Chapter 1557

"Thank you, Senior Sister. If you need help later, don't be polite—just call me."

Xu Jingming grinned as he took the two items.

Unlike the formidable Teacher Shuangmian and Senior Sister Yeli.

Lin Qianxue, a Nine-Star War General, was someone he could actually assist.

"You're confident."

A faint smile appeared on Lin Qianxue's cold, beautiful face, "But with your current growth rate, you might catch up to me sooner than you think."

She didn't rise, only elegantly crossed her stunningly long, graceful legs.

The black battle suit clung to her skin, outlining every curve of her legs with perfect clarity.

Xu Jingming's gaze involuntarily lingered on those legs for an instant.

He had seen plenty of beautiful women.

Yet he had to admit, Senior Sister's legs were truly a masterpiece of creation.

Xu Jingming averted his eyes and smiled, "But I'll need Senior Sister's guidance."

"Go."

Lin Qianxue waved her hand, "Remember—the Outer Battlefield is dangerous. Don't overextend yourself."

"Understood."

Xu Jingming nodded and turned to leave.

Back in his room, he finally turned his attention to the two items he had just obtained.

The Thunderstorm Crystal felt cool to the touch; its deep purple core swirled with electric arcs, faintly humming with the sound of storm and thunder.

The "Furious Thunderstorm" was an ancient, simple manual, its surface icy to the touch.

"Senior Sister is generous, but now isn't the time to train."

Xu Jingming put away the manual and Thunderstorm Crystal and ordered, "Vera, open the Military Merit System and search for World Rings."

"Got it."

The demon girl Vera's soul-form appeared.

She had now fully replaced Number One's role.

With a flick of her tiny hand, a holographic list materialized before him.

The price that popped up made his eyes widen.

【World Ring (1 square kilometer)】: 3 billion military merit.

"Even the smallest World Ring is this expensive?"

Xu Jingming couldn't help but whistle, "And what does 'one square kilometer' mean? Isn't capacity measured in cubic volume?"

"I told you already—World Rings are exclusive to the Immortal Stage."

Vera swayed her ice-cream-white legs, a sly glint flashing in her large purple eyes:

"Here, 'Immortal Stage' doesn't refer to Immortal Stage cultivators living in peaceful territories—it means Immortal Stage cultivators on the Outer Battlefield."

"You didn't say so earlier."

Xu Jingming grumbled.

Immortal Stage cultivators on the Outer Battlefield were an entirely different concept from ordinary Immortal Stage cultivators.

Those who roamed the Outer Battlefield had combat power many times stronger!

Their wealth was incomparably greater.

That's also why Noah Empire's Immortal Deity Nikki chose to go to the Outer Battlefield.

Only there could one rapidly break through and acquire greater wealth.

Of course, the danger was also far greater.

"I thought you knew."

Vera didn't apologize, continuing to explain:

"As for why it's measured in square—because a World Ring is essentially a secret realm space."

"The sky inside is extremely high, so size is calculated by surface area."

"I see."

Xu Jingming nodded.

He had originally planned to get a World Ring, but now it seemed impossible.

Three billion military merit—he didn't have nearly enough, even counting all his assets.

But he could still buy other resources.

Xu Jingming began shopping.

First, he needed the spiritual-type resources Vera required for her Charm Spell.

His current total military merit was:

22.564 million from exchanging loot, plus 44 million from Joel's gift.

Plus 83.214 million from slaying demons—totaling 149.778 million military merit.

"About 150 million military merit..."

Xu Jingming calculated, then spent 100 million military merit to purchase fifty units of S1-grade spiritual resources.

"Combined with the fourteen S-grade resources I already had."

"That's sixty-four total—enough for you to cast the Charm Spell seven times."

Xu Jingming said, looking at Vera.

"Seven times? You're underestimating me."

Little girl Vera floated before him, her purple eyes blinking rapidly:

"My soul form is much more solid now, and my consumption has dropped significantly."

"These resources are enough for me to cast it over nine times!"

"Even better."

Xu Jingming's eyes lit up.

Nine casts of the Charm Divine Art—that's nine waves of large-scale harvesting!

Wouldn't the Source Points skyrocket?

Besides spiritual resources, he spent thirty million military merits purchasing large quantities of pills to restore Yuan energy and spiritual power.

After all, the duration of a single Charm Divine Art is too long.

One or two casts, he could manage—but if the number grew, without pills, he couldn't hold out.

"Jiao is truly a loyal and honest man!"

Xu Jingming sighed as he finished purchasing all the resources.

Without the forty million military merits Jiao had sent him, he could never have bought resources so lavishly.

Notably, this kind of direct military merit transfer is not counted in the evaluation system for Elite Warriors or War Generals.

After all, the evaluation system measures total accumulated military merits.

If this restriction weren't in place, everyone would just keep transferring military merits back and forth.

It would be too easy to artificially 'create' War Generals.

"Resources are ready. Now, we just need to decide where to go."

After selecting settlement in the military merits system, Xu Jingming felt a sense of relief.

He then turned to Vera and said:

"Deploy the star map. Help me pick a demon clan outpost with few Immortal-class beings."

As the possessor of the Purple Nightmare Demon Body,

he had decided: from now on, he'd target the demon clan exclusively!

"Got it."

Vera waved her small hand, and a holographic star map unfolded in the center of the room.

The map stretched vast, marking countless uncharted points and fortresses along the border between human territory and demon clan territory.

Among them, the light points representing demon clan outposts were mostly dark red; those representing human fortresses were bright silver.

"Tsk tsk, your human virtual universe has such rich intelligence."

Vera couldn't help but marvel.

How could the demon clan ever have such conditions?

Their star maps had to be manually drawn and updated.

Unlike the human universe's Star Spirit Network, which spans every corner of the cosmos and updates intelligence in real time.

But she didn't dwell on it long.

After all, she was now with Xu Jingming—she was practically half-human.

As for the demon clan?

What even were they?

Irrelevant.

Vera's purple eyes swept across the star map, her slender fingers brushing over several light points:

"Here—Black Flame Demon Nest—you just went there. There are surely Immortal-class beings lying in wait now. Can't go."

"Here—Magma Hell—the demon clan numbers are extremely high, but there are at least ten or more Immortal-class beings. Too dangerous."

"Here—Shadow Abyss—the demon clan numbers are moderate, and the terrain is complex, good for ambushes—but still not ideal..."

As she analyzed, she eliminated unsuitable light points.

Finally, her finger stopped on a demon clan outpost 1,134 light-years from Outpost 102.

The light point was labeled "Corrupt Poison Swamp."

"Here."

Vera said: "Corrupt Poison Swamp. The demon clan numbers are low.

But there's only one Immortal-class being—and it's the weakest kind.

Plus, this outpost is far enough from Black Flame Demon Nest. It shouldn't cause any problems."

Xu Jingming looked at the star map.

Corrupt Poison Swamp lay at the center of a shattered star belt.

Surrounded by numerous barren planets and meteorites, the terrain was complex—perfect for hunting.

"This one."

He made his decision.

Target selected. Ready to depart at any moment.

But...

Xu Jingming pondered inwardly.

He still needed to inform Captain Duke and the others.

After all, he'd been with the Wildfire Squad for over half a year. If he suddenly left, he owed them at least a farewell.

"Captain Duke and the others always go to Xiao Yao Heaven.

Perfect—I'll invite them to dinner there."

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Jingming dialed Duke and the others through their communication devices.