Chapter 498 - Wastelands Sword Tryout (1/2)

“Return it to him?”

The middle-aged man looked at the purple-robed old man. He seemed to be a little surprised as he waved his hand and said, “It is indeed a good intention, but this is inappropriate. A young hero like him is not unwilling to part with the 9,000 Thousand Spirit Stones. Instead, he feels that he should have better treatment.”

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man paused for a moment and continued to say, “Just like that Baili Xiaohualuo, he has always enjoyed the highest treatment in Yan Prefecture City. And this person is the same as Baili Xiaohualuo. He is not lacking of money. So if we send the money back so abruptly, I am afraid that we will offend him. It’s not appropriate.” In the end, he kept shaking his head.

The purple-robed old man nodded and said, “You’re right, City Master Jiang. I was not thoughtful enough.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “According to the City Master’s opinion, if this person is not a member of Desolate Seas, why would he come to Yan Prefecture City?”

“Could it be… that he’s here for Wastelands Sword Tryout?” The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then he raised his head and said.

…

The sun was setting. Xiao Chen and the others found an inn and lived in an isolated courtyard. The water in the courtyard was shallow and the scent of incense was faint. The environment was not bad. However, the cost of this day was not small. Even if the nine of them did nothing every day, they had spent about 1,000 Spirit Stones.

This was the case in the Wastelands. The more barren the land was, the lower the consumption was. The more prosperous the land was, the higher the consumption was. It could even be more than ten times higher than the prosperous area of the Five Continents. That was why the gap between the rich and the poor in the Wastelands was so large.

Xiao Chen could not help but be a little worried. Now he still had more than 10,000 Spirit Stones on him. Originally, he thought that Monster Pill could be sold for a lot of money. However, because of the Annihilation Times, the Monster Pills that was supposed to be popular was now inundation at Wastelands. As a result, the Monster Pills that he had worked so hard for a few days ago could only be sold at most 5,000 or 6,000 Spirit Stones.

He sighed deeply. Right now, he was really short of money. If he could not even guarantee his living standards, how could he draw forces over to his side? How could he talk about cultivation? Did it not cost him money to cultivate? He was not in the Violet Manor, where he had friends everywhere to help him.

At the thought of this, Xiao Chen was worried. Yesterday, he heard Yang Qing said that there were mercenaries in many places in Wastelands. Some of them worked for money. Some of them were outlaws, and some of them were retired from some major forces. The fighting capacity of these people was very high. As long as they could afford the money, they would be absolutely loyal. If they wanted to build their own forces, there would be a need to use these mercenaries in the early stage.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Chen paced back and forth in the yard. In the past, he never worried about money, but now he was in Wastelands and became desperate for it. “No, I have to find a way to make money!”

“Brother Xiao?” Just as Xiao Chen was feeling melancholic, Yang Qing stood at the gate of the courtyard. Xiao Chen turned around and asked, “What can I do for you, Brother Yang?”

“We’ve arranged food outside. Brother Xiao, are you going now?”

“Well, let’s go.”

Xiao Chen temporarily put away his lack-of-money mood and went to the restaurant outside the yard. This restaurant was with the inn, and it was full of people, causing the whole restaurant to be noisy.

Up to the second floor, Xiao Chen sat in the window seat arranged by Yang Qing. Under the twilight, the pedestrians on the street kept coming and going. It seemed that there were more people than when they just came in.

In a while, several waiters in the restaurant brought up the hot dishes. They saw that the table was full of all kinds of delicacies. Xiao Chen could not help but frown. There was not much money left. The price of the food in the Yan Prefecture City was so high, so it was a splurge to be spending at least a few hundred Spirit Stones on these two tables. But on second thought, it was no big deal to have a good meal since they had just arrived at Wastelands.

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen began to eat. On one side, Chu Qi sat upright. Even when eating, she was still very well-behaved. She held the bowl with her left hand and picked up the chopsticks with her right hand. She picked up some food and chewed slowly. She did not pick the dishes like Ziyun’er, who flipped the dishes here and there and ate while biting the chopsticks and commenting on which dish was not delicious.

Chu Qi was always silent.

By the time they were halfway through their meal, the second floor was almost full. The entire restaurant had become even noisier. Suddenly, the floorboards creaked as if a few more people were coming upstairs.

“I heard that the winner of Wastelands Sword Tryout will be able to get a million Spirit Stones?”

“Yes, but what’s more important is that there are three places in the Yan Prefecture to go to the Cloud Mist Academy, which is one more place than in previous years. Therefore, who will come to Yan Prefecture City to participate in the Sword Tryout for that million Spirit Stones, of course, they are here for the Cloud Mist Academy.”

Xiao Chen was full of worry while eating. When he suddenly heard the conversation of these people, he almost spat out the rice in his mouth. One, one million Spirit Stones? He had been in Violet Manor for so long, but he had never seen what it looked like when one million Spirit Stones piled up together.

If he got the reward, he would not have to worry about money when the time came. Thinking of this, Xiao Chen asked Yang Qing excitedly, “Brother Yang, is what they said true?”

Yang Qing glanced at the people who had just come up and whispered, “I know about Wastelands Sword Tryout. Every few years, it will be held. It’s mainly for selecting the admission spots of the Cloud Mist Academy. Only the winner of every place is qualified to get a spot. As for the Cloud Mist Academy…”

Before he could finish, Xiao Chen interrupted and said, “Let’s not talk about this first. Is the reward of the million Spirit Stones real or not?”

“This…” After a moment of silence, Yang Qing said, “Since they said so, then it should be true.”