Martial Arts Market

"What's wrong? Do you need combat technique crystal cards or martial arts crystal cards too?

I can have your dad buy them for you," Feng Yuelan asked.

"I don't need that stuff for now."

Chen Lie shook his head.

After eating a little, Chen Lie left the house.

He went to a bus stop not far from home and boarded a flying bus.

He remembered that there seemed to be a martial arts market in the very center of the provincial capital. It sold a very comprehensive range of martial arts-related goods, though most were for martial artists. There were not many items suitable for the qi and blood stage, but there were still some.

The flying bus was very fast. After about an hour, Chen Lie got off in the center of the provincial capital.

After asking around several times, Chen Lie finally confirmed the martial arts market's location and headed there.

When he arrived at the martial arts market, Chen Lie looked at the introduction on the sign out front. It was a large market covering twenty thousand square meters.

As Chen Lie walked inside, he looked over the shops on both sides. At last, he spotted a place selling spirit-energy crystal cards and went in.

"Boss, how many Star Credits does a set of spirit-energy crystal cards cost?"

Seeing Chen Lie enter, the owner immediately rose from his chair and introduced, "That depends on what kind of crystal cards you want. The most basic combat technique crystal cards cost 5,800 Star Credits per set. D-rank martial arts crystal cards cost around twenty to sixty thousand Star Credits per set. C-rank martial arts crystal cards cost eighty to one hundred twenty thousand Star Credits per set, and so on."

"Oh." Chen Lie nodded and asked, "How are these spirit-energy crystal cards made?"

"Of course, they're made from special materials, polished through various processes, and finally empowered with mental energy. Only then can a crystal card be produced."

The shop owner said.

"This should only be a distribution point for selling crystal cards, right? Roughly how many Star Credits does a set of martial arts crystal cards cost you wholesale?" Chen Lie asked.

"What are you asking that for?"

The shop owner's gaze toward Chen Lie became somewhat wary.

"I'm just asking around. I don't have any other purpose," Chen Lie said.

The shop owner said bluntly, "Why is a kid like you asking so many questions? If you really want martial arts crystal cards, have your parents come pick them out for you."

Chen Lie said, "You're being so tight-lipped. Is it because the cost of martial arts crystal cards is too low? For example, a set of crystal cards sold for over a hundred thousand Star Credits might bring in a profit of more than a hundred thousand Star Credits?"

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? These spirit-energy crystal cards in my store may not look like much, but they cost me tens of millions of Star Credits to stock.

By your logic, a set of D-rank martial arts crystal cards only costs a few thousand Star Credits wholesale? Come on, I'll buy yours for tens of thousands of Star Credits. I'll take as many as you have!"

"Don't be angry, Boss. I was just joking."

"Go, go, go. If you're really that bored, there's a virtual experience center across from the market. Don't hold up my business here!"

The shop owner began chasing him away with a sour expression. Having done business for over a decade, he could plainly tell that Chen Lie was not a seller, so naturally he had no interest in continuing to bicker with him.

Yet Chen Lie showed no intention of leaving and continued, "Boss, calm down. I really do have something to discuss with you. There's no one in your store right now anyway, so why not chat with me and pass the time?"

The shop owner sat down in the chair behind the counter, his eyelids drooping. "What do you want to discuss with me?"

"My matter can wait. First, I want to ask you what makes a set of spirit-energy crystal cards expensive—the card-making materials, or the subsequent manufacturing process?"

"Obviously, while the materials used to make crystal cards are rare, how much can a single card weigh? A few grams at most. The material cost for a set of crystal cards would top out at a few hundred Star Credits.

"As for the manufacturing process, those are mass-produced goods. No matter how sophisticated the technology is, it isn't worth much.

"If you ask me, the total cost of a set of combat technique crystal cards—including materials, manufacturing, storage, and distribution—would not exceed two thousand Star Credits.

"The materials and manufacturing process for D-rank martial arts crystal cards are more valuable, but a set still would not cost more than five thousand Star Credits.

"The cost of C-rank martial arts crystal cards is no more than ten thousand Star Credits. The most expensive part of martial arts crystal cards lies in mental energy empowerment. Inscribing mental energy onto the cards is the costliest step in producing crystal cards.

"Only Mind Readers can empower them with mental energy. Have you heard of Mind Readers?"

Chen Lie nodded and said, "So, for a set of C-rank martial arts crystal cards worth a hundred thousand Star Credits, if your wholesale price is sixty thousand but the actual cost is under ten thousand, then the crystal card manufacturer's net profit is fifty thousand Star Credits, while your profit is forty thousand."

"How can you just make up numbers like that, you little brat? By your calculation, are Mind Readers supposed to live on air?

"You don't look like a seller, so I'll tell you the truth—but don't go spreading it around. For a set of C-rank martial arts crystal cards that I sell for a hundred thousand Star Credits, the Storm Leg crystal cards, my wholesale price is over eighty thousand Star Credits.

"The card maker's profit may look like it's as high as seventy thousand Star Credits, but the Mind Reader takes more than half of that. So the card maker's pure profit is absolutely under thirty thousand Star Credits. Got it?"

"Got it!" Chen Lie said. "Boss, you seem like an honest man, so I'll tell you the truth. I'm a Mind Reader. How about the two of us make a deal?"

"You? A Mind Reader?" The shop owner stared at Chen Lie for a long time before saying, "Bullshit!"

"Do you have any blank crystal cards here? The kind that haven't been infused with mental energy yet?"

"What do you want them for?" the shop owner asked.

"Just take them out. Don't worry—if I cause you any losses, I'll compensate you at the listed price," Chen Lie said calmly.

Hearing this, the shop owner rose from his chair, bent down, and took an ornate box from the bottom shelf of the counter, placing it on top.

"When I went to Spirit Wind Group to restock last time, one of their employees mistakenly gave me blank crystal cards that hadn't undergone mental energy empowerment, treating them as finished martial arts crystal cards. I was planning to exchange them next time I went."

The shop owner said.

Chen Lie took the ornate box and opened it directly. Inside, he immediately saw two translucent crystal cards. On the front of each card were the four red characters: Spirit Wind Group.

He picked up one crystal card and weighed it in his hand. Each card weighed around fifty grams and was about the size of a palm. The material was quite special, like crystal.

Chen Lie closed his eyes and circulated his mental energy within his sea of consciousness, attempting to empower the crystal card through his palm.

Suddenly, with a bang, the crystal card in his hand shattered into pieces.

The shop owner was instantly alarmed. "Why did the crystal card suddenly break? What did you do, you little brat? Do you know I bought these at the price of D-rank martial arts crystal cards? They cost over twenty thousand Star Credits! Now that it's broken into pieces, how am I supposed to exchange it with Spirit Wind Group?"

Without changing expression, Chen Lie picked up the other blank crystal card. Seeing that the shop owner was about to snatch it away, he said, "Don't panic. If it broke, it broke. I'll compensate you according to the selling price!"

The shop owner immediately calmed down upon hearing that. As long as he did not have to pay out of pocket and someone was willing to compensate him at the original price, it would not matter even if all the blank crystal cards were smashed.

Chen Lie held the transparent crystal card before his eyes and studied it for a while.

At the same time, he silently pondered why the crystal card had been so fragile.

Could it be that he had infused his mental energy too violently just now, and the crystal card could not withstand such powerful mental energy?

With that thought, Chen Lie circulated his mental energy again. This time, he was exceptionally careful, inscribing the mental energy onto the crystal card through his palm thread by thread.

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

"Huh? What's going on?"

The shop owner could not help but feel puzzled at the sight.

In less than half a minute, Chen Lie finished infusing it with mental energy. He returned the crystal card to the shop owner and said, "Boss, place the crystal card against your brow and sense it carefully."

The shop owner did not understand why, but he still did as instructed. He placed the crystal card against his brow, calmed his breathing, focused his mind, and carefully sensed it.

Suddenly, his mind jolted, and all his thoughts instantly ceased. He saw only a figure practicing a footwork technique in a boundless world.

After only a few seconds, the figure in his mind flashed and seemed to merge with him. He became that figure and performed a nimble, agile footwork technique.

In the boundless pure-white world, he took one step and appeared an immense distance ahead like drifting smoke and floating clouds. Every movement was exceptionally clear.

As he performed the footwork, dozens, even hundreds of afterimages split off in an instant. Gradually, more than a dozen of those afterimages overlapped with him one by one.

Less than ten minutes later, the shop owner awakened from his consciousness. He was utterly shocked.

"This... what is going on?"

Chen Lie said, "Didn't I just tell you? I'm a Mind Reader. The blank crystal card in your hand has been empowered by my mental energy and has become a genuine martial arts crystal card."

"You... really are a Mind Reader?"

The shop owner stared at the crystal card in his hand, which had changed from bright yellow to pale yellow. His expression was as shocked as if he had seen a ghost.

He did not know exactly what sort of existence a Mind Reader was, but he certainly knew how rare and esteemed they were.

Were there Mind Readers in East River Province? Perhaps there were, but he had never seen one.

"The crystal card I just made has been inscribed with a C-rank martial art called... Cloud Shadow Step. How many Star Credits could it sell for if you put it in your store?"

Chen Lie thought for a moment. Though Cloud Smoke Step still appeared to be Cloud Smoke Step on the surface, he had altered it beyond recognition. Its martial arts core was completely different, so it should no longer be called Cloud Smoke Step. It should be renamed Cloud Shadow Step.

"A set of C-rank footwork martial arts crystal cards would certainly be worth one hundred twenty thousand Star Credits. But why have I never heard of a martial art called Cloud Shadow Step?"

"It's a martial art from another province, not one popular in East River Province," Chen Lie said.

"If that's the case, then it won't be easy to sell. I've been in the spirit-energy crystal card business for over a decade, and I know that many people only use martial arts crystal cards after they have learned a martial art fairly well and are just one step away from mastery.

"So students buy martial arts crystal cards with very specific purposes. If they have already practiced the Skyshattering Fist promoted by their high school martial arts curriculum to a certain level, then they will only buy Skyshattering Fist crystal cards. They definitely won't buy anything else.

"Only crystal cards inscribed with martial arts popular in East River Province can sell well."