When the wheel stopped, a flash of golden light streaked before his eyes.
Seeing the red pointer land on the words "Meridian-Opening Pill," Yu Bu'e sprang up in excitement and struck a ridiculously dramatic pose, thrusting one fist toward the sky.
"Jackpot on the first try! The god of luck walks among us!"
He could hardly believe his eyes. There were eight different prizes on the wheel, and he had actually won it!
Was this his luck finally turning around?!
Or had his mental energy interfered with the wheel?
Looking at the little square box that had suddenly appeared on the coffee table, Yu Bu'e opened it with trembling hands.
The instant the box opened, the fragrance of the round pill nestled on the golden lining refreshed his mind and lifted his spirits!
He carefully picked up the pill and examined it closely, taking a deep breath of its scent with a look of delight.
"Ninety-nine percent purity... this is a rare find!"
Looking at the jealousy points remaining on the panel, Yu Bu'e started a second draw without hesitation.
"A cultivation manual would be nice this time!"
When the wheel's pointer landed on the Meridian-Opening Pill again, he froze briefly. He stared at the two identical little boxes on the coffee table in disbelief, then broke into a broad smile.
"Nice! Two in a row! Again!"
Half a minute later, another little box appeared on the coffee table.
"Ha! A hat trick! Sure, you can only take one Meridian-Opening Pill, but even the cheapest costs three or four hundred thousand!"
When the number of little boxes on the coffee table reached four, Yu Bu'e rubbed his forehead.
The good news was that jealousy points kept pouring in while he drew prizes.
He could see the messages scrolling in the panel's lower-left corner.
[Jealousy points from Wu Yang +40] [Jealousy points from Zhao Ziqiang +30] [Jealousy points from Wu Yang +50] [...]
Before he knew it, his jealousy points had reached another round total, enough for him to complete eight draws that day.
"You can always count on your buddies..."
Five minutes later.
Looking at the eight identical boxes on the coffee table, Yu Bu'e could no longer smile.
He couldn't help wondering whether the so-called prize wheel actually contained nothing but Meridian-Opening Pills.
That supposed first-try jackpot had just been a scam...
He really did want a Meridian-Opening Pill, but... not quite this badly!
Meridian-Opening Pills could help martial artists open their spirit meridians. Only after all twelve spirit meridians were open would they truly qualify to cultivate.
Opening all twelve spirit meridians was also a prerequisite for taking the Martial Arts Academy's entrance assessment.
Meridian-Opening Pills were great, but one was enough. He could only sell the rest.
He was desperately short of money, but improving his strength quickly mattered even more.
If only he could exchange the remaining Meridian-Opening Pills for cultivation manuals, talismans, or something along those lines.
"Fair enough... how could I expect every good thing in the world to fall into my lap? Talk about biting off more than I can chew!"
After that sigh, Yu Bu'e adjusted his mindset, took out a Meridian-Opening Pill, and glanced at the family photograph on the bookshelf opposite the sofa.
His father, his mother, his younger sister, and himself-a happy family of four.
A sheet of paper was pasted beside the photograph.
It bore just ten Chinese characters, written in bold, forceful strokes brimming with killing intent, their edges sharp as swords.
"I would raise the Evil-Quelling Saber and slay every demon under heaven."
The Martial Arts Academy was merely a stepping stone. His ultimate goal was to join the Demon-Slaying Army, whose soldiers carried the Evil-Quelling Saber as their standard weapon.
Looking at the ivory-colored Meridian-Opening Pill resting in his palm, smooth as jade, Yu Bu'e tipped his head back and popped it into his mouth.
He had thought the Meridian-Opening Pill was too large and would need chewing, but the instant it entered his mouth, it dissolved into a warm, sweet liquid that slid down his throat.
Smooth on the tongue, straight down the throat!
All he had to do next was wait quietly.
He leaned back against the sofa with his head tilted upward, feeling the warm current moving through his body. Before long, his chest began to heat up, and then the warmth shifted to his lower dantian.
In that state, Yu Bu'e could clearly feel his body temperature rising.
The warm current in his dantian seemed to burst apart, coursing through his meridians before rapidly spreading throughout his limbs and body.
Suddenly.
With a resonant boom from deep within him, Yu Bu'e clearly sensed his internal qi circulating much faster and more freely!
Yu Bu'e's eyes flew wide open. Having already opened eight spirit meridians, he knew exactly what that meant!
Using the method taught in his school's martial arts classes, he quickly examined his body. As his innate qi circulated naturally, he exhaled a breath of stale air.
"Nine..."
Looking at the remaining Meridian-Opening Pills on the table, he couldn't help marveling.
The results were immediate!
But a moment later, he noticed something was off.
"It seems... it hasn't stopped!"
About half an hour later, another muffled boom sounded inside him.
"The tenth spirit meridian!"
Seeing that result, Yu Bu'e felt that every jealousy point he had earned had been worth it!
The Meridian-Opening Pill was proving more valuable by the minute!
He stood and stretched a little, but his body felt unbearably hot. Grabbing a change of clothes, he plunged into the bathroom.
He turned the tap to cold, letting icy droplets fall over his body.
The qi inside him gradually settled, and every muscle and bone felt indescribably refreshed.
When he heard another muffled boom, Yu Bu'e's hand froze midway through drying his hair, disbelief written across his face.
"This... it actually opened three spirit meridians!"
He got dressed, returned to the living room, and checked his internal qi again.
"One Meridian-Opening Pill actually helped me open three spirit meridians in a row. Huh... I guess there's a reason they're so expensive!"
Sitting on the sofa, Yu Bu'e rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Although he hadn't opened all twelve spirit meridians, there was still time before the assessment. If he devoted more time to practicing the Meridian-Opening Fist, combined with the improvement in his aptitude from the Meridian-Opening Pill...
He had a chance! A very good chance!
He opened the system panel again.
His martial aptitude had changed from "Unremarkable" to "Outstanding."
But that wasn't what truly interested Yu Bu'e.
[Martial arts mastered: Meridian-Opening Fist (beginner)]
"The system said jealousy points could be used to instill martial arts knowledge as well as draw prizes. If I improve my proficiency in the Meridian-Opening Fist, could I get twice the results with half the effort?"
His gaze suddenly landed on the pile of boxes on the coffee table, and an idea flashed through his mind.
Yu Bu'e stood and opened the boxes on the coffee table one by one.
He took out his phone, found a good angle, and snapped a flurry of pictures before immediately flopping back onto the sofa to draft a Moments post.
"Expert review: Meridian-Opening Pills taste pretty decent. I've had these for ages, but this was my first time trying one. I accidentally took out too many, though. Oh dear, I'm such an innocent little airhead!"
After posting it to Moments, he tidied the room a little and made himself dinner.
By the time he started eating, his Moments post had already blown up.
On top of that, a whole bunch of messages had appeared on WeChat.
He checked the comments first. The very first was from Wu Yang.
"Yu, you've hit the jackpot! That many Meridian-Opening Pills?"
"Yu Bu'e, those Meridian-Opening Pills aren't fake, are they?"
"LOL, I took a Meridian-Opening Pill back in ninth grade. What's so special about that?"
"..."
Most of those comments came from his schoolmates.
Despite what they said, the jealousy points continuously scrolling across the blue screen proved they didn't mean a word of it.
He had planned to reply to a few messages, but video calls started coming in one after another, so he simply turned off his phone.
Gotta dodge the freeloaders!
Looking at his current jealousy-point total of [840], Yu Bu'e felt a little regretful.
He should have added more people on WeChat.
But when his gaze returned to the Meridian-Opening Pills, one corner of his mouth suddenly curled upward.
A plan that could easily get him beaten to death sprang to mind!
Before you continue