligence I can't use at all, for the sake of people from ten years ago who might not even be alive?

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Jiang Xueyao said she'd taken a test about this City Annihilation War during the special admissions exam."

"Yeah. She went early, so she took that test," Yang Xiaobing said between bites. "I was in the second group and missed it."

"Why would they use a test the special-admissions students had already taken for the Eight-School Joint Examination?" Xu Yuan asked.

Yang Xiaobing put down her chopsticks and checked that no one was nearby before whispering, "Don't tell anyone."

"What?" Xu Yuan asked.

"When I took Nine Luminaries' special admissions exam, I noticed several instructors discussing that test the whole time. They seemed to have so many ideas and opinions about it," Yang Xiaobing said.

"They talked about it for hours?" Xu Yuan asked.

"Hours? They were talking about it every day from the moment I arrived until I left. Eight days in all!" Yang Xiaobing said.

Something stirred in Xu Yuan's mind. Without thinking, he said, "But our test only lasted a morning. No, strictly speaking, it lasted just over two hours."

Yang Xiaobing leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Exactly. We only experienced that tiny fragment: the Flood Dragon appeared, we hid underground, and then we joined the battle."

Xu Yuan fell silent in thought.

She was right.

It was only one fragment of the Border City Battle.

Was that worth discussing for so long?

No.

Even if he thought of it like a game—

A storyline that short was not worth talking about endlessly.

Let alone for eight days.

Unless—

Xu Yuan jerked his head up and met Yang Xiaobing's eyes.

Yang Xiaobing gestured for silence, then winked at him.

You get it?

Xu Yuan nodded and made a startled face.

"But it's only a guess. Who knows?" Yang Xiaobing smiled, lowered her head, and concentrated on her fish.

Xu Yuan said nothing more.

He looked again at the illusory shop, his gaze settling on the note.

A storyline consisting of just one fragment was not worth discussing.

But—

What if the entire border city event was going to be turned into a grand series of exams?

For instance—

The next monthly exam?

The one after that?

Or even—

The College Entrance Examination.

If the story of the Border City Battle kept moving forward, examinees would face the threat of demons and monsters again and again!

Looked at another way—

The previous monthly exam had been about protecting crops and driving off Rat Demons.

But this time, even a monster like the Flood Dragon had made an appearance!

Why had the exam content changed so drastically?

Had something gone wrong with the state of the world?

There was too little information.

He could not analyze it any further.

Xu Yuan closed his eyes, then opened them again. He made his decision in silence.

This information was Rare-grade.

The Qiong Jia Sword was Rare-grade too.

Only because the sword was so sharp had it been able to cut into the human-skin Demonic Beast and keep it from crawling out of the pill furnace.

So when Jiang Xueyao had given him the sword as compensation, he had known her apology was sincere.

From what he remembered, swords of this grade were almost impossible to find on the market. People would pay for one, but none were for sale. He had no idea how much it would fetch.

That was why he had let the matter drop.

Out in the world, you learned one thing.

Money was sincerity.

—Or at least part of it.

If someone would not even part with their money, could he believe them, no matter how many flowers they spun from empty words?

He was getting sidetracked.

Right. This information was the same grade as the Qiong Jia Sword: Rare.

Perhaps—

It could affect the course of the entire battle?

Then he would buy it!

The next instant.

At Xu Yuan's thought, a line of small text appeared in midair:

You purchased the Unknown Note for 100 gold coins.

A full 100 gold coins!

Xu Yuan suddenly felt something in his pocket.

He reached in.

Sure enough, it was a note.

Two lines of graceful, delicate handwriting were written on it:

"My Yiyi."

"Remember to check the things you treasure most. Mom left you a parting gift."

Xu Yuan read it in silence.

It was a note a mother had left for her child.

She seemed to have something she wanted to give her child, so she had pointed out where she had hidden it.

But—

How was this information?

What did it have to do with the destruction of the border city?

One hundred gold coins!

Including the cost of refreshing the shelf, that made 101 gold coins!

He had worked hard through an entire exam and killed so many monsters, only to spend 101 gold coins in one go.

And all he had got were those two sentences!

The real problem was—

Looking for a child named Yiyi in a city that large would be like fishing for a needle in the sea!

This information was not worth it!

Xu Yuan sighed and tucked the note into his pocket, disappointed.