Qingshui was quite curious about how Monsters were formed.
Sometimes, an ordinary person could suddenly become a powerful Monster due to unexpected accidents or life events.
If I could master the method of creating Monsters, wouldn't I be able to mass-produce biological weapons?
People in this world haven't figured it out, but maybe I could with technology from other worlds?
"Generally, the Association sends people to clean up the battlefield after a fight and buys Monster corpses at a high price. Wolf-level Monsters are usually worth over 500,000 yen, Tiger-level ones are worth at least several million yen, and Demon-level Monsters are said to be worth tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of yen. If you capture one alive, the price can be even higher," Light Ray Genji said with a chuckle, taking off his mask to reveal a young, baby-faced man.
"Is that so? Then it seems I can try capturing Monsters alive next time," Qingshui said, putting away his now-cooled metal longsword, looking at the corpse on the ground.
"You dare to capture even Tiger-level Monsters alive? You're pretty good, rookie. Want to team up for a mission next time? We can split the reward and loot fifty-fifty," Light Ray Genji said with a laugh, patting Qingshui's shoulder.
He might have invited other B-Class Heroes to team up, but he would never suggest splitting the loot fifty-fifty.
He believed Qingshui would eventually become an A-Class Hero, so he was willing to treat him as an equal.
"Oh, team up? Sure, but I have something tomorrow. We can arrange another time," Qingshui said, nodding slightly to Light Ray Genji.
Having an experienced veteran along would help him get familiar with the process faster and allow him to take on missions only A-Class Heroes were qualified for.
Once he was promoted to A-Class himself, he could take on missions alone, which would be more efficient.
"Alright, with us two working together, we'll definitely crush it. Come on, what's your Association Hero ID? Let's add each other as friends, and we can arrange a time later." Light Ray Genji, acting like an old friend, put his arm around Qingshui's shoulder, took out his phone, and added Qingshui as a friend.
Just then, Pineapple Head Warrior finished bandaging Mourning Suspenders and carried him over, thanking Qingshui.
Not far away, other heroes who had been notified to provide assistance arrived late.
"Huff, huff, finally made it! Huh? Senior Qingshui, you're here too? Has the Monster been eliminated?" Lily asked, holding a three-section staff, panting lightly as she looked around curiously.
"Too bad. If I had made it in time, I might have gotten some credit, and then I wouldn't have to patrol this week," Kawada said with regret, walking over from the other side with a scalpel in hand, looking at the corpse of the Runaway Deliveryman on the ground.
"Mr. Light Ray Genji, Mr. Qingshui, and everyone, since the Monster has been dealt with, I'll take my leave. I need to go home and maintain my armor," said a hero wearing metal armor and a horned helmet.
This was Wild Ox Horn, B-Class Rank 9, currently sitting on a motorcycle that looked about to collapse.
Wild Ox Horn had good strength and defense, but his movement speed was too slow, which was why he was the last to arrive.
There were other heroes in City D, of course, but only a few could arrive here in such a short time.
One A-Class, two or three B-Class, and several C-Class. This lineup was actually enough to handle most disasters. If a Demon-level Monster appeared, they could barely delay it for a short while until an S-Class Hero arrived to deal with it.
As for Dragon-level Monsters, forget A-Class; even some of the weaker S-Class Heroes might not be able to handle them.
Soon, the Association's logistics personnel also arrived at the scene and began to calculate the purchase price on the spot, based on the Tiger-level Monster's strength, size, and muscle intensity.
The Runaway Deliveryman was considered a high-tier Tiger-level Monster, and the Association offered a purchase price of 8.6 million Yen.
A dead Tiger-level Monster was worth as much as the original owner's hard-earned income from working overtime for three or four years.
This was quite good; the original owner's profession was a high-income technical trade, so three or four years of income was already a lot. Otherwise, he wouldn't have saved enough money to retire after working for over ten years.
Since Pineapple Head Warrior and Mourning Suspenders also played a role in stopping the Monster earlier, 10% of the 8.6 million Yen went to Mourning Suspenders, and 20% went to Pineapple Head Warrior. The Association also reimbursed the combat heroes for their medical expenses and equipment damage during the battle, so both of them made a profit.
The largest share naturally went to Qingshui, roughly a little over six million Yen.
It seemed that with just one or two more Tiger-level Monsters, he would be able to finish the half-completed Black Samurai and upgrade it.
By then, he should have the strength to contend with Demon-level Monsters, and promotion to S-Class shouldn't be a problem.
After the Runaway Deliveryman was sent away, Qingshui chatted briefly with Light Ray Genji and a few other heroes, added them as friends on the official Association app, then left and returned home. He used the ninja's disguise technique to change his appearance and headed out to a "bubble bath" parlor.
He hadn't had enough fun in the afternoon, and it wasn't good to suppress his desires.
However, he was a public figure now, and directly showing up at such places would be bad for his image. He had to change his outfit and alter his appearance so that no one would recognize him.
Not long after Qingshui and Light Ray Genji left, when the broadcast alert was officially lifted, an elderly swordsman with sharp eyes and long white hair arrived at the battlefield, surrounded by several young people.
"The Monster has been dealt with? What a pity. If such a powerful Monster had been dealt with by Sensei, it would have greatly boosted the reputation of our Sword Saint Association," said a bespectacled man in a kendo uniform, holding a camera, with a look of regret.
He had been ready to record.
"The Association acted very quickly this time. A Tiger-level Monster was dealt with in such a short time. Did an S-Class Hero get involved?" asked a girl with a high ponytail, looking at the battle marks all over the ground.
A tall, burly man with stubble next to her shook his head.
"Not necessarily. If it's one of the top A-Class heroes, like Atomic Samurai's three disciples, or Hellish Blizzard, who's number one in B-Class, they should all be capable of defeating a Tiger-level Monster in a short amount of time."
"Master, look here! These marks clearly show an extremely sharp weapon was used, but generally, a normal swordsman couldn't create such a wide area of damage with one strike. Whoever did this must be a master of the blade. And over there too. In my opinion, the hero who defeated the Monster must be a highly skilled swordsman!"
A middle-aged man stood by the wall, pointing at several sword marks on a distant building that Qingshui had created with his sword energy.
Haragiri's straight white eyebrows twitched, and a look of curiosity appeared on his face. He flashed, and in the blink of an eye, stood on a flat, collapsed section of wall, touching the marks on it.
He then turned his head, surveyed the entire battlefield, and using his extensive experience, mentally reconstructed part of the engagement. Finally, he glanced at the blood splattered on the ground where the Runaway Deliveryman had fallen, and made his judgment.
The Monster ultimately died from the hero's decapitating slash, and it died very quickly.
Haragiri himself was also skilled at drawing his sword and, with lightning speed, severing an enemy's head.
"It's hard to say exactly how skilled that hero's swordsmanship is, after all, it was just a Tiger-level Monster, so there's limited information to go on. But he should be at least as good as the three disciples of Atomic Samurai."
Haragiri flashed back to his original position and spoke calmly.
Atomic Samurai was Atomic Samurai's given name, and both he and Haragiri were members of the Sword Saint Association.
"At the level of Iaian? I wonder when City D got such a skilled swordsman. Haragiri-sensei, how should we handle this new expert? Will he…"
The stubble-faced man looked slightly doubtful as he asked Haragiri.
"He's gone and become a professional hero with the Association, just like Atomic Samurai and Bang, so there's no need to worry about him trying to steal business from our dojo. It's a shame, though. If any of you could achieve something, like Atomic Samurai's and Nichirin's disciples, and manage to get an A-Class hero rank in the Hero Association, imagine how much advertising money that would save the dojo."
Haragiri shook his head regretfully and turned to leave.
He was already old, and it was difficult for him to make further progress in either swordsmanship or physical fitness. Although he still had an ambitious spirit, he was helpless. He could only watch as Atomic Samurai, who was twenty years his junior, surpassed him and left him far behind.
Among the Sword Saint Association, besides Nichirin and Atomic Samurai, Tianqing's and Canmei's situations were actually similar to his. However, the juniors they had trained were all more outstanding than Haragiri's disciples and had already achieved success. Perhaps in a few more years, they would surpass him, their senior.
This was somewhat disheartening.
Haragiri was naturally not convinced, but he also knew the caliber of the disciples he had trained. So, he simply started to slack off, using his strength and reputation to make money and enjoy life.
He opened his doors wide, commercializing the dojo. As long as you paid, you could learn. The more money you gave, the more genuine techniques Haragiri would teach. Over the years, he had naturally made a considerable amount of money.
But he still craved more wealth, greater fame, and a higher level of enjoyment.
Because his strength could no longer increase, he had to shift his pursuit from swordsmanship to other areas.
However, Haragiri never expected that this skilled swordsman, who had piqued his curiosity, would actually visit his dojo the very next afternoon.
"Are you sure it's the Association hero who defeated the Monster yesterday?"
Haragiri knelt on a meditation cushion, inhaling the aroma of tea brewed from expensive leaves, and asked the disciple at the door.
"It should be. This morning's newspapers and TV news both reported on this newly promoted B-Class hero. The official Association even released some recorded combat footage as promotion."
The man with glasses replied to Haragiri from the doorway.
"Only B-Class?"
"He was B-Class number 10 before, and now he's B-Class number 4. It might be because his current combat record is still lower than the top two, but with his strength, he might be promoted to A-Class in a few days."
The man with glasses replied.
Because the top spot in B-Class was occupied by Hellish Blizzard, who had A-Class level strength, the Association generally considered B-Class number two as B-Class number one.
Currently, B-Class number two was Eyelashes of the Blizzard Group, and number three was also from the Blizzard Group, named Mountain Ape.
However, the Association was well aware that while Eyelashes and Mountain Ape's strength was decent within B-Class, it wasn't up to A-Class standards. They only ranked high in B-Class because they were with the powerful Hellish Blizzard, which gave them enough combat achievements.
So, the Association's current judgment for A-Class was quite straightforward: either surpass Eyelashes and Mountain Ape in hard combat achievements—defeating a stronger Monster than the strongest one in Eyelashes' and Mountain Ape's records.
Or, be strong enough to withstand Hellish Blizzard's and the Blizzard Group's forced recruitment. As long as one of these two conditions was met, one could pretty much be promoted to A-Class.
Hellish Blizzard had top-tier A-Class combat ability. The ability to protect oneself under her command was enough to show that a person had the capability to achieve A-Class.
"Haragiri-senpai, I'm Qingshui. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Qingshui, wearing black casual clothes, smiled politely as he extended his hand to Haragiri.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Black Whirlwind Samurai."
Haragiri nodded slightly and shook Qingshui's hand.
Qingshui's expression remained normal, but inwardly, he couldn't help but complain.
Who the hell gave him such a hero name?
Isn't this clashing with Black Whirlwind Li Kui?!
It doesn't fit my style at all!
"Black Whirlwind Samurai, what brings you to my dojo?"
Haragiri scrutinized Qingshui, while also wondering if there was any way to use him.
A professional hero who was guaranteed to become a top A-Class hero could, with careful handling, become a living advertisement.
"You don't have to call me by my hero name, Haragiri-senpai. Just call me by my given name. I'm here to exchange some insights on swordsmanship."
"Exchange swordsmanship?"
Haragiri was a little disappointed.
So, he wasn't here to become a student and apprentice after all.
"Yes, this is a divine weapon I invested heavily in, crafted using ancient methods combined with modern technology. Not only is it incredibly sturdy and capable of cutting through metal like butter, but it can also enhance killing intent, creating illusions for the enemy."
Qingshui took a longsword, impressive just from its appearance, out of a box he carried with him and handed it, scabbard and all, to Haragiri.
He had already learned about the mercenary nature of Haragiri's dojo.
However, he didn't have enough money himself, so he naturally wouldn't give Haragiri any.
But luckily, there were other options.
Like this magical longsword, a Magic Tool, that Qingshui had urgently commissioned using Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements.
Although its Magic Tool grade wasn't particularly high, its strength lay in its excellent materials—a high-performance alloy steel unique to the One-Punch Man world, known for its robustness and exceptional toughness.
After undergoing Magic Tool Transformation, in terms of sharpness and durability, it was already a masterpiece among masterpieces. Coupled with the special ability Qingshui deliberately imbued it with—using killing intent to cause mental interference to enemies—it fully deserved the title of a divine weapon.
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