First Transaction

"Martial Brother, you speak too harshly. Your strength surpasses mine—what ill intentions could I possibly have? If ten days pass and you don't see the pills, you can come find me to settle the score anytime!"

"I truly have no spare pills right now." The menial disciple lowered his head, forcing a placating smile.

As he spoke, his eyes darted in a sly circle, a glint of malice flickering deep within.

Hmph! In at most ten days, Martial Brother Zhao Yu will return, and he's at the second layer of the Qi Refining Stage. You took the ten high-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills he reserved—just you wait, you'll get what's coming.

"Fine. You'd better not pull any tricks, or the consequences of angering me will be severe." Su Shi'er stared coldly at the other, sensing the man's ill intent, a trace of invisible killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Over half a year of slaughtering demon beasts daily had woven a faint aura of bloodlust around him. His temperament was no longer that of the innocent village boy who had just left his small mountain hamlet.

Still, with so many eyes watching, he couldn't do anything to this man publicly. He could only suppress the thought for now.

"Of course! Rest assured, Martial Brother!" The menial disciple kept up his fawning smile, but a shiver ran through him under Su Shi'er's gaze.

This kid... why does he feel a bit terrifying?

Hmph! What's there to fear? No matter how strong he is, he's just a brat of twelve or thirteen!

Shaking off the thought, the menial disciple steadied himself, his resolve hardening.

Su Shi'er paid no more mind to whatever scheme the man was cooking up. After dropping his final words, he turned and left without another glance.

In the courtyard, Zhu Hanwei and the others watched Su Shi'er's retreating back, envy plain on their faces.

If they had strength like Su Shi'er's, how could they let this menial disciple push them around?

Meanwhile, the menial disciple, having seen Su Shi'er off, finally let out a breath. He glared coldly at Zhu Hanwei and the rest, threatening, "You little bastards—if any of you dares to breathe a word about today, don't blame me for being nasty!"

The group flinched, nodding hastily before slinking away from the Pill Pavilion.

But after witnessing Su Shi'er's display, their fear of the menial disciple had dulled considerably.

"Who'd have thought—in just half a year, he's gotten this strong."

"Do you know that guy?"

"Of course. We joined the Yun Ge Sect together. Half a year ago, he was still a little beggar. As soon as he arrived, the Peak Master assigned him to the Waste Pill Room. I never expected him to start cultivating before even learning to read from the instructors!"

Walking along the path, the group murmured in amazement.

"I remember the Peak Master said that little beggar's spiritual root was terrible, so his cultivation speed should be very slow," Zhu Hanwei spoke up.

"Right! With such a lousy spiritual root, if I started cultivating, I'd definitely be faster than him. No way—I'm heading back to train right now!" At Zhu Hanwei's reminder, a round-faced kid slapped his thigh and lifted his chin proudly.

With that, the round-faced kid glanced at the Foundation Cultivation Pill in his hand and dashed off toward his lodging like the wind.

Seeing this, the other kids followed suit, sprinting away.

Soon, only Zhu Hanwei remained. He had no spiritual root at all, so his cultivation speed would only be slower than Su Shi'er's.

He looked back at the Pill Pavilion, then at Su Shi'er walking along the mountain path.

Hesitating for a moment, Zhu Hanwei glanced down at the object tucked in his arms, gritted his teeth, and ran after Su Shi'er.

"Wait up, Martial Brother, wait for me!"

"Hm? You need something from me?" Su Shi'er was walking along, lost in thought, when the voice behind him made him pause. It took him a moment to realize it was directed at him, so he stopped and turned to face the newcomer.

"Martial Brother, I want to buy some Foundation Cultivation Pills from you!" Zhu Hanwei was panting heavily, but when he saw Su Shi'er, a bright smile spread across his face.

"Buy Foundation Cultivation Pills? Why would you think I'd sell you spirit pills?" Su Shi'er was taken aback, eyeing Zhu Hanwei with surprise.

"Foundation Cultivation Pills mainly target mortals without cultivation. For Qi Refiners who already have cultivation, the effect is weaker. So, many senior martial brothers in the sect trade away their yearly allotment of Foundation Cultivation Pills for money or other cultivation resources!"

Zhu Hanwei immediately explained with a grin.

I see. So this chubby kid, serving as the Peak Master's pill boy, has picked up quite a bit by osmosis!

Su Shi'er's heart stirred at the thought.

Foundation Cultivation Pills were indeed of little use to him now. If he could trade them for something else, it wouldn't be a bad idea.

But he didn't let it show. Instead, he pressed on, "If I remember right, you don't have a spiritual root. What do you need so many Foundation Cultivation Pills for?"

"What they call 'no spiritual root' just means the root is clouded and can't manifest naturally. With the help of pills, there's still a chance to reveal it. Foundation Cultivation Pills are one such method."

"Of course, spiritual roots born this way are usually weak. No immortal sect would waste resources nurturing them."

Zhu Hanwei didn't hide anything, cheerfully sharing what he knew.

Su Shi'er narrowed his eyes, recalling how after consuming large amounts of top-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills, his perception of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi had indeed sharpened. He knew Zhu Hanwei wasn't lying.

Nodding, he continued, "Selling you a few pills isn't out of the question. What price are you offering?"

"High-grade Foundation Cultivation Pills go for a hundred taels of silver each at the Trade Square. If you're willing to sell, I'll pay a hundred and twenty taels per pill." Zhu Hanwei perked up, grinning eagerly.

"The Trade Square? The one on Yi Huan Mountain?" Su Shi'er raised an eyebrow, recalling the Sect Manual's mention of it.

To the east of the sect was Yi Huan Mountain, home to a Trade Square where Qi Refining disciples from all peaks could trade.

"Not bad!" Zhu Hanwei nodded hastily, speaking quickly. "I still have some small items I've collected recently here. If you're interested, Martial Brother, you can use them to trade as well."

As he spoke, he reached into his bosom and pulled out a small bundle. Opening it revealed a pile of assorted odds and ends.

Only then did Su Shi'er realize—this guy wasn't nearly as fat as he looked; rather, he'd been carrying a small pouch against his belly all along.

He swept his gaze over the items: a broken blade, animal hide, animal bones, and even a few nameless books.

His eyes settled on those books, and he picked them up to flip through them.

There were three in total. One was an unnamed miscellany. The other two were martial arts manuals for mortal-world warriors to cultivate.

Seeing Su Shi'er's gaze land on these three books, Zhu Hanwei felt a secret delight, though his face put on a solemn expression.

"Martial Brother has a keen eye! This miscellany is said to have been written by a very powerful cultivator traveling the world. Just acquiring it cost me a full five hundred taels of silver!"

"And these two martial arts manuals—the Eight Trigrams Eight Extremes Fist and Shadowless Illusionary Steps—these are our Zhu family's ancestral secret arts. Once mastered, splitting mountains and crushing rocks, walking on snow without leaving a trace—none of it is a problem! Out in the world, these are treasures hard to come by even for a thousand gold pieces!"

As he spoke, Zhu Hanwei's spittle flew as he launched into a wild hype.