Buying Medicine

The three staff members looked at the contents of the box, clear envy showing in their eyes. Any one of these three secret manuals was something ordinary people couldn't afford.

"Mr. Chen Hao, I trust you're aware of the restrictions that come with purchasing secret manuals?" The deliveryman then smiled. "I have to go over the rules. The copyright of the manual belongs to the creator. The buyer only has the right to learn it, not to teach, copy, or privately sell it. Violating this will result in a joint pursuit by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, Thunderclap Martial Arts Hall, Underground Alliance, and government military."

"I know that," he said. He was well aware of the stakes involved.

Still, he couldn't help but look down on Hong's actions. When Luo Feng later wanted to hand over his manual for free, Hong claimed that charging money was to uphold the status of martial artists and prevent the creators' hard work from being undervalued.

But that talk was a bit hypocritical. If Hong truly cared about the creators, why not make the first layer of his manual free? That way, more people could learn it. After all, the higher-level the manual, the harder it was to cultivate. If someone succeeded, it meant they were a genius with exceptional insight. Hong could easily train such a person into a martial artist if he wanted.

Yet his approach completely shut out such geniuses. The first layer of World Annihilation cost two hundred million, and the first layer of Nine Heavens Thunder Blade cost fifty million. Did he think that would popularize his manual? Didn't he know how much starting capital an ordinary martial artist had?

With such selfish motives, he shouldn't gild his own face. That was what Chen Hao despised most about Hong. Pretty words, ugly deeds—far inferior to Thunder God.

"Since Mr. Chen has verified everything, we'll take our leave." The deliverymen then left Chen Hao's home.

"No rush to cultivate. Having the manual alone isn't enough. I can't skimp on resources to improve my physique. Last time, I only synthesized some ordinary ginseng and he shou wu. The century-old ginseng can repair hidden injuries in the body and make up for foundational flaws. The hundred-year-old he shou wu can rapidly enhance physical fitness."

"Both have some effects of the Spirit of Grass and Wood, but they only work on Warrior Rank martial artists. At War General Rank, even something like A-Grade Gene Serum doesn't help much for War Generals."

"This time, I can buy ten-year or even decades-old ginseng and he shou wu to synthesize. That way, I won't lack resources until I reach Planetary Level."

"Besides, I still have over forty million. I can easily buy a large amount of ordinary herbs." He then picked up the box and returned home. With a thought, he stored both boxes away.

After that, he drove out of the neighborhood, speeding all the way to the pharmacy where he'd bought herbs last time. The sales clerk froze for a moment when he saw Chen Hao, then put on a smile.

He recognized the customer. Last time, this man had bought over a thousand yuan worth of herbs here. "Hello, sir. What can I get for you this time?"

"Ten-year ginseng and he shou wu, as well as anything over ten years—what are the prices?" Chen Hao didn't waste time and got straight to the point.

The clerk looked a bit puzzled. Had he already finished the herbs from last time? It didn't seem like they'd had much effect, or he wouldn't be here buying ten-year and older herbs.

"For ten-year ginseng, our price is 5,000 yuan per plant. He shou wu is 3,000 yuan per plant. Every additional decade doubles the price: twenty-year is 10,000, thirty-year is 20,000, forty-year is 40,000, fifty-year is 80,000, sixty-year is 160,000, seventy-year is 320,000, eighty-year is 640,000, ninety-year is 1,280,000. Century-old ginseng costs 5 million. Since century-old ginseng is very rare and can boost a martial artist's strength, the price is high. He shou wu is similar, but a century-old one costs 3 million."

Seeing Chen Hao silent, he continued, "But our store doesn't have either of those century-old herbs. Century-old ginseng has a big effect on martial artists, so once it appears, it's snapped up immediately. Right now, our store only has up to thirty-year ginseng and fifty-year he shou wu, and not much of it. We can supply ten-year herbs in large quantities, and up to a hundred plants of twenty-year is fine. For forty-year and fifty-year, the whole store has less than ten plants total."

Chen Hao sucked in a cold breath. He hadn't expected the century-old ginseng and he shou wu he synthesized to be worth so much. Calling it a thousandfold profit wasn't an exaggeration.

A hundred-yuan ginseng turned into 5 million—the profit margin was more than ten thousand times? No wonder his body felt like it was being repaired; it was all money thrown at the problem.

"Give me ten plants each of ten-year, twenty-year, and thirty-year ginseng. Same for he shou wu—ten of each grade. If you don't have them, skip it. If you have less than nine, forget it. Also, I want all your stock of fresh three-year he shou wu and ginseng." Chen Hao changed his buying plan. Buying high-year herbs directly wasn't cost-effective. It was better to spend some mental energy and synthesize them with the panel.

"This, this—I can't decide. I'll call our store manager to come out and see you." With that, the clerk hurried upstairs.

Soon, a middle-aged man in his forties came down. Seeing Chen Hao, he cupped his hands. "Hello, sir. May I ask your name?"

"This Humble One is Chen Hao. I trust your employee has told you—This Humble One needs a large quantity of herbs. I wonder if your store can meet my needs." Chen Hao returned the courtesy politely.

"No problem. But I'm not sure if our store's stock of ginseng and he shou wu can satisfy your needs."

Chen Hao nodded. "It's fine. I need a large amount of your lower-grade herbs. As long as it doesn't exceed ten thousand plants, I can take it all." The middle-aged store owner sucked in a breath. This really was a big customer.

"Let me check first." The store owner immediately started tapping on his phone. "Currently, our store has over 980 plants of three-year ginseng in stock, and over 990 of three-year he shou wu. For ten-year ginseng, we have over 100 plants, and the same for ten-year he shou wu. Twenty-year ginseng, we have over 80 plants. He shou wu is a bit more, over 90. Thirty-year ginseng, we have nine plants. Thirty-year he shou wu is more plentiful, over 50. For forty-year and above ginseng, we're temporarily out of stock. Forty-year he shou wu, we have ten plants. Fifty-year, only three left. Anything above fifty-year is also out of stock."

"Good, I'll take it all. Pack it up for me. I'll pay directly. Calculate the total."

The store owner was overjoyed. A customer who could clear out the entire stock so generously was something you only saw once a year.

"Sure, sure. I'll have someone pack it up right away. You can swipe your card here. The total is 3,451,600. Just pay 3.45 million even."