Chapter 213: I Think I Can't Stay Low-Profile Anymore (2)
Xia Huyou did not ask anything else. He said, "Infinite Strength mountainbreak bull blood essence...I'll try to gather some for you. The academy's price is 15 merit points per drop..."
"That's too expensive." Su Yu interrupted him, "Don't charge me based on the academy's price."
"That is only natural." Xia Huyou smiled, "How about this, I'm still interested in having you as a long term customer. I'll give you a special price of 13 merit points per drop. That is totally worth it."
"Too expensive."
"It's really not!" Xia Huyou explained, "Killing a single Infinite Strength mountainbreak bull will get you no more than 10 drops of blood essence. The mountainbreak bull is a top 100 race. There is also the need for extraction, preservation, transportation, and all sorts of labor costs. 13 merit points per drop is really not expensive.
"In fact, even the academy's price is already quite cheap. If you buy outside the academy, it's more expensive at 20 merit points per drop. And even at that price, you might not be able to get any.
"It's not like you have never bought outside the academy before. You should be aware that the academy's price is already discounted. As for black market dealers like me, to speak the truth, we're mostly in this to dispose of things that we can't sell on the official channels. That's why the black market prices are always cheaper."
Su Yu was astonished, "There are actually things the Xia Family can't sell on the official channels?"
Xia Huyou smiled, "Well, this doesn't apply to the Xia Family, but it does apply to the others."
He was afraid that Su Yu wouldn't understand so he explained more, "Think about it. We aren't the only ones that can go to the Allheaven Battlefield. Some people can directly extract the blood essence of the enemies they kill and return with the blood essence. But according to the rules, anything you gain from killing the myriad races needs to be recorded and taxed...
"That is understandable since the military needs to keep running. Those lone experts can only move so comfortably in the battlefield thanks to the presence of the military, right?"
Su Yu nodded. He had not thought of that before, but he finally understood.
His eyes flickered as he said, "You mean that some people have smuggled some things back without paying the tax?"
"Exactly." Xia Huyou nodded, "In truth, the military turns a blind eye to this a lot of the time. After all, life is not easy for everyone. It is never a bad thing to have an expert going to the battlefield and killing more enemies. Thus, the military mostly sets their eyes on the bigger trade firms, such as those from our Xia Family or the other prefectures.
"As for the lone travelers, the military mostly leaves them alone. However, there is a rule put in place forbidding them from selling their gains to others. They are only allowed to use what they get for their own cultivation. Otherwise, the trade firms that have been taxed would not be happy."
Once again, Su Yu nodded in understanding. The rules were quite reasonable. By killing enemies in the battlefield, one had still contributed to humanity. Thus, one could use the gains for one's own cultivation or even on one's family.
But if one started selling what they gain from the battlefield without paying taxes, the trade firms that had been taxed for the privilege of doing so would be unhappy.
The market would be disrupted as the person who had not been taxed could afford to sell at a much lower price. That would eventually result in a reduction of the taxes the military could collect. And once the military started getting unstable, things could potentially grow even more troublesome.
Thus, these people could only sell through the black market. This was illegal. There was nothing one could say if one lost their products to a raid. Because of that, the various prefectures enjoyed raiding these black markets every now and then.
Su Yu nodded. He even guessed that the Xia Family was probably not in the black market for money. They were probably only there to get a better idea of the market movement. For example, when some lone cultivators took out some precious resources, the Xia Family would be able to find out immediately.
At that thought, Su Yu asked, "There are lone cultivators in the Allheaven Battlefield as well?"
"Of course." Xia Huyou said, "Not everyone there is part of the military. As long as you file the proper paperworks and register yourself, you can enter the battlefield at any time. But the casualty rate of lone cultivators is very high. That place is too chaotic and there are too many experts around."
Su Yu was tempted. If lone cultivators could go as well, then...
Xia Huyou knew about Su Yu's situation so he could guess what Su Yu was thinking about. He said, "Don't even think about it. Reach the Skysoar Realm first. As a lone cultivator, if you aren't even a Skysoar, you can't even escape when you encounter danger. But if you're a Skysoar, you can at least escape faster."
"I understand." Su Yu nodded, "The Infinite Strength mountainbreak bull blood essence might not be as effective as the Great Strength blood essence. I'll buy it for 10 merit points per drop."
"Su Yu, you should at least let me earn something, right? Why must you make me sell at cost each time?"
Su Yu ignored the fatty. After some calculations, he said, "If you agree, I'll get 60 drops from you for 600 merit points. Xia Huyou, think about this. I'm only a third-stage Great Strength yet I'm already buying things worth thousands of merit points. Perhaps at the Infinite Strength Realm, I might even buy more from you."
"As for the students that are richer than me, they have no lack of these resources. As for those lacking these resources, they can't afford them. Thus, I am the best customer you can find. I'm an even better customer than those freaks. They have powerful families and experts behind them. Would they need to buy what they need through you? People like me are the main customers of the black market."
Xia Huyou laughed. That was right. Su Yu saw things clearly. 600 merit points. This could truly be considered a big transaction.
As for the others, the ones with money didn't lack these resources while those who lack these resources didn't have the money to buy them.
"Fine. Su Yu, I see you as a friend. Since you're saying all this, I'll invest in your future. I hope I can earn a lot in the future. I'll try to get 60 drops for you for 600 merit points."
Xia Huyou sighed and continued, "This is such a big loss for me. I'm selling the Infinite Strength blood essence to you at the price of Great Strength blood essence."
"Thank you."
Su Yu heaved a breath of relief.
Xia Huyou was a businessman and saving 300 merit points at one go was a big deal.
If he used a drop per day, the blood essence he bought this time would last him two months. His cultivation speed should increase significantly since he could use the mountainbreak bull blood essence for two months straight.
"It would be even better if I could cultivate in the grotto..."
At that thought, he asked, "What do I need to enter the Source Qi Secret Grotto?"
"At least 100 total earned merits and 100 merit points per entry. Have your total earned merits reached 100?"
"Yes."
Su Yu nodded. The merit points he got from placing first in the monthly examination could be counted as part of his total earned merits. The merit points from his position as the class monitor counted as well. Naturally, the monthly payment he received as a high-high genius would not count. After all, that was only considered a subsidy while the position of a class monitor and his monthly examination result were considered tasks completed.
With all that added together, his total earned merits had surpassed 100 points. He suspected that very few of the new students had earned that many total earned merits.
Sure enough, Xia Huyou said with envy, "That's so fast. At the Source Opening and Great Strength Realms, there aren't a lot of opportunities to increase our total earned merits. I only have 56 points now so I can't even enter the grotto. Not many of our classmates have enough points to enter either. Not even Xia Chan has earned 100 total earned merits. But I reckon after a month or two, a lot of them would earn enough from the monthly exams."
Of course, the premise for that was that they needed to do well in the examinations. Without getting into the top 10, one would not be rewarded.
Thus, Su Yu was probably the only new student that could enter the grotto for now. The biggest factor allowing him to enter so early was the 42 merit points he had earned during his journey to the academy.
Su Yu did not say anything but a few new thoughts appeared in his mind. He was going to have 346 merit points, 60 drops of Infinite Strength mountainbreak bull blood essence, and several drops of iron-winged bird blood essence.
Although he wouldn't be able to progress as much as before, he would still be able to cultivate quickly in the Source Qi Secret Grotto. His previous visit was different as he had made use of the momentum from his breakthrough to grow rapidly. But even without the help of a breakthrough, he would still be able to grow much faster in the grotto.
"I also need to be careful and try to enter when there is nobody in there. I will be able to enter three times."
Su Yu did not intend to spend too much of his time opening acupoints, so doing so in the Source Qi Secret Grotto was the best option. But he needed to spend a painfully large amount of money to reach the speed he wanted. One could say that he was quite extravagant using 900 merit points in such a manner.
Su Yu was sure that even those freaks would have a hard time taking out so many merit points. As for the people like Chen Qi, the merit points they had taken out were actually the funds their families had prepared for their body forging. That was a one-time support instead of a continuous support.
After all this time, Su Yu had gained more understanding of the large families. They were very realistic.
After giving someone 1,000 merit points to forge their body, if that person failed or achieved a weak result, the family would not reimburse them. Instead, they might even find their support from the family weakening.
These families could be very generous to their own, but they were also capable of being very heartless when they needed to.
"I'm spending a lot without much income..."
Su Yu was troubled. It would seem like after joining this faction, he was fated to be a pauper like his teacher. His previous impression that 1,000 merit points were more than he could spend had been reduced into a joke.
"I need to get into the Top 100 Ranking soon. I also need to keep placing first in the monthly exams. Being a class monitor is not that bad, I suppose. I also need to take part in all sorts of competitions to earn the competition rewards. Also, it would be even better if people could keep losing money to me. Liu Hong is very rich. He has also been targeting me relentlessly. I remember he still has a student. Also, his little brother is probably quite rich as well..."
Su Yu had his eyes set on Liu Hong's people.
Not only that, but there were also Zhou Pingsheng's people and Faculty Head Zhou's people. All those people were assholes anyway. Those were the main figures bullying the multiple character faction!
Su Yu looked at Xia Huyou and said, "Gather some information for me. I want to know everything about Zhou Pingsheng, Liu Hong, Hu Wensheng, and those related to them. Focus on their students and those below the Infinite Strength Realm and early Infinite Strength Realm."
"Huh?" Xia Huyou blanked out slightly, but he soon grew excited. "Are you planning to do a big job? I have an excellent target. Xia Chan! She's Faculty Head Zhou's student so she is the natural enemy of your faction. She is strong and arrogant. If you challenge her, she won't refuse. And she is confident enough to accept a large bet. If you can beat her, you would be rich!"
Su Yu was speechless, "I thought you're from the same family?"
"So what? The Xia Family is big. I'm not from the main branch anyway so why would I care?"
"You still have the guts to start another gambling operation in the academy?"
"Why not? I only need to be careful. Everything will be fine. Su Yu, are you confident in yourself? If you are, I can find you an opponent every single day. If you're too shy to challenge those opponents yourself, it doesn't matter. I can help spread some rumors and make them challenge you instead."
Xia Huyou released a shameless laugh and said, "These fellows are rich. You might as well take their money from them. Like I said, in the academy, you won't be able to establish yourself without being ruthless. Don't feel bad about taking from others. That is how the academy works. The majority of the resources will be concentrated on a small number of geniuses. Even if you don't take these resources, others will take them."
Su Yu exhaled and said, "Gather the information first. I'll decide after that. They won't be too careless against me after I demonstrated my ability to unleash Infinite Strength offensive prowess with blood essence."
"True."
Xia Huyou felt somewhat regretful, but Su Yu was right. The strength Su Yu could gain from using blood essence wouldn't be as reliable as his own strength. The two chatted while walking toward the classroom.
Now that Su Yu had joined the senior class, he no longer went to classes in large groups. The senior class had far fewer students and most of them were staying in the high-level and special zones. Su Yu also couldn't be bothered to try pleasing these prideful fellows. Even if he wanted to, he might not be able to find them in their residences.
"I might need to change my plan..."
Su Yu was feeling rather helpless. He could no longer stay low profile. His strength did not allow that. Or to be precise, his need for merit points did not allow that.