Inside the bar on the first floor of the Limit Hut, over a dozen martial artists were chatting. Around one table sat Feng Ren and the members of the Fire Hammer Squad.

As Luo Feng walked in.

"Hey, Luo Feng."

"Crazy Man, you're here?"

A group in the bar greeted him. Luo Feng chuckled a couple of times in acknowledgment before taking his seat at the Fire Hammer Squad's table. Once Gao Feng, Wei Tie, Wei Qing, Chen Gu, Luo Feng, and the disabled Zhang Ke were seated, they laughed and chatted over drinks until past nine o’clock, when they finally saw Zhang Ke off.

Only the five of them remained at the table.

"Luo Feng, tell us, what should we do with the monster materials from this hunt?" Gao Feng asked with a smile.

"My suggestion? Sell them directly for cash," Wei Tie exclaimed immediately.

Luo Feng shook his head. "Captain, regarding the monster materials from this hunt, I plan to sell my share to the main headquarters of the Limit Association to gain some contribution points! I only have a pathetic few hundred points right now. Not even enough for one star. These few hundred points were earned from selling a small portion after slaughtering over ten thousand soldier-level monsters back then."

"That makes sense," Gao Feng nodded. "Luo Feng still hasn't reached the one-star level in contribution points."

The others nodded along with appreciative smiles.

"Right, we need to get some contribution points. High contribution points bring quite a few benefits," Chen Gu said, grinning. "For example, buying secret manuals—you must buy them yourself. Only with enough contribution points is buying manuals the most cost-effective! Moreover, having a star rating allows entry into some specialized training sessions at the main headquarters of the Limit Association."

Luo Feng nodded. Some of the extremely high-tech training rooms were too expensive even for powerful factions to afford.

Only behemoth organizations like the 'Limit Martial Arts School' and the 'Thunderbolt Martial Arts School' could build unique training chambers in every base city. However, these training chambers only granted a certain allotment of training time per year if one's 'contribution points' reached a specific level.

"How about this!"

Gao Feng took a piece of paper from his pocket. Printed on it were the monster materials harvested by the Fire Hammer Squad this time. "This is our haul. Each material has a market appraisal value. The total estimated value of all materials is around 2.2 billion." Gao Feng kept his voice relatively low.

It was quite late, and few people remained in the bar anyway. Even if someone overheard, it wouldn't matter much.

"For this hunt, Luo Feng and I were primary, with Chen Gu, Wei Tie, and Wei Qing as support. So, Chen Gu, Wei Tie, and Wei Qing each get 10%, which is 220 million each. Wei Tie and Luo Feng each get 35%, which is 770 million each!" Gao Feng looked at everyone. "Any objections?"

The members of the Fire Hammer Squad all smiled.

What objections could they possibly have?

In the past year or two, they had barely earned 100 million. This time, in just a short period, Chen Gu and the other two earned over 220 million each! Of course, this was partly related to their increased strength after consuming gene potions; without that boost, they wouldn't have been able to assist Luo Feng and Gao Feng in the outskirts of City 003.

"Luo Feng, make your selection of monster materials valued at 770 million. You decide how to handle them," Gao Feng said, handing over the paper and calling out toward the bar, "Bring a pen over here."

Luo Feng looked down at the paper before him and studied it carefully.

Once the pen arrived, Luo Feng quickly marked his choices, swiftly ticking off monster materials totaling nearly 770 million. Nowadays, because martial artists frequently communicated online, and the managers and personnel who purchased monster materials were fiercely competitive, the prices were well-established with very little margin for error.

"Luo Feng, you're selling to the main headquarters for contribution points to buy a secret manual?" Gao Feng inquired.

"I plan to buy the first four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade manual," Luo Feng replied with a hint of helplessness. "Actually, I only need to buy the fourth level, but unfortunately, this manual isn't sold by individual layers!" Manuals had to be bought in sequential early layers. Luo Feng truly wanted to buy the fifth level of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

But…

To buy the fifth level required 2 billion, or 1 billion at half price. The condition for half price was reaching the 'Three-Star Contribution Level'—a staggering 1 million contribution points! If he were to purchase contribution points with money, calculated at 10,000 Huaxia dollars per point, it would cost a massive 10 billion!

Even exchanging monster materials for points at the Limit Martial Arts School was more cost-effective, but Luo Feng didn't have that many materials.

So, for now, he could only purchase the first four levels.

The first four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade cost 500 million Huaxia dollars at full price, or 250 million at half price. The condition for half price was the 'Two-Star Contribution Level,' meaning 100,000 contribution points.

"Selling manuals is indeed the biggest rip-off," Wei Qing commented from the side, nodding in agreement. "The price the HR Alliance sells manuals for is lower than the Limit Martial Arts School's full price. But compared to the Limit Martial Arts School's half price, it's much more expensive."

"I know," Luo Feng sighed, shaking his head. "The first four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade are 500 million full price, 250 million half price at the Limit Martial Arts School. Whereas the HR Alliance, while having no contribution point requirement, still demands 400 million!" In terms of appeal, the Limit Martial Arts School's half price was undeniably the market's lowest rate!

Unfortunately, that half price came with a steep contribution point requirement.

"After weighing it up, selling the monster materials to the main headquarters of the Limit Association is still the most worthwhile option."

The next day, the Fire Hammer Squad headed directly to the HR Alliance Mall in Jiangnan Base City. First, Captain Gao Feng, Wei Tie, Wei Qing, and Chen Gu went together to retrieve the monster materials stored in the large storage crates. Afterward, they handed over all the materials Luo Feng had selected to him.

The martial artist backpack was unfastened layer by layer, reaching a height of 1.2 meters before all the materials could be unloaded.

Gao Feng, Wei Tie, Wei Qing, and Chen Gu all sold their monster materials to the HR Alliance. After some haggling, they earned slightly more than the estimated price. Gao Feng made 780 million, while Wei Tie, Wei Qing, and Chen Gu each earned a little over 220 million.

"Let's go to the main headquarters."

The main headquarters of the Limit Association was the stronghold of the Limit Martial Arts School in Jiangnan Base City, a place Luo Feng rarely visited.

"Gao Feng."

"Big Cannon."

"Crazy Man."

Upon entering the first floor of the main headquarters, many martial artists recognized Luo Feng and his group, greeting them warmly. Luo Feng and the others chatted cheerfully back. Most martial artists knew each other from resting at supply bases.

And now, Luo Feng's fame was quite significant.

Led by a woman in a blue suit, they took the elevator up to the 23rd floor.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

"Please follow me." The woman in the blue suit smiled and led the group into an office where a middle-aged woman was seated in front of a computer.

"You must be the Fire Hammer Squad. Welcome, welcome," the middle-aged woman said with a smile. "My name is Luo Yunqin."

"Manager Luo shares my surname," Luo Feng remarked with a smile. "Manager Luo, these are the monster materials we brought this time. Please take a look." With that, he placed his oversized backpack on the floor, unfastened the drawstrings, and a pile of monster materials immediately spilled into a large metal basin nearby.

Luo Yunqin's eyes lit up, and she immediately took out her password case, opening it to retrieve her instruments.

"Beep beep beep..."

Under the instrument's scan, the quality, name, and price of each monster material appeared directly on the screen. There was no need for manual inspection, and soon the total price appeared on the screen.

"The total price is 510 million, equating to 255,000 contribution points," Luo Yunqin announced with a smile.

Luo Feng nodded slightly.

If these monster materials were sold to the HR Alliance, they would fetch around 770 million. At the main headquarters of the Limit Association, they only sold for two-thirds of that price, 550 million, a loss of about 260 million. However, they gained 255,000 contribution points. If he were to earn contribution points purely through donations, it would require a full 2.55 billion.

This meant...

Exchanging monster materials for contribution points at the Limit Martial Arts School resulted in a loss of 10 million in value to gain 10,000 contribution points.

This was ten times more cost-effective than donating directly! It was clear the Limit Martial Arts School encouraged everyone to earn points through hunting monsters. Donating money to gain points was considered exploiting a loophole, hence the penalty rate: 10,000 Huaxia dollars for just 1 contribution point.

"You confirm the sale?" Luo Yunqin asked Luo Feng with a smile.

"Confirmed," Luo Feng nodded.

The main headquarters of the Limit Association was unlike the HR Alliance; there was no haggling, though the prices offered by the Limit Association were generally fair and transparent.

"Count the materials from those two primary Warlord-level monsters toward my combat achievements," Luo Feng stated.

"Understood. Your martial artist rank is now Primary Warlord," Luo Yunqin confirmed, entering the data immediately.

Martial artist rank was determined by the combat achievements from monster hunting.

For example, to reach the 'Primary Warlord' rank, one must possess the achievement of killing two lower-tier Warlord monsters! However, these achievements often lacked absolute credibility, as no one knew if you personally killed the monster; one could easily buy monster materials and claim them as their own.

However...

The utility of the so-called martial artist rank wasn't that significant. In the martial artist circles, who was strong and who was weak was generally established by reputation. If a rich young master bought the corpses of two low-tier Lord-level monsters and claimed the kill, their rank would become 'Primary War God.'

If they did this, it would easily invite challenges from other martial artists.

If they possessed the strength, fine.

But if they lacked the power, a titled 'Primary War God' being defeated by a group of Warlords would be a huge disgrace. Therefore, most people were unwilling to obtain titles without sufficient backing strength.

"I slaughtered over ten thousand soldier-level monsters in two months previously, most of them High-tier Soldier-level. Most martial artists already recognize me as a Primary Warlord! If Li Wei's parents investigate my profile, they will likely assume I possess the strength of a Primary Warlord based on this."

"Since that's the case, I might as well officially set my martial artist rank to 'Primary Warlord.'"

Late that night, in the audiovisual room of Luo Feng's home.

The wall screen displayed the 'Limit Home' webpage, where the most conspicuous item was a list.

Name: Luo Feng Gender: Male Address: Jiangnan Base City, Huaxia Nation Martial Artist ID Number: 426123205608010002 Rank: Warlord (Primary) Contribution Points: 255,612 points (Two-Star) Currency Balance: 11.898 Billion Huaxia Dollars

"Online Mall. Secret Manual: Nine-Layered Thunder Blade." Luo Feng quickly tapped the wireless keyboard touchscreen, entering the purchase page for the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade. He read carefully, noting the line at the very top: Nine-Layered Thunder Blade All Nine Levels... Price: 100 Billion Huaxia Dollars (Full Price), 50 Billion Huaxia Dollars (Half Price, Requirement: Four-Star Contribution Points).

This was an astronomical price.

More expensive than the Water of Life, and it required Four-Star contribution points.

Luo Feng shook his head and lightly tapped the purchase button for the first four levels of the manual.

"Please confirm if you wish to purchase the first four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade. Cost: 250 million Huaxia Dollars."

"Confirm!" Luo Feng clicked.

"Please verify with fingerprint scan to confirm again."

Luo Feng placed his finger on the fingerprint collector of the wireless keyboard and sighed inwardly... It was a pity that purchasing the first five levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade required the Three-Star Contribution Level for the half price; he couldn't manage it. He could only buy the first four for now. By common sense, the later layers of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade were harder.

He had managed to master the third layer due to a unique opportunity; mastering the fourth layer might take a very, very long time, unless another fortuitous encounter occurred.

"Beep!"

"Fingerprint verification successful."

"Purchase successful!"

"Deduction successful!"

"The first four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade manual will be delivered to Mr. Luo Feng's residence within 24 hours," a series of prompts appeared on the screen.

Luo Feng let out a long breath. "The manual is bought. Now I need to figure out how to sell the dragon egg and that set of battle armor and sword!"