Chapter Sixty-Three: Hong's Fortune

When the time came, everyone gathered together and boarded the passenger plane.

After a month of wilderness survival, even though the weakest among them were at the warlord level, exhaustion was plain to see. Many had torn clothes and disheveled hair. Yet, most of their eyes were bright, their presence deeper and steadier than before.

“Qin Ming, tell us—how did you run into a king-class beast, and more importantly, how did you escape?” Zhao Ruo came over, her large eyes blinking with curiosity.

The others also looked his way, eager to know how he had survived such an ordeal. After all, that was a king-class beast!

Qin Ming repeated the story he’d told before. Amid exclamations of wonder, they made their way back to headquarters.

After disembarking, everyone quickly went their own way. Qin Ming was no exception. The first thing he did was take a long, hot shower, then indulge in a hearty meal. He couldn’t help but sigh, “No matter how good seclusion is, nothing beats a proper feast!”

After a short rest, he headed to the Extreme Mall and turned in the main materials from the two high-level commander-class beasts.

“These are from the White Mist Owl King and the Terror Crocodile King!” The supervisor in charge of material appraisal was astonished. “You actually managed to kill such creatures? Incredible—truly remarkable!”

He naturally didn’t think someone else had done the killing for Qin Ming; there was no point in that. Selling materials here was also a way to verify one’s identity and strength.

Slaying two high-level commander-class beasts was tantamount to confirming one’s status as a high-level War God.

“It was just luck,” Qin Ming replied with a smile.

Soon after, he received both payment and points, and his own rank was officially elevated to high-level War God. The process was that simple.

After the practical assessment for prospective martial artists, one only needed to slay two beasts of a certain rank to be officially recognized at that cultivation level.

It might seem trivial, but almost no one would dare to fake it. Any attempt at deception would lead to assignments based on false ranks—certain death.

Having finished at the mall, Qin Ming was about to return to his quarters when his wristwatch chimed. On checking, he found an invitation from Hong. He couldn’t help but smile. “I was planning to wait another day before visiting, but since he’s invited me, all the better.”

He changed direction and headed toward headquarters.

The Elite Training Camp and the Extreme Martial Hall headquarters were separate but not far apart. He passed through security without issue and soon arrived at the lounge where Hong awaited.

“Quite the harvest!” Hong’s usually impassive face flickered with surprise when he saw Qin Ming. He stood up and said, “Come, come—throw a punch for me, let’s see just how much you’ve improved.”

“You really want me to punch?” Qin Ming hesitated.

“Don’t worry, you won’t hurt me,” Hong replied calmly, his tone infused with boundless confidence.

“Right here?” Qin Ming glanced around.

“It’s fine,” Hong assured him. “The floor and walls here are made of a material even tougher than SS-grade alloy. With your current strength, you can’t possibly damage anything.”

“Alright then.” Qin Ming stepped forward and threw a punch at Hong.

His strike was lightning fast; at such close range, it would hit Hong’s chest in one-hundredth of a second. But Hong barely moved—his palm was already there, intercepting the blow.

A muffled boom erupted, echoing like distant thunder. The shockwave ruffled Hong’s clothes, yet his feet didn’t move an inch. By contrast, Qin Ming was forced back two or three steps by the recoil, his wrist numb.

“That punch carried five million kilograms of force!” Hong said, somewhat surprised. “You’ve mastered the ninth level of Thunder Blade—your basic punching strength should be around seven hundred and fifty thousand kilograms. In just one month, you’ve reached the Invincible War God stage. Remarkable!”

“I had some fortunate encounters in Australia.”

“Opportunity is what allows one to go further and see higher,” Hong replied, gesturing for Qin Ming to sit and pouring him a cup of tea. “Sit.”

“I see you submitted materials from two high-level commander-class beasts. Planning to graduate, are you?” Hong continued.

“Yes,” Qin Ming nodded. “There’s no point in staying any longer.”

“At the Invincible War God level, indeed there’s little left here for you.” Hong paused, for once allowing some emotion to show. “If it were any other trainee, I’d assign tasks without hesitation. But you’ve only been here two months—our fastest graduate in history. One month spent fighting in the wild, and the other barely using any of the camp’s resources.”

“That vial of dragon’s blood laid my foundation. Without it, I wouldn’t have achieved what I have.”

“Compared to your contributions, one vial of dragon’s blood is insignificant,” Hong replied. “Now that you’re leaving, what are your plans? I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”

“I want to return to my hometown and quietly pursue the path of the Transcendent.”

“Your hometown? Jiangnan Base City, is it?” Hong considered for a moment. “Recently, the inspector there applied for a transfer back to headquarters. It’s perfect—you can take up the post of inspector at Jiangnan Base City.”

“Agreed.”

“Any other requests? Speak freely.”

“I’d like to purchase some Water of Life.”

“When you enter the War God Palace, there are auctions. With your wealth and strength, acquiring it will be easy.”

“I’d also like a suitable war blade, a battleship, and two more vials of dragon’s blood. What do you think?”

“You’re certainly not shy about asking!” Hong laughed.

“You told me to ask, sir.”

“So be it. I’ll let you pick. However, you’ll need to purchase them—after all, you’re now as wealthy as a nation. In terms of personal fortune, there’s only one above you, and you’re above all others.”

“Only one above me? I thought I was the richest of all.”

“The richest?” Hong chuckled. “Your wealth is impressive, but it’s not even enough to buy one of the smart battleships I own!”

“No way!”

“Of course, I’m talking about the very top-tier smart battleships.” As he spoke, Hong waved his hand, and a projection screen appeared before them, displaying several items.

At the top was the smart battleship:

King-class Smart Battleship: 2 Stars
Heaven-Earth-class Smart Battleship: 15 Stars
Primordial-class Smart Battleship: 600 Stars

“Master, what does ‘Stars’ mean here?” Qin Ming asked.

“Stars is a price unit I devised. One Star equals one hundred billion.”

“One Star equals one hundred billion?” Qin Ming caught his breath, exhaling sharply. “A Primordial-class battleship is worth 600 Stars—that’s sixty trillion! Who could possibly afford that?”

“There’s only one Primordial-class ship in existence.”

“So, you never intended to sell it.”

“That’s my personal vessel, naturally it’s not for sale,” Hong replied with a broad smile. “When others look, I only mark it as 60 Stars. However, you now have more than three trillion—if I’d slipped up and let you ‘buy’ it, I’d have been embarrassed to take it back.”

“A pity.”

Hong laughed heartily.

Qin Ming continued browsing. As for weapons, there were no shields—only a single war blade.

SSS-grade Bloodshadow War Blade: 60 Stars.

It was extremely valuable. Dragon’s blood, by comparison, was priced at only one Star. In fact, a vial was just eighty billion, but they’d clearly rounded up for convenience.

“I’ll take a Heaven-Earth-class smart battleship, an SSS-grade Bloodshadow War Blade, and two vials of dragon’s blood,” Qin Ming declared.

He knew that, aside from the Primordial-class ship, the others were already in mass production—a method exclusively controlled by Hong and produced only by the Extreme Martial Hall.

As for the dragon’s blood, that too was Hong’s own concoction.

The SSS-grade Bloodshadow War Blade, Qin Ming guessed, had likely been found in some ancient ruin—a weapon suitable for planetary-level martial artists.