Weeks passed. Kai carefully managed his burgeoning micro-enterprise, utilizing the new CRM features to maintain contact with his small but growing list of customers. He discreetly introduced the 'Gamer's Health Potion (Minor)' – rebranded as 'Rapid Recovery Salve' – selling a couple to disciples with persistent training injuries at a premium price of 5 fragments each. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, further boosting his reputation among the lowest tier and earning him precious System Points. His point balance slowly crept towards 50 again, while his spirit stone fragment count reached just over 60 – a small fortune for an outer disciple.
His dimension storage proved invaluable, allowing him to carry his entire inventory without suspicion. He even bought a 'Ring of Minor Warmth' for 15 points, reveling in the simple comfort it provided against the pervasive chill of the dorms, easily explained away as a lucky trinket.
Zhang Long and his cronies kept their distance, occasionally shooting venomous glares his way but making no overt moves. The public, albeit brief, humiliation seemed to have worked, at least for now. Kai knew it was temporary, but it gave him breathing room.
His primary frustration remained his own cultivation. He was still stuck at Qi Condensation Level 1. The basic breathing exercises taught freely felt like trying to fill a lake with a dripping faucet. He needed a proper manual, a structured technique to guide Qi absorption and circulation efficiently. The System Task incentivizing this acquisition gnawed at him.
Such manuals, however, were tightly controlled or expensive. Official sect manuals required significant contribution points earned through difficult tasks or exceptional performance, far beyond his current reach. Black market manuals were often incomplete, flawed, or exorbitantly priced, requiring hundreds, if not thousands, of fragments. He simply didn't have the capital.
He started listening more intently in common areas, during meals, near the chore assignment boards, hoping to overhear something useful. His break came unexpectedly in the Outer Sect refectory, a noisy hall filled with disciples gulping down bland congee.
At a nearby table sat Wang Hao, an Outer Disciple known less for his cultivation (a mediocre Level 4) and more for his obsessive hobby: collecting cultivation manuals. He wasn't particularly talented at practicing them, but he loved possessing them, often trading duplicates or fragments of techniques with others. Today, however, Wang Hao wasn't boasting about his collection; he was ranting.
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"...unbelievable! Three weeks, and still no word!" Wang Hao slammed his bowl down, splashing congee. His companions exchanged weary glances. "My cousin, Meng, in Willow Creek Town – he promised me that fragment of the 'Wind Chaser Steps' technique! He should have sent word via carrier bird days ago! How am I supposed to complete my collection if I can't even communicate reliably?"
Willow Creek Town was a good two days' journey away. Carrier birds were the standard method for long-distance communication, but they were slow, unreliable, and could be intercepted by beasts or weather.
"Maybe the bird got lost?" one companion offered meekly.
"Lost? Or maybe Meng just changed his mind! Or maybe he's in trouble! How would I know?" Wang Hao fumed. "If only there was a faster way to send messages… I'd trade that spare 'Azure Cloud Qi Manual' I have just to know what's going on!"
Kai’s ears perked up instantly. Faster way to send messages? Spare Azure Cloud Qi Manual?
The Azure Cloud Qi Manual was the standard, foundational technique of the Azure Cloud Sect. While considered basic by Inner Sect standards, it was a complete, reliable Qi Condensation manual – vastly superior to the generic breathing exercises Kai currently used. For an Outer Disciple like Wang Hao, who collected rarer or more specialized techniques, it might indeed be considered 'spare'.
And a faster way to communicate? Kai’s mind immediately jumped to the System Store. He hadn't explored all the basic Earth Goods thoroughly.
He quickly retreated to his bunk, pulling up the interface. He scrolled through the 'Earth Goods (Basic)' list, looking past the consumables. Tools… electronics… there!
[Item: Burner Phone (Basic Model - No Service Plan Included)]
Description: Simple mobile communication device. Facilitates near-instantaneous voice or text transmission over dedicated networks (Network access simulated via System Link for demonstration purposes). Limited battery life (rechargeable via Qi-to-Electric Converter - Sold Separately or requires Vendor Level 2).
Cost: 80 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragments OR 15 System Points.
15 points! Affordable. He had 58 points currently. The implications hit him. He could offer Wang Hao something seemingly magical – instant communication – in exchange for the cultivation manual he desperately needed. The system could simulate the connection for a demonstration. He wouldn't even need to provide a long-term service plan, just the device itself as a 'Communication Jade'.
The opportunity was perfect. Wang Hao was frustrated, publicly stated his desire, and named his price – the exact manual Kai needed. It felt tailor-made by the system task itself.
He spent the 15 points, materializing the cheap, plastic burner phone inside his dimension storage. It felt flimsy and outdated by Earth standards, but here? It could be passed off as an arcane artifact. He also spent an hour in the 'Earth Knowledge Archive' (costing 1 point) learning the absolute basics of operating the phone and how to convincingly fake a text message exchange using the system's simulation capabilities.
Plan set, Kai took a deep breath. Time to approach Wang Hao, the manual collector, and make him an offer he couldn't refuse. This was his chance to finally start cultivating properly.
