It wasn't far from the People's Hospital where his grandfather was staying.
It also conveniently kept him away from Chen Xia's territory on Xingou Street. It was relatively safe.
When he went upstairs, he saw people coming and going. The entire floor was lined with weapon shops, pawnshops, pill shops, shops selling all kinds of Exotic Beast materials, and shops selling materials for forging weapons.
Chen Xia had also looked it up online. There were many pawnshops in Yijiang Mall, where private items could be sold, and transactions were confidential. Shopkeepers generally wouldn't casually reveal their customers' identities.
To be on the safe side, Chen Xia first browsed around eight nearby pill shops. Many were willing to buy the Yuangu Pill from him for 70 percent of its original price.
That came to 427,000 yuan. When he heard the price, Chen Xia was thrilled. It was a 30 percent cut, but he'd still get more than 400,000.
For Chen Xia, that was a fortune.
Of course, Chen Xia didn't sell it. Instead, he checked out several pawnshops. Eventually, he found a shop called the Star River Pawnshop, where the owner, Boss Zhou, was willing to buy it back for 80 percent of its price.
That came to 488,000 yuan. It was the highest offer Chen Xia had found.
The other pawnshops had only offered 400,000. Strictly speaking, the Grade 4 Yuan Bone Pill, produced by Green God Group and valued at 610,000 yuan, could sell for 90 percent of its price if he could find a buyer. But pawnshops needed to make a profit, too. Chen Xia only needed to make a little money from it.
Chen Xia had already accepted the offer.
Seeing that Chen Xia wasn't making a decision right away, Boss Zhou smiled warmly. "Mr. Chen, our Star River Pawnshop offers fair prices, no matter who you are. We're the fairest in the area. To be honest, I wouldn't have offered this price a couple of days ago. But I happen to have a friend who needs this kind of pill. I'll buy it from you and sell it to him. I can offer you this price because I already have a buyer. If you're not satisfied, feel free to look around nearby and compare prices before coming back. It never hurts to shop around."
Hearing this, Chen Xia smiled. "Boss Zhou, you're a straightforward man. No need. I'll sell it to you!"
"Haha, great!" In the private room, Boss Zhou poured Chen Xia a cup of tea, then said with a smile, "Mr. Chen, you're a straightforward man, too. I'll transfer the money to you right away!"
"Wait..."
"Hm? Don't tell me you've changed your mind, Mr. Chen?" Boss Zhou asked with a surprised smile.
"No. I wanted to ask, do we have to pay taxes on this transaction?" Chen Xia asked.
"Generally, transactions at pawnshops are taxed at five percent. Of course, if you're a martial artist, you're exempt."
"Martial artists don't pay taxes on transactions under three million yuan. For transactions over three million, they pay five percent. It's a special privilege for martial artists." Mr. Zhou looked Chen Xia over and asked with a smile, "Could it be that you're..."
"I'm a martial artist."
Chen Xia took a badge out of his pocket and placed it on the table.
Seeing the Bronze Badge Medal with a five-pointed star, Chen Xia's name, and his Identity Card number, Boss Zhou's eyebrows jumped. Then his smile grew even warmer, and he immediately cupped his hands in greeting.
"Goodness, I had no idea you were a martial artist, Mr. Chen. My apologies, my apologies!"
"That's wonderful, then. You won't have to pay any taxes, Mr. Chen!"
Boss Zhou treated him with even greater respect. Although he was a businessman with some money, he was nowhere near the same level as a martial artist.
The two confirmed the transaction, and Chen Xia received 488,000 yuan.
If Chen Xia hadn't become a martial artist, such a large sum would have seemed suspicious. But since he was one, the money seemed perfectly ordinary. Some people were willing to spend money to win a martial artist's favor.
With the status of a martial artist, having an extra few tens of thousands of yuan was nothing out of the ordinary. No one would pay it any mind. That was what gave Chen Xia the confidence to exchange the pill.
Besides, the Federation was raising the status of martial artists in every way and making things more convenient for them. The goal was to encourage the people to train harder, become martial artists, and serve the country.
For example, if Chen Xia entered the Patrol Inspection Office as a martial artist, he could be promoted to captain in less than a year, and might even rise further.
But if he were an ordinary person, like he used to be, he could go six years without moving up a single step. That was reality.
After the transaction, Chen Xia looked over the items for sale at the pawnshop, but there was nothing he needed.
He pocketed the money, asked Boss Zhou not to tell anyone that he had sold pills here, and left.
Boss Zhou personally escorted Chen Xia to the door and said with a smile, "Mr. Chen, if you have any similar business in the future, come to me."
"Our Star River Pawnshop is one of the best pawnshops in North City Mall. We can take just about anything. And don't worry about the deal. We have a reputation to uphold."
"Sure, Boss Zhou. I'll come to you next time I have anything to sell."
"Great! Take care, Mr. Chen..."
After leaving the shop, Chen Xia didn't leave the mall.
Instead, he found a pill shop.
He asked about the Grade 3 Lingpo Pill he had seen last time at Xin Sheng Pharmacy on Xingou Street in Yijiang.
This was also a branch of Xin Sheng Pharmacy, so they had it in stock.
Now that Chen Xia had become a martial artist, he could use higher-grade pills.
Besides helping someone break through to martial artist, the Grade 3 Lingpo Pill could also nurture the Primal Qi within a martial artist's body. In actual effect, it was on par with a Grade 4 pill. It was classified as Grade 3 because of its side effect: it could damage the dantian.
Grade 4 pills generally had almost no side effects. The Yuangu Pill, for example, was one such pill. People with money usually chose to spend a few hundred thousand more on a Grade 4 pill.
Chen Xia had no such concerns. To him, the Grade 3 Lingpo Pill was equivalent to a Grade 4 pill. That was the advantage of the Reversal Panel.
"Hello, sir. Here are your four Lingpo Pills. Please keep them safe."
The Lingpo Pills at the Xin Sheng branch cost the same as the ones he'd seen at the other shop: 98,800 yuan each, with no discount. He spent 395,200 yuan in total. Chen Xia had 92,800 yuan left.
Holding the exquisitely packaged box of pills, Chen Xia put it away, left the shop, and immediately took a taxi home.
All the way there, Chen Xia was excited.
At the price of 610,000 yuan per Grade 4 pill, four would cost around 2.44 million. But Chen Xia had paid only 400,000.
When he'd first seen the Lingpo Pill, it had seemed beyond his reach. Now he had four of them in his hands. They were equivalent to four Yuangu Pills in medicinal effect.
A windfall—his money had multiplied fourfold.
Chen Xia had considered making money by reversing pills this way. A Grade 3 pill became Grade 4 after reversal, multiplying in value five or six times. Using them to make money would be like running a money-printing machine.
But he didn't know whether other people could take them. And if a major financial group suddenly found that the effects of one of its pills had changed, it would surely send people to investigate. At least until he reached a high level of strength, doing something like this would be far too dangerous and could bring trouble. For now, he put the idea aside.
After returning home, Chen Xia shut the door, took the pills out of the box, and eagerly reversed their side effects.
[Lingpo Pill: Taking it greatly increases the strength of the sinews, blood and qi, vitality, and Primal Qi. Side effect: There is a small chance it will damage the dantian. Repeated use may cause severe dantian leakage.] [Negative Reversal: Taking it greatly increases the strength of the sinews, blood and qi, vitality, and Primal Qi. No side effects. There is a small chance it will strengthen the dantian. Repeated use will improve the dantian's quality and capacity.]
After reversing them, Chen Xia glanced at his panel information.
[Name: Chen Xia] [ cultivation: Grade 1 Martial Artist] [Technique: Seven Injuries Fist (Minor Completion)] [Punching Power: 1056 kg]...
"Four Lingpo Pills, equivalent to more than 2.4 million yuan in medicine. Taking them should definitely boost my cultivation. I just don't know how many stages I'll advance!"
Chen Xia closed the panel, took a gleaming white Lingpo Pill from the box, and put it in his mouth, chewing.
High-end stuff really was different. It tasted wonderfully sweet, moist and a little sticky. It melted as soon as it entered his mouth, but left a spicy heat behind.
Not long after he swallowed it, Chen Xia's whole body began to burn with heat. He started practicing a set of Seven Injuries Fist, hoping to use the pill to improve his strength and increase the Primal Qi within his body, channeling the force of Seven Injuries Fist into his fists.
That way, thanks to his unique Fist Force, he'd be stronger than others at the same stage. It was also a hidden trump card, one that would catch people completely off guard.
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