Interested in Shiny Things

"Rob it?" Jiu Ming sneered, "Can robbing be as fast as me? Let me tell you clearly, there's absolutely no second one of this kind of thing in the world. That's right! I'm monopolizing it!"

Because he wasn't afraid of imitation, forgery, or even reverse-engineering and being ripped off, Jiu Ming spoke with absolute confidence!

"Aren't you afraid of being targeted and robbed?"

"That's a good way to prove the authenticity of this thing to you." Jiu Ming raised his hand, and Wang Hai was astonished to see the sealed card in his hand vanish strangely, only to reappear in Jiu Ming's hand.

Sigh, I'm believing it more and more, what should I do?

Space Element Ability, even if it can only be used once, it's incredibly precious... Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy!!!

Thinking too much... I don't think I can afford it.

"How many of these do you have?"

"Three."

"...Let's go, we're going to see the principal." Without any hesitation, Wang Hai said immediately. If this was real, missing out would be a huge loss. It's not that there are no Space Element users in this world, but how rare are they? Like pandas? Can pandas compare to them?

As for Time Element users, heh, do you think that's possible?

The principal of Changhe Academy, well, he wasn't some young, powerful, and mysteriously-sourced older sister, but a rather traditional-looking old man... Wang Hai had introduced him. This old man's strength easily ranked in the top three in Lingquan City, otherwise, he wouldn't be the principal of Changhe Academy.

In this era, one needed corresponding qualities and strength to become a principal, to avoid delaying the students.

Top three... Jiu Ming grinned, looking at the old man in cool Black Sunglasses before him. My, your gangster aura is truly quite traditional.

"Little Wang? What brings you here?" The old man coughed lightly and put aside a book with an ancient-looking cover.

Ah... why did I see that ancient-looking cover? Could it be that kind of...?

"Hey, what is he reading, an adult novel?" Jiu Ming leaned over to Wang Hai and whispered.

"Cough cough!" Wang Hai's serious face instantly turned red. The old man's hearing wasn't bad, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, but he quickly recovered, showing no abnormality.

"Elder Zhuo... it's not shameful for young people to read novels and comics. Don't try to hide it next time." Wang Hai's tone was quite conflicted, clearly, this 'misunderstanding' wasn't the first time.

"En..." Zhuo Hongxin tapped the table with a finger, then coughed after a moment. "Alas, I'm getting old, and I find it a bit hard to face things directly. After all, the principal's dignity is still necessary..."

"That kind of thing, it's been gone for a long time." Wang Hai's eyes twitched. Ever since this principal's hobby got out.

However, strength is respected. It's normal for powerful individuals to have peculiar hobbies, especially the principal's hobby, which is quite relatable to young people. In their eyes, such a principal is much better than one who is always stern and unapproachable.

"Don't leave after school, we haven't sparred in a long time!" In short, Wang Hai's words made the old principal quite unhappy. One sentence made the man's face bitter...

Damn it, he could have just said he was itching for a fight and wanted to beat me up, but he had to say 'spar'? If it gets out that the principal is bullying a teacher like him, alas, it's just how it is. The eccentric principal of Changhe Academy isn't a secret.

It's the same saying: if you're strong enough, so what if you're eccentric? What would be a derogatory term for others becomes a compliment for him. If you're not convinced, it's simple, just ask one question: are you as powerful as him?

"Speak, what is it?" Seeing his little secret exposed to an outsider, Zhuo Hongxin simply tore off the cover of the thick book. It was a fantasy magic novel, and judging by the cover, Jiu Ming estimated it was a pirated street stall copy.

This principal feels a bit awesome.

Blah blah blah...

"En..." Listening to Wang Hai's words, Zhuo Hongxin slowly hummed. Even so, Jiu Ming could almost feel the eyes hidden beneath his sunglasses, how they were now shining with brilliance.

"May I have a look at this item?" The old principal stared at the sealed card in Jiu Ming's hand and said in a scholarly manner.

Oh? Not only fantasy, but also Xianxia?

Wang Hai rubbed his forehead on the side, deeply feeling the malice from the principal of Changhe Academy...

"Hmm, so that's how it is, it's actually a Space Element magic scroll..." If this old man had a beard, he would probably be stroking it right now.

"Cough, cough, don't mind him, Elder Zhuo is just like this, you'll get used to it." With a light cough, Wang Hai felt his face was losing its luster. There's an outsider here, can't you restrain yourself first?

"Little friend, are you willing to part with it?" Taking off the cool black sunglasses he was wearing, Zhuo Hongxin carefully examined the sealed card in his hand. The playfulness on his face unconsciously faded away, and then, as soon as he spoke, his true colors were revealed...

You old, chuunibyou!

Even if he's chuunibyou, this old principal truly has strength. What was a precaution for others became nothing for him, meaning he could easily support the consumption of the Gap. Of course, the extent of it remains to be determined.

A High-level Mage casting a fireball is no pressure, and a Magic God casting a fireball is also no pressure... but what's the comparison in power between the two? The difference in tiers would allow the latter to crush the former.

"Three cards, how about one hundred High-Energy Crystals?"

"Pfft..." The half-sip of water Zhuo Hongxin had just leisurely drunk was instantly sprayed out. "You, you! You're actually extorting a poor old man... Where is your habit of respecting the old and loving the young, young man!? Ten."

"Deal!"

Jiu Ming slammed his hand on the table in front of him. The old man's mouth twitched slightly, feeling like he had been tricked.

"...Intermediate."

"Bye-bye." Jiu Ming raised his hand, and the sealed card that Zhuo Hongxin was tightly clutching instantly disappeared and returned to his hand.

"You're actually a one-in-a-million Space Element Genius? To achieve this at such a young age..." Zhuo Hongxin stared blankly at his empty palm, then suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

"En!? What is it?"

Jiu Ming turned around and saw a pair of eyes filled with eagerness. Zhuo Hongxin was full of excitement, "Shall we find a place and have a fight? If I win..."

Saying this, Zhuo Hongxin's eyes moved, "How about we stick to the deal price from just now!"

"Hey! Is this guy really old?" Jiu Ming pointed at the energetic old man, asking Wang Hai beside him with disbelief. Speaking of which, although the old man was thin, his complexion was ruddy and his energy was abundant, showing no sign of the decrepitude associated with old age. Can this grandpa fight for another fifty years!

"He's eighty-seven this year..." Wang Hai said the fact that made people's heads hurt. Eighty-seven years old, indeed old, but he didn't look like it at all!

"It's really healthy not to have a tendency towards dementia."

"Cough cough." Knowing Jiu Ming was teasing him about his slightly shameless words earlier, Zhuo Hongxin coughed lightly, indicating he didn't care. "This old man is poor, you know. If you win, I'll give you a chance for free enrollment? The Special Class, no less! A place people would fight tooth and nail to get into!"

"Of course, you'll need to get a skin."

"..." Jiu Ming glanced at Wang Hai, his questioning look obvious. Zhuo Hongxin wasn't surprised by his arrival, clearly already knowing Jiu Ming. That was one thing, but what was this 'skin' about?

This old man gave you this idea, and then you came to disgust me, right!

"If I can even take down you, the principal, why would I need to attend school here?"

"That's right, you just need to lose, then it's fine." Zhuo Hongxin nodded as if he had a sudden realization. "You're hitting the jackpot! Come, come, spar with this old man for a few rounds."

I can't tell, at this age, his fighting spirit is still so strong? But how did it turn into this by beating around the bush? You old monster!

"Too lazy to do it!" Seeing Jiu Ming wave his hand in refusal, Zhuo Hongxin became a little anxious.

"Alas, young people... Little friend, the grandniece of a dear friend of mine is currently single..."

"Stop!" Jiu Ming grinned and scratched his head. He's throwing away all his integrity. Aren't you afraid that your 'dear friend' will use this excuse to kill you?

"I'm here to sell things, not to enroll!"

"Alas, what a pity, what a pity." Zhuo Hongxin shook his head, looking like a master who had missed out on a disciple with exceptional talent.

Name: High-Energy Crystal Type: Consumable Attribute: None Quality: Rare Uses: Undetermined (determined by internal energy assessment for each draw) Remarks: A rare crystallized energy mineral. In the Xianxia World, this thing is called a High-grade Spirit Stone... Convertible Origin Power: 500

Fifteen standard-sized High-Energy Crystals. Don't let the 'small' amount of convertible Origin Power fool you; in reality, the value of this item is vastly superior to intermediate or low-grade ones.

To put it exaggeratedly, one high-grade crystal can be worth thousands of low-grade ones. Unfortunately, the Mysterious Shop can only offer them at such bargain prices!

After all, while the energy content of a high-grade High-Energy Crystal might only be tens of times that of a low-grade one, the quality of that energy is also tens of times higher...

Unfortunately, the Mysterious Shop's assessment for converting Origin Power doesn't consider this.

No matter how high the energy content, if the convertible Origin Power isn't high, it has little value to the Mysterious Shop.

"Uh, can you change this one to a low-grade one for me?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Hearing Jiu Ming's words, Wang Hai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. High-grade High-Energy Crystals were very rare, and those that existed were generally not exchanged for low-grade ones. People usually accumulated low-grade and mid-grade ones to exchange for high-grade goods. After all, once cultivation reached a certain level, low-grade items would be of little use for cultivation. In fact, later on, low-grade items wouldn't even function as mana potions...

Moreover, after experiencing the 'pure' energy within high-grade High-Energy Crystals, trying the 'impure' energy of low-grade ones was like comparing delicacies to coarse food.

"Can't I just be interested in a pile of shiny things?" Honestly, Jiu Ming hadn't expected that the price he casually blurted out would be traded for almost the same value. And that old man seemed quite happy... Tsk, he felt like he had lost out.

This kind of 'reselling' was simply blatant robbery!

As Jiu Ming made money so quickly, he felt a sense of unreality, along with a slight sense of crisis. He felt like it couldn't be this simple.