Chapter 32

"Seventh-level combat rune is the highest level that can currently be condensed. As for why they are not simply called levels one to seven, but are ranked by color, the reason is very simple. Once a combat rune is condensed, it will emit a corresponding spectrum of light."

"I understand." Yao Jing finally understood this, a question he had been puzzled about, but unfortunately, no one had answered him.

"Using combat books to learn is not only slow, but also ineffective, far inferior to combat runes. In our Flying Tiger Team, there are a large number of combat books, which are usually used as backups or to broaden one's horizons. When it comes to truly learning combat techniques, we directly use combat runes. To obtain a combat rune, you need the corresponding contribution points."

At this point, he turned to look at Yao Jing: "You are an exception. You currently enjoy the treatment of a combat master. In the Flying Tiger Team, you can have priority in selecting combat runes, without any restrictions on level."

"Thank you." Yao Jing was even more eager to obtain combat techniques. Having such an opportunity was not something he had fought for, but because of Senior Brother Du Qian, he must learn combat techniques well to protect Senior Brother Du Qian.

Compared to his classmates, Yao Jing was very confident. She believed that one day, she could gain recognition through her own strength and freely choose combat runes.

"There are quite a few people in our team, and new members join every year. Combat runes are always in short supply. Fortunately, there are internal contribution rules that allow some good combat runes to be retained. Actually, I would prefer none to be left."

Yao Jing understood, but her face showed no reaction; these matters did not concern her.

"Currently, there are 35 combat runes of considerable value, one blue, three green, and the rest are yellow."

"The differences in combat techniques are quite significant. Levels one to three are low-level combat techniques, levels four to six are mid-level combat techniques, and high-level combat techniques are only one level, which is the purple combat rune. Combat techniques are much more powerful than ordinary attacks. Their power is reflected in two aspects: one is the damage the combat technique itself inflicts, and the other is the damage enhancement to the user's combat power."

"Are there no top-level combat techniques?"

"There are, but they are not classified. Unless you can reach the level of a divine master, don't even think about it."

"What color?"

The little girl's ambition was quite large. Even the city lord wouldn't dare to think about top-level combat techniques, let alone a war orphan like you. Fortunately, this question was asked to him; if it were a regular martial cultivator, they might not even have heard of it.

"Seven colors."

"We're here. This is the combat technique room of the martial equipment warehouse." Saying this, he swiped his card to open the door. The outer room was a guard room, where a thin old man was drinking tea and reading a newspaper, wearing a pair of glasses that covered half his face. Yao Jing could see clearly that the glasses were neither reading glasses nor myopia glasses, but ordinary plano glasses. She wondered why he would wear such useless glasses indoors.

"You're here." The old man didn't even look up as he spoke casually.

"Yes, I'm here to guide Yao Jing; she wants to choose a combat rune."

"Yao Jing?" The old man finally reacted when he heard Yao Jing's name. He put down his newspaper, took off his glasses, and carefully examined Yao Jing for a moment.

"Good potential." After saying this, he put on his glasses and continued reading the newspaper.

Fei Xue nodded slightly and swiped his identity card again, indicating that Yao Jing should also swipe hers. After Yao Jing swiped her card, the old man's hand trembled, and he swiped his card on the card reader on the table. The door didn't move, but a wall beside them silently slid open, revealing a corridor.

The door was actually a fake; the real door was a wall. To open it, three people had to swipe their cards in sequence. Such a high level of security was indeed quite extreme, especially considering that this was the headquarters of the Pingchuan Flying Tiger Team.

Following the corridor, they walked seventeen steps before Fei Xue stopped. "Get closer."

Yao Jing followed Fei Xue's instructions and got closer, which made her uncomfortable, but she didn't show it on her face.

Her body felt light, and the floor, which looked ordinary, turned out to be a downward-moving platform. It was pitch black, and it took two minutes before the platform shook, indicating they had reached the bottom.

The scene brightened, and this was the true combat technique room. If you followed the corridor all the way, there was indeed a room at the end, with books and runes inside, looking very real, but it was actually full of traps.

At the far end of the room was a metal wall. Fei Xue swiped his identity card somewhere, and the entire wall rose, revealing a row of glass cabinets behind it.

The cabinets were divided into seven layers, structured like a tower. The top two rows were empty. The third row had one storage box, the fourth row had three, the fifth row had thirty-one, and the sixth and seventh rows had even more, with about a hundred storage boxes.

From the number and the layers, it was clear and straightforward, making it easy to understand at a glance.

In front of each storage box was a folded piece of paper, which looked like a manual for the item inside.

"Everything is here. I don't recommend you look at the bottom two rows. Start from the third row. If you want to start from the fifth row, that's also fine. Usually, people who come here want to look from high to low, but actually..." Fei Xue didn't continue.

Did he need to say it? The good ones were already picked. The remaining ones were either not good enough to be chosen, or those who were qualified didn't find them appealing.

Yao Jing stepped forward and took the manual for the blue row, opening it to read: "Fierce Wind Claws, a spirit martial combat technique."

There was no need to read the rest of the description. This was specifically prepared for martial cultivators who had condensed spirit claws, a specialized combat technique. When martial cultivators took their first step, they usually condensed weapons, typically two, and this couldn't be changed afterward.

When Yao Jing condensed her spirit weapons, even her teacher didn't know; she had done it privately. Considering she was a war orphan, she chose the most common spirit weapon.

Left sword, right knife.

Spirit knives and spirit swords were among the most common spirit weapons, chosen by over 70% of martial cultivators. However, someone like her, with a left sword and right knife, was extremely rare, completely violating the rules of combat.

Swords could be single or double, with double swords held in each hand. Single swords and knives were usually paired with a shield as the secondary spirit weapon, providing both offense and defense, which was the correct approach.

Swords were light and agile, while knives were powerful. These two most common spirit weapons had completely different attack methods. Perhaps in novels, there were such peculiar uses, but in reality, no martial cultivator had ever been known to do this.

Recondensing spirit weapons was not impossible, but the conditions were high. Only when you advanced to the combat master level and condensed a power furnace could you recondense your spirit weapons. This was the only chance for martial cultivators to rebuild their spirit weapons.

Regardless of whether her initial choice was right or wrong, it had nothing to do with the peculiar spirit claws. Even if this combat rune was given to her for free, she couldn't use it and it would occupy a combat slot.

This result was quite disappointing for Yao Jing. She picked up a green manual: "Eagle Eye, an auxiliary combat technique, suitable for long-range attacks."

She put it down immediately. This might be better than "Fierce Wind Claws," but it still wasn't suitable for her. The most suitable would be the less common bow and crossbow spirit weapons. This type of spirit weapon was also known as a long-range spirit weapon or a consumable spirit weapon, and there were even fewer people who condensed spirit claws.

"Blade Wall, a defensive combat technique, using blade-type spirit weapons to instantly create a wall of blades, which can defend against over 180% of the user's combat technique damage. When used with a shield, it can provide over 200% defense."

In terms of combat techniques, this was another subpar one. Good combat techniques were already picked. Martial cultivators valued offense, and knives were the most dominant offensive weapons. The person who developed the "Blade Wall" combat technique must have had some issues.

The rune master who spent time and a large amount of combat power to condense the "Blade Wall" combat rune probably wasn't very intelligent. At least, that was what Fei Xue and the members of the Flying Tiger Team thought.

"Captain Fei, I'll take this one. How much does it cost?" After reading the description, Yao Jing had no interest in continuing to look. This was what she wanted.

"Um... Do you want to look at more? There aren't many good ones in the blue and green combat techniques. The yellow ones are of a lower level, but there are a few quite good ones."

As for the cost, Fei Xue pretended not to hear. Entering the combat rune room of the Flying Tiger Team, why would you mention money? Do you think this is a store?

"No, I want this one. How much does this combat rune cost?" Yao Jing asked firmly.

Fei Xue couldn't understand why Yao Jing was so firm about asking the price. The Flying Tiger Team wouldn't sell, and they wouldn't ask for your money.

They hadn't known each other for long, but he had some understanding of Yao Jing's character. Even if he didn't understand, he still answered: "Combat runes are rare items created by rune masters, and they are obtained through requests."

"Alright, how much did it cost to request it?"

What a waste of words, and she was still asking about the price?

"Green combat runes, even with connections, cost over 100,000."

"Um." Yao Jing responded calmly and swiped her card to take the box. Runes had properties similar to unattributed spirit weapons and needed to be stored in a spirit energy storage box. They wouldn't deteriorate as quickly as later-stage spirit weapons, but if left outside for too long, they would definitely become useless.

Just a "Um" and nothing more? Fei Xue thought he understood Yao Jing, but suddenly realized that they hadn't known each other long enough. He couldn't figure out what Yao Jing was planning.

They had both grown up and graduated from the orphan school, and in many aspects, they had commonalities. Or, their external behaviors might differ greatly: Yao Jing's coldness, Du Qian's playfulness, Lei Ming's simplicity, and Wu Yue's pride.

Status determined perspective, perspective determined vision, and vision determined insight. Du Qian believed that money was very important. Without money, you couldn't survive, and you couldn't pay off the school's loans. Everything in the world, including people, could be measured by money, just with different methods and complexities.

In essence, Du Qian and Yao Jing were almost the same. Their perspectives, views, and even qualities were not much different.

Du Qian could accept favors and help from his aunt, and when he had money, he would repay the favor immediately. Yao Jing was the same.

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