"Welcome to trial interface number 73,248 to participate in the Heavenly Mandate Trial."
"In this interface, the heavenly official is on duty."
"Given that the trial's target is the God of Wealth, the Heavenly Mandate Trial will now be adjusted."
"Heavenly Mandate Trial tasks canceled!"
"Heavenly Mandate Trial rating canceled!"
"Heavenly Mandate Trial standards canceled!"
"The God of Wealth may explore freely and choose his own method of undertaking the trial."
"The God of Wealth may freely take all gains obtained within the trial interface out of the interface."
A series of messages appeared on Su Wen's status panel. Looking at them all, he understood what the Star God had meant.
The blue booklet really did seem useless to him.
The entire booklet revolved around trial tasks, how to handle the trial rating and standards, and even how to make good use of one's own talent to obtain greater rewards.
It also introduced some of the rules of the Heavenly Mandate Trial and some of the hidden details within them.
But now, as soon as he entered, everything the blue booklet talked about had been canceled.
What the hell was the blue booklet good for now?
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"..."
A series of sounds came from not far away, one after another.
Su Wen thought for a moment, then quietly headed toward the source of the vibrations.
A moment later, a towering cave came into view.
A group of long-armed monkeys with copper coin marks covering their faces paced back and forth at the cave entrance, carrying digging tools.
"Ooh!"
"Ooh ooh!"
Suddenly, a nearby Copper Coin Monkey spotted Su Wen peeking out to observe them and began waving its arms and calling out.
Soon, two Copper Coin Monkeys came running in response to its calls, and the three of them began chasing Su Wen.
As Su Wen retreated, he noticed that the Copper Coin Monkeys ran very slowly, even slower than an ordinary person.
So he casually picked up some stones from beside him. After putting a little distance between himself and the Copper Coin Monkeys, he found his opening and hurled one with all his might at the monkey in the lead.
"Whoosh!"
The stone tore through the air and struck the lead Copper Coin Monkey squarely on the head.
Su Wen had never learned how to throw, nor had he learned any techniques for exerting force.
But with the strength he now possessed, combined with the hardness of the stone, the destructive force was enough to break through a wall!
The lead Copper Coin Monkey's head was smashed to a pulp. It fell to the ground and lay still, its life extinguished.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Su Wen gave the other two Copper Coin Monkeys no chance to react, hurling two stones straight at them.
Worried that he might miss on the first try, he even threw two more at the two Copper Coin Monkeys.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The two Copper Coin Monkeys fell at the sound of the impacts, completely lifeless.
And with that, Su Wen's first battle officially came to an end.
"Three Copper Coin Monkeys raised my experience by 0.3 percent."
Su Wen opened his status panel and frowned slightly.
In other words, if he wanted to advance by killing Copper Coin Monkeys, he would need to kill at least a thousand.
A thousand Copper Coin Monkeys? How long would that take?
Besides, were there even a thousand Copper Coin Monkeys at the mine?
"Huh?"
When Su Wen walked over to the Copper Coin Monkeys' corpses, he noticed a copper coin appearing above each of their heads.
"Heavenly Mandate Copper Coin detected. It can be converted into 0.01 Wealth Source Points. Convert?"
"..."
Looking at the prompt before him, Su Wen was momentarily stunned.
The next moment, Su Wen was overjoyed, the corners of his mouth shooting up.
One copper coin was worth a hundred thousand?
That was what it meant, right?
There had been at least a few dozen Copper Coin Monkeys gathered at the mine entrance just now, hadn't there?
It wasn't unreasonable to expect a dozen or so inside the mine, was it?
The Copper Coin Monkeys outside the mine might even be a minority, with a great many inside.
If there were a few hundred, he'd strike it rich!
Tens of millions!
At that moment, in Su Wen's eyes, the Copper Coin Monkeys wandering outside the mine were no longer his enemies, but walking sources of wealth!
And as long as he had Wealth Source Points, he could quickly grow stronger.
Once he grew stronger, he could hunt Copper Coin Monkeys more efficiently.
Thinking it over, it was a virtuous cycle!
This handful of Copper Coin Monkeys isn't enough!
But the Copper Coin Monkeys are mining here, so there must be a group nearby making them do it.
That group might also be Copper Coin Monkeys, or even creatures of a higher level than Copper Coin Monkeys.
I'll save up wealth and increase my strength first. At the very least, I'll fleece this mine bare before thinking about that group. Even with the white chess piece protecting me, it's better to play it safe.
After all, I don't know if I'll ever have another good opportunity like this after leaving the trial Arrow Mirror.
Su Wen thought to himself, then quickly converted the other two Heavenly Mandate Copper Coins into wealth.
Without hesitation, he began picking up stones from a nearby pile.
Sharp, intact stones were his first choice. For now, rocks seemed to be the most convenient weapons available nearby.
To be honest, he didn't know what level his current strength was at, much less where he stood within this Arrow Mirror.
But he guessed that even if he wasn't the weakest, he wasn't far from it.
Otherwise, the Star God wouldn't have said those things to him after giving him the white chess piece.
Once he used the white chess piece, powerful figures in the Arrow Mirror would surely make a move against him to stop him from cheating.
"Next, I'll lure five Copper Coin Monkeys over."
Su Wen looked in the direction of the mine. "If I can handle it, I'll gradually increase the number."
"There's no time limit on the trial, so there's no rush."
Having settled on a plan, Su Wen set it in motion.
The Copper Coin Monkeys weren't very intelligent. Unfamiliar groups that appeared nearby seemed to attract their attention and hostility.
But the second batch he lured over still consisted of only three Copper Coin Monkeys. After killing them with simple, brute force, Su Wen decided to change his strategy.
He waited for the right moment, then began shouting loudly near the mine. Once the Copper Coin Monkeys at the entrance looked over, Su Wen even made faces and stuck out his tongue to provoke them.
He wanted to see whether he could attract more Copper Coin Monkeys that way.
After all, the Copper Coin Monkeys were much slower runners than he was. If things really went badly, he could always run.
But this time, only three Copper Coin Monkeys came charging at him again.
The other Copper Coin Monkeys watched him, their eyes, filled with the glimmer of copper coins, full of confusion, as though they were watching a fool's comical performance.
The corner of Su Wen's mouth twitched. He could still tell what those expressions meant.
So he was being looked down on by a bunch of not-so-bright Copper Coin Monkeys?
Su Wen then took a deep breath and threw three stones, killing the three charging Copper Coin Monkeys.
He picked up the three copper coins that had landed nearby and quickly retreated.
Outside the mine, the Copper Coin Monkeys saw their kin being killed and abruptly fell into an eerie silence.