Mark logged in to the game when the time hit 6 p.m. He didn't want to miss a single minute since time was one of the most important factor in the game.
He found himself back inside the dim tunnel. His only source of light was the tiny rays of sunlight that passed through the gaps of the entrance.
He ate a heavy meal before checking on the changes in his stats.
He had been cultivating nonstop for over two days so he wondered how much his Qi had increased.
Player IGN: Wolf of the Grassland
Cultivation: Body Strengthening Second Level
Physique: Mortal
Qi: 176/200
Wealth: 180 Orbes
Vitality: 2.7
Endurance: 6.1
Strength: 3.1
Stamina: 2.7
Speed: 2.5
Spirit: 3.9
Cold Resistance: 1.3
Heat Resistance: 1.3
Damage: 1.7
Looking at the huge increase in his Qi, Mark's eyes went wide like saucers. "No way!"
At this moment, Mark knew that whatever increased his absorption rate was definitely a valuable item. Its value was even higher compared to everything he earned since he started playing the game!
"Don't tell me I'm already in the cultivation rankings…" Mark mumbled as he quickly checked the leaderboards.
Cultivation Rankings
1st - Xuanyuan Wentian (Body Strengthening Fifth Level)
2nd - The Destroyer of Worlds (Body Strengthening Fourth Level)
3rd - Lord Shiva (Body Strengthening Fourth Level)
4th - Saber King (Body Strengthening Fourth Level)
5th - Jewel of the Night (Body Strengthening Third Level)
6th…
771st - Wolf of the Grassland (Body Strengthening Second Level)
[Congratulations on being part of the top 1000 players in the cultivation ranking!]
[The top 1000 players can choose to hide their names. Do you want to hide your name?]
[Yes] [No]
Mark was stunned when he saw himself in the top 1000 players of the cultivation rankings.
Without hesitation, he chose to conceal his identity.
771st - **** ** *** ********* (Body Strengthening Second Level)
Mark didn't want to be high profile in the game to avoid being discovered by his stepmother. He was afraid that she would cause him a lot of trouble once she found out that he was among the top 1000 players in the cultivation ranking.
In the past few years, Mark was aware that his stepmother has been keeping tabs on his daily life. Perhaps she was afraid that he would take back his inheritance so she did every means possible to ensure that he wouldn't go back to the Dublin residence.
With the power of the Dublin Group, his stepmother's network was spread all over the city. She even has some power in the major parts of the country so it was very difficult to avoid her detection.
In the last few years, Mark remained lowkey and he never showed any intention of going back to the Dublin residence to make his stepmother think that he had already given up on his inheritance.
Mark's eyes turned cold as he thought about this. His desire for revenge had never wavered.
"I have to hide my identity for the time being. My friends are already aware of my in-game name so it won't be good if they see me in the leaderboards." He mumbled while clenching his fists.
Mark cleared his thoughts and stabilized his mind.
"I'll go back to the village first and sell all my loot. Then, I will go back here to investigate the reason for this strange phenomenon." Having decided that, Mark grabbed his items and stepped out of the tunnel.
The warm rays of light felt so good in his skin.
He squinted his eyes as he looked at the surroundings.
The village was a few days away on foot. He could travel faster by running, but his injuries were yet to be fully recovered.
"By the time I return to the village, I would be a Body Strengthening Third Level cultivator…" Mark smiled while saying this. He then started his return journey to Greenwood Village.
***
Three days later, Mark arrived at the vicinity of Greenwood Village. He carefully scanned the entrance to see if there was someone from the Iron Fist Gang.
Last time, they sent four people to capture him. He was only lucky enough to escape their pursuit since they were unaware of his cultivation at that time.
At this moment, Mark was already a Body Strengthening Third Level cultivator. His cultivation was now on par with Sir Jason, but he knew that there was still a huge gap in their combat abilities.
Mark covered his body with a beast pelt. Even his face was partially covered.
Mark joined the queue, but his eyes were secretly darting around. His right hand was also resting on the hilt of his sword. He prepared to take action if he discovered something unusual.
When it was his turn to be checked, the gate guards were stunned when they saw the mystical beast pelt that covered half his face.
Mark showed them the entrance token.
The gate guards stared at him deeply before letting him in.
Mark entered the village with a calm look on his face. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed two suspicious individuals looking at him.
Mark lowered his head and walked briskly.
He didn't know if he was being followed and he didn't dare look back. He still hasn't recovered from his injuries so he didn't want to confront anyone at the moment.
Mark circled around the few houses before he headed straight to the market. On his way, he noticed that the people who were following him had already left.
'Where are those guys?' Mark thought to himself.
Soon, Mark sold the corpses of the wild dogs. These mystical beasts were almost at the Second Level of Spider-Grade and to his surprise, each carcass was actually worth 1000 Orbes! According to the buyer, the tails of these wild dogs were the most expensive part since they were commonly used to create ornamental products and clothes. Their pelts were also valuable and even more costly than the pelts of the Green Wolves.
Mark sold all the wild dog carcasses at the total price of 15,000 Orbes!
"Thank you for doing business with us, Sir Wolf!" The buyer smiled from ear to ear.
"Wait! I still have more here." Mark said as he took out a bunch of mystical beast body parts.
"This is…" The buyer was stunned when he saw the domineering horns in front of him. As a professional, he knew that these horns were from a Third Level Spider-Grade mystical beast called Night Wildebeest!
The buyer raised his head and stared at Mark with an incredulous gaze. He never thought that this guy named Wolf would actually sell him something so valuable.
"What do you think? How much is everything here?" Mark asked while pointing at the bloody parts of the Night Wildebeest.
The buyer gulped down hard as he silently made a mental calculation. After a moment of silence, he said hesitantly. "The pelt of the Night Wildebeest has some damage and a huge portion of its bones and meat are not here. Normally, a complete Third Level Spider-Grade mystical beast carcass would go for more than 200,000 Orbes. For instance, this Night Wildebeest is worth 290,000 Orbes if it was a complete corpse. Unfortunately, a huge portion of the carcass is gone so I can't give you the full price… 71,000 Orbes! I can offer 71,000 Orbes for this incomplete corpse. What do you think, Sir Wolf?"
"Let's do 75,000 Orbes and you have a deal." Mark tried to bargain.
The buyer revealed a look of difficulty before he replied. "Let's meet halfway at 72,500 Orbes. That's the most I can give you, Sir Wolf."
Mark grinned at the buyer. "Alright. You have a deal."
"Great!"