The long-haired man unhurriedly sat back down in the chair before the counter, certain Yan Qing would agree.
He had asked a master from his family to make an exact replica of this card.
Neither the material nor the design differed from the genuine article in the slightest.
"Go on, what do you want?"
Yan Qing studied the man across from him with amusement. This sort was the most ruthless when it came to extortion.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Li Qiankun from Class One, third year.
"I'll open the skylight and speak plainly. Your business is already the hottest in the outer court. Heh, you really are capable."
"As far as I know, you're still a first-year."
"Do you know how many people have their eyes on you? Working with our team is your only way out."
"I'm not asking for much. A forty-percent stake, and our team will protect your shop."
Demanding a forty-percent stake right off the bat-Yan Qing had no intention of saving him any face. He sneered.
"Thank you for your kind offer, senior, but I'll pass on the partnership.
"Since you've brought it up, though, give me your team's roster.
"Next time you visit our little shop, whatever you buy, you'll all enjoy a special price of ten times the original."
"At least you know what's-fuck!"
"You're screwing with me!"
Li Qiankun's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Not wanting to waste any more words, Yan Qing took out a soul guidance screen.
It displayed the design for the helmet cards.
"We only issued six cards in this batch, numbered one through six.
"You brought a fucking card numbered seventeen thousand two hundred to redeem? Who the hell are you trying to fool?"
"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
Humiliated into fury, Li Qiankun's Soul Power surged, and he was on the verge of attacking.
Yan Qing took out another screen. Bullet comments in all sorts of colors streamed across it, and the main figures on-screen were just barely recognizable.
They were the two of them.
"A friendly word of advice, senior. The moment you tried to redeem that full set of Battle Armor just now,
"our little shop thought it was a perfect publicity opportunity and started livestreaming.
"Look, there are even a bunch of people sending me rocket gifts to slap you."
Li Qiankun eventually fled in disgrace, but this also sounded an alarm for Yan Qing.
His business still had plenty of loopholes. If someone deliberately tried to bring him down, it really would be difficult to handle.
Fortunately, the semester was nearly over, giving him ample time to upgrade his business model.
With the holidays approaching, final exams were inevitable.
Their content was downright deranged, too.
They had to travel from Shrek City to Mingdu within half a month, stopping in at least ten cities.
In every city, they had to defeat an opponent at least five levels above themselves.
That was very unfriendly to Yan Qing.
With his level-forty-five Soul Power, he would have to fight opponents at Soul King rank or above.
The difficulty of fighting a level forty-five at level forty was completely different from fighting a level fifty at level forty-five.
Upon reaching Soul King rank, one could operate Battle Armor, bringing their combat strength close to that of a Soul Saint.
Yan Qing's own Battle Armor had blown up, and his new Spirit Alloy model had yet to be made.
The members of Class One gathered to discuss the upcoming final exams.
Tang Wulin even invited Yan Qing to go with him, only to be decisively refused.
What a joke!
Every time Tang Wulin took a Soul Guidance Train, something happened.
If Yan Qing really boarded with him, there might well be a truckload of Holy Spirit Cult members having a team-building outing aboard.
According to the original plot, Tang Wulin would go looking for the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua on this trip, earn money through forging, and then have Zhen Hua arrange opponents for him.
Yan Qing absolutely could not copy that.
There was no forgetting that Mu Ye, the Body Sect's sect master, was right beside Zhen Hua.
Yan Qing was still using his eyes as his Martial Soul, and it would be easy for his disguise to slip before the sect master.
Class One's two teachers also arrived to read out some rules and precautions.
Among them was this: they could not bring anything valuable into the exam, and all their expenses had to be earned themselves.
Wu Changkong expertly removed Yan Qing's Storage Soul Tool, then searched out the eighteen bank cards he had hidden against his body.
"You really won't leave me a single one?" Yan Qing wailed.
"Other than your clothes and identification, you won't be taking so much as a hair."
Impartial and unyielding, Wu Changkong sent his disciples out the door after stripping them penniless.
Now Yan Qing had no choice but to think about how to make money. After half a year of hard work, he had briefly been reset to zero again.
Tang Wulin would earn his first pot of gold through forging, while Xu Lizhi could sell steamed buns.
Gu Yue and Ye Xinglan simply went out onto the streets to rob people.
Yan Qing could only put his thorough knowledge of Douluo to work.
He thought back carefully, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
He would have to brave the danger!
The moment the exam began, Yan Qing headed straight for Shrek City's train station.
He found a secluded spot in the waiting area, quickly sat down, and began waiting for that familiar figure to appear.
Before long, the Little Golden Dragon King arrived at the Soul Guidance Train station with excitement in his eyes and headed straight into a train of his choosing.
Tang Wulin had visited the Blacksmith Association before coming here.
Naturally, he arrived later than Yan Qing, who had come straight over.
Yan Qing decisively followed Tang Wulin, slipping onto the same train.
During the familiar queue for ticket inspection, Tang Wulin stood ahead, with Yan Qing following three paces behind him.
To profit from his information advantage, he had to follow the Little Golden Dragon King. Yan Qing remembered that several upcoming plot events could earn him a fortune.
The danger was that this Soul Guidance Train was guaranteed to spawn Evil Soul Masters.
But after weighing things up, Yan Qing concluded that the enemies spawning this time were not strong. With his strength, he could handle them without a problem.
Not knowing the outcome made it gambling.
Knowing the outcome made it investing!
He was going all in!
"Hello, please show me your ticket."
The attendant approached Tang Wulin and spoke gently.
Yan Qing saw an almost imperceptible blush briefly cross Tang Wulin's face.
Everyone's pockets had been emptied clean before they left.
Between the two of them, they did not even have half a ticket.
"A snake!"
Tang Wulin cried out, swiftly drawing the attendant's attention.
The moment everyone turned around, Tang Wulin seized the chance to run inside.
A snake as long as an arm had coiled up in a corner of the train at some point, making the passengers scream repeatedly.
Having successfully entered the carriage, Tang Wulin was somewhat surprised.
It had only been his excuse to dodge the fare, yet by sheer chance he had actually warned them about a snake.
Tang Wulin did not know that Yan Qing had created a snake with his Simulation Soul Skill to cover for his lie, then swaggered inside himself along the way.
Most Soul Guidance Train passengers were ordinary people, and their spiritual power was generally low.
Yan Qing's Simulation could run roughshod over everyone here.
He found an empty seat and sat down, looking around. Sure enough, he spotted the person he was looking for.
The corners of Yan Qing's mouth curved faintly upward. He quickly finished writing a note and handed it to the attendant beside him.
After taking the note, the attendant slowly furrowed her brows, picked up her radio, and said a few words.
Before long, two train security guards approached Tang Wulin, one from the front and one from behind.
"Kid, please show us your ticket."
Tang Wulin was soon hauled off the train.
Yan Qing hid his face behind a newspaper and silently said, Sorry about this, bro Tang.
Ahem, dodging the fare was wrong to begin with.
His main reason for reporting Tang Wulin was that an incident would occur on the train shortly.
If Yan Qing took action, Tang Wulin would inevitably recognize him.
It would be no good at all if that disrupted his later arrangements.