Chapter 7 - Pay-to-Win Life-Changing Day

In truth, Su Mu wasn't as noble as Liu Peng thought; he was in it for the money.

As for the idea of helping a competitor improve their strength, he didn't care at all. Or rather, he never considered his classmates as competitors in the first place.

After all, the perfect version of the qi refining pill combined with the Qi Cultivation Technique could boost his spiritual qi value to over 1000!

With such results, it wasn't just his school that would be left behind; among all the senior students coming to Shu Province for the cultivation examination this year, very few could reach that level.

Therefore, even if his classmates managed to significantly increase their spiritual qi value with the 8-point version of the qi refining pill, they posed no threat to him.

It's not that I have anything against anyone in particular; I'm just saying that none of you can compare to me!

It was with this mindset that Su Mu remained completely calm, his only focus being on making money.

However, Liu Peng was unaware of these thoughts. He admired Su Mu to the extent that he agreed without hesitation to Su Mu's request to borrow money: "I have over two thousand yuan saved up from pocket money and New Year's cash gifts, and it's all yours."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and transferred the money to Su Mu via WeChat.

After receiving the money, Su Mu said, "Thanks. When I sell the refining pills and make a profit, I'll share some of the earnings with you."

He knew very well that even with brothers, accounts need to be clear to avoid resentment and conflicts when business boomed.

Otherwise, they might not even remain friends in the end.

He had seen too many similar situations in his past life and didn't want the same to happen between him and Liu Peng.

Moreover, Liu Peng had given him the money without a second thought. Su Mu could not be stingy in return.

Before leaving, Su Mu didn't forget to say goodbye to Mrs. Liu in the kitchen.

Mrs. Liu peeked out from the kitchen: "Su Mu, have some breakfast before you go. I've made porridge."

Su Mu politely declined, "No need, Auntie. I've already had breakfast. I have some things to take care of, so I won't disturb you any longer."

After leaving Liu Peng's residential community, Su Mu headed straight for the bus stop, boarded a random bus, and traveled far from home. He visited several pharmacies to buy various medicinal materials and ground them into powder. He also visited several clinics with alchemists sitting in residence and strolled around inside.

After much effort, he finally gathered all the medicinal materials required to make the 8-point version of the qi refining pill.

The reason for such elaborate precautions was to plan ahead. Once the qi refining pills were officially on sale, he would implement additional security measures. Even if someone noticed that the pills were homemade and not purchased from an alchemist, they wouldn't be able to deduce the formula.

The two thousand plus yuan given by Liu Peng, along with the remaining money in Su Mu's card, was enough to produce several hundred boxes of the 8-point version of the qi refining pills.

With the first batch of refining pills, the subsequent money and materials would no longer be a concern.

Upon returning home, Su Mu immediately began producing the 8-point version of the qi refining pills, and Su Ye came to help.

During her year of recuperation at home, she had frequently assisted Su Mu in making qi refining pills and was very familiar with the process. Although the method for making the 8-point version was different, her learning ability was strong. After Su Mu explained the process once, she got the hang of it.

At the beginning, Su Ye's skills were somewhat rusty, but she quickly became proficient, performing as skillfully as an experienced craftsman.

Su Mu marveled at the realization that his sister was indeed a genius.

Throughout the day, aside from taking the perfect version of the qi refining pill for their cultivation practice at noon and evening, the siblings spent the rest of their time making the 8 points version of the qi refining pill.

Their evening cultivation ended at 6:30 PM, as they needed to save half an hour to rush to school.

Fortunately, an hour and a half of qi-feeding cultivation had already yielded the best results, and missing half an hour didn't have much of an impact.

When heading to school, Su Mu packed some of the 8 points qi refining pills in his backpack.

Not too many, just a few dozen.

He planned to give these 8 points qi refining pills away for free.

After all, talk is cheap, and no matter how much he and Liu Peng praised the 8 points qi refining pill, it wouldn't have the same promotional effect as letting people experience it firsthand.

It's like playing a mobile game; at the beginning, you get some free card drawing chances, letting players draw a good card. Only then can players feel the 'conscience' of the game, which keeps them engaged and gradually lures them into the pay-to-win trap.

These tactics, which Su Mu had employed plenty of times in his previous life as a mobile game planner, felt perfectly natural to use now.

After thinking it over, he also mixed in a few 9 points version of the qi refining pill.

Many gamers might mock themselves as African chiefs, but deep down, every African chief dreams of leaving Africa and entering Europe.

By adding the 9 points version of the qi refining pill, Su Mu wanted to tell his classmates that there were 'top tier' pills in the batch, which would further stimulate them to willingly spend money, even to the point of frantically chasing the top tier items.

Upon arriving at school and entering the classroom, Su Mu found Liu Peng had already arrived, though he looked tired and worn out.

Walking to his seat and putting down his backpack, Su Mu saw Liu Peng approach and teased, "What happened to you? Did you exhaust your kidneys? Don't you know how to pace yourself?"

"Get lost, it's you who has the empty kidneys. This is the result of diligent cultivation," Liu Peng said weakly.

Su Mu was surprised. Although the 7th Set of National High School Qi Cultivation Technique was exhausting, it shouldn't leave someone looking as if they've overdrawn their kidneys and drained their body.

Could it be...

"You didn't, after I left, take three qi refining pills in one go and then practice the Qi Cultivation Technique three times without resting, did you?" Su Mu asked, frowning.

Liu Peng gave an awkward smile and sheepishly nodded.

Su Mu was shocked; Liu Peng had actually gone that far. How had he never noticed this side of him before?

Awesome, truly awesome; respect, much respect.

He gave a thumbs-up and sincerely exclaimed, "Damn, you're hardcore! The cultivation examination is coming up, and you're still daring to push like this, not afraid of practicing yourself into an issue."

With an innocent look, Liu Peng protested, "How can you blame me? It's all because of the amazing effects of the qi refining pills you gave me. I got excited and used them consecutively, and the result was lying down for most of the day. Now my legs are so weak they're trembling. Ah, it's true what they say: showing off is fun for a moment, but the aftermath is like a trip to the crematorium... Pfft, I'm not dead yet, no cremation necessary. What I mean is, I'm suffering the consequences now."

Buddy, though, I must say, 'a trip to the crematorium' does rhyme better.

Su Mu, struggling to hold back his laughter, spread his hands: "So you're saying this is my fault? Fine, then give me back the qi refining pills I gave you."

Liu Peng panicked, hastily replying, "Since when do you take back something you've already given? Besides, I'm not blaming you. I can't thank you enough; how could I possibly blame you? That's not the case at all."

He really didn't have any shame, just to avoid giving back the qi refining pills.

Su Mu couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, then got down to business: "You know a lot of people in our senior year, so help me spread a message. Tell them that I have special effect qi refining pills made by a grand alchemist, with effects two to three times stronger than the regular ones. If they're interested, tell them to gather at the sports field after evening self-study."

"Oh, and also help me spread an advertisement."

"You've even thought of an advertisement? What is it?" Liu Peng asked curiously.

The corner of Su Mu's mouth curled up, revealing a devilishly persuasive smile: "Classmates, do you want to become stronger? Do you want to get into a cultivation university? Come and spend money on qi refining pills! If you're lucky, you might even get a top-tier one! Come on, leave Africa and enter Europe, pay-to-win to change your fate1, starting today! If you miss out, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

"...Amu, it's a real shame you're not a profiteer," Liu Peng said with utter seriousness.

Footnotes:

leave Africa and enter Europe, pay-to-win to change your fate (脱非入欧，氪金改命): In internet culture, the phrase "脱非入欧，氪金改命" is often used humorously to express the idea that by investing money, one can transform from a lesser state to a better one.