I Have Money

United States, somewhere.

A sleeping little boy suddenly opened his eyes. His blood-red pupils dilated, surging with a bestial nature filled with primal desires.

That night, this small family was filled with utterly monstrous evil.

Matt’s apartment.

"Your physical condition is far too poor."

Old Wang briefly examined Matt, Stick, and Elektra, frowning slightly.

All three were masters of combat, and Stick was also a master of martial arts, but their physical condition was truly mediocre.

Forget comparing them to Old Wang—even Skye, who had consumed quite a bit of Well of Eternity Water essence, was far beyond them.

Great strength did not depend solely on experience, technique, and equipment. It depended even more on physical condition. The body was the foundation of everything.

And when it came to cultivating True Qi, the body was even more important than anything else.

The essence of True Qi was the energy of life itself.

Without a sufficiently powerful physique and enough vitality, one could not cultivate True Qi. Even if one managed to do so through sheer luck, every wisp of True Qi was condensed and transformed from a great deal of vital essence. The more True Qi one had, the worse the body became, until it was eventually drained dry.

Scholarship required poverty, martial arts required wealth. Poor nutrition and a weak body made practicing martial arts equivalent to slow suicide.

This was not World of Warcraft or Azeroth. There was no such abundant arcane energy or life energy to turn the impossible into possible.

"First, we’ll make up for what your bodies have lost."

Old Wang took out the Well of Eternity Bottle, feeling a little pained.

The bottle had been small to begin with, and less than a third of its contents remained. That was after adding alcohol twice, so the concentration of Well of Eternity Water essence was very low—far from enough.

The Well of Eternity had provided primordial Azeroth with arcane energy and life energy, fostering life and the growth of all things. For replenishing the body’s losses and improving physical condition, it was the gentlest, most effective, and most extravagant method.

Only a very few beings, such as the Night Elf Queen and the Wild Gods, had ever enjoyed it.

And now, besides Old Wang, Skye, Gabe, and Black Widow, Matt, Elektra, and Stick were beginning to receive the same treatment.

There was not much Well of Eternity Water essence left, fortunately, it could still be replenished.

"Wait for me first."

A thread of Old Wang’s consciousness entered the Heart of Azeroth. He found the young lady and opened a Time-Space Channel, exchanging 0.44 grams of Azeroth Blood for Well of Eternity Water essence, leaving only 0.2 grams in reserve.

Feeling the energy inside the Well of Eternity Bottle become dozens of times richer in an instant, Old Wang’s heart ached.

Hopefully, they could deal with The Hand as soon as possible.

Alexandra should have quite a few good things in her possession, such as the remaining dragon bones.

Dragon bones contained the power of divine dragons and were extremely valuable. Exchanging them should yield quite a bit of Azeroth Blood.

Besides, he had to find a way to get some good stuff from S.H.I.E.L.D., such as those mysterious 084 items they could not decipher at all.

Egghead had already relented. All that remained was to wait for a good opportunity.

"What do you like to drink? Coffee? Beer? Baijiu? Red wine? Or plain water?" Old Wang asked.

"Plain water," the three answered in unison.

True Pure Ones Society had strict rules. Drinking was strictly forbidden, since alcohol numbed the nerves and clouded the mind. Smoking and drugs were forbidden as well, and there were even stringent requirements regarding relations between men and women, including but not limited to the time, place, frequency, number of people, and age—

Was that perhaps one of the real reasons True Pure Ones Society had declined?

As the leader of True Pure Ones Society, Stick set an example by strictly observing every rule. He had remained a virgin his entire life and was still a lonely old man.

Because of Beast, Elektra simply could not follow those rules. She had broken the forbidden rules hundreds of times already, but appearances still had to be maintained. In front of Stick, she absolutely would not drink.

Matt was not really part of True Pure Ones Society. Though, because of his special status as a "blind man," he had intimately interacted with thousands upon thousands of women, there were actually very few he had slept with. As for alcohol, he avoided it whenever possible.

"Then let’s use Erguotou. How could a martial artist not drink?"

Old Wang took out a bottle of Erguotou he carried with him, opened it, dripped two drops inside, and handed it to Matt. "Three times a day, one drop each time. Before or after meals, it doesn’t matter. Elektra gets one dose in the morning and one at night, while Stick gets one at noon."

Matt exercised every day, so his physical condition was basically at an athlete’s level.

Elektra was about the same as Matt, but after being ravaged by Beast for an entire day and night, she was temporarily in worse shape.

Stick was old, and his physical condition was poor. He could not take too much supplementation.

Matt caught the bottle of Erguotou, thinking that this somehow felt like taking medicine.

Stick, meanwhile, was incomparably excited. Could this be K’un-Lun medicinal wine, the kind used to aid martial arts practice and qi cultivation?

"Every evening, I’ll make time to come teach you Guiding Exercises, help clear your meridians, and guide you in cultivating your own qi. Memorize this number and address. If anything comes up, go find Robbie for help. He can drive out Beast."

Beast fed on primal desire and evil, while the Spirit of Vengeance was Beast’s natural nemesis. Of course, the reverse was true as well. Whoever was stronger restrained the other; they were natural enemies.

Beast had yet to descend successfully, but the Spirit of Vengeance had already been inside Robbie for some time. Even if Beast successfully possessed Elektra, it would not be a match for Robbie anytime soon, no matter the battlefield… so there was no need to worry.

After giving them a few more instructions, Old Wang stood up. "Don’t go out recently. Order takeout for meals. Familiarize yourselves with the equipment I gave you as quickly as possible, and spend all your remaining time cultivating. Cultivate qi as soon as you can… the final battle with The Hand is coming soon. Don’t hold us back then."

The three quickly agreed, and Stick immediately declared that he would fight The Hand to the end.

"Do you have money?" Old Wang asked again.

Matt remained silent.

He was a student who had not even graduated yet, with no father or mother. Supporting himself was difficult. Although his father had left behind some money earned by risking his life in gambling, it had mostly been spent on school over the years. He was very poor.

Stick pressed his lips together.

True Pure Ones Society had once been quite wealthy, but it had fallen into ever more miserable straits over the years. Now, only he and Elektra remained in all of New York. Life was not easy.

Only Elektra nodded. "I have money."

She really did have money.

After Stick taught her for a while back then, he used certain connections to send her to a Greek ambassador to the United States, where she became the ambassador’s daughter.

A few years ago, the ambassador was assassinated. As his sole heir, she instantly became rich.

Over the past few years, she had been investing. She held shares in more than a dozen major companies, including Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Pym Technologies, and Roxxon Corporation. She might not make the rich list, but she was indeed a billionaire.

In fact, she had been the one funding True Pure Ones Society’s operations these past few years…

"That’s good." Old Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

At last, he had a subordinate who was not quite so poor. If they were all money pits like Robbie, life would be impossible. Old Wang would have to consider disbanding the group and sending everyone home to find their mothers.

Thanks to "Watching the Winds and Clouds" and "Book Friend 20180204102938660" for the 100 rewards.