Chapter 235: I Always Pay to Win

When the leaders of the Nine Forces were defeated, thousands of groups of extraordinaires started running around like headless chickens as they lost contact with their respective leaders.

However, they quickly regained control. To be selected as the team captains, they would naturally be qualified intellectually. Compared to their leaders, they would have a much higher EQ as they were always handling their men, even though they might not be as clever as those leaders.

The captains from the Nine Forces discussed and reached a conclusion. They agreed that the most likely outcome was that their leaders had already been defeated… Everyone agreed to do what they were supposed to do now and stop robbing money and food. They needed to protect what they had at that moment.

The nine teams immediately turned around and ran back towards where they originally came from.

That was one of the most significant characteristics of any war in the new era. The outcome of the battle of the strength would be the final determining factor on which party was victorious!

The soldiers that were involved in the war were no longer used as part of the battle. Once the battle between the strongest fighters in them had ended, the soldiers were used to maintain order while taking away all the valuables and capturing territories.

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These modern wars were fought in groups, and it was a battle between two separate systems. 1 In the new era, when an overpowering extraordinaire appeared in a small country, it could easily turn around and suppress other larger countries and become the dominant force.

With the current scientific advancement as it is, the larger countries were trying to find a way to oppose such randomness as they had realized the potential threat of such things happening. Nobody wanted to deal with random powerhouses appearing in those nearby weaker countries that were always dominated by them.

Those Bodhi Flower Formations and the spiritually-controlled mechs were examples of things created to utilize the strength of everyone in the battle against a single powerhouse.

Totem summoning was the final straw for larger countries, and it was the one technique that allowed the larger countries to sustain their position in the world.

Only countries that were highly populated could gather enough spirit energy from their people to summon their own totems.

As the first country to summon their own spirit bear totem, no one was questioning the obstacles that Russia went through to accomplish that.

Everyone was focusing on how strong their spirit bear totem really was!

They easily brushed off ten weaker groups and forced the leader of the Nine Forces to revolt against their own country. This alone was enough to prove its power. No wonder this was their trump card!

However, was it strong enough to fight against the Lake-level Eastern Dragon God?

That was the issue everyone was paying their attention to.

When the Cloud Fog City started live streaming and stopped its network blockade, the news spread all over the world instantly.

Many powerhouses and large countries turned their attention towards the previously deserted land. They sent their observers over as they were not satisfied with only watching it live online…

Although the spirit bear had the speed to rush through shorter distance, its weakness was on long distance traveling. It would take two to three hours for it to finish a few thousand kilometers to reach its destination.

As for those connection points that the extraordinaires created in the Siberian Wilderness, they were not equipped with rails or connecting roads. Planes were the main way of transporting resources and manpower. The extraordinaires were worthy enough to use those planes.

Unfortunately, there is yet a plane that is able to transport the spirit bear, which was a hundred meters tall. It could only travel on foot towards Cloud Fog City as it lacked the ability to fly. Those powerhouses that were tasked to protect it could only travel on the ground even though they had the privilege to use the planes.

This gave the time for the others to arrive and observe the battle!

China, which was closest to the Siberian Wilderness, was the first to send out their own observation group, led by Captain Ren Ruofeng and Vice-captain Qiao Zishan.

There were twelve of them and they were on their way towards Cloud Fog City on a plane. All of them were youngsters… Not a single old person was with them.

The direct flight was set up between the Cloud Fog City and China. When Duke Yun was escaping, he was using the airplane to transport his people and his items towards China.

Initially, Elder Xu and the others were planning to appoint Qiao Zishan as the captain of the group. He had just reached Pond-level and the elders were hoping that they could improve his leadership and individuality through low-risk missions.

However, Ren Ruofeng just snatched the position for himself. He said that he was also a youngster and needed the training as well. Everyone was baffled by his thick skin and no one had any idea how to stop him…

Everyone knew that he was trying to use this chance to get away from the rumors for a few days.

The relationship between him and Hong Yunjiao, as well as the recently appeared Pond-level Tian Zhu, had become the hottest topic among the top management in the Truth Department.

In the new era, the guy-girl gossip was still the hot topic that attracted the most attention.

Without the help of the privacy rules, the issues occurring between the three of them would have made its way to the most searched topic on the internet while crushing all its competitors.

They were the idol of the new era, and they garnered more attention than those older pop stars.

“Zishan, this mission is about you. It is impressive for you to reach Pond-level, but that also means that there are not many people that can tutor you. You need to carefully observe the battle between two Lake-level powerhouses, and find a way to continue your improvement,” Ren Ruofeng sat on his chair and advised Qiao Zishan.

Qiao Zishan listened attentively.

Although he had reached Pond-level and his ability had exceeded this senior, he didn’t disrespect him in any way.

The other ten men were also the same, but the difference was that Qiao Zishan was born that way while the others were just afraid of him.

Qiao Zishan heard him and nodded, “Grandpa Ren is correct…”

“En? …” Ren Ruofeng looked at him as he felt that he was displeased.

Qiao Zishand realized it and said, “Your advice is correct. No wonder you are the most intelligent person in the Truth Department. My morality is a mixture of both martial arts and Shinto methods, which then can be improved by cultivating my spiritual energy while absorbing morality.

“Now that I have reached Pond-level, I can clearly sense the morality in all the spiritual energy from everyone in China, but I have no idea how to absorb it and use it in combat. That spirit bear totem from Russia is the product of the combination of all the spiritual energy from Russia, and it surely knows how to absorb spiritual energy, so I should learn from it.”

He had no idea that those who learned the Atmospheric Morality Technique had an added ability of Morality Absorption, which eliminated the problem he was facing.

He could only discover it himself. Morality was a part of spiritual energy, and would need to be separated before absorption. There was nobody who could guide him in doing that.

Ren Ruofeng replied, “En, from the way you are eager to learn, I can see that you have a bright future ahead of you. Observe carefully. We can still help you guys now, but in three years, that will be the time for you all to shine.”

Everyone got excited and pumped when they heard what Ren Ruofeng said. Seemed like their time was about to arrive since the wisest man had admitted it.

The eleven people that were chosen into the observation group were the best and brightest young prospects in the Truth Department.

The eldest was Qiao Zishan at 26 years old, and the youngest was Qiao Zijiang at 17 years old, but she had already reached Basin-level.

The others were Basin-level powerhouses.

Relentless swordsman Xue Feng was also in the group, and he was 23 years old.

He was the only one that showed no emotion towards what Ren Ruofeng just said. The technique he mastered was the emotionless path, and he no longer felt joy for the material.

However, that was not the real reason he showed no emotion. It was because he was sleeping and heard nothing…

The other youngsters were eagerly waiting for the huge fight while he still managed to take a nap at such moment.

When the others found out they were impressed. Elder Xu always praised him, “The sword is relentless, but the heart is patriotic.” He had the demeanor of a real leader.

Qiao Zijiang was not amused. She felt that only idiots could fall asleep easily…

Another outstanding person among them was that guy who was the top student after obtaining thirteen straight victories in his new year exam.

That handsome youngster was Xu Rui, Elder Xu’s grandnephew.

He was full of pride and full of energy, and he was at the peak of Basin-level. He could leap into the next level at any time. He was the third strongest youngster among them, right after Ren Ruofeng and Qiao Zishan, even Xue Feng was no match against him.

Ren Ruofeng stood up and turned towards him and gave him some advice.

“Xu Rui, you have pretty high potential, so you must fully utilize this chance. From what I can see you should be near to Pond-level. You are ranked with an A+ on both your vitality and potential. With Elder Xu’s personal guidance, you manage to maintain the reputation of the Xu family. You must remain humble like Zishan and attentively observe the match between two Lake-level powerhouses later. It is a rare occasion for such a battle to happen, and even harder for us to freely observe it from the side.”

Xu Rui was 21 years old, and he was proud of himself.

Qiao Zishan was the first to reach Pond-level among the younger generations, and he was strong in combat.

Among the six captains in the Truth Department, his uncle, Qiao Anping, who cultivated murderous intent in his early days, was the best when it came to close quarter combat. He was the best in the Truth Department, and no one was close to his level.

Besides, rumor had it that Qiao Anping had reached the peak of Pond-level and was murdering everything somewhere else to discover the path to Godhood… He was trying to find a way to reach Lake-level.

The other elders had no combat experience and were no match against Qiao Zishan.

Qiao Zishan had secretly been crowned as the top youngster among the new generation in the Truth Department.

However, Xu Rui disagreed.

For him, Qiao Zishan was four years older than him, but looked so much older. Nobody would bat an eyelid if he called Zishan as his uncle. He should have been Qiao Anping’s younger brother, someone from the older generation compared to himself…

Someone with ill intent was guessing that Qiao Zishan had intentionally changed his own age to obtain more resources. He never had that similar idea, because both their family had close connections and so it would be hard for him to forge his age.

Plus, he had the confidence to reach Pond-level, becoming the eighth person to do so in according to the Truth Department record.

He felt he should be the top youngster in his generation.

When being advised by Ren Ruofeng, Xu Rui kept his usual pride and kept nodding in agreement, showing him to be humbler than Qiao Zishan.

“Thank you for your advice Captain Ren, I will remember that in my heart,” He replied respectfully.

Those that knew his personality were surprised by his action, while only Qiao Zijiang, who was sitting next to Qiao Zishan, knew why he was acting strangely.

Elder Ren was being pressured in his home, and whoever dared to disrespect him would be like serving themselves to be punished by him…

Xu Rui and Principal Xu were related, so he had the idea of what was happening and naturally acted respectfully. Xue Feng was an idiot so Grandpa Ren wouldn’t bother with him. However, if the others disagreed with what he said, they will be in deep trouble.

After giving his advice, Ren Ruofeng felt relieved. ‘The outside is more comfortable, plus I don’t need to face those two ladies. One is pressuring me using her ability while the other was using her moral values on me. I am almost becoming like a fine bean being pressured from both sides…’

At that moment, Qiao Zijiang pointed at the plane window and said, “Captain, was that the Venerable Dragon God outside the airplane just now?”

Ren Ruofeng stopped his act and rush to the window. He saw a dragon tail flying into the clouds.

He was confused and said, “We should be approaching the border of Russia. The Venerable Dragon God should be rushing to the North East side to stop the spirit bear. Why does he still have the time to relax here?”

Xu Rui started guessing, “Maybe the Venerable Dragon God is being cautious and refused to fight that spirit bear. That spirit bear is just a summoned totem so it’s nothing if it dies, but he is a human with physical body and blood, and he will be at a disadvantage trying to fight it.”

Qiao Zijiang disagreed, “How is that possible? The Venerable One must be lingering around here to stop those extraordinaires from getting near to China’s border and delaying him from facing the spirit bear. It’s just a spirit bear, so it shouldn’t even be mentioned at the same level as the Venerable One. The Venerable One will have no fear going up against it.”

The current Qiao Zijiang no longer allowed others to look down at Vigilante A compared to previous times. Vigilante A saved her uncle once and gave her medical pills twice. Those allowed Qiao Anping to recover rapidly with stronger and better vitality. Along with his accumulated experiences, he managed to reach the peak of Pond-level and was fighting towards Lake-level.

If not, he would still be lying on his bed and not even reached Pond-level.

Xu Rui just smiled and never refuted her words.

He would never argue with a little girl, but deep down he felt he was right.

Ren Ruofeng shook his head. Elder Xu tutored so many great talents, yet the education in his family was bad. Although they cannot be classified as rude, each was more arrogant than the previous one.

Xu Rui’s uncle, Elder Xu’s son Xu Weihua, had the same personality. Last year when he was the instructor he was humiliated once and ran off. Hopefully, he was not on a path of evil.

…

“These extraordinaires always causing trouble. Among these 11232 extraordinaires, almost one-fifth of them are terrible criminals. I knocked out 9132 of them and killed 2100. Knocking them out will only get 10% of the Experience Points when killing them, but because they are all Bucket-level and better, I can get 10,000 to 200,000 Experience Points when I kill one. Knocking one out will also obtain 1,000 to 20,000 Experience Points. In the end, I am getting 3,400,000,000 Experience Points, and in total, I have 48,000,000,000 Experience Points now. Besides, I also manage to capture the souls of nine Pond-level powerhouses for you to strengthen your gaming team.”

Sir System was finalizing its reward with satisfaction after destroying nine waves of escaping extraordinaires.

Fang Ning was happy as he heard it.

He thought of something and asked, “If you knock out those nine powerhouses before sending them into the prison, wouldn’t you get an extra 100,000,000 Experience Points?”

The System replied, “Impossible. I would have utilized it if there was such a loophole before you remind me now. So long as the souls are captured and sent into the prison there will be no reward before killing them. Even if I knock them out before sending them those Experience Points will be deducted at the end.”

Fang Ning nodded and said, “Sir, why are you keeping so many Experience Points? The rules will not give you any interest, and you are still at level 35 which you leveled up to reach the Legend level of your Dragonization Ability. Why don’t you just up a few levels and become even stronger? It will give us a better chance when fighting that spirit bear.”

Sir System looked through his intentions and replied in disdain, “Host, you are a noob combatant, you have no knowledge at all. The reason I am storing so much Experience Points is to protect us from stronger enemies. When that happens, I can quickly consume those Experience Points and level up abilities that target the weaknesses specifically, just like that Heavensward Sword Technique.

“That spirit bear is a summoned totem and needs to be controlled by people, similar with that Celestial Dragon in you. It is very hard to control them to perfection. See how I am going to destroy it later.”

Fang Ning finally understood the reason why the System was hogging all the Experience Points. The theory was the same as how he spent money on his games…

He replied the system in despise, “Don’t act like you’re better than me. All you do is just spend your Experience Points to win your fight.”

The System said, “Yes, this is the best way, and I have always been doing that. Richman Host, aren’t you doing the same thing when you are playing your video game?”

Fang Ning was speechless. This stupid System was growing older and its IQ had increased from 50 to 80, and was no longer easily affected by his words.

Luckily, its EQ remained as low as before, and could be improved through growing older. Interestingly it will get much lower just like this stupid System…