Chapter 672: A Win-Win Deal (3k)
Su Jiu’s words struck Lin Chujiu like thunder. Looking at the smiling face before her, she regarded him like a fox, and inexplicably, a word popped into her mind: “Con artist!”
She shook her head, discarding the peculiar thought. Su Jiu was merely a bit more “open-minded” than others, nothing to do with that word. She then softly asked, “What does Su fellow… Boss Su mean?”
“What do I mean?”
Looking at the girl in the ornate dress, Su Jiu’s smile grew even brighter. After a light chuckle, a cyan bracelet appeared in his hand and he offered it to her, “Teacher Lin, won’t you know if you try it?”
“Accessories of the Battle General level don’t do much for me,” Lin Chujiu explained. However, seeing Su Jiu still wearing a faint smile, she took the bracelet. The moment her fingers touched it, a look of astonishment crossed her face, and she murmured, “The aura on it can even amplify me. This is… an Intermediate Battle King level alchemical accessory, and an extremely difficult one to craft.”
She then put it on and admired it.
“How is it? Do you have the desire to buy it?” Su Jiu, like a little fox, narrowed his eyes, seemingly unconcerned about being rejected.
Looking at the bracelet with its special patterns, Lin Chujiu found it indescribably likable. She could feel that the moment she put it on, her water-attribute external qi had increased by at least twenty percent. Moreover, she had a feeling that when she unleashed water-attribute skills, their power might also increase by twenty percent. Don’t underestimate these twenty percent; in combat, even 0.4% could be a crucial factor in tipping the scales towards victory.
However, Battle King level alchemical accessories that directly increased attribute damage were significantly more expensive than those that boosted strength or other basic attributes. Although she was the granddaughter of the Imperial Capital’s principal, her family strictly implemented an elite education, and since she was already an adult, she had to rely on herself for non-essential purchases.
Now, this research wasn’t even finished, and her funds were limited. Taking a deep breath, Lin Chujiu reluctantly took off the bracelet and returned it to Su Jiu, a wry smile on her face as she said, “I’m tempted, but this thing is too expensive. It’s estimated to be at least thirty Intermediate Magic Crystals. I really can’t afford it…”
“It’s not that expensive. If you agree to one request, I’ll sell it to you for ten Intermediate Magic Crystals.” Su Jiu chuckled softly, his gaze shifting from Lin Chujiu to the competition below. He could clearly see the all-out domination unfolding on the field. After all, a Young Warrior from South Asia was personally taking action, and it was more than enough to deal with a Half-King level opponent.
Not only that, the ring he seemed to be wearing, which he bought from Su Jiu himself and was a top-tier Battle General grade ring of the same element, released an aura of cold that extended several feet further than someone of his level would normally project, pushing the opponent’s fire domain almost to the edge of the arena.
“That South Asian kid is really ruthless. The feud between the two universities is probably cemented.”
“Buddy, don’t be so double-standard. The Koreans provoked them first, are you blaming others for retaliating?” people were discussing.
“Have you guys noticed the ring that South Asian student on the field is wearing? It looks like another High-Rank Battle General alchemical item.”
After the domain domination, the Seoul University student proceeded to beat his opponent to a pulp, drawing murmurs from the audience. The reporters, as if the excitement wasn’t intense enough, continued to capture the scene with their cameras clicking away. For a moment, the topic of alchemical weapons seemed to be simmering like a stew in a pot, creating quite a lively atmosphere.
Watching quietly, Su Jiu couldn’t suppress the smile on his lips. After the competition, he would directly promote his alchemical items. As long as one person bought them, others would be forced to follow suit, or else they wouldn’t be able to compete. This would then form a forced herd mentality, with Lin Chujiu serving as his “bellwether.”
“A request?” Hearing this, Lin Chujiu inexplicably found her gaze drifting towards Lin, who was absorbing abilities again. Her mind replayed the events that had just transpired. “No, no… As a role model, how can I bow my head for a bit of silver?”
She immediately shook her head, a blush spreading across her face, which still had a hint of baby fat. With a slight effort, the fingertips pinching her sleeve turned white. It seemed that this shy behavior was noticed by Lin, who frowned slightly and asked in a low voice, “Why are you looking at me? Is something on my face?”
“Ah?” Lin Chujiu quickly shook her head, indicating no, then turned to look at Su Jiu’s profile again. He was handsome, with a gentle yet slightly mischievous air. For some reason, an impulse struck her, and she asked, “What does it smell like?”
“Smell like what?” Lin looked at the girl dressed immaculately before her. She felt that if her brain were to shake, water would leak out.
“Like… the smell from there.” Since she had already asked, Lin Chujiu decided to be direct. As a single woman reaching a certain age, she was somewhat curious about how he felt during the act.
“It has a floral scent, but it’s still salty overall. You can lick it yourself too,” Lin said, rolling her eyes disdainfully. The person before her seemed quite normal, but in reality, her head shook so much that a lot of water would come out. The back of her hand isn’t salty, so could it be sweet?
“Lick it yourself… Ah?” Hearing this, Lin Chujiu’s eyes widened as if turning into spiral snail shells. She instinctively looked down, her gaze following the hem of her skirt to the space between her legs, and then she shivered. In a voice only she could hear, she whispered, “I probably can’t reach it, right?”
“Heh heh…” Seeing her reaction, Lin increasingly felt there was something wrong with her brain, and an expression of disdain appeared on her face. She even moved slightly backward.
Just as the two were discussing what “there” smelled like, Su Jiu’s voice interjected before them, seemingly directed at Lin Chujiu: “Teacher Lin, that request…”
“No!” Before he could even finish, Lin Chujiu took a deep breath and looked up immediately. After meeting Su Jiu’s gaze, her face faintly flushed as she stated righteously, “Even if it has a floral scent, I can’t do it. You should ask your girlfriend to do that sort of thing.”
“What the heck?” Su Jiu blinked, hearing the nonsensical remark. He instinctively turned to look at Little Foolbird sitting in her seat, his mouth twitching as he asked, “Have you been telling people strange things?”
“She asked me what her hand smelled like, so I told her,” Little Foolbird replied, rolling her eyes as she felt Su Jiu’s gaze. She then turned her head and closed her eyes to cultivate, adopting an attitude of ignoring them both. “I’m going back to advance. Don’t disturb me.” She was indeed at a critical juncture, with wisps of cold air emanating from her body, her delicate eyebrows adorned with flecks of frost, and even a thin layer of ice forming on the seat beside her.
“Hand… hand?” Hearing this, Lin Chujiu gaped, but found herself unable to speak. Looking at the earnest Lin again, she felt both ashamed and embarrassed, her small hands tightly clenching the metal pipe within her sleeve. What on earth was she thinking? They were just students, barely nineteen years old. Nineteen was a time of the purest thoughts, the time of innocent and vibrant youth for a maiden… They probably didn’t even understand sex. It was a good thing Su Jiu and Lin didn’t understand her meaning, otherwise she would want to bury her head in a hole. How embarrassing!
“Then cultivate well,” Su Jiu said, seeing her reaction. He didn’t want to disturb Little Foolbird. Turning his gaze back to Lin Chujiu, he saw her frozen as if time had stopped, which he found somewhat amusing. She had definitely misunderstood something. Shaking his head, Su Jiu quickly stopped overthinking and got straight to the point: “As long as Teacher Lin uses the alchemical items you bought, performs dazzlingly, and then promotes them to the various schools.”
Su Jiu’s sudden serious tone made the girl, dressed as a shop owner and resembling a scholiast from the eighties or nineties, come to her senses. She began to consider the feasibility of his proposal and soon replied, “This request is acceptable.”
Upon hearing this, Su Jiu extended his hand for a handshake and softly said, “Then… happy cooperation?”
Looking at Su Jiu’s outstretched hand, Lin Chujiu didn’t immediately take it. Instead, she raised a question, “If others use the alchemical items you sell to deal with our Imperial Capital University’s contestants?”
“Teacher Lin, have you forgotten the sparring request I agreed to earlier? If you lose, you can directly switch to my turn.” Su Jiu smiled indifferently and looked at the competition below. While the fight appeared fierce, it seemed like child’s play in his eyes, filled with openings. He could easily take down anyone with a Shadow Guard. By selling these alchemical items, Shadow Two and Shadow Three could also become Demigods. This way, in addition to General Feng being a Beginner War God, he would also have three Demigod level experts. Against ordinary forces, he would have the capital to contend.
Receiving this answer, Lin Chujiu’s gaze swept across the girl’s confident face, and she regained her usual nonchalant and languid demeanor, slowly extending her arm and lightly smiling, “Then… happy cooperation, Boss Su.”
The two exchanged smiles, their pretty little faces revealing a hint of amusement. It was a win-win transaction; both of them benefited. One gained fame, the other gained profit.
As the two were making their deal, a “bang!” sounded from below the stands. The already one-sided match finally concluded. The Seoul University youth was struck by ice cones formed from frost just before the shield, and had lost consciousness. After the referee announced the match result, the various school delegations began discussing the significant impact of the alchemical items. However, they could only envy them, as suitable alchemical items were rare and hard to come by.
Could they find alchemists to craft them? It wasn’t that simple; not only did they have to pay money, but they also had to prepare the materials themselves. Ready-made alchemical weapons that could be used in combat were not only expensive but also had low compatibility, as most alchemical weapons of higher grades were put up for auction. Finally, such alchemical items often had usage restrictions or wear limits. After spending a large sum of money, they were usually only used in life-or-death crises. Unless one was incredibly wealthy, they would be reluctant to activate them in an exchange competition.
“Next match, Imperial Capital University versus Sun God Academy!”
“Please have the teachers from both sides take their positions.” Before the discussion on the field had continued for long, the referee’s voice suddenly rang out. At the same time, the figure of the young girl landed on the stage. She walked leisurely, extending her fair wrist and twirling the bracelet worn on it, which was emitting a faint icy blue mist. This scene was firmly etched in everyone’s eyes. Her opponent was a seemingly robust, slightly overweight Asian middle-aged man, wearing Western scholarly attire with yellow stripes. He adjusted his glasses. His eyes behind the single lens shifted from the bracelet to the girl’s languid little face. The girl before him was also a High-Rank Battle King, just like himself, but a sense of crisis told him that she was very strong, much stronger than him… not because of the alchemical items, but a strength emanating inherently from her person.
“Another alchemical item?!” After witnessing the previous skirmishes, the crowd saw similar accessories and felt a sense of peculiarity. Could this be another “pay-to-win” player?
“Please guide me.” After scanning the people on stage, Lin Chujiu bowed slightly forward, performing a Dragon Country martial arts etiquette. She then took out the pipe from her sleeve and took a light puff… “Huuu—” She blew out a puff of blue smoke, then casually flicked the pipe away. With a flash of white light, it transformed into a four-foot-long water-attribute staff. A smile then appeared on her languid little face, and she slowly raised her arm adorned with the bracelet.
