Transmigrating Into a novel as a Rich Second-Generation.-Chapter 30: Exchange Mall [3]

CULTIVATION RESOURCES

[Spirit Gathering Incense (10 sticks)] [Cost: 300 Villain Points] Description: Burns for one hour. Increases cultivation speed by 20% while meditating nearby.

[Qi Gathering Jade (Low-Grade)] [Cost: 500 Villain Points] Description: Contains concentrated spiritual energy. Can be absorbed during meditation to accelerate cultivation progress. Equivalent to approximately 10 hours of standard cultivation.

[Spiritual Fruit - Cloud Peach] [Cost: 800 Villain Points] Description: Consuming this fruit grants a significant temporary boost to cultivation efficiency for 24 hours.

Sebastian’s eyes lingered on the Qi Gathering Jade. Five hundred points for what was essentially ten hours of free cultivation progress in lesser time? That wasn’t bad at all, considering it took him an hour to gain about twelve experience points.

"I’ll keep that in mind," he said.

CONSUMABLES & ELIXIRS

[Trash-Tier Body Strengthening Serum] [Cost: 100 Villain Points] Description: Increases Combat Power by 15.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. So he could buy more of those if needed. Not a priority, but good to know.

[Low-Tier Body Strengthening Serum] [Cost: 500 Villain Points] Description: Increases Combat Power by 35. Moderate improvement over Trash-Tier version.

"Now that’s more interesting," Sebastian murmured.

Fifty-five combat power for five hundred points. That would bring him from 82 to 137—finally above the average human threshold of 100.

He added it to his mental list of considerations.

[Minor Healing Pill] [Cost: 200 Villain Points] Description: Heals minor injuries and bruises within minutes.

[Stamina Recovery Potion] [Cost: 150 Villain Points] Description: Restores physical stamina. Useful after exhausting activities.

Nothing particularly exciting in the rest of the consumables section. Mostly utility items.

EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS

Sebastian opened this category and immediately winced at the prices.

[Basic Combat Knife] [Cost: 500 Villain Points] Description: Superior blade that never dulls. Lightweight and perfectly balanced. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

[Reinforced Business Suit] [Cost: 3000 Villain Points] Description: Looks like a normal suit but provides protection equivalent to light body armor. Knife-resistant and bullet-resistant (handgun rounds only).

[Spirit-Conducting Ring] [Cost: 3500 Villain Points] Description: Increases cultivation speed by 10% when worn. Can store small amounts of spiritual energy for emergency use.

Everything in the equipment section was incredibly expensive—all in the thousands. The Spirit-Conducting Ring was tempting, but at 3,500 points, it was completely out of reach.

"Yeah, equipment is off the table for now," Sebastian said, closing that category.

He leaned back in his chair, reviewing what he’d found.

Sebastian sorted out the items in two categories. Those that were affordable, useful and those that were expensive but powerful.

→ Items that were affordable and useful were the [Qi Gathering Jade] for 500 points, which contained 10 hours of cultivation progress, when using it, he could burst through ten hours of cultivation in a few hours.

→ The [Low-tier Body Strengthening Serum] for 500 points which increased combat power by 55.

→ [Spirit Gathering Incense] for 300 points, increasing cultivation speed for 20% for an hour. It contained ten, so his cultivation speed could be increased by 20% for ten hours.

→ [Low-Level Street-Fighting Skill] for 500 points.

The second category was that of expensive but powerful things he could buy.

→ Mid-Level Cultivation Manual: 2,500 points

→ Mid-Level Cultivation Aptitude: 3,500 points

Sebastian drummed his fingers on his desk, thinking strategically.

’I have 2,850 Villain Points total,’ he calculated. ’I could buy the Mid-Level Cultivation Manual for 2,500, which would leave me with 350 points. That’s barely enough for anything useful.’

’Or I could invest in multiple smaller purchases—boost my combat power, speed up my current cultivation, learn some fighting skills...’

The question was: long-term investment or short-term gains?

The cultivation manual would fix his fundamental problem—the trash-tier manual that made progress painfully slow. With a mid-tier manual, his cultivation would accelerate dramatically.

But without buying the aptitude upgrade too, he’d still be stuck with low talent. A better manual would help, but not as much as it could.

’Maybe I should wait,’ Sebastian thought. ’Accumulate more points, then buy both the manual and the aptitude together for maximum efficiency.’

In the meantime, he could make smaller purchases to handle immediate needs.

Sebastian made his decision.

"I’ll buy practical things now and save up for the big purchases later."

He selected his purchases:

[Low-Tier Body Strengthening Serum] - 500 Villain Points

[Qi Gathering Jade (Low-Grade)] - 500 Villain Points

[Spirit Gathering Incense (10 sticks)] - 300 Villain Points

Total: 1,300 Villain Points

That would leave him with 1,550 points remaining—enough to keep saving toward the cultivation manual while still having emergency funds.

[Confirm Purchase?] [Y/N]

Sebastian hesitated for just a moment, then pressed Yes.

[Purchase Confirmed! Items added to Inventory!]

Three items materialized in his inventory interface.

Sebastian pulled them out one by one—a vial of blue liquid (the serum), a small jade stone that radiated faint warmth (the Qi Jade), and a wooden box containing ten incense sticks.

He smiled, setting them on his desk.

"Let’s see how much faster I can progress now."

===Status===

Host: Sebastian Fairfax

Combat Power: 82 (Average human: 100)

Villain Points: 1,550

Villain Halo: 365

Luck: E

Charm: E+

→ Skills: Silver Tongue

→ Inventory: Low-Tier Body Strengthening Serum (x1), Qi Gathering Jade (x1), Spirit Gathering Incense (x10)

→ Assets: $1,000,000

→ Cultivation: Mortal [26/100]

Sebastian grabbed the serum and uncapped the vial.

The blue liquid inside had a faint medicinal smell, stronger than the trash-tier version he’d consumed before.

’Here goes nothing,’ he thought, bringing it to his lips. He tilted his head back and drank it in one gulp. The effect was immediate.

His heart started pounding faster, the rhythm suddenly accelerating like he’d just sprinted up several flights of stairs. Heat spread through his body, starting from his core and radiating outward through his limbs.

It wasn’t painful, but it was intense. Sebastian gripped the edge of his desk, breathing hard as the sensation intensified. His muscles felt like they were being pulled and stretched, fibres reorganizing themselves at a cellular level.

"Shit," he muttered through gritted teeth.

The heat peaked, his entire body feeling like it was burning from the inside out. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.