27: Nourish the soul

"Why is there so much?"

Qiao Yu carefully recounted the digits after the 1. There were eight zeros, confirming it was indeed one hundred million.

"They didn't transfer the money to the wrong account, did they? They'll have to recall it later, right?"

Qiao Yu scratched his head, slightly conflicted about whether he should use this one hundred million.

A row of floating icons was displayed on the screen, including a mail-style icon. There was a red dot in the upper right corner of the mail icon, with the number 2 marked in the center of the dot.

Qiao Yu, who had obsessive-compulsive disorder, felt annoyed and clicked directly into it. As soon as the mail opened, an image of a middle-aged man suddenly popped up on the screen—it was Zhuge Tao.

"Qiao Yu, congratulations on passing the Warrior Actual Combat Assessment and officially becoming a Warrior!"

Qiao Yu immediately flinched, took three steps back, and almost thought the middle-aged man was going to force a kiss on him.

"I assume you've already noticed the change in your account balance?"

"The higher-ups at the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School informed us that their Head Curator, Thunder God, wanted to take you as his Personal Disciple, but you refused. This is a slap in the face to Thunder God, and also a slap in the face to all the Warriors of the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School."

"Once this news gets out, whether or not you eventually become Thunder God's Personal Disciple, your life will likely not be peaceful."

"Although we don't know why you refused, it significantly brought prestige to our Dojo of Limits, and it's impossible for our Dojo of Limits to show no appreciation."

"This one hundred million in start-up capital is the first investment we, the high-level executives, decided to give you after discussion. Subsequent investments will continue to observe your daily performance and progress. Keep up the good work, young man!"

Zhuge Tao in the video spoke rapidly, like a machine gun, only stopping when the video ended.

"The Thunderbolt Martial Arts School actually released the news?"

Qiao Yu felt a headache coming on after hearing Zhuge Tao drop this bombshell.

He just wanted to develop quietly, why was it so difficult?

"Forget it. Trouble probably won't find me anytime soon. Since it wasn't a mistaken transfer, I can spend this money without worry."

Qiao Yu first opened the Warrior Forum and browsed information about the Wilderness Area, as well as tutorial posts on Warrior Techniques and equipment.

After gaining a general understanding, he opened the Dojo of Limits internal Online Mall, preparing to buy the gear he would need in the Wilderness Area.

What he needed most now was to hurry to the Wilderness Area so the fungal swarm could have an environment for rampant growth.

However, combat in the Wilderness Area is too random and fraught with danger; the difficulty cannot be compared to the Beast Soldier Level monsters that were pre-selected for the Actual Combat Assessment.

He must be fully prepared. When it concerns life safety, you can never be too cautious.

Guidance Techniques, Movement Techniques, and Attack Methods—these three major Secret Manuals are most important to a Warrior. Zhuge Tao had previously promised that he, like Luo Feng, would cover the cost of any Secret Manual under one hundred million.

"Since I can get it for free, I must buy the most expensive one."

Qiao Yu clicked directly on the Secret Manual section of the mall, specifically the Attack category.

Rows of secret manuals and their descriptions instantly appeared on the screen.

The pinned Secret Manuals were Hong's *Destroy the World* and Thunder God's Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

Qiao Yu wasn't sure if he could master these two Ultimate Secret Manuals, but if he didn't fully utilize the 100 million free quota Zhuge Tao gave him, it would feel like a waste.

Hong uses a spear, and the difficulty of mastering it is too high, plus it would require starting over, so Qiao Yu naturally wouldn't choose it.

"Then I can only choose the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade. Furthermore, the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade is top-tier in terms of body tempering."

Qiao Yu clicked directly on the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade in the second row.

Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, First Three Levels—Price 200 million huaxia coin (Full Price), 100 million huaxia coin (Half Price, requires Two-Star Contribution Points) [According to your contract, the contribution point requirement is waived for your first Secret Manual purchase.]

"Buy it!"

Qiao Yu immediately clicked the orange 'Buy Now' button, and a confirmation window popped up.

"Please confirm whether you wish to purchase the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, First Three Levels. Your current available free quota is 100 million huaxia coin."

"Confirm! Only a fool passes up a bargain."

Qiao Yu pressed 'Confirm' without even blinking.

"Please verify via fingerprint scan for final confirmation!"

Another reminder popped up on the screen.

Qiao Yu placed his finger on the fingerprint scanner embedded in the screen and confirmed immediately.

"Purchase successful!"

"Deduction successful!"

"The Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, First Three Levels Secret Manual, will be delivered to your home, Mr. Qiao Yu, within 24 hours. Thank you for supporting the Dojo of Limits, and we wish you Flourishing Martial Arts Fortune!"

After confirming all the prompts, the pop-up window finally disappeared.

As for other Combat Equipment, Qiao Yu did not plan to buy them directly.

When browsing the Warrior Forum posts just now, he saw a Newbie Guide post. The poster recommended that newly promoted Warriors could ask Warrior friends with Contribution Points to help purchase Combat Equipment, thus achieving a half-price discount.

This was already a well-known Unspoken Rule within the Home of Limits. The martial arts school officials didn't stop it, as it was legal and compliant, and greatly increased the survival rate of Warriors in the early stages.

However, if you wanted to find a Warrior friend with Contribution Points, you naturally had to offer some 'Emotional Fee' to move that Warrior friend.

Usually, 10% of the purchased item's price is given as an 'Emotional Fee' to the Warrior friend with Contribution Points.

"I've met quite a few people recently. I'll ask some familiar Warrior friends in the neighborhood for help tomorrow."

Qiao Yu looked at the time; it was nearly 10 PM.

"I feel like I've forgotten something."

Qiao Yu smacked his lips, feeling that he had overlooked an important matter.

"Holy crap, I forgot about the Soul Fungi!"

Qiao Yu hurriedly called up the System Panel.

[host: Qiao Yu (Intermediate Warrior Level, Psycher Master Unawakened)]

[Current flesh and blood mycelium quantity: 30,000 milliliters]

[Current Soul Fungi quantity: 30,000 milliliters]

[Soul Fungi quantity required for Nurturing the Soul: 10,000 milliliters]

"I wonder if the System has OCD, or if I really just happen to kill exactly this many monsters every time. The fungal swarm quantity is always a nice round number, which is good, makes it easier for me to check."

Qiao Yu complained silently. He now had a full 30,000 milliliters of Soul Fungi, which was completely enough for the first Nurturing the Soul.

"System, consume the Soul Fungi and begin Nurturing the Soul!"

[Ding! Initiating the first Soul Nurturing for the host. This Soul Nurturing will consume 10,000 milliliters of Soul Fungi!]

As soon as the System finished the prompt, Qiao Yu felt the Soul Fungi inside his body being extracted by the System, and wisps of ethereal dust rose from around him.

The white-green Soul Fungi gathered together, forming a strange shape.

Qiao Yu had a strange feeling that the shape resembled the skull of some animal.

The Soul Fungi, having finally taken shape, turned into a stream of water and slowly flowed toward the crown of his head.

Qiao Yu instantly felt a warm sensation spread throughout his body.

It was a warmth that reached the depths of his soul, as if his entire being were immersed in a hot spring, making him feel drowsy and his eyelids increasingly heavy.

Qiao Yu lay directly on the sofa in the Audio-Visual Room, savoring this feast from the depths of his soul.