Finding a Bargain: Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly

Upon hearing this, Qing Mu pretended to ponder for a moment. Then his eyes suddenly flashed, as though he had thought of something interesting, and the smile on his face became increasingly strange.

But the expression vanished in an instant. Qing Mu then said to the stall owner, "How about this? Although your whale jelly is garbage, since it's rare, I can offer one hundred Gold Soul Coins for it."

"Oh dear, this... could you add a little more? How about two hundred Gold Soul Coins? Such a large piece of whale jelly is quite rare, after all."

The stall owner still wanted to bargain. That was the whole point of setting up a stall—ask an exorbitant price and haggle it down.

"At most, one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins. Any higher, and I could just buy hundred-year whale jelly instead. I don't believe your weathered thousand-year whale jelly is more effective than normal hundred-year whale jelly!"

Qing Mu glanced at the stall owner and spoke flatly.

"This..."

The stall owner hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Fine, one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins it is. Better than nothing."

"Hmph, you made out like a bandit!"

Qing Mu snorted, then took out one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins from his Storage Soul Tool and handed them to the stall owner. Taking the whale jelly, he turned and left.

After Qing Mu departed, the smile on the stall owner's face could no longer be suppressed. That weathered whale jelly had cost him only one Silver Soul Coin when he bought it from a fisherman, yet he had now sold it for one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins—a full twelve hundred times the original price.

"Still, judging from that little fellow's expression, he probably thought of something. The people around him are likely in for some trouble."

Recalling Qing Mu's expression before he purchased the item, the stall owner could not help but sigh inwardly. When these young noble masters got a sudden idea, who knew how many people would suffer for it?

Elsewhere, Qing Mu tossed the black crystal in his hand, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

The stall owner might have made a considerable profit, but Qing Mu would never lose out, because the whale jelly in his hand truly was Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly.

And with such a large piece, if he consumed it all, it would be enough to increase the age limit his body could withstand for Soul Rings by two or three thousand years.

Combined with the enhancement from the Wood Spirit Seed, absorbing a fourth Soul Ring of seven or eight thousand years would not be difficult. He might even be able to attempt a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring.

Of course, after absorbing his first three Soul Rings, Qing Mu had also discovered that the Pokémon move system seemed to stand faintly above the Soul Ring system. The age of a Soul Ring did not have an especially great impact on the strength of moves.

Therefore, unless he was absolutely certain, Qing Mu would not take the risk of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his level.

After all, there was little benefit in doing so. If he could become a god in the future, his Soul Rings would naturally be reforged. If he could not become a god, what meaning would a little extra age on his Soul Rings have for him?

Bulbasaur had far more moves than he had Soul Rings. His primary combat strength still lay with Bulbasaur.

Casually storing the whale jelly in his Storage Soul Tool, Qing Mu continued wandering through the market with Bulbasaur, hoping to see whether he could find any other bargains.

However, what followed was destined to disappoint Qing Mu. He had nearly toured the entire market, yet he did not find a second item worth buying.

Qing Mu found this somewhat regrettable, but he also knew that anything that made its way into this market had surely been examined by layer after layer of people. If it were truly something valuable, it would have long since been snapped up by someone along the way.

The reason he had been able to get the Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly so cheaply was also due to the gap in information.

At this time, whale jelly was merely regarded as something used to boost virility. Though its value for that purpose was not low, it was insignificant compared to its ability to strengthen the body and increase the age limit one could withstand for Soul Rings.

Moreover, boosting virility did not require whale jelly of particularly great age, nor did it require much whale jelly at all. A fingernail-sized piece each time was enough, so it barely consumed any. Thus, whale jelly was only a niche commodity.

Under such circumstances, a piece of thousand-year whale jelly believed to have weathered naturally was not worth much, which was why Qing Mu had gotten the chance to pick up this bargain.

"Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce?"

At that moment, Qing Mu arrived at the entrance of a resplendent store. Looking at its signboard, he stroked his chin.

There was no doubt that this was an enterprise of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. There should be some good things inside, right?

With that thought, Qing Mu entered the Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce with great interest.

Yet only moments later, Qing Mu walked back out without the slightest reluctance.

Although the Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce had good items, their prices were simply too high. A thousand Gold Soul Coins was merely the starting price.

Qing Mu had even seen a hundred-year right arm bone from a four-hundred-year Gale Wolf, priced at seventy-five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

How could Qing Mu possibly afford such prices right now? Better get out of here.

"Bulbasaur, it looks like there's nothing else in this market. Let's head back."

After leaving the Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce, Qing Mu spoke to Bulbasaur.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

Bulbasaur nodded. After gaining the Wood Spirit Seed, he no longer thought much of these things either.

He had been somewhat interested in that Soul Bone just now, but Qing Mu obviously could not afford it. Besides, a hundred-year Soul Bone was still a little too low-grade.

Just as Qing Mu was preparing to leave Suo Tuo Great Market, two familiar figures quickly emerged from the side and blocked his path.

"Finally, we found you!"

Dugu Yan looked at Qing Mu before her, her tone somewhat excited.

But after they made up their minds, they discovered that Qing Mu had already disappeared. Left with no choice, they could only begin searching throughout the vast Suo Tuo Great Market.

Fortunately, Qing Mu's martial soul, Bulbasaur, was simply too distinctive. It did not take much effort for them to find him, and after asking around, they finally caught up with Qing Mu.

Seeing Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling suddenly appear before him, Qing Mu could not help but freeze slightly, unsure why they had come looking for him.

Suddenly, Qing Mu's heart jolted. Could the secret of my martial soul have been exposed? No, impossible. If it had truly been exposed, it wouldn't be Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling who came looking for me!

Almost instantly, Qing Mu dismissed the thought. If his secret had been exposed, the people who came would at least be experts of Soul Sage rank or above. It could not possibly be Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.

And even if it really were the two of them, Suo Tuo Great Market would not be an appropriate place.

With that thought, Qing Mu finally relaxed. He spoke to Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, "Miss Dugu, Miss Ye, is there something else you need?"

"Something major. Something very major."

As she spoke, Dugu Yan leaned close and brought her lips to Qing Mu's ear, whispering, "When you saw Lingling, didn't you feel anything special?"