Chapter 94: Merchant Alliance

At this moment, Fang Qingyun stood on the ground, and beneath his feet were patches of blood blossoms in full bloom.

His expression was cold, and his murderous intent spread unchecked.

The wind stopped!

As if in fear!

Wen Rui, who had just drawn near, could not help but shiver.

"When will the spatial armament be delivered?"

Fang Qingyun stared at Wen Rui with an icy gaze.

He could no longer wait!

He wanted to go back and smash the faces of those two from the student council.

There was no need to overthink it—it was definitely those two bastards who did it.

Even if they hadn't done it, they would have to be the ones.

Because Fang Qingyun was furious, and he needed targets to vent his anger on.

Wen Rui struggled to keep his voice steady, saying, "At most, an hour."

"Good!"

Fang Qingyun found a cleaner spot, sat down slowly, and began to cultivate.

Wen Rui, along with Zhang Jinyi and the others, looked at that vast expanse of blood-soaked earth and fell silent one after another.

A woman murmured softly, "Those really were four General-levels?"

Although their own strength was not high, in a place like Sacred Mountain, their discernment was still decent.

"General-level!"

Wen Rui let out a sigh and said, "Definitely General-level."

"What was that blood-red vortex?"

Another man besides Zhang Jinyi could not help but ask, "It felt like the Slaughter Art?"

Even Wen Rui fell silent.

He also felt it was the Slaughter Art!

But with Fang Qingyun's talent, how could he possibly cultivate a technique that would harm his own body?

With his current ability, even top-grade techniques might be delivered to his hands by someone.

Inconceivable!

Still, it was obviously not something they could ask Fang Qingyun about.

However, the young woman who had been speaking with Fang Qingyun earlier was staring at him with sparkling eyes.

After a moment of silence, she could not resist walking toward him.

Wen Rui's expression changed drastically, and he lowered his voice sharply: "Qin Zhenzhen, come back."

Just now, when Qin Zhenzhen had been talking to Fang Qingyun, the group had still been in a mood to watch the show.

They had wanted to know whether Qin Zhenzhen's peculiar nature could be used to toy with Fang Qingyun.

Now things were different!

In their eyes, Fang Qingyun was practically a humanoid beast of prey.

Someone like that was not to be provoked.

"Don't worry!"

Qin Zhenzhen, however, gave them a confident smile.

So what if his power was immense?

So what if his body was formidable?

She had never cared about such things.

What she, Qin Zhenzhen, excelled in was spiritual power.

She refused to believe that a man as strong as Fang Qingyun—possessing formidable physical strength and having cultivated a special technique—could also cultivate spiritual power on top of that.

Then he would simply be a god!

They were all geniuses, and with their discernment, they could naturally tell what Fang Qingyun's power system was just now.

And so, with a curious expression, Qin Zhenzhen walked toward Fang Qingyun once more.

"Just now..."

The moment Qin Zhenzhen opened her mouth, Fang Qingyun raised his head and looked at her calmly.

"BOOM!!!"

Qin Zhenzhen only felt a whirl of dizziness, as if someone had reached into her mind and churned it wildly. She could not help but let out a scream.

"Don't!"

Wen Rui shouted and rushed out in panic.

Qin Zhenzhen was already on the ground, clutching her head.

Her body was still convulsing uncontrollably.

"You—what did you do?" Wen Rui could not help but say. "Fang Qingyun, Qin Zhenzhen meant no harm, she..."

Fang Qingyun said calmly, "What did I do?"

"This..." Wen Rui was stunned.

Fang Qingyun said evenly, "I did nothing at all. Don't go slinging mud at me."

He closed his eyes once more, his face utterly calm.

Wen Rui looked at Qin Zhenzhen, who was on the ground clutching her head.

Her expression was twisted, her body convulsing ceaselessly, her agony reaching its absolute limit.

Wen Rui turned his head toward Fang Qingyun and said, "Fang Qingyun, Qin Zhenzhen's identity is not ordinary..."

"Don't say that to me." Fang Qingyun said calmly. "What did I do? No, I did nothing."

"Ugh!"

At that moment, Qin Zhenzhen dry-heaved.

However, after vomiting, her condition visibly improved a great deal.

She stared at Fang Qingyun in fear, and called out in a hoarse voice, "What did you do to me?"

"Psycho. Did you see me do anything?" Fang Qingyun said disdainfully. "If the two of you still dare to falsely accuse me, then don't blame me for being rude."

An icy murderous intent prickled at the two of them.

Qin Zhenzhen wanted to say something more, but Wen Rui pulled her by the arm and brought her aside.

"What exactly did you do just now?" Wen Rui looked at Qin Zhenzhen seriously.

Qin Zhenzhen said irritably, "What could I do?"

Unlike Zhang Jinyi, Qin Zhenzhen clearly did not hold much respect for Wen Rui.

Because her talent was greater—surpassing Zhang Jinyi, and even surpassing Wen Rui. Moreover, she had a very powerful background.

Her appearance at Sacred Mountain was more likely for the sake of amusement.

Wen Rui understood this as well, so his tone softened, and he said calmly, "Listen, if you don't tell me, it's very hard for me to help you."

At least on the surface, Fang Qingyun had merely looked at Qin Zhenzhen.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhenzhen was silent for a moment, then said irritably, "What could I do? I just probed him a little with my spiritual power, that's all!"

Wen Rui knew that Qin Zhenzhen was not telling the whole truth—or rather, the degree of her probing had been beyond imagination. So he could only shake his head helplessly.

Fang Qingyun finally got some peaceful time.

He began frantically circulating the Slaughter Art.

Originally, although he had cultivated the Slaughter Art, he had also considered switching techniques.

The system was very special, but if there were better options, why cultivate it?

Therefore, he had not converted all his spiritual energy into the Slaughter Art.

Instead, he used the Slaughter Art as a tool—when needed, he would let his spiritual energy pass through where the Slaughter Art resided, picking up some of its attributes.

But the astonishing power the Slaughter Art had just displayed made Fang Qingyun fully resolve his decision.

Even a top-grade technique might not be stronger than the Slaughter Art.

He merged all his spiritual energy into the Slaughter Art, then began cultivating it.

It had to be said, the Slaughter Art really did cultivate quickly.

After circulating it for a short while, Fang Qingyun already felt a sensation of being on the verge of a breakthrough.

The only problem was that the energy of the Slaughter Art was truly too violent.

At merely eleven revolutions, the destruction produced during cultivation was already making his body somewhat uncomfortable.

And he already possessed a General-level physique now.

He looked at his attribute panel.

Because the Slaughter Art had merged into his spiritual energy, the attribute panel had changed once again.

[Host: Fang Qingyun]
[Class: Martial Artist]
[Level: Fourth Rank]
[Strength: 33 (+)]
[Speed: 34 (+)]
[Constitution: 33 (+)]
[Spirit: 33 (+)]
[Spiritual Energy: 302 (+)]
[Marksmanship: Intermediate (+)]
[Blade Arts: Beginner (+)]
[Sword Arts: Beginner (+)]
[Spiritual Energy Mastery: Beginner (+)]
[Technique: Slaughter Art (11 Revolutions) (+)]
[Summon Beast: Dragon King Lion]
[Origin: 9360]

After the Slaughter Art began running, his cultivation speed skyrocketed. With Fang Qingyun's talent, his spiritual energy had even increased by two points.

"Saved myself 200 Origin points!"

Fang Qingyun let out a deep sigh.

The massive amounts of Origin points required for each advancement had always been a headache for him.

"Slaughter Art, you won't let me down!"

Fang Qingyun closed his eyes again, continuously circulating the Slaughter Art.

An hour later.

While cultivating, Fang Qingyun sensed someone approaching and could not help but open his eyes.

Wen Rui!

Behind him followed a plump, fair-skinned middle-aged man.

He was smiling at Fang Qingyun.

"Fang Qingyun, the spatial armament is in this gentleman's hands!" Wen Rui said in a low voice. "As agreed, you provide five thousand points, and I'll find a way to cover the rest."

Fang Qingyun nodded lightly, took out his phone, and transferred five thousand points to the plump white man.

Wen Rui's eyes widened immediately. "You actually have five thousand points? Where did you get them from?"

He was a third-year student, and he knew far too well how hard points were to come by.

For a first-year to have any savings at all was already quite outstanding.

Second-years could barely maintain a balance between income and expenditure.

Third-years could consider using points to earn resources for their advancement.

As a new student, where had Fang Qingyun gotten so many points from?

Back when he was in his second year, five thousand points was something he could only dream about.

"You need to manage this too?" Fang Qingyun let out a sneer.

"Fine!" Wen Rui was straightforward as well. He had originally thought that if Fang Qingyun could not produce the points, he would think of other ways. In any case, he wanted to build a good relationship with Fang Qingyun.

Now that the other party could produce them, he could also save a bit.

"Heh, Fang Qingyun, is it?" The plump white man smiled at Fang Qingyun. "Remarkable—a first-year able to produce such a large sum of points. And moreover..."

He glanced at the sniper rifle in Fang Qingyun's hands.

The first-rank sniper rifle that Fang Zhiheng had left him had been broken.

But he still had an even more powerful sniper rifle.

The second-rank sniper rifle obtained in Chaos City!

With Fang Qingyun's current energy and rank, he was more than capable of driving that rifle.

"Where's the item?"

Fang Qingyun was not polite either.

This plump white man was not weak in strength—he possessed General-level power—but in Fang Qingyun's eyes, he was nothing special.

"Heh, don't be in such a hurry!" The plump white man said with a smile. "Our Merchant Alliance likes doing business with talented people."

As he spoke, he handed a silver token to Fang Qingyun.

Fang Qingyun looked at it but did not take it.

"Take it!" Wen Rui said enviously from the side. "This represents a second-tier Merchant Alliance token. With it, you can exchange for many excellent items from the Merchant Alliance—things that many martial arts academies don't even have."

"Yes indeed!" The plump white man smiled, then said to Wen Rui, "Wen Rui, hand your token back now."

Wen Rui's expression shifted slightly, and he said with an awkward smile, "Lord Lu, can't you make an exception?"

The plump white man chuckled. "Hurry up and raise your strength. Once you become a high-level General, we can trade frequently."

Wen Rui reluctantly handed an iron token to the plump white man.

Fang Qingyun had been quietly watching the whole time.

Wen Rui simply pulled him aside. "You don't understand. The Merchant Alliance is the largest gathering place for merchants in the entire Azure Moon World. Not only do they have humans, but also demons and devils. Whatever you need, as long as you can pay the price, they can produce it."

"To them, what is a spatial armament?"

Fang Qingyun looked at Wen Rui and said, "So the spatial armament you mentioned was purchased from them?"

"Right!"

Wen Rui said helplessly, "Mine was a fourth-tier iron token. That kind of token can only be used once, and only to buy unimportant things. Yours is different—that's a second-tier silver token. The good things inside are simply unimaginable."

"Also, this token of yours can be used without restriction, as long as you have money."

Wen Rui lowered his voice and said quietly, "Rumor has it that many great nobles—even the Imperial House—trade with them."

Fang Qingyun's brow twitched. "Their influence is that great?"

"It's not about influence—it's about numbers!" Wen Rui explained. "They're spread all over the Azure Moon World, spanning every race. They've built up a reputation. Who wouldn't want to buy from them? At worst, it just costs some money. You should understand—many people don't mind spending money."

Fang Qingyun nodded slightly and took the token from the plump white man's hand.

The plump white man smiled. "Based on General Fang's strength, I grant you a silver token with second-tier authority. Purchases will be at a ten percent discount."

"General Fang?"

Fang Qingyun frowned.

Wen Rui also frowned, then seemed to think of something and looked at Fang Qingyun with a meaningful expression.

"Exactly!" The plump white man laughed. "General Fang is at a military academy, so by nature he is already a soldier. With mid-level General strength, and with that connection to the Snake King, I believe that once you enter the army, you'll quickly accumulate military merit to the rank of general."

He said with deeper meaning, "Perhaps General Fang's current military merit is already enough to be promoted to general."

Fang Qingyun was silent.

He really hadn't calculated that.

After entering the military academy, the tasks he completed together with Zhao Junhong not only gave him points but could also be converted into military merit.

And the human empire valued military merit above all else.

As long as one's accumulated military merit reached the threshold, promotion came automatically.

The tasks he had done before were numerous, but none were particularly large.

But the most recent task—

Chaos City!

Defeating one gang, subjugating another.

Several General-levels, hundreds of martial artists.

Converted into military merit, that was no small weight.

"It's too early to call me that!" Fang Qingyun said calmly. "No matter how much military merit I have now, unless the higher-ups have officially confirmed it, don't call me that casually."

"Very well, Mr. Fang!" The plump white man smiled. "The token has our contact information on it. The items you can exchange for will also be sent to your phone. I hope we can begin cooperating soon."

The plump white man gave an elegant bow.

At that moment, he seemed to transform into a noble. Even with his bulky figure, that bearing could not be concealed.

Fang Qingyun watched the departing man, then turned his head and said, "The Merchant Alliance—is it a public organization?"

"Semi-public!"

That alone was astonishing.

From the brief conversation just now, and from what Wen Rui had told him, it was not hard to see that the Merchant Alliance's influence was enormous. Internally, it had humans, and demons and devils as well. Such an organization could actually exist semi-publicly within the empire.

One reason was that the empire had a great need for them. The other—strength!

Without formidable strength, they would have been torn apart and devoured long ago.

Looking at the spatial armament in his hand, Fang Qingyun let out a long breath.

It was a necklace.

On it hung a white gemstone, within which a wavering, elusive power was contained.

Fang Qingyun extended his consciousness into it and found a space of about three square meters.

Although it was small, Fang Qingyun was already very satisfied.

"You actually managed to find something like this?" Wen Rui said with a pained expression. "I gave that fat man quite a lot of benefits before he told me about this small spatial armament. Even so, I saved up for a whole year. Who would have thought that when I was still five thousand points short, I'd run into you."