Blood Linglong

Chen Lie nodded, understanding what the shop owner meant.

"May I ask your name, young man? I'm Yang Shen."

After coming back to his senses, the shop owner immediately changed his tune. His earlier impatience gave way to a somewhat ingratiating smile.

"Chen Lie."

"Brother Chen, may I ask where you're from?" the shop owner, Yang Shen, asked.

"You don't need to ask about my background. I told you, I just want to discuss a business deal with you.

How many blank crystal cards do you have here?"

Yang Shen immediately replied, "I have twenty blank crystal cards here, or ten sets."

Chen Lie nodded. "Are these blank crystal cards easy to get?"

"They're not. Lingfeng Group strictly controls blank crystal cards. I've been in the crystal card business for over ten years, and even then, I only managed to save up twenty blank cards under special circumstances," Yang Shen said.

"Then how much could you sell a set of Void-Breaking Fist Crystal Cards for?" Chen Lie asked.

Yang Shen thought for a moment. "Definitely more than 50,000 Star Dollars. Void-Breaking Fist is a martial art promoted in high schools across Dongchuan Province, so it's in short supply and sells very well. Whenever it goes on sale, it's usually snapped up within a few days."

"If that's the case, why don't you stock more Void-Breaking Fist Crystal Cards?"

Yang Shen gave a bitter laugh. "I can't get my hands on them. I'm just a small-time distributor, and even Divine Sense Masters don't make many Martial Arts Crystal Cards for Void-Breaking Fist. Maybe they don't think it's worth the trouble for so little money. It's not just me—even many of the big distributors in East River Province probably don't have any Void-Breaking Fist Crystal Cards."

"I see."

Chen Lie thought about it. During his three years in the Ordinary Class in high school, the martial art he had practiced most was Void-Breaking Fist. That alone showed how sought-after its crystal cards were.

"Bring me those twenty blank crystal cards. I'll use my Mental Power to inscribe Void-Breaking Fist onto them. We'll price each set at 50,000 Star Dollars and split the profits evenly. How does that sound?"

"That'd be wonderful!"

Yang Shen's heart leaped at the news. He hurriedly rummaged behind the counter and brought out an old-looking box.

But the moment he opened it, his excitement vanished.

"This..."

Seeing his expression, Chen Lie asked, "What's wrong?"

Yang Shen said irritably, "Void-Breaking Fist is a D-Rank Martial Art, but these blank cards are Combat Technique Crystal Cards. They're made with the lowest-grade materials used to produce crystal cards and can't support the inscription of a D-Rank Martial Art."

"Wait, that's not right!"

Yang Shen suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Didn't you just say you inscribed a C-Rank Martial Art onto that card?"

Chen Lie nodded. As for Cloud Shadow Steps, if it were classified as a C-Rank Martial Art, it would have to be among the very best of that rank. On closer inspection, it was almost half a B-Rank Martial Art.

"How is that possible? The blank card I gave you just now was for a D-Rank Martial Art. How could it support a C-Rank Martial Art?"

"Oh, so that's why the first card I tried to infuse with Mental Power suddenly shattered. The material wasn't up to standard."

Only then did Chen Lie understand. He picked up a transparent crystal card from the old box, circulated his Mental Power, and carefully infused it into the card, thread by thread.

Since the material wasn't up to standard, Chen Lie worked with extreme precision, afraid that the crystal card would shatter again if he made the slightest mistake.

In just half a minute, the crystal card in Chen Lie's hand changed from transparent to bright yellow.

"This card's finished."

As he spoke, Chen Lie handed the now bright-yellow card to Yang Shen.

"How... How did you do it with substandard materials?"

Yang Shen was astonished.

"I just used a more precise technique."

Chen Lie picked up another blank crystal card and carefully infused it with Mental Power. The transparent card gradually turned bright yellow.

Chen Lie's tone was casual, but he was certain that no Divine Sense Master on Blue Star could manipulate mental energy with such precision.

A little over ten minutes later, all twenty blank crystal cards had been infused with the Mental Power of Void-Breaking Fist.

"That's ten sets of crystal cards. At 50,000 Star Dollars per set, we'd split the proceeds evenly, so you'd owe me 250,000 Star Dollars. But that'll cover the D-Rank Martial Art crystal card you broke earlier, so just give me 200,000."

"How could I do that?"

Yang Shen hurriedly said, "Brother Chen, you're treating your little brother like a stranger. That was just an experiment. How could I charge you for the cost? Forget about the card that broke.

"You're a Divine Sense Master, and making Martial Arts Crystal Cards depends entirely on you. You deserve the larger share. You're taking 300,000 Star Dollars, not a cent less."

He knew the difference between a good meal and a steady income. He was just a shopkeeper at a crystal card stall—what right did he have to split the profits evenly with a Divine Sense Master?

Only by giving the Divine Sense Master the larger share could he hope for another chance to work together. Otherwise, if the other man felt even a little displeased, he could toss Yang Shen aside without a second thought.

"Fine."

Chen Lie nodded and looked at Yang Shen.

Yang Shen immediately caught on. He hurriedly took out a Star Dollar Card and handed it to Chen Lie.

"Brother Chen, I happen to have a Free Star Dollar Card loaded with 300,000 Star Dollars. You can use it directly. There's no password, and my contact number is on the back. Could you jot it down?"

Chen Lie took the Star Dollar Card and slipped it into his pocket. He asked Yang Shen for paper and a pen, then wrote down his contact number.

"Here's my number. If you manage to get any blank crystal cards, contact me anytime."

"Of course, of course!"

Yang Shen nodded repeatedly.

With the Star Dollar Card in hand, Chen Lie prepared to leave. Yang Shen was quick to read the room and escorted him outside.

After leaving the Psionic Crystal Card shop, Chen Lie thought that since he was already at the Martial Artist Market and had 300,000 Star Dollars on him, he might as well look around.

He went to the busiest part of the market and saw an enormous building with a huge sign that read "Martial Student Department Store."

Chen Lie went inside.

As soon as he entered, a beautiful female attendant came over to serve him.

"Welcome. What can I help you with, sir?"

Chen Lie asked, "Do you have anything that can greatly increase Blood Qi Value?"

"May I ask what your Blood Qi Value is, sir, and what your budget is?"

"My Blood Qi Value is in the triple digits, and I can spend up to 300,000 Star Dollars."

Chen Lie said this because his Blood Qi Value didn't conform to Blue Star's standards, so he could only give a higher estimate.

The female attendant looked at him with much greater respect when she heard that his Blood Qi Value was already in the triple digits.

"Please follow me, sir."

The attendant led Chen Lie to a display counter and began her introduction.

"Sir, this is advanced Blood Essence Fluid. It's suitable for people whose Blood Qi Value has just passed one hundred. After taking it and training for a few days, you can expect an increase of about four to five cards in Blood Qi Value. It costs 280,000 Star Dollars."

After the attendant finished explaining, Chen Lie shook his head. It wasn't cost-effective for him.

Seeing this, the attendant took Chen Lie to another display counter and began introducing the products there.

"Sir, this counter has Essence Nourishing Spirit Liquid. It's usually used by Martial Artists, but people whose Blood Qi Value has passed one hundred can take it too. It's just not as easy to absorb as advanced Blood Essence Fluid. It can increase your Blood Qi Value by five to seven cards and costs 298,000 Star Dollars."

Chen Lie shook his head again.

"Um..."

The attendant didn't know what to do.

"How about this? Just recommend whatever can increase my Blood Qi Value as much as possible. Don't worry about whether it's easy to absorb," Chen Lie said.

"All right."

The attendant nodded and led Chen Lie to another display counter.

"This is a fifty-year-old spirit herb called Blood Linglong. Its medicinal power is so strong and potent that it can't be taken on its own. Usually, it's used as the main ingredient in a Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meal and diluted before consumption, so I can't say exactly how much Blood Linglong would increase your Blood Qi Value.

"But as far as I know, a single Blood Linglong can be used to make three Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meals. Many Martial Arts Students whose Blood Qi Value has long since passed one hundred can increase it by at least a dozen cards after eating a whole Blood Linglong.

"This Blood Linglong costs exactly 300,000 Star Dollars."

"Good, I'll take it. I'll pay by card!"

Chen Lie's eyes lit up at the sight of the Blood Linglong, and he made his decision on the spot.

He handed the Star Dollar Card to the attendant.

The attendant took the Star Dollar Card to the front desk and charged 300,000 Star Dollars. Then she hurried back, returned the card to Chen Lie, and placed the Blood Linglong in a gift box with a beautiful shopping bag before handing it to him.

"Sir, here's the Blood Linglong you asked for."

"Mm."

Chen Lie nodded, took the Blood Linglong, and turned to leave the store.

"Take care, sir. We hope to see you again."

The attendant bowed toward Chen Lie's retreating figure.

After leaving the Martial Student Department Store, Chen Lie saw that it was still early, so he continued wandering around the market to see if there was anything else he might need in the future.

But after making a round, he didn't find anything, so he could only leave the market with the Blood Linglong.

Chen Lie knew a great deal about spirit herbs. The energy contained in a fifty-year-old Blood Linglong could absolutely multiply his Blood Qi Value several times over.

Spirit herbs of this age worked best when eaten raw. Cooking them would inevitably reduce their potency, and diluting them in the broth of a Spirit Herb Beast Meat Meal might prevent even half their medicinal power from taking effect. At the same time, the effects would become much gentler.

But Chen Lie didn't need gentle effects. He wanted the Blood Linglong to release as much medicinal energy as possible, so he decided to eat it raw.

After leaving the Martial Artist Market, Chen Lie took a Flying Bus straight to Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall.

A little over half an hour later, Chen Lie got off the Flying Bus and arrived outside the gates of Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall.

As he walked past the training grounds on the second floor of Dongchuan Martial Arts Hall, Chen Lie came face-to-face with Lu Qingchan again.

The pretty girl he had met by chance last time was still accompanying Lu Qingchan.

Lu Qingchan had clearly seen Chen Lie too, but this time she didn't greet him first. Instead, she pretended not to see him and looked away.