Chapter 4

The sales of Beast Crystals were done in another building, not far away. The two arrived there ten minutes later.

"Sir, the first floor sells Ferocious Beast Crystals, while the second floor and above sell Fae Beast Crystals," the staff member explained.

Andro nodded. He glanced around and quickly located the fire-element Beast Crystal sales counter. He walked straight over.

The prices and qualities of the Beast Crystals were clearly labeled.

He checked out the high-quality Beast Crystals. The price was exactly $7,500 each.

"Sir, would you like to purchase this Beast Crystal?" The salesperson asked with a professional smile.

The staff member who came with Andro quickly stepped forward and said, "Mary, he just got verified as a Martial Artist, so he's eligible for a 20% discount!"

Mary was shocked. Those who successfully verified under the age of eighteen would get a discount on Beast Crystals. It was a benefit specifically for prodigies.

Early-stage Body Tempering verification would get a 10% discount, so 20% off meant middle-stage Body Tempering.

"Sir!" She immediately corrected herself. "You only need to pay $6,000 for this Beast Crystal!"

Andro was pleasantly surprised. He was very satisfied with the price. $6,000 was below market price.

"Please pack it up for me!"

"Yes, sir!" Mary excitedly agreed.

After buying the Beast Crystal, Andro walked out of the building and turned to the staff member.

"Is there a bathroom around here?"

"Yes, sir, it's right ahead," the staff member pointed forward.

"Please wait here. I'll be right back." Andro headed to the bathroom with the Beast Crystal.

He didn't even enter the bathroom. Instead, he found a quiet spot, took out the Beast Crystal, and swallowed it whole.

Immediately, that familiar sensation reappeared.

[Ding! Fire-element Ferocious Beast Crystal successfully devoured. Your fire-element Body Tempering has reached 100%!]

"Peak-stage Body Tempering!" Andro was delighted. He had reached peak-stage, skipping late-stage completely.

[Ding! You have completed Quest 3 (Hell Difficulty). The rewards have been issued.]

He checked the system space. A wind-element Ferocious Beast Crystal and an Ice Sensitivity Enhancement Pill had appeared there.

With a flick of his hand, the Beast Crystal appeared in his palm, and without any hesitation, he threw it into his mouth.

[Ding! Devour successful. Your wind-element Body Tempering has reached 45%!]

"Only 45%. Looks like the degree of tempering is related to talent."

His wind-element talent was S-rank, two ranks lower than his fire-element talent, which affected the tempering progress.

However, the tempering progress had still reached the threshold for middle-stage, albeit barely.

After that, he swallowed the Ice Sensitivity Enhancement Pill.

[Ding! Your Ice Sensitivity has increased to 8.]

[Ding! Your Ice Element Talent has been upgraded to SS-rank.]

"I have three elements now!" Andro smiled.

Although he hadn't started cultivating the ice element yet, he already had the qualification to cultivate it, so it was only a matter of time.

Next, he glanced at his menu.

-

Name: Andro Cunningham

Fire-Element Cultivation Realm: Peak-Stage Body Tempering

Wind-Element Cultivation Realm: Middle-Stage Body Tempering (Tempering Progress 45%)

Ice-Element Cultivation Realm: None

Talent Skill: Devour

Combat Power: 150

-

"I already have a higher combat power than a single-element peak-stage Body Temperer!" Andro was both surprised and delighted.

Generally, cultivators were single-element. Dual-element cultivators were one in ten thousand. As for triple-element, there was no record of such a person to date.

The combat power of a single-element peak-stage Body Temperer is normally around 100. The combat power of a middle-stage one is around 25.

With peak-stage Body Tempering in one element and middle-stage in another, his total combat power should logically be 125, but it had exceeded that. This indicates that dual-element stacking isn't a simple 1+1.

Moreover, his wind-element Body Tempering hadn't reached peak-stage yet. Once it did, his combat power would become even more terrifying.

What's even more frightening was that he had three elements! Once he cultivated the ice element as well, his true combat power might get pretty close to the combat power of a 1-star Martial Artist.

The combat power threshold for a 1-star Martial Artist is 300. It was entirely possible.

Thinking of this, he changed the personal information menu to the talent information menu with his mind.

-

Fire-Element Talent: SSS

Wind-Element Talent: S

Ice-Element Talent: SS

-

"My ice-element talent is even higher than my wind-element talent. I'll try to get both realms to peak-stage simultaneously." Andro smiled, full of confidence.

As for breaking through to a 1-star Martial Artist, he could only try to do so slowly over the next 7 days.

After all, to break through to a 1-star Martial Artist, he must condense an Elemental Mark, which couldn't be done overnight.

"Sir!" The staff member greeted him when she saw him return. "The exit is this way. Do you need a ride home?"

"No need. What's your name?" Andro asked.

"My name is Flora Urst, sir. You can call me Flora!" The staff member quickly answered, secretly rejoicing.

Andro asking for her name proved that she had left an impression on him.

Andro nodded. "Flora, if someone under eighteen verifies as a late-stage Body Temperer, how much is the reward? What about peak-stage?"

"The reward for late-stage is $15,000, and the reward for peak-stage is $30,000!" Flora replied.

Flora then added, "If you come back for verification when you reach late-stage and you're still under eighteen, you can get another $15,000."

She could tell that Andro wasn't rich and seemed to need money urgently. Although she was puzzled to see him spend so much money on a Beast Crystal, she believed he must have his reasons.

[Rovechester City Announcement]

Suddenly, a voice echoed across the entire city.

[Our city's prodigy, Kendrick Zeller, has become a 1-star Martial Artist! He is hereby rewarded with $150,000 and a grade 2 martial art!]

The citizens of Rovechester couldn't help but look up, revealing expressions of envy.

The rewards weren't particularly impressive, but the announcement instantly elevated that person's fame to an unbelievable height. To receive a reward personally from the City Lord was also an honor in itself.

"Kendrick Zeller… It's that young man from the Zeller family. The Zeller family is really something else. First there's Landry Zeller, and now there's Kendrick Zeller. Kendrick Zeller is only around 20 years old, right?" Flora couldn't help but exclaim in admiration upon hearing the announcement.

"You seem to know a lot about the Zeller family," Andro inquired.

"I don't know that much about the Zeller family, but I do know a bit about the Zeller brothers."

Flora had worked at the Martial Arts Association for many years, and she happened to have encountered both of them when they went to the association for verification.

"Three years ago, Landry Zeller came to verify as a 2-star Martial Artist. He was only 23 back then.

"Kendrick Zeller was verified as a peak-stage Body Temperer when he was only 19.

"A 19-year-old peak-stage Body Temperer is extremely rare even in the entire Rovechester City. His cultivation talent is at least A-rank."

Having done verification work for so many years, she was quite familiar with the prodigies in Rovechester.

"Let's go back to the verification hall!" Andro suddenly said.

A 20-year-old 1-star Martial Artist, peak-stage Body Temperer at 19... You call that a prodigy?

Flora stared at Andro's back, a bit puzzled, but she quickly caught up.

"I'd like to verify again!"

"Uh... Sir, if the verification fails, there will be a verification fee," Flora reminded him.

She thought the city-wide announcement must have provoked Andro.

"Just get the device!" Andro didn't bother explaining.

Flora helplessly retrieved the device from the counter.

The people in the hall looked surprised when they saw that Andro had come back to get verified again.

"He's back again!"

"Interesting. He couldn't have broken through to another stage after stepping out for a bit, could he?" The speaker chuckled. Not even he believed what he said.

But Andro was already placing his palm on the device.