The herbs needed to refine a Marrow-Cleansing Pill aren't expensive at all—if you convert the cost to silver, it's less than a hundred taels.
But ten thousand taels of gold is a million taels of silver, so selling one pill for ten thousand gold means the profit margin is over a hundred thousand times.
"How do you plan to sell them?"
Ian asked.
Sherry replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, we should open a pill shop and sell them there. Or, we could auction them at Daxia Merchant Guild's auction house!"
Hearing this, Ian secretly shook his head. Sherry's thinking was way too outdated—even the most ordinary salesperson in the main world could come up with a better plan.
"Is that not going to work?" Sherry asked, a hint of nervousness in her eyes as she looked at Ian.
Ian smiled and asked, "Sherry, do you think there are many people who can afford one hundred thousand taels of gold?"
"Probably not," she admitted.
"Exactly!" Ian nodded. "To an ordinary martial artist, one hundred thousand gold is sky-high."
"So should we lower the price?" Sherry asked, a little uncertain.
"Don't rush. Listen to my analysis first," Ian said, raising his hand. Instantly, Sherry's cheeks flushed slightly, a bit embarrassed.
Ian continued, "Those who can afford a hundred thousand gold are usually the direct heirs of major clans or sects. Do you think those kinds of people enjoy shopping? Most of the people out on the streets are just regular martial artists, and they can't afford that much. So opening a shop is pointless."
Hearing Ian's analysis, Sherry nodded thoughtfully, realizing he made a lot of sense.
"What about auctioning them?" she asked.
"That's even less ideal." Ian said, "You can't hold auctions every day, and that would seriously limit our sales volume. Plus, auctions are too infrequent to be practical."
"Then how should we sell them?" Sherry was fully engaged now, her tone genuinely seeking advice.
Ian smiled. "Dragonfang City is Valeguard's capital, so the strongest force here is obviously the royal family. Why not send a few Marrow-Cleansing Pills to the princes and let them try them out?"
Hearing this, Sherry's eyes lit up and she couldn't help but say, "Brother Chu, this idea is genius!"
Last night, she'd already experienced the wonders of the Marrow-Cleansing Pill herself. Once the royal princes tried it, word of mouth would explode, and all the martial families and sects close to the royals would come begging for pills.
Selling pills in a shop and having people come begging for them are two completely different things. This way, not only do you make a fortune, but you also earn favors—which is exactly what she needs.
For a moment, Sherry looked at Ian with even more admiration in her eyes.
Next, the two discussed the details and finally brought up profit sharing. Since Ian was the one providing the pills and Sherry was only handling sales, she proposed a one-to-nine split.
She would get one share, Ian nine.
"How about forty-sixty?" Ian thought for a moment.
Sherry was touched by his generosity, but insisted on the one-to-nine split.
Ian had no choice but to agree.
Valeguard is one of the seven great nations of the Mystic Sun Domain. Its capital is one of the top ten cities, with nine major cities, thirty-six mid-sized cities, and hundreds of small cities.
The emperor of Valeguard is Neville Valeguard, and he has over forty princes and more than twenty princesses.
Among them, there are twenty-four adult princes and thirteen adult princesses.
Sherry is always in a hurry.
After Ian handed over a hundred Marrow-Cleansing Pills, she personally visited ten underage princes and gifted each of them a pill.
The Thirty-Seventh Prince Nicholas Vale is just eleven years old, but he’s deeply favored by Emperor Neville. He started martial training at five, was guided by famous teachers, and with all the resources he could want, his cultivation has already reached Divine Sea Stage mid-peak. His Sun-Soul instructor predicts that in at most three years, Nicholas will break through Divine Sea and reach Origin Core.
"Master Meng, Sherry Summers from Daxia Merchant Guild sent a pill, saying it can cleanse the marrow and refine the body. Could you check if there’s anything wrong with it?"
Nicholas handed a pillwood box to Elder Morgan Meng.
Elder Morgan Meng is Nicholas’s martial instructor and also an enshrined royal elder, with cultivation at mid Sun-Soul Realm.
"Sherry Summers is the daughter of Harold Summers from Daxia Merchant Guild. She might not be highly regarded, but she wouldn’t dare try to fool you with a fake pill." As he spoke, Elder Morgan Meng opened the box, took out the Marrow-Cleansing Pill, and wrapped it with his Sun-Soul spiritual sense. He nodded: "The alchemist who made this pill is very skilled—this is a top-grade pill. Judging by its properties, it really does have marrow-cleansing effects. It’s safe to take."
"No need for that," Nicholas waved his hand. "I’ve never lacked pills since I was a child, and I’m training in a Royal-Grade Technique. This pill probably won’t do much for me. Why don’t you take it? I heard you just accepted a new disciple, so consider this a meeting gift from me as senior brother!"
"Then I’ll thank you on his behalf," Elder Morgan Meng said with a smile, accepting the Marrow-Cleansing Pill without much thought.
The Thirty-Ninth Prince Nathan Vale was born to a palace maid and holds a low status, living a very hard life inside the palace.
Even in cultivation, Nathan Vale’s resources were far less than the other princes. Though he was only two months younger than Nicholas, he’d just barely reached the sixth layer of the Divine Power Stage.
At this moment, Nathan sat cross-legged on his bed, with a pillwood box before him. Inside, a fragrant pill awaited.
"I may not be favored in the palace, but I’m still a prince. I doubt anyone from Daxia Merchant Guild would dare harm me. Since that’s the case, I might as well give it a try—if I succeed, maybe Father will notice me at next month’s royal hunt!"
With that thought, Nathan picked up the pill and swallowed it.
The pill melted instantly, turning into a wave of warmth that spread through his body, making him feel wonderfully comfortable.
The process lasted for most of an hour.
Nathan soon felt uncomfortable. When he wiped his skin, his hand came away coated in a thick, foul-smelling black residue.
"This Marrow-Cleansing Pill is incredible—it actually purged so many impurities!"
Overjoyed, Nathan called for his attendant to bring two buckets of clean water.
After a thorough bath and a change of clothes, Nathan checked his body and found every inch glowing with a faint light. His meridians had expanded by a third, their walls thickened and far more resilient.
Even his dantian had doubled in size.
"This is practically a divine medicine!"
Excited, he calmed his breath, sat cross-legged, and gripped a lower-grade spirit crystal in his hand. Even the least-favored prince received one spirit crystal a month for cultivation.
The night passed quickly.
Suddenly, Nathan’s eyes snapped open and he let out a triumphant roar.
Emperor Neville, returning to the palace after morning court, heard the cry and paused, then turned to his attendant. "Go and see which prince just broke through!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The attendant quickly returned, reporting that the one who broke through was the Thirty-Ninth Prince Nathan Vale—he’d reached Divine Sea Stage.
Emperor Neville was surprised—it was him? Then he ordered, "Send word for him to come to Jade Purity Palace."
A quarter of an hour later, Jade Purity Palace.
Nathan bowed low before Emperor Neville. "Your son greets Father."
Emperor Neville didn’t speak at first, but studied Nathan with interest. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction. "It seems you weren’t reckless in your breakthrough—your foundation is solid!"
Nathan was secretly delighted and instinctively replied, "Thank you for your praise, Father. Actually, my breakthrough to Divine Sea Stage is all thanks to a Marrow-Cleansing Pill sent by Sherry Summers from Daxia Merchant Guild!"