Zhao Haisheng was taken into care, while the Experts Testing Grounds ended with controversy. Based on their rules, the champion was allowed to enter the headquarters’ highest ranks. But when Lan Yue looked over Li Mo’s status, he went pale.
He was still a newcomer and of a low level, a real rarity in the Experts Alliance.
“Per alliance’s rules, Shenjing’s Li Mo joins the headquarters’ highest ranks. As for his job, it will be at the liberty of vice-chief and chief!”
Capital’s three great clans had left earlier, leaving the alliance to begin their accustomed trade fair.
The trading in the headquarters was on a whole nother level than in any base. Many of the rare things Li Mo thought extinct in this world were strung about.
“Phoenix blood jade, gray amber, world fruit, geocentric grass… “
Li Mo was dazzled by the display but dejected by the lack of points.
“Memory metal!”
On the government’s stand, Li Mo found a hand-sized black ore.
Memory metal was one of the rare thousand metals. It had the amazing property to repair itself regardless of damage once its form was set.
It was one of the best materials for tool refining, and one of the most precious. Not only on Earth, but in the entire universe.
“One million points…” Li Mo cried out at the price.
Weighing the price, a million would be a bargain for the memory metal’s true value. But the problem was, Li Mo was scrapped for points.
It wasn’t just him, but everyone there lacked the funs as well, Lan Yue included.
This piece of memory metal, along with a phoenix’s feather, and a meter long flood dragon fang, were all worth a million points each. These three were the Experts Alliance’s most valued items. Ever since they were put on display two decades ago, many had the desire to get them, but none had the means.
“Stop looking. You can’t buy it. Someone said that even the Experts Alliance’s points combined aren’t enough to buy one item. They’re only put up to show off their power.”
“Yeah, what’s the point of looking.”
Li Mo’s eyes were on memory metal, musing.
He had no interest in the phoenix feather that can release flames with a swish. He knew it wasn’t a real phoenix feather anyway. Based on quality, a Mystical Firebird was far better.
While the flood dragon fang was genuine, used in making some uncommon items, even treasure grade ones. But Li Mo wasn’t after such an average magic weapon.
Of the Experts Alliance’s headquarters’ three items, memory metal alone was worthy of Li Mo’s attention.
A stout man two meters tall stood next to the memory metal’s stand, “Shenjing’s Li Mo, you want to buy the memory metal?”
Li Mo’s heart skipped, “Is there any other way besides paying with points?”
“There is, robbing.”
“Eh?”
“If you got the power to take it from headquarters’ four great experts, the memory metal is yours. And you won’t even be held accountable. The alliance will wave all charges, taking it as perfectly legal.”
Li Mo was shell-shocked.
The man laughed, “But don’t mistake it for being a walk in the park. Since the chief assigned the safeguarding of these three treasures to us, there should be around a hundred people we either killed, maimed, or defeated.”
“Zhuge Yong, Zhuge Meng, Zhuge Qiang, Zhuge Zhuang. (T/N: in order: lit. valiant, fierce, strong, robust.) Us four great experts are the descendants of Zhuge Liang from the Three Kingdoms era. So far, no one has prevailed against our gifts!”
Someone interjected when he saw Li Mo and Zhuge Yong talking.
“Zhuge Yong, you four brothers only have a thicker skin. What’s so great about you? I have come for those three treasures so you better step back, Handong’s Hai Xingwen is going to take them!”
The gaunt Hai Xingwen faced Zhuge Yong.
Zhuge Yong said, “Brothers, to your stations!”
While Zhuge Yong stood near the treasures, his brothers surrounded him for added protection.
An Eight Trigrams appeared beneath them, with the fourth brother at their center.
“I am in the fourth level. My water magical art can already turn to ice. Zhuge brothers, today’s fight will be different than the last!”
“Take my Sealing Ice!”
Hai Xingwen’s hands shot frost, but when it touched the Eight Trigrams’ range, it up and vanished.
Hai Xingwen was pissed, sending more and more frost at them.
The flood of frost never stopped, but it was swallowed whole by the Eight Trigrams.
He kept this up for twenty seconds and sweat soaked his brow. He began to tremble as his output of frost went down sharply.
“No, please, I was wrong!” Hai Xingwen wailed.
“You should’ve thought of that at the beginning!” Zhuge Yong snorted.
When Hai Xingwen stopped giving off frost, the Eight Trigrams exploded with all the frost it absorbed, turning him into an ice statue.
The Eight Trigrams’ frost was Hai Xingwen’s own attack returned in full.
Capable of both defense and offense, this fourth level Eight Trigrams Array was the reason for the Zhuge brothers’ undefeated reputation.
“Amazing, then let me, Xixiang’s Bone Doctor test the intricacy of your array!”
A skeleton with barely any meat on him jumped forward as he whistled, sending poisonous bugs at the brothers.
Though there were both crawling and flying ones, they were all deadly. But once they touched the Eight Trigrams, they started running in circles around it.
“Hum~”
Xixiang’s Bone Doctor sent all his bugs but none pierced the Eight Trigrams.
Whoosh~
When fleeing crawled into Bone Doctor’s mind, he found the bugs he sent were already on him. They were even faster than when he controlled them.
Bone Doctor couldn’t even make a peep while the bugs gnawed him clean of any meat, if he even had any.
“Why would the chief even had us protecting the treasures if the Fourth Level Eight Trigrams Array could be undone so easily?
“On the very first year we took the task, twenty people challenged us. The result? Only three survivors!”
“The treasures are great and all, but isn’t life far more precious?”
“Yeah, Xixiang’s Bone Doctor, Handong’s Hai Xingwen, these two are both in the fourth level, and how did they fair?”
“Let’s go, there’s no point in looking.”
Hai Xingwen and Bone Doctored died, curing many people of their greed. No one dared challenge the Zhuge brothers and the crowd thinned out.
“I’ll try.”
The four brothers relaxed, but then came Li Mo’s sudden laughter.
“Good, come then. Your life is up to fate, young friend. We aren’t in control of the Fourth Level Eight Trigrams Array’s backlash. Do be careful.”
“Much obliged.”
Li Mo chuckled. Zhuge Yong’s casual tone changed Li Mo’s mind about using brute force to break the array.
‘These brothers are quite nice. I see no reason to inflict heavy wounds.’
“Here I come!”
“After you.”
When Li Mo challenged them, the brothers were amidst retaking their usual spots. None of the people there was interested in seeing him fight either. With Hai Xingwen and Bone Doctor dying, what good would a lucky first level newcomer do?
You couldn’t possibly mean his luck would make him immune to the Fourth Level Eight Trigrams Array, right?
Li Mo strolled into the Eight Trigrams Array one step at a time.
Yet nothing happened.
“Holy mother of a god!” Someone shouted.
Li Mo walked all the way to Zhuge Yong, reached for the memory metal and left with it.
The crowd was shocked, the Zhuge brothers were slackjawed.
‘H-how the hell?’
