Appearances Can Be Deceiving!

"Here are your gloves and card. Please keep them safe."

The shopkeeper's attitude became respectful at this moment.

Taking the gloves and card, Lin Mo put them on directly.

"Heh, I didn't expect them to be this light."

Feeling the gloves on his hands, Lin Mo was somewhat surprised.

He had thought that metal gloves forged from special ores would be quite heavy.

But in reality, they were as light as nothing.

Moreover, the breathability was excellent. He swung them a few times—they were very nimble and wouldn't add any burden at all.

As for their power, there were too many people here for him to test them conveniently.

Still, something worth a million probably wouldn't be bad.

"Damn, he actually bought them? At his age, he has a million? Could he be from some family?"

"And he's a First-grade Martial Artist? This kid's at most 18, right? Holy crap, a genius."

"No kidding. When I was 18, my Blood Qi Value was only 75, and I was considered a top student at school. Compared to him, I'm nothing."

"Come on, at least you're a Grade 2 Martial Artist now. I'm still stuck at First-grade, and I'm almost 30."

"..."

For a moment, the surrounding martial artists buzzed with discussion.

Martial artists could earn money a hundred or a thousand times faster than ordinary people.

But a million wasn't so easy for low-rank martial artists to make.

Unless you reached Fourth-grade Martial Artist, then your earning power would multiply. A million was pocket change for those above Fourth-grade.

Another point: the Obsidian Equipment here at the Martial Artist Hall cost only a million, but that price was only for martial artists affiliated with the Martial Alliance.

If you weren't a Martial Alliance martial artist, buying Obsidian Equipment here would cost at least three to five times more.

So that was another benefit of joining the Martial Alliance.

Lin Mo put away his gloves and started browsing again.

He had his weapon, but he still needed a large field backpack and a portable tent.

Out in the wild, he couldn't count on returning every day. He'd likely have to camp out, so he needed some gear.

Fortunately, tents, oil lamps, and the like weren't expensive. A full set after discount was only a little over ten thousand.

The backpack, however, was pricier—even after the discount, it cost fifty thousand.

Lin Mo chose an extra-large field storage backpack. It was expensive because it was made from the hide of a Level 5 Exotic Beast, the Silver Horned Rhinoceros.

The Silver Horned Rhinoceros's hide was extremely tough. Even a Level 6 Exotic Beast couldn't easily break through its defense.

So with this backpack, Lin Mo didn't have to worry about it tearing and losing his gear.

In an instant, 560,000 was gone.

Lin Mo silently lamented how quickly money disappeared.

Sure enough, poverty for scholars, wealth for warriors.

He hadn't even bought much yet, and the 660,000 he'd just gotten was down to only 100,000.

After looking around, he bought four sets of field combat uniforms for 40,000.

The remaining money was only enough for one bottle of premium-grade Vitality Potion.

After swiping his card for 50,000, Lin Mo had only 10,000 left.

He stuffed everything into his backpack, slung it on, and walked straight out of the Martial Artist Hall.

"Eh? That kid didn't come to hand in his form?"

As she passed the window, Lu Yingying spotted Lin Mo and looked puzzled.

"If he didn't hand in the form, then naturally his certification failed. Honestly, someone his age coming to certify as a martial artist was nonsense. Did you really take it seriously?"

Sister Xiaoxiao beside her said with a smile.

"Sigh, I really don't know why people like him bother. Wasting that 2,000 for nothing."

"What are you two talking about?" A voice sounded at that moment.

"Uncle Wang? What brings you here?"

Seeing who it was, Lu Yingying smiled.

"Haha, I just finished up and thought I'd drop by for a look."

"Manager Wang, you seem in a great mood today. Something good happen?"

Sister Xiaoxiao sidled up with a grin, winking.

"You little sly one. Haha, yes, there is good news."

"What good news? Let's hear it."

"Nothing much—just ran into a little genius who got his Martial Artist Certification at eighteen. See that kid over there?"

Wang Xiao laughed, pointing at Lin Mo's retreating figure.

Lu Yingying followed his finger and froze on the spot.

She whipped her head toward Wang Xiao, eyes full of doubt. "Is... is this for real? He actually passed?"

"What do you mean, for real? I tested him myself—how could it be fake? Hah, never thought Jiangcheng No. 2 High School would produce a genius too."

Wang Xiao watched the two stunned girls and thought to himself, I haven't even told them this kid has first-grade Blood Qi but third-grade combat power.

Otherwise, it'd scare them to death.

Hearing Wang Xiao's words, Lu Yingying stared blankly at the entrance of the Martial Artist Building.

Lin Mo's figure had long since vanished.

"Oh my god! He really passed the Martial Artist Certification?"

Sister Xiaoxiao beside her was also shocked, her small mouth gaping wide enough to fit an egg.

An eighteen-year-old completing the Martial Artist Certification—they'd never seen anything like it in all of Jiangcheng.

That fool she'd assumed was just there to go through the motions and broaden his horizons had actually gotten certified.

Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover.

Lin Mo had no idea about the shock he'd left behind with Lu Yingying and the others.

Right now, he'd exited the Martial Artist Building and ducked into a small alley.

He glanced around—it was secluded, with no one else passing by.

He pulled out the Vitality Potion he'd just bought and downed it in one gulp.

A wave of warmth traveled from his throat into his stomach.

Before long, the warmth faded.

"Huh?"

The system notification he'd expected never came.

And the Blood Qi inside him hadn't changed much either.

"What the hell? Does it only work on stuff earned through hard training or painstaking accumulation?"

He waited a bit longer, confirmed there was no further reaction, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

If he'd known, he wouldn't have blown fifty thousand on that Vitality Potion.

Pissed off.

Lin Mo was in a foul mood, grumbling as he walked out of the alley.

He looked up and saw a few annoying faces.

"Well, well, Lin Mo?"

It was none other than his old nemesis, Wang Shouquan.

Today was the day for the school's Martial Arts Training Class placement. After getting sorted, Wang Shouquan had brought his gang of lackeys out to celebrate.

They'd picked a restaurant near the Martial Artist Building.

It wasn't far from Jiangcheng No. 2 High School anyway.

But they just had to run into Lin Mo.

"Move it!"

Lin Mo shot Wang Shouquan a glance and said curtly.

"You broke loser, you've got teachers protecting you at school, but you still dare act tough here? There's no teacher around."

Seeing Lin Mo's attitude, Wang Shouquan's anger flared.

He'd long hated Lin Mo's guts.

A broke loser, yet the teachers liked him, and even the school's ice queen, Lin Ya'er, treated him differently.

Why?

Just because he was a little handsome?

No family background, pathetic Blood Qi value—he might not even get into a Martial University.

Normally, he'd let it slide. But now that he'd made it into the Martial Arts Training Class, with his Blood Qi already at 88, he was a shoo-in for a top-tier Martial University.

He wasn't going to hold back anymore.

Even if he laid a hand on Lin Mo now, the school wouldn't say much.

The test a few days ago had already sealed the outcome.

Lin Mo had no hope of getting into a Martial University. He'd just end up at the bottom of the barrel.

Beating up someone like this—the school wouldn't even bother.

"Today, I'm gonna show you why flowers are so red!"

Glaring viciously at Lin Mo, Wang Shouquan let out a cold laugh.

But the next second, his smile instantly froze.

A fist the size of a bucket kept growing larger in his eyes...

Can't find the book by searching the title? Try searching the author—maybe it just changed names!