Chapter 73: Defective Spirit-Nurturing Pill

"Actually, our White Horse Pharmacy has also prepared some pills specifically for sale to Martial Artists."

Huang Sihai pondered for a moment before saying, "However, Spirit Nurturing Pills are extremely precious and are basically all held by first-rate and second-rate major sects. The quality of the Spirit Nurturing Pills our White Horse Pharmacy can obtain might be somewhat inferior."

Yang Ling's eyes lit up. "Inferior quality? How much do you price them?"

"Five hundred taels of silver per pill as well."

Huang Sihai said in a low voice.

Also five hundred taels?

Yang Ling thought it over in his heart and then inquired, "Do you have any in stock? I'll buy one first to try and see how the quality is."

What he lacked most right now were precisely Spirit Nurturing Pills and Foundation Consolidation Pills. It was just that the latter were hard to come by, so he didn't need to think about them for the time being. The former could increase Martial Arts Technique proficiency; even if the quality was a bit worse, he could accept it.

Huang Sihai immediately took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Yang Ling. "If Chief Constable Yang can accept that the quality of this Spirit Nurturing Pill is inferior to those produced by major sects, our White Horse Pharmacy can also provide some supply of Spirit Nurturing Pills in the future."

He paused briefly. "Actually, most Martial Artists in the martial world can't get their hands on good Spirit Nurturing Pills. Even some disciples of sects end up purchasing them outside on their own. The number of Spirit Nurturing Pills awarded by sects is small and only given to those core disciples who have made contributions. Ordinary disciples can't even get a share."

Yang Ling didn't care about all that. He poured the Spirit Nurturing Pill out of the porcelain bottle.

「Spirit Nurturing Pill (Defective Product), Proficiency Increase: Unknown」

Unknown?

Yang Ling thought for a moment, then tossed this pill into his mouth.

A faint stream of warmth began to flow, rushing into his limbs and throughout his body.

「Please select the martial arts proficiency to be increased」

"Ethereal Steps."

Was there even a choice?

Since they all increased proficiency equally, Yang Ling couldn't possibly waste the proficiency points on Boulder Crushing Fist and Thief-Capturing Saber Technique. The first-rate martial art Ethereal Steps was the direction he would focus on next.

At this moment, Ethereal Steps' proficiency began to continuously increase.

It skyrocketed from 87 all the way to 378 points before finally stopping!

"The effect is indeed not as good as a normal Spirit Nurturing Pill, and each defective product probably isn't very stable either."

"But so what!"

Yang Ling calculated silently in his heart.

If he practiced Ethereal Steps full-time right now, spending ten hours a day, he could increase his proficiency by 60 points. But he also needed to rush his level; the cost-effectiveness of attribute points was temporarily higher than Ethereal Steps' proficiency, as this concerned the Divine Realm Level Ranking, treasure chest rewards, and more! Consequently, he simply had no time to practice martial arts techniques.

This Spirit Nurturing Pill, even though it was a defective product, was equivalent to him practicing Ethereal Steps for six days!

Yang Ling thought for a moment, then immediately took out the wooden box from before, which contained three thousand taels of silver. Then he took out all the silver he had saved up himself; his personal wealth was around fifteen hundred taels. Loose silver had also been exchanged for silver notes for easier carrying.

"Here is a total of about four thousand five hundred taels. Please count it and exchange it all for Spirit Nurturing Pills."

Yang Ling said with a smile.

Huang Sihai glanced at it and immediately laughed, "No need to count. Let's consider this as five thousand taels. After deducting the one from before, our White Horse Pharmacy still needs to give Chief Constable Yang nine more pills."

This time, the porcelain bottle he took out contained a full nine Spirit Nurturing Pills.

After Yang Ling received them, he didn't take them on the spot. NPCs in the Divine Realm seemed to need to combine taking such pills with practicing martial arts techniques to increase proficiency. Players, however, did not need to, so it wasn't good to take too many in front of the other party, lest it arouse suspicion.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first."

"I'll see you out."

……

At the Ironclad Department government office, Yang Ling ate one Spirit Nurturing Pill after another in his room. Although he knew the first two levels of a martial art had the highest cost-effectiveness, Ethereal Steps was different from other martial arts. This was a first-rate martial art, worth focusing on!

The first pill increased proficiency by 320 points.

The second pill increased proficiency by 270 points.

The third pill increased proficiency by 412 points.

The fourth pill...

After finishing all nine pills, Yang Ling glanced at his Status Panel.

He saw that Ethereal Steps' proficiency had already reached 4,132 points!

"Haha, proficiency increased by nearly half in one go. I'm not far from Flawless Proficiency now."

Yang Ling couldn't help but laugh.

Walking out of the room, Chen Guoqing and the other three were already standing outside the door.

"Brother Yang, we've become Martial Artists!"

The four of them all looked very excited.

They had waited for this day for far too long! They could now pull up their Status Panels on their own to check their attributes!

"Not bad."

Yang Ling nodded with a smile, his gaze falling on Chen Guoqing. "Guoqing, how about you stay here in Green Mountain City from now on and help me keep an eye on the Ironclad Department?"

"Me?"

Chen Guoqing was slightly taken aback.

Chen Xu quickly said, "This is a good thing! Brother Chen, weren't you worried about those new players? Now with this status, it's perfect for you to step forward and settle them."

Chen Guoqing also came to his senses and immediately nodded, "Alright, no problem!"

Although leaving the Vermilion Gold Mine would cause issues with his subsequent level rushing, and it might take a long time for him to level up, compared to rushing levels, having the opportunity to settle those new players made him not hesitate in the slightest. Moreover, in the city, he could also properly practice the Thief-Capturing Saber Technique.

At this moment, a Constable walked in and said respectfully, "Boss, Qi Dalong from the Snake Gang has sent an invitation."

"Oh?"

A flicker of interest passed through Yang Ling's eyes, and he immediately took it. It was an invitation for him to go to his mansion for dinner tonight.

Yang Ling thought for a moment and made a decision in his heart.

……

In a deep, secluded mansion, Huang Sihai walked with quick, small steps to a middle-aged man and said with a smile, "Master, Chief Constable Yang has agreed to help resolve Young Master's feud with Qi Dalong."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Chief Constable Lin said this Chief Constable Yang is more capable than him. Since he is willing to step in, that brat should be saved."

"I'm just afraid Qi Dalong will pretend to comply but secretly defy. That guy has raised quite a few desperadoes under him; many are willing to give their lives for him."

A trace of worry appeared on Huang Sihai's face.

"It's fine. Xiao Chen has achieved success in his cultivation at the Mountain and River Sect now. If it really comes to it, we can only ask him to step in."

The middle-aged man said.

Huang Sihai immediately nodded with a smile. "What the Master says is absolutely right. Young Master Xiao Chen's talent for martial arts is indeed extremely high, showing results in such a short time."

He paused briefly. "Master, that Chief Constable Yang seems to be a martial arts fanatic. The benefits we gave this time, he used all of it to buy our Spirit Nurturing Pills. According to rumors, Chief Constable Yang also likes to personally go down into the mine to dig Vermilion Gold Ore. His presence overseeing the mine has increased the Vermilion Gold Mine's output significantly, and the Mountain and River Sect is very satisfied."

"He is a pure person. If he likes Spirit Nurturing Pills, then we'll temporarily supply him with all our resources in that area."

The middle-aged man said thoughtfully, "The premise is that he can truly solve that brat's trouble. That brat wrote to me some time ago, saying that in the Prefectural Capital, he also seemed to see Snake Gang disciples, secretly following him. That guy Qi Dalong really seems unable to hold back any longer."

"Master, rest assured. Chief Constable Yang is a Ninth-Rank official in the Ironclad Department, holds an official rank, and is valued by his superiors. His involvement will at least make Qi Dalong wary for a while."

Huang Sihai said in a low voice.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression softened considerably.