43: Chapter 43 Don't misunderstand, I'm just here to buy some goods.

99 Gold Coins.

Equivalent to 99 million huaxia coins.

Looking at the golden gift pack that occupied his entire field of vision, its special effects practically overflowing from the screen, Chen You's heart remained unruffled; he even felt a little like laughing.

Save money?

The only consequence of saving money would be getting pinned down in a conference room by Director Li to attend a political and ideological education class in front of a group of national-treasure-level experts.

That kind of experience was enough once.

"Purchase."

With a thought, Chen You didn't even bother to look closely at what was inside the gift pack.

[Your account balance is insufficient. Would you like to top up immediately?]

"Yes."

[Please enter the top-up amount.]

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen You directly topped up all 1 billion from his bank card.

[Top-up successful! You have successfully topped up 1,000 Gold Coins!]

[Ding! You have successfully purchased the 'Limited Time Exclusive · Ascension Support Grand Gift Pack'!]

There wasn't even a second of delay.

From seeing the gift pack to completing this transaction of nearly 100 million, the entire process was seamless, so fast that it didn't even give Hill a chance to open her mouth and make a sales pitch.

The golden gift pack burst open with a bang, turning into a sky full of light rain, eventually condensing into five streaks of light that merged into Chen You's body.

[Congratulations! You have obtained: ascension dao sword (Rare)!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Ascension Dao Crown (Rare)!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained: ascension daoist robe (Rare)!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Ascension Cloud Boots (Rare)!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained: Storage Ring (Rare · Space Expansion)!]

Chen You was stunned for a moment.

Half a set of equipment, plus a ring that expanded his inventory.

He quickly checked the attributes.

[ascension dao sword]

[Quality: Rare]

[Attack: +50]

[Special Effect: Spiritual Qi Conduction +20% (Improves the spiritual power circulation efficiency of cultivation methods and skills)]

[Equipment Requirement: Class · Cultivator]

[ascension daoist robe]

[Quality: Rare]

[Defense: +30]

[HP: +100]

[Special Effect: Spiritual Qi Affinity +10% (Slightly increases spiritual qi absorption speed)]

[Equipment Requirement: Class · Cultivator]

...

Just as the system said, there was no level restriction.

But looking at the attributes alone, they were indeed unremarkable.

Any Level 10 player could easily get blue equipment with better attributes than these.

However, Chen You wasn't very disappointed.

Laymen look at attributes, while experts look at special effects.

Especially that "Spiritual Qi Conduction +20%" on the ascension dao sword!

This meant that when he performed the Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique, the circulation of spiritual power would be smoother, and the power of the sword moves could be more perfectly unleashed.

The previous novice iron sword was like a solid iron rod; it could hit people, but using it to perform subtle sword techniques felt sluggish everywhere.

But this ascension dao sword was a true "Dharma Artifact"!

"Change equipment."

With a thought from Chen You.

The novice set on his body instantly disappeared.

In its place was a simple, ancient-style black daoist robe with gold trim.

His long hair was tied up by a simple jade crown, and he wore cloud-patterned boots on his feet.

Finally, he reached out his hand, and the elegantly styled ascension dao sword, its blade flowing with a faint green light, appeared in his hand.

His entire temperament instantly transformed from a greenhorn fresh out of the novice village into an ethereal, refined Cultivator with a restrained aura.

Even though it was just the basic model.

"Not bad."

Chen You nodded in satisfaction and casually performed a sword flourish.

The blade emitted a clear, pleasant hum, creating a wonderful resonance with the spiritual power inside his body.

Chen You opened his attribute panel again.

[Character: Chen You]

[Class: Cultivator]

[Level: 7 (Qi Refining Second Layer)]

[Title: immortal path pioneer]

[HP: 2005]

[Spiritual Power: 830]

[Attack: 574]

[Defense: 255]

Chen You's brow furrowed slightly.

Are these attributes correct?

He did a simple calculation; his health should be around a thousand, and his attack should only be over two hundred.

Could it be... because of Qi Refining Second Layer?

Raising the realm by one small level increases attributes by this much?!

The corners of Chen You's mouth began to curl up uncontrollably.

Holy crap! Can other players even have these attributes at Level 20?

"Calm down, calm down, this is cultivation after all!"

Chen You tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth, taking deep breaths repeatedly, not letting himself laugh out loud.

Hill, beside him, still wore a professional smile, but a hint of confusion had appeared on her face.

"Distinguished supreme member, do you need any assistance?"

"Nothing!"

Chen You waved his hand immediately and walked toward the exit of the Supreme Tower.

Business first, time to go on a shopping spree.

"Navigation, head to the Auction House."

The familiar snow-white giant rabbit appeared again, carrying the newly transformed Chen You as it turned into a white blur and vanished from the entrance of the Supreme Tower.

...

Zhao City Auction House.

This was one of the most chaotic and bustling places in all of Zhao City.

In addition to system consignments, this was also an excellent spot many people chose for setting up stalls.

Adventurers from various civilizations and races gathered here, loudly hawking the spoils of war they had obtained.

Or, in front of the dazzling array of shelves, they would argue until they were red in the face over a one-copper-coin price difference.

A burly warrior was currently spitting as he promoted the blue axe he had just looted to passersby.

"Hey! Buddy! Check out this Bone-Crushing Battle Axe! Can be equipped at Level 10! Strength +8, Attack +35! Top quality! Only 50 silver coins, take it!"

Beside him, a lean merchant squatted on the ground with a ragged cloth spread out in front of him, covered with potions and scrolls of various colors.

"Recovery Potion, restores 100 HP instantly! A must-have for fighting bosses! 3 silver coins a bottle, discounts for bulk purchases!"

Amidst this clamor, a white blur rushed to the entrance of the Auction House like a bolt of lightning, coming to a steady, stylish halt.

Chen You stepped off the rabbit's back, and the rabbit immediately dissipated into points of light.

His unique "Xianxia-style" appearance and that incredibly flashy exclusive mount instantly drew the gazes of all the players at the entrance.

"Holy crap, who is this guy? This outfit is pretty cool, where did he get it?"

"No idea, never seen it. Looking at his level, he's only Level 7, probably a newcomer from some big guild?"

"Wait... look at his name, doesn't it look a bit familiar?" A werewolf player narrowed his eyes and then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"It's him! That ruthless guy who put up a 10-gold bounty!"

"Hiss—"

A chorus of sharp intakes of breath sounded around him.

The name of "Super Tycoon Bro" had already spread throughout Zhao City along with that golden system announcement.

In an instant, all the looks directed at Chen You changed.

There was awe, greed, and curiosity, but the previous contempt was the only thing gone.

After all, this was a madman who could casually pull out 10 gold coins just to "make you shut up for an hour."

What's more, he was still within the newbie protection period.

No one dared to mess around.

Chen You turned a blind eye to the surrounding gazes.

Now, he seemed to have become familiar with the mount's travel pace and didn't have any over-the-top reactions.

He walked straight into the Auction House and directly opened the system consignment interface.

Ignoring those glittering pieces of equipment and skill books, he switched directly to the [Materials] category and then typed three words into the search box.

spirit essence sand

Swish!

Row after row of item lists refreshed instantly.

[spirit essence sand x 10], Price: 1 silver coin 50 copper coins.

[spirit essence sand x 35], Price: 5 silver coins.

[spirit essence sand x 22], Price: 3 silver coins 80 copper coins.

This was a dusty, sandy mineral with only one sentence in its description:

A type of sand containing a trace of spiritual power, seemingly an auxiliary material for some alchemy or forging.

The output was not low, and the price was also extremely cheap.

In the eyes of other players, this was a kind of junk material that was tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.

Only those mining players would conveniently list it, hoping to exchange it for a few coins to repair their equipment.

Looking at these full pages of spirit essence sand, a smile appeared on the corner of Chen You's mouth.

He didn't click on them one by one.

Instead, in the purchase options, he checked [Bulk Purchase] and then selected [All] in the quantity column.

"Confirm purchase."

[Ding! You have spent 7 gold coins and 78 silver coins to purchase all the 'spirit essence sand' in the Auction House, totaling 5,847 units.]

Almost at the same time, all the players browsing materials in the Auction House witnessed a startling scene.

In their favorites or on the pages they were currently browsing, all entries regarding 'spirit essence sand' turned gray in an instant, with the stock showing as '0'.

"???"

"Holy crap! What's the situation? How is all the spirit essence sand gone?"

"Who is it? Who's so bored that they bought out all this junk material?"