"219 cards? My god!"
The staff member cried out in alarm.
This eighteen-year-old youth before him had actually reached a Blood Qi Value of 219 cards?
Forget becoming a First-grade Martial Artist—if he pushed himself a little harder, he could directly break through to Grade 2 Martial Artist.
The Martial Alliance did not lack such monsters, but this was River City, merely a small border town.
No one had ever seen someone reach this number at eighteen.
Most importantly, according to the records, this Lin Mo had absolutely no background.
In other words, Lin Mo had no means to repeatedly consume Vitality Potions and other nutritional supplements.
Yet under such circumstances, he had reached a Blood Qi Value of 219 cards at eighteen. It was practically a miracle.
An absolute genius!
"Is the Combat Power Value test next?"
Lin Mo spoke up at that moment.
"Ah? Yes, please come this way."
The staff member froze for a moment, then his tone became noticeably more respectful.
Once such a genius grew up, he would definitely become a major figure. How could the staff member dare to be disrespectful?
Arriving at the Combat Power Tester off to the side, Lin Mo took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and threw a punch at the center of the target.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out, and the numbers on the tester began to soar.
The starting number was already as high as 200.
210, 250, 300... 400, 500, 600...
"Holy shit!"
The staff member was stunned when he saw the score instantly surpass the passing line for a Grade 2 Martial Artist's combat power.
Logically speaking, with Lin Mo's Blood Qi Value of 219 cards, his Combat Power Points should normally have fallen between 440 and 500.
But now, it had instantly broken through 600 points—the threshold for a Grade 2 Martial Artist.
A First-grade Blood Qi Value had produced Grade 2 Combat Power Points?
And from the looks of it, the number on the machine showed no sign of stopping.
700, 800, 900...
"Is it going to break through to Third-grade Martial Artist combat power?"
The staff member stared at the number on the machine, completely dumbfounded.
As long as it reached 1,000, it would unquestionably be the Combat Power Value of a Third-grade Martial Artist.
Ding!
At that moment, the machine sounded an alert.
The number finally stopped at 980 points.
Seeing that score, the staff member let out a long breath.
"Thank goodness it didn't break through 1,000."
Even so, the staff member still found it unbelievable.
A youth with a Blood Qi Value of just 219 cards had thrown a punch worth 980 Combat Power Points, extremely close to the Combat Power Value of a Third-grade Martial Artist.
Lin Mo, on the other hand, looked enlightened.
This time, Lin Mo had only used the force-generating technique of Military Boxing during the test.
So Military Boxing can deal this much damage too.
Lin Mo had made his assessment.
If he used the force-generating technique of the Mystery Grade Hegemon Fist, this punch's value would probably double.
By that calculation, if he went all out, his Combat Power Value should be around 2,200 to 2,500.
That would absolutely surpass a Third-grade Martial Artist's combat power and should be very close to a Fourth-grade Martial Artist's.
After all, the threshold for a Fourth-grade Martial Artist's Combat Power Value was only 3,000.
"Not bad."
After estimating it, Lin Mo nodded in satisfaction.
The staff member beside him walked over at that moment.
"Mr. Lin, please wait a little longer. Your situation requires final verification by a supervisor."
"Ah? What's wrong?"
Lin Mo froze. Why did his test result need a supervisor's final verification?
"Well... your Blood Qi Value is above First-grade but has yet to reach Grade 2. Yet your Combat Power Value is nearly at the threshold of a Third-grade Martial Artist. So whether you are ultimately determined to be a First-grade Martial Artist or a Grade 2 Martial Artist will need to be verified and decided by our supervisor."
"Uh? How long will that take?"
"Very soon. You can take a look around the Martial Artist Hall next door first. I'll notify you once the result is out."
"Alright, then."
Lin Mo nodded, left the testing room, and headed toward the Martial Artist Hall on the other side of the lobby.
Though it was called the Martial Artist Hall, it was actually a shopping hall.
Here, one could buy all kinds of potions, materials, weapons, and equipment. Naturally, there were also some martial arts techniques.
Lin Mo walked in and discovered that there were quite a few people here.
Martial artists who were normally nowhere to be seen had gathered here in droves.
As they browsed the various goods, they chatted freely about recent opportunities.
Lin Mo headed directly to the weapons counter.
Next, he planned to temper himself in the wilderness, so naturally he needed to look for a weapon that suited his hand.
"Damn, they're expensive!"
But upon seeing the prices of these goods, Lin Mo could only feel his pockets were embarrassingly empty.
The weapons here were made from special ores and were countless times sturdier than the knives, spears, swords, and claws used by ordinary people.
The hide and flesh of Mutant Beasts possessed no ordinary defensive power. It was not easy for regular blades to break through their defenses.
Only weapons made from these special ores could more easily tear through the hide and flesh defenses of Mutant Beasts.
However, the prices of such weapons were equally heart-stirring.
Even ordinary weapons sold for tens of thousands apiece.
At present, Lin Mo's only martial art was Military Boxing. After all, before entering Martial University, almost none of his peers could obtain Martial Artist Certification and leave the city.
Thus, at this stage, what they mainly cultivated was increasing their Blood Qi and some basic close-quarters combat.
It was not as though there were no martial arts techniques for knives, spears, swords, and claws.
They were simply different from Military Boxing.
Military Boxing was free for everyone to learn.
Other martial arts techniques, however, had to be purchased.
The prices of martial arts techniques were even more expensive than those weapons.
Ordinary people simply could not afford them.
Thus, Lin Mo looked directly at the gauntlets.
"Black Iron Gauntlets, priced at 30,000. Can easily break through the hide and flesh of Level One Exotic Beasts."
"Silver Gauntlets, priced at 60,000. Can easily break through the hide and flesh of Level Two Exotic Beasts."
"Gold Gauntlets, priced at 150,000. Can easily break through the hide and flesh of Level Three Exotic Beasts."
"Diamond Gauntlets, priced at 300,000. Can easily break through the hide and flesh of Level Four Exotic Beasts."
"Obsidian Gauntlets, priced at 1 million. Can easily break through the hide and flesh of Level Five Exotic Beasts."
"..."
Looking at the price list, Lin Mo clicked his tongue. They were fucking expensive!
After becoming a certified First-grade Martial Artist, he could only receive a monthly stipend of 10,000.
If he obtained Grade 2 Martial Artist status after this certification, his monthly stipend would only be 30,000.
At that rate, he could at most afford the lowest-tier Black Iron Gauntlets.
Lin Mo could not help but frown.
"Old Liu, you're really willing to spend. That Obsidian Saber costs a million, right?"
"Heh, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. This mission might involve facing Level Five Exotic Beasts. If I don't gear up, I'll be the one out of luck when the time comes."
"Then you're still going? You're only a Fourth-grade Martial Artist. Isn't fighting Level Five Exotic Beasts too risky?"
At the same level, Level Five Exotic Beasts were several degrees more formidable than Fifth-grade Martial Artists.
"Wealth and honor are sought amid danger. Two Fifth-grade Martial Artists are leading the team this time, and we might only encounter Level Five Exotic Beasts. Isn't this just playing it safe?"
"That's true, but you only got yourself a set of Diamond-level equipment a few days ago, and now you're buying this too. You took out a loan, didn't you?"
"Of course. Where else would I get that much money? Everything I earned before went toward Blood Qi Pills."
"..."
Listening to the conversation nearby, Lin Mo froze, then laughed.
How had he forgotten about loans?
Once his Martial Artist Certification succeeded, he could apply for a martial artist loan in the Martial Artist Building.
However, based on his rank, he could not compare to that Old Liu for now. His loan limit would probably only be a few hundred thousand at most.
Still, he should have a chance of getting Gold Gauntlets or Diamond Gauntlets.
Just as Lin Mo was considering whether to take out a loan to buy gauntlets, inside an office on the other side—
"A First-grade Blood Qi Value, but combat power close to Third-grade?"
Looking at the report handed over by the staff member, Wang Xiao was dumbfounded.
"Where is he? Take me to see him."
Before you continue