Chapter 105: Failure

The Level 3 alchemist dressed as a Taoist priest didn’t mark anything as fake—he seemed quite straightforward, unlike some street vendors who tack on ridiculous prices like 998 or 888 at the end of an item’s price. This one simply listed 40,000 points.

Strictly speaking, 40,000 points wasn’t expensive at all; it was as reasonable as the “Ten Directions Staff Technique” manual Yan Luo had purchased. The problem was, Yan Luo didn’t have that many points.

“Would 24,000 points be okay?”

“No, little brother. Everything on this stall is at the lowest possible price. This thousand-year Thunderstrike Peachwood Sword wouldn’t sell even for 39,000 points. If you don’t have enough points, you can look at the other century-old Peachwood swords—though their effectiveness is somewhat inferior.”

“If a foreigner were to ask, the price wouldn’t be 40,000 but 100,000 points.”

Yan Luo tried to negotiate again, but the Taoist’s attitude was firm. Considering the weapon’s price, it was indeed not too high. It probably wouldn’t remain here long before someone else bought it. After thinking it over, Yan Luo took out two materials: a sickle-shaped jointed limb and a carapace dropped by a Martian Mantis.

“Oh?”

Upon seeing these, the Taoist’s eyes lit up. “Could these be materials dropped by a monster?”

He examined them carefully, then mused, “Looks like a mantis demon, and the spiritual energy it emits is quite strong... The materials themselves are decent. If given to the right person, they could be refined into two low-grade magical instruments—one for offense, one for defense... not bad at all.”

“I’m an honest man, Taoist. I won’t undervalue your materials to pressure you. I’m interested in the two pieces, but after all, they’re just materials, not finished magical instruments, so their value is limited. I’ll offer you 7,000 points for the carapace and 5,000 for the sickle limb.”

In the cultivation system, the Martian Mantis—an alien from the Level 3 inner world—was viewed almost like a monster.

Still short of 4,000 points, Yan Luo simply pulled out a bronze chainmail armor he had brought from the ancient Greek world. Although the Taoist looked down on craftsmanship from 2,500 years ago, it was still metal armor. Besides, he genuinely liked the two materials.

In the end, Yan Luo exchanged 24,000 points plus the carapace, the sickle limb, and the bronze chainmail for the thousand-year Thunderstrike Peachwood Sword priced at 40,000 points.

Yan Luo had 888 points left, but nothing valuable could be bought with that, so he returned home directly.

He hadn’t made a decision before, but now, having acquired this weapon to fight ghosts and monsters, Yan Luo resolved to enter the Level 1 supernatural world. He was a Level 2 alchemist; the Level 2 inner world offered more benefits, and there was a Level 2 historical war world near the school.

Now, having advanced to intermediate life stage with a surge in strength, and having grasped a few moves and energy techniques of the Ten Directions Staff Technique through the Guanyu persona, the Level 2 historical war world was an excellent training ground—and the war world’s time should last quite long.

Yet, Yan Luo still chose the Level 1 supernatural world.

This was to experience firsthand the supernatural world that made many alchemists tremble with fear. Being Level 2 and wielding the thousand-year Thunderstrike Peachwood Sword, he should face little danger in the Level 1 world.

In two days, it would likely be the forced world. Yan Luo’s promotion to Level 2 meant his forced world would also be Level 2. What if he stepped into a supernatural world then...

Just as he was making up his mind, someone knocked on the door.

His genetic mutation had completed at dawn. After lingering a bit in the Dream Space commercial district, it was now 9:15 a.m. Too late to go to school, but why was someone knocking? Yan Luo recalled the last time someone knocked was about half a year ago...

His home was on the first floor. Peering through the peephole, he saw a man in a police uniform outside.

A round-faced man in his thirties.

“Not an alchemist. Could it be a water meter inspection?”

The man had no level or title hovering above his head; he was just an ordinary person. Yan Luo opened the door, and the policeman immediately said nervously, “I’m from the Special Department Task Force... Please don’t misunderstand or have any bad thoughts. We’re just here to do a quick registration to prevent any unstable elements.”

“Also, I’m just an ordinary person. I’m not carrying a gun and pose no threat.”

The Special Department Task Force generally dealt with alchemists, which was a dangerous job—after all, suddenly gaining powerful abilities could make even ordinary people arrogant, let alone those who had broken human limits.

Some even resorted to murder!

This job was like having a noose around your neck.

“Oh.”

Yan Luo appeared harmless, calmly asking, “What kind of registration?”

“Just investigating what kind of talent you have that breaks human limits, asking about your hobbies, your material life in the real world, including residence and even marital status—nothing too extreme, the government will accommodate... Of course, as an alchemist, you must obey the law and especially not show your abilities in front of ordinary people.”

Yan Luo’s exposure, of course, was due to his activities in the contamination zone. He had ridden a horse, and with cameras everywhere, the police had been investigating overnight. It was as if even his ancestors’ backgrounds had been dug up...

“This is your horseback riding license, issued by the traffic bureau, uniquely made for you in this city.”

The round-faced policeman handed over a small booklet with both hands. “If a traffic cop stops you, you can show this.”

Yan Luo took it without much concern. If a traffic cop did stop him, a few words from him would have the cop surrendering without a fight. After casually putting the horseback license away, he thought for a moment and said, “Then please have the education bureau make me a ‘skip class’ permit, so I can freely miss school.”

“Skip class permit?”

You could feel a strong wave of emotion:

Confusion +1

But it wasn’t a big request. The policeman noted it down and praised, “You’re at that school too... Your school really is full of hidden talents.”

The tiger referred to Yan Luo, and the dragon naturally referred to Chen Beixue.

Yan Luo registered his talent, of course not as a Ruthless One, but under the guise of being “calm.”

Everything else was on record. After the task was done, the policeman promised the skip class permit would be ready within a day and delivered that evening. Furthermore, Yan Luo’s identity entitled him to waived phone, utility, and medical insurance fees. As a Level 2 alchemist, he received a monthly stipend of 20,000 yuan.

This was to prevent alchemists from taking desperate measures due to financial pressure.

In fact, the police had already uncovered the matter of Yan Luo extorting one million from the Azure Dragon Gang... but since it involved a criminal syndicate, the Special Department issued no warning.

After the police left, Yan Luo called Wang Dongwei. The call connected quickly, and from the conversation, he obtained the man’s coordinates. Using Dream Space as a relay and spending 20 bio-energy, he appeared in another city and met the loser.

“You actually live alone? Where’s your wife? You’re over thirty and still unmarried? Haha, old bachelor! Are you a great wizard? Failure!”

Yan Luo said.

You could feel a strong wave of emotion:

Sadness +9

Looking at the dejected Wang Dongwei slumped on the ground, it was clear that even without employing the Word Force’s speech blast, Yan Luo had inflicted tons of emotional damage. Nine points of sadness—the very definition of “a river of sadness flowing backward.”