Golden Potion

Night. Bedroom.

A web page was projected in the air. Xia Ping sat on his bed, looking at a list of supplements, monster meat, and precious spirit medicines.

The school's Fighting Tournament would begin in three days. With only the strength of a Martial Apprentice Fourth Heaven, he probably wouldn't be able to make it into the school's top ten.

Xiong Batian might be the school bully and quite strong, but he was only at Martial Apprentice Fifth Heaven. He couldn't even make the top ten. There were even experts at Martial Apprentice Sixth Heaven and Seventh Heaven at the school, all far stronger than Xiong Batian.

With his current cultivation at Martial Apprentice Fourth Heaven, making the school's top ten would be difficult. He had to increase his cultivation if he wanted to stand out from the many students.

"Golden Potion!"

Xia Ping spotted a Life Potion described on the page. The Golden Potion was made from the hearts of dozens of monsters, including Berserk Bears, Flying Tigers, and Unicorn Wolves, along with forty-nine precious spirit medicines. It took countless processing steps to produce, making it extremely valuable and rich in energy.

One dose of this Life Potion could easily take someone from Martial Apprentice Fourth Heaven to Martial Apprentice Fifth Heaven. Unfortunately, it was a banned drug!

The reason it was classified as a banned drug was that the energy contained in the Golden Potion was too violent, carrying the ferocity of tigers and wolves. Anyone without sufficient strength who injected it would be torn apart and killed as the energy burst through their body.

Therefore, anyone who wanted to buy the Golden Potion had to be at Martial Apprentice Seventh Heaven or above. Buying it without reaching that level of martial cultivation was strictly forbidden by Federal law.

"The Golden Potion is perfect for me." Xia Ping's eyes flickered. For ordinary people, the Golden Potion was too violent. Anyone below Martial Apprentice Seventh Heaven who took it would die.

But he was different. He had cultivated the Pure Yang Indestructible Art and could tame even the violent energy of Sun Essence. What was the energy of a mere Golden Potion compared to that?

If he wanted to advance to Martial Apprentice Fifth Heaven as quickly as possible, the Golden Potion was the ideal choice. The trouble was, he wasn't qualified to buy it yet.

"Looks like there's no way to buy it through legal channels. I'll have to go to the black market." Xia Ping stared at the page. As a businessman had once said, selling contraband was the most profitable business.

The more something was prohibited, the more profitable it became, and the more people were willing to engage in illegal dealings. It was all for Federal Coins, so the Golden Potion remained in circulation.

But to buy it, he would have to go to the black market.

"Black Moon City!"

Xia Ping opened a post that described the city: "This is the most notorious underworld city in Yang Province District. It's a chaotic place, filled with bars and casinos, where countless gangs make their home.

"Betrayal, fights, drugs, bloodshed, and death are everyday occurrences in this city. But there are plenty of opportunities, too. Contraband, illegal weapons, monster meat, pills, spirit medicines, martial arts techniques—everything is traded here. There are no barriers to entry. As long as you have money, you can buy anything you want.

"This is both heaven and hell, a gathering place for wealth and a paradise for criminals. Countless evildoers make their home here. The kind-hearted should stay away, or they'll regret it for the rest of their lives."

He didn't know why the Federal Government allowed such a criminal city to exist in the open. Perhaps there were dealings hidden from public view. Either way, its existence was reason enough.

"But one Golden Potion costs five hundred thousand Federal Coins. That's robbery!" Xia Ping stared at the price, dumbfounded.

What did five hundred thousand Federal Coins mean? Someone like his father, a member of the middle class, would have to save every penny for seven years to afford it. That was enough for a down payment on a house.

And this was only one dose of medicine. It showed just how profitable the business was. If he hadn't made a fortune writing novels, he wouldn't even be able to afford it—he could only look at it longingly.

"Looks like I'll have to contact editor Meng Fei and ask if I can get some money in advance. Otherwise, I won't be able to buy it." Xia Ping's eyes flashed. He immediately contacted editor Meng Fei through his Communicator and explained his request for an advance on his royalties in full.

A little over ten minutes later, editor Meng Fei replied: "Normally, this wouldn't be allowed. The company has its rules, and royalties are only paid on the fifteenth of each month. There are taxes and other procedures to deal with, so paying early would be troublesome and disrupt a whole series of company processes.

"But I discussed it with the editor-in-chief and the company's finance staff. You have your reasons, so we'll make an exception and pay you one million Federal Coins in advance. We'll calculate and pay the rest next month. But don't ask again."

It really was an exception!

In fact, if Xia Ping's novel hadn't suddenly become a sensation with boundless future prospects, the other party probably wouldn't even have bothered responding to such a request.

But they were willing to accommodate him to keep a sensational writer like Xia Ping. That was the privilege he had earned.

"Thanks, then."

Xia Ping knew his request was a little unreasonable, but he had no choice if he wanted to buy the Golden Potion.

"Teacher Black-Hearted Wolf, do you know when your next book will be coming out?" editor Meng Fei asked eagerly. Teacher Bai Rong's novel was simply too popular.

More than two hundred thousand people had bought the book that morning. By evening, the number had climbed to over three hundred thousand. That rate of growth was terrifying. It had already earned at least six or seven million Federal Coins, and this was only the beginning.

By the time the excitement died down, selling ten million copies would be a piece of cake.

If Xia Ping wrote another novel while the momentum was still going strong, it would surely become a hit as well. For the Penguin, this was a tremendous opportunity to boost its business.

As for Meng Fei personally, he wanted to see more excellent works and was eagerly looking forward to them.

"I don't have any inspiration yet. It'll probably be at least another month," Xia Ping said. This book hadn't reached its full potential yet, so he wasn't in a hurry to release a second one.

"All right, then. I'll look forward to your next masterpiece, Teacher Black-Hearted Wolf." Editor Meng Fei felt a little disappointed, but he knew a novel couldn't be written on demand. It took inspiration.

With a click, the two ended the call.

"Tomorrow's Friday, and the day after that is Saturday, followed by Sunday. I can set out on Friday night and head to Black Moon City to buy the Golden Potion." Xia Ping thought over his plans for the next few days.

Ding!

Just then, a message came through on his phone. Xia Ping glanced at it: "One million Federal Coins have been transferred to your account. Please check your balance."

The next morning, Xia Ping went to school. Just as he was about to enter the classroom, someone called out to him. He turned around and saw Jiang Yaru glaring at him, fury burning in her eyes. She looked ready to kill.

"Xia Ping!"

Jiang Yaru glared at Xia Ping through gritted teeth, looking as if she wanted to devour him alive.