CH 27

Chapter 27: A New Hope

Xiao Qingyang quickly prepared several batches of enhancement potions and put them up for sale in his online store.

The online users who had followed and collected the shop due to the healing potions received notifications of the new product being available, and they eagerly opened the product page, intending to make an immediate purchase. However, their actions came to a halt when they saw it was a new type of potion.

"Enhancement potion? What kind of potion is this?" Qiao Xiaomeng confirmed the name of the potion several times and indeed, it was the first time he had heard of such a potion. He quickly scrolled down the page to read the product details.

Although he came from a commoner background, being able to enter the Royal Military Academy exposed him to a broader world, and he had some knowledge about potions. However, he had never heard of an enhancement potion before.

Product Details:

[The enhancement potion can improve a person's physique, but different dosages are required based on individual physique. It is recommended for customers purchasing this potion to start with a small dosage and increase until the body feels a slight tingling sensation.

Since the potion can alter the human physique, experiencing a tingling sensation is normal. It signifies the body undergoing transformation.

Furthermore, this potion is a basic-level potion and has a significant effect on individuals with a physique grade of C or below. The effect on individuals of higher grades is not as pronounced. Please exercise caution when making a purchase.]

After reading the details, Qiao Xiaomeng was completely stunned.

A potion that could enhance one's physique was something he had never encountered before. There were many potions outside that could enhance abilities, but there was none specifically for improving physical strength. After all, the physique of all ability users was already quite high, and as for ordinary people, no one would bother researching potions to enhance their physique. 

After all, compared to ability users, ordinary people had very little significance.

If this enhancement potion was truly as described in the details, then for ordinary people, especially those who couldn't reach the B-grade level and couldn't become mech warriors, it would be an absolute blessing.

Moreover, the shop owner mentioned that this was a basic-level enhancement potion effective for individuals with a C-grade or lower physique. Did that mean there were intermediate and advanced potions available? Would they also be effective for those above the C-grade level?

Although his current physique was not low, no one would complain about further improving their physique. After all, the physique of the Crown Prince of their empire was at the 3S level, serving as the idol for many ability users and ordinary people alike.

After reading the introduction to the enhanced potion, many people, like Qiao Xiaomeng, felt excited and thrilled, especially those ordinary individuals with physique grades below C-level. They carried a glimmer of hope within them, but at the same time, doubts lingered.

The majority of the people who followed Xiao Qingyang's shop were ordinary individuals with relatively low physique grades. They admired ability users but, due to innate reasons, they couldn't become ability users themselves or enjoy the benefits that come with it. However, they still yearned for abilities, so those who had some spare money liked to buy inexpensive and low-level potions, as it made them feel closer to ability users.

Therefore, Xiao Qingyang set the prices of the potions in his shop lower than other stores, attracting many customers of this kind.

At the same time, these individuals were less daring than ability users and had a lower acceptance of unknown things. Despite their hopes, they were hesitant to be the first ones to try something new and preferred to observe others.

After the enhancement potions were made available for purchase, Xiao Qingyang continued to monitor the situation in his shop. The number of page views kept increasing, but there were no orders placed, which puzzled him.

The enhancement potions were created by following the formula and steps from his world, using substitute spirit plants from this world. The grades were also based on the classification from his world.

Although the first batch of enhancement potions he successfully concocted was only of the lowest grade, they still had a decent effect. At least his own body felt much better, so there should be someone in need of them, right?

Or perhaps these people felt that the grade of the enhancement potions was too low?

However, he didn't currently possess the spirit plants needed to create intermediate or advanced enhancement potions, even as substitutes. He couldn't refine them until he earned more money in the future.

He had originally planned to make a big profit from the enhancement potions, but unexpectedly, not a single bottle was sold. This left Xiao Qingyang feeling frustrated. It seemed that money wasn't so easy to make after all.

If only his spiritual power was still intact, he could refine the same spirit plants into enhanced pills, which had even better effects than the enhancement potions. Maybe people wouldn't have been so dismissive.

Indeed, he was too weak now. He needed to recover his strength as quickly as possible!

Although Xiao Qingyang currently had nothing except time, and he didn't need to worry about being bullied due to his weak abilities on this remote planet, he could slowly restore his magic and spiritual power.

These were his previous thoughts, but now his mindset had changed. Even if he had no enemies and no immediate danger, he still had to regain his strength as soon as possible. The feeling of helplessness was truly unpleasant.

...

After no one dared to place orders for the enhancement potions in his online store, Xiao Qingyang shifted his focus back to healing potions.

As expected, the healing potions sold out immediately upon being listed.

Watching the income figures gradually increase in the backend of his store, Xiao Qingyang, who was becoming more and more obsessed with wealth, finally felt a little better.

Although the enhancement potions could make a person's physique stronger, Xiao Qingyang knew that relying too much on potions was not advisable. If he wanted to become more powerful, the most important thing was to rely on his own efforts.

So every day, Xiao Qingyang would take Long Jingze out for a run and exercise.

In the past, Xiao Qingyang mostly stayed in the forest. Since his physique had improved to some extent, he often went to places with mountains. Climbing mountains was no longer as difficult as before.

In Xiao Qingyang's magic spring, natural energy had already accumulated. Although it couldn't compare to his previous life, it was still sufficient for cultivating spirit plants and supplying Long Jingze.

Every day, Xiao Qingyang would infuse some natural energy into Long Jingze's body. Although natural energy wasn't a true healing power, it was a gift from nature itself, and humans were the most successful creations of nature. For humans, natural energy only brought benefits and no harm.

When Long Jingze first realized that his ability core was ruptured, his initial thought was to hurry back to the Imperial Capital Star because that was where the most skilled alchemists and doctors in the entire empire resided.

However, he also knew that once the ability core ruptured, it was almost impossible to restore it. Even the most skilled alchemists and doctors could only temporarily slow down the rate of rupture and then work hard to research relevant countermeasures. Whether they would succeed or not, no one could guarantee.

Therefore, when he learned that he was on the most remote planet and it would be difficult to find a way back to the Imperial Capital Star, that sense of urgency faded.

And now, he was forced by Xiao Qingyang to drink low-grade healing potions every day. Although he knew those potions had no effect on his body, he couldn't bear to disappoint the young man, so he reluctantly drank them.

Who would have thought that after drinking them for so many days, his initial illusion actually came true? The internal injuries in his body were gradually healing, even though the ability core remained unchanged and the cracks were still present. But the other internal injuries were improving.

Just this alone shocked Long Jingze immensely.

With his status, the healing potions he had previously consumed were of the highest grade, but they didn't have the same effect as the current ones. He naturally wouldn't naively think that only low-grade healing potions would have such miraculous effects; otherwise, the high-grade potions would be too embarrassed.

As for the current situation, there was only one reason for it: Xiao Qingyang.

Long Jingze witnessed every step of Xiao Qingyang's potion-making process and remembered the order in which he placed the spirit plants. Although he wasn't an alchemist and couldn't guarantee knowledge of all the steps involved in potion-making, he knew that Xiao Qingyang's process and methods were different from those of existing alchemists.

It was likely this difference that resulted in the healing potions having a superior effect.

However, it was evident that the healing potions concocted by Xiao Qingyang were more effective. If such potions were circulated within the empire, they would undoubtedly attract the attention of all the alchemists in the empire, especially the Alchemists Guild. They might eagerly come looking for him.

If it were only the Alchemists Guild, that would be fine. But there was a fear that malicious individuals who learned of Xiao Qingyang's information would try to exploit him, or worse... eliminate him.

Just the thought of Xiao Qingyang possibly being in danger made Long Jingze inexplicably anxious.

Unfortunately, the main protagonist himself hadn't noticed any danger and was busy running an online store on the Star Network. He didn't even conceal his own information. This truly weighed heavily on Long Jingze's heart, just like an old father worrying for his child.

Therefore, while Xiao Qingyang was sleeping, Long Jingze quietly used his partner's optical computer to encrypt the information about his online store, making it difficult for others to easily access his information.

He didn't do this to protect the young man. It was merely because Xiao Qingyang's healing potions had a significant effect on him. In order to preserve the long-term efficacy, Long Jingze reluctantly helped him a little. He silently convinced himself of this in his heart.

After all, high-grade healing potions made by other alchemists were powerless against his ability core. What if Xiao Qingyang were to create high-grade potions?

Currently, just the basic healing potions slowly healed the internal injuries within him. Did that mean if Xiao Qingyang made higher-grade healing potions, their healing properties would be even greater? Could they even heal the ruptured ability core?

A glimmer of hope emerged in Long Jingze's heart.

Xiao Qingyang had no idea about everything Long Jingze had done. However, it didn't affect his daily routine of making potions, tending to the crops, climbing mountains, and searching for minerals. He lived a fulfilling and exciting life, completely erasing the Xiao family from his mind.

At the beginning, when Xiao Qingyang first transmigrated into this body, the original host's consciousness still lingered and occasionally influenced him.

But now, this body and his soul were slowly merging, and his physique was being transformed to be closer and closer to his previous body. He believed that once his magical power and spiritual power were fully restored, this body should be able to perfectly merge with his soul.

By then, Xiao Qingyang wouldn't feel any obstacles when using spiritual power and magical power, just like before.

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Translator’s nore: Poor little golden dragon, still in denial. LOL.