"Who is this person..."

"A merchant arranged by the organizer?"

"Why does it feel so strange."

Initially, everyone was quite cautious of this suddenly appearing fellow.

But seeing Li Pu was alone and shouting strange selling chants, they couldn't help but relax a bit.

Moreover, his summoned creature was just a scarecrow, rated as F-class with no rebirth at LV30, seeming quite useless, which made them lower their guard even more.

In short, he didn't appear to pose any threat.

"What did you say earlier?"

"Selling Fire Element Crystals?"

Thus the nearest contestant to him asked curiously.

"Mmm hmm."

Li Pu flicked his wrist, pulling out a Fire Element Crystal.

"Oh my! It's really a Fire Element Crystal!"

"And it's a complete one at that!"

"Where did he get it from?"

Honestly, everyone had been guarding the volcano crater for so long but hadn't seen a single complete Fire Element Crystal yet.

It's not that the contestants were collecting inefficiently, it was just that there were too many people here, making it difficult.

The ten teams here collectively needed 40 Fire Element Crystals.

After nearly 3 hours of collecting at the crater, they barely had enough for 3 crystals.

"5000 per piece; it's not too expensive."

"Yeah, only 1000 Crystal Coins more than outside, but given the current situation, it's understandable."

"If we buy them, it would make completing the collection task much faster."

The captains started discussing right in front of Li Pu.

"Friend, how many Fire Element Crystals do you have on you?"

After a while, one captain asked on behalf of the others.

"3 pieces."

Li Pu mentioned the extra ones he could sell.

"Alright, we'll take them all!"

The captain waved his hand.

Li Pu glanced at the number of people present, then nodded: "Okay."

Just like that, he earned another 15,000 Crystal Coins.

Perhaps it was because these contestants were friendly, or maybe they truly didn't see him as a threat, but they didn't harbor any ill intentions nor did they chase him away.

"If you collect more Fire Element Crystals later, you can sell them to us too."

"Don't be fooled by our number, we're actually representing 10 teams."

"So as many as you have, we'll take."

The representative even made a future appointment with Li Pu.

"You guys... are fishing here?"

Li Pu turned his gaze towards the crater.

Inside, they could occasionally see silly fire elements swimming around, and sometimes summoning creatures revealing their tracks.

"Yes, there are a lot of fire elements here, and they drop crystal fragments."

"It's much better than trying your luck with those strange fish down the mountain."

The representative chuckled.

In fact, he had another reason unmentioned, which was that those serpent fish were too hard to deal with.

They had only 5 summoning creatures and 1 Summoner capable of entering the lava. Previously, they tried hunting serpent fish in the lake, managing to get a few crystal fragments but also used up a Protective Talisman.

Telling this to Li Pu now was actually a hint.

To be able to offer so many Fire Element Crystals for sale, either he had the backing of a team or the ability and means to collect them himself.

Judging by Li Pu's calm demeanor, the representative felt the latter was more likely.

Sure enough, he guessed right.

"As many as we have, you'll take?"

Li Pu looked at the crater and then at the other.

"Yes, as many as you have, we'll take."

The representative repeated with a smile.

The implication now was somewhat like they were paying Li Pu to boost the efficiency of their collection process.

As for 'as many as we have, you'll take,' it was just a manner of speaking.

He thought no matter how skilled Li Pu was, he couldn't possibly supply all 10 teams' needs alone, right?

If their current collection efficiency could improve by a third, it would already be good.

Still, he was curious about what method Li Pu would use to gather them.

After all, this scarecrow, at first glance, didn't seem like a summoning creature that could fish in lava.

[Grass!]

Plop!

Yet a face-slapping moment came quickly as the scarecrow jumped in.

"Uh..." xN

Everyone was speechless seeing this scene.

"You... don't want your summoned creature anymore?"

The representative looked dumbfounded at Li Pu.

Nonetheless, the scarecrow's actions answered for Li Pu.

[Grass!]

[Bo Bo~!]

Amidst a resounding shout followed by a slime scream—

Whoosh~

A piece of Fire Element Crystal fragment was tossed into Li Pu's hand.

"This..."

The representative's expression froze.

After a few seconds, others erupted in exclamations.

"What the heck! Is this some kind of heat-resistant scarecrow?!"

"Amazing! This scarecrow swims so quickly in the lava!"

"The key is its skill, catching fire elements so precisely!"

Everyone felt like they had underestimated this scarecrow.

Perhaps it wasn't an ordinary scarecrow, but much more formidable than it appeared!

As for those participants who were directing their summoned creatures to hunt fire elements, they simply stayed silent.

Since they were the ones most knowledgeable about how hard it was to catch these fire elements.

Despite these slime-fish-like fire elements seeming silly, they were quite nimble in the lava.

Combined with often diving underwater, trying to attack from the shore felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Thus, the best method was to send the summoned creatures for fishing.

The tricky part was the fire elements being very alert; just getting close made them swim away swiftly.

Yet the scarecrow could casually capture one, showcasing its incredible dexterity!

The crowd was stunned by the scarecrow's performance, but Li Pu considered it natural.

After undergoing 3 rebirths and now being max level, the scarecrow, in fairness, wasn't inferior to any max-level rebirth summoning creature anymore.

He believed that even against that demi-dragon from the imperial capital, the scarecrow had a fighting chance.

"Too slow, too slow."

However, for now, he still wasn't satisfied with the efficiency.

Even though there were many fire elements in the Volcanic Pool, catching them one by one was really too slow.

So he thought for a moment and gave the scarecrow an instruction.

[Caocao!]

Receiving the order, the scarecrow on the lava surface raised its arms to show acknowledgment.

Then it plunged headlong into the lava beneath.

Lying flat at the center of the Volcanic Pool, an old lady appeared in its mind.

More specifically, it was the image of an old lady practicing Tai Chi.

First, it sunk its qi into its dantian.

Even though it seemed not to have a dantian.

Then came the preparatory stance...

[Ch... glug glug... ah... glug glug...]

Accompanied by the muddled gurgles no one could hear, the scarecrow slowly punched towards the lava.

Rumble...

For a moment, the shore shook violently.

"Oh no! Is the volcano about to erupt?!"

Everyone on the shore turned pale.

...

...

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