The Three Realms Thief Chapter 22

Jiang Xueyao pouted her small mouth and sat in the corner, sulking.

—It had been a long time since she felt so frustrated.

In that situation just now, only by going all out could she possibly save everyone.

How dare a second-level Qi Refinement cultivator fight so desperately?

Also.

My Qiongxia Sword, what did you use it for?

Do you know it’s dirty?

And.

Why is it always you who rushes to attack?

Suddenly, she felt someone cast an apologetic glance at her. She looked up and saw him.

Hmph!

Jiang Xueyao bit her lip, turned her head away, and didn’t want to look at this person again.

Xu Yuan also couldn’t help it.

A fleeting opportunity must be seized instantly.

—Sister, you were too slow.

Xu Yuan looked around.

The ordinary people were looking at him with reverence.

—Don’t be like that, I’m not even Foundation Establishment, still far from making a debut as a top star.

Zhao Afei had taken out his alchemy furnace and was refining pills.

Yang Xiaobing sat cross-legged, accelerating the absorption of the Spirit Replenishment Pill’s medicinal power.

Jiang Xueyao—only showed her back.

Forget it, ignore her.

The current situation was actually a bit strange.

Was a Mid-Qi Cultivation Demon ape appearing in the monthly exam a bit beyond the scope?

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then grabbed the walkie-talkie.

“Static… static…”

“Xinzhou Road Subway Station, a Mid-Qi Cultivation Demon ape attacked and was killed by us.”

“What’s the situation outside now? We’re low on ammunition, requesting reinforcements.”

“Over.”

He put down the walkie-talkie and waited quietly.

Reporting this way, first, was to ask if an exam this difficult was pre-arranged, or if there was an error in the questions;

Second, he wanted to replenish ammunition;

Third, he wanted to inquire about the development of the situation, to see if he could get some useful information.

—Officer Liu was actually an examiner.

It was most appropriate to discuss these three matters with him.

While waiting, Xu Yuan looked at his gains again.

Killed the great ape.

Dropped 11 gold coins.

Currently, his total gold coins had reached 44!

Should he buy some equipment to use?

Yes!

This battle made Xu Yuan deeply realize the benefits of equipment.

Cultivators value wealth, companions, techniques, and territory.

Without money, there’s no equipment. When competing with others, even your sword will be cut off!

No matter if Officer Liu would replenish ammunition or provide some support.

—He must get some things to use!

“Shop.”

He silently recited in his mind.

A virtual light projection immediately appeared before his eyes, gradually becoming clear, forming the “Apprentice Qi Cultivator’s Combat Preparation Room”.

At this moment, the shelves still looked the same as before.

—He had bought the Xu Feng Sword.

Only a pendant with movement speed +1 remained.

“Pay 1 gold coin to refresh the shelves.”

Xu Yuan said silently in his mind.

On the shelves.

The pendant immediately disappeared.

In its place were three new items.

A pair of “Common Grade” leather boots;

An “Excellent Grade” spear;

A “Broken Grade” drum.

Xu Yuan didn’t even look and paid another gold coin to refresh the shelves.

The situation was different now.

Since he had money, he needed to speed up and arm himself with high-level equipment.

He hoped that before the nightmare-level competition arrived, he could raise his strength by another level through equipment.

As the gold coin payment was successful—

The shelves refreshed again.

“Broken,” “Broken,” “Common.”

All three items were junk.

It seemed he needed to upgrade the combat preparation room as soon as possible, so that eventually, only high-tier items would appear.

Paid gold coins again.

Refresh!

“Excellent,” “Common,” “Broken.”

The “Excellent Grade” item was a large shield.

How was he supposed to take this out?

This competition was a monthly exam, and he didn’t know how many “spectators” were watching outside.

His family was poor, and he didn’t bring any storage treasures.

If he pulled out a large shield out of thin air, wouldn’t he be immediately captured for dissection and research?

He could only reluctantly give up.

Xu Yuan sighed silently and threw in another gold coin.

—The shelves refreshed again!

“Refined,” “Excellent,” “Broken.”

A “Refined” grade equipment appeared!

He had already spent 4 gold coins to get an item of this grade!

Xu Yuan subconsciously took a breath and looked closely.

“Snake-Shaped Gauntlets.”

“Gloves, Refined Grade.”

“Effect: Slightly increases spiritual power recovery speed when worn, reduces spiritual power consumption by 15% when using talismans.”

“Price: 10 gold coins.”

This…

It was indeed a good item.

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then paid 10 gold coins.

—He still had 30 gold coins left.

“Purchase successful.”

“The item has been placed in your懷裡.”

—Although the bonus wasn’t high, it was still useful.

Yang Xiaobing cultivated both talismans and spiritual plants, capable of offense and defense, playing a huge role in the team.

If it weren’t for her, this place might have collapsed already.

He should give it to her.

Strengthening the team’s overall strength would be beneficial for this monthly exam!

As for himself—

He just needed to keep earning gold coins.

He hoped the next good item he got would be something he could use!

Xu Yuan walked up to Yang Xiaobing, squatted down, and asked:

“How are you doing?”

“I still need to rest for a while, sorry, I’m a burden to you all,” Yang Xiaobing said.

“Don’t say that. If you hadn’t used a sturdy, thick mushroom to prop up the ceiling, we would have been done for long ago,” Xu Yuan said sincerely.

Yang Xiaobing lowered her head, a little embarrassed: “Do you really think so?”

“I only speak the truth,” Xu Yuan said seriously.

He pulled out the pair of Snake-Shaped Gauntlets from his embrace and handed them to Yang Xiaobing.

“What is this?” Yang Xiaobing asked curiously.

“A birthday present. Remember to treat me to a big meal then, I won’t buy anything else,” Xu Yuan said.

“You’re an idiot, my birthday was last month.”

“This is for your birthday next year, giving it to you early now—I find you so ungrateful, if you don’t want it, give it back!” Xu Yuan reached out to snatch the gloves.

“Who said I don’t want it!” Yang Xiaobing hastily hid the gloves behind her back and quickly put them on.

The smile on her face suddenly froze.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Yuan asked.

“Nothing,” Yang Xiaobing lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Xu Yuan was puzzled. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Afei shouted, so he quickly stood up and ran over to ask about the situation.

Only then.

Yang Xiaobing brought her hands from behind her back, placed them on her lap, and examined them carefully.

These gloves were off-white, light and thin like gauze, consisting of two layers. Many runes were stitched onto each layer, embellished with crushed spirit stones, forming a miniature spirit gathering array.

They were not only useful but also beautiful.

As soon as she put them on, she felt the spiritual power in her body become more active, circulating slightly faster.

Gloves that could help restore spiritual power were almost treasures.

He actually prepared something like this…

Yang Xiaobing lowered her eyes, staring at her hands, quietly feeling the spiritual power in her body recover.

By this time, Xu Yuan had walked to the alchemy furnace and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“—My strength is too weak. Will they look down on me?” Zhao Afei asked softly.

“They won’t,” Xu Yuan comforted him.

“Really?” Zhao Afei looked at him.

“With their strength, they probably wouldn’t even bother to look at you,” Xu Yuan said sincerely.

“I even brought my family’s ancestral alchemy furnace because I heard this monthly exam was important… It’s a pity I still can’t display any decent strength,” Zhao Afei sighed.

Xu Yuan looked towards the alchemy furnace.

The alchemy furnace was about three to four meters high, light yellow in color, with flowing spirit patterns etched on its surface depicting the Four Symbols divine beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

It had eight legs supporting it, elevating it about half a meter off the ground, conforming to the eight trigrams positions of “Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui.” Each leg was of a different color and material, likely refined from various innate spiritual materials.

The alchemy furnace also had nine small holes, allowing passage between inside and outside.

The Twenty-Eightfold Fire Refining Array sometimes appeared in the void around the alchemy furnace, and sometimes disappeared.

“Is this from your family?”

Xu Yuan asked.

—Standing still and quietly feeling it, one could hear the sounds of wind and fire from the alchemy furnace.

“Yes, it’s a treasure my ancestor obtained. If it weren’t for the importance of this exam, my father wouldn’t have given it to me,” Zhao Afei said.

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, staring at the alchemy furnace.

Lines of faint small text immediately flashed:

“Four-Symbol Eight-Trigram Furnace.”

“??-level alchemy furnace.”

“Divine Power: Spirit Suppression.”

“Description: The five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and various weapon attacks cannot harm the main body of this alchemy furnace.”

“Divine Power: Self-Protection.”

“Description: Attacks have a certain probability of bouncing off to protect the main body of the alchemy furnace from damage.”

“Divine Power: ???”

“??????????”

—This is a truly good item!

No wonder Zhao Afei’s family prospered.

Wait a minute—

Oh my.

I seem to have discovered an incredible tactic!

Xu Yuan had a sudden idea and blurted out:

“Afei.”

“What?”

“I have a secret combo technique that must be performed by two people simultaneously to unleash its power.”

“You want to teach me?” Zhao Afei asked nervously.

Secret techniques, combo techniques—

These things were often family legacies or teachings from university sects, rarely taught to outsiders.

Now Xu Yuan was going to teach him a technique?

“Do you want to learn? As long as you learn it, when the two of us combine, we’ll immediately soar—then we’ll be the core of the team!” Xu Yuan said seriously.

“I’ll learn!” Zhao Afei immediately said.

Xu Yuan leaned close to Zhao Afei’s ear and whispered.

As Zhao Afei listened, his eyes widened, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face.