"Steal them?" Jiu Ming gave a disdainful chuckle. "How could stealing be faster than getting them from someone like me? Let me make this clear: there's absolutely no second copy of something like this in the world. That's right! I've got a monopoly!"
Since he had no fear of anyone making counterfeits, fakes, or knockoffs through reverse engineering, Jiu Ming spoke with complete confidence!
"Aren't you afraid someone will set their sights on you and rob you?"
"Then you'll get proof this thing is the real deal." Jiu Ming lifted a hand. Wang Hai watched in astonishment as the Sealed Card in his hand vanished in a most peculiar way, then reappeared in Jiu Ming's grasp.
Hey, why was he starting to believe more and more?
A Space Element Ability! Even if it could only be used once, it was still unimaginably precious... Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy!!!
He was getting ahead of himself... He couldn't afford it, anyway.
"How many of these do you have?"
"Three."
"...Let's go see the principal." Without even stopping to think, Wang Hai made up his mind. If these were real, missing out would be a huge loss. Space Element Ability users did exist in this world, but they were as rare as giant pandas. Could giant pandas even compare?
As for time-element users, well, did he really think one could exist?
The principal of Changhe Academy... Well, he wasn't some young, powerful, mysterious older woman. He was just a traditional-looking old man. Wang Hai had explained that the old man easily ranked among the top three in Lingquan City. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become principal of Changhe Academy.
In this era, being a principal required the right credentials and strength, lest the students' education suffer.
Top three, huh... Jiu Ming grinned at the old man in front of him, who wore a pair of cool black sunglasses. Good grief, the old guy really did have the classic look of a gangster.
"Xiao Wang? What brings you here?" The old man gave a light cough and set the weathered book in his hand aside.
Ah... Why had he noticed that old-fashioned cover? Could it be that kind of...
"Hey, what's he reading? Some porn?" Jiu Ming leaned toward Wang Hai and whispered.
"Cough, cough!" Wang Hai's stern face immediately turned bright red. The old man's hearing was no slouch, either. A hint of embarrassment crossed his face, but he quickly recovered and showed no further reaction.
"Elder Zhuo... There's nothing embarrassing about an older man enjoying the novels and comics young people like. You don't have to hide it next time." Wang Hai sounded thoroughly conflicted. Clearly, this "misunderstanding" wasn't a first.
"Mm..." Zhuo Hongxin tapped the table with one finger. After a long moment, he gave a light cough. "Well, I'm getting on in years. It's a little hard to let go of my pride. A principal does need to maintain some dignity..."
"You lost that a long time ago," Wang Hai muttered, the corner of his eye twitching. Ever since the current principal's hobby had become public knowledge.
But strength was what mattered. It was only natural for the strong to have unusual hobbies. And among the young people, a principal with such down-to-earth interests was much more popular than one who wore a stern expression and kept everyone at arm's length.
"Don't leave after class. It's been ages since you and I had a one-on-one!" All in all, Wang Hai's remark had upset the old principal. With a single sentence, he left the man looking miserable...
Damn it, just say you're itching to beat someone up! Why call it a one-on-one? If word got out that the principal was picking on a teacher, well... it wouldn't really matter. Changhe Academy's eccentric principal was no secret.
Like they said, when your strength was high enough, who cared if you were eccentric? What would be an insult to anyone else became praise when it came to him. Didn't like it? Simple question: were you as strong as he was?
"Anyway, what brings you here?" With his little secret already exposed in front of a guest, Zhuo Hongxin simply tore off the cover of the thick book. It was a fantasy-magic novel, and from the cover, Jiu Ming guessed it was a cheap pirated street-stall copy.
This principal seemed pretty impressive.
After Wang Hai explained everything...
"Mm..." Zhuo Hongxin gave a leisurely hum as he listened to Wang Hai. Even so, Jiu Ming could practically sense how brightly the old man's eyes were shining behind his sunglasses.
"May I take a look at this, young friend?" The old principal stared at the Sealed Card in Jiu Ming's hand and spoke in an old-fashioned manner.
Oh? Not just fantasy novels—he was into xianxia, too?
Meanwhile, Wang Hai rubbed his forehead, feeling the full force of the Changhe Academy principal's malevolence...
"Hmm, I see. It's a Space Element magic scroll..." If the old man had a beard, he'd probably be stroking it right about now.
"Cough, cough. Don't mind him, Elder Zhuo's just like that. You'll get used to it." Wang Hai coughed lightly, feeling his own dignity take a hit. There was a guest present. Couldn't the old man at least hold back a little?
"You're willing to part with it, young friend?" Zhuo Hongxin took off his cool black sunglasses and studied the Sealed Card in his hand. The playfulness faded from his face before he spoke—and then his true self immediately showed through again...
This old chuunibyou!
He was ridiculous, sure, but the old principal really was powerful. For him, the usage restriction amounted to nothing. In other words, he could easily handle the cost of using Gap. Of course, just how much he could handle was still up in the air.
A High-level Mage could cast fireballs without trouble, and a Magic God could do the same... But comparing their power was pointless. The difference in their levels would let the latter crush the former.
"Three cards for a hundred High-Energy Crystals?"
"Pfft..." Zhuo Hongxin spat out the half-mouthful of water he'd just leisurely drunk. "You... You've really decided to swindle a poor old man? Young man, where's your respect for the old and care for the young? Ten!"
"Deal!"
Jiu Ming slammed a hand down on the table in front of him. The old man's mouth twitched slightly. He seemed to feel he'd been had.
"...Intermediate-grade."
"Bye." Jiu Ming raised a hand. The Sealed Card Zhuo Hongxin had been clutching tightly vanished from his grasp and returned to Jiu Ming's hand.
"You're a once-in-a-million Space Element genius? At your age, you can already do something like this..." Zhuo Hongxin stared blankly at his empty palm, then suddenly shouted, "Stop!"
"Hmm!? Are you serious?"
Jiu Ming turned around and saw a pair of eyes brimming with eagerness. Zhuo Hongxin was practically trembling with excitement. "How about we find a place and have a fight? If I win..."
At that, Zhuo Hongxin's eyes shifted. "We'll go with the price we just agreed on!"
"Hey, is this guy really that old?" Jiu Ming pointed at the excitable old man and asked Wang Hai in disbelief. The old man might have been skinny, but he was rosy-cheeked and full of energy. There wasn't a trace of the frailty people associated with old age. The old man could keep going for another fifty years!
"He's eighty-seven this year..." Wang Hai shared the painful truth. Eighty-seven, sure, he was old—but he didn't look it at all!
"Good health, no signs of senile dementia."
"Cough, cough." Zhuo Hongxin knew Jiu Ming was teasing him over that rather shameless remark. He coughed lightly to show he didn't mind. "This old man is poor, you know. If you win, I'll give you a free chance to enroll. In the Special Class, too! It's the place everyone else is desperate to get into!"
"Of course, you'll have to wear a costume."
"..." Jiu Ming glanced at Wang Hai, his question obvious. Zhuo Hongxin wasn't surprised by his arrival, so he'd clearly known about Jiu Ming already. Fine—but what was this about a "costume"?
That old man gave you this idea, and now you're using it to mess with me, right?
"If I can take down you, the principal, why would I need to study here?"
"Fair enough. Then you just have to win." Zhuo Hongxin nodded in sudden realization. "You've got a great deal! Come on, trade a few blows with me."
Who would've thought? At his age, he was still so eager to fight. How had things gotten twisted around like this? You old monster!
"I can't be bothered!" Jiu Ming waved him off. Zhuo Hongxin grew anxious.
"Ah, the young these days... Young friend, a close friend of mine has a niece-granddaughter who's currently single..."
"Stop!" Jiu Ming grinned and scratched his hair. The old man was really throwing away all his dignity. Wasn't he afraid his "close friend" would use that excuse to kill him?
"I'm here to sell something, not enroll!"
"Ah, what a pity." Zhuo Hongxin shook his head, looking like a sage who'd just missed out on a gifted disciple.
Name: High-Energy Crystal
Type: Consumable
Attribute: None
Quality: Rare
Uses: Uncertain (determined by the amount of internal energy drawn each time)
Notes: A rare energy mineral crystal. In the Xianxia World, this thing is called a High-grade Spirit Stone...
Convertible Origin Power: 500
Fifteen High-Energy Crystals, cut into standard portions. Don't be fooled by how little Origin Power they converted into; their value was vastly higher than that of intermediate- and low-grade crystals.
To put it dramatically, a single high-grade crystal could be worth several thousand low-grade ones. Unfortunately, the Mysterious Shop only gave them away at bargain-basement prices!
After all, a High-Energy Crystal might contain only dozens of times the energy of a low-grade one, but its energy quality was also dozens of times higher...
Too bad the Mysterious Shop didn't judge conversion value that way.
No matter how high the energy content, if the Origin Power it could convert into wasn't high enough, then it had little value to the Mysterious Shop.
"Um, can you convert this one into low-grade crystals for me?"
"Are you out of your mind?" Wang Hai raised his eyebrows at Jiu Ming's request. High-Energy Crystals were scarce, and no one with any would trade them for low-grade ones. People accumulated low- and intermediate-grade crystals to trade up for high-grade ones. After all, once cultivation reached a certain level, low-grade crystals were no longer useful for improving it. And later on, they couldn't even serve as mana potions...
Besides, after experiencing the "pure" energy inside a High-Energy Crystal, trying the "impure" energy of a low-grade one was like comparing a feast to plain porridge.
"Can't I just be interested in a whole pile of shiny stuff?" Honestly, Jiu Ming hadn't expected his offhand price to come so close to what he'd actually get in the deal. The old man had even seemed happy about it... Tsk, he felt like he'd lost out.
This kind of "reselling" was straight-up robbery!
As he raked in money so quickly, Jiu Ming felt a vague sense of unreality—and a hint of unease, too. It all seemed too easy.
Before you continue