Chapter 9: Upgrade Funds Acquired

"Two glimmers. It's truly an Middle-stage Body Tempering!"

"This Su Lang has been hiding his true strength. He could have broken through to the Middle-stage Body Tempering long ago."

"Good grief, why is he coming to claim the stipend for the Early-Stage Body Tempering only now?"

"Who wouldn't gleefully claim the stipend right after breaking through to the Early-Stage Body Tempering? How did he manage to suppress his excitement? It must be a sham!"

"But the fluctuations emanating from him earlier were indeed breakthrough fluctuations. I've seen them plenty of times before, so I can't be mistaken."

"That means he has really just broken through to the Middle-Stage Body Tempering! Yang Shi is caught off guard, huh?"

"Yes, Yang Shi is truly unlucky to have encountered such a situation."

"If only Yang Shi hadn't mocked others, this mishap wouldn't have occurred."

"Ha ha, indeed."

The crowd engaged in incredulous discussion, with all eyes turning to Yang Shi.

"Quasi Martial Artist, sir, are you going to go back on your word?"

Su Lang gave Yang Shi a cold smile, "Please hand over the bet of 50 gold coins to me, and then fulfill the second part of our wager!"

"Damn! Even if you've broken through to the Middle-Stage Body Tempering, so what?"

"Breaking through to the Middle-Stage Body Tempering at twenty is just ordinary!"

"In front of me, Yang Shi, you, Su Lang, are still nothing but trash. Humph! Don't even bother looking!"

Yang Shi, both pained and humiliated, took a spirit stone from his pocket and furiously smashed it onto Su Lang's chest before storming off without looking back.

As for running around the Martial Alliance Building three times naked while shouting 'I am a genius,' he had neither the face nor the courage to do it.

Otherwise, not only would his reputation be destroyed, his entire Yang family would become a laughingstock.

When that time comes, Yang Shi's fate would be miserable indeed.

Therefore, he would rather pay Su Lang a low-grade spirit stone worth 100 gold coins than fulfill the second part of the wager.

"Consider yourself spared for the sake of this spirit stone. Don't let me run into you again."

Su Lang watched Yang Shi's retreating figure, a disdainful sneer on his face.

He then turned to the heavily-made-up woman at the counter, "Hey, old witch, quickly give me the stipend for the Middle-Stage Body Tempering and my identity card!"

The trouble this time had been stirred up by this heavily-made-up woman. Although Su Lang had gained 100 gold coins, he still found her very disagreeable.

"Hmph!"

The woman threw 20 gold coins and Su Lang's identity card at him, snorting, "You're just ordinary, having angered Young Master Yang. Your fate is sealed, now get lost and don't block the way!"

"Tsk tsk, with that attitude, you're headed for ruin!"

Su Lang gathered the spirit stone, gold coins, and identity card, looking at her with mockery before swiftly leaving the Martial Alliance hall.

"It seems Yang Shi has some standing."

Walking down the street, Su Lang toyed with the spirit stone in his hand.

Spirit stones were a peculiar type of energy crystal that had emerged with the resurgence of spiritual energy. They were an essential resource for warriors' cultivation.

Moreover, spirit stones could be freely cut and ground, eventually being shaped into a standard size and used as high-end currency.

Usually, spirit stones circulated among warriors and even more powerful individuals.

They were graded as low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

The low-grade spirit stone Su Lang had was worth 100 gold coins, and each grade above was worth 100 times more.

"Once I exchange this half a spirit stone for gold coins, I'll have 161 gold coins, enough to level up the one-click cultivation feature to level 2. Hahaha!"

Thinking of his cultivation speed becoming twice as fast as those with flawless aptitude, Su Lang felt an ecstatic urge to howl.

Suddenly.

"Host, the system can provide free storage, exchange, and withdrawal services for currency."

"What!?"

Su Lang's eyes sparkled with surprise.

This way, he could save a lot of trouble and even some fees.

"System, immediately exchange this spirit stone for gold coins!"

Su Lang's thoughts moved, and the spirit stone in his hand vanished.

In the mysterious black space's upper left corner, a money symbol appeared, followed by the number 100.

"Ding! Exchange successful. Would you like to deposit the remaining gold coins into the system?"

"Deposit!"

Su Lang nodded, and the gold coins on him disappeared, with the number behind the money symbol changing to 161.