The emergence of this thought made Chu Xiu narrow his eyes.
But he didn't say anything, instead pretending to be nonchalant as he began refining.
Though crafting a new piece of equipment didn't even take a minute for him, as Perfect Refining was an SSS-level talent, Chu Xiu still put on a show of exertion.
An hour later, Chu Xiu feigned a fatigued look and handed the equipment over to Shen Zhuo and the others.
Upon inspecting the attributes, everyone widened their eyes in surprise!
"Chu Xiu... your talent is really impressive! No wonder you, a support profession, can solo a Corpse Demon!"
Shen Zhuo inspected piece after piece, finding that each item's quality was outstanding!
Chu Xiu shrugged; his talent was SSS-level Perfect Refining, with naturally astonishing effects.
And moving forward, this talent would only become stronger.
"The goods are delivered," Chu Xiu extended his hand, "Where's my payment?"
Hearing this, the smile on Shen Zhuo's face vanished instantly, and he started the transaction with a pained expression.
"Here, as promised, 45 Cause and Effect Points."
Seeing his pained look, Chu Xiu was a little curious and said, "Your family is so wealthy, surely your parents prepared quite a few Cause and Effect Points for you?"
"Not at all, only three hundred, and not much left now," Shen Zhuo said with frustration. "My family does have money, but it's not easy to exploit loopholes in the nation's system, so this is all I could get."
Then he gave a self-deprecating laugh: "My talent isn't great, which worries them."
"You've awakened a B-level profession and still think it's lacking? Others might as well bash their heads," Chu Xiu laughed.
Shen Zhuo shook his head with a bitter smile: "I don't have any real skills. This profession was bought, costing twelve million."
Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu was momentarily stunned and silently clicked his tongue.
He had indeed heard that some high-tier creatures in the Abyss had the chance of dropping profession seeds upon death; consuming them changes one's profession, and there are evolution seeds too, which can advance an original profession.
He didn't expect to encounter one so soon.
"No wonder his entire setup and profession suit him so well. Turns out he was prepared beforehand," Chu Xiu thought silently to himself.
Rich people... truly detestable!
Chu Xiu painstakingly leveled up, while others bring three hundred Cause and Effect Points at the start.
Although other professions might not level up as quickly as Chu Xiu's due to his Demon Cultivator status, spending these three hundred points solely on leveling could easily boost a profession to Level 3 or even Level 4.
This made Chu Xiu acutely feel the class disparity once again.
He once believed everyone started on the same line in the Abyss, only to find out some people begin with a Ferrari.
However... Chu Xiu's impression of Shen Zhuo improved considerably.
Among the wealthy second-generation, his character was quite commendable.
Not only did he refrain from bullying others, but he also swallowed his pride to negotiate with Chu Xiu for the team's sake, even knowing to bring a box of venison—truly rare.
The most admirable thing was that he consistently maintained order; even if he didn't like Chu Xiu, he never acted out of line, nor did he covertly target him, at most just making occasional remarks.
"If only everyone in the world were like this," Chu Xiu sighed.
Chu Xiu recalled a super second-generation student named Ye Junlin at their school, whose parents were renowned high-tier Awakened in Kyoto—much more influential than the average wealthy heirs, wielding actual power.
His own Energy Level was quite formidable, ranking in the top three of his grade. He commuted daily in luxury cars worth millions, looking at ordinary people as if they were livestock. Bullying was his habitual pastime; as long as he didn't cause permanent injury or death, most school teachers turned a blind eye.
After entering the Abyss... Who knows to what extremes he might take it!
If the two were swapped, Ye Junlin would undoubtedly have conscripted everyone as fodder to pave his way.
"If Shen Zhuo has such good resources, Ye Junlin's starting capital would surely exceed billions!"
"With such lavish resources complementing his talent, I wonder what level he's at now..."
"And Qingshan, his talent is good, but his family background is average. I hope he makes it through the early stages..."
Shaking his head, he dismissed his distracting thoughts.
With the Cause and Effect Points in hand, it was time to attend to serious matters.
He promptly spent 6 points to enhance the Nether Demon Eyes.
Instantly, Chu Xiu felt a slight coolness gathering in his eyes. As the Spiritual Power flowed in, the clarity of objects in his perspective improved, and his night vision increased significantly!
When Chu Xiu shifted his gaze to Shen Zhuo, the spots on his body with weaker defense shimmered in faint yellow, while vital areas like the heart were highlighted in red.
This was the Weakness Mark ability of the Nether Demon Eyes.
In addition, there were Dynamic Vision Enhancement, Night Vision, Observation, among other functions.
But the energy consumption was substantial, approximately 3.0 per minute. At Chu Xiu's current Energy Level, even using all of it to sustain Nether Demon Eyes would only last for four or five minutes.
After pondering a bit, Chu Xiu turned his gaze to Shen Zhuo and activated the Detection feature.
Soon, a panel popped up by his side, with the content continuously updating as Chu Xiu watched.
About ten seconds later, it gradually stabilized.
[Name] Shen Zhuo
[Tier] Mortal Tier Level 3 (278/600)
[Constitution] 8.57
[Spirit] 2.03
[Energy Level] 5.55
[Equipment] Gilded Heavy Sword (Treasure), Life Enchanted Leather Armor (Treasure), Recovery Ring (Fine)
[Skills] Heavy Slash, Charging Slash, ???...
[Profession] Great Sword Master (B)
[Talent] Adrenaline Burst (C)
Shen Zhuo's attributes made Chu Xiu click his tongue in secret.
No wonder it's a melee combat profession, even at Level 3, his constitution is higher than my Level 4.
"If we assume the initial averages for all three are equal, then each of his level-ups might yield 2.5 Constitution, 0.34 Spirit, and nearly 1.5 in Energy Level."
Chu Xiu compared it with his own: "At Level 3, my average boost per level-up was 1.31 Constitution, 0.91 Spirit, and 3.1 Energy Level."
"Overall my attribute points should still surpass his, and considering how hard it is to boost Spirit, the difference will be greater than it appears!"
Spirit is a hard-to-improve attribute; for example, the A-level profession Heavy Shield Knight, which leans towards constitution, adds 3 Constitution per level, but the Elemental Mage, also A-level, only adds 1 Spirit.
"Looking at my attribute point bonus overall, it should be slightly higher than an A-level," Chu Xiu thought to himself.
But Chu Xiu already had a rough estimate of this before; now he just confirmed it more precisely. What truly shocked him was Shen Zhuo's lavish equipment!
Two pieces of Treasure quality and one Fine piece!
Apart from the obvious leather armor and great sword, he also had a hidden recovery ring!
"Damn, my Bone Armor is only of Fine quality! It would probably need to be at +7 to become Treasure!"
"Even though I'm a level ahead, I don't have the confidence to win in a fight!"
"And the Nether Demon Eyes can't see items stored in storage space; this guy definitely has other life-saving artifacts hidden on him!"
"These wealthy bastards... are truly despicable!"
Seeing Shen Zhuo return to his room and chat and laugh with the others, Chu Xiu ground his teeth.
However, as strong as Shen Zhuo was now, Chu Xiu didn't see him as a threat.
Because facing the Abyss, this wealthy heir was completely unprepared psychologically.
He was indulging in the false sense of security given by the group, reveling in the make-believe thrill of being a leader, without the determination to do everything possible to improve himself.
Shaking his head, Chu Xiu stopped thinking about it.
After fully mastering the newly refined Secret Technique, it was time to start his plan.
Chu Xiu glanced out the window, where a silver moon hung in the sky, radiating a bright glow.
Perfect weather for hunting.