Dinner was the usual cheap, high-calorie, high-protein meal, quickly replenishing his spent stamina.

After filling his stomach, he didn’t leave right away as usual. Instead, he turned toward the brightly lit, bustling pharmacy next to the cafeteria, a store run by the Fire Hall itself.

The shop was spacious and bright, like a small supermarket. All four checkout counters had lines, and the air was filled with a strange, medicinal aroma from a mix of various supplements.

This was the first time Li Wen had stepped inside to buy a Qi and Blood Potion for himself. In the past, his parents had always scraped together the money to buy him the few "luxury items" from a regular pharmacy.

The shelves were packed with a dazzling array of goods. Bottles and jars gleamed with an alluring yet aloof luster, each marked with a steep price.

Li Wen kept his eyes fixed forward, suppressing the trace of longing in his heart as he walked straight to the "Qi and Blood Potion Section," the busiest area of the store.

As soon as he got there, he saw a middle-aged man dressed in the dark, standard-issue uniform of a Fire Hall member.

The man had a lean, powerful build and a reserved aura, but he radiated an imperceptible pressure that made the very air around him feel heavy.

Just by standing casually in front of the shelf, he put an invisible pressure on Li Wen.

The member leaned over and casually grabbed a handful of at least twenty exquisitely packaged, pale-red potions from the shelf marked "Level 2." His movements were as nonchalant as if he were buying bottled water.

The sheer audacity of the gesture made Li Wen’s eyelids twitch.

’One, two, three... That must be twenty or thirty of them, right? A single Level 2 Qi and Blood Potion is twenty thousand, so this handful...’ Before he could finish the mental math, the member was already walking to the checkout counter.

Li Wen took a deep breath, forcibly tearing his envious gaze away. He bent down to the bottom shelf, the one marked "Level 1," and, with extreme care and solemnity, picked up... just four potions. Their packaging was relatively plain, and the liquid inside was a pale white.

This was his ammunition for tonight’s cultivation, and his guarantee for the next few days.

He couldn’t bring himself to spend the entire "huge sum" of twelve thousand at once. Keeping it clutched in his pocket seemed to offer a bit more security.

’Buying so many at once... What if I drop them? Or break them? Or something happens on the way...’ All sorts of absurd yet realistic "what ifs" tumbled through his mind, a mind shaped by poverty.

This wasn’t him being petty; it was a deep-seated scar etched by countless nights of watching his parents worry about medical bills. He was terrified of being poor.

He clutched the four Level 1 Qi and Blood Potions, which felt both light as a feather and heavy as lead, and quietly got in line behind the Fire Hall member.

At that moment, the numbers on the checkout counter’s digital screen flickered like magic before settling on an astronomical figure that nearly made Li Wen suffocate: 1,200,000.00.

The young female cashier flashed a professionally sweet smile. "Hello, sir. Your total is one million, two hundred thousand. Will you be paying with points or currency?"

"Card." The member’s tone was completely flat, without a hint of fluctuation, as if it were just a three-digit price tag. He casually handed over a card.

Standing in line behind him, Li Wen felt like he was watching a performance from a social class that wasn’t his own.

"Of course, one moment please." The cashier’s movements were deft. After a few clicks on the computer, her smile grew even wider. "Sir, based on your esteemed status as a v3-level Fire Hall member, you are eligible for a 20% discount on this purchase. After the discount, your new total is nine hundred and sixty thousand."

’A 20% discount?! That saved him two hundred and forty thousand?!’ Li Wen’s pupils contracted violently. The magnitude of the discount struck him like a sledgehammer to the chest.

’Nine hundred and sixty thousand! That two hundred and forty thousand he saved... how many Level 1 potions could that buy? How long could that cover Dad’s medical bills? How much of my family’s burden could that lighten?’

The immense shock made him instantly understand the terrifying value of being an official member of one of the four major powers! Just the discount on potions alone could save an amount of money in a single year that an ordinary family wouldn’t even dare to dream of!

’I have to raise my skill realm as fast as possible! Once I reach the Unity Realm, I’ll be qualified to apply for an early contract! The sooner I join, the more money I’ll save! I have to grind! Grind like my life depends on it!’

An unprecedented, surging motivation—a mixture of intense desire and indignation—erupted and burned in his chest.

"Hello, four Level 1 Qi and Blood Potions come to two thousand exactly. Are you a member of our store?" When it was Li Wen’s turn, the cashier’s polite question pulled him back from his shock.

"...I’m not a member. Card, thank you." Li Wen came to his senses and pulled out his bank card, his movements slightly stiff.

The number in his account had just been made to look utterly minuscule by the "nine hundred and sixty thousand."

"Alright, that’s two thousand. Please take your potions, and we hope to see you again."

Amid the cashier’s formulaic farewell, Li Wen carefully tucked the four individually packaged Qi and Blood Potions into the innermost pocket of his backpack as if they were hidden treasures, then quickly left the "land of the wealthy."

The bus swayed during the evening rush hour. By the time he got home, it was already dark, and the neon lights outside illuminated the streetscape.

Li Wen pushed the door open and heard his father, Li Hong, on the balcony, speaking on the phone in a hushed voice:

"...How’s Old Zhao doing? Ah... The hospital is demanding payment again? ...There’s nothing we can do? ...Then... when is the compensation money coming? We can’t just let it drag on... The man’s still lying in there! ...Sigh, alright... We’ll just have to tough it out a bit longer..."

His father’s voice was laced with exhaustion and helplessness, and his back, illuminated by the dim balcony light, looked somewhat stooped.

The severe injury of his coworker and the subsequent difficulties cast another shadow over the family, which had only recently escaped its own major crisis.

Li Wen’s heart tightened. He called out in a low voice, "Dad, I’m home."

Li Hong seemed startled. He hurriedly said "Talk to you later" into the phone and hung up. When he turned around, he had already forced his usual smile onto his face.

"Xiaowen, you’re back? Dinner’s being kept warm in the pot."

"Yeah, I already ate, Dad. I’m going to my room to cultivate." Li Wen didn’t want to bring up the sad business of his father’s coworker and went straight to his room.

He closed the door, shutting out the faint light from the living room.

He took the Qi and Blood Potions from his backpack, opened the individual box of one, and placed the glass vial—a tube carrying both hope and weight—securely on the most accessible part of his desk. This was his guarantee for recovering his body’s energy after tonight’s sprint.

Next, he changed into a set of looser old clothes, took off his shoes and socks, and stepped barefoot onto the old yoga mat in the center of his room. It was faded from washing and frayed at the edges—this was his exclusive "arena" for practicing his basic skill, the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill.

He only had half an hour of [Absolute Focus] reserved for his basic skill practice tonight. This meant he had to endure the initial phase of his cultivation with nothing but his own raw stamina.

Li Wen calmed his mind and settled his breath, assuming the special stance of the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill—a posture that treated the spine as a great dragon, causing all the bones and muscles in his body to vibrate in resonance.

VMMMM...

A faint but distinct force of qi and blood began to stir and circulate within him, causing his body to tremble slightly. His skin, muscles, and even his tendons and bones felt a stinging pain, as if being scoured by invisible sand.

This stinging pain, accompanied by the consumption of his qi and blood, was the necessary path to becoming stronger.