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Chapter 378 Investing in the Future

He didn't have to discard the armor entirely. Instead, he could repair it and pass it on to someone else since it had already absorbed a significant amount of Qi, rising from low earth-grade to mid earth-grade.

But first things first, Kevin ordered some mortal grade long knives called Slasher X. They weren't particularly unique at the mortal grade, but once upgraded to earth grade, they acquired abilities and sharpness that could slice through earth-grade armor like butter.

They cost only 50 units apiece due to low demand, so Kevin ordered 40 of them. The price for a low earth-grade Slasher X was 1500 units, which meant the system's price would be around 500 units or so, giving him a good profit margin.

Merging earth-grade products cost 1 omni token, so merging mortal-grade items would cost half or less. Calculating the price, he muttered, "Each merge costs about 150 units... with 20 merges, that would be 3000 units, including ten omni tokens... and with a probability of 99%, one might fail." His smile grew wider as he calculated the potential profit, but he didn't speak the number aloud, unsure if the system would price them as he estimated. However, he was satisfied as long as the price of the merged weapon exceeded 300 units.

He didn't just buy long knives; he also purchased some one-handed swords, spears, and some Qi-powered handguns, the most expensive of all the weapons at 800 units each. He bought ten of these and spent about 22,000 units in total. The final tally was 110 weapons: 40 long blades, 30 swords, 30 spears, and 10 Qi-powered handguns.

He placed the order, and to his delight, the delivery was scheduled to arrive at his shop within an hour. As he waited with a wide smile, an idea popped into his mind. "Hey system, can I merge the products produced from the merging lottery again?" he asked.

[No, host can only merge them once.]

Kevin didn't look disappointed. If he could merge products infinitely, it would be too easy. Besides, the merging lottery had limited uses: mortal grade items could be merged up to 1000 times, while earth grade items were restricted to 100 merges per month. Thus, he couldn't always rely on them. However, 50 immortal grade products per month was quite a lot, considering not many cultivation stores in the city sold them.

With the Benvar family selling most of the high-grade items, and sometimes even higher, there were only a couple of dozen more high-end stores that sold more than a hundred or so immortal-grade products per month. These stores had a steady stock, especially of alchemy products and monster body parts. However, weapons and armor were different; they were not as easy to sell.

Cultivators tended to buy their gear based on their specific needs and conditions, choosing what complemented their strengths best, and aligning with their cultivation and fighting techniques. This didn't affect the lower-grade weapons, like high earth grade or below, as much. Some cultivators even used these lower-grade items, particularly knives and spears, as consumables.

The items needed to be available, but cultivators weren't going to purchase the lowest quality just to use them as consumables. The weapons still had to be at least lower earth grade to be used by a qi condensation stage cultivator, or they would be destroyed by even a bit of power fused into them.

Cultivation society was complicated, and it was taking time for Kevin to learn the pros and cons, but he was getting the hang of it as he delved deeper into this society. He could now acquire good products to sell in his store, but he couldn't always rely on this method. He needed to go on his adventure trips to gain more experience and learn more about this world. Therefore, he had to set up a way to consistently get new items for the store.

As he was deep in thought, Sia walked into the office carrying a few metal cases. Placing a total of ten in front of him, she said, "These came for you," looking at them curiously.

Kevin guessed they were the qi-powered guns from their size, but he ignored them for now. Instead, he looked at Sia and asked, "You practice the Soldier Bale technique, right? How's your progress so far?"

Sia was surprised by his sudden inquiry since he had never shown much interest in her fighting before. A bit suspicious, she answered, "I can perform Armor Destroyer to some extent. Why do you ask?"

Kevin looked impressed. He had only shown her Armor Destroyer a few times before he went to the den, so it was impressive that she could perform it without much instruction, unlike Keith and the others who needed extensive training.

"I was thinking of hiring a fighting instructor for my family and thought you might be interested," Kevin said, aiming to train her while also acquiring materials for the store.

Sia looked surprised and hesitant, wondering about his motives. He was already sleeping with her, so it couldn't be for that.

Seeing her reluctance and suspicion, Kevin smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry, it's not for free. I want you to do something in exchange for me. Nothing perverted, but a bit dangerous. I'll explain later when you've decided if you want to get trained or not." He then turned his attention to the metal cases on his desk. "You can go. There are more things coming; bring them here when they arrive."