12: Chapter 12 Selling fake medicine to the city garrison?

After successfully taking a 20-day leave of absence, Chu Xiu immediately returned home with his leave slip and began consuming the primary mana nutrient solutions he had brewed to cultivate the Star Demon Forging Technique.

After using two vials of primary mana nutrient solution and cultivating for six hours, Chu Xiu smoothly broke through to Ashen Gray 9-Star as expected.

After the breakthrough, he did not stop cultivating, but instead drank another vial of primary mana nutrient solution to continue practicing.

Upon reaching Ashen Gray 9-Star, after three hours of assisted cultivation with a single vial of primary mana nutrient solution, the mana increase Chu Xiu gained dropped to 15% of his total mana.

This wasn't because Chu Xiu's cultivation speed had slowed down. On the contrary, after advancing to Ashen Gray 9-Star, his speed at absorbing mana sources while practicing the Star Demon Forging Technique was even faster than when he was at Ashen Gray 8-Star.

It was all because after Chu Xiu broke through to Ashen Gray 9-Star, his base mana pool had grown larger, which lowered the proportional increase in mana gained from cultivating with a vial of primary mana potion.

"At my current cultivation speed, I'll probably need to consume seven vials of primary mana nutrient solution to break through from Ashen Gray 9-Star to the Black Iron Tier."

"With abundant cultivation resources and the Star Demon Forging Technique, my cultivation speed is truly fast!"

Feeling the effects of cultivating with the primary mana nutrient solution after his advancement, Chu Xiu showed a satisfied smile.

He didn't continue cultivating right away. Instead, he went downstairs to a diner to quickly fill his stomach before returning to his room to consume more primary mana nutrient solution and continue practicing.

It wasn't until nightfall blanketed Linjiang City that Chu Xiu finally ended his cultivation and went out with the remaining 22 vials of primary mana nutrient solution.

He arrived at Linjiang City's busiest night market, found an open spot, set up a small stall, and prepared to sell his remaining primary mana nutrient solutions.

As for why he didn't sell them directly to the Breeder Association or other large Beastmaster material exchanges, it was because those places needed to make a profit. Their purchase price for primary mana nutrient solution was only 8,000 credits, a full 20% lower than the retail price.

Chu Xiu would rather spend a little extra time selling his inventory individually than lose 20% of his profit for nothing.

"primary mana nutrient solution! Genuine primary mana nutrient solution, fair prices for young and old alike!"

"Not 10,000, not 9,800, just 9,500! Take a vial of primary mana nutrient solution home today!"

"Limited quantities while supplies last! It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal—step right up and don't miss out!"

After setting up his stall, Chu Xiu immediately began hawking his goods at the top of his lungs.

Having been an extrovert in his past life, he felt no embarrassment at all, and his loud, clear voice quickly attracted the attention of everyone nearby.

However, since this was his first time setting up a stall at the night market, he didn't sell them at the market price of 10,000 per vial of primary mana nutrient solution.

It was his first time hawking as a street vendor, so customers had no impression of him. If his price were the same as the retail price of those big exchanges, he definitely wouldn't have their advantage in reputation.

Therefore, for his first time selling mana nutrient solution, he chose to sacrifice 500 credits in profit to draw in traffic.

As long as he sold the mana nutrient solution today and built up a reputation, plenty of customers would surely return to buy from him next time, even if he restored the original price.

"Selling primary mana nutrient solution at a night market? Is this real or fake?"

"It looks legit enough. Just like the primary mana nutrient solutions I've bought before, it's a light blue liquid."

"The stall owner is so young—he must still be in school. Where would a student get primary mana nutrient solutions to sell?"

"It's 500 credits lower than the market price, so it's probably a scam. You're thinking of saving 500, but he's eyeing your 9,500. The quality of street stall goods isn't guaranteed like the big exchanges—don't end up buying fake medicine."

"Yeah, even if it's real, for a student to produce so many vials of primary mana nutrient solution, the source might be sketchy. Ordinary folks like us had better stay away from stuff like that."

"Let me leave, let me leave."

...

primary mana nutrient solution at 9,500 a vial indeed attracted quite a crowd.

But upon seeing that the stall owner was just a student like Chu Xiu, more than half of them immediately shook their heads and left.

These people simply didn't believe someone as young as Chu Xiu could obtain so many vials of primary mana nutrient solution.

Still, even after those people left, quite a few remained gathered around Chu Xiu.

Temptation showed on their faces. 500 credits was nearly two days' wages for some. Even if they didn't use it themselves, buying it from Chu Xiu and reselling it to relatives or friends at market price could net them a quick 500 credits.

However, these people were also skeptical about the authenticity of the primary mana nutrient solution Chu Xiu was selling. After hesitating for a long time, out of thirty or forty people, not a single one stepped forward to buy Chu Xiu's primary mana nutrient solution.

It wasn't until two and a half minutes later that a burly man with a crew cut wearing a uniform walked over from a distance.

Drawn by Chu Xiu's hawking, he saw over twenty vials of primary mana nutrient solution on Chu Xiu's stall. He immediately stepped up, looked at Chu Xiu, and asked:

"Little brother, is this primary mana nutrient solution of yours the real deal?"

"Finally, a customer!"

Seeing someone inquire, Chu Xiu was overjoyed. He immediately offered a confident smile and said to the crew-cut man:

"I came all the way here to set up a stall—would I sell you fake primary mana nutrient solution?"

"I'm right here. After buying it, you can test the effects of this mana nutrient solution right in front of everyone. If it's fake, I'll pay ten times its price. My word is my bond."

Seeing Chu Xiu say this, the crew-cut man hesitated no longer. He nodded, pulled out his phone, and said to Chu Xiu:

"Alright, give me one vial of primary mana nutrient solution. Little brother, do you take WePay or Zhixin?"

"WePay is fine."

Hearing this, Chu Xiu swiftly pulled out his phone and opened his WePay QR code.

Before long, the two completed the transaction.

The crew-cut man didn't beat around the bush either. After buying the primary mana nutrient solution, he immediately drank it down in one gulp.

"It's actually pretty sweet."

After downing the primary mana nutrient solution, the crew-cut man smacked his lips with relish, realizing that Chu Xiu's primary mana nutrient solution tasted even better than any he had drunk before.

"Wait, no! Are you sure this is primary mana nutrient solution?!"

However, before he could fully savor it, his eyes suddenly widened, and he cried out in shock while staring at Chu Xiu.

"Look at that reaction! Fake medicine! It's definitely fake!"

"Heh, the uniform on that guy belongs to the City Defense Army. He must be a member of the City Defense Army! This kid dared to sell fake medicine to the City Defense Army—now there's gonna be a good show!"

"The City Defense Army? Every single person in there is a Black Iron Tier Beastmaster! Selling fake medicine to a Black Iron Tier Beastmaster—that kid is in big trouble."

"So young and already up to no good. I bet that kid is heading straight to the City Defense Army's prison in a moment."

The crew-cut man's sudden exclamation gave the surrounding onlookers a fright, but once they snapped out of it, they all wore expressions of watching a drama unfold and began gossiping among themselves.

Nearly everyone was convinced that the crew-cut man's reaction was because the primary mana nutrient solution sold by Chu Xiu had no effect.