239: You can't bear this honor, let me do it

North Mountain Battlefield.

Even though the Dungeon defense battle had ended several days ago, the scene of devastation on North Mountain was still shocking.

Everywhere were leveled mountaintops and giant craters left by artillery shells, like a honeycomb, pockmarked.

The battlefield had been cleaned up.

Engineers were using construction machinery to fill the large craters.

But the lingering smell of blood in the air was still undeniable.

In fact, this Dungeon defense battle had broken historical records.

When Permanent Dungeons appeared in other regions, it would take anywhere from more than ten days to several months for humans to enter the Dungeon and establish a base.

However, this time, the Changtu County Dungeon defense battle only took about one day to successfully breach the Dungeon.

The speed was astonishing, terrifying, and a miracle in the making.

And the domestic media did not let this wave of popularity pass by.

Especially the flag-planting photo taken by the photographer at the end.

That shocking image pushed the Changtu County Dungeon defense battle to an unprecedented climax.

For a time, Zha Tian Gang became famous!

Shen Bei's name once again dominated the internet.

Many netizens left comments under the trending topic:

"My goodness, is Liaobei Province really that fierce? Martial Artists from other provinces are still waiting for orders to go support, and it's already over?"

"As expected of the 'Chopping Province,' this astonishing speed of entry, thumbs up!"

"Is Shen Bei even human? He dared to raid the alien's main camp with three people, killed over two hundred, and even killed a Six-Rank Martial Artist? Is the editor not exaggerating?"

"Holy cow, these young people, these young people nowadays, they really dare to dream and dare to do."

"This kind of perseverance in battle is probably beyond 99% of Martial Artists. If it were me, I wouldn't dare to ambush."

"It's not that I'm bragging, but what is this guy Shen Bei? If you tie me to a utility pole and he can beat me, I lose (dog head emoji)"

"Who has Shen Bei's WeChat? Such an excellent man, if I don't hurry up and have a child with him, I can't stand it."

...

At this moment, a group of people began to descend the pockmarked North Mountain battlefield.

Qi Chuanyu pulled out his phone, finally got a signal, and was refreshing the news.

The news about the Changtu County Dungeon was overwhelming.

But as he read, Qi Chuanyu became a bit confused.

The more he read, the angrier he got, and the more absurd it felt.

He wished he could smash his phone on the spot!

"This is unfair!" Qi Chuanyu roared through gritted teeth.

Shen Bei and the others were startled, looking at Qi Chuanyu with expressions usually reserved for an idiot.

"What's wrong with you?" Shen Bei asked.

Qi Chuanyu pointed at the news on his phone, scrolling up and down, showing it to everyone: "Come on, look, the reports about the Dungeon defense battle mention Shen Bei's name throughout. Where's my name?"

Shen Bei replied bluntly: "Isn't your name on your ID card?"

Qi Chuanyu: ...

"That's not funny," Qi Chuanyu's face was unreadable: "I mean in the news. Not only is my name not there, but neither are Liao Zhongyang's and Jian Tong's. We fought this Dungeon together, right? Why is this happening!"

In Qi Chuanyu's opinion, if they had attacked the Dungeon with a large army, it would be understandable not to be named.

There were only four of them. Would it kill the news to print a few more names? They wouldn't lose much money even if they charged by the character!

Shen Bei sighed upon hearing this: "You're being vain, you're being vain."

Qi Chuanyu's mouth twitched: "What if it were you? Wouldn't you be furious? We fought the Dungeon together, and in the end, you became famous, while we weren't even mentioned."

Shen Bei sighed and explained: "The reason your names weren't mentioned is that we were afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it and would easily become arrogant."

Qi Chuanyu: ...

Hearing that, he really wanted to punch Shen Bei.

"Of course, that's not important," Shen Bei's expression suddenly turned serious, and he continued: "The real reason is for safety."

The three exchanged glances. Safety?

As Shen Bei walked, the smile on his face slowly faded, and he said expressionlessly: "Imagine if you suddenly became famous, heavily promoted by the media. That's like a tree standing out in the forest, bound to be destroyed by the wind. It's inevitable that people from dark corners will come looking for trouble."

"Jian Tong should remember that after I became the Champion in the Martial Arts Exam, I was attacked by the Apocalypse Cult that very night."

"So, the media not mentioning your names is all for your own good."

Jian Tong nodded.

At that time, luckily, Shen Bei had Cultivated with Stance Training in advance, which saved him from death.

Qi Chuanyu understood what Shen Bei meant.

It was the so-called: high reputation invites slander, a big tree attracts wind, and the bird that sticks its head out gets shot.

But he still shook his head: "What about you? Aren't you afraid?"

"I'm already famous," Shen Bei raised an eyebrow, with the unique demeanor of an expert, his temperament flowing like water, and continued: "This is what I call adding flowers to embroidery."

"I mean, aren't you afraid of being targeted by others?" Qi Chuanyu ignored Shen Bei's pretentious expression and asked directly.

Shen Bei wore a condescending, majestic expression: "Have I been targeted by others any less often? Am I not still standing alive before you, accepting your worship?"

The three collectively rolled their eyes at Shen Bei.

Shen Bei clasped his hands behind his back, an aura of inspiring reverence naturally arising, and continued: "Believe me, the spotlight isn't fun. Your state of mind should be more detached, live out your true self, not seeking fame, not seeking profit, silently dedicating your strength to the greatest cause. This is what a qualified Martial Artist, a doctor with a clear conscience, should be."

"From now on, we'll settle it this way: you fight the battles, and I'll bear the empty fame. Let me live out this life in a muddle, chasing empty fame and profit, coveting glory and gain."

"Don't pity me, I'm not worth pitying, really. Old Qi, why are you getting excited? Listen to me. Hey, hey, Big Guy, why are you clenching your fist? My Jian Tong is good, she's planning to cheer me on and give me energy."

"Damn it!" Qi Chuanyu once again updated his understanding of Shen Bei's shamelessness.

But Qi Chuanyu had to admit, Shen Bei's words did make some sense.

Those idiots from the Apocalypse Cult indeed liked to hunt famous Martial Artists, especially students.

Imagine, you're eating hotpot and singing, and then, *snap*, you're harvested by the Apocalypse Cult.

Fame or not, it really isn't as important as life.

In short, Qi Chuanyu and the others couldn't handle such honor.

And the reason Shen Bei wasn't afraid of being a big target was that Shen Bei had a tough fate; you couldn't argue with it, it was incomparable.

After Shen Bei's persuasion, the three felt relieved.

They carried the supplies looted from the Dungeon and continued down the mountain.

Soon, Shen Bei and the others had returned to Changtu County.

Due to the appearance of the Dungeon, the county town had already designated an area as a Martial Artist trading market.

After all, while Permanent Dungeons were dangerous, they also meant more resources could be traded.

Almost every two days, a large number of merchants would move in.

Shen Bei and the others were the first group of Martial Artists to loot the Dungeon.

When they appeared, the various vendors in the trading market swarmed around them, chattering and shouting:

"Martial Artists are here!"

"They seem to have a lot of stuff."

"Buying! High-price buying!"

"Look here, absolutely the highest market price, let's be friends!"

"Hiss~~~ Isn't that Shen Bei, the most famous person from the Dungeon defense battle?"

"The internet is calling him the fastest man now."

"Little brother, do you have any good stuff, more of it?"

...

Shen Bei was annoyed by these people.

Especially the 'fastest man' part, that was insulting!

These netizens are no good.

Then, Qi Chuanyu and the others took out the contents of their bags and placed them on the ground.

Naturally, they had to sell what they harvested.

The first item Qi Chuanyu displayed drew a cheer from the crowd:

"Immortal Mist Cloud Haze! It's Immortal Mist Cloud Haze!"

"Wow, this stuff is good."

"The price isn't very high, though."

"Right, right, the market has started to drop recently."

"Bad timing, a few months ago it was in short supply."

"Buying this now means holding a year's worth of inventory, it's not worth it."

...

The merchants were all cunning.

After eyeing the items, they immediately ganged up to drive down the price.

Their lies were smooth, a collective act.

The goal was to give Qi Chuanyu the impression that while the items were good, their timing was off, as if the market already had ample supply.

Immortal Mist Cloud Haze is a type of "tea leaf" from the Dungeon.

Its tea leaves have a unique shape, as if they are fragments of stars picked from an immortal realm. Each leaf resembles a miniature emerald, with a faint silver sheen on its surface and delicate golden edges.

When brewing tea, simply put two or three leaves into a transparent teapot and pour in sweet spring water from a mountain stream.

Instantly, the tea leaves slowly unfurl in the water, like mountains and clouds in an ink wash painting, with profound Concept.

The faint glow released by the tea leaves gradually permeates the water, and the tea soup quickly turns a dreamy light purple, with faint, shimmering golden speckles.

Once the tea soup reaches a suitable temperature, take a light sip. The mouth is immediately filled with a unique rich sweetness, as if tasting the Milky Way stars, or bathing in the morning mist of an immortal realm, refreshing and intoxicating.

Drinking this tea not only cleanses the body and mind and eliminates fatigue, but also helps Martial Artists adjust their True Qi during Cultivation and improves the fluidity of True Qi circulation. Therefore, it is known in Martial Artist circles as "the Martial Artist's Liuwei Dihuang Wan."

Shen Bei, who was watching the show from the side, originally wanted to help Qi Chuanyu sell.

After all, this group of people had already laid the groundwork to collectively drive down the price, just waiting for Qi Chuanyu's response.

It must be said, this is what real and cunning merchants are like.

In typical TV shows, when the protagonist takes out an item, these merchants would furiously bid against each other, fighting like dogs. How could that happen?

Merchants aren't fools; paying one extra cent is like taking their life. How could they happily raise each other's prices, allowing the protagonist to profit without doing anything?

Too fake!

The current market is the most realistic.

If I'm not maximizing profit, why am I even bothering with you?

Shen Bei planned to help Qi Chuanyu bring the price back up; they couldn't afford to be exploited by a coordinated price suppression.

But unexpectedly, Qi Chuanyu's reaction was even more astonishing. He put away the Immortal Mist Cloud Haze into his pocket and said indifferently: "Oh, the market is saturated? Alright, then I won't sell it. I'll take it home and feed it to the pigs. Let's look at the next herb."

Everyone: ...

Shen Bei gave a thumbs up. This move by Qi Chuanyu was called 'retreating to advance.'

He immediately seized the initiative.

As for whether the market was saturated, Shen Bei and the others didn't care about that.

But one thing was clear: Immortal Mist Cloud Haze wouldn't spoil even if kept for a year.

Whoever was anxious to make money would know.

Sure enough, after their initial confusion, the merchants began to haggle with Qi Chuanyu, completing the sale and purchase at normal market prices.

Meanwhile, Shen Bei's books were being pre-sorted with Jian Tong's help.

Any book that wasn't a Martial Skill was sold on the spot.

There was no use keeping them.

They were too stiff even for bathroom use.

Of course, according to trading rules, any books from the Dungeon had to be copied at an official location, and the copies submitted to the national library.

The originals could then enter the market for trade.

In reality, this was merely a regulation; some books were not traded in the market at all.

Therefore, the state also issued a benefit: for every Dungeon book uploaded, there was a certain Martial Artist integral (points) reward.

These points could be exchanged for items in the national treasury.

They were also quite valuable.

So, there were two ways to trade books.

One was for books that still carried points.

The other was for books that did not carry points.

The prices of the two differed somewhat.

As he was picking, Shen Bei was dumbfounded.

According to Jian Tong's translation, she was absolutely certain...

Shen Bei had come up empty-handed...