High Martial Arts: Become a God by Spending Money, Start by Spending All Your Compensation Funds

Two hours later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of the martial arts market in the southern part of Qingcheng.

You can feel the bustling atmosphere even half a street away. At the street corner stand two life-sized cast iron beast statues with exposed fangs and a menacing presence.

Shops lined both sides of the street, with signs advertising the buying and selling of exotic beast materials, custom-made weapons, and elixirs. Piles of polished animal bones and bundles of animal hides were stacked at the entrances. Warriors carrying long swords and crossbows came and went from time to time, and the air was filled with the stench of rust, herbs, and exotic beast hides.

This is the largest martial arts trading market in Qingcheng. On the surface, it operates legally, but in the shadows, a lot of goods of dubious origin are also circulating.

With enough money, you can find everything from basic health potions to second-tier combat weapons.

"The water is quite deep here, follow me and see."

Su Nianhe tugged at Lin Yun's arm and turned into a small shop at the end of the street, seemingly familiar with the area.

The store shelves were filled with all kinds of weapons, including swords, spears, and halberds. On the wall hung a row of different styles of inner armor and gauntlets, their metallic luster shining coldly under the lights.

Behind the counter sat a middle-aged man with a round belly and broad shoulders, who was wiping a short knife with his head down. He glanced at the two of them, and when he saw that Lin Yun was young and dressed plainly, his eyes immediately dimmed a bit, and he slowly lowered his head again.

Ignoring the boss's neglect, Su Nianhe slowly walked along the shelves, carefully examining each piece of weaponry and analyzing it in detail.

Lin Yun followed beside him and saw that the shelves had equipment ranging from low-level to top-level, with varying workmanship. Some were bright and shiny, while others had worn edges and corners, revealing a great deal of intricacies.

After browsing around for a while, Su Nianhe stopped in front of a corner shelf, picked up a pair of silver-gray boxing gloves, and then pulled out a neatly folded inner armor. She looked up at the shopkeeper and said, "Give me a fair price for these two."

The shopkeeper, who had been leaning against the counter wiping his knife, saw her pick out these two items and his eyes lit up almost imperceptibly. He got up and walked over, pointing at the gauntlets and inner armor respectively, his tone carrying a hint of boasting.

"Young lady, you have a sharp eye! These Broken Army Gauntlets are made of an alloy forged from the back armor of a mid-stage Tier 1 Scale Iron Beast, and are inlaid with the cores of three adult Claw Rat. They steadily increase your punching power by 15 percent."

This Spirit Rhinoceros Inner Armor is made primarily of snakeskin blended from mid-tier Tier 1 Iron Wire Snakes, with late-tier Tier 1 Ice Silkworm Silk added to the weft. It is puncture-proof, slash-proof, and can also cushion impacts. The claws of ordinary Tier 1 beasts simply cannot penetrate it.

Both are top-quality mid-tier items. The two together cost 500,000. A fair price for everyone.

The boss's explanation sounded reasonable, and Lin Yun found it to be quite logical.

First-tier intermediate-level combat troops should primarily use materials from beasts of the same level; adding some later-stage auxiliary materials is already quite generous.

Just as she was about to consider the price, Su Nianhe smiled.

"Boss, that's not fair! These are clearly two second-hand items, how can you sell them as new?"

As she said this, Su Nianhe turned her boxing gloves over and rubbed her fingers against her wrist.

The boss's smile froze instantly. He stared at Su Nianhe's hand for a while, his expression becoming somewhat awkward.

"This... Miss has a good eye. They are indeed refurbished, but the core materials are not damaged at all, and the effect is almost the same as new ones."

"I know in my heart whether the effect is good or bad."

Su Nianhe put the two items back on the counter, her tone calm.

"Secondhand is secondhand. No matter how good it is, it's still been used by someone else. Four hundred thousand, plus two bottles of Tier 1 healing potions. If it works out, I'll take it; if not, I'll go look for brand new ones elsewhere."

The boss frowned, hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and made the decision: "Fine! Four hundred thousand it is! Consider it making a friend!"

He was calculating in his mind. Anyway, he had bought these two pieces of equipment from the occupied area at a low price. He originally wanted to sell them at a high price as they were in excellent condition and almost new. Even if he was caught on the spot, it wouldn't be a loss. Besides, judging from the girl's demeanor and manner, she must be someone important. It wouldn't hurt to give her face.

After paying and leaving the house, Su Nianhe couldn't help but smile as she turned the corner and shook the bag in her hand.

"Lin Yun, we've made a killing."

Lin Yun looked puzzled.

"These two weapons are indeed second-hand, but the master craftsman who forged them is definitely a master among masters. Even the boss misjudged them. These two weapons actually used auxiliary materials from a first-tier peak alien beast."

"Peak of Tier 1!"

Lin Yun was startled.

In this way, the true value of these two weapons is comparable to that of a Tier 1 advanced weapon.

The smugness in Su Nianhe's eyes had not faded.

"With this quality and workmanship, anyone who truly knows their stuff would be fighting over it for 550,000. We've essentially gotten a near-high-level piece of equipment for the price of a second-hand mid-tier item."

Lin Yun's eyes widened in surprise after hearing this: "Nianhe, your eyesight is amazing."

He realized what he had just said.

The Su family's main business is military technology, and forging weapons is their own business. Su Nianhe has been exposed to it since childhood and has touched and seen countless good equipment, so it is only natural that she can see the intricacies of these things.

"Of course! Otherwise, do you think I would deliberately buy you secondhand goods?" Su Nianhe chuckled. "That's what you call ultimate value for money!"

Lin Yun gave Su Nianhe a thumbs up.

"It has to be you again."

……

The northern suburbs of Qingcheng, the 33rd district blockade line.

The barbed wire fence was much taller than Lin Yun had imagined, reaching a full ten meters, with barbs coiled at the top, and a glaring red sign hanging at intervals.

"Occupied area, entry strictly prohibited!"

Inside the blockade, several city defense soldiers were leaning against the wall smoking. Their uniforms were stained with indelible dark red stains, and their eyes were tired and numb, as if they had been standing on this line for a long time.

Su Nianhe took out a neatly folded hard card from her pocket and handed it to Lin Yun.

"Beast Hunter Pass, issued by the Fubertans, valid for three months."

Lin Yun took it and glanced at it. It had his photo, name, martial arts level, and a line of small, stamped text: "Special Permit to Enter Occupied Zone 33".

"There's likely no communication signal in the disaster area," Su Nianhe's voice was softer than usual. "Please be careful in everything you do..."

Lin Yun put the pass into his inner pocket and nodded.

He didn't say much, afraid that saying too much would only make Su Nianhe more worried.

The barbed wire gate was pushed open by a soldier, making a dull metallic scraping sound.

Lin Yun showed his identification and went inside.

The door behind them didn't close immediately, and Su Nianhe's voice came from behind: "Lin Yun!"

He stopped and turned to the side.

"Get out alive!"

Lin Yun waved to her, turned around, and strode into the gray ruins.

The iron gate slowly closed behind him with a loud clang, as if completely separating the two worlds.

Inside District 33.

Lin Yun walked forward, stepping on pebbles and broken glass. The path beneath his feet was completely unrecognizable.

The half-collapsed buildings leaned to the sides, some of them reduced to steel skeletons, resembling giant skulls.

The air was filled with a rotten, sweet, and fishy smell, mixed with the scent of dust, which made one feel nauseous.

In the distance came sporadic gunshots and shouts, muffled sounds as if they were coming through many layers of walls.

Lin Yun walked for about twenty minutes before he saw the city defense army for the first time.

Seven or eight fully armed soldiers were killing several clawed rats in front of a collapsed shopping mall. The bullets from the gun-wielding soldiers swept across the giant gray-black rats, tearing them to pieces.

A middle-aged man who looked like a military officer stood to the side giving instructions, holding a long knife that was still stained with blood.

Are there any other disaster victims nearby?

"Not sure, they're still searching that street to the east, and we really don't have enough manpower..."

Lin Yun didn't approach; instead, he took a detour and continued deeper into the area.

The city's defense forces have limited manpower, and District 33 is very large, with many areas not under the complete control of the military.

Those areas that haven't been cleared are where the monsters are truly active, and that's the real reason he came here.