Chapter 56 56 – Selling Tainted Pills



"Good. For your service, I will give you 5% of the revenues."

"Thank you, Young Master."

Nick bowed and thanked Ken ecstatically for paying him. Ken's move was calculated. he first took the money from him and only then paid to make Nick feel grateful. 

Ken rewarded him with 10,000 Qi Stones. It was already a lot for Nick who didn't have the support of a big clan or a sect. It was higher than his annual income, and he didn't even participate in the costs or the manufacturing.

Ken knew that Nick would appreciate the payment much more if he was first left with nothing, thinking of himself as a helpless slave. This way, he would be thankful when he gets paid. 

"Of course, I take care of my followers. Remember, just be loyal and you will enjoy endless resources in the future."

"I will be loyal forever, Young Master. You've already saved me from the scheme of the evil cultivator. I will be subservient until the day I die!"

Nick said with a sincere voice. Ken knew he meant it because he was under the effect of the truth drug, but he also knew that he might forget this promise as soon as he was promised benefits by an enemy.

"I hope you can remember this promise. I hope you will not kill the chicken to get the eggs in the future; no one-time payment is better than getting resources in the long term, and nobody will trust a traitor." (1)

"I will remember your words, Young Master."

"Great. Here are some more pills. Try to sell them to the same people you sold the merchandise before."

He gave him a ring with other 10,000 pills. Just making them cost him nearly 300,000, but the revenue would be 2,000,000. Cutting Nick's part and the costs, he would be left with 1,600,000 Qi Stones. Alchemy was just that lucrative.

Of course, normally there's much more competition which meant much more supply, but his enhanced pills had no competition. They were just better than their counterparts. 

Besides, he had a 100% rate in making fourth-grade pills and he concocted them much faster than any other fourth-rank alchemist.

To make his pills more appealing to the elite clan from the top sect, he made them 115% more effective compared to the normal pills circulating in the market. 

On one hand, his pills would be highly desired, on the other hand, they didn't worth waging war against the anonymous alchemist just for a few improved formulas of the fourth grade.

If he introduced to the market fourth-grade pills with effects on the same level as fifth-grade pills, it'd definitely make them hunt him, and that was even before they find out he was only 6 years old.

"All right. Did you hide my existence from the buyers?"

"Yes. I sold it to an elite clan from the Divine Sword Sect. Their clan's last name is Shang, they're a top clan family there. They wanted to buy it from me for 100 Qi Stones but after haggling with them we set the price at 200."

Ken sold mainly the Qi Absorption Pill because it was common and was consumed almost on a daily basis. Just like the pills he provided Annie, they were also tainted with his bloodlust, making the person consuming them become more bloodthirsty the more he took.

This pill was very common in the market and the supply was high, so it was one of the cheaper fourth-grade pills out there. A perfect pill only costs 150 Qi Stones, much less than the usual price for perfect fourth-grade pills. Ken could make much more money by selling rarer pills.

"Good job. Is there anything I would probably want to know?"

"No, Young Master."

"All right, you may leave now. Next time I will meet you in the mountains, so make sure to be on the other side of the sect when it's time to meet again."

Nick bowed while cupping his first while Ken turned around and left the place. He already gave Nick the other two Chill Pills and had nothing to say to Nick anymore.

Ken activated his Bloodlust Sense technique and jogged toward the location of the reported road bandits.

He sensed a few battles of disciples against beasts on the way, but none of them fitted his needs. Eventually, he felt a group of 3 disciples fight against a large tiger at the Intermediate Core Formation Stage.

The disciples fought carefully and methodically. They didn't take any risks and simply let the tiger accumulate many wounds on its body without trying to finish it off and risking themselves.

They wanted to let the tiger get exhausted from bloodlust and from trying to attack the three of them, and then take it down when it doesn't stand a chance anymore.

*Rooarr*

The tiger roared in frustration when it got another superficial cut on its skin. Although he wasn't in danger yet, its intelligence was high enough to know it was at a disadvantage.

Ken didn't plan to watch for long; he simply wore his mask and stepped forward. They were three inner disciples, but they didn't come from elite families, so he didn't worry about killing them.

'One Step, Flash Unwind.'

In an instant, he appeared between them, and three heads flew in the air. Three headless corpses collapsed on the ground while their blood flowed from their cut necks in a gory scene.

The tiger looked at the new arriver confusedly, not understanding where he came from or why he killed people from his kin.

'Mind-Poisoning Domain – Paralyzing Mode.'

The tiger felt a huge pressure on it, and its mind was filled with horrifying scenes full of blood and death. 

All it saw were hallucinations of the young human in front of it, still with its scary mask on, and everything was dead around him. Even the plants were dry or burnt.

It whimpered in fear as it cowered, unable to move other than shaking and making pitiful sounds while looking at the ground. It didn't even dare to look up at Ken. 

Ken canceled his domain and gently stroked the tiger's fur with his delicate child's hands.

"Relax. You only need to serve me for a few days, and you will be fine."

The tiger just lowered its head submissively in response, to show it was willing to do as Ken said without resistance. 

"Take this, it will heal your wounds and replenish your stamina."

Ken gave it a green pill and the tiger ate it. It didn't want to eat it, but it had no choice. To its surprise, it felt its wounds healing at a rapid speed and its body getting lighter as if it wasn't under the strain of a battle.

Half an hour later, the tiger was in peak condition and ready to move. Ken sat on its back and pointed in the direction of the road bandits.

"Run there."

Ken didn't feel like running the whole way like he had to do in the mission of saving that village, so he just found himself a nice, fast mount. The tiger's speed was almost equal to his while he used Cloud Running and was much faster than his normal speed.

The tiger galloped for 24 hours straight, completely exhausting itself. But it felt too much fear toward the human sitting on its back, so it went beyond its usual limits.

"Stop."

The tiger stopped and Ken leaped from its back. The tiger crouched and breathed heavily, trying to catch its breath.

"Take this."

Ken gave it another pill to restore its stamina and the tiger's condition improved within 30 minutes.

"Let's go to sleep. Find a cave, we can kill its residents."

The tiger found a cave and Ken killed the resident, a large bear at the same rank as the tiger. Ken drew a formation and took out a simple bed from his storage ring. He didn't like sleeping on the ground.

The formation's job was to protect him. If the tiger chose to attack him during his sleep, it would hold back the tiger for a few minutes, and all Ken needed was a few seconds to wake up.

The two fell asleep and resumed their journey in the morning. After 12 hours they finally reached Ken's destination and he ordered the tiger to stop again.

"Take this pill as a reward."

He fed the tiger with a red pill. It was the Bloodline Purifying Pill. With this pill, the tiger's bloodline would be enhanced and get closer to its ancestors. 

It was only a fourth-grade pill, so it wasn't like it could perform miracles and turn it into a winged tiger, but it still improved its potential and power.

The tiger wore a weird expression that Ken chose to interpret as a smile in the absence of a better meaning. When the tiger finished ingesting the pill, Ken spoke again.

"I'm looking for humans around here. If you can find me those I'm looking for, I will give you another pill."

Animals could be much better than humans. They were simple-minded and weren't greedy.

'Power corrupts everyone. I once thought the same about Sol and look where that got me.'

He truly believed that if he nurtured this tiger until its intelligence was as high as a human's, it would betray him too. The only safe way to control others was to give them no leeway as he did with Nick.

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A/N: (1) Kill the chicken to get the eggs – losing long-term benefits for immediate profit. Being shortsighted. The chicken can lay many eggs in the future, so killing it is a waste.