Chapter 17: Upgrading to Rare-Grade Spiritual Medicine (First Update)

Xin Lang immediately opened the level-up device.

At this moment, besides the “Martial Arts and Techniques” and backpack sections, all other areas remained grayed out and unavailable.

Xin Lang tried to upgrade both “Heart-Shattering Dragon Claw” and “Ten Thousand and Eight Palms of Dragon Subduing,” but the prompt appeared: “Unable to upgrade. To advance a common-level martial technique to an earth-level method, it must be merged and upgraded with an earth-level method.”

Earth-level methods are all used in conjunction with dark energy, but Xin Lang was still in the “bright energy” stage of a martial apprentice. Only after reaching the “dark energy” stage of a martial artist could he use earth-level methods. Because earth-level techniques contain the secrets of utilizing dark energy, they are no longer called “martial techniques” but “methods.”

Since martial techniques could not be upgraded further, Xin Lang shifted his focus to upgrading his backpack.

As a level four martial apprentice, Xin Lang had four storage slots unlocked in his backpack. The “Six-Flavored Imperial Dew” and “Lotus Whitening Dew” he had previously stored were already handed over to Old Gu. Only “Flower Lycium Dew” and some herbs remained.

Xin Lang noticed the century-old Polygonum in his backpack.

He placed the Polygonum and all the herbs into one slot, then pressed the upgrade button in the backpack section. The device notified him that there were too many items to upgrade at once, so it couldn’t proceed.

He had to place the century-old Polygonum alone in its own slot and pressed the upgrade button again. This time, the device prompted: “Upgrading rare grade, first rank Polygonum to rare grade, second rank requires 1 experience point. Proceed with upgrade?”

Herbs and medicines, like martial techniques, are divided into four grades: common, rare, treasured, and sacred. Each grade is subdivided into ten ranks.

Upgrading Polygonum from rare grade, first rank to rare grade, second rank meant transforming a century-old Polygonum into a two-century-old one.

“If I upgrade this century-old Polygonum into a millennium-old one, a single root could fetch ten thousand gold coins,” Xin Lang mused.

If that were the case, the five-star main quest seemed almost too easy.

Xin Lang spent 1 experience point, upgrading the rare grade, first rank century-old Polygonum to rare grade, second rank two-century-old Polygonum.

After this upgrade, he had 4 experience points remaining.

Since he had only four points left, with more than twenty days remaining in the month, Xin Lang didn’t rush to upgrade the Polygonum to rare grade, fifth rank, opting to stop at rare grade, second rank.

The next day, by morning, Xin Lang had completed most of his daily tasks.

At noon, Xin Lang left Rising Sun Academy alone and made his way to the renowned pharmacy in Nine Sun City—Nine Ginseng Hall.

Nine Ginseng Hall was a towering nine-story building. Upon entering the ground floor, a clerk approached him, asking, “Sir, are you here for a consultation or to purchase medicine?”

“I’d like to sell some medicine. Do you accept that here?” Xin Lang replied.

“To sell medicine?” Hearing this, a lean middle-aged manager with a goatee strode out from within.

“Manager Sun!” The clerk immediately bowed to the goat-bearded man.

“Hm!” Manager Sun basked in the clerk’s respect, responding coolly, “Get back to your duties.”

“Yes, Manager Sun!” The clerk guided Xin Lang to Manager Sun, then retreated.

“What medicine do you wish to sell?” Manager Sun lifted his chin, asking Xin Lang dismissively.

Seeing Sun’s attitude, Xin Lang frowned slightly but nevertheless produced the two-century-old Polygonum from his belongings.

The moment Manager Sun glimpsed the Polygonum in Xin Lang’s hand, a flash of greed shone in his eyes, though he quickly masked it.

That fleeting change didn’t escape Xin Lang’s notice. He said, “Rare grade, second rank, two-century-old Polygonum. Does Nine Ginseng Hall purchase this?”

Manager Sun scrutinized the Polygonum, then replied, “Two-century-old Polygonum isn’t particularly rare here at Nine Ginseng Hall, so the price won’t be high.”

Buyers always try to lower the price; it’s a standard business tactic. Xin Lang was no stranger to it. He asked, “What price are you willing to offer, Manager Sun?”

“Fifty gold coins, not a coin more!” Manager Sun thought, “This two-century-old Polygonum can easily sell for a hundred gold coins. If I buy it for thirty coins and resell it for a hundred, I'll pocket fifty gold coins.”

“Fifty gold coins? Well, forget it then—I’ll try elsewhere!” Xin Lang’s knowledge of medicine far surpassed Manager Sun’s. He saw through the manager’s cunning at a glance.

Xin Lang put away the Polygonum and turned to leave without hesitation.

Seeing him about to leave, Manager Sun panicked and hurried forward, saying, “Nine Ginseng Hall is the largest pharmacy in Nine Sun City. Our prices are absolutely fair!”

Xin Lang chuckled, “Perhaps yours is the fairest price, but certainly not the highest. If I find a pharmacy that values Polygonum more, this two-century-old root could fetch at least a hundred gold coins.”

In truth, Xin Lang intended to keep the Polygonum for mixing medicines himself, so he wasn’t afraid if they didn’t buy it. If it failed to sell elsewhere, he would simply use it for his own purposes.

Manager Sun hadn’t expected Xin Lang to be an expert. A hundred gold coins was indeed the standard price for two-century-old Polygonum at Nine Ginseng Hall. If he lost this deal, the chief manager would surely reprimand him.

In the end, Xin Lang successfully got his hundred gold coins.

He hadn’t upgraded the Polygonum further, mainly to test whether this method of “cheating” with the level-up device would work.

The rare grade, first rank Polygonum, bought for thirty gold coins, after being upgraded to rare grade, second rank, doubled in price. He instantly earned seventy gold coins. Pleased, Xin Lang checked the completed amount for the five-star main red quest on his device.

“Damn, it really didn’t increase!”

The completed quest money in his device remained at yesterday’s three hundred and eight gold coins; the seventy he’d just earned wasn’t added.

“Hell, looks like cheating like this won’t work! That ten thousand gold coins will have to be earned the proper way.”

Though the seventy gold coins from selling Polygonum didn’t count towards his quest, they were real enough. Xin Lang stashed them in his backpack for daily expenses.

He visited several medium and small pharmacies, bought ingredients for “Lotus Whitening Dew,” and several other rare grade, first rank herbs, spending the three hundred gold coins earned from selling “Lotus Whitening Dew” until he was broke. The quest completion amount reverted to zero.

After finishing his purchases, Xin Lang returned to Rising Sun Academy. Upon entering, he felt as if someone was watching him.

He stayed alert for a long time but found nothing suspicious.

As he neared his dormitory, he saw five intermediate class students crowding around Meng Chuchu, shouting something.

PS: Cabbage promised ten chapters today. Here’s the first! Next chapter at 2 a.m.—see you in two hours! And remember, ten chapters deserve your votes!