Ch 116

Chapter 116 – Selling Pills

Inscription Academy.

"Sis, is this the heavy hammer worth 3.8 million?" Xia Qingli asked curiously.

Xia Qingyan nodded. "That's right, this is the one. I offered five million to buy it from Kang Jing, but that guy refused. So, I had to borrow it from him for research."

"I want to find a heavy hammer for myself. Once I find a suitable one, I won't give up easily. But for Kang Jing to lend it to you… wow, sis, your charm has improved again! That guy is famously immune to love." Xia Qingli smiled playfully.

Xia Qingyan rolled her eyes. "You're thinking too much. You think he lent it to me out of kindness? That jerk is charging me 100,000 a day in rental."

Xia Qingli blinked, then laughed. "Yup, that sounds exactly like something Kang Jing would do!"

"I heard the inscription on this hammer is very powerful — much more than a regular explosive mark. Did Mu Chen create a new type of explosive inscription?" Xia Qingli asked, intrigued.

Xia Qingyan shook her head, her expression turning serious. "No. It looks like Mu Chen combined explosive and compression patterns. After compressing the explosive force, the result is even more powerful."

Xia Qingli narrowed her eyes in surprise. "Mu Chen really can fuse inscription patterns? That's a high-level skill. He's… really unfathomable."

Inscription fusion was considered an advanced technique. Not just anyone could pull it off.

"I don't know what's going on, but Mu Chen seems desperate to raise money lately," Xia Qingyan added thoughtfully.

"He always has a ton of stuff he wants to buy," Xia Qingli muttered.

Just then, a tutor entered and said, "I heard that those damaged inscription weapons have been restored and passed inspection."

Xia Qingyan's face changed. "Is that true? Repairing inscriptions is incredibly difficult. I originally thought Mu Chen's repair of the hammer was just a lucky fluke."

The tutor nodded. "Yes. I've confirmed it."

"Are you sure all those weapons were repaired successfully?" Xia Qingli asked seriously.

"They say the Zhenbao Pavilion issued certification. All the restored inscriptions have been verified," the tutor confirmed.

"In that case, I have to go take a look." Xia Qingyan stood up immediately.

—

Elsewhere…

"Hey! Fu Yuanbao is holding an auction!" Lou Ruoyi rushed into the dorm holding a flyer.

"Fu Yuanbao? That fat guy? What's he selling?" Bai Le asked curiously.

"Inscribed magic weapons. The same kind Ye Shi sold earlier today. All of them had failed inscriptions but have now been restored," Lou Ruoyi explained.

"I heard restoring inscriptions is extremely hard. Are you saying all these items on the flyer were fixed?" Mi Xue asked, skeptical.

"The flyer says every item passed inspection by the Academy's Treasure Pavilion, and all inscriptions are certified. It even guarantees unconditional returns if there are any problems," Lou Ruoyi said with a shrug.

"There are so many third-tier magic weapons… that'll sell for a fortune," Bai Le said, green with envy.

"Probably at least 30 million. If I had that many yuan stones, I couldn't even spend them in a lifetime." Lou Ruoyi bit her lip, eyes full of desire.

Ye Rong sat quietly nearby, listening to the conversation, secretly thinking: Did they really lower the price? If it's only 60 million, that guy Ye Shi is practically giving them away.

"The auction starts tonight!" Bai Le said.

Lou Ruoyi nodded. "Yeah. Seems like Ye Shi is in a rush."

"Why's he in such a hurry? Auctions usually need publicity to get good prices," Bai Le muttered.

"No idea. Maybe he's short on yuan stones," Lou Ruoyi replied.

"What do you mean Ye Shi doesn't have money?" someone else said. "That guy's loaded!"

"Ye Rong, do you know anything?" Mi Xue turned to ask.

Ye Rong smiled softly. "No, I don't."

Mi Xue didn't believe it. Ye Rong had been acting weird lately — as if she was hiding something.

—

Meanwhile, at Ye Shi's courtyard...

"Ye Shi, can you lend me the magic weapons that are going up for auction tonight?" Xia Qingyan asked sweetly, smiling like a flower.

Ye Shi looked at her warily. "No."

"Why not?" Xia Qingyan pouted.

"Because before the auction, the appearance of the weapons is a trade secret. We can't let anyone see them," Ye Shi said seriously.

"Can't you make an exception?" Xia Qingyan blinked pitifully.

She was in her 40s — not young on Earth, but for cultivators, it was still early days. She had a charming appearance and was used to getting her way with a sweet act. Most men would fall for it.

Too bad Ye Shi wasn't most men.

His eyes became even more guarded. Xia Qingyan clenched her teeth in frustration. Is my charm really declining?

"How about this: lend us the magic weapon for one hour, and we'll pay 20,000 yuan stones," Xia Qingli offered.

Ye Shi's eyes lit up. Free yuan stones!

Seeing his reaction, Xia Qingyan became even more depressed. I can't believe I lost to 20,000 yuan stones…

Just as Ye Shi was about to agree, Fu Yuanbao subtly raised three fingers. Ye Shi suddenly remembered — he hadn't bargained yet! What a mistake!

"50,000 yuan stones per hour," Ye Shi declared, holding up five fingers.

Fu Yuanbao's face darkened. This guy's ruthless!

Xia Qingyan glared at Ye Shi. "Fine."

Ye Shi's eyes sparkled. Xia Qingyan sighed. "Where's the item?"

Noticing Ye Shi hesitating, she gritted her teeth and handed him a primordial stone card.

Ye Shi immediately transferred 500,000 yuan stones from it. "One hour only. Any extra time, and you pay more."

Xia Qingyan's expression was dark. How did Jing Chiyan end up with this disciple? And how did Mu Chen find such a partner?

—

At the Danding Pavilion…

The sleepy shopkeeper was leaning against the counter when someone approached.

When he looked up and saw Mu Chen, he instantly perked up. "Young Master Mu! What brings you here?"

Everyone knew Ye Shi was running an auction tonight. Shouldn't Mu Chen be helping? What was he doing here?

Mu Chen tossed a worn cloth bag on the counter. "Exchange these for yuan stones."

The shopkeeper opened it and was stunned. It was full of third-tier medicinal pills — Buyuan, Luning, Qingxin, Qingdu… all rare and high-grade.

There were about fifty pills in total, valued between 100,000 and 300,000 each. Altogether, they were worth more than 10 million yuan stones.

Yet Mu Chen had casually thrown them here in a ragged old bag!

"Young Master Mu, where did you get all these pills?" the shopkeeper asked, shocked.

Mu Chen crossed his arms and said coldly, "Isn't this a pill exchange pavilion? Why are you asking unnecessary questions?"

The shopkeeper laughed awkwardly. "Of course, of course. I'll go get the Pavilion Master to estimate the value."

Mu Chen nodded. "Good."

Just then, Zhuang Yu appeared. "Mu Chen! I didn't expect to see you here."

Mu Chen nodded politely, regretting it immediately.

Zhuang Yu smiled and came over. "What are you doing here? Buying pills? If you want, Lan Ruofeng can buy them for you with a discount."

Mu Chen rolled his eyes internally. Even if Lan Ruofeng gave them to me for free, I wouldn't dare take them.

"No need. I'm not short on pills," he said coolly.

Zhuang Yu frowned. "Come on, Mu Chen. We're classmates — we should help each other."

Mu Chen sighed inwardly. He still doesn't get it. I really don't need your help.

"Zhuang Yu," Mu Chen said coldly, "I think you forgot — I'm an alchemist too."

Zhuang Yu nodded. "Yeah, but you've been focusing on inscriptions. Your alchemy skills must have deteriorated."

Looking at Mu Chen sympathetically, he added, "Honestly, Mu Chen, I think alchemy is the most promising path. You shouldn't give it up just because of some personal grievances."

Mu Chen's forehead twitched. Why does he act like we're so close?

The shopkeeper, meanwhile, had a strange expression. The Pavilion's appraiser had just reported: not only were the pills all top-tier, but they had been refined with different types of spiritual fire, improving their effects.

Different flames? In the entire Xuanfeng Empire, only Mu Chen had multiple spiritual fires.

That meant… Mu Chen refined all these pills himself.

And these were multiple types of third-tier pills!

Most third-tier alchemists could only refine three or four types. In terms of skill, Mu Chen was at least on par with Lan Ruofeng.

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