Chapter 196: Chapter 178: Drawing a Blade to Cut Water, the Most Terrifying Evolution

Gao Neng still remembered what a kind upperclassman at the Logistics Academy had told him after the freshman orientation: Gu Yi had gone missing on the battlefield for several months and even came back with a non-human wife.

Of course, Gao Neng didn’t really believe the part about the non-human wife, but he figured the part about disappearing for several months and then returning from the battlefield alive was probably true.

Impressive!

That’s my Teacher Gu!

’If I use the system to enhance "Gui Jian Chou," who’ll be able to outrun me?’

Gao Neng immediately snatched the martial arts manual from the table and tucked it into his clothes.

Just before leaving, he remembered something else.

"Teacher Gui, during that fight in the small building last time, my sword... it broke, didn’t it?"

"Sword? Go to the logistics department and exchange some Merit Points for a new one. I’ve already transferred the Merit Points from the battle at the small building to you." Gui Zian’s eyes narrowed. He knew Gao Neng was up to no good.

There was no way he’d fall for that.

"Sigh... I bled and shed tears for the Human Alliance, and when my sword breaks, they won’t even compensate me? So cheap!" Gao Neng left resentfully, thoroughly annoyed.

"That kid actually called you cheap? Old Gui, you paid a hefty price for my ’Gui Jian Chou’ manual. Want me to tell him?" Gu Yi replied with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Gui Zian snapped. "If you tell that kid about this, you can forget about getting that thing from me."

"Fine, fine. If you, Old Gui, want to be an unsung hero, I, Gu Yi, have nothing more to say." Gu Yi shook his head.

"I just hope the kid is truly motivated. I heard the Military Department is initiating reforms, and there are already dissenting voices among the higher-ups." As Gui Zian spoke, a worried look returned to his face.

"That’s completely normal. It’s like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth. Do you really think it’s that easy? Those few at the very top won’t say anything to their faces, but what about the people under them? The Human Alliance’s resources are limited. Whatever is given away is lost. To put it bluntly... this is a battle between Immortals. It all depends on whether the top brass in the Military Department can hold their ground!"

"Haven’t those people controlled the resources for long enough?! It’s been eighteen years! Have any Strongest emerged? So many resources have been poured in, but producing a Strongest isn’t that easy!"

"That may be true, but you have to admit, without those few, the Human Alliance would have probably been wiped out eighteen years ago. Their sacrifices... were actually immense. Moreover, over these eighteen years, their contributions have also been enormous. Without those Strongest standing guard, where would we get our resources?"

"Sacrifice is one thing, and contribution is another, but look at the situation now! If we keep dwelling on past merits, can the Human Alliance survive the great war two years from now?"

"Several of them have already hit a bottleneck..."

"They hit that bottleneck ten years ago, and they’re still stuck there ten years later! Do you really think another two years will be enough for them to break through? A Strongest... It’s not that easy!"

"Indeed, becoming a Strongest is too difficult. In any case, they’ve at least made a concession for now. Next, we’ll have to see the results of the Military Department’s reforms. If the reforms fail, things will probably get really difficult."

"What could go wrong? Reform is imperative!" Gui Zian stood up, his gaze shifting to the window. "Old Gu, I hear you’re a swordsman too?"

"Get lost! Don’t even think about it. The fact that I, Gu Yi, was willing to give him ’Gui Jian Chou’ was already giving you immense face. Now you want my sword too?"

"Heh heh, just a thought. No need to be so tense." Gui Zian chuckled, then added, "You’re the dean of the Logistics Academy now. You don’t have much use for a sword, do you?"

"..." Gu Yi said no more.

But for some reason, he felt that Gui Zian had changed. The old Gui Zian was upright and open, never competed for things, and would never gossip about the higher-ups.

But today, he had said so much...

And most importantly, he was actually eyeing his sword?

’That’s *my* sword, okay? What does he mean, I don’t have much use for it? Of course I have use for it! I look at it every morning when I wake up, and it puts me in a great mood!’

...

...

Gao Neng, of course, didn’t hear Gui Zian and Gu Yi’s conversation. His mind was solely focused on returning to his dorm to upgrade the martial arts manual, and he walked very quickly.

The moment he got to his dorm, he shut the door.

"Meow..." Gao Xiaomeng lifted her head from the bed and cried out.

"I’ll make you something to eat in a bit," Gao Neng replied, pulling out the "Iaido" and "Gui Jian Chou" manuals.

’Evolve two manuals at once?’

’I wonder how many Alliance Coins it will cost.’

Gao Neng opened his system panel and tapped the Wordless Celestial Book skill.

"Notice: Evolving Iaido requires one million Alliance Coins. Do you wish to evolve?" A mechanical voice rang out.

"One million?!" Gao Neng was stunned.

He remembered that when he evolved Seven-Step Kill into Half-Step Kill, it only cost two hundred thousand Alliance Coins. This Iaido technique actually cost one million?

Seven-Step Kill was a low-rank martial art that became mid-rank after evolving.

’This Iaido must be at least mid-rank, then...’

’I only have a little over a million in cash. If I evolve this, won’t I be unable to perform Lifeform Transformation later? And the transformation of the Second Magnetic Core costs money too!’ Gao Neng had spent a lot recently. The money he had now was what he had saved up from fighting on the D-List.

’But every Lifeform Transformation costs money.’

’The battle at the small building alone cost me tens of thousands.’

’This isn’t fighting, it’s burning money!’

’Whatever, I’ll evolve it first...’

"Evolve!"

In an instant, the text and illustrations in the Iaido manual began to change.

When it was complete, Gao Neng began to flip through it.

Gao Neng was always very focused when studying, so he didn’t notice that Gao Xiaomeng was now squatting beside him.

Her deep blue eyes were fixed on the text and illustrations in the martial arts manual.

’It simplifies the drawing time. According to the original Iaido description, you had to build up power for at least a minute beforehand, but now you can complete it just by drawing the sword. This can’t be called Iaido anymore, can it? It should be called the Sword Drawing Technique! It’s just like the ancient phrase: "A drawn blade to sever the waters!"’ Gao Neng’s eyes lit up.

More importantly, this Sword Drawing Technique could be used infinitely. As long as he returned the sword to its sheath, he could draw it again. It was the ultimate killing skill.

’As long as I have a sheath...’

’I can use the Sword Drawing Technique infinitely!’

’So strong!’

’As expected, the system’s lucky prize wheel is full of good stuff.’

Gao Neng currently had several skills: Eye of Deprivation, Infinite Energy Infusion, Lifeform Evolution, and the Second Magnetic Core. All of them were quite good.

But among them, only when he acquired the Wordless Celestial Book did the system give a notification: Super Skill.

’A skill that can evolve any martial art?’

’If that’s not ’super,’ what is?’

"Now let’s see what Gui Jian Chou evolves into!" After he finished looking through the Sword Drawing Technique, Gao Neng’s gaze focused on the "Gui Jian Chou" manual.

And Gao Xiaomeng’s gaze also shifted over.

"Notice: Evolving Gui Jian Chou requires eight million Alliance Coins. Do you wish to evolve?" Before long, the mechanical voice sounded again.

"Eight million?! You damn scammer, why don’t you just rob me?!" Gao Neng almost cursed out loud. This thing was actually eight times more expensive to evolve than the Sword Drawing Technique?

’Definitely a high-rank skill!’

’And a super-duper high-rank one at that...’

’Eight million!’

’That’s enough to buy a villa!’

Gao Neng was truly shocked this time. He hadn’t expected the manual Gu Yi gave him to be of such a high rank. He had no idea how Gui Zian had managed to convince Gu Yi.

’Could there be some secret, unspeakable bromance between the two of them?’

’Otherwise, how could he have given away such an incredible manual after just a few words?’

Gao Neng couldn’t figure it out.

However, the most important question now was, where was he going to get eight million in the middle of the night? He was out of cash.

’That’s right!’

’The rich girl upstairs has money!’

"Since Fang Tangtang wants to invite me to the battlefield, I should at least collect a deposit, right?" Gao Neng thought this was an excellent way to make some money.

Go upstairs!

Knock on the door!

All in one smooth motion!

A drowsy Fang Tangtang opened the door. The green frog onesie she was wearing was remarkably vibrant, even in the dead of night.

"I’ve decided to accept the offer you made during the day. I’ll go to the battlefield with you." Gao Neng got straight to the point before Fang Tangtang could speak.

"Really?!" Fang Tangtang’s eyes instantly widened.

"Mhm. But to prove you’re not lying to me, regarding the two Seed Burst Pills and two Life-saving Pills you promised, I think I’ll need to collect a small deposit as a show of good faith," Gao Neng spoke again.

"A deposit? Okay. Then I’ll give you one Life-saving Pill first." As the future heir to the Celestial King Group, Fang Tangtang seemed unfazed by the concept of a deposit.

"Can you give it to me in cash instead?" Gao Neng tilted his head up.

"Then how about eight million, at market price?" Fang Tangtang thought for a moment before replying.

"Since it’s a show of good faith, why not round it up to a nice, even number?" Gao Neng already had a number in mind.

"Okay, but you have to keep your word. No backing out! And you can’t raise the price later, either. It’s just two Seed Burst Pills and two Life-saving Pills. When we get back from the battlefield, you’ll have to return my deposit." Fang Tangtang held out her pinky finger toward Gao Neng, wanting to make a pinky promise.

"Deal!" Gao Neng linked pinkies with Fang Tangtang.

"Pinky promise for a hundred years, no changing!"

"..."

The pleasant transaction was over quickly.

Fang Tangtang transferred the money on the spot, sending Gao Neng ten million Alliance Coins.

Normally, such a large transfer would take time, but Fang Tangtang’s card obviously had access to some special channels. The ten million arrived in less than a minute.

A look of delight spread across Gao Neng’s face.

Now, he could evolve Gui Jian Chou.

Plus, he still had two million left over, which should be roughly enough to cover his expenses on the battlefield.

Returning to his dorm, Gao Neng once again picked up the Gui Jian Chou manual.

"Evolve!"

WHOOSH!

Eight million disappeared from his account.

At the same time, the text and illustrations in the Gui Jian Chou manual also changed. In terms of appearance, there didn’t seem to be too many changes.

But the realms within had increased by one and were now divided into five levels.

Gao Neng began to read through it seriously. ’Eight million... What kind of evolution does that buy?’