Unfortunately, the boss only dropped one Convenience Gem, and I even gave it to Gui Guzi of my own initiative. That being said, everyone knew that Gui Guzi needed the shield more than everyone else, so it made sense to give it to him.

A bit of envy peeked out of He Yi’s features as she stared at the Titan Barrier. She looked at me, curled her lips but didn’t say anything.

I caught her look and wrapped an arm around her delicate shoulders with a smile. Then, I whispered next to her ears, "It’s fine, there will always be more bosses to kill, and this is just a Spirit-grade shield. Look ahead! I’ll get you Immortal-grade shields, Earth-grade shields, Heaven-grade shields, and even Divine-grade shields in the future!"

He Yi snorted before rolling her eyes at me. "Alright, you said it. You can’t go back on your words now, you hear me?"

"Mn, a nobleman’s word is his whip!"

"Heh…"

……

The boss also dropped two Cyanfire Gems and two Dragonstone Gems. Since He Yi and I weren’t partaking in the looting, they were divided between Chaos Moon, Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun, Legendary Brave, and others. Li Chengfeng had slotted in the Cyanfire Gem he got into his sword on the spot, and when I asked him about it I learned that it was a Level 95 Dark Gold–grade weapon with a slot in it. Its stats were weaker than High Fighting Spirits’ Edgebreaker Battle Axe, but it was still pretty good.

……

After the boss was dead, we got ready to split up for dinner or more grinding. It was at this moment Lin Yixin sent me a message: "Hey, Little Cheat?"

"I’m here. What is it?"

"I heard that your guild just got a couple of Level 125 super-tier equipment. Is that true?"

"WTF? How did you hear about this so quickly?"

"Hehe, that’s a secret… Anyway, I have two Convenience Gems with me. Are you interested in them? I can sell them for cheap to you…"

"Sure! See you at the eastern gate of Sky City then!"

"Okay!"

I immediately took out a return scroll and teleported back to Sky City in a white flash. After waiting at the plaza of the eastern gate for a moment, I saw Lin Yixin walking up to me. She was a Level 100 player now, and she seemed to have gotten a new weapon. It still had moonlight running across its edges, but unlike the Moonlight Sword, it was also covered in ice.

"That new weapon of yours looks pretty good," I greeted her with a smile.

Lin Yixin smiled back before holding her sword across my chest and bringing up its stats screen. I was shocked. Where on earth did she get something this amazing?

Frozen Sword (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★★)

Attack: 570~825

Strength: +92

Stamina: +90

Passive: Increases user’s attack power by 30%

Passive: Increases splash damage by 10%

Property: Level Requirement reduced by 20

Slots: 0 (Enhanced +1, Level Requirement reduced by 20)

Outstanding Property: Shot. When attacking a target, shoot up to 5 nearby enemy targets as well.

Introduction: Several thousand years ago, an imperial general led a military expedition into the Dragon Domain. His army of elites had numbered tens of thousands. However, a devil cast a spell and trapped them, causing them to freeze to death amid ice and snow. The imperial general swore revenge before he lost his life, and his soul merged with the sword, becoming its soul. Now, the Frozen Sword had once again appeared to cut down its enemies with its freezing edge.

Level Requirement: 115

……

Holy shit! It was a 3-star Outstanding Spirit-grade weapon, one that she could use because she had lowered its level requirement with a Convenience Gem. Splash damage was always amazing, but this Outstanding Property "Shot" made it even better. Lin Yixin’s grinding speed was already pretty amazing, but this weapon boosted it to a whole new height. It looked like my top position on the Heavenly Ranking was in danger.

"Fuck, where did you find such an amazing weapon?" Deeply concerned for her wellbeing, I asked, "Who’s the person who bought your loyalty, Yiyi? Or worse, did you finally give yourself up to a sugardaddy…"

Lin Yixin’s eyes gleamed murderously as she punched me. "This is a boss loot! Who do you think I am? There’s no way in hell I’d ever become anyone’s sugarbaby or whatever. I swear I’ll beat you into a pulp if you let your imagination run wild again, you bastard! Seriously…"

I smiled. "But that can’t be right, I remember that that Envoy of Darkness you killed is a Purple Gold Rank boss. I’m pretty sure they don’t drop Spirit-grade equipment…"

"Not necessarily. It’s all a matter of luck. Purple Gold Rank boss have one in ten thousand chance to drop Spirit-grade equipment, and I got lucky, that’s all..."

"Really?"

"Really." Lin Yixin stared at me for a moment before punching my chest again. "OMG, stop looking at me that way?! I’m not a sugarbaby, and I’m not dating a GM! To begin with, there isn’t even a GM in Heavenblessed! I’m seriously going to kill you if you keep this up, I swear!"

I finally couldn’t hold in my laughter any longer. An upset Fruit Knife Goddess was just too cute for words.

……

"Alright alright, time to get serious. Do you have the Convenience Gems?" I asked.

"Mn." Lin Yixin nodded. "This Envoy of Darkness was such a generous boss that I’m almost worried it was a bug. He dropped 5 gems in total, and 3 of them were Convenience Gems, sigh…"

I said expressionlessly, "You must be so happy you can die, huh? These days gems are practically priceless on the market…"

Lin Yixin giggled. "Yes, yes, you’re totally right. Anyway, I still have 2 Convenience Gems after using 1 of them on my new weapon. Do you want them?"

I recalled Beiming Xue’s Dream Chest Armor and High Fighting Spirits’ Edgebreaker Battle Axe stats for a bit. Both equipment added attack power, a stat that they both desperately needed right now. Yes, I definitely couldn’t skip on these 2 Convenience Gems. I could only imagine how sad they would be if they had to wait until they were Level 125 before they could finally equip these items. In Beiming Xue’s case, the anxiety might fuck with her hormones and stunt her growth. That would be absolutely terrible, wouldn’t it?

So I nodded and said, "Mn, I want both. By the way, we are close, aren’t we? Can I get an intimacy discount or something?"

Lin Yixin glared at me for a moment before she started scolding me, "Are we? Why didn’t I know about that? Hmph, intimacy discount, huh? Fine, I can give you a 1.5% discount based on the current market value. Right now a Convenience Gem costs about 40k in the market, but since you’re getting it from me you’re gonna have to pay 60k per gem instead. 2 Convenience Gems makes 120k, and after the discount it’ll be 118K…"

I grabbed her hand and begged, "Come on, we’re on the same side, aren’t we? Don’t you feel sad slaughtering your own companion’s wallet?"

Lin Yixin tried to shake off my hand to no avail, so she simply glared at me and replied, "Why would I be sad? I like it when you look gloomy. By the way, I’m going to scream if you don’t let go. It won’t be my fault if you get beaten up…"

I hurriedly withdrew my hand and looked around me. She wasn’t kidding. Seven or eight barbarian players had risen to their feet, grabbed their weapons, and stared at me menacingly from behind their stalls. If the Fruit Knife Goddess did give the order, I didn’t doubt that they would attack me and slice me into pieces...

……

I gritted my teeth before relenting. "Fine, but 118k really is too much. How about 100k? We’re old friends, right…"

Lin Yixin said nothing and watched me playfully for a moment. Finally, she burst into laughter before taking out two Convenience Gems from her bag and pushed it into my hands. "Oh you, I was just kidding. This is my gift to you. You really think I would extort you for money? I’m not as poor as I used to be, alright? You bastard, I can’t believe how low your opinion of me is…"

I stared wordlessly at the shining gems in my palm for a moment. When I looked up again, I barely caught a glimpse of Lin Yixin’s back before she vanished into a corner. Sigh, she’s right. I really am a bastard!

……

I sent Beiming Xue and High Fighting Spirits a message and told them to come over.

Not long after, Beiming Xue appeared at the square and walked up to me with a smile. "What’s the matter, big bro?"

I took out a Convenience Gem and said, "Take this. Now you can wear the Dream Chest Armor at Level 105 instead of Level 125…"

"Ah?"

Beiming Xue’s mouth fell open in astonishment. "Where… where did you get this, big bro? It must’ve cost you a lot to get this, am I right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it did."

In my mind, I thought to myself: Sigh, I owe Beauty Lin a big one this time. How on earth am I going to return the favor? I could give her my life, but I’m not sure if she would want something like that even if I throw myself at her, not to mention that it would be rude.

Beiming Xue was an incredibly intelligent girl. Somehow, she managed to figure out who gave me the gem from my expression. "Big bro, Sister Lin Yixin is the one who gave you this gem, isn’t she?"

"Fuck, you know too much!" I glared at her.

Beiming Xue simply giggled. "Just treat her to a meal when you’re free. If you’re embarrassed then I can do it on your behalf and play the lightbulb for both of you."

She also added, "If I were you, I would’ve chased Lin Yixin with everything I got a long time ago. You know that she’s the campus belle, right? Countless people are trying to win her heart everyday. If you don’t act fast, and she becomes someone else’s girlfriend, no amount of regret will be enough to turn back the wheel of time…"

I watched my cute little sister for a moment. Her advice sounded a bit unreliable coming from her, but it didn’t change the fact that it made a lot of sense. There were only so many do-overs in one’s life, and what had passed might never return. How many beauties had passed me by forever because I couldn’t muster the courage to speak with them?

I gave Beiming Xue a pat on the shoulder before replying, "Get back to grinding, you. Your older brother isn’t so unreliable that you need to worry about him… Also, why would I be embarrassed to ask Lin Yixin out? The word ‘embarrassment’ doesn't exist in my dictionary, okay?"

Beiming Xue nodded. "I know!"

Me: "..."

……

High Fighting Spirits showed up not long after I sent Beiming Xue away. The brawny man walked up to me with a careless grin on his face. "Vice leader! What do you need me for?"

I passed him the second Convenience Gem. "Here, slot this in your Edgebreaker Axe."

"Ah?"

An identical look of astonishment broke across High Fighting Spirits’ face, but he didn’t bother with pleasantries. After accepting my gift, he promised solemnly, "If you need me for anything—anything at all—just give the word and I’ll be there. I’ll even fight for you in real life!"

I nodded in satisfaction before replying, "Go. Grind hard and become a super expert as soon as you can!"

"Got it, boss!"

High Fighting Spirits was a simple and straightforward man. In fact, he was so simple that he didn’t even say goodbye to me. Damn!