Martial Artist Market

"What's wrong? Do you need a Combat Technique Crystal Card too, or a Martial Arts Crystal Card?

I can ask your dad to buy one for you," Feng Yuelan said.

"I don't need one right now."

Chen Lie shook his head.

After eating a little, Chen Lie left home.

He went to a bus stop nearby and boarded a Flying Bus.

He remembered a Martial Artist Market near the center of the provincial capital. It sold a wide range of martial arts goods, though most were for Martial Artists. There wasn't much for people at the Blood-Qi Stage, but there was bound to be something.

The Flying Bus was fast. About an hour later, Chen Lie got off in the city center.

After asking for directions several times, Chen Lie finally found out where the Martial Artist Market was and headed there.

At the market, Chen Lie glanced at the sign out front. It was a large market covering twenty thousand square meters.

As Chen Lie walked in, he looked at the shops on either side. At last, he spotted a Psionic Crystal Card shop and went inside.

"Boss, how many Star Dollars for a set of Psionic Crystal Cards?"

The shopkeeper rose from his chair as soon as Chen Lie entered. "Depends on what kind you want. A basic set of Combat Technique Crystal Cards costs 5,800 Star Dollars. D-Rank Martial Art cards run about twenty to sixty thousand a set, C-Rank Martial Art cards eighty to a hundred and twenty thousand, and so on."

"I see." Chen Lie nodded. "How are these Psionic Crystal Cards made?"

"Special materials are shaped and polished, then imbued with Mental Power. Only then do you have a finished card."

The shopkeeper answered.

"This is just a retail outlet, right? Roughly how much do you pay for a set of Martial Arts Crystal Cards?" Chen Lie asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

The shopkeeper eyed Chen Lie warily.

"Just curious. I don't have any other reason," Chen Lie said.

The shopkeeper said bluntly, "Why's a kid asking so many questions? If you really want Martial Arts Crystal Cards, get your parents to come pick some out."

Chen Lie said, "You're awfully tight-lipped. Is it because the cards cost so little to make? Say you sell a set for over a hundred thousand Star Dollars, and clear more than a hundred thousand in profit?"

"Watch your mouth, brat! My shop might not look like much, but I spent tens of millions of Star Dollars stocking these Psionic Crystal Cards.

"By your reckoning, I pay only a few thousand for a set of D-Rank Martial Art cards? Fine, I'll buy yours for tens of thousands. As many as you've got!"

"Don't be angry, boss. I was only joking."

"Go on, get out. If you've got nothing better to do, there's a Virtual Experience Pavilion across from the market. Stop wasting my time!"

The shopkeeper began shooing him away. After more than ten years in business, he could tell Chen Lie wasn't there to buy anything, so he had no interest in arguing further.

But Chen Lie showed no sign of leaving. "Calm down, boss. I really do have something to discuss with you. There's no one else in your shop right now, so why not chat with me for a bit?"

The shopkeeper sat back down behind the counter, his eyelids drooping. "What do you want to discuss?"

"My business can wait. First, I'd like to know what makes a set of Psionic Crystal Cards so expensive. Is it the materials or the manufacturing process?"

"Come on. The materials are rare, but one card only weighs a few grams. The materials for a whole set cost a few hundred Star Dollars at most.

"As for manufacturing, the cards are mass-produced. No matter how advanced the process is, it doesn't cost much.

"I'd say a set of Combat Technique Crystal Cards costs no more than two thousand Star Dollars in total, counting materials, production, sealing, and distribution.

"D-Rank Martial Art cards need better materials and a more demanding process, but a set still costs no more than five thousand to make.

"C-Rank Martial Art cards cost no more than ten thousand. The expensive part is imbuing them with Mental Power. Inscribing Mental Power onto the cards is by far the costliest step.

"Only a Divine Sense Master can do that. Ever heard of one?"

Chen Lie nodded. "So if a set of C-Rank Martial Art cards sells for a hundred thousand Star Dollars and you buy it for sixty thousand, while the actual production cost is under ten thousand, the manufacturer nets fifty thousand and you make forty thousand."

"Where are you pulling those numbers from, kid? By that calculation, what's the Divine Sense Master supposed to live on—air?

"You don't look like a buyer, but I'll tell you the truth. Don't go spreading it around. This set of C-Rank Martial Art Storm Leg cards sells for a hundred thousand Star Dollars. I paid over eighty thousand for it.

"And while it might look like the card manufacturer makes seventy thousand, the Divine Sense Master takes more than half of that. The manufacturer's net profit is definitely under thirty thousand. Got it?"

"Got it!" Chen Lie said. "Boss, you seem like an honest man, so I'll be honest with you. I'm a Divine Sense Master. How about we make a deal?"

"You? A Divine Sense Master?" The shopkeeper stared at Chen Lie for a long moment. "You're kidding me."

"Do you have any blank cards? Ones that haven't been imbued with Mental Power?"

"What do you want them for?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Just bring them out. Don't worry. If I damage anything, I'll pay the full price," Chen Lie said evenly.

At that, the shopkeeper rose, bent down, and took an ornate box from the bottom shelf behind the counter. He set it on top.

"The last time I ordered stock from the Lingfeng Group, their staff accidentally sent me blank cards instead of finished Martial Arts Crystal Cards. I was going to exchange them on my next visit."

The shopkeeper explained.

Chen Lie took the ornate box and opened it. Inside lay two clear, gleaming cards, each stamped with the four red characters for "Lingfeng Group" on the front.

He picked up a card and weighed it in his hand. It was about the size of his palm and weighed roughly fifty grams. The material was unusual, almost like crystal.

Chen Lie closed his eyes and drew on the Mental Power in his Sea of Consciousness, trying to channel it through his palm into the card.

Then, with a crack, the card in his hand shattered.

The shopkeeper stared in alarm. "How did the card break? What did you do, you little brat? I paid the D-Rank Martial Art card price for that—over twenty thousand Star Dollars! How am I supposed to exchange it with the Lingfeng Group now that it's in pieces?"

Without changing expression, Chen Lie picked up another blank card. When the shopkeeper moved to snatch it away, he said, "Don't worry. If it breaks, I'll pay you the full retail price."

The shopkeeper calmed down at once. He wouldn't be out of pocket. If Chen Lie was willing to pay full price, he could smash every blank card for all the shopkeeper cared.

Chen Lie held the transparent card up and studied it for a while.

He wondered why the card was so fragile.

Was I too forceful when I channeled Mental Power into it? Could it not withstand that much?

With that thought, Chen Lie directed his Mental Power outward again. This time he was exceptionally careful, feeding it through his palm and inscribing it onto the card strand by strand.

Gradually, the transparent card changed color, turning from crystal clear to bright yellow.

"Huh? What's going on?"

The shopkeeper watched, baffled.

In less than half a minute, Chen Lie finished channeling his Mental Power. He handed the card to the shopkeeper. "Boss, hold it against your forehead and pay close attention to what you sense."

The shopkeeper didn't understand, but he did as instructed. He pressed the card to his forehead, steadied his breathing, and focused.

Suddenly his mind lurched and every thought fell silent. All he could see was a figure practicing footwork in a boundless world.

A few seconds later, the figure in his mind flickered and seemed to merge with him. He became that figure, performing the light, agile movements himself.

In the endless white world, he took one step and appeared far ahead like a wisp of smoke drifting through the clouds. Every movement was exceptionally clear.

As he performed the footwork, dozens—then hundreds—of phantom images split away from him. One by one, they began to merge back into him.

Less than ten minutes later, the shopkeeper emerged from the vision, utterly stunned.

"Wh-what just happened?"

Chen Lie said, "I told you I'm a Divine Sense Master. I imbued that blank card in your hand with Mental Power. It's now a real Martial Arts Crystal Card."

"You... really are a Divine Sense Master?"

The shopkeeper stared at the card in his hand, which had already faded from bright yellow to pale yellow. He looked as though he'd seen a ghost.

He didn't know exactly what Divine Sense Masters were capable of, but he knew how rare and esteemed they were.

Were there any Divine Sense Masters in Dongchuan Province? Maybe, but I'd never seen one.

"I inscribed a C-Rank Martial Art called... Cloud Shadow Steps onto that card. How many Star Dollars could you sell it for here?"

Chen Lie thought it over. On the surface, it still resembled Cloud Smoke Steps, but he'd changed it beyond recognition. The martial art's fundamentals were entirely different, so it shouldn't be called Cloud Smoke Steps anymore. Cloud Shadow Steps was a better name.

"A C-Rank footwork card would definitely be worth a hundred and twenty thousand Star Dollars. But why haven't I heard of Cloud Shadow Steps?"

"It's a martial art from another province, not one commonly practiced in Dongchuan Province," Chen Lie said.

"Then it won't be easy to sell. I've dealt in Psionic Crystal Cards for over ten years. Most people learn a martial art until they're just one step away from mastering it, then use a card.

"So students buy Martial Arts Crystal Cards with a specific goal in mind. If a student has already made progress in the Void-Breaking Fist taught by his high school's Martial Arts Department, he'll buy a Void-Breaking Fist Crystal Card, not some other one.

"A card needs to contain a martial art commonly practiced in Dongchuan Province if you want it to sell well."