Chapter 20: Sudden Wealth and Generous Recruitment Terms

"Round of 8, Challengers 68 and 2, please report to Arena 3."

A flash of white light transported him to the arena. He looked across immediately, and upon seeing his opponent holding a thunder hammer, his heart sank.

"Well, I suppose I couldn't be lucky forever."

He didn't summon water to turn the arena into a marsh this time; water conducts electricity, and he would only be struck harder. As soon as the countdown ended, a thick bolt of lightning spanned the entire arena, moving faster than he could react. His protective aura blocked the first strike, but it was followed by a relentless barrage of lightning. This wasn't a thunder spell; it was raw lightning, too fast to dodge. He had no choice but to endure it.

Knowing he couldn't win, Su Yu didn't just give up. He pointed a finger, and his Ice Soul flying sword soared into the sky, trailing a long, rainbow-like arc. Wei Xia curled his lips and swung his thunder hammer.

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning struck the sword's trail in mid-air, causing the Ice Soul to shudder violently, momentarily severing their connection. Su Yu flicked his sword fingers, and the blade spun and weaved from side to side.

"Crackle!"

Two more bolts of lightning struck the weaving sword simultaneously. The light shattered, and the flying sword fell, spiraling out of control.

"Damn, is that a high-grade magical artifact?"

The thunder hammer was simply too powerful. Beyond its raw strength, its speed was so high that it shattered the spiritual mark within his sword. It was an unsolvable problem. Without hesitation, Su Yu raised his hand and conceded.

Returning to the spectator area, he was the first to be eliminated in this round, placing eighth.

"With a thunder hammer like that, this guy should be in the top three of this year's cohort."

Early on, before one learns various thunder arts, forbidden techniques, or secret arts, and while flying swords and artifacts are limited, a powerful artifact can dictate the outcome of a battle. It was not uncommon in previous years for someone with mediocre skill but a formidable artifact to sweep through the competition.

However, the outcome of the preliminary tests only affected the rewards, not how the guild elites viewed him. After all, an artifact only grants temporary strength; it cannot make one a true master.

He waited patiently, watching the remaining contestants fight fiercely for the top three spots. After half an hour of competition, the top three were decided.

Third place went to Lan Yiying, who had awakened the bloodline of a flood dragon. She could transform into a dragon, possessing immense physical strength, and wielded the "Kwei Water Divine Thunder." Combined with a sixth-tier weapon-type artifact, her combat power was astonishing.

Second place was Wei Xia with his thunder hammer. He relied on one trick to conquer all, hammering his way to second place.

The winner was Ding Lingyu. No one knew what artifacts he possessed, only that he could transform into a "Starry Divine General," and his combat power was incredibly high. The reason he could suppress Wei Xia was that his transformation—a divine general wreathed in thunder—allowed him to ignore half of all lightning damage.

With the eyes of the world upon them, this year's first preliminary test came to a close. But this was not the end; it was only the beginning. As soon as the host announced the conclusion, Su Yu received a notification from Fu Ping:

"Don't leave yet. Go to the waiting hall behind the arena. The high-level guild officials will be coming to present the awards."

"Understood."

He stood up and looked back. The high-level officials on the podium had already left. Everyone lined up to return to the waiting hall. Su Yu found a seat and continued reviewing the data Fu Ping had provided earlier.

He hadn't been reading for even half a minute when he felt someone approaching. He looked up to see He Shoucheng standing in front of him. Su Yu asked, surprised:

"Is something the matter?"

He Shoucheng sat in the chair beside him and said, "Your swordsmanship is truly strong. I am thoroughly impressed!"

"Uh, it was alright."

"Could we be friends?"

"Of course."

He opened his communication panel and saw a new friend request. After accepting, He Shoucheng asked a waiter for a juice and asked casually, "After the test, would you like to go on a trial mission together?"

"Form a team?"

"Yes."

Su Yu thought for a moment and nodded. "Sure."

The insect-rearing grounds were already built, and Zhuang Zhuo and the others could handle it; he didn't need to stay there constantly. He Shoucheng had good strength; he would be a decent teammate.

With that agreed upon, the two chatted idly. A while later, the hall suddenly went quiet. They looked up to see a group of important figures walking in, and everyone gathered around them.

The group stood on the stage, and a middle-aged man who looked somewhat like Ding Lingyu stepped forward, smiling at the newcomers.

"I am Vice President Ding Hao."

Someone started clapping, and the rest followed, the applause thunderous. He Shoucheng whispered in his ear, "He is Ding Lingyu's father."

Su Yu nodded.

Ding Hao smiled and gestured for the applause to die down. He said, "I am very pleased to see so many vibrant faces. For the guild to grow, we must introduce fresh blood. You are the most outstanding batch of newcomers this year. The President and the Vice Presidents have high hopes for you, and we have authorized many rewards."

"Now, would the top sixteen newcomers please step forward so we may recognize you."

A commotion stirred in the crowd, and people stepped aside to let the youths walk to the front. Su Yu and He Shoucheng stood at the edge of the line, neither having any interest in being in the spotlight.

Vice President Ding Hao began presenting the awards. For each one, he offered a few encouraging words. Soon, it was Su Yu's turn.

"Young man, your talent in swordsmanship is excellent. I think highly of you."

"Thank you for the praise, Vice President."

"Are you interested in joining the First Main Regiment? I have several collections of Sword Immortal notes; they might provide you with some inspiration."

"Uh..."

Just then, a middle-aged man following behind Ding Hao laughed and said, "President, you can't do that."

Ding Hao laughed heartily. "My mistake, my mistake."

He smiled, patted Su Yu's hand, and handed him his reward. Su Yu had placed eighth, receiving five taels of gold, 200 guild contribution points, and one opportunity to listen to a lecture by a guild immortal.

The gold was given immediately, and the contribution points were credited to his guild ID. The final reward was a jade talisman, which could be used to attend a lecture by any of the guild's "Loose Immortal" masters.

Once the awards were distributed, Ding Hao said in a deep voice, "You are all the cream of the crop among the newcomers and the hope of the guild. I hope you will work hard on your cultivation in the coming months and take further steps forward."

"I hope to see you all at the next award ceremony."

Thunderous applause filled the hall again until the Vice President departed. Although the Vice President left, many of those who had come with him remained, and several walked toward Su Yu.

Leading them was the middle-aged man who had interrupted the Vice President. He stood before Su Yu and introduced himself: "I am Xu Bochen, Vice Commander of the Third Main Regiment and Captain of the Second Squadron."

Su Yu quickly bowed. "Greetings, Commander Xu."

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's add each other as friends, and we can discuss details later."

"Fine."

After exchanging friend requests, Xu Bochen left immediately. Then, others came up to add him as well. The surrounding newcomers watched, but no one showed envy. Among the top sixteen, besides him and the one who placed fifteenth, all fourteen others belonged to the "First Tier"—their parents were high-level guild officials, and most had already joined a specific regiment or independent squadron.

Once the big shots left, He Shoucheng waved at him. "You must be busy, so I won't bother you. Let's talk later."

"Sure."

After Xu Bochen left, several more mid-to-high-level guild members approached him. Like the others, they exchanged friend requests without discussing recruitment on the spot. Chu Xinyue was not among them; she had left as soon as the test ended.

Once he was sure no one else was coming to recruit him, Su Yu bowed to those around him and turned to leave.

Outside the arena building, Gu Zhiqiu flew over immediately and said with a grin, "I've collected the money. After the 20% guild tax, there are 24 taels of gold left."

"Damn, that's a high tax?"

"What did you expect?"

"Fair enough."

With the money in hand, his total funds immediately became 29 taels of gold.

"We hit the jackpot this time."

"Let's go buy some things." Su Yu was impatient.

At the Qianyu Pavilion, Su Yu spent 10 taels of gold to buy 10 volumes of first-grade cultivation notes, and 5 taels of gold to buy 5 "Third-Grade Dao Heart Pills." Then, he spent 2 taels of gold to purchase a "Spirit Fish Flying Shuttle."

Spirit Fish Flying Shuttle (Third-Tier): A shuttle-shaped vessel capable of traveling through water and air without obstruction.

Size: 5 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, can carry five people.

Stats: Durability 5,000, Defense 20,000.

Flight: Ceiling 8,000 meters, speed 1,200 km/h.

Special Effect: Agility (increases turning speed by 50%).

With this, the paper crane that had accompanied him for so long could finally retire honorably.

Shopping finished, he had spent 17 taels of gold, leaving him with 12 taels. Upon returning to his residence, he immediately took out the cultivation notes and began reading. By nightfall, all ten volumes had been used. Three were applied to his swordsmanship; with the "Golden Finger" bonus, each volume increased the limit of his "Green Mountain Sword Classic" by ten levels, totaling thirty levels. Seven volumes were applied to the "Purple Origin Qi Refining Art," each adding six levels, for a total of forty-two.

The Third-Grade Dao Heart Pills provided 30 points of cultivation progress each, which the Golden Finger boosted to 60 points—a total of 300 points from the five pills. Combined with the 102 points he had previously accumulated, he now had 402 points, enough to last for a while.

He glanced at his experience pool: 6.63 million cultivation points, not enough to raise his Qi Refining technique from level 33 to 40. Once an art passed level 30, the requirements for cultivation points and progress increased significantly, and the speed of improvement slowed.

This was precisely where the elite began to pull away from the ordinary. With sufficient resources, they could widen the gap. The wealthy "Second-Generation Immortals" would already be at level 50 or 60 while others were stuck at level 30. One step ahead meant every step ahead. They might not become top-tier masters, but they would certainly become an elite class.

Fortunately, Su Yu had natural talent and worked hard, allowing his cultivation level to barely keep up.

He moved his gaze from the Qi Refining art to the "Green Mountain Sword Classic." He didn't have enough points for the Qi art, but he could raise his sword technique from level 30 to 40.

"Upgrade!"

He hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign and entered seclusion to improve.

An incense stick of time later, Su Yu opened his eyes. He held out his right palm, and a wisp of sword energy appeared. With a thought, the energy surged, hovering above his palm. He flicked his finger, and the sword energy broke through the air, slicing the window open and vanishing into the night sky.

His fingers moved nimbly, and the flying sword darted between them like a spirit snake.

Consuming 6.25 million cultivation points and 50 points of progress, the "Green Mountain Sword Classic" reached level 40: Flying sword damage +1,200, attack speed +800, control speed +800 km/h.

"The technique level is still too low. I need to find a way to get a high-grade foundational sword technique."

Su Yu pondered for a moment and opened the guild channel to check the contribution exchange list, quickly finding two.

"Tai-Bai Sword Technique (High-Grade), Fundamental Xuan Sect Sword Technique. Requirement: Elite Guild Member, 5,000 contribution points."

"Phantom Moon Sword Classic (High-Grade), Fundamental Heterodox Sword Technique. Requirement: Elite Guild Member, 5,000 contribution points."

"No chance!" He couldn't gather 5,000 points in years.

He closed the guild channel and checked the Qianyu Pavilion's commercial page, which also offered two high-grade sword techniques.

"Slaughter Origin Sword Classic (High-Grade), Fundamental Demonic Sword Technique. Price: 50 taels of gold."

"Five Poisons Sword Technique (High-Grade), Fundamental Heterodox Sword Technique. Price: 50 taels of gold."

He searched other famous chambers of commerce in Qianyu City and found five more, but they were all demonic or heterodox, and extremely expensive—at least 50 gold. He couldn't afford them.

"Forget it. I'll make do for now. After the new year, when I join an Immortal Sect, new disciples are entitled to choose one high-grade foundational sword technique."

His "Town Sea Pearl" was currently remodeling his body; by the end of the year, he would gain ten innate attribute points. With his talent for swordsmanship, joining an Immortal Sect was almost certain.

"Yes, that's the plan."

After confirming his life plan had no gaps, Su Yu retrieved his Ice Soul and ordered some takeout. Shortly after, it arrived, but just as he was about to eat, he received a new message.

He opened his contacts and saw it was Xu Bochen. He greeted him immediately.

"Commander Xu, good evening."

"Little brother, I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"I'm free."

Xu Bochen laughed heartily. "I won't beat around the bush. You likely know why I'm here. Are you interested in joining the Third Main Regiment?"

"I am the Captain of the Second Squadron in the Third Regiment. If you join, I will gift you a sixth-tier flying sword, a high-grade sword technique, 20 taels of gold, and guarantee your promotion to Elite Member by year's end. Once your cultivation reaches level 50, I guarantee you a squad leader position."

"Those are the standard recruitment terms. Additionally, if you join the Second Squadron of the Third Regiment, I will personally sponsor you with another 10 taels of gold."

"Of course, if you'd prefer something other than gold, let me know, and I can help coordinate."

Su Yu was surprised; the offer was indeed very sincere. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"Please allow me to consider it. I will give you an answer by tomorrow night."

"Of course."

"Though I don't think anyone else can offer you better terms."

"I think so too."

"Haha, see you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow."

Su Yu closed the communication, his lips curling into a smile. The offer was indeed excellent. He already had a preference. He hadn't agreed immediately simply out of reserve; he didn't want to seem too eager and lower his value. He didn't think any other independent squadron could top this.

"A sixth-tier flying sword, a high-grade foundational sword technique, 20 taels of gold, guaranteed Elite status, and a squad leader position later..."

"Quite good indeed."