Main tower.
Alkaid had returned here.
And step by step, he made his way to the top floor of this nine-story building.
Just as he reached the top floor, an argument broke out above.
Immediately afterwards, a gunshot was heard.
"Bang!"
The argument ceased.
Before long, a forty-something man wearing glasses, carrying a suitcase, hurriedly ran out.
The moment he stepped out the door, he faced the barrel of Alkaid's raised gun.
The man quickly put down the suitcase and, as if by instinct, dropped the gun in his hand, raising both hands.
"Inside here is the money and supplies Mr. Xu has accumulated over the month, yet to be turned in, just the cash alone amounts to over three million..."
As the man spoke, he quickly added, "I'm talking about Star Currency. When you include the other items, the total value in the suitcase is more than four million."
Star Currency.
The currency of the Red Star Empire.
It is also the most mainstream currency of the present day.
In this world, there's no such thing as one superpower; there are only two vying for dominance.
Apart from the emerging powerhouse, Snow Dragon, and the world hegemon, Red Star, other nations are insignificant.
At best, some countries can serve as pawns during the power struggle between the two, while others can't even garner enough interest to be noticed.
Four million Red Star Currency, when converted to Dayu Currency at the exchange rate, is equivalent to forty million.
"Now, all these things are yours..."
As the man spoke, he kept his hands raised and carefully backed away.
But the next second...
Gunshots sounded.
"Bang bang bang!"
Several blossoms of blood surfaced on the man's body.
With eyes reddened and filled with hatred, he fell unwillingly.
Alkaid's expression was calm.
He had seen this man when he infiltrated the park; he was one of the high-ranking executives of the park.
And for all the deeds of this park...
Every high-ranking executive killed, none were innocent.
He picked up the suitcase.
He glanced at the luxurious office the man had come out of.
The office was clearly ransacked.
There was also a corpse on the floor.
Obviously, it was the loser of the recent argument.
Alkaid withdrew his gaze and said, "I've avenged you. The deal is done."
He then stripped off his blood-stained clothes, took the suitcase, and left the building.
Once he saw the danger was no longer present, he did not keep fully armed.
Ditching his firearms, he blended with the crowd and left Qingyu Industrial Park.
Within half an hour of his departure from the park, dozens of armed pickups with mounted machine guns and a few armored personnel carriers entered the area, swiftly conducting an "anti-terror" drill.
Further away, police cars from Feiyu Country with sirens screaming also rushed to the scene.
But by this time, Alkaid had already reached the outskirts of Guangming City.
His walking speed did not seem fast, but in half an hour, he had covered a distance of five or six kilometers.
When he arrived at the outskirts of Guangming City, he hitched a ride, heading straight for the border checkpoint.
It wasn't until he reached the checkpoint that something occurred to him.
He seemed to have traveled through irregular channels.
Just then, an excited shout reached his ears, "Young Master Su!"
Then he saw Zhang Qing hurriedly putting two unfinished buns into a bag and tossing them aside. While wiping his greasy hands on his clothes, he quickly approached.
Seeing him, Alkaid was somewhat surprised.
"Has Young Master Su finished his business?"
He was unsure whether he should show concern.
"Yes,"
Alkaid said briefly, "Let's go back."
"This way, please, Young Master Su,"
Zhang Qing quickly said.
Then, they crossed the checkpoint again and arrived at Zhang Qing's sedan.
"Take me to the hotel,"
Alkaid instructed.
A moment later, remembering something, he added, "And stop by Heavenly Sword Workshop."
"Does Young Master Su want a sword? Are you thinking of buying a weapon?"
As Zhang Qing spoke, he introduced, "I've made some inquiries recently, and Mijiade Collection Gallery, located at Yulong International, has a renowned sword from this era named Chengying. It's said to be a thousand-year-old treasured sword, tracing back to the Lost Era, and what's astonishing is that this sword, forged a millennium ago, could not be damaged by alloys produced with modern technology. Would you like to take a look, Young Master Su?"
"A famed sword?"
Alkaid repeated the term.
The Martial Path in this world has been flourishing since ancient times.
Correspondingly, divine weapons have also occupied a significant presence in history.
Many divine weapons are hyped with rhetoric to seem world-shaking, as if having the power to destroy cities and countries.
In this context, the concept of a famed sword is not unfounded, but comes with a strict evaluation system.
Above famed swords, there are treasured swords and divine swords.
Divine Treasure Weapons are exorbitantly priced, easily costing hundreds of millions, billions, or even tens of billions.
The renowned swords were somewhat cheaper by comparison.
The prices started at ten million.
Some highly famed swords could sell for over a hundred million or even several hundred million.
"Ancient swords, huh." Alkaid pondered for a moment and said, "Let's take a look."
"Alright."
Zhang Qing quickly started driving.
Alkaid sat in the back, closing his eyes, seemingly resting.
Seeing this, Zhang Qing slowed the car down a bit and put on some soft, soothing music.
But at this moment, Alkaid's mind was immersed in the tree-shaped search engine of the spiritual world.
Several pieces of information had refreshed here at this moment.
One was about slaying a Third Rank mid-level horned demon, and two were for slaying Third Rank high-level horned demons.
Besides...
[Transaction earnings of 46.88 million. The First Rank Businessman's branch has received growth nutrients... However, the main trunk has absorbed all the nutrients, halting the growth.]
Alkaid focused on this piece of information.
Earnings of 46.88 million, the nutrient acquired was even higher than what was gained from slaying Third Rank high-level horned demons.
It was worth making a special trip to the main building.
"Apart from transaction earnings, the growth in a Businessman's experience also relates to the cost invested. My investment this time... entails the human cost of a Grandmaster and the material cost of a sword worth five hundred thousand, which eventually yielded several times the revenue..."
Alkaid calculated this with a hint of regret.
In the [Businessman] calculation model, the human cost of a Grandmaster was too high.
Moreover, as his cultivation improved, the human cost would only get higher.
Unless he could earn money lying down, otherwise...
Even an earning of 46.88 million couldn't compare to the income from slaying demons.
"The nutrients obtained from being a Businessman, plus those from demon hunting..."
Alkaid's gaze concentrated on the [Martial Artist] branch.
In the next moment, the nutrients from both branches poured in simultaneously.
The branch representing [Martial Artist] instantly experienced vigorous growth, causing the ancient tree itself to break through the height of four meters and continued to grow to four meters one, four meters two...
Only at four meters three did the growth slow down a bit.
As the [Martial Artist] branch underwent growth and transformation, a multitude of information also surged in Alkaid's mind.
This time, the information was not confined to Grandmasters but revolved around Martial Saints!
What is a Martial Saint?
Blood Replacement and Marrow Cleansing, that is a Martial Saint!
Once this step in cultivation is complete, the cultivator is no longer human.
They can achieve many things deemed impossible by the so-called human limits.
Strength, speed, impact resistance, and organ robustness will all climb to an entirely new domain.
And...
At first, his mind was filled with methods for efficient Blood Replacement and Marrow Cleansing, but later on, the information that came from the ancient tree even touched on nourishing the spirit with qi.
Since ancient times, the Martial Arts World has had the saying, "Externally cultivate the flesh, bones, and skin; internally cultivate a single breath of qi."
Martial Path cultivation is all about cultivating a person's essence and qi.
That is, the physical body and the vitality.
Before the Grandmaster Realm, strengthen the physique.
Within the Martial Saint Realm, temper the blood and qi.
However, according to Taoist theory, the human body has three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit.
Only when these three are unified can the human body evolve.
The way of the Martial Saint also initially touches upon this concept.
It pertains to the obscure "spirit."
Nourishing the spirit with qi.
If one is successful in nourishing the spirit, it will not only maintain constant mental vigor and more sensitive reactions, but it will also enhance the individual's perception and may even bring about all sorts of marvels hard for ordinary people to imagine.
If Blood Replacement and Marrow Cleansing, no matter how much one practices, is still dealing with the physical strike abilities understandable by ordinary people, then after achieving great success in nourishing the spirit...
What is performed will be the "Divine Skills," techniques beyond scientific explanation to the common folk.
"Nourishing the spirit."
Alkaid said to himself in his mind.
Is this the key to touching the realm above Martial Saints?
Unfortunately...
His current [Fourth Rank Martial Saint] had only just sprouted and not yet bloomed, converting into progress, it was barely at 30%, clearly not enough to acquire more "spirit nourishing" information.
To grasp the marvelous use of "spirit," it seems one would need to push the Martial Saint's progress to over 70% before there's hope.
"Soon."
Alkaid whispered to himself.
At the same time, he looked in a certain direction.
Yulong International.
There...
There was another demon!
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling!"
Just then, Alkaid's phone rang.
He glanced at it...
It was a call from "Lin Xiaowei"?
An inspector from the Yunmeng City special case team?
He was puzzled, but after some thought, he still answered the phone.
As soon as the call connected, Lin Xiaowei's voice came through, "Where are you in Shanlong City right now? I think... it's time we met."