Su Mo walked out of the hotel effortlessly, though his appearance had already changed.
Besides the white jade ring, he had also acquired a substantial amount of gold and dollars from the two men, which somewhat made up for his previous loss of one million.
He originally intended to return to the Elite Camp, but then he thought since he was already at the market, he might as well look around for any worthwhile items.
Su Mo didn’t browse the market randomly; he conducted a thorough, carpet-style search. He noted down every item that caught his interest before starting to decide which ones to buy.
“My previous magical artifacts are unusable now, so I need to buy a new one for protection. As for spell techniques, while I can’t use the old ones either, fortunately, I’ve learned some new ones. Besides, the quality of spell techniques here is far inferior to those on the top floor of the Big Dipper Scripture Depository, so it’s not worth it.”
In the end, he went to Zone A and bought a straight sword, a Chinese-style magical artifact, for three hundred thousand. Although it was far inferior to the Tetanus Knife, it would still serve its purpose for now.
Additionally, he spent a large sum on a new storage ring, after all, he couldn’t casually reveal the white jade ring to others.
After finishing these tasks, he found a place to revert his face back to Lin Qianye’s and returned to the Elite Camp.
Along the way, people occasionally pointed and whispered about him. Without even thinking, he knew they were Ye Qingyi’s admirers, seething with envy and jealousy.
Su Mo paid them no mind, pretending not to notice.
As he neared his residence, he suddenly noticed someone waiting at his door. Getting closer, he saw it was actually Shivade.
Su Mo was somewhat curious about why he was here.
“Well, if it isn’t little sister Qianye, you’re here,” Shivade said, beaming with joy.
“What do you want?”
Shivade suddenly brought out his right hand, which had been hidden behind his back. “The arena. Tomorrow afternoon, Li Tianke, ranked fifth, is challenging Lei Wu Yinov, ranked fourth. It’s going to be even more exciting than the last match.”
Su Mo shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t go with you.”
Shivade pressed on relentlessly. “Why not?”
Just as Su Mo was about to speak, Ye Qingyi’s voice suddenly came from the side. “Because he’s accompanying me.”
Shivade turned his head and saw it was Ye Qingyi, whose strength was second only to Li Tianke in the Elite Camp—no, now second only to Nishimura Yano, ranked seventh. He immediately backed down. “Oh, maybe next time then…”
“Next time won’t work either. He’ll be with me next time too,” Ye Qingyi said, her tone quite domineering.
Shivade was taken aback. “Are you two together?”
Ye Qingyi wore a haughty expression. “Not exactly, but he invited me. Consider it a fan service, I suppose.”
In short: We might not be together, but it’s none of your business either.
Shivade fled in a panic.
Ye Qingyi glanced at Su Mo and suddenly grinned. “Hey there, girl. Has it been a few hours already? Did you miss me?”
Su Mo’s mind raced as he instantly slipped into his role. “I don’t want to see you.”
Ye Qingyi raised an eyebrow, grabbed his shoulder, and pushed him back against the wall, his back pressed firmly against it. “Well then, I’ll make sure you get a good look at me.”
Just as Su Mo prepared to resist, a sharp cry came from the distance. “Su Mo, you scumbag!”
He knew that voice all too well—it was Xia Qingqing.
With her was Huo Jingshu, though she wasn’t making a scene, she walked over with a cold expression.
Their eyes swept over Ye Qingyi like sharp knives.
“Su Mo, I never thought you were this kind of person. Our Qingyi has been so good to you, and you’re fooling around with another woman? How could you do this to her?”
Huo Jingshu also spoke coldly, “Even though we’re all friends, Qingyi is my best sister. If you dare play her, I dare stab you!”
As she spoke, she reached out, and a long spear materialized at her side.
Both Su Mo and Ye Qingyi were stunned; they hadn’t expected things to unfold this way.
Then, Xia Qingqing pushed Ye Qingyi aside, looked up into Su Mo’s eyes, and said fiercely, “Don’t think just because you have a good figure you can seduce Su Mo! He belongs to Qingyi. Qingyi has a better figure than you, and she’s prettier too!”
The two best friends had no intention of letting them off easily and immediately started a fight.
Ye Qingyi was chased by Huo Jingshu, who tried to jab her with the spear, while Su Mo was pummeled by Xia Qingqing’s small, furious fists. Neither of them was going for the kill, but they weren’t holding back either.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
In the end, if someone hadn’t intervened—and that someone was Yang Jie—it probably wouldn’t have been resolved so easily.
As a representative from Xia Country, he had been appointed as an instructor at the Elite Camp and naturally held authority over the trainees from his country.
Moreover, he was once the direct superior of Su Mo and the others.
Yang Jie adjusted his glasses and said sternly, “The Elite Camp encourages you to fight, but not just anywhere. If you want to fight, go to the arena. Don’t disrupt order here.”
Although Xia Qingqing and Huo Jingshu were still fuming, they had to obey Yang Jie’s command. “Fine.”
Yang Jie sighed helplessly. “You guys, always causing trouble for me all day long, really—ah, forget it!”
“Consider yourselves punished. All four of you will do training drills on the field tonight instead of sleeping.”
The four knew this was about establishing authority, so they had no choice but to comply.
…
That night.
The four sweated profusely under Yang Jie’s orders as they trained. Other trainees passing by watched with admiration.
Trainee A: “Instructor Yang truly lives up to his strict reputation. Look, he even punishes his own people from Xia Country.”
Trainee B: “More than that. Besides the newbie, the other three used to work directly under Instructor Yang. You could say they’re his prized students.”
Trainee C: “Who knows if it’s just for show? Maybe he’s just using his own people to set an example. I doubt he’d dare treat everyone like this.”
Trainee B: “You’re not from Xia Country, so you don’t understand the weight the name ‘Yang Jie’ carries.”
Trainee C: “Pfft. He only dares to punish his own people and those without much influence. Do you think he’d dare say anything to the three S-class geniuses? What a joke!”
Trainee B: “Hmph. Whether he dares or not will be clear during the assessment next week. Don’t shoot your mouth off so early; you might end up with a slap in the face.”
Trainee C: “What does ‘shoot your mouth off’ mean?”
Trainee B: “Not telling you. Serves you right for badmouthing our Instructor Yang. Nyeh nyeh nyeh…”
Trainee D: “Stop arguing, you guys. Look, isn’t that Vale, one of the three great geniuses? Why is she here? She seems to be heading towards the field.”
Trainee C: “Maybe she can’t stand Yang Jie punishing his own students and is going to confront him about it.”
Trainee A: “Whoa, that would be intense. I gotta see this, I gotta see this!”
With Vale’s arrival, a large crowd surged towards the field.
Su Mo ran while asking, puzzled, “Who is that woman? Why did everyone rush in as soon as she arrived?”
Ye Qingyi explained, “She’s Vale, one of the Elite Camp’s three great geniuses. She’s already at peak C-class at a young age. If she didn’t hold herself back, she’d probably have reached B-class by now.”
“Held herself back on purpose?” Su Mo was taken aback.
Xia Qingqing added, “Yeah, I heard she did it to solidify her foundation, which is why…”
Mid-sentence, she suddenly realized the person asking the question was her dear Qingyi’s love rival and immediately clammed up.
Hmph! I’m not talking to you!