Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Zero-Dollar Purchase

Jade Dew Hall.

Early the next morning, Fang Chen arrived at the hall along with nearly fifty classmates from Jinchuan Seventh University and the original Three Greats. The moment they reached the entrance, the group was stunned by the sight before them. Though called a pharmacy, its scale and grandeur rivaled that of a massive shopping mall. It boasted four floors, each spanning over three thousand square meters, instantly making the students from Jinchuan City feel like country bumpkins.

The group entered with a sense of awe. They found the interior already bustling with young Martial Artists in various attires, all clearly from other cities and preparing for the second round of the martial exam. Fang Chen scanned the directory at the entrance and quickly understood the layout: the first floor was the resource area for the True Martial Realm, while the second floor and above were dedicated to High Martial Realm resources.

Wang Pan, Wu Jun, and Ren Lei huddled together to look at the directory. Unable to hold back, Wang Pan stopped a hurried staff member and asked with a glimmer of hope, "Excuse me, where can Martial Artists below the True Martial Realm go to buy enhancing medications?"

The staff member rolled his eyes impatiently, his tone laced with obvious contempt. "Below the True Martial Realm? Ordinary Martial Artists? There are no specialized Enhancing Potions for Ordinary Martial Artists. Figure out how to train to the True Martial Realm on your own, and then come back!" He then hurried away.

Wang Pan was left speechless. "This..."

Wu Jun’s face paled. "What do we do then? If we can’t improve, but our classmates in the True Martial Realm can use the resources here to surge forward, aren’t we just stuck in a rut? The gap is going to get even bigger!"

Ren Lei sighed mournfully, "It’s over. We’re done for. There’s no way we’ll pass the second round now."

They instinctively looked at Fang Chen, but quickly realized that even he couldn’t help them with this. A wave of powerlessness and self-doubt washed over them. They could only blame their own lack of talent for failing to break through sooner.

Standing nearby, Fang Chen finally found the answer to a question that had been troubling him for some time after hearing the staff member’s words. He had been wondering why the martial exam didn’t just admit candidates based strictly on combat power, much like how Earth in his previous life admitted students based on test scores—admitting True Martial Artists first, then Ordinary Martial Artists. They had even gone out of their way in the first round to distribute items like Combat Suits and Spiritual Crystal Stones, which could close the gap between the two to some extent. Now, it seemed things really weren’t that simple.

Ultimately, on the path of the Martial Dao, talent was important, but the sheer accumulation of resources mattered even more. Training from an Ordinary Martial Artist to a True Martial Artist and cultivating True Qi was a process of going from zero to one. It required comprehension, a certain level of innate talent, and a bit of luck. But stepping into the True Martial Realm a step ahead of others didn’t necessarily mean one would go further in the long run. Take Fang Chen himself; he had reached the True Martial Realm at sixteen, two years earlier than most. Under normal circumstances, he genuinely held a two-year head start in cultivation.

Yet, for the scions of wealthy and prominent families, the moment they entered the True Martial Realm, their families would immediately supply them with pre-prepared cultivation resources. Qi Blood Needles, Realm-Breaking Pills, and the items he was currently looking at on the shelves—Spirit Crystals to aid in the cohesion and cultivation of True Qi, Vein-Enriched Tea labeled to "clear bottlenecks in the True Martial Realm," and Concentration Incense to calm the mind and assist in comprehension. Once these resources were applied, they could rapidly catch up to or even surpass Fang Chen’s two years of arduous cultivation in a very short time.

Therefore, that slight early advantage was absolutely nothing in the face of a massive disparity in resources. Instead, a family background capable of continuously providing Martial Dao resources proved to be far more crucial. There were, of course, exceptions. Unless one was like Xia Chu, who had awakened a Tier 4 Superpower and possessed extraordinary talent, naturally drawing the attention of the higher-ups who would be willing to invest resources in her cultivation.

The group browsed and asked questions with complicated feelings. The more they learned, the more excited yet heavy-hearted they became. Although the prices of these Elixirs and resources were exorbitant, easily costing tens of thousands, everyone had accumulated some savings from passing the first round of the martial exam. With their families scraping money together, they could barely afford to buy one or two items. And the resulting boost in strength was tangible—it could determine their success or failure in the second round!

Su Zhe was clearly prepared. Coming from a relatively affluent background, he was the first to make a move, acting swiftly as if he feared someone might ask to borrow money from him. He marched straight to the counter and spent 98,000 Zhao Coinage on a "True Martial Realm Cultivation Package." This included a Qi Blood Needle worth twenty thousand, a Realm-Breaking Pill worth thirty thousand, a low-grade Spirit Crystal worth thirty thousand, a serving of Vein-Enriched Tea worth ten thousand, and a box of Concentration Incense also worth ten thousand. The original price was a hundred thousand, so he had managed to save two thousand.

Seeing Su Zhe carrying that small bag of valuable resources, many classmates looked at him with envy in their eyes.

After paying, Su Zhe didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he was guided to the Pharmacist consultation desk on one side of the lobby. A person in a Pharmacist Robe carefully inspected his purchased items, prepared them on the spot, and injected the Qi Blood Needle for him. A staff member then led Su Zhe toward the rear area, where rows of independent, soundproof meditation rooms were specifically provided for customers to cultivate and break through.

Following Su Zhe’s lead, other True Martial Realm classmates with decent financial means gritted their teeth and bought suitable resources. Filled with anticipation, they followed the staff to the meditation rooms, intent on maximizing their strength over the coming week.

In the blink of an eye, out of the nearly fifty people who had arrived together, only Fang Chen and the thirty or so classmates who were still Ordinary Martial Artists remained, wandering aimlessly around the first-floor lobby.

Fang Chen had already broken through to the True Martial Realm Transcendence Level. To him, these Potions and resources were of little use. However, his eyes still carefully scoured the dazzling array of shelves. Just like the purchasing agent list he had seen before, the variety here was even greater. The names were myriad, but their effects boiled down to simple functions: permanently increasing strength, enhancing physical toughness, and raising resistance to various types of damage—Fire Resistance, Poison Resistance, lightning resistance, freezing resistance, and even a rare Spirit Resistance Potion.

Two of these items tempted Fang Chen the most. The first was called Bright Eyes Clearing Spirit Liquid. The instructions stated that if used by a True Martial Realm Martial Artist—applied as drops into and around the eyes three times a day for three consecutive days—it could significantly improve eyesight. Not only would it enhance visual acuity, but it would also boost dynamic visual tracking, providing an immense advantage for observation in combat. It would even double the efficiency of cultivating Pupil Arts in the High Martial Realm later on!

The other item was the Potion he had been dreaming of, one that could elevate his Spiritual Power—the Concentrating Spirit and Nourishing Soul Powder! Ever since he had acquired Spiritual Power during the dream realm incident, he had struggled to find a way to improve this ability. Now, the appearance of the Concentrating Spirit and Nourishing Soul Powder gave him hope!

Just then, a staff member finally approached them. A professional smile hung on his face, but his tone carried an almost imperceptible hint of urgency. "Sirs, are you looking to buy anything? If you don’t need anything at the moment, you can head outside to the rest area; we have benches prepared. Peak hours are about to begin, and we need to keep the lobby clear." freⅇ

The words sounded polite, but it was practically an eviction order. Several classmates looked embarrassed and at a loss for what to do.

Fang Chen, however, wasn’t just wandering idly. First, he was observing the specific application methods of these medications, and second, he was looking for Potions with better cost-effectiveness. He looked at the staff member without immediately responding.

He thought, "Buy? Do I need to buy? I’m going for a damn zero-dollar shopping spree! Enter Time Stop!"

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