[Type I Potion—Heart of Dark Night Boiling]

At his computer desk, Lin Ye set down the martial arts manual and pressed the power button.

A buzzing sound rang out in the quiet room.

He silently recited, "Monument." Black mist surged from the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand, and the black Monument appeared.

His gaze fell on the still-locked achievement reward at the very bottom: [Soul Whale Fist "Level One" (1/100)].

Compared to others, with the Monument in hand, his greatest advantage was not only being able to use Potential Points to add stats, but also having a constant state.

His experience would not decrease, so there was no such thing as "one day without practice, a hundred days wasted."

That point alone allowed him to achieve twice the result with half the effort, giving him an enormous advantage in cultivation.

If he added Potential Points and potions on top of that, his growth would be even faster.

He put away the Monument and looked at the cover of the Soul Whale Fist manual before him. Dark red words reflected in his eyes.

"Third level, official disciple."

Could official disciples come into contact with Secret Potions?

Perhaps he could gain access to them early through his teacher?

That was an advantage too. Maybe he could even use his teacher's connections to obtain better Secret Potions.

A flash of light interrupted his thoughts. The computer finished loading, and he immediately opened Coast University's Procurement Department intranet.

He typed "Dieluozi" into the search bar and pressed Enter.

The page refreshed, displaying a string of purchase records.

Lin Ye's face lit up. There was some!

He opened the details and checked the price. It was not expensive—twenty per jin.

But it was not Dieluozi Oil. He would have to press the oil himself.

He scrolled the mouse and found the latest record. The stock showed zero.

Looking at that "0," Lin Ye frowned. Did he have to wait until school started?

His fingers unconsciously rolled the mouse wheel, and the page scrolled up and down with it.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he moved the mouse to the very bottom.

"Supplier contact number: 9547...666."

Without hesitation, he took out his phone and dialed the number.

An old-fashioned song played halfway through before the call connected with a crackle.

"Hello?"

An elderly voice came from the other end.

"Hello, sir. I wanted to ask whether you still have any Dieluozi?"

Lin Ye asked directly.

"Dieluozi?"

The old man muttered the name for a while.

"None right now. That stuff isn't worth much, only two a jin, so I don't gather much of it when I go up the mountain."

"Two..."

Lin Ye glanced at the purchase record. "Sir, how about this? I'll pay fifty per jin for ten jin."

"On top of that, I'll give you another five hundred for your trouble. One thousand total. Can you get it for me?"

Ten jin would definitely yield enough oil to cover his back, and one thousand was within his expectations.

He had considered going into the mountains to collect it himself.

But his first priority now was practicing his fist art. Since money could solve the problem, there was no need to waste time on it.

Anyone who had played games knew that every minute mattered during the early growth phase. Once you were established, you had plenty of time to waste.

Besides, the old man was already so old. Let him earn a little.

The other end fell silent for a while, but Lin Ye could hear the man's breathing growing somewhat hurried.

"Alright! But the mountains are inconvenient. You'll have to come pick it up yourself."

Lin Ye slightly lowered his phone and stared quietly at the screen.

Go into the mountains? A black-market robbery?

He shook his head. No, in this situation, it should be called murder and theft.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

The other party did not even know his background. If he were that reckless, he would have vanished from the Human Realm long ago.

Besides, he was a supplier for Coast University.

"Alright. I'll go over when the time comes," he said.

"Good. It'll take me two or three days to go into the mountains. Add me on SuperChat first, and I'll contact you then."

After hanging up, a new contact popped up on SuperChat in less than half a minute.

After adding him, Lin Ye did not waste any words. He directly sent over a five-hundred deposit. Once the other party received it, he replied with a saluting sticker.

Putting down his phone, Lin Ye thought for a moment and searched for the purchase records for Black Spiral Grass.

But unfortunately, there was no supplier information. The item was relatively expensive, so it might have come through his teacher's private channel.

He closed the intranet, sat quietly for a while, then got up and began practicing the Soul Whale Fist in his room.

"Splash—"

More than two hours later, the bathroom door opened. Lin Ye grabbed a towel from the side, dried his hair, and glanced at the mirror.

His cheeks were slightly thinner than before, but the muscle lines on his body were more defined. That meant his body fat percentage was dropping.

And after the workout just now, the heat sensation had steadily contracted to within the width of five fingers.

After getting dressed and leaving the bathroom, the front door opened with a click.

Jiang Weilan came back carrying ingredients. When she saw Lin Ye, delight appeared on her face. "How did your practice go?"

Feeling familial affection that he had never experienced before, Lin Ye was slow to react. He nodded woodenly.

"Pretty good."

The smile on Jiang Weilan's face grew even wider. "You're that impressive? What do you want to eat tonight? Mom will make it for you."

"Nine-Turn Intestines," Lin Ye said blankly.

Jiang Weilan's expression changed, and she nodded stiffly.

"Alright, I'll go buy groceries."

Back in his bedroom, he sat at the computer desk.

Lin Ye glanced back outside the room, then turned his attention to the Elementary Potion Manual before him.

He opened the manual and skipped past the previously translated formula for the [Night of the Black Goat] potion.

He turned to a new page. On the left was a sketch. Though it was only in pencil, it looked incredibly lifelike.

It resembled bamboo, but it was bare and leafless, just a single stalk. At the top grew a lotus-shaped succulent that looked plump and fleshy.

"Black Bamboo Lotus."

He translated the name of the plant, and a wave of dizziness immediately washed over him.

Steadying himself, he looked at the manual before him and rubbed his temples.

"Has the exhaustion from the last translation not recovered yet?"

He did not pay it much mind and continued translating.

[Type I Potion—Heart of Dark Night Boiling]

Formula materials: 30g White Tin Powder, one Black Bamboo Lotus, one Golden-Thread Night Bat heart, 113 Gold-Transmuted Mane hairs over 7cm in length, and 300g of blood.

Potion effects:

1. Slightly increases the drinker's strength and mental power.

2. Gains the blessing of a Night Demon, granting weak night vision.

Thud!

Lin Ye braced an elbow against the computer desk, and the carbon pen in his hand fell to the floor.

Holding the edge of the desk and enduring the intense dizziness flooding his mind, he felt as if the entire room had turned upside down.

"Whew..."

Several minutes later, after taking several deep breaths, he slowly recovered.

Looking at the Elementary Potion Manual before him, he panted lightly and shook his head inwardly.

The exhaustion from last time had not yet recovered, and this time it had grown much worse.

He could not continue translating for now. If it caused mental damage, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Besides, the most urgent matter was still getting started with the fist art. Buying Dieluozi took priority; the other materials could wait.

"Xiaoye! Dinner!"

Jiang Weilan's voice came from outside the door.

"Coming!"

After answering, Lin Ye tilted his head back slightly, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the translated contents before him.

"They all seem to be related to Dark Night?"

"Is it an issue with the knowledge inheritance system, or merely a coincidence?"

After a few seconds of silence, he stuffed the translated pages into a drawer.

When he opened the door, Jiang Weilan was placing a plate of Nine-Turn Intestines on the table.

"Come on, try Mom's cooking!"

After sitting down, Jiang Weilan served him a bowl of white rice. Lin Ye picked up a piece of Nine-Turn Intestines and put it into his mouth.

The flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty spread through his mouth. After chewing for a while and swallowing, the aftertaste lingered endlessly.

He had loved Nine-Turn Intestines before too.

But after dying once, eating it again gave him a different feeling. There was more bitterness now.

Well, maybe she had added too much MSG. It probably was not because they had not been cleaned properly.

"Delicious," he said.

"If it's delicious, then eat more. It's all for you."

Jiang Weilan forced a smile and pushed the plate in front of Lin Ye.

After a while, she put down her chopsticks and looked at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye's hand, which was about to pick up another piece of Nine-Turn Intestines, paused. He looked over.

"Xiaoye, how about going to your grandfather's house this New Year?"

Jiang Weilan asked, sounding somewhat nervous.

Lin Ye nodded. "Alright."

"Good! Eat up, eat more. Finish all the Nine-Turn Intestines. Throwing them away—uh, it'd be a shame if you couldn't finish them."

The next afternoon, in the lobby of Whale-Kill Boxing Hall.

Lin Ye slowly stopped moving, his bare upper body covered in sweat.

He wiped away the sweat with a towel, walked to the vending machine, and pressed a button.

After scanning the code and paying, a Whale-Kill Brand Meat Burger dropped down with a bang.

He took it out and sat directly on a nearby bench. His breathing gradually steadied, and his heartbeat began to slow.

He tore open the wrapper and took a bite of the meat burger. The familiar taste stimulated his taste buds.

After a while, he sensed the gradually cooling heat within his body. Compared to yesterday, it had contracted a little further, barely reaching the width of five fingers.

He relaxed slightly. At this rate, even without the Monument, he would reach the first level in less than half a month.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with relying on his own effort, but with the Monument in hand, he could aim even higher.

"Senior Brother, we meet again."

Just as he was thinking, a cool voice entered his ears.

He raised his head. Yan Yi was also holding a Whale-Kill Brand Meat Burger.