For a Hero Rank expert, facing weak teams offered negligible benefits to their combat techniques and battlefield awareness. The Combat Simulation Arena existed for one purpose: to push one's limits. If you could breeze through a challenge with ease, how could you possibly improve your combat power?

  Ying Feng relayed Kael’s explanation to Gu Pingchuan and the others word-for-word.

  After a long silence in the lobby, the group decided to disband. They needed to return to Brilliant Academy to finalize the details of the off-campus curriculum. After all, if they expanded the pool of people getting "abused" in the Arena, their own lack of skill wouldn't seem quite so glaring.

  "Regardless, the effect this place has on honing one's skills is truly second to none," Meng Xiangyu remarked as he stepped out of the booth.

  Replaying the five battles in his mind, he could feel his understanding of the combat process becoming significantly clearer. Gu Pingchuan felt it too. If this crystal ball could sharpen the instincts of a Hero Rank powerhouse, its effect on lower-level practitioners would be unimaginably potent.

  "Space is limited here. We shall select only the elite students from each grade for intensive training," Gu Pingchuan decided on the spot.

  Internally, he added a silent caveat: If too many people come, I might not be able to find a seat myself. How embarrassing would that be? The Dean of Brilliant Academy, standing in line at a tiny shop? That would be front-page news.

  "Dean Gu, there’s real hope for the Academy Tournament this year," Zhong Lingyun noted from behind.

  "Indeed. This must only be promoted within the academy. It must remain strictly confidential from other institutions, at least until the tournament begins," Gu Pingchuan said sternly. "This year, we’re going to give those arrogant old fogies a real surprise."

  Once the academy staff had departed, Ling Xiao remained. He wasn't part of the academy, and he had been waiting for the Deans to leave so he could breathe easily.

  "Manager Kael," Ling Xiao said with an air of grandeur. "I want to know how many of those permanent attribute-boosting pills you have left. I’ll take the entire stock."

  When Gu Pingchuan was present, Ling Xiao didn't dare compete for resources. Kael could treat it as "just business," but if Ling Xiao had tried to monopolize the pills then, Gu Pingchuan might not have attacked him on the spot, but he certainly would have made things difficult for him later. Even as the Third Prince, crossing a Hero Rank powerhouse like Gu Pingchuan was a losing game.

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  Kael gave Ling Xiao a long look. Honestly, he didn't quite understand why Ling Xiao waited until now to ask, but it didn't change his answer.

  "The permanent attribute elixirs are all on the shelves. Their quantity is extremely limited."

  Kael wasn't lying. According to the RNG drop rates of the System’s supply crates, permanent stat boosters were high-rarity items. It followed the classic "Gacha" law: the better the item, the lower the drop rate. Kael didn't consider himself particularly lucky, so this restocking model felt like a personal attack from the System.

  But Kael couldn't exactly complain to the System. Who knew if the System would "stealth-nerf" the drop rates even further out of spite?

  "All of them are on the shelves?"

  Ling Xiao glanced at the small porcelain vials. The remaining elixirs had usage restrictions—minimum level requirements and class-specific locks. Ling Xiao didn't have a high demand for these high-level pills yet. While his secret guard had some "Professional" tier members, their numbers were few. He was a prince, not the Grand Marshal; the law strictly limited the size of private guards. If his shadow army grew too large, it would draw unwanted attention.

  "I’m curious about the production rate of the Body Forging, Wind Spirit, and Bloodbath pills. If you get more in stock, I’m willing to pay double the price to have you reserve them for me," Ling Xiao said, having finally made up his mind.

  These three pills could be taken up to three times per person. They were only of "Excellent" quality, so the price wasn't staggering. To the Deans or a Prince, they were practically free. This was why Gu Pingchuan’s group only asked about stock and never mentioned the price.

  "No. If you need them, you can come and buy them yourself, but I won't reserve them for anyone," Kael replied expressionlessly, looking like a man completely unmoved by wealth.

  "Triple the price," Ling Xiao said grimly.

  "No," Kael shook his head.

  "Five times the price!" Ling Xiao gritted his teeth.

  "Still no," Kael remained firm.

  "Ten times!" Ling Xiao made his final, painful offer.

  This time, Kael didn't even speak. He just slowly shook his head.

  "Fine! Hahaha! Manager Kael, you truly are a man of principle! In that case, I will simply dispatch someone to come here every single day to buy them out," Ling Xiao said after a moment of silence. He had come to a realization: having a "principled" shopkeeper wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

  "Anything else?" Kael asked calmly.

  On the surface, he was as cool as a summer breeze. Internally, he was screaming in agony. Stop bidding! Every word you say makes my heart hurt more! I feel like I just lost a fortune!

  Kael desperately wanted to curse the System. Why couldn't he sell at ten times the price? But the System’s pricing was absolute. At his current Manager level, he had zero authority to change the price tags. Since he couldn't make the extra profit anyway, why would he break his "principles"?

  If you break your principles once, you'll do it a second time, until you have no ground left to stand on.

  "Nothing else for now." Ling Xiao scanned the equipment on the walls. There were many more varieties than his last visit, but he wasn't ready to upgrade his guards' gear just yet.

  Ling Xiao walked outside and addressed the guards waiting at the door. "Listen well. From today onward, this is your secret training grounds. Every day, you are to complete four hours of training in the Combat Simulation Room."

  "Remember: follow every rule of this shop to the letter. Do not, under any circumstances, act out of line."

  "If anything happens, report back to me immediately."

  "Yes, Sir!" the guards responded in unison.