Countless mottled shadows twisted and danced before Li Yan, like flames leaping in a strong wind.
Cha Chai, Minami Kido, He Andong...
One figure after another flickered past in a frenzy.
In the gloomy and cramped Fortress Village, fat rats scurried through the filthy sewers. The tumultuous Boxing Ring, with sewage flowing and antennas angrily crisscrossing under the haze-filled sky, a Barefoot Girl lifted half of her profile...
Bloodstained weapons, the dark muzzles of guns sparking fire, the roars and laughter of men, all finally froze on the image of a giant python soaring into the sky, its fierce fangs clearly visible.
Li Yan stared blankly at his right hand. His fingers were intact, all injuries on his body had vanished without a trace, and even his mental state was surprisingly good!
Li Yan had no time to survey his surroundings when a voice sounded in his ear.
Neither male nor female, heard and then forgotten, it was definitely not the hoarse, deep male voice Li Yan had heard before.
"Under certain conditions, no points will be deducted for this restoration."
The settlement report is as follows:
"Shang Ji" evaluation settlement of Yan Fu Points: 500 points (base 200 points with a 150% bonus).
Purchase Authority quota: 195% (individual action 76% + full completion of the Yanfu Incident 30% + Three Fragmented Manuscripts excluding the Guhuo Bird 30% + Killing the Predator 59%).
"You also possess a Yanfu Remnant, which you can contribute in this settlement to increase your Purchase Authority."
It referred to the Fragmented Manuscript that Li Yan found in Li Jiangyu's residence after killing him, a piece of rice paper painted with a shark.
"There are mermaids in the reed pond. Every five days they transform, sometimes into a beautiful Unusual Woman, sometimes into a man, with many variations in their changes."
"By contributing the Yanfu Remnants, your Purchase Authority quota increases by 10%, reaching the peak value of 200%, and you are compensated with 500 Yan Fu Points."
"You have exchanged for gold, and your current Yan Fu Points are 3204."
Special reward for completing the Yanfu Incident: The content of this Yanfu Incident is the Guhuo Bird, from which you will randomly draw an item Filled with the Power of Guhuo Bird (including but not limited to consumables, Skill Scroll, Strange Object, Heritage).
Given that this is your first completion of a Yanfu Incident, this reward will be forcibly recognized as a Heritage, which cannot be traded.
A burning sensation erupted in Li Yan's chest. The aura-imposing image of the Guhuo Bird ignited suddenly, and before Li Yan could react, it burned to nothingness. Li Yan lifted his clothing to find a burn mark on his chest, strands of golden-red flame burrowing into his wound. He instinctively reached to touch it but couldn't even feel the tail of the flame. In the next moment, the burn on his chest had vanished without a trace.
"This..."
【Heritage: Spirit of Guhuo Bird · Hook Star】
The Guhuo Bird's revival status stood at 9% out of 100%. Heritage, intimately connected with one's livelihood, enhances the revival process. As it awakens, both the lifespan and physical condition of the walker are elevated. Upon full revival, the Heritage doubles the walker's lifespan.
The owner is granted a permanent fixed state: Hook Star.
【Hook Star】: Enhances the holder's explosive power and attack speed by 90% as a passive skill.
【Blood Dipped】: Using one's own blood as a catalyst, it locks onto an enemy. All subsequent damage inflicted on the target accumulates, allowing the user to actively decide when to trigger the explosion. The more damage dealt beforehand, the greater the damage from Blood Dipped.
【Blood Dipped's damage is demon-slaying! Filthy God! Ghost Killing! Exorcising Demons! Corrosion Dragon Tiger Qi!】
After the Blood Dipped damage takes effect, the power of Hook Star temporarily fades, with the duration depending on the extent of the Blood Dipped damage.
During the absence of the Hook Star State, Blood Dipped cannot be activated.
Li Yan attempted a small jump and chuckled to himself, "Doesn't feel all that special."
Yet he wasn't disappointed. Being alive and well was already the best outcome. As for extending one's life, who truly knows when their time will come?
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
It was only then that Li Yan began to take in his surroundings.
He stood upon dark stone tiles, in a room furnished with nothing but a bed. Two doors faced him; one was ajar, the other tightly secured with iron chains.
The slightly open door stirred a profound sense of familiarity within Li Yan.
It was the path home.
"I'd like to check my Purchase Authority," Li Yan murmured to himself, speaking as though addressing a clerk at a bank or government office.
"Purchase Authority has been listed. Please note, purchases can only be made within this room and will not be possible once you leave."
Li Yan scanned the list and immediately spotted many items that piqued his interest.
For instance...
Under the Cold Weapon category:
"【Nameless Han Sword】, Sword Inscription Qi that Creates Ten Thousand Sceneries and Forms a Coiling Dragon. A sharp blade designed for killing. It requires 10 Yan Fu Points. This item does not possess any special attributes and can only be carried on one's person."
After returning, Li Yan indeed couldn't stop thinking about this Han Sword. He owned several sharp weapons, some crafted by contemporary national masters, worth a great deal, yet none felt as right in his hand as this nameless Han Sword. Not being able to take it with him was a small yet significant regret.
"Ten thousand, quite a bargain."
Black ripples converged, and a Han Sword, its cold light rippling and wrapped in rhinoceros skin, appeared in Li Yan's hand.
Grasping the hilt, Li Yan flicked his wrist, extending the blade in a smooth motion, eliciting a crisp, clear sound akin to a spring running over pebbles.
The affection a swordsman holds for a fine blade is indescribable, a sentiment shared across all ages.
The Li Clan of Hejian was famed as being Unparalleled in Spear and Sword. With a sword on foot and a spear on horseback, Li Yan had practiced swordsmanship for ten years and spearplay for fifteen. Confident in his near-perfect mastery of the sword and his considerable skill with the spear, his love for the blade was timeless.
"The energy gives rise to myriad spectacles, encircling and coiling into a dragon—thus, I shall name you 'Ring Dragon.'"
Li Yan caressed the flat of the blade, flicking it lightly.
Han Sword Ring Dragon.
Furthermore, the Meridian Mandarin Duck Halberd Li Yan once wielded, along with an array of various long and short weapons, were all within reach. However, Li Yan merely glanced over them without showing further interest.
Li Yan continued to look down the list.
Firearms category:
"The Colt M1911, with a bullet capacity of 7+1 in the magazine, an initial bullet velocity of 253 meters per second, and a combat firing rate of 50 rounds per minute, operates on a short-barreled recoil mechanism.
It's worth noting that this model, which claims to be the most produced automatic pistol in the world, was actually designed by Browning, the soul behind Colt's old rival, FN.
Note: Pistols are quite remarkable, but trust me, in the world of Yanfu, they're not worth your blind faith.
You can exchange 15 Yan Fu Points to obtain it, along with two magazines. One Yan Fu Point can be exchanged for five magazines, with no limit.
The 82-1 Model All-plastic Handle-less Ball Bearing Grenade contains 62 grams of TNT explosive, with an effective kill range of 6 to 10 meters.
You can exchange 8 Yan Fu Points to acquire it, with a limit of twenty.
The RPG-18 Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher comes with ten rocket rounds.
You can exchange 200 Yan Fu Points for it.
Please be aware that such items possess no special abilities and can only be carried on one's person.
Note that only firearms purchased with Yan Fu Points can be brought into the Yanfu Incident. Any other firearms will be confiscated upon entering the Yanfu Incident.
There was a dazzling array of similar firearms, and Li Yan also saw some with specific usage requirements, such as large-caliber sniper rifles.
Li Yan had no plans to exchange for high-powered firearms, at least not for the time being. Cold weapons could be considered collectibles, but what would you do with a rocket launcher from a music and video store? Even hiding it would be troublesome.
Li Yan could somewhat understand the availability of these items for exchange; after all, there was nothing too astonishing about this experience. The most common things Li Yan encountered were fists and weapons.
However, what came next piqued Li Yan's interest even more.
Strange Object Class, consumables:
Combat Essence!
"First-Class Thai Boxing Combat Essence": Enhances Close Combat Specialization by 3%, only effective for those with less than 60% Close Combat Specialization. (Specializations below 30% are not displayed.)
Li Yan swiftly toggled through the options.
"First-level Karate Combat Essence," "First-level Free Combat Fighting Essence"...
"Second-level Maga Art Combat Essence": Enhances Close Combat Specialization by 5%, Firearms-type Specialization by 3%.
Effective only for Close Combat Specializations below 70%.
For 50 Yan Fu Points each,
"Second-level Ancient Martial Arts Combat Essence (Foot Jab)": Enhances Close Combat Specialization by 6%, other descriptions as above.
"Second-level Ancient Martial Arts Combat Essence (Wing Chun)": Descriptions as above.
No use to me...
Li Yan's own Ancient Martial Arts Specialization had already reached 83%, clearly these lower-level items were of no use to him.
"Fifth-level (max) Ancient Martial Arts Combat Essence (Bagua Palm)": Enhances Close Combat Specialization by 10%, cannot be used to break through the bottlenecks at 70%, 80%, or 90%. No other restrictions.
It required 200 Yan Fu Points to exchange, limited to one piece.
This is...
Li Yan understood.
The items from the Yanfu Incident would become his Purchase Authority. This included the opponents he faced.
After spending 200 points to exchange for the essence, Li Yan casually bought four "Second-level Firearm Essences" to improve his gunplay accuracy.
Five Flowing Lights, four large and one small, surged into Li Yan's body.
"You have unlocked Firearms Expertise."
Current Firearms Expertise: 38%
Current Ancient Martial Arts Specialization: 89% + 4% (suffix not displayed)
Unable to break through the 90% bottleneck.
Li Yan suddenly thought of Zhang Mingyuan, whose Ancient Martial Arts Specialization was at 69%, seemingly also stuck at a bottleneck.
Additionally, Li Yan exchanged for a Colt Handgun and magazines, trying out a couple of shots at the shrinking door.
Two flashes of gunfire passed, unsurprisingly to no effect, but Li Yan did feel more proficient in handling the gun.
This was the kind of feel that normally required a Thousand Hammer Hundred Refinement to achieve.
Li Yan clenched his fists, the things that lay ahead were becoming increasingly unfathomable.
Strange Object Class, Triad Tattoo Blessing!
**********
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