Chapter 101: Teamwork
Three days later, it was Monday.
The final exam results were all entered into the student files, and the school leaders held an awards ceremony on the playground.
After a round of praise, the top ten students were called to the stage one by one to choose their spiritual artifacts.
Ten spiritual artifacts of varying designs were displayed on the stage, each with a detailed description. Staff members from the Education Bureau were also present to answer any questions from the students.
An Liang chose a bracelet that could generate shields, while Tang Zhandao selected a long saber.
Seeing that the spiritual artifact great shield he had been yearning for wasn’t chosen, Chen Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
He walked onto the stage and approached the shield, examining it from all angles.
The shield was entirely dark gray, exuding a peculiar metallic texture. Its overall shape was like a kite shield, but it was much larger than ordinary kite shields, resembling a giant door panel, capable of completely concealing Chen Jin behind it.
The face of the shield was embossed with the heads of seven ferocious beasts, each with a different expression, lifelike in their depiction. Most were of the lion-tiger variety. They didn’t look carved, but rather like specimens sealed within. After staring at them for a while, Chen Jin could feel a fierce, malevolent aura emanating from them, which was quite mystical.
Chen Jin lightly touched it, feeling a cool sensation. He seemed to faintly hear the roars of lions and tigers in his ears.
Chen Jin lowered his head and saw the small plaque in front of the shield.
【 Name 】 Seven Fiend Meteorite Shield
【 Tier 】 Mid-grade Spiritual Artifact
【 Treasure Appraisal Pavilion Rating 】 Tier 8 General-grade Artifact
【 Treasure Appraisal Pavilion Evaluation: A shield crafted primarily from extraterrestrial meteorite iron, possessing exceptionally outstanding defensive capabilities, sufficient to withstand attacks from cultivators in the first stage of the Shentong Realm. However, the shield’s weight makes it difficult for ordinary individuals to bear, with a total weight of 437kg. It is recommended for power-type cultivators at the Mingxin Realm or above.
In addition to its defense, due to the special spiritual nature of the core meteorite, seven ferocious beast souls equivalent to Mingxin Realm cultivators are fused within the shield. When infused with spiritual power, they can manifest as phantom beasts to attack the enemy. 】
【 Treasure Appraisal Pavilion Valuation: 11.5 million Huaxia Coins 】
Looking at the small plaque before him, Chen Jin felt a surge of pleasant surprise.
His luck was quite good.
The tiers of spiritual artifacts were divided into Lower, Middle, Upper, and Ultimate grades. However, in a highly modernized society, such simple grading was clearly insufficient.
Therefore, the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion established corresponding levels: Mortal Weapon, General-grade Artifact, King’s Treasure, and Divine Blade, corresponding to Lower, Middle, Upper, and Ultimate grades of spiritual artifacts, respectively. Each level was further divided into tiers 1 to 9.
This shield was a Tier 8 General-grade Artifact, which was considered quite good among Mid-grade Spiritual Artifacts. Chen Jin looked around and unexpectedly found that among these ten spiritual artifacts, his was the highest grade; the others were Tier 4 to 6.
“Good luck.”
In terms of pure defense, this shield might qualify as a King’s Treasure, which is an Upper-grade Spiritual Artifact. However, perhaps due to its excessive weight, few could use it effectively, leading to its rating as a General-grade Artifact.
A weight of 437kg would require even Chen Jin to continuously burst True Force to wield it even slightly; the consumption was too great!
“However, as my martial cultivation level increases, it will become easier to use. Once I break through to the Innate realm, the weight of this shield should not be a significant issue.”
In reality, Chen Jin had no intention of using this shield in the short term, as he planned to strengthen it in the Honghuang to maximize its capabilities.
Chen Jin was confident that after a few months in the Honghuang, the shield’s grade would easily reach King’s Treasure level.
Without further hesitation, Chen Jin chose the shield.
In addition, he received a reward of 200 Exchange Points.
After the awards ceremony, the school did not immediately grant holiday leave but instead had all martial arts examinees return to their respective classrooms.
Xia Lin stood on the podium, adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, and said loudly, “Students, the final exam is over. Are you all eagerly anticipating the start of your winter break?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t take up too much of your time. I just want to tell you all something that will impact your future development and even your entire lives. Therefore, you must listen carefully!”
At Xia Lin’s words, the room fell silent.
Chen Jin was also somewhat curious.
Before the summer break last time, this teacher had discussed the Martial Arts Exam, aiming to inspire students not to slack off. He wondered what she would say this time.
Xia Lin didn’t start immediately but played a video via the projector.
The perspective seemed to be from a helicopter. The screen showed a dark, churning sea. A fierce storm raged, and heavy rain poured down from the sky, the camera shaking continuously.
In the center of the frame, a thousand-meter-long giant snake was thrashing in the sea, its tail churning up monstrous waves, creating a massive vortex on the surface!
Not far away, a 100,000-ton cruise ship bobbed with the undulating sea. This colossus, embodying the pinnacle of human industry, seemed like a small boat on the verge of capsizing before the immense vortex. Despite its engines running at full power, it couldn’t escape the whirlpool generated by the giant snake.
The snake’s sharp cries cut through the storm and rain, reaching everyone’s ears clearly. Chen Jin could almost feel the despair of the passengers on the cruise ship.
Just then, a streak of white light flashed across the horizon. In the blink of an eye, the white light rapidly expanded, like a sharp blade tearing through the night, finally illuminating the entire sea surface as if it were daylight!
When the white light vanished, all the dark clouds in the sky were gone, and sunlight pierced through the clouds. The rain from the sky did not stop, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that what was falling from the sky were not raindrops, but drops of dark red blood!
The ocean below had returned to calm. The screen showed only the severed body of the snake floating on the surface of the sea, one section still held in an upward-thrusting posture. Blood spurted like a fountain from it, reaching thousands of meters into the sky. The falling blood rain dyed the entire sea surface a dark red.
The camera shook again and finally settled on the back figure of a man standing on the snake’s corpse, holding a saber.
The video ended there, and the students below couldn’t help but let out gasps of astonishment.
So cool!
Even Chen Jin’s heart surged with emotion. Was this the strength of a top-tier martial artist? A single saber strike to kill a thousand-meter giant snake! A single saber strike that changed the heavens and earth and stopped the storm!
Xia Lin smiled and said, “Many of you may have seen this video before. This was ‘Extreme’s’ last move thirteen years ago. With a single saber strike, he killed a ‘nation-destroying’ giant beast. The value of its carcass afterward exceeded ten trillion Huaxia Coins!”
Ten trillion!
This number made Chen Jin lose himself for a moment. In his previous life, that would have been enough for six or seven of the world’s richest people!
Was this the influence of a top-tier martial artist!
However, this world had experienced the emergence of a large number of spirit materials, equivalent to a massive influx of high-value goods into the market, leading to rapid economic development.
The prices of essential goods like food and fuel remained stable, but the prices of top-tier spirit medicines, spiritual artifacts, and cultivation methods had inflated terrifyingly.
After all, printing money was as simple as starting a printing press. With such a large inflow of valuable spirit materials, there was no concern about inflation.
This resulted in the lives and property of the lower class remaining largely unchanged compared to his previous life, but the number of millionaires increased dramatically. Generally, martial artists who reached the Shentong Realm could easily accumulate over a hundred million within ten years by hunting demonic beasts. The top hundred martial artists in the world had assets in the trillions.
As for those at the “Extreme” level, money held no significance for them. Any spirit materials or cultivation methods they found useful were never put up for sale; they were traded through traditional bartering.
For them personally, keeping money was useless; it was primarily used to develop their subordinate forces.
Of course, another use was financial attacks to destabilize the market. But what top-tier martial artist would be so bored as to engage in such self-defeating activities? Moreover, the country would not permit it.
While Chen Jin was lost in thought, Xia Lin said again, “This video had an immense impact, with global viewership reaching tens of billions! I know many of you aspire to become powerhouses like ‘Extreme,’ but I must tell you that there is only one ‘Extreme’ in the world, and this is not the common combat style for martial artists!”
With that, Xia Lin opened another video.
In the center of the screen, a martial artist was flying through the air, traversing above a rainforest. The ability to fly without a spiritual artifact indicated that this martial artist was at least at the Shentong Realm.
However, without warning, a giant net suddenly shot out from the dense rainforest! Before the martial artist could react, he was ensnared by the net. The material composing the net seemed to possess extremely corrosive properties. Within just a few breaths, the martial artist let out a heart-wrenching scream as his physical body dissolved at a visible rate, finally turning into a pool of blood!
Even White Bones, when dropped on the net, seemed to be cut by a sharp blade and snapped into two halves!
This terrifying scene instantly silenced the entire classroom, with some girls even covering their eyes in fear.
The scene then shifted to an ancient tomb. A martial artist merely took a wrong step, and purple flames erupted from the walls on both sides, instantly incinerating the martial artist into ashes, without even time to let out a scream!
Subsequently, the scene switched several more times, all displaying the gruesome deaths of martial artists, all at the Shentong Realm or above. The attacks came without warning; one moment they were full of life and chatting, the next they had dissolved into bloody remains, without even seeing the attacker’s appearance!
Looking at the pale faces of those below, Xia Lin slowly said, “This is the reality of martial artists. Hunting mutated beasts and exploring Spiritual Realms is not child’s play. Even martial artists at the Shentong Realm or above are at constant risk of their corpses being found in the wilderness!”
“I am showing you these videos not to scare you, nor to make you give up, but to make you understand that when surviving in the wilderness, the most important thing is not to seek the spotlight and kill demonic beasts, but the tedious yet essential preparations that are not captured by the camera!”
With that, Xia Lin turned and wrote four large, bold characters on the blackboard.
Teamwork!
“An individual’s energy is limited, and it’s impossible to complete all the necessary preparations. To maximize survival in the wilderness, you must rely on the strength of a team.”
“Otherwise, you will fall into unexpected traps at any moment, just like in the videos, and meet your doom!”
“A qualified team should have six roles: Commander, Main Attacker, Heavy Armor, Reconnaissance, Support, and Scholar.”
“The same person can fulfill multiple roles. For example, a Main Attacker can also be the Commander, and a Scholar who possesses a wealth of information about the exploration area can also be responsible for Support. However, no role can be missing! Otherwise, you are playing with your own life!”
“I know you all want to be the one who delivers the one-hit kill and decides the outcome of a situation, but… not everyone can be the protagonist! The importance of support professions is no less than that of main attackers!”
“I hope all students, especially those with less outstanding talent, will seriously consider their future career development during this holiday. The school will also offer courses on career planning and basic knowledge of support professions during the break.”
“Alright, that’s all I have to say. You students are dismissed.”
As Xia Lin finished speaking, few people in the classroom moved. A heavy expression was on everyone’s face.
Students with outstanding talent like Chen Jin and Xia Duoduo were doing better; they didn’t need to worry as much and could focus solely on their martial arts. However, those with mediocre talent like Li Junjie faced difficult choices.
Learning and practicing knowledge and skills related to support professions would consume a significant amount of time, inevitably affecting their martial arts cultivation.
Asking these teenagers to abandon their dreams of reaching the mountain peak and willingly become someone else’s support was not an easy task.
“Jun Jie…” Chen Jin looked at Li Junjie beside him with concern, but to his surprise, he found the latter’s expression unusually calm.
As if sensing Chen Jin’s gaze, Li Junjie turned and smiled calmly, “Ah Jin, you don’t need to worry about me. I heard about what Teacher Xia said from senior students on Tieba before and had already made my decision.”
“I plan to become a ‘Support’ profession.”
“‘Support’ also has many categories: logistics support, remote support, transportation support… but they generally don’t require much martial arts talent and are easier to pass in the Martial Arts Exam.”
“I plan to practice marksmanship well during this winter break and use modern weaponry, which should allow me to handle the role of remote support. I’ll also learn how to operate various vehicles, which can cover logistics and transportation. Ah Jin, don’t underestimate my martial arts talent, but when I drive, I’m amazing! The record on the racing game machine downstairs in our residential complex is still held by me! No one has broken it yet!”
Seeing Li Junjie in good spirits, Chen Jin also felt a bit relieved, but he could tell there was still a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
However, this melancholy was quickly replaced by determination.
“Ah Jin, I was willful once before applying for the martial arts class. Now it’s time to come out of my fantasies and face reality. Otherwise, what will I do in the future? Am I going to end up like my dad said, unable to even earn money to get married?” Li Junjie joked.
Although he was mocking himself, Chen Jin could see the hidden unwillingness in his eyes.
He didn’t speak, suddenly turned, and pulled a large pillow out of his schoolbag.
This sudden action bewildered Li Junjie: “Ah Jin, what are you doing? No, why did you bring a pillow to school???”
Chen Jin chuckled and handed the pillow to Li Junjie, “This is a gift for you.”
“Didn’t you say last time that you were too stressed and couldn’t sleep well? This pillow is filled with a peculiar mineral sand that can calm and promote sleep. Although it’s hard, it should be helpful for you.”
“If you rest well, your martial arts cultivation will be twice as effective with half the effort!”
“This…” Li Junjie was unusually at a loss for words and took the pillow after a long moment, giving a dry laugh, “We’re buddies, why are you doing such mushy stuff…”
Despite his words, he carefully examined the pillow and then compared it to his schoolbag. Realizing it wouldn’t fit, he carefully held it in his arms.
Seeing that he had accepted it, Chen Jin smiled and added, “Even if it doesn’t help you sleep, it’s my heartfelt gift, so you should at least keep it by your pillow.”
“Got it, got it. It’s rare for you to give me a gift, I’ll definitely keep it close!” Li Junjie said with a smile.
This finally put Chen Jin’s mind at ease.
The calming and sleep-promoting properties were, of course, a lie to Li Junjie; it was just an ordinary hard wooden pillow.
However, Chen Jin had crammed it full of crushed strengthening spirit crystals filled with Primordial Qi.
Just yesterday, he had given two spirit crystals full of Primordial Qi and strengthened pills to his father’s friend, as he had promised, who was preparing to break through to the Innate realm.
He hid the spirit crystals in the medicine box and instructed his father’s friend to place the box in his room and only take the pills a month later, otherwise the effect would be greatly diminished.
Because there was no shortage of all sorts of strange pills in this world, any taboo was not surprising, and that uncle didn’t think much of it and readily agreed.
The remaining two spirit crystals were intended for his good friend, Li Junjie.
For Chen Jin, this world was not short of geniuses, but genuine friendship was rare. Rather than cooperating with a powerful genius, he would rather spend some effort to recruit someone from his own circle, at least to avoid the risk of betrayal.
Of course, he was just offering a helping hand; the ultimate outcome would still depend on Li Junjie himself.
The strengthening from Primordial Qi was heavily correlated with “concentration.”
The Primordial Qi contained in just two spirit crystals could at most enhance Qi and Blood and physique, but it wouldn’t cause fundamental changes, nor would it cause mutations like Chen Jin’s “fiberization” of meridians.
Not to mention, the diffusion of spirit crystals was slow, and it would likely take two to three months for all the Primordial Qi to be released. Even less would be available to modify Li Junjie’s body.
Therefore, Chen Jin was not worried about the Honghuang matters being exposed. In fact, Li Junjie might not even realize the extent of this reinforcement, only thinking that his condition had improved recently, cultivation felt easier, and his Qi and Blood were also strengthening.
Chen Jin also planned to give Xia Duoduo and Yi Kong a small reinforcement later. Although this bit of Qi and Blood and physique might not be of great use to them, it was better than nothing.
In the days that followed, Chen Jin fully immersed himself in cultivation once again.
He skipped the school-organized courses and spent his days at the Beyond Martial Arts Hall, completely engrossed in the world of martial arts.
This continuously improved his martial arts foundation and deepened his understanding of the Nine Ring Shield Solidification Technique and the Thirteen Saber Slashes that Break the Void.
Thus, twenty days passed in a flash, and it was finally time for the new batch of goods to be strengthened.
His Nine Ring Shield Solidification Technique had successfully reached the third level, and the Thirteen Saber Slashes that Break the Void had finally entered the “Proficient” realm.
Now, he could successfully execute the eighth saber strike without even pushing his potential.
Even more pleasingly, news of good fortune also came from the weapon shop.
After the promotional period ended, the turnover did indeed decrease, but the net profit increased. Moreover, on the whole, the daily turnover was steadily rising.
In the end, Chen Jin’s turnover for the month was over 1.6 million, with a net income of 1.44 million after deducting operating costs, and an inventory worth about 4 million remaining.
This delighted him; he hadn’t expected the weapon shop’s operation to be smoother than he’d imagined. Now, he had sufficient funds to explore the Honghuang.
Without hesitation, Chen Jin went to the Firefighting Equipment Store and purchased the pre-ordered spirit material insulation shield for 520,000 Huaxia Coins.
He then spent 600,000 Huaxia Coins to buy Blue Ice and other heat-resistant gear, and also replenished a large amount of Energy Points.
Without further delay, he activated the Ancient Mirror and entered the Honghuang!
Note: For ease of reading, the cost calculation did not include the cost of the strengthening items themselves, only the operating costs.
