Chapter 142: The Soul-Sculpting Pill Is Overpowered

Before stepping through the door, Li Dashan gave a specific instruction: do not talk about personal matters, talk only about money. Hearing this, Zhang Chu felt relieved. Anything that could be solved with money was not a problem at all.

Inside the private room, there was only one person. He looked to be in his forties, with a square face, dark skin, and dressed in a simple, practical windbreaker. A gleaming broadsword lay on the table. It was clear at a glance that this man was a mercenary who spent his life in the hunting grounds.

"Brother Lu, this is the person I recommended. He's one of us and reliable." Li Dashan was very respectful toward Lu Liukuan.

Zhang Chu had never heard of Lu Liukuan, but judging by his aura, he was a Level 6 Dual-Force Warrior. For a mercenary group led by a Dual-Force Warrior to be based outside of Binzhou, he had to be someone on the Continental Mercenary Rankings.

"I have no interest in knowing your name. Outside of the martial artist black market, I have no interest in other places or other people in Binzhou." Lu Liukuan stated his intentions immediately.

Such a person was impressive to Zhang Chu. Decisive, calm, rational, and above all, not gossipy—it truly fit the temperament of a high-level mercenary group. Zhang Chu was currently burdened with the identity of the "Light of Binzhou," and while reselling pills on the black market was a trivial matter, it would be quite annoying if it were blown out of proportion.

"I have no interest in you either; I am only interested in your channel for Spiritual Realm pills."

"Inspect the goods."

Zhang Chu had done his homework before coming. The pills used by Spiritual Realm practitioners to improve their daily strength were called "Spirit-Shaping Pills." Given his currently certified martial artist rank, he had no way to access the "Spiritual Realm Practitioner" permissions through the official Martial Artist Mall, but he had seen screenshots on the gossip section of the martial artist forums. The official price for a 1-star Spirit-Shaping Pill was 30 million.

In this day and age, the wealthy rely on money for cultivation, while the poor rely on mutation. Zhang Chu relied on diversified development.

"1-star Spirit-Shaping Pill, comes with a Martial Artist Mall anti-counterfeit code. Feel free to inspect."

Lu Liukuan did not waste time, taking a small white box from his storage ring. He opened it. Inside lay a purple pill the size of a little finger, along with an anti-counterfeit card. Zhang Chu scanned the code to verify it. It was indeed from the Martial Artist Mall, complete with a production date.

"Name your price."

Dealing with someone so straightforward was easy. It was purely a matter of supply and demand, with no personal emotions involved.

"80 million per pill, fair and honest."

Lu Liukuan gave a flat rate, his tone crisp, leaving no room for negotiation. Beside him, Li Dashan’s head was buzzing. Paying 80 million for a single 1-star Spirit-Shaping Pill—you had to be either incredibly stubborn or incredibly wealthy.

"I'll take a dozen to start."

Zhang Chu tossed a bank card onto the table. "There are ten billion in there."

Hearing the mention of ten billion, Li Dashan nearly collapsed to the floor. He had never seen so much money in his life, yet Zhang Chu spent it as if it were pocket money.

"The 'Light of Binzhou' is indeed different." Even Lu Liukuan couldn't help but take an extra look at Zhang Chu. After verifying that the card indeed contained ten billion, he pushed a storage ring across the table. "I didn't bring much inventory with me. This is 30 pills. The rest can be paid in monthly installments over the next year. How about that?"

"Deal."

Zhang Chu transferred the Spirit-Shaping Pills from the storage ring into his own. "Same time next month, in this room. Uncle Li will handle the coordination."

Lu Liukuan did not say another word, stood up, and left. The ten-billion-dollar transaction had taken only five minutes. In other words, money really did not last long; he had spent ten billion in five minutes, leaving only 20 billion on his card. Zhang Chu felt truly distressed.

"Little Chu, where did you get so much money?" Li Dashan asked in astonishment after Lu Liukuan had left.

"Uncle Li, I'll explain everything in detail later. I have some business to attend to, so I'll be going now."

Zhang Chu couldn't wait to go back and test the Spirit-Shaping Pill. For safety, he returned to Xishayuan. He entered, took off his shoes, and impatiently took out a Spirit-Shaping Pill. He gathered his courage and swallowed it. The pills used by Spiritual Realm practitioners were incredibly powerful; he wondered if his system could handle it.

Five minutes passed—nothing. Ten minutes passed—still nothing. Zhang Chu lay on his bed, his composure beginning to crumble. Had he spent ten billion on a pile of useless junk?

Just as Zhang Chu was about to give up, a white pop-up window appeared before his eyes: "Ding! Detected that the host has consumed one 1-star Spirit-Shaping Pill. Martial power +10,000, Mental energy +10,000."