That night, Adrián walked through the market.
The empire was advancing.The missions as well.
He stopped in front of a spiritual stone stall. He made a mental note: one hundred mid-grade stones… about one thousand euros. Five hundred stones… five thousand. And if he managed to monopolize Tianxu's entire supply flow…
We could be talking about millions per year, he thought, with a faint smile. And without cultivating a single herb.
He turned to head back to the sect.
He didn't make it ten steps.
"Adrián Valmont."
The voice was soft. Too soft.
He stopped.
Five people surrounded him, perfectly positioned: blocking exits, occupying space, measuring angles and distances. It wasn't physical intimidation; it was strategic pressure.People trained in negotiation psychology. People who knew when to push and when to let you surrender.
A woman stepped forward.
She wore a translucent veil. It didn't hide her face, only suggested it. Even so, her beauty was obvious: refined, discreet, impossible to ignore. Every gesture was measured. Every movement calculated.
Adrián breathed in. Barely.
"Do not be alarmed," she said. "We are from the Flowing Jade Pavilion. Tianxu's Chamber of Commerce."
Adrián raised an eyebrow.
"Well," he replied. "I thought you would take longer."
The woman smiled beneath the veil.
"We are here to talk," she continued. "You see… we are suffering losses. And you are the cause."
Adrián didn't step back. He didn't tense.
On the contrary. He had been waiting for this. Until now, everything had been small: local flow, steady profits, yes… but limited. He couldn't take the next step without backing. Now it was being served to him.
"I'm glad to hear that," he said. "It means I'm finally relevant."
Her escorts frowned. The woman raised her hand: absolute silence.
"You mediated the sale of basic pills," she said. "Five batches daily, sometimes six. You reduced prices. Accelerated delivery. Disrupted the market."
"I optimized it," Adrián corrected. "The disorder was already there."
She studied him, measuring his reaction. Then continued:
"You produce about five pills per cycle. Consistent, but few. And you control the supply flow."
Adrián nodded.
"The flow is where the money is."
He stepped forward.
"Let's walk."
It wasn't an invitation.
He didn't hesitate… this was his true skill: the art of negotiation. A slight smile formed on his face.
Minutes later, they were inside a private room in the Pavilion. Tea was served. Comfortable silence. No one spoke first.
Adrián let exactly the right amount of time pass for the other party to feel pressure.
"You are altering the market," she said at last. "Basic pills, constant supply, stable prices. Our affiliates are complaining."
Adrián nodded.
"That means the market was badly designed."
"Or that you are a problem."
"A problem is something eliminated," he replied. "I generate profit. That gets managed."
She watched him more closely.
"You produce little," she continued. "But you never fail. And you control inputs. That is dangerous."
"No," Adrián corrected. "That is called infrastructure."
Silence.
First point won: repositioning his value.
"We want to avoid conflict," she said. "So I propose a simple solution. You operate under our Pavilion. We distribute. Seventy for us. Thirty for you."
High anchor. Classic.
Adrián didn't react.
He didn't argue percentages.He attacked the assumption.
"That assumes you already control supply flow," he said. "You don't."
She frowned slightly.
"Not today. Tomorrow, yes."
"No," he repeated. "Because you don't control production. You control stalls. I control processes."
He pulled out a scroll. Not detailed numbers. Just trends.
"I double production without new alchemists. Triple it with capital. If I stop today, the market shrinks. If you support me, it expands. Your commission isn't in the margin… it's in the volume."
Second point: create future dependency.
She remained silent.
"Fifty-fifty," she finally said. "Protection, routes, legitimacy."
Adrián shook his head.
"Forty for you."
"That is unacceptable."
"No," he replied calmly. "Unacceptable would be me relocating to the sect. The rumor of cheap, high-quality pills is already spreading. Customers will follow me. You lose the market."
Not a threat.Implicit BATNA.
"Tianxu is not the only market," he added. "It is simply the first."
The woman stared at him for a long moment.
For the first time, she evaluated him not as a merchant… but as a strategic risk.
"Thirty-five," she said. "Affiliation with the Pavilion. Full protection. Access to major trade routes."
Adrián paused.
Final rule: never accept immediately.
"And I retain full operational control," he added. "You audit results, not processes."
Silence.
Finally, she nodded.
"Deal."
She extended her hand.
Adrián shook it.
Not firm.Precise.
"Welcome to Tianxu's real commerce," she said.
"No," Adrián corrected. "Tianxu has just entered modern commerce."
In the distance, the system vibrated.
[Pending Mission]Object of devotion: Lin YueRequired action: Mild emotional interactionDeadline: Tomorrow
Adrián sighed.
"There's always paperwork."
While Heaven continued writing heroes…
Adrián had just secured something far more dangerous:
a permanent seat in the world's economy.
Monopoly was no longer ambition.
It was a consequence.
The Alchemy Hall
The alchemy hall was silent.
Not the reverent silence of a masterpiece,but the uncomfortable silence of experts forced to witness madness.
Six alchemists.
All veterans.All with decades — some with centuries — of experience.All summoned by the Flowing Jade Pavilion… to obey a young man who didn't cultivate alchemy.
Adrián — to them, Lucian was merely a foreign name difficult to pronounce — stood before the central table.
He wore no alchemist robes.No insignias.No ritual respect.
He carried scrolls.
Many.
"Repeat the process," he said. "But not together."
One alchemist frowned.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Divide the recipe," Adrián continued. "Phase one: extraction. Phase two: stabilization. Phase three: binding. Each group works separately."
"That breaks the harmony of the fire," another replied. "A celestial pill requires unity."
Adrián looked up.
"It requires coherence," he corrected. "Not unity."
Silence.
No one refuted him.
Because technically…
he wasn't wrong.
Su Meilan watched from the side, arms crossed, calm expression. She did not intervene. She was simply there… to ensure obedience.
"Reduce spiritual temperature by twenty percent," Adrián ordered. "Compensate with time, not flame."
"That will degrade the essence," one said, incredulous.
"Yes," Adrián admitted. "By thirty percent."
Pause.
"But it will also prevent instability that kills one out of every three users."
That stopped them.
The alchemists exchanged looks.
"Replace Celestial Dawn Herb," he continued. "Use three lower-grade herbs with complementary profiles. I am not seeking purity. I am seeking structure."
"That will never reach the original level," one murmured.
"I know," Adrián replied calmly. "That's why I'm not creating a celestial pill."
They all stared at him.
"I'm creating something that works. Every time."
Six flames ignited.
The process was long. Meticulous. Unnatural for them.
Measure.Record.Repeat.
One alchemist picked up the finished pill, turning it between his fingers. Examined it with magnification. With expert eyes. With centuries of tradition.
His expression changed. First confusion.
"No… this shouldn't be possible," he whispered.
Then restrained astonishment.
"It lacks celestial radiance… but… its energy remains stable. Perfect. Constant. No fluctuation."
The others stared.
"Is that… truly a cultivation pill?" another asked quietly.
The first nodded slowly.
"It is not divine. Not miraculous. But… it works. Better than the rules should allow."
Silence filled the hall.
A murmur grew among the alchemists: It works… and no one knows how.
Adrián watched quietly, with the calm of someone who had just changed the definition of possible.
"This…" one swallowed. "This is impossible."
"No," Adrián said. "It is mediocre."
The word fell like an insult.
"It has only sixty-five percent of original efficiency," he continued. "But it doesn't collapse. Doesn't poison. Doesn't depend on the alchemist's mental state."
He placed the pill on the table.
"And I can produce one hundred per day."
Silence fell instantly.
Not shock.Not emotion.Calculation.
One of the oldest alchemists paled and bowed slowly. Not to Adrián, but to the idea of the pill.
"If this becomes public…" he whispered. "The traditional market… will cease to exist."
Su Meilan smiled. Not with joy. With pure interest.
"It will not destroy it," she said. "It will replace it."
She stepped closer to Adrián.
"Name," she asked.
"Basic Stability Pill," Adrián replied. "No miracles. No geniuses created. Just consistent results."
She raised an eyebrow.
"It allows even mediocrity to survive and progress. That… will change the balance of power."
Adrián nodded.
"Exactly. And I can produce it on demand, every year."
—No more waiting for century auctions.—No more absurd prices.—No more artificial scarcity.
The alchemists exchanged looks.
Su Meilan remained silent, evaluating.
The Pavilion Council
The meeting chamber of the Flowing Jade Pavilion was silent.
Su Meilan watched him from the head seat. Elders surrounded him, analyzing every movement.
"Adrián Valmont," she finally said, "your operation has proven more than profitable. You have secured supply flow, stability, and absolute monopoly over Basic Stability Pill production."
Murmurs spread among the elders.
"Your negotiation ability and strategy have changed Tianxu's commercial dynamics," she continued. "Therefore… I propose granting you the title of Associate Elder of the Pavilion."
Silence deepened.
"Associate Elder," Adrián repeated thoughtfully. "That means voting rights in Chamber decisions, influence over production quotas, authority in trade alliances…"
Su Meilan nodded.
"Correct. Your voice will carry equal weight."
Adrián crossed his arms, calculating. A faint smile appeared.
"So I'm not just selling monopoly.Now I decide who enters, who leaves, and who profits from Tianxu's supply flow."
An older elder snorted.
"This young man… not only negotiates better than us. He is rewriting the rules."
"Exactly," Su Meilan said. "And now, those rules include his vote."
Adrián inclined his head slightly.
"Perfect," he murmured."Monopoly consolidated. Double protection. Direct influence.Now… the real game can begin."
Meanwhile — Jagged Shadow Caverns (Lower Layer)
Ye Chen gasped for breath. His once-white robe was now a rag soaked in beast blood and mud. A deep cut crossed his shoulder, and his Qi flickered like a candle about to die.
Before him lay the corpse of a Grade-4 Obsidian Scorpion.
Six hours of battle.Three protective runes consumed.Nearly lost an arm.
All for a mushroom.
"Finally…" Ye Chen whispered hoarsely. "Stabilized Cold Marrow…"
With trembling hands, he tore the small blue fungus from the base of a stalactite. One of the essential components of the legendary Stability Pill — a resource that manuals claimed could only be obtained by slaying high-grade beasts in lethal zones.
With this, after days of forced meditation and a forty percent explosion risk in his crude cauldron, he could craft a single pill.
One.
Enough to advance his level…
and perhaps become worthy of Lin Yue.