Chapter 32: Counting the Spoils

"Stop the car!"

Lin Chuhan suddenly spoke up just as the car had driven out of a street.

Wang Teng didn't stop. He turned his head and asked, "Where is your home?"

"I want to get out. You don't need to drop me off; I'll go back on my own," Lin Chuhan said.

"That's not very nice, is it? Kicking the mule away once the grind is done!" Wang Teng laughed.

"Who... who is kicking the mule away!" Lin Chuhan said, feeling a bit guilty.

"I just helped you get rid of two troublemakers once and for all, and now you want to kick me aside? If that isn't kicking the mule away, what is?" Wang Teng countered.

"I want to get out," Lin Chuhan said, unable to win the argument. She unbuckled her seatbelt and spoke firmly.

"If you don't tell me where you live, I'm driving back to my own house," Wang Teng said with an indifferent smile.

Lin Chuhan: "..."

She had ultimately lost!

Lost to Wang Teng's shamelessness.

Wang Teng drove her home.

Lin Chuhan lived in an area of residential houses; it was hard to imagine such a place even existed in Donghai City.

Before them lay a pitch-black alleyway.

Once they reached this point, Lin Chuhan refused to let him drive any further, no matter what.

Since the car couldn't enter the alley anyway, Wang Teng had no choice but to give up.

He helped Lin Chuhan off her scooter and hung the milk tea on the handlebar.

"Alright, go back on your own," Wang Teng said.

"Your milk tea," Lin Chuhan frowned.

"If I drink milk tea at night, I won't be able to sleep," Wang Teng said.

"Then you're just trying to make sure I can't sleep either," Lin Chuhan said, speechless.

"Hahaha, you'll only think of me if you can't sleep!" Wang Teng laughed loudly.

"Get lost~"

Lin Chuhan fled in panic, riding her scooter into the dark alley.

The alley was incredibly long and dark; even with her headlights on, the visible distance was very limited.

She drove cautiously.

Suddenly, a white light flashed behind her.

She looked back and saw that Wang Teng had turned his car around and turned on his headlights, illuminating the entire alley for her.

"This guy!"

Lin Chuhan's heart fluttered for a moment, but she quickly shook the feeling away and kept her head down, riding her scooter forward.

Only after Lin Chuhan's figure was no longer visible did Wang Teng drive away.

By the time he returned home, it was already eleven o'clock.

Wang Teng couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had intended to return early, but he had ended up delayed until this hour.

Women!

They were nothing but trouble!

The house was very quiet. Wang Teng closed the door and climbed upstairs.

It looked like Li Xiumei had already gone to sleep.

Without making a sound, Wang Teng put his night's haul back in his room, then took some clothes to shower.

After showering and drying his hair, he locked his bedroom door. Wang Teng rubbed his hands together, sat on the floor, and took everything out to count it.

A coin, a Zippo lighter, half a pack of cigarettes, and two mobile phones!

These were all ordinary items.

However, regarding the two phones, it would be best if he could crack their passwords if possible.

There was surely some information he needed inside them, including the identities of those two deceased martial artists and so on.

Additionally, there was a pair of gauntlets and a combat sword.

Both were Rune Weapons!

Runes were engraved on both the gauntlets and the sword, making them look mysterious and extraordinary.

Wang Teng searched online based on their appearance.

The purple-black gauntlets were a one-star high-grade ice-type weapon from the "Shadow" series, with a market price of around two million.

The combat sword with the crimson runes was a one-star top-tier weapon from the "Blaze" series, with a market price of exactly 3.5 million.

These prices!

Wang Teng could only lament that martial artists were indeed incredibly wealthy!

Fortunately, as a "rich second generation" himself, he wasn't lacking in experience and wouldn't make a scene over a few million.

However, this saved him the trouble of hunting for weapons for a while; these two would suffice for the time being.

Finally, there was the egg!

Wang Teng took it out of his backpack and observed it closely under the light.

Judging solely by its surface, it was impossible to tell what kind of animal it belonged to.

"However, this egg must be the source of that fierce battle between the two martial artists."

"If that's the case, this egg must be extraordinary."

He compared it with various images of eggs he found online and observed it for another half hour.

Finally, he reached a startling conclusion.

"This is an avian egg!"

"Yes, it must be!"

Wang Teng nodded to himself, then stuffed the egg back into the bag, covered it with weeds, zipped it up, and hid it in a corner under the bed.

"Whatever it is, I'll just leave it for now."

"Once I figure out its origin, I'll find a way to see if I can hatch it."

Next, Wang Teng turned his gaze toward his attribute panel.

[Comprehension]: 83

[Spirit]: 12.1

[Talent]: Junior Fire Talent (10/300), Junior Ice Talent (12/300)

[Primal Force]: 6/100 Fire (One-star Combat Soldier Grade), 4/100 Ice (One-star Combat Soldier Grade)

[Cultivation Methods]: Crimson Flame Manual (Beginner 1/100), Profound Ice Manual (Beginner 1/100)

[Combat Skills]: Basic Combat Skills (Fist, Sword, Saber, Micro-movement), Spear Techniques (Intermediate), Firescale Swordplay (Beginner 10/100), Phantom Ice Fist (Beginner 8/100)

[Knowledge]: Basic Subjects (Full Marks)

[Comprehensive Combat Power]: 135

Looking at the rows of attributes, Wang Teng suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction.

A martial artist!

He was finally a martial artist!

Although the time from practicing martial arts to becoming a martial artist was much shorter than others, the things he had experienced were by no means less.

He had even faced life-and-death crises!

Wealth is sought through danger!

It was worth it!

Then, Wang Teng compared the differences before and after the attribute panel changed.

He hadn't had time to ponder it while on Mount Bao'an.

Observing it now, he found that the attribute panel had indeed changed significantly compared to before.

First, there was the addition of [Spirit].

It wasn't hard to understand from the literal meaning.

Spirit, or soul, represents a person's consciousness; it is a very profound concept.

It was highly likely that because he had obtained the [Spirit] attribute from that deceased fire-type martial artist, it had been activated.

Moving down, the original [Physique] was gone, replaced by [Talent].

Wang Teng knew about [Talent]. Once a martial artist's physique reached a certain standard, they would undergo testing with special instruments to determine which elemental talent they belonged to, allowing them to choose corresponding primal force cultivation methods and combat skills.

This was the biggest difference between a martial artist and a martial apprentice.

As Wang Teng thought about it, he was struck with horror.

"Come to think of it, I obtained the fire and ice talents by picking up attribute bubbles. Doesn't that mean I didn't have any talent to begin with?"

He had researched this before; most people possess talent, and as long as their physique meets the requirements, they can cultivate primal force methods.

However, there is a very small minority of people who possess no talent at all.

Having extremely high talent and having no talent are two complete extremes.

The probability of either occurring is very low.

He hadn't expected that he would be one of them!

"Luckily, I have the System!"

Wang Teng felt immensely relieved. Having poor talent wasn't a problem, but having no talent at all was the worst, as it meant all possibilities were severed.

Imagine working hard at cultivation, only to be told at the very last step that you have no talent—how terrifying would that blow be?

Those with weak willpower might never recover!

Wang Teng shook his head.

Next was [Primal Force], which represented the martial artist's rank.

Wang Teng was currently a one-star Combat Soldier grade martial artist, but since he possessed both ice and fire primal forces, his quantity was undoubtedly much stronger than a single-element martial artist.

He had searched online; single-element martial artists were the most common, while multi-element martial artists were extremely rare.

Dual-element ones could occasionally be seen, but triple-element ones were practically non-existent, and as for four, five, or even six elements, they had never even appeared.

[Cultivation Methods] and [Combat Skills] didn't change much, except that he had two more primal force methods and combat skills for each.

Finally, there was [Combat Power].

[Combat Power] should be a synthesis of all attributes, including physique, strength, speed, primal force, combat skills, and so on.

This was good, as it provided the most intuitive representation of his strength.

...

After going through everything, Wang Teng couldn't help but yawn. As sleepiness washed over him, he closed his eyes and gradually drifted into a dream...