Chapter 35 I'm here to make a fortune! Make a fortune!
Inside the Rift Valley.
The air carried a hint of dry, grassy scent, and the jagged rocks cast distorted shadows in the dim light.
In mid-air, a huge, semi-transparent light screen floated, displaying the names of all the cultivators who had entered the secret realm. Each name was followed by a constantly changing number—the real-time updated number of Steel Feather Chicken Spirit Cores they possessed.
At this moment, the names at the very top of the list already have a considerable number of digits, while those at the bottom pitifully have only single digits.
Right there in the Riftwind Valley, where the atmosphere was thick with the tension of the hunt, Shen Zhaozhao was setting up her stall on a relatively flat boulder.
Pei Lang: "..."
Pei Lang looked at the two lines of text: "High price for Steel Feather Chicken Spirit Cores! Honest and fair!" and "100 low-grade spirit stones/core, negotiable for large quantities!" and felt that his already meager worldview was now undergoing an unprecedented and devastating shock.
He was as if pushed by an invisible force, stiffly moving in front of Shen Zhaozhao, his expression very complicated.
After a long silence, Pei Lang blinked his clear yet foolish fox-like eyes, his voice filled with utter bewilderment: "You...you're sure...we can get into the finals with this setup?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhaozhao rolled her eyes at him, her gaze filled with a heartbroken indignation that he was beyond redemption: "Pei Lang, Pei Lang, why haven't you figured things out yet?"
"Did I come here to fight and kill in this rookie competition?"
Can you get rich by fighting and killing?
"I'm here to make a fortune! To get rich!"
Pei Lang: "???"
This person!
What nonsense is she spouting?!
Her goal in coming to the Newcomer Grand Prize wasn't to reach the finals, win the championship, or shock Lingzhou, but to make a fortune?!
Is this reasonable?!
Shen Zhaozhao completely ignored his almost cracking expression, radiating an excited light as if she was about to be hit by a mountain of gold.
She stood up abruptly, jabbing her finger hard at the huge real-time ranking screen in the air. Her voice was so excited it was almost shaky: "Look, how long has it been? Not even an hour? How much has the gap between the top four and the bottom few widened already?"
"Those last few aren't stupid either. They should have realized after coming in and taking a look that they're just cannon fodder, here to be the background for the big shots. What good are the spirit cores they worked so hard to get? Just to exchange them for a few low-grade spirit stones?"
"But now, they have a choice!"
"Instead of holding onto those useless broken stones, why not sell them to me for 100 low-grade spirit stones each? Wouldn't it be better to earn some pocket money?"
Following her train of thought, Pei Lang nodded somewhat bewilderedly, as if... there was some truth to it?
"But... what use are those few spirit cores you're taking?"
"What's the use?"
Shen Zhaozhao's eyes shone brightly, as if she could already see countless spirit stones sprouting wings and flying towards her: "Pei Lang, use your brain. I, the most conscientious middleman in the entire Riftwind Valley, what do I want from these spirit cores?"
"Is it for my own sake to get into the finals?"
"Who am I, Shen Zhaozhao? I'm so kind, I naturally put others before myself."
"Compared to me, those top ten big spenders clearly need them more!"
Her finger precisely pointed to the center of the screen. Although the numbers following those names were climbing, there was still a gap, large or small, between them and fourth place: "These people are different from those at the bottom. They're betting, and they really have a chance to squeeze out that unlucky guy in fourth place and make it to the finals."
"And the closer it gets to the expiration date, the more valuable the spirit cores I have become—they are my hard currency, my lifeline, and my ticket to the finals!"
"Price? It's bound to rise, it could even multiply several times!"
Shen Zhaozhao seemed to be in that dreamlike scene: "Think about it, those cultivators who have already spent a lot of money to buy spirit cores from me, seeing victory in sight, are they willing to let their spent spirit stones go to waste? Are they willing to let newcomers easily push them out?"
"No way! They'll just grit their teeth and keep pushing! They'll buy more spirit cores from me to solidify their advantage!"
"And what about those cultivators who were already in the top four? Aren't they afraid?"
"They're terrified—terrified of being caught off guard and overtaken! To keep their hard-earned qualification spots, they have to come! They'll pay for peace of mind and a sure thing!"
Pei Lang: "..."
He stared, mouth agape, at Shen Zhaozhao, who was lost in a get-rich-quick fantasy and radiating the aura of a "cunning businessman," and felt his language system completely broken.
The air remained dead still for three breaths.
Pei Lang finally found his voice, a dry, weak voice filled with a deep sense of powerlessness towards the world and a final, desperate protest: "...Shen Zhaozhao, thank goodness you cultivate the righteous path, otherwise, I don't even want to imagine what chaos would ensue if Lingzhou fell into your hands..."
However, just as Pei Lang was pressing his forehead, preparing to call his junior brothers to set off, Shen Zhaozhao suddenly grabbed the back of his collar with incredible precision.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Pei Lang, still shaken, turned his head and met Shen Zhaozhao's narrowed almond eyes.
That gaze, like someone picking out a fat sheep at a market, swept over him back and forth, making him feel a chill run down his spine.
He was about to open his mouth, but Shen Zhaozhao didn't give him a chance and forcefully pressed him down again.
Pei Lang was completely stunned. He watched as Shen Zhaozhao's little face, which seemed to say "harmony brings wealth," approached him, her voice carrying a sweet, almost childish tone: "Senior Brother Pei~ Don't rush off~"
Her voice rose at the end, but her eyes were fixed on the flashy storage bag at Pei Lang's waist, as if she could see the pile of shiny treasures inside through the fabric.
"I remember clearly, you still had a full 100 high-grade spirit stones on you~"
"You are the first, most distinguished customer I've ever had since my little stall opened!"
Pei Lang: "???"
no? !
So they've got their hands on him?!
"Shen Zhaozhao!!"
Pei Lang's fox-like eyes widened in anger: "You won't even spare me?! Are you even human?!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, pointing to the bulging talisman pouch hanging from his waist: "Besides, look at this! Talismans! I'm a talisman cultivator! Do you understand what a talisman cultivator is?!"
"If I throw out a talisman, I can take down a whole bunch of those Steel Feather Chickens, five or six is a conservative estimate!"
Pei Lang took a breath, trying hard to suppress the urge to die on the spot with Shen Zhaozhao, and tried to reason with her. His voice was trembling with frustration: "What if... I mean, what if! Your black-hearted stall can't collect a few spirit cores? I might as well share some with you because we're united against a common enemy and have both cursed that black-hearted lotus Yun Wan'er together!"
"What if we can still squeeze you into the top four?!"
Pei Lang's words, "I'll share some with you" and "make sure you get into the top four," were still lingering in the air when Shen Zhaozhao clicked her tongue, looking at him like he was looking at a landlord's foolish son.
Of course, she couldn't say, "I was afraid you'd be left alone and get killed by the plot," so she just smiled and asked, "Pei Lang, what do you think... why can a bookmaker be a bookmaker?"
Pei Lang blinked his clear yet foolish fox-like eyes in bewilderment, completely unable to keep up with this leap in thought: "?"
Shen Zhaozhao raised her chin slightly, pointing to the huge real-time ranking screen in the air, exuding an air of "I have the truth, I have the world": "Of course, it's because the bookmakers have the capital!"
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