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

Lin Yun pulled out the hand-drawn map he had found on the rotten rat from his backpack and looked at the Five Dragon Mountain area where he was currently located.

Scanning the lines northeastward, you soon see a circle with a crooked "曹" (Cao) character inside, and a simple little house drawing next to it.

This should be the hunter's hideout nearby.

He looked up at the sky.

We entered the wilderness area in the afternoon, and now, by calculation, there are at most two hours left until sunset.

Nights in the wilderness are far more dangerous than in occupied areas; venturing out at night is practically suicidal.

He had to reach the outpost before nightfall.

Moreover, this was his first time in this area, so he decided to go to the stronghold first to get a clear picture of the situation, and also to sell his possessions and find out more detailed information about the distribution of the alien beasts.

Lin Yun folded the map and stuffed it into his inner bag. After checking the direction, he slung his supply bag over his shoulder and quickly headed northeast.

We didn't encounter any strange beasts on the way, which suggests that in areas close to the city, the number of strange beasts has been greatly reduced due to hunting and killing.

After walking for nearly an hour, the trees ahead gradually thinned out, and a high wall made of welded iron sheets came into view.

The wall was about five meters high, with many sharpened steel bars stuck on top, giving it a rough and defensive feel. A hunter stood on the watchtower in the corner, arms crossed, looking into the distance.

A rough wooden board hangs at the entrance of the courtyard, with five crooked characters written on it in red paint: Old Cao's Supply Station.

As Lin Yun walked to the door, the people on the lookout tower immediately looked down and shouted something in a gruff voice.

"Show your hunter's license."

Lin Yun took out his Class A license from his pocket and held it up. The man glanced at the level, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Then he waved his hand, and the heavy iron door was opened a crack from the inside.

Lin Yun stepped inside. The stronghold was small, with a dozen simple tin huts surrounded by a tin wall. In the corner of the yard, there were piles of alien beast bones and discarded weapon parts. Next to them stood a half-person-high iron cage, inside which were several gray-feathered pheasants huddled in the corner pecking at food.

These are specially prepared to improve the meals for hunters who have settled here, since most of the meat of strange beasts is too tough and pungent to eat.

The entire outpost was so simple it was almost shabby, but in the perilous wilderness, having a place with high walls for protection and where one could sleep peacefully was a rare safe haven.

Sitting in the shadows by the door was a middle-aged man with gray hair and reading glasses around his neck. He was sitting on a small stool, sharpening a thick-backed machete, the whetstone making a sharp, whirring sound.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't even look up, casually saying, "Five thousand for the night, meals extra. List the items you want to sell on the wall, see for yourself."

Lin Yun's gaze swept over him, and a slight chill ran through him.

This middle-aged man had a restrained aura, standing there like an ordinary stone, but the profound sense of his blood and energy he exuded indicated that he was at least a powerful expert at the Great Martial Master level.

You can't judge a book by its cover; the wilderness is indeed full of hidden talents.

That's understandable, though. Without real strength, who would dare to set up a supply depot in a place like this? They would have been overturned by monsters or thieves long ago.

He didn't ask any more questions, and turned to look at the handwritten price list posted on the wall next to him.

The yellowed paper listed the recycling prices of over a hundred kinds of exotic beast materials in black ink. The categories weren't many, but they were all common items in the first-tier area, which just covered his harvest.

The price was about 20% lower than that of martial arts shops in the city, which was to be expected.

Outposts in the wilderness are quick to monetize, and there's no need to risk taking materials out; taking a little profit is also standard practice.

Lin Yun put down the supply bag on his back and poured out the fangs, fur, and core of the rotting hyena. He also piled the two daggers and the thick-backed machete he had taken from the three robbers next to him.

These weapons are all common, readily available items with no special markings, so there's no need to worry about them being recognized and causing trouble.

The white-haired middle-aged man finally raised his head, adjusted his reading glasses, reached out and rummaged through the things on the ground, then weighed the weapons in his hand. Without even raising his eyelids, he announced a number: "One million five hundred thousand."

It was about 200,000 less than Lin Yun had expected, but he didn't haggle.

He thought he had to open a branch there in the future; the profits were just too high.

The middle-aged man took out his satellite phone, tapped a few times quickly, and soon Lin Yun's terminal received a notification that the money had been credited to his account.

He glanced at his balance; adding the money he had left over, he now had about 1.6 million in his account.

With this money, he was one step closer to the threshold of resuming his cultivation for the sixth time.

The white-haired middle-aged man pointed to several tin shacks on the left side of the yard, then lowered his head to continue sharpening his knife.

"The empty room is the second one from the left. The blankets are in the closet, take them yourself."

"Thank you." Lin Yun picked up his empty bag and walked towards the designated room.

Pushing open the metal door, the room was small, containing only a hard bed and a peeling metal cabinet. The walls were stained with indelible bloodstains, clearly indicating that many injured hunters had stayed there before.

Its advantage lies in its cleanliness and lack of odor; it also effectively isolates outside noise when the door is closed.

Lin Yun locked the door from the inside, put down the supply bag, and took out the hand-drawn map, spreading it out on the bed board to examine it carefully.

He had been so focused on finding the location of the stronghold that he hadn't had time to look at the other markings. Now that he had calmed down, he realized that there was a lot of information hidden on the map.

His fingertips slowly traced the lines, moving north from the Wulong Mountain area and landing in the northeastern part.

There was a conspicuous circle drawn in red pen there, and two words were written crookedly in pencil next to it.

Golden scales.

Lin Yun stared at those two words for a few seconds, his eyes flickering slightly.

It should be a golden-scaled snake.

He had heard Meng Chuan talk about this kind of beast in the class on exotic beasts at the Imperial Martial Arts Academy. The Golden Scale Serpent is similar to the Shadow Spider. The ordinary mature forms are all at the peak of the first tier, while the serpent king in the clan is at the early stage of the second tier.

However, the Golden Scale Serpent is far more valuable than the Shadow Spider. Its scales are extremely tough and are excellent materials for forging high-level weapons and armor. A complete set of top-tier first-level Golden Scale Serpent scale armor can sell for 500,000 on the market. Its tendons and gallbladders are also valuable items.

Moreover, the Golden Scaled Snake is a social beast, and a single den can contain at least five or six adult snakes. If you're lucky, you can be guaranteed a profit of at least two million from one den.

More importantly, the Golden Scale Serpent's lair likely contains a companion spiritual herb called "Golden Glow Grass," which is not only worth up to a million Dragon Kingdom coins per plant, but is also one of the spiritual plants that Lin Yun needs for his ultimate Foundation Establishment.

"It seems I have to go."

The map only marked the words "Golden Scales" without specifying the exact number or mentioning whether there was a Snake King.

After a moment's thought, Lin Yun made a deduction in his mind.

The fact that an old fox like Rotten Rat specifically marked it with a red pen means it's definitely not just a few ordinary golden-scaled snakes; there's a high chance that there's a second-tier golden-scaled snake king among them.

With his current combat strength, he has no chance of winning against a Golden Scale Serpent King in the early stage of the second tier.

Not to mention there were other golden-scaled snakes in the snake den.

At least the sixth time of dispersing and rebuilding one's cultivation is needed to restore one's cultivation to the peak of the Martial Apprentice realm and bring the refinement of one's Qi and blood to its limit before one is confident in exploring this snake's nest.

Lin Yun did the math in his head: the remaining two sessions of dissipating his power plus the cost of rebuilding would total 2.18 million.

He currently has 1.6 million, but is still short 580,000.

At his current hunting efficiency, if he's careful, he should be able to collect enough in three to five days.

He put the map away.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and the day after tomorrow is Monday. We should be going back to school.

Looks like I'll have to ask for leave.