Chapter 9: Ninefold Thunder Blade

In Monster Town, the killing continues unabated.

Some prospective warriors were injured in their first kill of a monster, helplessly pressed the distress button on their communication watch, and inevitably chose failure; some prospective warriors, after killing a monster, were so frightened their faces turned pale; there are also some skilled prospective warriors who, after killing a monster, become excitedly frantic, extremely thrilled; and there are those like Xiao Yu who remain calm after killing a monster.

Not far from Monster Town, inside a large building, numerous surveillance screens broadcast everything happening in each district of the town.

In one room of that building, an officer was drinking and chatting with a hulking man, discussing the killings in Monster Town that the big screen was showing.

Suddenly the officer shouted, 'Lao Wang, look quickly, this kid is amazing—he's fighting more than ten Shadow Cats at once and even counter‑killing them.'

The hulking man looked at the screen and said regretfully, 'What a pity, he's a nephew of the Xiao Family! Otherwise I'd have dragged him into the Thunder and Lightning Martial Arts Hall!'

Look at his clean, decisive kill; his footwork is incredible! He should already be at the Micro level!

'Hmm, not like someone just entering the Micro level!' The hulking man's regret deepened.

'No need for regret, look at the prospective warrior captured by Camera 21—the kid's footwork is also remarkable!'

'This one is also Micro level!' The hulking man's eyes lit up as he stared at Luo Feng under the assault of five Shadow Cat monsters; each of Luo Feng's dodges covered only a short distance, yet he deftly evaded every Shadow Cat's attack.

'I didn't expect that a single practical combat test would produce two footwork practitioners at the Micro level; even many War General‑level strongmen can't achieve that,' the officer said with a sigh.

'What a shame they were already recruited early by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall!' the hulking man grumbled, 'The Extreme Martial Arts Hall is really out of luck, scooping up two geniuses in a row, each stronger than the last!'

One should know that in Devouring Starry Sky, footwork is divided into Basic level, Micro level, Perfect level, and Realm level.

Many War General‑level, even some War God‑level strongmen, still have footwork at the Basic level; the two intermediate warriors before us have already grasped Micro‑level footwork—what a rare genius!

The hulking man slammed the table, 'These two geniuses can't just be taken by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall...'

That hulking man was Wang Heng, the director of the Thunder and Lightning Martial Arts Hall; naturally unwilling to let both geniuses be snatched by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, he took the combat footage of Luo Feng mastering Micro‑level footwork, copied the video, and sent it to headquarters to secure better leverage for recruiting him.

In combat, footwork, swordsmanship, and awareness are crucial; during last night's melee, Xiao Yu had already adapted to the current battle tempo, and his understanding of Micro‑level footwork became even more thorough.

A warrior who has grasped Micro‑level footwork can predict an opponent's moves by observing their motion trajectory and evade attacks with minimal movement; the exact degree achievable in real combat depends on individual comprehension.

Once footwork reaches the Perfect level, a warrior's motions become extremely fluid, allowing effortless evasion of attacks and even the use of any surrounding objects to gain advantage in battle.

Wooo— wooo— wooo—

'It's over!' Xiao Yu, after slicing off the left ear of the three‑headed tiger mastiff beside him and stowing it in his backpack, rushed toward the gate of Monster Town.

Prospective warriors streamed out of the gate in succession, each almost stained with blood—either monster blood or their own.

'Hey, these are the bodies of prospective warriors, someone come collect them.'

……

'Why are you crying? There's no way you don't die fighting monsters. This time we gave you only the weakest H‑level monsters. When you become warriors and enter the Wild Zone, the situations will be ten or a hundred times more dangerous than now! If you aren't mentally prepared, what are you calling a warrior? Why does the nation and society grant you these privileges?'

……

'Lu Tingting? Hmm, four monster left ears, not bad, next.'

……

'Xiao Yu, not bad, a total of 42 monster left ears. So far, you are currently the top monster hunter in this batch. Hmm, also uninjured. Next.'

……

'Luo Feng, not bad, a total of 36 monster left ears. So far you're second highest. Hmm, also uninjured. Next.'

'Luo Feng,' Xiao Yu shouted amid the crowd.

'Xiao Yu, how are you? How many did you kill!' Luo Feng asked.

'42!'

……

'Yang Wu, hmm, not bad, three monster left ears, slight injury to left arm. Next.'

'Here.' Xiao Yu called out, waving.

……

'Wan Dong, hmm, a total of 51 monster left ears. Haha, you now surpass Xiao Yu. Currently you're the top monster hunter among this wave of prospective warriors.'

'Crazy, Xiao Yu, Wan Dong actually has more than you two.' Yang Wu exclaimed in amazement.

'Killing more, does it matter?' Luo Feng smiled indifferently.

'Indeed, we're about to truly enter the Wild Zone, where that's the battlefield for us to ride!' Xiao Yu laughed.

'Luo Feng.' A bearded officer smiled, 'Come with me; a friend wants to see you, they're in the lounge ahead.'

Xiao Yu, seeing the officer didn't call his name, paid no mind, returned to the lounge, changed into his clothes, and went to find Wu Tong.

'Your performance was good; I've seen your combat footage, you have a general's bearing! You moved leisurely in battle, your footwork is already Micro level.' Wu Tong said with a smile, 'But when you truly enter the Wild Zone later, you must be even more cautious!'

'Understood, Uncle Wu!' Xiao Yu replied, knowing Wu Tong's lecture was well‑meaning.

'I passed the practical combat test; I need to inform my family!'

Then Xiao Yu sent the news of his passing the practical combat test to his parents and Sister Xiao Ling; those at home received a direct call, while those out received a message.

August 2, evening, Yangzhou Cheng Mingyue Xiaoqu.

'Xiao Yu is back, congratulations.'

'Congrats what? That warrior combat test was no challenge for Xiao Yu at all.'

The warrior circle is small; these people have long known that Xiao Yu was recruited early by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

Walking the neighborhood roads, Xiao Yu smiled and greeted some warriors he saw; previously they were courteous to him mainly because of his father Xiao Dingguo's reputation—the Xiao Family's standing as War God‑level strongmen. Now that he himself has become a warrior, the feeling is naturally different.

For these neighbors, perhaps one day there may be a chance to become teammates, so they are all enthusiastic.

'Mom, sis.' Xiao Yu's eyes fell on his own doorstep, where mother Xu Jingyi, sister Xiao Ling, and the family's nanny were already standing.

That night Xiao Yu was very happy; after all, from this moment on, he considered himself officially integrated into Earth.

After dinner, he went to the second‑floor media room and opened the internal warrior network—Extreme Home—accessible only to warriors of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

On the massive screen in the media room, individual profile pages appeared.

Name: Xiao Yu

Gender: Male

Address: Huaxia Nation Jiangnan Base City

Warrior Certificate Number: 426123203803213251

Rank: Warrior Level (Novice)

Contribution Value: 0 points

Currency Balance: 20000000 Huaxia Currency

The reason the rank shows as Novice Warrior Level is that he has no real combat record yet; only after he submits items from killing higher‑rank monsters can he obtain the corresponding rank upgrade.

That is, even if a Senior General‑rank warrior kills a War God‑rank monster and submits the items, the display will still be Senior General‑rank, though the combat record will appear on the personal page.

"Twenty‑million Huaxia Currency! It seems Supervisor Zhuge's investment of one hundred million Huaxia Currency, plus another fifty‑million share, did not show up."

Sure enough, at the top of the page he saw a row of buttons, one of which kept flashing, bearing the text—"You have two new mails."

When opened, a video of a young man in a black suit appeared; his explanation confirmed that the two hundred million Huaxia Currency promised by Supervisor Zhuge is valid.

Opening the other mail also yielded a video.

"Honored new warrior 'Xiao Yu', hello. I represent Extreme Martial Arts Hall and welcome you to our big family," a sweet‑looking girl smiled, "This is your first time entering Extreme Martial Arts Hall's internal network—Extreme Home! Let me introduce the uses of Extreme Home. First, in Extreme Home you can purchase weapons of various tiers…"

It is a standard video; aside from the opening address, the rest is an introduction to Extreme Home.

Through Extreme Home, warriors can not only buy various weapons, tools, cultivation manuals, but also pay for guidance from renowned masters.

It also explains the benefits of Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Contribution Points and how to obtain them.

There are two main ways: one is to hunt monsters and sell important materials to Extreme Martial Arts Hall, earning money and Contribution Points; the other is to exchange Huaxia Currency for Contribution Points, at the current rate of ten thousand to one—ten thousand Huaxia Currency for one Contribution Point. Of course, the exchange is not unlimited; each warrior's exchange cap is one hundred billion Huaxia Currency.

Furthermore, Contribution Points from Extreme Martial Arts Hall are non‑transferable; if one's points are insufficient to buy an item, one may commission another to purchase it.

Xiao Yu was not in a hurry to buy manuals or weapons. Although he had seen an introduction to Extreme Home in the original work of his past life, that information was limited; now that he truly understands, he finds Extreme Home's content so rich it is almost a prototype of a virtual network.

The Extreme Home website offers many functions, divided into numerous sections: task acceptance, task posting, private chat, cultivation area, and a donation system.

However, what interests Xiao Yu most are the two major sections: the "Warrior Forum" and the "Online Mall".

Through the Warrior Forum, he can access knowledge shared by many warriors, including cultivation insights, wilderness tips, monster analyses, and so on.

After spending some time watching, he realized this is truly a treasure trove; the more he learns, the better he can survive in the Wilderness Zone.

The Online Mall contains many of the items he wishes to purchase; the selection is vast.

The first thing he looked at was attack‑type manuals; the big screen displayed photos of each manual, along with their titles and prices.

"World Annihilation", Category: Gun Method. Rating: Ultimate. Price: 1000 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 500 billion Huaxia Currency (half price, requires Four-star Level Contribution Points).

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual", Category: Knife Method. Rating: Ultimate. Price: 1000 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 500 billion Huaxia Currency (half price, requires Four-star Level Contribution Points).

…

Without hesitation, he clicked directly into the Nine Thunder Knife Manual page.

The reason is that on Earth today, the only truly valuable manuals are these two: Nine Thunder Knife Manual and World Annihilation. Nine Thunder Knife Manual may grant insight into the Thunder Domain, thereby the Lightning Law, while cultivating World Annihilation may grant insight into the Light Domain, even the Light Law. Whether one can attain them also depends on each individual's special abilities.

Whether it is the Light Law or the Lightning Law, both are lower‑level laws of the Higher Law and the Time Law; there is no notion of stronger or weaker.

Xiao Yu, whether in his past life or now, prefers knife methods over gun methods. Although for those who have reached a certain realm the weapon choice matters little, Xiao Yu's current strength is still modest, so using a familiar knife lets him start faster.

Moreover, the Nine Thunder Knife Manual not only contains knife techniques but also the corresponding body movements and guiding arts.

It is equivalent to spending one payment to obtain three things; it is not an exaggeration to claim this manual is the hardest‑to‑learn knife method in the world.

Xiao Yu examined the price carefully—

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual" Full Nine Layers — Price: 1000 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 500 billion Huaxia Currency (half price, requires Four-star Level Contribution Points).

…

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual" First Four Layers — Price: 5 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 2.5 billion Huaxia Currency (half price, requires Two-star Rank Contribution Points).

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual" First Three Layers — Price: 2 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 1 billion Huaxia Currency (half price, requires Two-star Rank Contribution Points).

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual" First Two Layers — Price: 1 billion Huaxia Currency (full price), 50 million Huaxia Currency (half price, requires Two-star Rank Contribution Points).

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual" First Layer — Price: 50 million Huaxia Currency (full price), 25 million Huaxia Currency (half price, requires One-star Rank Contribution Points).

Xiao Yu also knows that a warrior's first purchase in Extreme Home requires no Contribution Points. With the funds promised by Extreme Martial Arts Hall, he can fully afford the first three layers and even have surplus; buying the first four layers would still leave a shortfall.

Xiao Yu recalled that his father had mentioned the Xiao Family would grant each new warrior a startup fund, and his father had already prepared a portion for him.

"I wonder how much startup funding the family can provide in total!" Xiao Yu thought to himself.

Suddenly, the phone on his desk vibrated.

Xiao Yu picked it up and saw it was a call from his father, Xiao Dingguo.

"Son! Still up? When you sent a message this morning, I was on a mission, so I replied as soon as I saw it at the gathering point. Congratulations, you've grown into a man now."

He heard his father's excited voice in his ears.

"Dad, I'm fine. Stay safe in the Wilderness Zone!" Xiao Yu said with concern.

"Don't worry! Son, you've just become a warrior, so you're probably fretting over which manual to choose. Though I'm in the Wilderness Zone and can't give much advice, given my relationship with Wu Tong, you can consult him."

"Don't worry! Dad, I've already chosen the manual I'll cultivate."

"Which manuals? Tell me!"

"Nine Thunder Knife Manual!" Xiao Yu said.

"What! Nine Thunder Knife Manual! That's an ultimate attack manual! It's reputed to be the hardest‑to‑learn knife method in the world! Xiao Yu, you've made up your mind!" Father Xiao Dingguo exclaimed in shock.

"Hmm. Is your son a genius? Any knife method looks easy to him!"

After a long silence, a voice finally came from the other end: "Dad supports you, you kid, you have your own mind. By the way, Xiao Yu, as I mentioned before, once each Xiao family member becomes a formal warrior, the family provides a certain startup fund. When Xiao Ling received it, she got ten million Huaxia Currency. Your aptitude is far better, so the family will give you fifteen million Huaxia Currency. Of course, this money isn't free; after you become a General‑rank warrior, you'll need to give back to the family."

"Hmm, I understand the importance of the family."

"Good, understanding is enough. The most important thing for a family is healthy development. The family has helped you on your path; when you grow, you must give back to the family, even protect it," his father said earnestly.

"Hmm, understood."

Now Xiao Yu also understands: although the Xiao Family's martial hall isn't large and few people are there, the annual expenses are considerable, and they're currently sustained by his elder uncle and his father.

After all, the Xiao Family is still a fledgling clan; there are few descendants and the staff is scarce.

「All right, before this trip to the Huang Ye Qu, I also prepared your startup funds; I'll transfer them to your account later. Recently, Dad I am preparing to purchase items that can assist in advancing to War God Level, so I'll transfer this amount first; if it's not enough, just tell Dad. 」

Father's words made Xiao Yu overjoyed, 「Thanks, Dad! Dad, rest early! 」

After ending the call, not long later, the mobile phone still in his hand vibrated.

Upon opening it, it was a bank message.

「Hello! Xiao Dingguo transferred 150 million Huaxia Currency to your account ending in 5681 on August 2 at 21:35; please check it. 」

After logging into the online bank, Xiao Yu indeed found the account balance to be: 150056203.05 Huaxia Currency.

「Truly worthy of Dad, still so doting on me! 」

Xiao Yu did a mental tally.

The 220 million from Extreme Martial Arts Hall, plus the family's startup funds of 15 million Huaxia Currency, plus Father's gift of 150 million startup funds, together total 385 million.

The account balance is enough to purchase the first four levels of the Nine Thunder Knife Manual in one go, leaving a surplus of 100 million, and there is also the family's assistance of 15 million Huaxia Currency that hasn't arrived yet.

Newbie asks for recommendations!!!

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(End of chapter)