Qinglan Noblewoman Cream

It was still the familiar altar and wooden table, but Li Mu noticed that Granny Yodel and the yak that had originally been lying down had undergone obvious changes.

Granny Yodel's fur top looked completely renewed, faintly giving off specks of golden light.

The yak's changes were even more apparent. Instead of lying prone on the ground, it now strolled leisurely around Granny Yodel. Even its pair of horns had grown more than two chi long, and an air of majesty flickered in and out of sight.

"Young man, what do you need? I have everything here."

What had not changed was Granny Yodel's weathered question. Looking at everything before him, Li Mu smiled slightly. This was the capital that would allow him to gain a firm foothold in this Immortal Realm where strength reigned supreme—unique and unparalleled.

Skillfully opening the shop interface, Li Mu discovered that many items that had previously been grayed out and locked had now been unlocked.

"When I bought the famed blade before, the shop hadn't been upgraded or refreshed yet. It seems this happened only after I cultivated the Heavenly Origin Art to First Layer Perfection during this period. In other words, cultivating martial skills can't unlock more items; it has to rely on raising my realm. That matches the Talent System. I need to hurry and form my foundation too. Not only will I gain another five Talent Points then, but I should also be able to buy more high-grade weapons and magical treasures."

After briefly analyzing his situation, Li Mu found the pattern behind the Simulation System's upgrades. Sure enough, the improvement of his own realm and the strengthening of the system complemented each other.

After carefully browsing all the unlocked items in the shop, Li Mu set his sights on three magical treasures.

White Tiger Glazed Gauntlets, priced at thirty thousand gold coins.

The gauntlets were forged from thousand-year glazed crystal. Colorless and transparent throughout, they were extraordinarily well concealed. They possessed astonishing flexibility while remaining indestructible, and had an exceptional affinity with Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. They could raise the user's fist-force power by fifty percent, making them terrifying beyond measure.

Marauder Wisteria Armor, priced at sixty thousand gold coins.

This armor was made from a rare plant called Tyrant Wisteria. Soft, light, and exceptionally tough, it could reduce the power of attacks below the Foundation Establishment Realm by fifty percent. It possessed an active skill: Marauder's End, which could raise defense for five seconds and render the user immune to all attacks below Foundation Establishment Realm Great Perfection. However, it could only be used once per month.

The final item was the Radiant Mercury Belt, priced at one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.

Its plain and unadorned appearance contained miraculous power. It possessed an active skill: Spring Returns to All Things, which could instantly remove all negative conditions from the wearer and restore physical injuries. It could be used once per day.

"At this stage, these three pieces of equipment are the most suitable for Senior Hao. While greatly increasing his attack and defense, their active skills will also drastically improve his margin for error in battle. With them, let alone the Earth Tier Class, even the seniors from the Heaven Tier Class will find it difficult to truly defeat Senior Hao in a one-on-one fight."

Li Mu was extremely satisfied with his selection of the three pieces of equipment, and he became even more confident about this Class vs. Class Competition.

"It's just that these prices really are terrifying. My expenses for an entire year used to be only six or seven hundred Cangyun Coins, yet these three items together cost two hundred and forty thousand. That's practically an astronomical figure."

But Li Mu was not worried, because he already had a way to make money in mind. Having crossed over from the twenty-first century, he only needed basic business knowledge to earn his first pot of gold in Qinglan City.

"Still, time is tight. I need to get moving quickly. I also need to stock up Senior Hao on all kinds of medicinal pills needed for battle. Earth Tier Class, was it? I'll show you the power of a gold-coin player."

When his consciousness withdrew from the Simulation System, it was already late at night. Moonlight streamed through the window and fell over Li Mu's face. Deep light glimmered in the eyes of this youth who had lived through two lifetimes. He rose to his full height, and his figure vanished into the night.

Three days later, the noon sun was at its most vicious. Hao Meng was still practicing his fists in the courtyard, each gust of fist wind incomparably sharp. This senior's mastery of fist techniques had already reached the pinnacle. Now he lacked only the accumulation of Yuan Qi; once quantitative change became qualitative change, it would be the moment he formed his foundation and became immortal.

"Senior! Senior! The class monitor seems to have gone mad! Hurry and go take a look!"

An urgent voice rang out, followed by a slightly plump youth running in through the gate, panting heavily. He was a student from the Profound Tier Class.

"What happened to Junior Li? Just a few days ago, I was still discussing tactics for the Class vs. Class Competition with him. How did something suddenly happen?"

Hao Meng stopped his fists and stood upright, asking the youth who had rushed over with the news in surprise.

"I don't know either. These past few days, the class monitor has been constantly buying all kinds of shellfish from seafood markets across the city. He said he wanted to collect pearls, but he isn't buying any premium goods—only ordinary shellfish caught incidentally while fishing. Even fishermen usually cast these things aside like worn-out shoes; they have no value at all. Yet the class monitor is buying them at five Cangyun Coins per hundred jin."

After finally catching his breath, the youth hurriedly told Hao Meng about the strange events of the past few days.

"The class monitor hasn't done anything with the shells he bought back. They're all piled in his dormitory courtyard. The weather is scorching now, and with so much seafood baking beneath the sun, that smell is simply beyond description. Senior, hurry and take a look."

After hearing the youth's account, Hao Meng was equally puzzled. Could the pressure of the Class vs. Class Competition have been too great, pushing Junior Li beyond what he could bear and causing him to do something so absurd? He really did need to go see.

When he was still about half a li from Li Mu's residence, an intense fishy stench made Hao Meng frown. He saw Li Mu struggling to drag a sack of shells into the courtyard.

"Junior, what are you doing? Why are you collecting so many useless shells?"

Suppressing the urge to recoil, Hao Meng stepped forward. The mountain-like piles of shellfish in the courtyard left him stunned as well.

"Haha, Senior, you're here. These things? Don't look at them as mere heaps right now. Before long, they'll turn into Cangyun Coins. It's just that we don't have any delivery service here. Hauling them back from the market sack by sack all by myself is exhausting."

Li Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed at the mountain of shells giving off a stench visible to the naked eye. The affection in his eyes was plain to see, as though he were truly looking at heaps upon heaps of Cangyun Coins.

Hao Meng felt indescribably guilty. He had already decided that this extraordinarily gifted junior had truly begun hallucinating under immense pressure. This was all his responsibility.

"Junior, your senior has failed you. I'll return to the Lineage right away and ask my father to step in, to find Doctor Hua, the Qinglan Medical Sage, and have him treat you."

Hao Meng stepped forward and gave Li Mu a great big hug. At this moment, he truly regarded Li Mu as his brother through life and death.

"Senior, you've misunderstood. My plan is this."

Li Mu understood that Hao Meng had gotten the wrong idea, so he hurriedly leaned close to his ear and laid out his entire plan.

"Can this really work? I've never heard of this formula before. Then what do you need me to do?"

Li Mu's plan clearly left Hao Meng extremely astonished, but seeing how full of confidence his junior was, he could only choose to trust him.

"I've gathered almost enough shells. Senior, I need you to find at least ten trustworthy helpers. We'll crack open the shells and extract the pearls. This time, I'll make the seniors of the Earth Tier Class experience exactly what despair means."

A meaningful smile appeared on Li Mu's face. Though the blazing sun hung overhead, Hao Meng still shivered at the sight.

"Senior, there's one more thing. Can you... lend me some money? I bought all these shells on credit."

Just as Hao Meng turned to leave, Li Mu's words made him stagger. Looking at Li Mu's embarrassed expression, it was truly a single coin that could stump a hero.

That very evening, Hao Meng brought ten students to Li Mu's courtyard once more. All ten were core members of the Profound Tier Class. Upon hearing that their class monitor had a way to defeat the Earth Tier Class in the Class vs. Class Competition, they had all volunteered to come help.

Thus, over the next several days, the students of Qinglan Academy saw Li Mu's courtyard brightly lit day and night. More than ten people relied on tremendous perseverance to crack open shells, remove the pearls within, and grind them into powder according to Li Mu's requirements.

A steady stream of pearl powder was sent into Li Mu's room. Then Li Mu bought a great deal of eggs, milk, and aloe from the market before burying himself in his room. No one knew what Li Mu was making with such ordinary things, but everyone chose to believe him—to believe that he truly could create a miracle.

"He's out! The class monitor is out!"

A cry of surprise roused the people sprawled haphazardly across the courtyard from exhaustion. Their gazes all turned toward Li Mu, who emerged from the room with equally enormous dark circles under his eyes.

"It's finished. This is the key to our victory."

Li Mu held a black jar in his hand, containing a white ointment none of them had ever seen before.

"Class monitor, what is that? Can this thing help us win the Class vs. Class Competition?"

"Class monitor, don't bully me for not reading much. This tiny jar of ointment can help us win? It's not even some immortal medicine."

Everyone present looked at Li Mu in confusion. In their eyes, this utterly ordinary ointment had no value whatsoever.

"You all devote your hearts to cultivation every day, but have you ever noticed that Qinglan City has such a group of people? They were either born into wealthy Aristocratic Clans or married into the deep residences of rich merchants. As women, they gave the finest years of their youth to their Lineages, husbands, and children. But time is merciless, and the years urge people onward to old age. Their original beauty could not withstand time's washing in the end, and wrinkles and dark spots gradually crept across their faces."

"Cultivators draw in the essence of Heaven and Earth, preserving their looks forever. Tell me, if one's husband always retained the appearance of a man in his thirties while she herself slowly grew old, would she not feel unwilling in her heart?"

"This ointment of mine can help them remove those hateful wrinkles and make their faces shine with renewed splendor. I call it Qinglan Noblewoman Cream."

Li Mu's words left everyone stunned. Thinking it over carefully, it truly was so. If this white ointment could really slow the aging of the wealthy noblewomen in Qinglan City, then its market would surely explode. After all, what woman did not wish for her beauty to age more slowly?

"Alright, everyone go back and rest for now. Tomorrow, we'll begin selling it throughout the city. As for how to rapidly open up the market, I already have an idea. There will be plenty of work for everyone afterward."

Li Mu knew everyone needed time to accept this brand-new thing. Beauty products were probably appearing in this world for the first time, but precisely because they had never existed before, there was enormous business potential.

After seeing everyone off, Li Mu returned to his room and continued making the Noble Lady Cream. He also began considering how to expand its sales channels tomorrow. Though he already had a preliminary plan clearly in mind, he still needed to map it out carefully.

"The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Being this class monitor isn't easy either."