A Forced Loan!

Seeing Qian Jingming's ghost-stricken expression, Dongfang Yueming realized he seemed to have opened his lion's maw a little too wide. He rubbed his nose and quickly changed his approach.

"Ahem, thirty to fifty thousand really is a bit much." Dongfang Yueming cleared his throat and gestured with his fingers. "How about this? I'm not asking for much. Just advance me the money for a decent weapon first. Hmm... one of the better E-rank ones like those we just saw will do."

He paused, fixing Qian Jingming with a burning gaze. "And get me a copy of the... Basic Flesh Refining Method!"

"Flesh Refining Method?!" Qian Jingming's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he shook his head like a rattle drum. "No, no! Absolutely not! The Basic Flesh Refining Method is a treasure that costs over a hundred contribution points! It's worth more than ten thousand federal coins! The risk is too great! What if you can't pay me back..."

He didn't dare take that gamble! A cultivation method on the level of the Flesh Refining Method was highly sought after even on the black market and worth a fortune. If Dongfang Yueming ran off, who could he cry to?

"The Flesh Refining Method won't do?" Dongfang Yueming frowned, seemingly disappointed, but quickly continued, "Then... make it a more advanced skin-tempering cultivation method! One that's better than the Basic Skin Tempering Art the academy gave us! Surely that's all right?"

"A more advanced skin-tempering cultivation method?" Qian Jingming was utterly puzzled. What did this kid want another skin-tempering method for? Without resources, the more advanced the method, the harder it was to cultivate.

Though puzzled, he knew a high-level skin-tempering method was worth considerably less than a flesh-refining method and carried far less risk. His eyes darted about, and he thought it might be worth considering.

Before Qian Jingming could think it over, however, Dongfang Yueming had already made his move!

He strode over to the weapons stall from before and picked up an E-rank long saber that looked brand-new. Its blade gleamed coldly, and it was clearly much better than the previous one. Then, without looking back, he called to the stall owner:

"Boss! I'll take this saber! Get him to pay for it!"

As he spoke, he pointed straight at a dumbfounded Qian Jingming!

"What the fuck?!!" Qian Jingming nearly jumped out of his skin! This kid... was he forcing a sale on him?! When had he agreed to anything?!

Now he felt he'd taken a huge loss! It seemed the kid had played him!

Dongfang Yueming paid no attention to Qian Jingming's reaction. With the saber in hand, he turned and grinned at him. "Thanks, classmate Qian! Just get me that high-level skin-tempering method in the next couple of days. I'll come pick it up from you then!"

Before the words had fully left his mouth, wind sprang up beneath his feet and he ran off in a puff of smoke, clutching the saber! It was as if he feared Qian Jingming would change his mind and come after him!

"Hey! Stop right there!" Qian Jingming tried to give chase in a fury, but Dongfang Yueming was too fast. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the crowd.

"Fuck! I got screwed!" Qian Jingming stamped his foot, his face wrinkling up like a bitter melon.

Just then, the lazy senior student who owned the stall came over, smiling as though enjoying the show. He held out a hand to Qian Jingming. "Three thousand federal coins, please, classmate."

"Three thousand?!" Qian Jingming's eyes widened, and he pointed in the direction Dongfang Yueming had disappeared. "That kid clearly took an E-rank saber! You only wanted five hundred for that piece of junk at first. This one's a bit better, so it's worth a thousand at most! Are you robbing me?!"

The stall owner chuckled, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "That was then, this is now. Before, that was the price for something nobody wanted. Now... a 'big spender' like you is paying for a friend, so naturally the price has to be a little more 'fair.' Three thousand, and not a penny less!"

Seeing the stall owner's expression, so sure he had him cornered, Qian Jingming was so angry his lungs nearly burst! But he knew arguing in a place like this was useless, so he could only accept his bad luck.

Grinding his back teeth, he began to show his "shrewd" nature, bargaining with the stall owner with spittle flying.

"...Boss, things aren't easy for me either. I'm a student too. How about we call this making a friend..."

"...This saber is worth eight hundred at most. I'm offering you a thousand. That's generous enough, isn't it..."

In the end, after a fierce battle of lips and tongues, Qian Jingming painfully forked over a thousand federal coins and settled the deal for the saber.

"Fuck..." Qian Jingming looked at his flattened wallet, wanting to cry but having no tears. "I ran into a jinx! Not only did I give him a saber for nothing, I've got to find him some bullshit high-level skin-tempering method too... What am I even getting out of this..."

He felt he'd truly lost both his wife and his soldiers this time. Yet for some reason, looking at the spot where Dongfang Yueming's departing figure had disappeared, he had a faint, strange feeling. This kid... didn't seem like a simple character?

Back in his spartan dorm room, Dongfang Yueming locked the door behind him and fixed his burning gaze on the brand-new long saber in his hand.

The saber was over three feet long, its straight blade gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. Though only E-rank, it felt heavy in his hand, and its quality was far beyond that of the piece of junk from before. The hilt was wrapped in coarse, nonslip cloth and offered a solid grip.

"Not bad. Better than I expected." Dongfang Yueming nodded in satisfaction. Though the process had involved a little "cleverness," the result was good. At least he had a weapon to use now.

Unable to contain his excitement, he took a deep breath and slowly settled into a stance in the cramped dorm room.

Clang!

The long saber came out of its sheath with a clear, ringing dragon's cry!

The next moment, Dongfang Yueming's figure moved!

Fast! Fast to the extreme!

Saber light flickered like moonlight spilling across the room, filling every corner in an instant! Chopping, hacking, upward cutting, thrusting, sweeping, slashing... he displayed the essence of the Basic Thirteen Fast Saber Forms at the perfected level to the fullest!

They were clearly only the most basic moves, yet in his hands they seemed to become lethal strikes as traceless as an antelope hanging by its horns! The blade swept through the air with sharp swishes, as though it would tear even space apart!

His footwork followed the saber, now drifting unpredictably like a ghost, now swift and fierce like a tiger charging down a mountain!

By the time he finished the set, a light sheen of sweat had appeared on Dongfang Yueming's forehead, but his eyes were astonishingly bright!

"Good! Excellent!" he couldn't help exclaiming under his breath. Feeling the powerful control granted by his perfected saber technique and his bond with the long saber in his hand, as though it were joined to him by blood, he was filled with an unprecedented sense of assurance and confidence!

With this perfected saber technique and his body at perfected skin tempering (cowhide), his combat power had more than doubled compared to yesterday!

Gao Hu? A month from now, it remained to be seen who would crush whom!

The night passed without incident. Dongfang Yueming did not stay up cultivating, choosing instead to get plenty of sleep and restore his energy. After all, he had an important patrol mission tomorrow.

Early the next morning.

Dongfang Yueming woke on time just as dawn began to break. Feeling the abundant qi and blood and energy within him, he nodded in satisfaction. The benefits of perfected skin tempering went beyond defense and strength; his recovery and stamina were also far greater than before.

After washing up, he felt a rumble of hunger like thunder in his belly. Cultivating in the Body Tempering Realm was enormously taxing on qi, blood, and physical strength to begin with, and his "quickly attained" perfected level demanded even more energy.

Without hesitation, he headed to the academy cafeteria.

Quite a few early-rising freshmen were already there, their faces weary and anxious.

Dongfang Yueming ordered five portions of high-energy food: ordinary beast meat rich in qi and blood, specially prepared wheat rice to replenish his strength, and a large cup of nutrient solution to provide trace elements.

Quite a few surprised looks immediately turned his way.

Dongfang Yueming paid them no mind. Like a gale sweeping away the last clouds, he polished off all the food before he finally felt his intense hunger ease a little.

"Phew..." He gave a satisfied burp, feeling the food turn into warmth within him and replenish his depleted qi and blood. Yet inwardly, he couldn't help groaning.

This appetite... is way too scary! One meal cost me dozens of federal coins! If it's like this every day, food alone will cost an astronomical sum!

He needed money everywhere he turned! It seemed earning contribution points through patrol missions was even more urgent!

As he ate, the hushed conversations of the freshmen around him drifted into his ears.

"How did it go? Did you sense qi while cultivating the Skin Tempering Art last night?"

"Sigh, don't remind me! I sat there all night and didn't feel a damn thing! Isn't this cultivation method way too hard?"

"Yeah, why is it so hard to stir up qi and blood? I feel like I've nearly rubbed my skin raw, and there's still no response!"

"One month... reaching the beginner level of skin tempering in one month? I don't think I can do it! What if I really get eliminated?"