Chapter Sixty-Five: Crushing Hong

After the introductions, Liu He took his leave, leaving the space to Qin Ming. Today, Qin Ming's brilliance was destined to outshine all others.

"His rise is unstoppable now!"

This was Liu He's inner thought, and it echoed in the hearts of all the War Gods present.

Soon, a circle of War Gods gathered around Qin Ming, each introducing themselves, exchanging greetings, eager to become acquainted. None lingered too long, keeping things cordial and brief.

In the end, Qin Ming was pulled aside by Yang Hui, that greasy middle-aged man who kept rubbing his hands together. "Once we leave here, you must come visit my home. I won't say more, but I do have many daughters—the youngest is just over three years younger than you!"

Pfft—!

A nearby War God couldn't help but spit out his drink.

Yang Hui didn’t mind in the least. Waving his hand, he declared, "Young people should spend time with other young people. Otherwise, hanging around with us old fogeys all day, you'd be full of gloom before long!"

With such banter, Qin Ming quickly found himself at ease among these War Gods from Huaguo. Their enthusiasm was almost overwhelming.

"You've come at just the right moment," Yang Hui said. "There's an auction soon. Plenty of good things on offer. If you see something you want, just go for it! Oh, and by the way, with your current liquid assets, you're the richest man in the world. Just remember not to buy up everything—leave something for the others!"

"There's an auction today? Perfect, I need the Water of Life!"

"No one will compete with you for that! It's precious outside, but here it's as common as bread!"

Half an hour later, the War Gods flocked into the auction hall. Here, auctions were held almost every month, exclusively for War Gods—a place for both business and camaraderie.

Outside, the Water of Life was worth thirty billion, a priceless rarity. Yet here, it rarely fetched such a price. Like Dragon Blood, it could be produced with a formula, though the process was tedious.

Of course, it was a cash cow for the Underground Alliance.

Qin Ming named his price—two hundred billion—and secured it without contest.

"Whenever a new War God joins, no one bids against them in their first auction. It's a welcoming gesture. But try for a second item, and the gloves come off!" Yang Hui explained.

"How thoughtful," Qin Ming laughed.

There was plenty on offer, but nothing caught his eye.

When the auction ended, everyone returned to the main hall. The facilities here were lavish, with tea rooms, wine houses, and more—everything one could wish for.

Before long, a middle-aged man approached.

"Mr. Qin, greetings. I am Tepubislang, from the Underground Alliance, in charge of the handover of auction items." He bowed slightly and took a seat beside Qin Ming. His curled golden hair and chubby, smiling face narrowed his small eyes to slits. "Mr. Qin, you are not only wealthier than nations but also an invincible War God, standing atop humanity’s pyramid—truly awe-inspiring. For the Water of Life today, we’ll charge only a hundred billion, the base cost. We hope you will favor the Underground Alliance with your business in the future. Of course, whatever the Underground Alliance holds, you need only ask—it will be supplied to you first, at the lowest price!"

"Very well!" Qin Ming eyed his squinting face, half tempted to widen those eyes with a cut, but he replied generously, "Two hundred billion is fine, no need for a discount! You said, as long as the Underground Alliance has it, I’ll have first pick, yes?"

"Certainly!" Tepubislang straightened, delighted. So long as he could fulfill Qin Ming's needs, a relationship could be cultivated.

The Underground Alliance was flush with cash but lacked top-tier experts, so they eagerly befriended War Gods with meteoric rises and limitless potential.

As for Qin Ming, he was in a league of his own. If there was even a chance to win him over, they’d offer shares in the Alliance itself.

Regrettably, they dared not try, for that would be a direct slap in Hong’s face.

"I want ten portions of the Water of Life!" Qin Ming demanded.

"Ten portions?" Tepubislang’s face fell. He shrugged and spread his hands. "Our reserves aren’t that high!"

"Five, then! If you can’t even provide five, you’re making a fool of me!" Qin Ming’s smile vanished.

"Five?" Tepubislang hesitated, then gritted his teeth. "Our total reserve is six. Fine, you can have five. But each must be two hundred billion, or I cannot answer for it!"

"Just a trillion—mere pocket change!"

"Ha! I nearly forgot—Mr. Qin truly is richer than nations now."

After a brief chat, Tepubislang took his leave.

Yang Hui wandered over and murmured, "I’ll bet anything the Underground Alliance’s stock of Water of Life is more than six portions—at least ten!"

"The fewer they offer, the more grateful I’m supposed to be, right?" Qin Ming replied with a smile.

"You sly fox!" Yang Hui chuckled. "Still, Tepubislang is a wily old fox himself. Be careful dealing with him!"

"If he tries any tricks, I’ll hang him up for a beating!"

"Truly the spirit of an invincible War God—magnificent!"

After a while, Qin Ming left the War God Palace.

Soon after, the five portions of Water of Life were delivered. He transferred a trillion in return.

A trillion was a trifle to him now. His daily income exceeded ten trillion.

Qin Ming was growing numb to it all.

Across the globe, there were thousands of War Gods. As for War Generals? Far too many to count!

And ordinary warriors? Beyond imagining!

Basic warriors would generally purchase Shunpo, and intermediate warriors, gritting their teeth, could afford Sky Step.

“If only I’d had this kind of wealth in my previous life…”

Qin Ming paused at the thought and shook his head.

If he really had, he’d have bought his own island first—then held a worldwide beauty pageant.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

He made his way to the underground chamber to resume his cultivation.

On August 1st, he had been attacked by the White Mist Owl, comprehended the essence of movement techniques, and soon after, mastered the ninth form of the Ninefold Thunder Blade.

In the days that followed, Qin Ming trained diligently in the valley. His physical prowess saw little improvement, but his Fist of Impact, inspired by the Ninefold Thunder Blade’s power technique, broke through to the ninth level.

Even his Inch Fist advanced in leaps and bounds, now reaching the eighth level.

The Ninefold Thunder Blade’s force technique was based on seventy percent of his full strength, the Fist of Impact on eighty percent, and the Inch Fist on complete power.

At the eighth level, the Inch Fist delivered ninefold force—its strength amplified nine times.

Now, among his techniques, the Ninefold Thunder Blade had the lowest amplification, with the perfected form only reaching sevenfold.

The Fist of Impact at the ninth level could achieve eightfold strength.

“My base punch force is about 750,000 kilograms.”

“With a ninefold amplification, a single punch would reach 6.75 million kilograms!”

“Hiss—!”

“Even I tremble at that power.”

A surge of pride welled up in Qin Ming’s heart.

“If I can master all eighty-one levels of the Inch Fist, that’s an eighty-twofold amplification. At that point, even without reaching planetary rank, I’d have the confidence to shatter Hong with a single blow!”

Qin Ming’s heart pounded with excitement.