High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Song Chen has been staying outside the city these past few days, busy killing strange beasts to improve his strength, but he hasn't forgotten about Zhao Wei.

Now that martial law has been lifted, Zhao Wei could do whatever he wants to his parents, though it's unlikely, since both he and his grandfather are martial artists and shouldn't be so likely to harm two ordinary people. But what if he does?

What if Zhao Wei, being so petty, holds a grudge and causes trouble for his parents while he's away?

Song Chen clenched her fists tightly. She couldn't afford to take any chances; she absolutely couldn't let her parents take any risks.

He took a deep breath, disregarding everything else, and turned to walk towards the camp.

"Hey, Xiao Song, you're not leaving the city today?" Old Wang called from behind.

"I'm not going out, something's come up."

He walked quickly back to his room and began packing his things. He hadn't dealt with the spoils of the past few days, but now he could take care of them all at once.

About half an hour later, Song Chen arrived at the martial arts trading market outside the city, carrying a huge backpack.

This is an open space near the city wall, specifically for martial artists to trade exotic beast materials and crystal cores.

Rows of simple stalls were packed full of various exotic beasts' fur, bones, fangs, and crystal cores, and the air was filled with the smell of blood and the aura of spiritual energy.

Song Chen found a stall that specialized in buying and selling and put his backpack on the ground.

The stall owner, a shrewd middle-aged man, saw the boy's backpack and his eyes lit up: "Brother, selling some goods?"

"Hmm." Song Chen opened his backpack.

"Splash..."

A pile of stuff was dumped out, forming a small mountain on the stall.

The stall owner's eyes widened. There were hundreds of crystal cores from first-tier beasts, densely packed together, as well as over eighty crystal cores from second-tier beasts. In addition, there were various precious materials from different beasts, such as the fangs of mutated wolves, the gallbladders of mutated bears, and the fur of mutated foxes...

"This, this is..." The stall owner's voice changed.

"Calculate how much it costs, give me a fair price and I'll sell it," Song Chen said.

The stall owner swallowed hard and began to count the items.

People passing by gathered around and started discussing the mountain of materials.

"So many crystal cores? One person killed them all?"

"Nonsense, didn't you see who that is? Heavenly Thunder Blade!"

"Heavenly Thunder Blade? Is that the one that single-handedly killed over a thousand rank-one beasts?"

"Who else could it be besides him?"

"Holy crap, I saw it in person..."

The stall owner spent a full half hour taking inventory before finally looking up. His expression was complicated, as if he were looking at Song Chen as if he were a monster.

"Brother, these things you..."

"Just tell me the total price."

The stall owner took a deep breath: "There are 863 first-tier crystal cores, 87 second-tier crystal cores, and the rest of the materials, approximately..."

He fiddled with the calculator for a while: "Total... twelve million, how's that price?"

Song Chen's eyebrows twitched. Twelve million? He'd never seen so much money in his life.

The stall owner then said, "Brother, I can't come up with that much cash all at once with so much stock. If you trust me, I can help you contact a big buyer, and the price can be higher."

Song Chen thought for a moment: "How much higher?"

"At least 12.5 million. Recently, a medicinal herb merchant urgently needs crystal cores to refine medicine and is willing to pay a premium to buy them. He will definitely be interested in your goods."

Song Chen nodded: "Okay, go and contact them."

The stall owner made a few phone calls, and half an hour later, a well-dressed old man rushed over. When he saw the pile of crystal cores, his eyes lit up. Without saying a word, he said, "I'll take them all. Thirteen million, cash transfer, deal done immediately."

Song Chen didn't haggle: "Deal."

Five minutes later, his communicator received a bank transfer notification.

[Received: 13000000 yuan]

Song Chen stared at the number, remaining silent for a few seconds. He thought of the cramped little house in the slum where his parents lived, his mother's wrinkled face, and his father's crippled arm—enough to ensure they would be well-fed and clothed for the rest of their lives.

The stall owner handed over a large bag: "Brother, here's some more. This is a personal gift from me. It's all tonics, like Qi and Blood Pills and Nourishing Essence Paste. Use it for your family, and to make a friend."

Song Chen took the bag and nodded, "Thanks."

"By the way, give me your account number, and I'll transfer you 500,000. You've gone to so much trouble this time." He didn't like owing favors.

The stall owner quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need. That old man will give me a referral fee. Don't worry about me. This little bit of money is to make friends with your Thunder Blade."

Song Chen suddenly understood why the stall owner was so kind; he realized that the stall owner had taken everyone's words to heart. He wasn't one to be sentimental: "Thank you very much then."

He then immediately slung his backpack over his shoulder and turned to leave.

Song Chen walked through the crowd toward the city gate.

Soldiers were still guarding the city gate, but the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed. Several soldiers even nodded to him when they saw him.

Show your warrior badge and you will pass through the city gate without incident.

As he entered the city, he suddenly felt as if he had been transported to another world. The streets were bustling with people as before, shops were open for business as usual, and hovercars came and went. Everything looked no different from what it had been ten days ago.

But Song Chen knew that things were different now, at least he was different.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the slums.

Two hours later, he stood downstairs in his own building.

Standing at his doorstep, he suddenly felt a little nervous. He had been outside the city for the past few days and hadn't called home. His parents must be very worried.

He took out his key, opened the door, and the familiar aroma of food wafted from inside.

Li Xiuying's voice came from the kitchen: "Xiao Chen? Is that you back?"

Song Chen walked in and saw his mother busy in the kitchen and his father sitting on the sofa watching TV. Everything was exactly the same as it had been ten days ago, but his eyes suddenly felt a little sore.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home."

Li Xiuying peeked out from the kitchen, glanced at him, and then froze: "You...you've lost weight again? The special training your teacher gave you must have been tough."

She put down the spatula, walked out quickly, and looked him up and down.

Song Chen let her look him over without saying a word.

Song Zhengye also stood up and looked at him; the father and son stared at each other for a few seconds.

Song Zhengye frowned slightly, then relaxed: "You forced yourself on me again?"

Song Chen nodded.

"How many?"

"Almost at level two."

Song Zhengye's pupils contracted slightly. Almost at the second level? Eighteen years old and almost at the second level—what does that even mean? He was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled: "Good, good, you've met a good teacher. You must repay this teacher when you become successful in the future."

Li Xiuying didn't care about any of that. She knew her son was back safe and sound, and that was enough: "It's good that he's back, it's good that he's back... Go wash your hands and eat!"

Song Chen nodded, put his backpack on the ground, took out the large bag from it, and handed it to Li Xiuying.

"Mom, this is for you."

Li Xiuying took the bag, opened it, and was stunned. Inside were bottles of Qi and Blood Pills, Nourishing Essence Paste, and various tonics she couldn't name, filling the whole bag.

"These...these..."

"They're all good for your health. You and Dad should eat a little every day; it'll be good for you."

Li Xiuying's eyes reddened: "You child... why are you spending this money... keep it for yourself..."

"I don't need it, my teacher is very generous."

Then he took out his phone, opened his bank account, and handed it to his dad.

Song Zhengye looked down and his hand trembled slightly: Thirteen million!

He looked up at Song Chen, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions, like a turbulent sea: "This is..."

"This is my reward from my teacher for this special training. Dad, let's move. Let's move out of the slums and buy a nicer house. You can use the rest of the money for your retirement."

Song Zhengye remained silent for a long, long time before finally speaking: "Son, you've grown up."

Song Chen looked into his father's eyes and suddenly smiled: "Dad, let's eat, the food is getting cold."

Li Xiuying wiped away her tears and nodded frantically, "Eat, eat..."

The family of three sat around a small dining table, eating a simple meal.