Volume Two: Setting Out on the Journey Chapter 2: Years of Hard Work, Only to Be Set Back to Square One

“Wait a moment, I think I didn’t quite catch that,” Wang Jue said with a puzzled look. “As far as I know, adventurers also belong to the Martial Association, right?”

“Yes and no,” Shen Feng first nodded, then shook his head. “Most people assume adventurers fall under the Martial Association, but that’s actually not correct.”

“Although many claim the Martial Association is the largest organization in all safe zones, that’s only on the surface. If we speak truthfully, the primary organization is actually the adventurers.”

“In fact, adventurers have a headquarters—only one, without any branches. The headquarters is located in the border battlefield and isn’t established within the safe zones. Since they need to supplement personnel, they have to cooperate with the Martial Association.”

At this point, Shen Feng spoke with some bitterness, “When I first became an adventurer, I couldn’t resist the temptation and chose to join the branch where Lord Ning Chuan is stationed. Later, when I arrived at the border battlefield and heard from others about the strength of the adventurers’ headquarters, it was too late to regret.”

“Captain, aren’t you afraid Lord Ning Chuan might overhear what you’re saying?” Su Yu, whose complexion was fair and clean, suddenly asked.

“Uh…” Shen Feng’s expression stiffened immediately. Realizing this, he glared fiercely at Su Yu. “I’m just complaining verbally, isn’t that allowed?”

Would I really tell you all that if I could turn back time, I’d never join the Martial Association branch no matter what?

“Oh…” Su Yu deliberately drew out the sound.

“Oh…” The others echoed with elongated “oh” sounds.

“You bunch of jerks, what’s with the ‘oh’s? Are you itching for a fight?” Lin Zhan, somewhat exasperated, said, “Looks like I need to find time to train you properly.”

“The captain is embarrassed and angry!”

“The captain is embarrassed and angry!”

“…”

Su Yu clearly didn’t respect Shen Feng’s identity as captain and kept teasing him.

Shen Feng: “…”

Why did I end up with such ridiculous teammates?

At that moment, Shen Feng suddenly felt utterly exhausted.

“Hahaha…” Wang Jue couldn’t help but laugh.

He truly liked the atmosphere of the Hurricane Squad now—no hierarchy, no oppression, just friends hanging out in a way that made one want to blend in.

“Ahem…” Shen Feng cleared his throat and quickly changed the topic, asking Wang Jue, “By the way, since you already have the wristwatch, there’s no need to buy another. The main things are weapons and combat suits. What level of weapons and combat suits are you currently using?”

“I haven’t bought a combat suit yet. As for my sword, I don’t know its level. I only know it’s custom-made and was given to me by someone else,” Wang Jue said a little embarrassed.

Hearing this, Shen Feng frowned. “Custom-made weapons? Normally, custom-made weapons are at least level two, so they can barely be used.”

“But if you encounter star beasts of level three or higher, it’s easy for the weapon to get damaged. I suggest you buy a weapon of level three or above. That way, even if you’re not the main force, you can still contribute when hunting three-star or stronger star beasts alongside your teammates.”

“The higher the weapon level, the more obvious the benefits for you. After all, only by facing stronger star beasts can you grow faster.”

Wang Jue nodded. “Alright, I’ll look into weapons of level three and above when I get back.”

He couldn’t help but think of the original owner of his longsword, Lan Yiyi.

He hadn’t expected that after just over three months, he’d need to change weapons.

Should he say Lan Yiyi was stingy?

Or was it that his cultivation had advanced too quickly and his weapon couldn’t keep up?

Was Lan Yiyi stingy?

This thought flashed through Wang Jue’s mind but was quickly suppressed.

No, she wasn’t stingy at all—she was very generous!

In his view, the problem lay with himself.

“By the way, you also need a shield. In combat, any accident could be fatal, so defensive equipment is equally indispensable,” Shen Feng patiently explained everything that needed to be prepared.

Wang Jue listened attentively.

Then they agreed to meet again in three days.

Everyone went their separate ways.

…

Back home, Wang Jue immediately began preparations.

“Let’s check out the advanced store first.”

He logged into the adventurers’ internal network store page through his wristwatch, tapping on the wireless keyboard’s touchscreen.

Suddenly, a virtual screen appeared, displaying a variety of detailed item categories.

“I have over a hundred million credits in my account now. I should be able to buy a decent weapon, right?”

Wang Jue selected “Weapons,” then “Longswords,” chose the level, and clicked three times.

Instantly, names and prices of various longswords appeared on the screen.

[Iron Sword, Level 1. Price: 1 million credits. (Half price: 500,000. Requirement: Red level!)]

[Black Rock Sword, Level 2. Price: 5 million credits. (Half price: 2.5 million. Requirement: Red level!)]

[Green Edge Sword, Level 3. Price: 20 million credits. (Half price: 10 million. Requirement: Orange level!)]

[Mountain-Cleaving Sword, Level 3. Price: 30 million credits. (Half price: 15 million. Requirement: Orange level!)]

…

[Gentleman’s Sword, Level 4. Price: 60 million credits. (Half price: 30 million. Requirement: Yellow level!)]

[Sky-Splitting Sword, Level 4. Price: 80 million credits. (Half price: 40 million. Requirement: Yellow level!)]

[Bloodthirsty Sword, Level 5. Price: 100 million credits. (Half price: 50 million. Requirement: Yellow level!)]

…

“The half-price discount for adventurers is basically useless; I have to buy at full price,” Wang Jue said, frowning as he carefully examined the longswords on the screen. “My strength is improving quickly now. I believe I’ll be able to raise my cultivation again soon. Naturally, I should buy a better weapon.”

“With how fast I’m advancing, I should at least buy a level three or four weapon.”

Wang Jue hesitated. “Logically, level three or four weapons are the best choice. I’d at least have some money left as a backup. But the faster my cultivation improves, the faster I’ll need to replace weapons. Rather than wasting money now, I might as well go all out!”

In his eyes, the best value for money was undoubtedly the level five Bloodthirsty Sword.

However, its price of 100 million made Wang Jue hesitate.

Should he really buy it?

Wang Jue sat alone on the sofa, deep in thought.

One hundred million credits.

After all, that was not a trivial sum!

If he really bought the Bloodthirsty Sword, it wouldn’t be a small amount of money!

Even for a martial artist, it was a sky-high price.

“Since I’m buying, I’ll buy the best!” Wang Jue gritted his teeth, his eyes shining. “A level five weapon will suffice for a long time. Even if my cultivation breaks through to Red Star Mirror or even Orange Star Mirror, I won’t need to change weapons.”

Since childhood, Wang Jue had always worked hard and diligently.

Mainly because he knew his family situation wasn’t like others who could afford cultivation resources.

Without cultivation resources, Wang Jue could only rely on hard work and perseverance.

Unfortunately, if it weren’t for his low talent, it would have taken him over nine years to barely break through to the first stage of body tempering, only to die from overexertion.

That’s how he, having transmigrated, was able to ‘rebirth by borrowing a body’ and brought the benefits of a transmigrator’s ‘cheat’!

Thanks to this ‘cheat,’ Wang Jue was able to leap from the bottom among his peers to the fourth stage of spiritual accumulation in just over three months!

It was almost safe to say that now, among his peers, there were hardly any with higher cultivation than Wang Jue.

“I have a ‘cheat’ that others don’t. As long as I have enough star source points to enhance my talent, my strength will always be in a phase of rapid growth.”

Wang Jue held onto one belief.

That was to become a super-strong warrior!

There was another common saying:

A martial artist who doesn’t want to be number one isn’t a qualified martial artist!

“Alright, it’s decided. The Bloodthirsty Sword it is!” Wang Jue took a deep breath and lightly tapped the touchscreen.

A prompt appeared on the large screen.

[Please confirm the purchase of level five weapon Bloodthirsty Sword for 100 million credit points!]

It was his first purchase. According to the benefits for new adventurers, the first time he could enjoy the best discount.

“Confirm!” Wang Jue clicked once.

The screen showed a reminder.

[Please verify your fingerprint to confirm again.]

Wang Jue placed his finger on the wireless keyboard’s fingerprint scanner.

“Beep!”

Successive prompts appeared on the screen.

[Fingerprint verification passed.]

[Purchase successful!]

[Payment deducted successfully!]

[Level five weapon, Bloodthirsty Sword, will be delivered to Mr. Wang Jue’s home within 24 hours.]

…

“Fortunately, the adventurers’ internal network covered ten million credits for my first purchase.”

After completing the purchase, Wang Jue felt his heart pounding rapidly.

It was impossible not to be excited.

After all, this was a full 100 million credit points!

Even though the adventurers’ network helped shoulder ten million, he still had to spend ninety million real credits!

Ninety million!

That could easily buy a villa.

Moreover, Wang Jue's family finances had never been good.

Using nearly 100 million credits at once, one could imagine his mood.

“Luckily, I saved ten million. Combined with the original over ten million credits, my small fund still has twenty million,” Wang Jue said with a pained expression.

The weapon purchase was successful.

Next, Wang Jue needed to buy combat suits and a backpack.

[Combat Suit, Level 1. Price: 10 million credits. (Half price: 5 million. Requirement: Red level!)]

[Combat Suit, Level 2. Price: 20 million credits. (Half price: 10 million. Requirement: Red level!)]

…

“Damn, even the cheapest level one combat suit costs 10 million credits?” Wang Jue felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. His heart sank. “A level one combat suit can only defend against most level one star beast attacks. It can’t withstand level two star beasts. If hit by a level two star beast, it will be damaged.”

As for buying a level two combat suit?

Wang Jue dismissed the idea after a moment’s thought.

He didn’t think Shen Feng and the others, all strong warriors no lower than Red Star fifth stage, would take him to hunt level two star beasts.

Clearly, they would hunt level three star beasts corresponding to their levels.

If he bought a level two combat suit, it would be fine if they hunted level two star beasts.

But if they hunted level three star beasts, that combat suit would be practically useless!

“The price is high, and it’s not very useful,” Wang Jue shook his head helplessly. “Forget it, let’s look at shields first.”

He then opened the shield page and was surprised to see that shield prices weren’t cheaper than combat suits.

A level one shield that could block level one star beast attacks cost 10 million credits!

A level two shield was also 20 million credits!

“Damn, who can afford this?” Wang Jue almost doubted his own life. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been such a couch potato at home all this time.”

At this moment, Wang Jue finally understood what it meant to work hard for years only to end up back at square one…