Mall and Gacha

Cultivation was, in truth, a very secluded affair.

Long periods of meditation required focus and calmness, circulating spiritual energy through one cycle after another.

If disturbed by outside influences, it was easy to fall out of an ideal cultivation state and suffer adverse effects.

Chen Ke suddenly spoke up, the door flew open, and noise echoed through the classroom. A delicate cry of pain soon followed, drawing the attention of most of the students.

"Teacher! I got a cramp while practicing Qi Refining!"

A girl in a white tracksuit, with a single ponytail and delicate, refined features brimming with vitality, clutched her stomach. Her pretty face was flushed red with pain as she cried, "It hurts so much, Teacher!"

A cramp from practicing Qi Refining.

"Pfft!"

No one knew who laughed first, but the next second, cheerful laughter rang throughout the entire classroom.

"Yang Guo, want me to carry you to the infirmary?"

One boy shamelessly offered.

"Get lost!"

Yang Guo snapped back rudely. She held her abdomen with both hands, nearly crying as she looked tearfully at the Head Teacher.

"It'll be fine if you stop for a while."

The Head Teacher had no better solution and could only remind them, "Don't be too hasty, everyone. You must circulate your energy according to the Essence Gathering Art. One wrong step can easily give you cramps like Yang Guo."

Yang Guo: "..."

She had never expected that, even while in so much pain, she would be used as a negative example. Angered, she forced back her tears and clenched her teeth against the intense pain in her abdomen.

Was it really a cramp, or was it her period?

After seeing Yang Guo's miserable state, many students' expressions changed slightly, and they immediately became much more obedient.

After meditating through several classes in a row, how could a bunch of teenage boys and girls possibly sit still? While circulating spiritual energy according to the Essence Gathering Art, they simply could not suppress their playful curiosity. One after another, they guided their spiritual energy through their bodies like swimming dragons, having the time of their lives.

Now that they had seen someone get a cramp, they instantly behaved themselves and no longer dared to mess around recklessly.

This was only the most basic cultivation technique. If it had been a more advanced spiritual art, daring to alter the circulation route would result in far more than a simple cramp.

Jiang Liu glanced at Yang Guo, who had her head lowered as she gasped painfully, then silently corrected the reversed circulation of his own spiritual energy.

No more messing around. No more messing around.

After being frightened by that, Jiang Liu forcibly suppressed his restless heart and began circulating the Essence Gathering Art properly, step by step.

After several classes of practice, he could finally run the Essence Gathering Art while splitting his attention to play Cultivation Era.

His physical body continued cultivating on autopilot while his consciousness switched back to Cultivation Era. When he saw Qi Refining Second Layer (563/4000) in the realm panel, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Sixty-three Cultivation Points in a little over two hours. Over a full day, he could cultivate six or seven Qi Refining Pills.

Hmm?

Six or seven Qi Refining Pills?

The smile on Jiang Liu's face instantly froze. That felt so little.

To others, six or seven Qi Refining Pills might be expensive, but to him, it was hardly worth mentioning.

Forget it, forget it. It was running on autopilot anyway. Free gains were still gains.

Jiang Liu casually closed the character interface. After checking his Spirit Stone balance, he turned his attention to the [Mall].

When he opened the Mall, major categories lined the left side: [Gift Packs], [Items], [Materials], [Pills], and [Monthly Card].

The first page displayed [Daily Gift Pack], [Weekly Gift Pack], and [Monthly Gift Pack].

Jiang Liu first looked at the Daily Gift Pack: 3 Qi Refining Pills, 1 Gacha Ticket, priced at 1 Spirit Stone, actual price 0.01 Spirit Stones.

Was there even a need to think about it?

Bought!

Weekly Gift Pack: 10 Qi Refining Pills, 5 Gacha Tickets, priced at 9 Spirit Stones, actual price 0.09 Spirit Stones.

Bought!

Monthly Gift Pack: 30 Qi Refining Pills, 15 Gacha Tickets, priced at 45 Spirit Stones, actual price 0.45 Spirit Stones.

Bought!

After clearing out all the limited-purchase gift packs, Jiang Liu was in a great mood. He looked at his nearly depleted Spirit Stone balance, then opened the Monthly Card.

Monthly Card: Automatically receive 3 Spirit Stones daily, 90 Spirit Stones total, priced at 25 Spirit Stones, actual price 0.25 Spirit Stones.

Damn, what kind of trash Monthly Card was this? They actually had the nerve to sell this?

After playing so many games, this was the first time Jiang Liu had seen a Monthly Card with such terrible value. No wonder Spirit Stones were produced in such low quantities. With a garbage Monthly Card like this, how could the output possibly be high?

Though dissatisfied, that did not stop him from buying the Monthly Card.

3 Spirit Stones received. Balance: 3.83 Spirit Stones. Actual value: 383 Spirit Stones. A whale at server launch!

Jiang Liu closed the Mall, his gaze sweeping across the game functions. In the end, he chose to open [Gacha].

The gacha interface opened, and five Supreme Spiritual Roots radiating five-colored light appeared before him. Their dazzling colors made his eyes blur, and a trace of burning desire appeared in his gaze.

His starting aptitude was terrible, only a Gold, Wood, Fire Tri-elemental Mixed Spirit Root. It was utter trash. The difference was not obvious right after the server opened, but within a few days, the gap would grow wider and wider.

Spirit Roots were the foundation of cultivation. Spiritual energy absorption speed, spiritual energy intensity, spiritual energy types, and more were all related to Spirit Roots.

Comparing a Fire Elemental Mixed Spirit Root with a top-grade Fire Spirit Root of the same type, there was at least a twofold difference in spiritual energy absorption speed and spiritual energy intensity!

The later one got, the greater the disparity!

If this were a real cultivation world, even a Three-Element Mixed Spirit Root of gold, wood, and fire would not qualify to enter an immortal sect.

But.

Jiang Liu was not worried in the slightest. Although Cultivation Era was a lofty cultivation game, one could still grow stronger by spending money. Supreme Spiritual Roots were in the permanent pool. As long as one had Spirit Stones, they could instantly exchange their entire set of roots for Five Elements Top-grade Spirit Roots and undergo a complete transformation.

He had no Spirit Stones, but he was playing the 0.1-discount Welfare Version.

If this were any other 0.1-discount mobile game, he could pull the permanent pool dry!

Jiang Liu gazed longingly at the Five Elements Top-grade Spirit Roots a few more times. Without the slightest hesitation, he used the Gacha Tickets from the gift packs to start pulling.

Ten-pull activated!

A Supreme Spiritual Root in one shot!

After a single ten-pull, his vision was filled by a boundless starry sky. The vast starfield shone brilliantly as ten pale-white meteors arrived from beyond it, drawing ever closer.

The moment he saw those ten white lights, his heart sank.

What kind of trash game was this? There wasn't even a pity system?

The ten white meteors exploded before his eyes, yielding three Qi Refining Pills, three chunks of black iron, and four blades of green grass.

[Outer-world Common Iron]: Low-tier Material, formed from the shed outer layer of extraterrestrial meteorites. One of the main materials for refining magical artifacts.

[Ten-year Spirit Grass]: Low-tier Material, ordinary grass nourished by spiritual energy for ten years. One of the main materials for refining Low-level Pills.

Jiang Liu used all 21 Gacha Tickets from the gift packs. Forget Supreme Spiritual Roots, he had not even pulled a single magical artifact. Cursing under his breath, he opened the gacha information page.

Supreme Spiritual Root acquisition rate: 0.1%

High-grade magical artifact acquisition rate: 0.5%

Mid-grade magical artifact acquisition rate: 1%

Low-grade magical artifact acquisition rate: 2%

Low-level Pill acquisition rate: 20%

Low-tier Material acquisition rate: 76.4%

Jiang Liu: "..."

Pity: 21/100

"This is fucking extortionate!"

Jiang Liu's face turned green when he saw those rates. This was clearly designed to fleece players through the pity system. Even he could not afford to pull right now.

One pull cost 13 Spirit Stones, while a ten-pull cost 128 Spirit Stones. Even at a 0.1 discount, he still could not afford it now.

Pretty slick. Just because he could not afford it today did not mean he could not afford it tomorrow!

For Supreme Spiritual Roots, it was time to make money!