"As for a Second-level Killing Technique, you can wait until your vitality index breaks two hundred to start learning. It won’t be too late."

Baze’s words hit the nail on the head, directly pointing out the core of Qin Feng’s problem.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Baze."

Qin Feng said sincerely.

"You’re welcome."

Baze smiled. "My strength is about mid-tier among all the elite disciples. Once you’re about as strong as I am now, becoming an elite disciple is basically guaranteed. The only way you’d fail is if you have terrible luck and get matched against those top-tier monsters for several years in a row."

"The benefits for elite disciples are great,"

he added, "the 500 Contribution Points reward is secondary. The most important thing is that you get to consult with a mentor in person once every ten years. That’s the real priceless treasure."

Just then, the 30-second countdown in the center of the arena finally reached its end.

[0]

[Match Start!]

The gentle smile on Baze’s face vanished instantly, replaced by the absolute focus and sharp intensity of a soldier.

His broadsword was already clenched tight in his hand. He gave Qin Feng a slight nod.

"My apologies!"

The instant his voice fell, Baze’s figure moved!

He didn’t use any fancy Body Techniques, just a simple forward rush filled with terrifying explosive power.

Yet, in Qin Feng’s eyes, this simple action transformed into an incomprehensible, terrifying cataclysm.

’Too fast! Unbelievably fast!’

Qin Feng’s dynamic vision could only catch a blurry afterimage, stretched to its absolute limit.

His reflexes hadn’t even had time to command his body to raise his spear and block.

His brain was still stuck on the thought, ’He moved.’

And death had already arrived.

He didn’t even see how the other man drew his blade. He only felt an irresistible, terrifying power—as if it could cleave the very stars in two—instantly envelop his entire body.

There was no pain, no struggle.

The entire world before him, along with the brilliant starry sky, plunged into absolute darkness in an instant, taking his consciousness with it.

[Match Over.]

[You have been defeated.]

The cold system prompts yanked Qin Feng’s consciousness back from that void of darkness.

He snapped his eyes open to find himself still sitting cross-legged in his cold dormitory, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

’An instant kill.’

The moment the match began, before he could even raise his spear, he had been instantly killed in a way he couldn’t possibly comprehend.

’Is this the power of an elite disciple?’

Qin Feng sat there in a daze, the blurry afterimage replaying endlessly in his mind, his heart filled with a thousand emotions.

He wasn’t the least bit dejected, nor was he the slightest bit discouraged.

The overwhelming, despair-inducing gap in strength, far from crushing his Will, had instead ignited a raging fire in his heart—a fire named ’Catch Up.’

"500 vitality... seventeen Level 1 Perfection Killing Techniques... three Second-level Perfection Killing Techniques..."

He muttered Baze’s stats, his fists clenching unconsciously.

"So, this is what an elite disciple is."

"I see it now."

"Now, all that’s left is to catch up to him."

「 」

’Senior Brother Baze was right,’ Qin Feng thought. ’My foundation is still far from sufficient.’

The most urgent task was to convert the resources he had just obtained into tangible strength.

Qin Feng walked to the center of the room. With a thought, a massive, pale blue screen of light unfolded before him.

He resumed the plan that had been interrupted earlier, preparing to carefully compare the differences between the Imperial Trading House and the Fearless Warband Resource Library.

He first opened the [Imperial Trading House] interface. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

It was an incredibly complex, vast online platform.

The moment the interface opened, Qin Feng felt as if he had been thrown into a universe made of data.

Countless product categories were laid out like galaxies, ranging from the most basic Spiritual Energy Potions and Body Refining Techniques to incredible items like Interstellar Battleships and Planetary Ownership, covering almost every tradable item in the known universe of the Human Empire.

Under the single major category of "Resources for Level 4 Martial Artists," the number of subdirectories exceeded ten million.

Qin Feng didn’t browse, instead directly activating the precision search function.

[Search Keyword: Special-Grade Spiritual Energy Potion]

VMM!

The data stream refreshed at the speed of light, and a standard product list appeared before him.

[Item: Special-Grade Spiritual Energy Potion]

[Type: Consumable]

[Applicable Level: Fourth-Level Awakening Realm Martial Artist]

[Effect: Contains pure Spiritual Energy. Can be used to open and fill ’Acupoints,’ significantly increasing one’s vitality index.]

[Imperial Trading House Official Guide Price: 10 Contribution Points/vial]

Looking at this price, Qin Feng nodded, establishing a baseline in his mind.

This was the "market price" throughout the Empire, carrying the highest degree of credibility.

Then, he exited the Imperial Trading House and clicked another icon, one bearing the fierce emblem of the Fearless Warband—the [Warband Internal Resource Library].

Unlike the boundless vastness of the Imperial Trading House, the Warband’s resource library interface was extremely simple and stark.

The background was a cold, dark gold, and the categories were far less numerous, with only a dozen or so major sections like "Weapons and Equipment," "Secret Killing Technique Manuals," "Spiritual Resources," and "Special Services."

Qin Feng could sense that the total number of items here was perhaps not even one hundred-millionth of what was in the Imperial Trading House.

But when he clicked on the "Spiritual Resources" category and filtered for items "Applicable to Level 4 Martial Artists," his gaze instantly sharpened.