chapter 10 Starting price

Belle Tang was somewhat surprised to see Moira Chen's generous offer, but she knew that Moira Chen was the actual helmsman of the Su Corporation, and she was a shrewd and strong woman. Her words must have profound meanings, so Belle did not try to stop her. Instead, she gave Andrew Qi a look, signalling him not to cross the line.
However, Andrew Qi ignored Belle Tang's look. Instead, he arrogantly said to Moira Chen, "Ms. Chen is indeed a smart person. You are different from those two young girls, knowing the true value of a magic charm. And since you are so generous, I feel bad for asking too much. But you know, the price of twenty thousand per charm is only for those who can't afford more. For a successful person like you, Ms. Chen, not even two hundred thousand per charm would seem too expensive, right?"
Belle Tang and Viola Su were dumbfounded, not expecting Andrew Qi to hike up the price in an instant.
They were even more surprised that Andrew Qi referred to them as "young girls"!
"Two hundred thousand! Why don't you just rob the bank instead!" Belle Tang thought Andrew Qi was just too greedy. Moreover, knowing that Viola Su and her mother were her friends, he still had the audacity to ask for such a high price. His character was simply too despicable.
"Alright! I'll take five!" But Moira Chen's brisk response shocked both the young ladies.
"Are you sure, Ms. Chen?" Andrew Qi deliberately glanced at Belle Tang, "Belle thinks I'm robbing you of your money. Maybe you should think it over?"
"There’s no need to reconsider!"
Moira Chen did not hesitate at all. She feared that she might not secure the deal, so she promptly handed a one million cash in cheque to Andrew Qi. She also humbly said, "Master Andrew, I am having the upper hand in this transaction, since I’m asking for five magic charms for our safety. Consider it a favour I owe Master Andrew, how about that?"

Even Andrew Qi had to admit that Moira Chen, who managed to run the Su Corporation into a company worth billions, indeed had some abilities. It was just that her way of handling people made one feel comfortably warm, as though like basking in spring.
"Don't worry, Ms. Chen. Although one million for your safety is quite cheap, I, Andrew Qi, will ensure your protection!" Practitioners value fate and karmic connections. Viola Su was the first person to buy talismans from him, and there was some karmic connection there. Keeping her safe was no big deal.
But Belle Tang thought Andrew Qi was just a "spendthrift idiot!" To show off in front of her, he might have squandered all his ancestral spirit charms!
Two protective magic charms and three offensive magic charms that could invoke the powers of wind, thunder, and lightning were all high-quality, single-use charms, each with astonishing power, enough to ensure the safety of Moira Chen and Viola Su.
Especially the two protective charms. Although they could only offer protection once, they had the effect of attracting good fortune and warding off evil. Ordinary evil spirits and impurities dared not come close to the area covered by the charms, let alone attack the wearer.
After making her daughter wear a protective charm, Moira Chen felt at ease, letting her go out to play with Belle Tang. She then returned to the company headquarters alone, planning to use her power for a thorough investigation to determine if someone was really trying to harm her. Once that is confirmed, she would make that person pay a painful price!
Andrew Qi knew that by buying five magic charms at once, Moira Chen definitely wasn’t going to use them solely for safety purposes. Given her personality, having just been schemed against by a little ghost, how could she let it go?
However, as long as the cash cheque Moira Chen gave him was fine, Andrew Qi didn't care what she intended to use the magic charms for.
After cashing the check at the bank, Andrew Qi immediately began preparing for qi cultivation whilst planning to buy materials for making qi cultivation talismans.
Qi cultivation wasn't just about breathing and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The key was to integrate this energy into oneself and ultimately form a qi whirlpool in the dantian. This added a layer of "internal extremities" or "hidden extremities" to the cultivator.
Therefore, it wasn't key for practitioners to inhale and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The crucial part was to transform this energy into one's own qi and form a qi whirlpool in the dantian. This wasn't something that could be achieved overnight, but a few types of cultivators could do it.
And among them, two were masters of talisman and alchemists.
Because talisman practitioners don’t cultivate by themselves but used talismans to borrow the power of heaven, earth, and the stars, thus achieving more with less effort.
This was like alchemists who used heavenly materials and earthly treasures to refine elixirs, then directly consumed them to enhance their cultivation levels.
However, without the specific qi cultivation talismans, Andrew Qi had no shortcut to take.
He thought having money would make preparing talisman materials much easier, but after spending an afternoon running around various grocery and herbal medicine shops without finding all the necessary materials, he realized that money couldn't solve all problems. He could only return to his dormitory in frustration, and think of another way.
"Andrew Qi, you're back? You're really arrogant, offending both Erica Hu and Freda Qiu at the same time. Are you planning not to stay in the Literature Department anymore?" As soon as Andrew Qi entered the dormitory, he was greeted by his roommate Nachaman Chang's gossip.
Although Nachaman Chang was only 1.73 meters tall and liked bodybuilding, his muscles were indeed quite tough.
As for Torence Gan and Ezra Yue, the other two roommates, they just nodded in response to Andrew Qi, indicating they were just acquaintances.
When "Andrew Qi" was expelled from school and had nothing, Nachaman Chang was the only one who had visited him. The other two hadn't even sent a greeting message.
"I’ve just skipped a few classes, is there any student in the university who doesn't skip classes?" Andrew Qi said with a smile, "Coach Qiu wouldn't get the school to expel me just for skipping classes, right?"
"To expel you would be unlikely, but she's very angry with you. I'm afraid she might give you a warning. Brother, you should be careful these few days," Nachaman Chang kindly advised Andrew Qi, "By the way, have you see our school's Weibo? The freshman Ben Qi has already been selected to join the Western Falcon Special Forces for training and has become a prominent figure in the school as a freshman! Wow, I also applied, hoping to be selected! I heard that the girls love special forces!"
"Ben Qi?" This was the second time Andrew Qi heard this name. After Nachaman Chang mentioned it, Andrew Qi's impression of this person gradually became clearer, a freshman in the Electronic Engineering major at Southwest Associated University, from an extraordinary family background, with outstanding personal abilities, skilled in taekwondo, and already noticed by the instructor, recommended for special forces training. He was also a suitor of Belle Tang.
In his memory, Ben Qi later became the young king of soldiers in his unit and ended up with Belle Tang.
Ignoring Ben Qi, Andrew Qi looked at the Southwest Associated University ‘student prominent figures selection’ that Nachaman Chang mentioned. The "enemy" from his "memory" was indeed ranked at the front, but this did not cause much fluctuation in Andrew Qi's mood, instead was even indifferent—
Since he had embarked on the path of cultivation, he shouldn’t be the one to worry, but instead were those who had "once" offended him!