Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Don’t Believe I’ll Report You? (Second Update)
The fame of the Three Great Merchants was undoubtedly well-known in the game. From the very beginning, they established the Merchant Exchange route, using the tactic of buying low and selling high, which caused many First Test Players to suffer losses.
Now that the Second Test Players had just entered the game, the Large Tasks had yet to open. Even if they did open, the Second Test Players would just be cannon fodder. Right now, they were no different from ordinary people. Their combat Power was too low. To enhance their Power, their only option was to find a way to earn Contribution Points.
I, Xuanqing, and the others had already done their research. Buying Contribution Points from the Three Great Merchants was indeed a good option, but the price was a definite rip-off. You see, the lowest rate for Contribution Points was once 1:50. And now? It was 1:200! It was clear that this rate was targeted at the Second Test Players.
"Damn it, what kind of garbage is this? A 1:200 ratio? Are you guys desperate for money?"
"Are you sure this rate isn’t just bullying?"
"I’d rather jump off right here than buy Contribution Points from you Three Great Merchants!"
"Are you trying to strong-arm us? Believe it or not, we’ll report you to the Property Management Bureau!"
Faced with this price, the Second Test Players wouldn’t be foolish enough to make a purchase immediately. But as they all resisted, Iron-blooded War Hero emerged from behind the players and headed straight for the Three Great Merchants.
What would they do if he forcibly lowered the price? Facing this player, who seemed to have Official backing, the Three Great Merchants were somewhat panicked.
"I want all your Contribution Points in Hand," Iron-blooded War Hero said calmly. "Give me the trading account; I can transfer the money right now."
His words also signaled to the Three Great Merchants that the transaction should proceed at the current rate. This reassured them. They were genuinely worried about an Official intervention. Fortunately, this person seemed easy to deal with. If it had been someone with a worse temper, threats might have already started.
"Alright, alright! Let’s trade now!" Tremor, one of the merchants, exclaimed. He provided the account information, and then the three of them transferred all their sellable Contribution Points to Iron-blooded War Hero.
After noting down the account, Iron-blooded War Hero immediately contacted someone to make the transfer. The three of them had gathered just over Nine Hundred Contribution Points. This amount was enough to allow a Second Test Player to instantly catch up with the First Test Players.
Tremor then said with a flattering smile, "Brother Tie Xue, if you want to improve your Power quickly, I recommend you collaborate with Boss Fanhua. We have the Ultimate Technique ’Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill,’ which is the simplest way to boost your Power in the early stages! Ultimate Techniques are too expensive. Right now, players only have two: one is our Cloud Lament’s ’Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill,’ and the other is Lingxiao Hall’s ’Eight Gates Escape Armor’! Their Ultimate Technique is self-created and probably much stronger than ours, but it’s only available to Lingxiao Hall’s players. Since it’s your first time playing, you definitely can’t afford an Ultimate Technique, and there’s no need for Self-Created Martial Arts; that stuff is just a pitfall. Seeing as you know our boss, why not go directly to Flourishing Flowers? It’ll be a lot cheaper!"
Iron-blooded War Hero naturally knew what the merchant was talking about. If he hadn’t done his research, he wouldn’t have come directly into the game. Indeed, One Thousand Contribution Points weren’t enough to buy an Ultimate Technique from the System, but one could buy them directly from other players. Whether it was the ’Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill’ or the ’Eight Gates Escape Armor,’ he wanted them all. But the primary goal was to first secure a Hall. Then, he would gradually strengthen his Power.
The ’Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill’ indeed allowed for the quickest boost in Power early on, but it also consumed the most Contribution Points. The further one progressed, the more Contribution Points it would demand. To learn all thirteen levels, the required Contribution Points would be an astronomical figure. So, the downsides of this Martial Art were quite obvious.
As for the ’Eight Gates Escape Armor’... Junlin likely wouldn’t sell it externally. His purpose was to investigate the game, so there was no need to create conflicts with players. The best option was to find a way to acquire the Martial Arts himself. Of course, there was another method: Self-Created Martial Arts! He could get that Super Lucky Player, ’Abbess, Don’t Love Me,’ to help him create an Ultimate Technique, and then he’d compensate her. For him, the latter was the best choice.
"I understand," Iron-blooded War Hero said solemnly. "The money has already been transferred to you."
After speaking, he went straight to find Blood Demoness. If one wanted to establish a Hall, it was necessary to discuss it with Blood Demoness. Up until now, Blood Demoness still hadn’t understood why those Disciples had come to her regarding the establishment of a Hall. She was completely clueless about it.
"I want to establish a Hall!" Iron-blooded War Hero stared at Blood Demoness and declared.
"Ah? Okay!" Blood Demoness nodded in a daze, then glanced towards Xu Nian.
Xu Nian maintained an air of utter indifference, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
As Blood Demoness agreed, Iron-blooded War Hero received a prompt from the System:
[Congratulations to player Iron-blooded War Hero for establishing the Fourth Hall. Please name your Hall.]
"War Alliance!"
[Player Iron-blooded War Hero has established the Hall: War Alliance. All players joining Cloud Lament will receive an opportunity to increase their Realm.]
[Hall Master Iron-blooded War Hero will receive an additional Fifty Contribution Points every month.]
[All ’War Alliance’ players acquire the Postnatal Talent "War to End All Wars."]
[War to End All Wars: In combat, the longer the fight, the more one’s combat Power will continuously increase, up to a maximum of 300%!]
The fourth player-established Hall was created. However, Iron-blooded War Hero had no plans to let other players join; it seemed that setting up this Hall was merely preparation for the Third Test. The Second Test had only just begun, and he was already preparing for the Third Test. This was somewhat too hasty.
There were only three Halls available for Second Test Players. Now, Iron-blooded War Hero had claimed one and didn’t intend to recruit others into it. For I, Xuanqing, it was now crucial to secure a Hall quickly.
"Where are we going to get Contribution Points?"
"Damn those First Test Players! It’s always the First Test Players who seem to have hogged all the Tasks; it looks like we can only go to the Back Mountain to mine Iron Ore."
"It’s so unfair! I’m having a terrible gaming experience!"
"Maybe we should buy some Contribution Points from someone? I can use my private stash to buy about Ten Contribution Points."
Faced with the increasingly restless players, I, Xuanqing, hurriedly began discussing with those few big-spending players.
"What do you four think?" I, Xuanqing, asked in a low voice. "The Three Great Merchants are out of Contribution Points. If we want to buy some, it seems we can only turn to Junlin and Boss Fanhua."
Half-Leaf frowned and said, "Let’s go to Junlin. Flourishing Flowers has it out for us; that bastard is up to no good!"
The other three big-spending players also nodded. They now completely considered Cloud Lament their opposition. Why would they grind like crazy when they could pay to increase their Power? They hoped Junlin would sell them some points. They had to take both of the remaining Halls, no matter what, and also needed to manage the assignment of Second Test Players properly. Each to their respective roles, alternating between offense and defense. Their numbers far exceeded those of Cloud Lament; they had to secure the position of the First Battle Group!