"Siyu, how much sacrificial power do you have on hand?"
"One moment, let me ask... 86 points altogether. Do you need it, Grandpa?"
"Transfer it to me through Guide. I have a good use for it."
A short while later, Li Tie, who was in Emperor Tomb Village, received the 86 points of sacrificial power his granddaughter transferred. Together with the 17 points he had earned from killing Cursed Soldiers, his total reached 103.
He summoned the Function Panel, opened the shop, and selected the weapons category.
A dazzling assortment of weapon types immediately filled his view.
Iron Sword: Quality: Level 1 Item description: A sword-type weapon forged from ordinary metal. Item price: 5 sacrificial power Iron Axe: Quality: Level 1 Item description: An axe-type weapon forged from ordinary metal. Item price: 5 sacrificial power.
The first few pages were all very ordinary weapons, clearly not strong enough to fight the Artifact Spirits.
After flipping through several pages in succession, Li Tie focused on a blue weapon.
[Mountain-Shaking Axe]: Quality: Level 8. Item description: Forged from frost iron, with beast patterns engraved on its handle. The cries of beasts accompany its swings. Item price: 100 sacrificial power.
This was the best weapon Li Tie could afford with the sacrificial power he had.
After he mentally tapped to purchase it, a blue battle-axe appeared out of thin air before him, gradually turning solid.
As the battle-axe became fully solid and began to fall, Li Tie reached out and caught it firmly.
With the purchase complete, Li Tie immediately left the village and headed toward Weapon Spirit Valley.
During the hour-long journey, he killed several Cursed Soldiers along the way, raising his Gargoyle level to 5. After crossing the slope ahead, he once again reached the entrance to Weapon Spirit Valley, where five Artifact Spirits surrounded him.
These five Artifact Spirits were all first-generation primordials: Strength Savage, a battle-axe; Shatter, a saber; Sweep, a sword; Soul-Severer, a spear; and Nether Ghost, a staff.
The other four Artifact Spirits withdrew, leaving the Strength Savage Axe hovering before him once again to challenge him.
Battle erupted in an instant.
The level-8-quality Mountain-Shaking Axe whistled through the air, hacking straight at the hovering Strength Savage Axe. A metallic clang rang out as they collided.
After more than ten consecutive clashes, the web of Li Tie's hand went numb. Looking down, he saw that it had split open, and the green blood of his Gargoyle form flowed down from the wound.
He looked at the Mountain-Shaking Axe in his hand. More than ten notches of varying sizes had appeared along its blade, and the feedback indicated that the weapon was already slightly damaged.
"Again!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Tie swung the Mountain-Shaking Axe again to meet the Strength Savage Axe's chop.
As the collisions continued, green blood soaked Li Tie's right arm. His loose white hair danced in the wind, making him look like a madman.
Soon, the battle-axe in Li Tie's hand could bear no more and shattered. The other four Artifact Spirits immediately shot toward him and pierced his body, ending the battle in a crushing defeat.
But this battle proved Guide's conjecture: the Artifact Spirits only regarded him as a Challenger while he held a weapon.
An hour later.
Li Tie appeared once more at the Respawn Point in Emperor Tomb Village.
Although his battle with the Strength Savage Axe had involved no contest of technique, the feedback from those pure collisions of strength had left him thoroughly exhilarated and reduced the aggression within him.
Just then, notifications appeared in his mind.
[Challenger notification: Resurrection costs 10 sacrificial power. Your balance is insufficient to cover the resurrection cost. Remaining sacrificial power: -7] [Challenger notification: Your sacrificial power is negative. Functions such as the shop and star meridian enhancement are temporarily unavailable.]
This mechanic left Li Tie somewhat helpless.
He opened his contact list, found his granddaughter's avatar, and selected the call option.
Before long, a video Light Screen appeared before him, showing his granddaughter, who had chosen the Eagle-Headed Demon form.
"Grandpa, what is it?"
No sooner had she asked than a clamor came from the screen. A huge Black Worm burst out of the ground behind his granddaughter and whipped its head around, sweeping a player off their feet. The player flashed across the screen, leaving a startled cry behind.
"How much sacrificial power do you have left?"
"You're out again?"
Li Siyu looked somewhat taken aback, but soon nodded and said:
"Wait a moment, Grandpa. Let's talk after we finish this worm."
With that, Li Siyu flapped her little wings and bared her teeth as she flew toward the Black Worm, whose lower half was buried in a pile of bones while its upper half thrashed wildly.
The battle lasted five minutes. After killing the worm, a panting Li Siyu looked toward the call Light Screen conjured by Guide and said:
"Grandpa, what do you need so much sacrificial power for?"
"I ran into a powerful monster. I need a weapon to fight it."
"Okay, I'll ask how much sacrificial power they still have available."
The view shifted with Li Siyu's gaze toward the other members of the Drunken Feast Group.
When asked, every member of the Drunken Feast Group honestly reported how much sacrificial power they had left.
The team members had no objection to pooling their money to buy Grandpa Tie equipment.
In their eyes, Grandpa Tie was the unquestioned core of the team, and his strength put him in a class of his own among them. In the previous few games, they had also invested their game resources in Grandpa Tie first, letting him grow strong before the rest.
Faced with Grandpa Tie's request, they handed over the sacrificial power they had earned from fighting monsters without hesitation, trading it to Li Siyu.
Li Siyu then transferred the sacrificial power through Guide to Li Tie, who was still in Emperor Tomb Village.
After he received 82 points of sacrificial power, the system automatically deducted the 7 points he owed, and Li Tie set off toward Weapon Spirit Valley again.
He kept seeking out and killing Cursed Soldiers along the way, raising his level to 6 and gathering the 100 points of sacrificial power needed to buy a weapon.
As the blue battle-axe returned to his hand, Li Tie's bearing changed.
"Again!"
Gazing at the slope not far away, he set off without hesitation.
An hour and a half later.
Li Siyu received another call from Li Tie.
Having already entered the Dark Cavern, Li Siyu was discussing a price for purchasing sacrificial power with the Bricklaying Group. She was utterly speechless.
Several minutes later, she transferred the sacrificial power she had bought to Li Tie.
"Grandpa, I've sent you the 100 points I just bought, but don't turn off the video. Leave it on. I want to see just what kind of monster you're challenging."
Li Tie did not refuse.
After buying the battle-axe, he left the village and headed toward Weapon Spirit Valley.
For this challenge, all the Drunken Feast Group members gathered around the video Light Screen to watch. Even members of the Bricklaying Group joined them out of curiosity.
When they saw the Artifact Spirits, the watching players cried out in surprise.
What Li Tie was challenging was actually a Primordial Monster.
What surprised them even more was that the Primordial Artifact Spirit chose to fight Li Tie in a fair duel rather than gang up on him.
The battle was soon decided. Li Tie was killed and forced offline again, but the red glow emanating from the surface of the repeatedly challenged Strength Savage Axe had also dimmed somewhat.
An hour later, the players who had been mining gathered around the video Light Screen again.
Faced with her grandfather asking for sacrificial power the moment he opened his mouth, Li Siyu looked helpless, but did not try to dissuade him. She knew he had always had a one-track mind.
Other people would turn back after hitting a brick wall. Her grandfather would keep ramming it until he broke through or died trying.
Fortunately, she had spent twenty-five thousand to buy 500 points of sacrificial power from the Bricklaying Group this time, so she still had enough to support her grandfather's challenges against the Artifact Spirit.
Once the transfer was complete, a new round of challenges began.
But the livestream of the challenge came to an end half an hour later.
Li Tie had once again been killed by the Artifact Spirit, the Strength Savage Axe.
As the Light Screen went dark, the watching players wore quite an assortment of expressions.
Late Nights and Midnight Snacks: Boss, please talk Grandpa Tie out of it. This game doesn't have a cash top-up option. Our sacrificial power can't take this kind of spending.
Is This a Beaver: Grandpa Tie is a real man. I wouldn't even dare imagine fighting with pain feedback turned all the way up, but battling the Artifact Spirit costs way too much sacrificial power. I suggest giving up for now and challenging it again once he's stronger.
Word Ma Ya: Boss, your short-term goal of unlocking a second star meridian slot and socketing Bonefire Form seems to be getting further and further away (sad face).
Just then, Li Zheng, who had come over to join them, suddenly interjected with a remark that silenced every Drunken Feast Group player:
"You rich people sure are interesting. Are you using Pay-to-Win to help an old man play a Soulslike?"
The Drunken Feast Group members all turned to look at Li Zheng, who stood behind them holding a Mining Pickaxe with a puzzled expression.
Seeing that none of the Drunken Feast Group members said anything, Li Zheng could not help scratching his head.
"Spending money to help an old man challenge a high-difficulty boss—isn't that just using Pay-to-Win to help an old man play a Soulslike?"
Drunken Feast Group members: ...
For a moment, they had no idea how to refute Li Zheng's description.
Before you continue