“I think Miss Joanna already has a clear idea of whom she should cooperate with.”
I held my wine glass, swirling the red wine inside, and gently clinked it with Cluru.
The elegant and composed demeanor stood in sharp contrast to Yun Muchen’s wild, spiky hair.
“The Lancelot Family admires strength. Please allow me to sincerely express my respect to you and your behind-the-scenes Pharmacist,” Joanna lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed gracefully. “However…”
She still looked hesitant and conflicted. “I need to know if Xianlu Magic Potion Shop has found a way to encrypt its formulas. If not, I must be frank—Xianlu Magic Potion Shop’s advantage will soon be completely lost. Your competitors will replicate your techniques and use their vast resources to crush you, leaving Xianlu Magic Potion Shop without a single market share.”
“You’re worrying too much,” I sipped the wine, forcing myself not to show the expression that screamed, “What the hell is this! This stuff tastes horrible, so spicy! Grapes are supposed to make sweet wine, not this!” Instead, I smiled calmly and said, “Of course, we’ve already done our due diligence in confidentiality.”
“Are you sure?” Joanna expressed doubt. “Also, are you certain that Xianlu Magic Potion Shop has the strength to protect a secret breakthrough that surpasses even Nobel Prize theories? Researchers of this caliber inevitably attract forces beyond your imagination.”
“Absolutely. In fact, do you think we couldn’t keep the double-strength potion formula a secret? It’s just unnecessary. We had already developed the triple-strength formula by then.”
I shrugged. “There was no need to encrypt the double-strength formula… but I never expected someone to throw tons of money into researching and trying to replicate it. Tsk, tsk—what a disaster! A total disaster!”
Yun Muchen couldn’t hold it in anymore.
His wildly tousled hair trembled.
Because what I said was true—the Mu Family had poured hundreds of millions into rapidly developing the double-strength potion and cracking its formula.
After finally deciphering it, they reinvested hundreds of millions to push the effect further to 2.3 times potency.
After painstakingly developing the 2.3 times formula, they spent more hundreds of millions on secrecy measures to prevent leaks.
Once the secrecy was secured, they promptly placed massive orders for medicinal materials from the Lancelot Family—enough to fill a ten-thousand-ton freighter, worth several hundred million.
Then came the costs of marketing, events, logistics, and all sorts of expenses… yeah, easily a few hundred million.
The Mu Family was mentally prepared to launch a new product that would shock the world.
Then—
Xianlu Magic Potion Shop released the triple-effect attribute potion instead~~
Anyone’s morale would collapse!
This was no longer a mere underdog’s provocation against the Mu Family; it was like pouring sulfuric acid on the Mu Family’s very foundation!
The problem was enormous!
Joanna gave me a teasing look, then glanced at Yun Muchen.
“I’m optimistic about you, but unfortunately, you seem to have provoked a powerful existence you shouldn’t have,” Joanna shrugged. “You might not know yet, but in the business world, there’s a move called—if I can’t beat you, I’ll flip the table. You think your talent can force great families to bow? They won’t. They’ll make you disappear, and your disappearance will be perfectly natural—no one will suspect them.”
“Thanks, I’ve already experienced that.”
Even a last-minute flight plan was tracked… The Mu Family’s omnipresence exceeded my expectations.
Their vested interests have hooked up with professionals across all fields, capable of striking from any unpredictable angle.
“Come with me. Leave here. The Lancelot Family can protect you and your Pharmacist,” after the intimidation, Joanna finally revealed her true purpose. “The Lancelot Family is separated from here by a sea. If you stay, my family can’t help or protect you. But if you come with me, no one in this world can harm you.”
“Ha! No thanks, Little Princess,” I laughed and declined. “Do you know how long I waited to get back here? Things are just getting interesting—I’m not leaving.”
“Foolish and arrogant madman,” Joanna frowned. “When you die, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
“Thanks for the concern, but it’s unnecessary… Anyway, I need a lot of medicinal materials that can’t be found here. If the Lancelot Family is willing to sell me potions, I’d be very happy.”
“You haven’t passed the Lancelot Family’s test yet,” Joanna glanced at the date. “If you survive for three months, I’ll consider cooperating… but unfortunately… you greatly underestimate the winner.”
“Is that so?”
“By the way,” Joanna’s gaze shifted to the Dragon Scale on the table, a flicker of longing in her eyes.
Just one scale could block the storm and heat unleashed by her dragon!
That filled her with a profound sense of frustration.
It was the first time in her life she felt such frustration!
And it made her even more curious about the owner of this Dragon Scale.
So curious that it practically itched inside her heart! She wished she could snatch it away by force!
“How much are you selling this scale for?” Joanna’s intense, fiery gaze locked onto me.
I flipped my hand and pocketed it.
“This is not for sale.”
I still need it to forge my magic weapon.
Everyone can contract two kinds of Xianling: biological and artifact.
I’ve only ever contracted the biological Qilin, never a weapon.
It’s like fighting barehanded all this time.
My strength is barely half what it could be.
It’s time to get a decent magic weapon.
“Sell it to me! Fifty million!” Joanna clenched her teeth and blocked my way.
Her expression was as if I wouldn’t be allowed to leave unless I sold it.
“This is a matter of principle. The Dragon Scale is still useful to me.” I shook my head, trying to sidestep.
But the little lady circled back again.
“Five hundred million!”
“? Do you always raise your price by adding zeros one by one when buying stuff?”
“Will you sell it or not?”
“Nope~”
Joanna gritted her teeth.
“Five billion!!!”
“I still have about twenty thousand scales left. How about you take them all? Fifty billion per scale. I can peel one off for you in a couple of days and send it over. It might look a little bald, but I don’t think it will mind. Twenty thousand times fifty billion, let me do the math…”
Damn, too many digits, my fingers aren’t enough.
“???”
Joanna’s gaze grew even more fanatical. “You know the True Dragon?”
“Otherwise, do you think this scale is just green paint on a plate?” I tapped the Little Princess’s forehead. “No matter how much you offer, you’re not getting it.”
It’s not that I don’t want to make that money—it’s that this scale is the crystallization of my magic form’s spiritual power. Too far away from me, it vanishes.
If the Little Princess saw the scale disappear out of thin air, she’d probably roast me with a dragon’s breath.
If I cooperate with the Lancelot Family, selling potions will bring far more profit than tens of billions, plus I can get the cultivation materials I need.
No need to offend the Little Princess for such a pittance.
“If fate brings us together, it can’t be forced.”
I linked arms with Cluru, formed a hand seal.
Flash Step!
Goodbye!
Back in the hotel room, Cluru and I reverted to our original forms, holding our bellies as we laughed heartily.
Thinking of that arrogant brat from childhood, and my messy punk hairstyle just now, I couldn’t stop laughing.
“I get it now—why you rely on playing the fool in dreams to relieve stress.”
Seeing the Mu Family eat humble pie, Cluru kicked her little feet into the air as she laughed.
“Right? Pretending to be cool is so satisfying!” I boasted. “Next time we meet your siblings, cousins, and so on, let’s team up and give them another combo blow to really spice things up!”
“So bad!”
“There’s even worse!”
After all the trouble I went through to find my way back, I definitely want to enjoy all sorts of positions!
Mu Family, Mu Family, and my lovely relatives—don’t surrender too quickly!
On the soft big bed, Cluru and I rolled around laughing until midnight, discussing the details of our recent operation.
It felt like playing a thrilling comeback match with friends, the excitement making us able to discuss the replay for a whole year.
The quiet night.
It seemed to fill two withered corners of our hearts.
Yet the girl was completely unaware.
Because we reviewed the battle too late last night, Cluru and I went to bed quite late.
The Foundation Establishment Stage doesn’t demand much sleep; three hours of meditation daily fully restores us.
But out of habit, we curled up together and fell asleep without realizing it.
The college entrance exam was over; we had nothing to do, our Industry of Destiny lifted, so we slept in until midday~
At noon, exhausted Xinyue knocked on the door as she returned from driving school, unleashing complaints about the school year.
“That’s not a coach, that’s an emperor!”
“My mom never cursed at me like that!”
“Wuwuwu—”
Class Leader had us pinned to the bed on both sides, fake crying softly.
“How did he curse you?” I was curious.
“Super nasty! Like, ‘Are you a pig?’ ‘Even pigs drive better than you!’ ‘Dear, please let me switch to another driving school!’ ‘Step on the brakes! Step on the brakes! Step on the brakes! Ew!’ ‘This is the last car in our driving school.’ ‘Ah—! My foot! I’m not even on the car yet!!!’”
“?”
I felt like the coach was the real victim…
My EQ warned me to not ask further.
Luckily, Xinyue changed the topic.
“Egg University has already started early enrollment for freshmen. Should we go check it out today, maybe get some paperwork done?”
“Sure.”
We had nothing else to do anyway. Since we were in Tianhai City, might as well visit Egg University.
–
At the same time, Egg University.
A piercing alarm shattered the campus’s tranquility.
“Oh no! Another accident in the lab!”
“Professor Baba is at it again?! Level three alarm… Death-level warning! Resentful Ghost escape?”
“And it’s a ghost-type?!”
“Quick, to Qilin Temple! Call the Exorcist Master!”
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