One ordinary Lingyao fruit could be exchanged for a villa in the city center, but it would take killing four monsters with three silver life rings each in order to get the same amount of contribution points.
And yet, how powerful were monsters with three silver life rings? It was hard to imagine, as there were no reports online of anyone having done it. Jiang Shaoliu shook his head.
"It'd take forever to get enough contribution points by killing monsters," Jiang Shaoliu thought.
That was the reason the hunting party he met on the road didn't consume the fruit they had found. They wanted to exchange it for contribution points, since it was hard for ten people to share one fruit.
He chuckled as he recalled the water lotus he had eaten.
It meant that he had eaten a villa, while the stem Xiao Bai had eaten was probably worth a luxury car.
How decadent of them…
Jiang Shaoliu's eyes lit up when he turned to the third screen.
It was a list of equipment provided by the four factions.
Super alloy daggers which could easily cut through monsters' hides, super alloy swords that could cut a life ring monster's bones… knives, gloves, guns…
"Alloy manufacturing technology has advanced a lot recently. The alloy weapons are produced in bulk, so they shouldn't cost too much," Jiang Shaoliu thought.
He looked over the variety of firearms on offer.
There wasn't a great selection available at the moment, mostly pistols and sniper rifles.
For some reason, the ammunition for the sniper rifles had to be purchased individually and was not provided alongside the weapon, as with the pistols.
A well-trained sniper armed with special alloy bullets could easily take out even a monster with two or three life rings from a great distance.
Lastly, there was a variety of tactical armor and riot gear being sold, such as alloy helmets and metal-plated boots.
"Oh, they even have medicine there."
There were mainly two types of medicinal ingredients which could be extracted from the monster's corpses, both monopolized and manufactured by the Hongfa Group's research and development department.
"Huh, they're even selling manuals for breathing techniques and martial arts forms," Jiang Shaoliu nodded thoughtfully.
Few people had been bestowed with the knowledge of a martial art by Heaven. Besides, there were better and worse forms. By studying these manuals, the weak could become strong and the strong could become stronger.
"These must cost a fortune," he thought.
The more valuable the item, the higher the price, and those alloy weapons and villas were nothing compared with breathing techniques and martial arts.
"Fruits are valuable, but they are rare and hard to obtain..." After reading through the whole list, Jiang Shaoliu made up his decision: "Hunting monsters will help improve my fighting skills, and I can still earn contribution points. The points will add up over time."
But how to sign up for the rewards tasks?
Jiang Shaoliu looked around.
"Damn, had I known that I can get contribution points for killing monsters with life rings, I would have dragged all their corpses back here!" A ragged, hulking man with whiskers reached out and grabbed a skinny young man: "Hey you, tell me where I can sign up for these bounties?"
The skinny man paled slightly and vehemently shook his head, "I don't know, brother, I'm just an ordinary person!"
The hulking man loosened his grip and roared at the crowd around him, "Can anyone help me sign up for the bounties? I've just lost my money. Thank you!"
Jiang Shaoliu wanted to laugh.
He could sympathize with him. Life was tough without any money, no matter who you are.
"Go that way, uncle." A little girl in a green skirt walked out from the crowd and pointed to a distant shopping mall. "It's on the first floor. I saw many powerful uncles there."
After glancing at the mall, the hulking man's eyes fell on the little girl again. He reached out and was about to pat her on the head but froze suddenly when he saw his dirty hands.
"You look like my daughter." He turned around stiffly and strode off, his jaw quivering slightly.
Jiang Shaoliu watched him silently.
Many people had died during the disaster. Perhaps this man's daughter had died too.
It had been two months but he still couldn't get over it, and that's why he wanted to go out to the danger zone and slaughter every monster in sight.
He would get his revenge in blood.
"Xiao Bai," Jiang Shaoliu patted the tiger on the head, "follow him."
…
The first floor of the Hongfa Mall.
The central space of the mall had been converted into a reception center for martial masters, divided into four sections for the four main factions. Most of the staff were young, cute and sweet-tongued ladies.
There were dozens of martial masters around, chatting in low voices or napping on benches.
All eyes instantly turned to Jiang Shaoliu and Xiao Bai as they entered.
"What?" Jiang Shaoliu squinted his eyes.
To the left was a small VIP area, where a young master in a camouflage outfit sat with a giant wolf beside him.
The wolf panted as it curiously observed its surroundings. When it spotted Xiao Bai, it quickly jumped up from the ground and bared its fangs at him threateningly.
Xiao Bai lowered his body and roared, his muscles wound up to pounce.
"Xiao Bai," Jiang Shaoliu jumped down from the tiger's back and put a hand on its neck, "stop that."
The young master stood up and took the huge wolf over to Jiang Shaoliu. He held out his right hand with a radiant smile on his face: "My name is Liu Gang, nice to meet you!"
Liu Gang, the master with three bronze life rings.
Jiang Shaoliu's pupils shrank slightly. He reached out and shook hands with Liu Guang "Jiang Shaoliu!"
"Your tiger looks strong." Liu Guang took back his hand and looked him up and down: "I'd like to see them go at it someday."
"Sure," Jiang Shaoliu nodded.
Bang!
Some distance away, the hulking man smashed his fist into a thick steel alloy plate, leaving a small dent. A metallic sound reverberated through the mall.
A pleasant synthetic voice said, "Test passed. Please proceed to the reception desk for your smart watch."
Shaking his arms as the bronze glow faded from them, the hulking man strode off to the military reception desk.
The military had the most power and it won over most of the human masters.
When he got the watch, he walked past Jiang Shaoliu and Liu Guang and left the hall.
Seeing Jiang Shaoliu staring curiously at the man's watch, Liu Guang smiled and explained: "This smart watch is integrated with military satellites and field survey data and contains the same information shown on the big screen in Hongfa Square. The receptionist will explain the details to you."
Jiang Shaoliu expressed his appreciation and turned to go to the military reception desk with Xiao Bai.
"He managed to tame a white tiger. I'm curious about his power," Liu Guang ran his finger through the wolf's fur as he muttered under his breath. "Can you guess how strong he is?"
The big wolf shook its head noncommittally.
"Good day, sir. You need to test your strength to qualify for your first reward task. Please punch the ergometer plate as hard as you can and we will assign tasks to you according to your power. You'll also receive a smart watch as a gift to help you complete the tasks." The uniformed receptionist held out her arm, "This way, please."
Standing before the ergometer, Jiang Shaoliu narrowed his eyes in concentration.
Behind the half-meter-thick alloy plate were ten strong steel springs the thickness of fingers. Beneath the base of the alloy plate was electrical measuring equipment with cables that disappeared into the floor.
There were many shallow indentations all over the surface of the alloy plate, left by a multitude of strong masters who took the test before him. None of them were particularly deep.
"Shall I punch with my full strength?" Jiang Shaoliu asked himself.
He had never struck with everything he had ever since leaving Huaguoshan. This was his time to show what he could do.
A light flow of air whipped up around him as he assumed his fighting stance.
Xiao Bai crouched and scuttled backwards nervously.
Vapor rose from his body as Jiang Shaoliu focused on the Great Sage's Formula, feeling the warm flow in his body. His muscles became like steel bars and thin spider web cracks began to appear in the marble floor beneath his feet.
Liu Guang watched from a distance, completely riveted.
This young man named Jiang Shaoliu was incredibly strong.
Everyone in the mall focused on him.
What kind of mark would a master who could tame a white tiger leave on the alloy plate?
They were all about to see the Ape Fist, the martial form used by the ancestor monkeys to slaughter the lion and kill the tiger, the fist that subdued the dragon and the phoenix. Jiang Shaoliu was going to show them all.
"Ha!!"
Jiang Shaoliu roared loudly and dug his feet into the ground, the marble floor shattering into fragments beneath him.
A twist of the waist, a jab of the shoulder and the fist was ripping through the air. Jiang Shaoliu bellowed like an ape.
Bang!
Knuckles met alloy plate and all the people in the hall froze in shock.
Xiao Bai leaped and roared excitedly.
The huge grey wolf whined in a low voice and tried to make itself look smaller.
Marble fragments ricocheted throughout the mall. After a few moments the dust cleared and Jiang Shaoliu's figure became clear.
The marble tiles in a two-meter diameter around him had been blown to smithereens, while the whole ergometer as well as its base were lying on the floor ten meters away, still riveted to a piece of marble tile.
Jiang Shaoliu kneaded his knuckles.
"Not bad."