Volume 2: Setting Out - Chapter 14: Is It Really That Expensive?

"Ahem..."

Suddenly, a dry cough echoed from not far away.

"This sound... it's the Captain!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Yunyan’s face lit up with surprise, and she hurried toward the source. Wang Jue quickly followed suit.

"Pah!"

Shen Feng climbed up from beneath a pile of rocks, spat out the dirt from his mouth, and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. He cursed, "Hell, I never expected that beast to be so vicious. It actually tried to take us down with it."

"Captain, are you alright?" Jiang Yunyan and Wang Jue rushed to help him up.

"I’m fine, just a few injuries!"

Shen Feng waved his hand dismissively and asked, "By the way, how are Su Yu and the others?"

"We haven't found them yet," Jiang Yunyan said, her expression grim.

"Hurry and look for—"

"I'm here!"

At that moment, Su Yu’s voice suddenly rang out from a pile of rubble on the other side.

"Brother Yu, how are you?"

Wang Jue saw Su Yu but noticed Jiang Yunxin was missing, so he quickly asked, "Where is Sister Xin?"

"I'm alright, I won't die yet!" Su Yu pushed aside the stones pressing down on him and stood up. "I don't know. We were together at the time, but after the explosion, I lost track."

"Sister, I'm okay."

Jiang Yunxin’s head poked out from behind a large tree.

"I didn't expect that Unicorn Rhino to pull a desperate counterattack in its dying moments, trying to drag us to the grave. We almost fell for it," Su Yu said, patting the dust off his body with a wry smile. "Lucky for us, we’re tough, otherwise we would’ve been done for."

"Sigh... in all the years our squad has been together, this is the first time we've encountered such a ruthless creature." Shen Feng sighed and warned the group, "From now on, be careful when encountering Star Beasts of Level 3 or higher. Creatures of this rank have the beginnings of intelligence, yet they haven't shed their beastly nature; they remain irritable and ferocious. You cannot judge their actions by conventional logic."

Jiang Yunyan helped her sister up. "Xiner, are you alright?"

The three of them had borne the brunt of the explosion, suffering internal injuries that were far from light. As a woman, Jiang Yunxin had lower resilience, and even though she had hidden behind a tree, she had still been injured. She was pale, blood trickling from her lips, looking listless and unsteady on her feet.

"Give her the healing medicine, quickly," Shen Feng said urgently.

Jiang Yunyan snapped out of it, hurriedly pulling the medicine from her backpack for Jiang Yunxin to swallow.

"Circulate your internal energy to speed up the absorption!"

Though incredibly weak, Jiang Yunxin obeyed, sitting cross-legged to begin healing. Seeing this, Shen Feng and Su Yu also took their own medicine. While their injuries weren't as severe, they were clearly battered, and their combat effectiveness had been greatly diminished.

"Right, is that Unicorn Rhino dead?" Wang Jue asked curiously.

Shen Feng, having the highest cultivation and the lightest injuries, smiled after swallowing his medicine. "It must be dead. With an explosion of that magnitude, and it being at the center, there's basically no way it could survive."

Wang Jue nodded and fell silent, his gaze scanning the surroundings vigilantly to buy time for the others to recover.

Before long, the three of them had digested the medicine and regained some strength. Shen Feng, having recovered about seventy or eighty percent, stood up. "Let's go. Let's check on the Rhino. We’ve wasted enough time; we should finish up and leave quickly. The explosion surely attracted other Star Beasts nearby, or perhaps even other squads. We need to hurry."

"Right, let's check. We went through all this trouble; if there isn't something good, it’ll be a huge loss." Su Yu had also recovered most of his strength, and since the remaining injuries wouldn't heal in the short term, he didn't want to waste any more time either.

Subsequently, Shen Feng, Su Yu, and Wang Jue began searching the area, unsure of where the Rhino had been buried. Jiang Yunxin continued to heal, with Jiang Yunyan watching over her.

Wang Jue recalled the Rhino's previous position, walked over, and turned over some soil. His expression shifted, and he called out to the others, "Captain, over here!"

"Hmm?"

"You found it?!"

Shen Feng and Su Yu immediately ran over.

"I can't sense any aura; it must be dead," Shen Feng said with burning eyes. "Su Yu, it's up to you. Cut it open and see if there’s a Beast Core or Star Bone."

"No problem, leave it to me."

Su Yu grinned, knelt down, pushed aside the nearby stones, and dragged the Rhino from the dirt before pulling out the dagger strapped to his thigh to begin the work. The Rhino was dead beyond a doubt, its body covered in wounds, having bled out most of its life.

Wang Jue watched from the side and teased, "Looks like Brother Yu is becoming the squad’s butcher."

"Hahaha..." Shen Feng laughed heartily. "Who told him he has the talent for it? It suits him."

"Hehe." Su Yu chuckled, looking quite proud of himself.

Before long, he had carved off the Rhino's horn, claws, and even peeled off its entire hide.

"What a pity..." Su Yu said with regret. "The hide is too badly damaged; the price will definitely take a major hit!"

"Stop dawdling and find the Beast Core and Star Bone first!" Shen Feng urged. "Compared to the price of those two items, these materials are just pocket change."

"Right away."

Su Yu nodded, took a deep breath, and pressed his hand onto the Rhino's corpse. After a brief scan, his face brightened. "Hey, there really is a Beast Core!"

He plunged his dagger into the Rhino's body and pried out a spherical object similar to the one Wang Jue had obtained before, though the color was deeper. A Level 3 Star Beast’s core was worth at least ten times more than a Level 2!

Shen Feng and the others beamed. Even without a Star Bone, this core alone would be a massive windfall. Sometimes, surprises come just like that.

The next moment.

"Holy..." Su Yu exclaimed. "A Star Bone?! There really is a Star Bone! Hahaha, Captain, we’re going to be rich!"

"Good, good, good! Dig it out!" Shen Feng’s eyes widened, his face filled with joy as he repeated the word 'good' three times in his excitement.

Not far away, Jiang Yunyan and Jiang Yunxin were also overjoyed upon hearing the news. This was a Star Bone! Although they had hoped for it, the probability of one appearing was extremely low, and they had only been holding onto a faint chance. The fact that it actually appeared meant it would surely go to auction and fetch an astonishing price.

Compared to the excited Shen Feng and the others, Wang Jue remained quite calm. Seeing their excitement, he couldn't help but wonder, "Captain, you're all elite martial artists; isn't it just a Star Bone? Is it really worth getting this worked up over?"

"Just... a Star Bone..."

The faces of Shen Feng and the others stiffened. They turned to glare at him with resentment.

"You kid, it's easy to talk when you aren't the one struggling. We've gone years without seeing a single Star Bone, and you look like you don't even care."

"Don't tell me you don't know the price of a Star Bone?"

"..."

"Um, I actually don't," Wang Jue said awkwardly. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Damn it!" The group cursed in unison.

Wang Jue: "..."

What did I do wrong? Is it really such a big deal to ask the price of a Star Bone? Are you all for real?

Suddenly, Su Yu cried out in delight, "Found it, it’s a breastbone!"

As he spoke, he wielded his dagger, shaved away the flesh, and removed a bone from the Rhino's chest. The bone was bone-white everywhere except for a section in the middle, which formed a translucent cyan block! The cyan block was etched with intricate, mysterious, and profound patterns!

"Quick, let me touch it. I've been a martial artist for so long, and apart from seeing one from afar once, I've never even touched a Star Bone." Shen Feng excitedly snatched the breastbone from Su Yu, gently stroking the cyan section with a look of pure intoxication, looking exactly like...

A burly man stroking a bone as if it were a beauty's thigh!

Just imagine that scene!

Tsk, tsk, tsk—it was quite unsettling!

Jiang Yunyan and Jiang Yunxin had originally wanted a look, but upon seeing his expression, they shuddered and instantly sobered up.

"Ahem..."

Wang Jue coughed a few times and couldn't help but remind him, "Captain, you're drooling!"

"What?"

Shen Feng jumped in shock, subconsciously wiping his mouth. Realizing what had happened, his brow twitched, and he glared at Wang Jue with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You kid, getting bold, aren't you? Want to feel how hard your Captain's fist is?"

"Hahaha, Captain, you look great today! Radiant, bursting with good fortune, blessed with immense luck..." Wang Jue let out a dry laugh and immediately unleashed his ultimate move—the art of flattery. "Uh... I don't know, something feels off, but in short, your luck today is incredible! No wonder we found a Star Bone; it must be your good luck at work..."

As for the fists, he’d leave those for the other teammates; he had no need for that kind of experience!

At this moment, Su Yu, and Jiang Yunyan and Jiang Yunxin, who had walked over after finishing their healing, were stunned. They would swear on their lives! They had never seen anyone so shamelessly thick-skinned!

"Heh..."

Shen Feng offered a stiff, fake smile before turning serious. "Since we're done here, let's go. We’re heading back..."

The group hadn't even had time to celebrate when he added, "Oh, right, Su Yu, check the other bones to see if there are any more Star Bones."

The group: "..."

How come they never noticed the Captain had the potential to be a miser?

Complaints aside, Su Yu dutifully carried out the order, dissecting the rest of the Rhino's bones. The answer was obvious.

Nothing!

Getting two Star Bones from one Star Beast—you'd be dreaming.

Finally, they could leave in peace! The group didn't delay any further and headed out of the valley.

"By the way, Captain, you still haven't told me," Wang Jue asked curiously on the way back. "How much can this Star Bone sell for?"

"Roughly... a little over a billion!" Shen Feng wasn't entirely certain. "Last time I saw a Star Bone at auction, someone bought a Level 3 Star Beast's bone for around that price. This one should be about the same."

"It's that expensive?" Wang Jue was truly shocked. He had thought a Star Bone would be impressive if it went for a few tens of millions, but over a billion? It seemed he had been a frog in a well, completely unaware of how vast the sky was beyond the rim!

"It's alright, over a billion is actually on the low side." Shen Feng, in high spirits, shrugged. "The price depends on the buyer. If you run into someone who desperately needs it, they might drop over a billion without even blinking."

It was understandable; who wouldn't be in a good mood with over a billion in their pocket? At the very least, Wang Jue knew he couldn't keep a straight face while holding that kind of fortune.