The Next Day.
Morning sunlight spilled across the fields outside Glory City.
A group of youths could be seen running in formation, heavy weights strapped to their backs, their footsteps pounding in steady rhythm.
"AHHH—!"
"Why are we still running—!"
Lu Piao staggered forward, face twisted in misery, sweat flying everywhere.
"After climbing the mountain," he wailed,
"we're still running with weights?! I'm dead—absolutely dead!"
Behind him, wei nan and others also looked just as exhausted.
Du Zhe stopped abruptly and jabbed a finger at the heavy weights strapped to his own back.
"Oi!" he shouted, face twitching with anger.
"Look at this! Twenty-five kilograms!"
Then he swung his arm around and pointed straight at Lu Piao's much lighter load.
"And look at yours!" he snapped.
"Fifteen kilograms!"
His voice cracked from sheer disbelief.
"Your physique is the best among us!"
"And you still have the nerve to complain?!"
He slammed his forehead lightly against a tree.
"Huff—puff—this is torture!"
Then, as if struck by lightning, he snapped his head up.
"HEY—WAIT A SECOND!!"
He pointed dramatically.
"Why is KARMA not here?!"
"Why is that guy being spared from this inhuman training?!"
Du Zhe adjusted his sack, his tone painfully calm.
"…He refused."
Lu Piao's jaw dropped.
"R–refused?"
Du Zhe nodded again.
"He said—"
Du Zhe paused, choosing his words carefully,
"—that running around the village like this…"
He gestured at the sacks, the sweat, the misery.
"…while carrying all this weight…"
Another pause.
"…would harm his image in front of girls."
Dead silence.
The wind passed.
A leaf drifted down.
Then—
"WHAAAAAT?!"
"THAT'S HIS REASON?!"
"IS THIS GUY EVEN HUMAN?!"
Lu Piao fell backward dramatically.
"I'M WORKING MYSELF TO DEATH AND HE'S WORRIED ABOUT HIS IMAGE?!"
Wei Nan clawed at the ground.
"I want to cry…"
Zhu Yu Jun rolled onto his back.
"Life is unfair…"
In the middle of the chaos, Nie Li lowered his head.
A soft chuckle escaped him.
He shook his head, smiling helplessly.
"…That really sounds like him."
He glanced up and said casually,
"Karma doesn't really need to work as hard as us."
The others turned toward him slowly.
"…Why does that sound even more insulting when you say it?" Lu Piao muttered, eyes hollow.
Nie Li glanced back, scratching the back of his head with a grin.
"Haha, let's end morning practice here," he said casually.
"But now that we're practicing top-grade techniques, if we don't properly train our bodies and can't keep up with our soul force—"
He smiled brightly.
"—our bodies will explode."
Lu Piao's face went pale.
"E–EXPLODE?!"
He let out a shrill scream and bolted forward at full speed, legs pumping like his life depended on it.
"I'M RUNNING! I'M RUNNING!!"
Du Zhe stared for half a second… then shook his head and chased after him.
"…Idiot."
The group staggered forward beneath the city wall, feet dragging against the stone path.
Lu Piao bent over, hands on his knees, eyes unfocused.
"…Pant… Pant…"
Nie Li walked ahead calmly, weights still strapped to his back.
At the southern gate, a man in the Alchemist Association robes stepped forward, hands clasped behind him.
"How do you do, little friends," he said with a friendly smile.
"I'm from the Alchemist Association."
Lu Piao jolted upright.
The alchemist glanced at their worn clothes and rough sandals, then leaned closer.
"Looking at your attire," he said,
"you should be from farming families, right?"
"Do you have any Purple Mist Grass at home?"
The boys froze.
The man raised three fingers proudly.
"We're now offering three demon spirit coins per pound of Purple Mist Grass!"
Lu Piao's and Du Zhe's eyes lit up.
"Didn't Nie Li have tons of Purple Mist Grass?!"
Nie Li grabbed the alchemist's sleeve excitedly.
"Uncle!" he blurted out.
"What are you going to do with Purple Mist Grass?"
"I remember it being really cheap!"
"HAHAHA!"
The alchemist threw his head back, laughing loudly.
"I'll tell you a secret!"
He leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially.
"Yesterday, we received a letter listing more than sixty uses for Purple Mist Grass."
"Under the Director's instructions, we conducted experiments."
He grinned widely.
"Guess what the results were?"
Nie Li and the others stared at him.
"…"
The alchemist suddenly spread his arms wide.
"EVERYTHING!"
"Everything was valid!"
He clenched his fists, trembling with excitement.
Nie Li blinked.
"Eh? Is that so?"
The alchemist leaned closer, eyes sparkling.
"The most crucial point is its skin-nourishing effect!"
"Yesterday, Director Yang personally soaked in a bath with it—"
"And she looks several years younger now!"
"Simply… beautiful!"
The group froze.
"So now," the alchemist continued seriously, crossing his arms,
"nobles are madly purchasing Purple Mist Grass."
He sighed heavily.
"Currently, there's barely any left on the market."
"It takes three years to mature."
"Using it for beauty product…"
"…is such a waste!"
Lu Piao's jaw dropped.
"Wow… that's powerful…"
Nie Li smiled faintly.
"But we're students from the Saint Orchid Institute," he said casually.
"So we don't have any Purple Mist Grass."
The alchemist stiffened.
"Ah?"
Nie Li waved lightly, already turning away.
"Goodbye, then."
Lu Piao followed, snickering.
"Pfft—!"
The alchemist stood frozen in place, stunned.
"…Hey—wait—!"
Lu Piao burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"Just now, that person offered such a high price," Lu Piao blurted out.
"Why didn't you sell it to him?"
Nie Li's smile deepened slightly.
"It's not time to make a move yet," he said calmly.
"Let them promote it for me first."
He paused, glancing toward the busy street.
"…Karma really does get things done fast."
Lu Piao blinked. "Huh?"
Nie Li chuckled softly.
"If the Alchemist Association is already making moves," he continued,
"then the Purple Mist Grass is no longer just cheap medicinal grass."
His eyes narrowed, sharp and certain.
"From now on—"
"they'll be the ones chasing after it."
The others stared at him in stunned silence.
The streets of Glory City bustled under the afternoon sun. Inside the Divine family mansion
—
"MADNESS! MADNESS!"
"MISS NING'ER, GREAT NEWS!!"
Xiao Ning'er turned, startled.
"…What's wrong?"
Three figures burst through the doorway, panting heavily.
"Pant—pant—!"
"Didn't Missy previously make us buy a lot of Purple Mist Grass?" one of them blurted out.
Xiao Ning'er blinked.
"…Yes?"
The boy nearly jumped in excitement.
"Currently, the market price of Purple Mist Grass has shot up to tens of thousands of demon spirit coins per pound!"
Xiao Ning'er stiffened.
"…What?"
Another hurriedly added,
"I've also heard rumors that even the Sacred Family is offering 300 demon spirit coins per pound!"
"Three hundred demon spirit coins…" Xiao Ning'er murmured softly.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
Her gaze sharpened.
It must be Nie Li.
What exactly did he do…?
The room fell quiet—
as the weight of that realization slowly settled in.
Holy orchid Institute library .
The room was filled with barely contained laughter.
"Hehehe—hehehehe—!"
Nie Li sat at the table, head lowered slightly, shoulders shaking as he laughed under his breath.
Across from him, Du Zhe looks excited, while Lu Piao leaned forward, grinning so wide his cheeks hurt.
At the edge of the room, leaning casually against a bookshelf, Karma watched with mild amusement.
"W-Wow—wow—WOW!" Lu Piao shouted.
"We sold ten thousand pounds of Purple Mist Grass to Bao Zhi Lin Pharmacy today!" Nie li said, eyes blazing.
"Mostly to nobles' wives! The total came out, more than three million demon spirit coins," Nie Li finished calmly, lifting a finger.
Karma leaned over, peeking at Nie Li's notes, then clicked his tongue.
"Oi, strategist," he said casually. "Don't dump everything at once like you're throwing out garbage. Do that, and the price will smash straight into the ground."
He waved his hand dramatically.
"Too much, and everyone cries. Too little, and everyone complains. Either way—very bad for business. Very bad for my peace of mind."
Nie Li snorted, shaking his head.
"Relax. I was planning to release it slowly anyway."
Karma grinned, clearly pleased.
"Good," he said. "I like my markets calm, my prices high, and my profits nice and flashy."
Lu Piao blinked.
"…Absorption?"
"What absorption?"
Nie Li didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he picked up a small bottle from the table—its surface etched with faint purple spirals.
"But this," he said quietly, eyes gleaming,
"is only the beginning of my plans."
"This is the high-grade Soul Assembling Pill I just bought," Nie Li said, tossing a small pouch onto the table.
Karma caught it mid-air effortlessly and raised a brow.
"Expensive," he remarked after a glance.
"Each person gets ten," Nie Li said.
"Take them quickly and practice."
Hands shot out instantly.
Lu Piao stared at the pill resting in his palm, eyes trembling.
"O-One of these costs over six thousand demon spirit coins…"
He looked up slowly.
"…We're rich people now."
"Heh heh!" Nie li grinned, pumping his fist.
"Good! Let's start practicing!"
Karma rolled the pill between his fingers, eyes narrowing in mild curiosity.
"Oh?" he said lightly. "I have used this before. It's s pretty good."
Sometimes later.
Soul force surged.
A blue light flooded the room.
A sharp BOOM echoed.
Du Zhe's body trembled violently as a powerful aura erupted around him.
"…Du Zhe?" Nie Li opened his eyes.
Blue flames of soul force spiraled upward.
"Achieved… Bronze Rank?!" Lu Piao shouted.
Du Zhe stared at his hands, disbelief written all over his face.
"I broke through to Bronze Rank in just a few days…" he whispered.
"This is amazing."
He clenched his fist, eyes shining.
"Thanks a lot, Nie Li!"
Karma stepped forward, clapping Du Zhe on the shoulder with a wide grin.
"Oi, look at you," he said cheerfully. "Bronze Rank already? Not bad at all. Guess I'll have to stop calling you slow now."
Du Zhe laughed awkwardly, still riding the rush of the breakthrough.
Karma chuckled, hands behind his head. "Keep it up. At this rate, you'll be strong enough that I won't have to protect you anymore."
Lu Piao immediately protested, "Hey! What about me?!"
Karma glanced at him, then smiled innocently. "…You should probably run more."
Two hours later—
"HAHAHAHAHAHA—!"
Lu Piao laughed wildly, soul force surging around him as he bounced in place, unable to contain himself. "This time I'll definitely not get beaten up by my old man for being lazy!"
He puffed out his chest proudly. "And Shen Yue's gang? They only bully people because of their background and talent. Now let's see them try!"
Lu Piao turned toward Karma, grinning ear to ear. "See that, Karma? I've broken through now! That means I don't need to run more anymore—HAHA—"
Before he could finish—
Tap.
Karma casually flicked Lu Piao's forehead.
It wasn't hard. It wasn't flashy. It was perfectly timed.
Lu Piao froze mid-laugh.
"…Ow."
His mouth snapped shut instantly, eyes watering as he staggered back a step.
Karma tilted his head, smiling innocently. "Congrats on the breakthrough," he said cheerfully.
"But with that attitude? Yeah. You're running extra."
Lu Piao clutched his forehead, eyes watery.
"Why is everyone like this to me…?"
Karma nodded seriously, hands behind his head.
"Yeah. Life really has it out for you."
Lu Piao sniffed, oddly comforted.
Then Karma smiled brightly.
"But look on the bright side—if embarrassment were cultivation, you'd already be Legend Rank."
"…That's not a compliment!" Lu Piao yelled.
Nie Li burst out laughing.
Du Zhe turned away, shoulders shaking.
The others followed suit.
After a moment, Nie Li stood.
"You guys keep training. I'll head downstairs."
He walked out, his footsteps echoing softly down the stairs.
At the bottom, he stopped.
The table was empty.
"…Not here today either," Nie Li muttered, scratching his head.
"…Guess she's really angry."
Then—
A memory flashed through his mind.
A calm voice.
A serious gaze.
"Sit down"
Nie Li's shoulders stiffened.
A chill ran straight down his spine.
"…Brr."
He hugged his arms lightly, forcing a dry laugh.
"Yeah… I might've gone a little too far."
The hall fell quiet once more.