Ding Fei's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Why had he gone to such lengths to get on Chen Che's good side?
It was all to save his own skin, wasn't it?
And now, that very person was offering a partnership. This meant he was going to live. Generally speaking, no one wants to kill someone who is valuable to them. If that person's value is high enough, they might even be held in high esteem.
"Alright, you have a deal."
Chen Che discussed the details with Ding Fei. "...Then let's tentatively agree on once every seven days. I'll supply you with the Pills, and we'll settle the previous week's accounts then. How much you make is all up to you. Of course, you could always just take the Pills and run, but I'd think carefully about the consequences if I were you."
"I wouldn't dare!"
Ding Fei swallowed nervously and shook his head again and again. With a chance to live right in front of him, he wasn't about to throw it away. "Don't you worry, Senior. I would never, ever do something like that."
"This is the first batch of Pills."
Chen Che gave a slight nod and took out the Pills one by one.
In addition to the Body Nourishing Pills, there were also the Bone Marrow Supplement Pills he had refined earlier.
Seeing so many Pills, an idea suddenly struck Ding Fei. He asked, "Senior, the Pills you're selling… did you make them yourself, or did you acquire them from somewhere else?"
"Hm?"
Chen Che paused and looked up.
"My apologies, Senior. I spoke out of turn…"
Ding Fei was instantly filled with dread.
"I made them myself."
Chen Che looked away and added casually, "I happen to be an Alchemy Master."
Ding Fei's pupils contracted in utter shock.
Chen Che, however, was pleased with his reaction.
'In this world, hiding one's strength is a means of survival, but there are times when you need to show a little of your potential.'
'As for giving twenty percent of the profits to Ding Fei, is that too much?'
He had considered it before.
He knew he could force Ding Fei to work for him through threats, but the man wouldn't be truly loyal, and problems would inevitably arise over time. However, by luring him with profit, once Ding Fei got a taste of the sweet returns, his loyalty would be assured.
Of course, this approach had few downsides for Chen Che.
After all, he still had school to attend and needed to reserve enough time for Cultivation. He hadn't forgotten that no matter where one was, strength was the ultimate foundation. Getting caught up in the petty profits of the Market would be truly penny-wise and pound-foolish.
"Senior, I had a reason for asking where the Pills came from!"
Ding Fei gritted his teeth and continued, "Since you're a Pill Master, you must be planning to do business in the Market long-term."
"That's right," Chen Che nodded.
"Well, the thing is, the Market might seem chaotic, but it does have its unwritten rules. If you're planning on doing business here for the long haul, it's best to find a patron."
Seeing that Chen Che wasn't annoyed, Ding Fei continued:
"You'd have to give up some of your profits, but it would save you a lot of unnecessary trouble and help you avoid being targeted by competitors. Do you happen to know any disciples from Jinyun Valley?"
Chen Che nodded to himself.
'Bringing him in with a share of the profits was the right move. He's already thinking about future earnings.'
If he wanted to truly establish himself, let alone grow his operation, he would definitely need someone backing him.
"I do know someone."
The image of Hu Yao surfaced in Chen Che's mind. Seeing Ding Fei's delight, he held up a hand to temper his enthusiasm. "But let's not be hasty," he said coolly. "We'll contact him after his search for the Foundation Establishment Ancient Tomb fails."
Anyone can be a fair-weather friend, but it's the support in times of need that truly counts.
If he contacted Hu Yao after he failed in his quest, the offer of help would be taken much more seriously.
...
The next morning, Chen Che arrived at the classroom and found the atmosphere a little strange.
There was a palpable sense of an approaching storm in the classroom.
The usual sight of students gathering in groups to chat was gone. Today, most of them were sitting silently at their desks.
Some were flipping through Magic Books, practicing Seal Techniques based on the diagrams inside, or circulating their True Essence. A number of students had taken over the back of the classroom to practice the True Martial Seventeen Scattering Hands. Even Lin Yi, who usually loved reading novels, was clutching a textbook, mumbling a few phrases, glancing at the book, and then continuing to mumble.
'Right, the combat assessment is today.'
Chen Che suddenly remembered.
"I'm screwed, I'm so screwed… If I fail this test, I'm dead…" A girl burst into tears after realizing she'd messed up the True Essence circulation for the simple Fireball Technique for the third time. The more nervous she got, the harder it was to remember.
"Don't cry. With your current strength, your dad probably couldn't even beat you," her deskmate tried to comfort her.
"WAAAH…"
This comfort, it seemed, was not very effective. The girl only cried harder.
Lin Yi, however, heard this and tossed his Magic Book onto the desk. Noticing Chen Che's surprised expression, he explained casually, "What's the point of cramming? My dad's a mortal. When he tries to hit me, I just use my True Essence to protect myself. It doesn't even hurt. I just have to let out a token yell or two and we're good."
"So jealous!"
Qi Fengzhu put down his calculator, his eyes red with envy.
His dad was a Cultivator. If he scored poorly, he'd get a real beating when he got home. A belt infused with True Essence was excruciatingly painful when you got whipped with it.
His screams could be heard all over the neighborhood.
Seeing Chen Che take his seat, Lin Yi immediately sidled up to him with a grin. "Hey, Chen, during the assessment, remember to go easy on me. Let me last a little longer."
"We don't even know if it's going to be in the Martial Arts Arena or the Void Illusion Realm yet…"
Chen Che thought for a moment before replying, "But Mr. Li was so serious about it earlier. I think it's more likely we're going to the Void Illusion Realm. We're sophomores now, after all."
"…"
Lin Yi's smile vanished.
The Martial Arts Arena meant students would fight each other. It was like having students grade each other's exams—if you were friends, you could go easy on one another.
But in the Void Illusion Realm, that wasn't an option.
The Void Illusion Realm was a practical combat exam arena prepared by the school, and all standards were aligned with the Immortal Sect college entrance exams.
Within the Illusion Realm, all sorts of enemies were randomly generated. Their strength ranged from the Qi Refining First Layer to the Foundation Establishment First Layer across ten stages, equivalent to ten major sections on a written exam. These illusory opponents had no emotions; their sole purpose was to eliminate the students. The students' test was simply to defeat them.
The moment a student "died" in the Void Illusion Realm, they would be immediately ejected from the chamber, and their exam would end.
"Forget it. I'm gonna study a bit more."
Lin Yi gave it a thought and went back to his last-minute cramming.
After all, there was no faking it in the Void Illusion Realm. Your score depended entirely on your survival time, the number of opponents you defeated, and the amount of damage you dealt.
"I'll cultivate for a bit, too."
Chen Che nodded and began circulating the Energy-Introducing Technique, ensuring he would be in peak condition for the exam.
As time went on, the classroom grew progressively quieter, until even the last of the muttering died down.
With five minutes to go before class started, the figures of Li Xiaoshuang and Wei He suddenly appeared at the back window. Seeing the pair, many students who had been holding onto a sliver of hope immediately turned pale. The homeroom teacher and the Martial Techniques instructor showing up together could only mean one thing: they were headed for the Void Illusion Realm.
Lin Yi flopped onto his desk, the will to live draining from his face.
Under everyone's nervous gaze, Li Xiaoshuang stood at the door, cocked his head, and said, "What are you spacing out for? Let's go. Time for the exam!"
...
The Void Illusion Realm was located in the center of the school campus.
It was a pagoda-like tower, standing about seventy-five feet tall.
Bells hung from its eaves, chiming in the breeze and lending the structure an ancient, classical charm.
And this was their examination hall: the Void Illusion Realm.
In front of the entrance stood several Jade screens that shimmered with a brilliant, flowing light.
Chen Che looked up and saw the screens were covered in a dense list of names, each noted with their class and score. At the end of each entry was an arrow indicating if their rank had risen or fallen.
Seeing that many students were eyeing the Jade screens, Li Xiaoshuang, who was in the middle of acquiring authorization for the Void Illusion Realm, announced loudly:
"This is the combat assessment leaderboard for the entire school. All your previous exam scores have been compiled here. If you're interested, you can find your own school-wide ranking and see how you stack up against the upperclassmen."
WHOOSH!
Hearing this, the students immediately surged forward.
Chen Che walked over as well, and among the more than four thousand students listed, he quickly found his own entry.
Name: Chen Che
Class: Sophomore, Class 1
Score: 127 (out of 300)
Rank: 12th in Grade, 982nd in School