After a long while, Dugu Yan finally calmed down again and hugged Ye Lingling.
"I'm all right now. Thank you, Lingling..."
Then she gave Li Jingzhe a small nod. "Sorry you had to see that."
"The Snow Silkworm and Red Ginseng will be delivered first thing tomorrow morning... We're leaving!"
Clip-clop—
As the two girls walked away, Li Jingzhe dusted off the ten Black Cards in his hand. It was as if he could hear the sound of gold coins pouring into his account.
"I'll exchange those for Gold Soul Coins first thing tomorrow morning. A million... Tsk, I really am a genius. Robbing people? Where else could I get money this fast?"
Li Jingzhe muttered, unable to hide his delight.
Resources were the key to mastering the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique. Those ten portions of Snow Silkworm and Red Ginseng probably wouldn't last long. Conveniently, he could use the whole million to buy cultivation resources. That was what you called a virtuous cycle!
Right, I'll also have to set aside some money to hire people to hunt Soul Beasts...
Though his Soul Power had now reached Level 10, he had yet to fully master the first layer of the Muscle and Tendon Classic, Lingbo Microsteps, or the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique.
However, judging by how quickly he'd made progress during his first practice tonight, he'd probably master all three in just a few days. Then it would be time to hunt for his First Soul Ring.
I'll need to buy Whale Rubber, too. It can strengthen the body and, in turn, increase the number of years a Soul Ring can have and still be absorbed... With Whale Rubber and the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique, I should be able to push my First Soul Ring to an unprecedented level...
According to the system, the higher the quality of a Soul Ring, the greater the chance of getting good items from the unlocked tiers...
[Ding...]
Just as Li Jingzhe was thinking about it, the system chimed.
[The host has completed the first transmission of a cultivation technique and martial art. The System Mall is now open.]
"System, you never mentioned this before!"
Though he said that, Li Jingzhe's thoughts were already racing... The System Mall?
Could he buy cultivation techniques and martial arts directly?
If so, he'd have to get both the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Manuals. Everyone knew that one restored mana while the other restored health. If he could get both, along with the Muscle and Tendon Classic to improve his natural aptitude and the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique to boost his physical strength... Holy crap, godhood would be within reach!
At the thought, Li Jingzhe couldn't sit still. He immediately opened the mall interface.
Huh?
One glance was enough to make his pupils contract sharply. There were no cultivation techniques or martial arts in the mall, but it did have even more precious treasures... Lesser Restoration Pills... Bosi Qu Snake Gallbladders... Greater Restoration Pills... Viper Precious Blood... It even had the Vermilion Fruit, a supreme treasure of the martial world that could grant sixty years of cultivation!
Sixty years of cultivation—that's a full sixty years of power!
Even Zhang Sanfeng, a martial arts legend, only lived for two hundred and forty years...
Li Jingzhe's heart burned with excitement.
But when he saw the prices listed for these heavenly treasures and cultivation resources...
[Lesser Restoration Pill: A Shaolin treasure, excellent for healing injuries and restoring vitality and lost internal energy. It may even slightly increase internal energy... 100,000 Gold Soul Coins]
[Bosi Qu Snake Gallbladder: Incredibly mystical. Consuming it refines the body, invigorates the blood, strengthens the bones, and gradually increases strength. Limited to one hundred. Each one grants a year of cultivation... 1,000,000 Gold Soul Coins]
[Greater Restoration Pill: A Shaolin treasure, a sacred medicine for healing and nourishing the body. It can eliminate ailments and grant five to ten years of cultivation... Price: 5,000,000 Gold Soul Coins]
[Viper Precious Blood: The Immortal Ginseng Hermit, Liang Ziweng, spent decades nourishing a snake with medicine. Drinking its blood preserves beauty and longevity, drives out parasites and poisons, and grants roughly thirty years of internal cultivation... Price: 30,000,000 Gold Soul Coins]
[Vermilion Fruit: A supreme treasure of the martial world. Consuming it grants sixty years of cultivation... Price: 60,000,000 Gold Soul Coins]
[Note: One year of cultivation is approximately equal to 1 level of Soul Power]
It was like someone had dumped a basin of cold water over his head.
"Damn it, System, get your ass over here... Explain this to me! Why does every single item cost more than the last, huh? You've got the nerve to ask sixty million Gold Soul Coins for one Vermilion Fruit? System, you're something else..."
"Got to hand it to you, you're a real swindler. No wonder you wouldn't give me any heavenly treasures when I asked before. So this is what you were waiting for?"
Li Jingzhe gave the empty air a thumbs-up, his heart sinking with frustration. Then he looked at the ten Black Cards in his hand... Damn, he'd sold them too cheap!
The Thousand Spider Poison Hand might only be priced at 500,000 by the system, and it was merely a second-rate martial art, one that harmed both others and its practitioner, with serious side effects... But it was an absolutely perfect fit for the Dugu Family...
As the saying went, what suited you best was best of all... Why hadn't he made a much bolder demand and squeezed them for a fortune?
Just look at Scoundrel. He sold a pile of iron bits for 10,000 Gold Soul Coins a set. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had supplied the key materials themselves, and even had the parts for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda made for him. Scoundrel had only handled the core components and final assembly...
But Li Jingzhe had sold cultivation techniques and martial arts—the rarest goods on the Douluo Continent, the kind that would serve you for a lifetime once you learned them. At that moment, all he could think of was the Buddha's saying... The teachings must not be passed on lightly!
Well, though the cultivation techniques and martial arts he sold could only be practiced by the buyer and couldn't be passed on to anyone else...
And once someone else mastered them, he could get a critical-hit return of their cultivation...
Huh?
"Now that I think about it, maybe I didn't lose out after all?"
"Looks like there's still money to be made!"
[Ding. Dugu Yan has practiced the Thousand Spider Poison Hand and increased her Soul Power by 1 level, equivalent to several months of cultivation. The host has received a cultivation return and triggered a critical hit, gaining 1 year of cultivation.]
Huh?
"Dugu Yan's already made progress?"
"She really is impatient..."
A moment later, Li Jingzhe could clearly feel a strange internal energy appear inside him. It was completely unlike his own, carrying a sinister aura and standing apart from his energy, as distinct as the banks of a river.
But the next second, the Muscle and Tendon Classic began circulating on its own, drawing out Li Jingzhe's internal energy. The warmth in his dantian surged, like a hunting jellyfish, quickly enveloping that sinister energy. It coursed along his meridians, completing one great cycle... then two... then three...
After a full three great cycles, Li Jingzhe unconsciously exhaled a breath of stale air and immediately felt refreshed.
He sat cross-legged at once and circulated the power of the Muscle and Tendon Classic, sensing the changes in his body... Hm?
"It's shrunk?"
"No, not shrunk—purified!"
Li Jingzhe was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
The returned sinister energy had been carried along the meridians by the Muscle and Tendon Classic's internal energy, completing great cycles as it was gradually assimilated, compressed, and condensed. Now it had fully merged with the internal energy of the Muscle and Tendon Classic, indistinguishable from it.
"So the power I get back from critical hits has completely become my own?"
The reason it felt as though it had "shrunk" was that the Thousand Spider Poison Hand was ultimately only a second-rate martial art. The power it produced, in both quality and quantity, couldn't compare with a superior, top-tier, or even transcendent technique like the Muscle and Tendon Classic.
What's more, his power was a combination of the Muscle and Tendon Classic, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique, and Lingbo Microsteps!
"So I don't have to worry about my power being impure, letting someone find my weakness and break through it with a single strike!"
Li Jingzhe thought.
When he'd first seen that he could receive a critical-hit return of cultivation, he'd been worried he might end up like Jiumozhi—learning too much without mastering any of it, going berserk, and eventually losing all his power. Now it seemed that worry had been completely unnecessary.
The system really did produce nothing but the best!
Li Jingzhe glanced at the system interface.
[Host: Li Jingzhe] [Martial Soul: Scripture Depository] [Current Realm: Soul Scholar] [Soul Power Level: 11.3] [Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts: Muscle and Tendon Classic, Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique, Lingbo Microsteps]
"Level 11! Not bad, not bad!"
Li Jingzhe grinned.
"Once other people reach Level 10, they have to obtain a Soul Ring, or their cultivation speed will slow down. Any excess Soul Power builds up in their meridians, causing blockages or even making them explode... Even being able to store an extra one or two levels is already pushing it..."
"But with my cultivation speed, I'm afraid there's no chance of it slowing down."
"And the Muscle and Tendon Classic cleanses the meridians, strengthens the bones, and improves natural aptitude... The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique increases my body's endurance... My meridians should be able to withstand more excess Soul Power, too. Tsk... If I never go to obtain a Soul Ring and rely on the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique to endure the returned cultivation, could I eventually create a Level 100 Soul Scholar?"
Pfft—
Li Jingzhe cracked himself up. Other people practiced their way to a hundred thousand levels of Qi cultivation, while he'd become a Level 100 Soul Scholar?
Hilarious!
If that day really came, even the Five Great God Kings would be dumbfounded!
Before you continue