28: Chapter 28 Five Million Dollars

After selling the spirit ore, Li Zhengyang squatted behind the cloth curtain and counted the amount received.

One million eight hundred thousand.

Adding the five hundred thousand reward from the Bloody Canyon mission and the money left over from before.

In total, a little over five million.

He locked his phone screen and looked up at the thin, gaunt man opposite him.

"Let me ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Is there anywhere around here that sells weapons? I want good ones, not cheap street stall goods."

The man's Buddhist prayer beads paused for a beat.

"How good?"

"The best kind. Money is no object."

The man reached under the table, pulled out a slip of paper, and pushed it over.

On it was written an address and a string of code.

"Warehouse D7 in the South District of the fortress. Knock three times, pause for two seconds, then knock twice. There's an old man surnamed Xu over there. He worked in the military arsenal for thirty years and started his own business after retiring."

The man lowered his voice.

"He has a few items he keeps at the bottom of his chest. S-rank, military-grade. As for the price... you'll have to discuss that with him yourself."

Li Zhengyang tucked the slip of paper away, stood up, and left.

Warehouse D7 in the South District was hidden in the most remote corner of the fortress, surrounded by abandoned material yards, its iron walls rusted into a sieve.

Knock three times, pause for two seconds, then knock twice.

The door opened a crack from the inside.

"Who referred you?" came an old voice.

"The guy playing with prayer beads behind the Veteran's Teahouse."

The door opened.

The inside was much larger than it appeared from the outside. A basement level had been dug out, with stairs leading down, and it was brightly lit.

A dozen weapons hung on the walls, from blades and spears to bows and crossbows, each one polished to a shine.

The old man was in his sixties, hunched over, his fingers covered in calluses and burn scars.

"Pick whatever you like, but let me know before you touch anything."

Li Zhengyang's gaze swept from left to right, stopping at a wall at the very back.

A long spear.

It was pitch black, the shaft two inches longer and a circle thicker than the mountain-piercing spear.

The spearhead had a unique shape—a triangular pyramid. Three blood grooves extended from the tip down the shaft, with dark gold patterns embedded at the bottom of the grooves.

An iron plaque hung next to the spear rack, with specifications engraved on it.

[S-Rank Alloy Heavy Spear · dragon gall golden spear]

[Total length: 2.6 meters, net weight: 106 jin]

[Material: Black iron refined steel + Level 5 Earth Dragon backbone composite forging]

[Compatible with Martial Spirit Rank qi-blood infusion, maximum tolerance for Martial King-rank aura]

[Armor-piercing coefficient: Unstoppable against anything of the same rank]

Li Zhengyang's breathing quickened slightly.

"How much for this one?"

The old man turned around, looked in the direction he was pointing, his gaunt face expressionless.

"Three million."

Three million.

This price could buy a house in the mainland.

But as Li Zhengyang looked at the spear, his heart skipped a beat.

The mountain-piercing spear was F-rank, which was sufficient for his previous strength, but when fighting those Level 4 demonic beasts in the Bloody Canyon, the shaft had already started to crack.

When infusing it with Martial Spirit Rank qi-blood, the F-rank spear couldn't hold up.

If he fought a few more tough battles, the spear would be ruined.

The S-rank dragon gall golden spear was different; its tolerance limit reached the Martial King rank, meaning he wouldn't need to replace his weapon for a long time.

A one-time investment.

"Can I try it out?"

"Sure."

The old man grunted in agreement, took the dragon gall golden spear off the rack, and handed it over with both hands.

One hundred and six jin.

Li Zhengyang caught it with one hand; his wrist sank slightly, but he immediately steadied it.

It felt completely different from the mountain-piercing spear.

It was heavy, but balanced. The center of gravity was in the front quarter of the shaft, further forward than the mountain-piercing spear, which would make its piercing power even stronger during a thrust.

He infused a trace of qi-blood into it.

The spear shaft hummed.

The dark gold patterns in the three blood grooves lit up.

Aura spread along the patterns, gathering into a vortex-like cyclone at the spearhead, distorting the very air.

The old man's expression finally changed, and he took a step back.

"Alright, alright, don't unleash that in my shop. You can't afford to pay for it if you bring the walls down."

Li Zhengyang withdrew his qi-blood, and the patterns on the spear dimmed.

"Three million. Transferring now."

The notification for the transfer sounded. The old man verified the amount and rummaged through a cabinet, tossing out a custom-made spear strap.

"It's on the house. Don't mind how ugly it is."

The strap was made of cowhide—rough, but sturdy.

Li Zhengyang slung the dragon gall golden spear onto his back, the weight pressing solidly against his shoulders.

He didn't throw away the old mountain-piercing spear; he kept it as a backup and tucked it into his space ring.

After leaving the warehouse, he turned into an empty dead-end alley.

Time for the real business.

He pulled out his phone and opened his banking app.

He had spent three million of the five million on the spear, leaving two million.

He pulled up the system interface.

Recharge amount: 2,000,000.

Confirm.

[Recharge successful!]

[Recharge amount: 2,000,000]

[Obtained Qi-Blood Value: +20,000]

[Current Qi-Blood Value: 72,628]

[Detected Qi-Blood Value breakthrough threshold]

[Realm breakthrough: Level 5 Martial Spirit → 9th-Rank Martial Spirit!]

Jumping four levels at once.

This breakthrough was unlike any of the previous ones.

It wasn't pain, it wasn't heat; it was as if the heavens and earth were pressing down on him.

The air density within a ten-meter radius suddenly increased. Gravel on the ground was pressed into the mud by an invisible force, and the iron walls on both sides of the alley groaned and deformed with a creaking sound.

9th-Rank Martial Spirit.

The peak of the Martial Spirit realm.

One more step up and he would be a Martial Ancestor.

Li Zhengyang stood in the alley, clenching and unclenching his fingers.

Aura was seeping out from every pore on his body. With every natural breath, he could set the spiritual energy within a twenty-meter radius in motion.

He casually punched a discarded iron barrel nearby.

The iron barrel didn't deform.

It simply evaporated, not leaving a single scrap behind.

"Money well spent."

He muttered to himself, suppressed his aura, and walked toward the barracks.

Halfway there, the fortress's broadcast system suddenly blared.

"Attention all personnel! Attention all personnel!"

"The North District detection array has issued a Level 1 warning! A large-scale demonic beast migration wave has been detected in the direction of the Bloody Canyon!"

"The beast tide is expected to reach the perimeter of the fortress within thirty-six hours!"

"All combat units must immediately enter combat readiness status! Repeat, all combat units must immediately enter combat readiness status!"

The fortress instantly erupted into chaos.

Barracks doors were kicked open, soldiers half-dressed in their gear rushed out, and assembly whistles sounded one after another.

Li Zhengyang stood by the side of the road, watching the fortress descend into chaos, and pulled out his phone to check the time.

A beast tide.

He looked up toward the north.

At the end of the horizon, beneath the gray skyline, he could vaguely see a mass of black things moving.

That wasn't a dark cloud.

His phone vibrated.

A group notification from the Po Feng Battalion.

[Attention all personnel of the Po Feng Battalion: According to the command headquarters' dispatch order, the Po Feng Battalion is responsible for the defense of the northwest section of the city wall. All personnel must arrive at the designated location within twenty minutes. Latecomers will be dealt with according to military law.]

The northwest section.

Li Zhengyang remembered.

It was the section that had fallen into disrepair, with the fewest firepower points and the thinnest walls.

He tucked his phone back into his pocket, unslung the long spear from his back, and gripped it in his hand.

On the way to the northwest section, he saw the members of the Fierce Tiger Squad running, fully armed, toward the southeast section.

The southeast section—the area with the thickest walls, strongest firepower, and most complete defenses.

Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao's arrangement.

Li Zhengyang smiled.

When he reached the base of the northwest section of the wall, the members of the Po Feng Battalion had arrived one after another.

Several roommates from the 7th Squad of the 3rd Platoon were huddled together, their faces pale.

One of the new recruits' hands was shaking, unable to even hold his sword hilt steady.

"Damn it, the northwest section? During the last beast tide, this section was almost breached, and half the platoon died!"

"That bastard Vice Commander Zhang Jianbiao is clearly trying to mess with us!"

"Shh, keep it down!"

Li Zhengyang walked over, carrying the dragon gall golden spear, and climbed onto the city wall.

He stood on the ramparts and looked out.

On the northern horizon, that black tide was approaching.

Dense swarms of demonic beasts, covering the sky and earth, stretched from the left edge of his vision to the right—there was no end in sight.

The ground was shaking.

The Po Feng Battalion soldiers on the wall watched the black tide, and some of their legs had already started to tremble.

Li Zhengyang slammed the butt of his spear down.

Clang—

The iron ferrule at the butt of the spear struck the stone surface of the wall, the sound crisp and loud, drowning out the surrounding noise.

"Stop the damn shaking."

He glanced at the terrified new recruits beside him.

"You guard the back. Leave the front to me."