Lin Guang smiled on the surface, seemingly unfazed by the atmosphere here, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Although "Spirit Battle Chronicles" contains rogue-like elements, it also has some underlying logic. For example, in the game, taking down the underground market in the city has always been a highly difficult task chain. Only those with combat power capable of defeating an ordinary six-star Spirit Master have the chance to complete it.
He was not an extreme animal rights activist, but these Spirit Beasts, which once had owners, generally became like this because something happened to the Spirit Master they contracted with.
Seeing them sold this way and treated so poorly did make him somewhat uncomfortable.
Soon, a stench strong enough to make someone vomit wafted through the air nearby.
Instinctively pinching his nose, Lin Guang forced himself to ask, "Uh, the Demon Realm Flower?"
"...Yes."
The bulky man in the mask paused slightly, his tone seemed somewhat surprised.
The Demon Realm Flower, with an average rank at Potential Green Excellence, its saliva could carry a variety of toxins and release a sweet fragrance that could induce sleep. However, in certain situations (such as during battle or when injured), it only releases an unbearably stinky toxic gas, difficult to dispel even by Spirit Beasts specialized in purifying the air. Its ugly and smelly appearance gave it this name, though it had nothing to do with the Demon Race.
Its main element is Poison, but it also excels in Wind and Earth element skills, primarily inhabiting the deep forests of several inland states, making it considered a relatively rare Spirit Beast.
"Bring another one."
Lin Guang shook his head while pinching his nose; losing his dating choice for high school and college was one thing, but he really couldn't stand the stench and terrifying look of the Demon Realm Flower that could stop a child's crying at night.
Moreover, being so close, his talent for sensing didn't react at all, meaning they were not a match for each other.
"Alright."
The masked man nodded stiffly and turned on his heel.
A short while later, they came to a special cage made of fully transparent metallic glass. Although empty inside, it was surrounded by four cloaked men watching.
According to Lin Guang's knowledge, only a few Spirit Beasts required such a cage, and the circumstances inside made him inadvertently exclaim, "There's even an Akalin Demon?"
"...Yes." The masked man's tone still held a hint of amazement.
The Akalin Demon, a gaseous - Ghost/Spiritual Element Spirit Beast, potential at Green Excellence, even rarer than the Demon Realm Flower, had no fixed habitat. The illusions it created aren't hard to break, but its unique talent [Unconsciousness] allows people to subconsciously overlook its presence. If the Akalin Demon deliberately hides, only a few Spirit Beasts and uniquely talented Spirit Masters can detect its trace.
To run an underground market or engage in covert activities, a Spiritual Element Spirit Beast capable of creating illusions is essential, and the Akalin Demon typically masters illusion skills at an early level.
Beyond this point, the Akalin Demon itself is a good Spirit Beast. Novice Spirit Masters generally have no countermeasures, making it a good choice if a contract is successfully formed.
The combination of these factors makes the price of an Akalin Demon comparable to Blue Elite Level Spirit Beasts.
This Akalin Demon is consigned by someone else, priced at 70,000 credit points—equivalent to 7 million Daxia Coins—marked up by nearly 30%, which is also the reason the shop didn't buy it directly, and it would likely only sell for that price at auction.
The only question is, does Lin Guang really have that much money?
The former Lin Guang might not have had the guts.
But for him now… he dared.
Because he knew the subsequent two-stage evolution of the Akalin Demon wasn't publicly known yet!
Lin Guang took out his card without hesitation—not a bank card, but a student ID and an ID card.
That's right.
As a surfing expert, Lin Guang knew that this place actually offered legal loans, the company could be checked, and it was owned by a certain family in Zhen Sheng City.
The interest rates were also within a reasonable range, because in this world, extraordinary powers truly exist; if a Spirit Master is pushed to the brink, the loan company is also afraid of getting blown up.
Moreover, the Zhen Sheng Experimental School is a prestigious school, and Class A is the elite among them, making them high-quality potential stocks and clients, which prompts the shop to offer him loans at a relatively favorable interest rate.
Moreover, even as a last resort, they had ways to ensure Lin Guang repaid the debt.
After donning a special protective suit, Lin Guang entered the cage, and with the help of the shop assistant's Spiritual Element Spirit Beast, he vaguely sensed the Akalin Demon in front of him.
Holding his breath and concentrating, he recited a long piece of encrypted text in ancient Daxia language, activating spirituality. The light of the contract shot from Lin Guang's chest—or rather, from his soul—enveloping the Akalin Demon.
The pupils hidden behind the big man's mask slightly contracted, and he looked deeply at Lin Guang.
Masterful… no, a Meditation Contract Technique at the Mastery Level, worthy of being an elite in the combat class of the experimental school.
The light of the contract instead of the Contract Chain... an ancient Equal Contract?
This sacrifices a lot indeed.
Ambition.
The next moment, a quite obvious sense of rejection emerged, causing the white light to tremble and tend towards shattering, forcing Lin Guang to interrupt the contract ritual.
This was a sign of too low compatibility.
Lin Guang felt a bit regretful, and even more so the manager who decided the loan.
"Nothing else?"
"...Nothing else."
Lin Guang couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but the helmeted man seemed to hesitate for a moment when answering.
Without giving it much thought, he decided to take a look at the "Spiritual Materials Area."
The main purpose of this trip was to see the spiritual materials, the Spirit Beasts were just a side curiosity, so he needed to keep his mindset calm.
From the outside, the Spiritual Materials Area appeared quite small in size, with various materials categorized by attributes and placed in separate small warehouses of about 200 square meters each, all closely packed together, with the doors tightly locked and under the watch of dedicated personnel and Spirit Beasts.
However, Lin Guang naturally wasn't qualified to enter.
Just joking, letting any Spirit Master in there indiscriminately, if their hands weren't exactly clean and they did things discreetly, who would compensate for the loss after they've run far away?
The masked man paused under what looked like a facade board, stopped walking, and signaled for him to push open the door and go in.
The moment he pushed the door open, Lin Guang couldn't help but squint his eyes—as there was finally some brighter light here; inside the small shop was a person in a black robe and wearing a pure black mask at the counter.
A hoarse male voice came from beneath the mask: "Buying materials?"
"What do you have here?"
He didn't speak, handing over what seemed obviously like a newly hand-written notebook catalog from the past few days.
The black market's supply is unstable, so naturally, it is frequently updated.
At this moment, Lin Guang's gaze was extremely serious, as if calculating something.
[Even though I'm a newcomer here without a spending record or reputation, it's unlikely they'll show me all the good stuff... but there's already quite a lot among these Tier One and Tier Two spiritual materials.]
[Spirit-Dependent Lily leaves... 30 credit points per gram? Seriously? The markup on Spiritual Element resources is that high.]
[Ethereal Crystal, regardless of size and purity, seems to be priced lower for the Water Element on average, yeah, that makes sense, given that this place is near the sea.]
[Unprocessed Blood Flame Shell, where on earth did they source this, I remember Blood Flame Armor is a unique Spirit Beast of the Federation Country, could it be someone isn't telling their guardian about their Blood Flame Shell shedding and is secretly selling it on the black market for extra cash?]
[They even have a non-elemental Tier One Spirit Pattern Crystal? So expensive, and quality can't be guaranteed, better forget it.]
He kept flipping through the few pages of the catalog, rapidly verifying in his mind all the item names and their prices that he recognized.
[That guy Wang Dawei's Spirit Beast is the White Phoenix Parrot… well, no choice, this step's risk is necessary.]
[Looked it up online last night, the Dream Death Mushroom at the municipal Spirit Beast Mall is pretty rare and out of stock temporarily, but what can be found and is cheaper here is the Essence Blood of the White Phoenix Giant Parrot, since it's for skill comprehension, the quality of the spiritual materials doesn't greatly affect it.]
Consider yourself lucky, when I make it big, others won't even get the chance to brag about me!
Lin Guang couldn't help but mutter to himself internally.
He snapped the notebook shut with a smack, lifted his head, and looked at the man behind the counter: "I've made my choice."
"Three Reverse Scales of the Chameleon, two fresh Dream Death Mushrooms, and 100 grams of Whispering Butterfly Scale Powder."
"And, one drop of White Phoenix Giant Parrot's Essence Blood."
"I'll notify the warehouse."
Not long after, these materials, shimmering with some Ether glow, were delivered before Lin Guang. He examined them carefully, ensuring they matched entirely with the information he had reviewed the night before and his previous memories.
"Seven hundred and eighty credit points."
Lin Guang nodded, very straightforwardly swiped his card to pay, investing more than half of the scholarships and financial aids he received over the years.
Yet he felt no heartache whatsoever.
Because, this would be the starting point for all his plans.
He weighed the materials in his hand, walked out the door, and under the guidance of the masked man, strolled across the Spirit Beast area heading towards the direction he came from.
However, he hadn't walked far before his steps suddenly halted.
He suddenly felt... his heart skipped a beat.
"...?"
His pupils constricted, he inexplicably glanced towards the front-right.
His heart continuously accelerated, pumping blood throughout his body like a hundred-meter sprint.
It was a formless intuition.
It was a ripple within the Sea of Spirit.
For half a year, like a dead pig unmoved as a mountain, his talent... was actually vibrating?