Jian Xingyi couldn’t stand by and watch a living being die.

So he received the living being’s reward—a full 15 points!

The original 95 points of essence plus the 15 points from this unknown figure before him totaled 110 points.

Two plots of land secured!

Overwhelming joy nearly made Jian Xingyi’s lips twitch upward.

And Jian Xingyi felt like he’d stumbled upon something truly remarkable.

So, could essence be extracted from anyone?

What determined the amount of essence? Was it a person’s character, ability, status, or something else? Could it be like plants, determined by pollution levels? And how was that pollution value calculated?

Jian Xingyi was filled with questions, so he asked, “You are…?”

“Huh? Didn’t you hear me? My name is Haihai.”

Jian Xingyi: “…”

What a strange name.

Jian Xingyi’s flaw was his inability to hide things—his emotions played out on his face like live-stream comments. So Haihai chuckled, “Oh… this name comes from Shanhai! I got hooked on this game after watching his videos!”

Jian Xingyi blinked.

Huh?

This guy likes Shanhai?

“What weird thoughts are you having? This is fanboy admiration!” Haihai explained, “Shanhai has his own fanbase. Lots of people love him in this game—many girls are obsessed with his good looks and combat skills. As for guys like me, we’re mostly just blown away by his combat power!”

“Oh…”

Jian Xingyi wanted to understand the requirements for obtaining essence. So, despite his social anxiety, necessity forced him to become more talkative.

“I remember Shanhai has max combat power. So, what’s your… combat power?”

Haihai scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “I joined late. It’s because my friend is the Guild President—he started a guild and invited me to play. So my level isn’t that high. I’m in the T3 tier.”

Jian Xingyi paused.

T0 had only 11 players server-wide, including max-power players like Shanhai. T1 comprised the top-tier super-elite—barely over a hundred players server-wide. T2 still counted as elite. T3 represented the level of most players, so T3 wasn’t particularly high or low.

“Your friend is the Guild President, so you’re… the Guild Administrator?”

Haihai replied, “I’m the vice-president. My friend quit before everyone entered the game, so the guild was handed over to someone else. As for me… I’m following Shanhai’s footsteps?”

“?”

“Shanhai rarely stays in the guild or safe zones. Most of the time, he’s out adventuring alone! His whereabouts are unpredictable, but he always shows up for guild raids when we need reinforcements.” Haihai’s eyes sparkled with admiration. ”So cool…“

Jian Xingyi: ”…“

Jian Xingyi: ”So you went up Peace Mountain alone and encountered a flash flood?”

Players who chase combat power in this game—aren’t they all a bit delusional?

“Ah…” Haihai scratched his head awkwardly. “I really need to thank you properly!”

Haihai bowed to Jian Xingyi. “How can I repay you?”

Jian Xingyi blinked, momentarily unsure what to ask for.

He was short on cash, but everyone needed money these days. Asking outright felt too demanding.

Instead…

A thought struck Jian Xingyi.

Jian Xingyi: “Since you’re the guild’s vice president, you must hold some influence, right?”

Haihai: “Well… hard to say. I haven’t been back in ages. But no worries, just tell me what you need. I’ll do my best.”

Jian Xingyi: “Well… could we add each other as friends? Next time I list a product, I’ll notify you. Would you mind helping me promote it?”

If Haihai could vouch for the food’s quality—guaranteeing no infections after eating—people would trust it more!

“Oh, that’s easy! Leave it to me! Add me as a friend.”

They pulled out their terminals and scanned each other’s QR codes.

Then…

The world fell silent.

Jian Xingyi: “……”

His terminal displayed the other person’s profile.

User ID: Haihai

Guild: Blue Sky and White Clouds

Haihai: “……”

His terminal screen showed the same.

User ID: Xinghe

Guild: Long Live A Hundred Years

Though Haihai rarely participated in guild affairs, he did monitor the guild chat.

If memory served, this Xinghe was currently at odds with several Guild Administrators—perhaps even the Guild President—of his own guild?

The awkwardness hung thick between them.

Jian Xingyi said, “Um, I’m leaving. Bye…!”

Jian Xingyi endured the pain in his leg and sped away.

If Jian Xingyi hadn’t been outmatched, he would’ve shoved the guy into the water again. Fate… was just too damn lucky!

Upon returning to the guild, it was morning. Jian Xingyi spotted Feiyi, Heiye, and Baizhou heading out the back door together, bound for Peace Mountain.

Just last night, the trio had mentioned in the guild channel that they’d be traveling far in the coming days to collaborate on manufacturing firearms for sale, aiming to earn experience points for the guild.

Heiye’s combat prowess wasn’t particularly high—just an average T3 player—because he’d invested heavily in firearm crafting, his hobby. So now he planned to put those skills to use, heading off to forge weapons with Baizhou. But crafting rare weapons required higher-grade materials, which is why they’d enlisted the guild’s top fighter, Feiyi, to assist.

All three froze upon seeing Jian Xingyi.

“Xinghe…! What happened to you?!”

Jian Xingyi was covered in wounds. While the superficial injuries weren’t severe, the splattered blood made him look terrifying, and his entire body was caked in mud and water.

Jian Xingyi gave a nervous chuckle. “I’m fine…”

Honestly… it was pretty embarrassing.

Baizhou stepped forward, gripping Jian Xingyi’s shoulders to examine him closely. “Let me see… so many wounds! Do you have any medicine?”

Medicine had to be bought from the mall, and it was quite pricey. Jian Xingyi couldn’t bring himself to buy it, so he honestly shook his head.

“I have some stock here. Quick, go inside and clean up… Once you’re clean, I’ll apply the medicine.”

All the way home, Jian Xingyi had been buzzing with excitement over his 110 Essence Points and A-grade Bamboo Shoots. He could barely wait to get home to upgrade his fields and plant new crops. He was also brainstorming—how exactly were those 15 Hi-Hi Points calculated? He also needed to awkwardly address his request for help from Guild President Blue Sky and White Clouds, so he hadn’t paid attention to his injuries.

Now, with this sudden concern, Jian Xingyi felt like his whole body was aching to pieces. For a moment, he almost lost his balance.

Heiye and Feiyi felt him sway and stepped forward to support him.

“Get inside first.”

Jian Xingyi glanced at the trio, a sudden idea striking him. He activated his skill on all three.

【Collection Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x20】

【Collection Successful, Absorbed 【Essence】 x20】

That meant 20 points each for Heiye and Baizhou. When he selected Feiyi, however, there was no reaction. This clearly proved the essence amount wasn’t determined by status or combat strength.

Jian Xingyi’s mouth hung open in bewilderment as he struggled to contain his excitement.

110 points plus the 40 contributed by Heiye—that totaled 150 points. His three plots of land were secured…!

Baizhou sighed helplessly, “How can you be smiling so happily while injured…”

After Jian Xingyi cleaned himself up, Baizhou carefully applied medicine to his wounds.

No sooner had Baizhou finished dressing the wounds than Jian Xingyi rushed impatiently out to the courtyard.

Two days had passed, and the crops were ready for harvest. After gathering them, Jian Xingyi immediately upgraded his fields. With a swish, he now possessed a total of six intact C-grade fields.

The three followed him to the courtyard only to discover Jian Xingyi’s fields had become… seven?!

Good heavens! Most people start with just one field!

What’s even more outrageous is that six of Jian Xingyi’s seven fields are fully intact! Unlike their own fields, which are barren and withered, producing crippled crops, Jian Xingyi’s fields are perfectly normal!

The gap between people is just too huge. How can this be fixed?

Heiye nudged Baizhou’s elbow. “If only we’d leveled up some management skills back then.”

“Yeah…”

This game reveres combat power, and everyone’s used to judging people by it. But after actually getting into the game, they discovered other skills matter too—like Jian Xingyi’s management skills or Heiye’s forging skills.

After harvesting, Jian Xingyi could synthesize pickle jars to list for sale, but he chose not to.

He needed to figure out how to clean up the mess Blue Sky and White Clouds had created first.

Baizhou voiced his concern, “I’m worried your newly listed pickle jars will sit unsold.”

Jian Xingyi nodded.

How could he prove his food sources were safe, and that both quality and quantity surpassed Blue Sky and White Clouds’ offerings?

Jian Xingyi suggested, “What if we ask Firelight to clarify? He’s eaten my food and knows it’s non-toxic. Plus, he’s a kind person.”

The others exchanged subtle glances. Even Feiyi, usually expressionless, twitched an eyebrow. “Kind…”

Not that Firelight wasn’t kind, but describing a Grapevine Peak member as kind was… well, novel.

How could a kind person be a member of the Grapevine Peak Guild? Jian Xingyi was still too naive.

Heiye shook his head. “Setting aside other factors, even if he were willing to believe you, unless it escalates into a major dispute or they’re called upon to uphold justice, the Grapevine Peak Guild avoids getting involved in such baseless squabbles whenever possible.”

“Actually… there is another way.” Feiyi paused, weighing his words. “But the risk is enormous.”

“What?”

Feiyi continued, “Do you remember that system the mall used to have? It was mostly for S-grade firearms and armor auctions—comparing prices across vendors.”

“Ah!” Heiye slapped his palm. “Right! I even participated in it once.”

Seeing Jian Xingyi’s puzzled expression, Heiye immediately explained: “To put it plainly… It’s a competition among merchants. Let me give an example: Suppose both Feiyi and I forge S-grade rifles, each with distinct attributes. But S-grade rifles are prohibitively expensive; players might only buy one to last a lifetime, so they’ll make their decision very, very carefully. Therefore, to help players make better choices and to prove our own strength, we can participate in the ‘shop around’ competition. The system evaluates, and professionals vote to select the winner.”

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up. Wasn’t this exactly what he needed?

Feiyi frowned. “But I also mentioned the immense risk. If the competition fails, items priced over 10,000 will be listed at half price, while those under 10,000… will become free.”

For firearms, which are inherently expensive, losing the competition might mean earning a little less, but taking the gamble could potentially turn a bicycle into a Phantom—making it worthwhile.

But food… a loss would mean catastrophic damage, especially given their current severe lack of experience.

Jian Xingyi: “With such a high price, if I challenge Blue Sky and White Clouds, they might not even want to participate, right?”

Heiye shrugged. “If they don’t want to participate, isn’t that even better? It means they don’t dare face you head-on. They’re scared, right? Doesn’t that just give you the chance to prove yourself?”

True…

Jian Xingyi instinctively turned to Baizhou. “Sis Baizhou, what do you think?”

Victory would vindicate him and skyrocket sales; defeat would leave him unable to recover, perhaps even worse than just listing it and hoping some brave soul would dare to buy.

Baizhou shook her head. “This is a big decision. You decide. I’ll support you no matter what.”

Jian Xingyi stared blankly at the fields before him, the lingering pain from his injuries still throbbing.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Jian Xingyi took a deep breath and declared firmly, “I’m in!”

That very day, a bombshell announcement appeared on the marketplace chat page.

【Long Live A Hundred Years 【Xinghe】 challenges Blue Sky and White Clouds 【Sisi】 to a Merchant Competition!】

【Blue Sky and White Clouds 【Sisi】 accepts the Merchant Competition challenge!】