The ceremonial bells rang at dawn — deep, resonant tones signaling official announcements.
Wei Chen joined the crowd flowing toward the main courtyard. Excited murmurs filled the air.
"Rankings update."
"Two months exactly."
All sixty-one Outer Disciples assembled. Master Zhao stood at the center, flanked by senior faculty. Behind them, a massive board displayed new rankings.
"Month two, rankings update," Zhao announced. "Performance period: entrance through week eight. New rankings are posted."
Wei Chen pushed through the crowd, scanning names.
Rank 35 - Ming Yue (from 58)
Rank 52 - Wei Chen (from 54)
Rank 53 - Chen Ling (from 55)
Rank 54 - Xu Lan (from 56)
Two positions up. Solid, not dramatic. But progress.
"We all moved consistently," Chen Ling noted. "Ming Yue jumped twenty-three ranks. Her Advanced-level magic giving massive advantage."
Brother Kai's voice cut through the crowd. "Rank 52. Congratulations on your mediocrity." But something flickered underneath — acknowledgment? "Two months ago you were freshly humiliated. Now you're climbing. That's more than most manage."
He walked away before Wei Chen could respond.
Back in his room, Wei Chen reviewed finances:
Current Balance: 58 points
Monthly Burn: 17 points (Lin Sha payment, supplies, equipment)
Standard Mission Income: 12-15 points/month
Even with his competition analysis windfall, he was breaking even long-term. The buffer wouldn't last forever.
A knock interrupted his calculations. A professional courier stood outside.
"Delivery for Wei Chen. Sender: Merchant Liu's trade network. Package from hometown contacts."
Wei Chen's chest tightened. The courier handed over a sealed package — official merchant guild wrapping.
Inside: trading house documentation and a note in familiar handwriting.
Wei Chen,
Liu's expanding operations to the capital. He needs someone who understands both Sanctuary culture and merchant operations. Specifically, someone who can identify what students actually need versus what the supply shops think they need.
I'm eleven now. My [Sharp Mind] reached Expert level last month — I can evaluate merchant opportunities with about eighty percent accuracy. Liu's using me for regional analysis.
I've identified a gap: Sanctuary students pay retail prices to supply shops who buy wholesale from city merchants. Students can't access wholesale directly — guild memberships cost 50 gold minimum, far beyond student means.
But if someone had guild access AND understood student needs, they could bridge that gap. Buy wholesale, sell below retail, everyone benefits. Supply shops would hate it, but that's their problem for overcharging captive market.
Liu's willing to sponsor limited guild membership — 5 gold, gives you wholesale access for specific product categories. In exchange: you identify profitable student markets, coordinate bulk purchases, split net profits 70-30 (you keep 70%, Liu takes 30% for providing infrastructure).
This isn't friendship. This is business. Liu thinks you're smart enough to make this work. I think you're too risk-averse to try. Prove one of us wrong.
— Lian Xiu
P.S. Your mother sends her love. Your father finished a new pottery technique. Everyone's fine. Don't die doing something stupid.
Wei Chen read it twice. Lian Xiu was eleven. But more importantly: she'd identified the exact inefficiency he and Chen Ling had been discussing.
Supply shop markup was the problem. Students paid 5 points for items costing 3 points wholesale. Simple arbitrage if you could access wholesale markets.
That evening, Wei Chen gathered Chen Ling and Xu Lan in the outer courtyard.
"Merchant Liu's offering wholesale access. Five gold upfront for limited guild membership. We'd get wholesale prices on specific product categories. In exchange, Liu takes thirty percent of net profits for providing infrastructure."
He laid out Lian Xiu's analysis. The markup percentages. The volume calculations. The profit potential.
"Five gold is fifty contribution points at treasury exchange rate," Chen Ling said. "That's significant capital."
"We don't pay it," Wei Chen clarified. "Liu pays the five gold membership fee as infrastructure investment. We pay nothing upfront. Our only capital risk is the money we use for actual inventory purchases."
"So what's Liu's actual cost?" Xu Lan asked, voice sharp. "He doesn't invest five gold from generosity."
"He's buying access to Sanctuary market intelligence," Wei Chen said. "We identify what students actually need, test products at small scale, report back. Liu uses that information for his larger capital operations. The five gold buys him market research he can't get elsewhere."
"And we get wholesale access we couldn't afford independently," Chen Ling added. "Mutually beneficial."
"Except Liu takes thirty percent of our profits," Xu Lan pointed out. "That's not insignificant."
"Thirty percent of something is better than one hundred percent of nothing," Wei Chen countered. "Without Liu's infrastructure, we can't access wholesale at all. The alternative is grinding missions forever."
He pulled out calculations. "Here's the model: weapon maintenance oil. Supply shop charges 5 points. Wholesale cost is 3 points if we buy twenty units minimum. We sell at 4 points — students save 1 point, we make 1 point gross profit per unit."
"Twenty units means 80 points from customers, 60 points wholesale cost, 20 points gross profit," Chen Ling calculated rapidly. "Liu takes 30% of that — 6 points. We keep 14 points net."
"For how much work?" Xu Lan asked.
"One week. Maybe two if logistics get complicated." Wei Chen's voice was firm. "Fourteen points for two weeks is seven times better than standard mission efficiency."
"If it works," Xu Lan said.
"If it works," Wei Chen agreed. "But the risk is manageable. We collect customer payment upfront — no money, no participation. We only buy wholesale after confirming commitments. If people back out, we refund them. Worst case: we waste time but lose zero points."
"Except reputation," Chen Ling said. "If we mess this up, we look incompetent. That's harder to recover than lost points."
"Then we don't mess it up." Wei Chen met their eyes. "We plan carefully. Execute precisely. Test with one product. Scale only if it works."
Xu Lan was quiet for a long moment. "I want ten percent of our net profits directed to the orphanage. Not donations — sustainable support. Built into the model."
Wei Chen considered. Ten percent of fourteen points was 1.4 points. "Done. That makes it about twelve points net for us, one point to orphanage, per successful operation."
"I'm in," Xu Lan said.
"Me too," Chen Ling added. "But we need clear exit conditions. If this doesn't work after one test, we abandon it and return to missions. No sunk cost fallacy."
"Agreed." Wei Chen pulled out parchment. "Let's formalize the plan."
They spent the next three hours working through details:
PHASE 1 - PROOF OF CONCEPT
Product: Weapon maintenance oil
Wholesale cost: 3 points per unit (minimum 20 units)
Retail price: 4 points per unit
Customer benefit: Save 1 point versus supply shop
Our gross profit: 1 point per unit
Capital flow:
Collect from customers: 80 points (20 customers × 4 points prepaid)
Purchase wholesale: 60 points (20 units × 3 points)
Operating costs: ~6 points (transport, time, quality control)
Gross profit: 20 points
Liu's cut (30%): 6 points
Orphanage allocation (10% of net): 1.4 points
Our net: 12.6 points
Timeline: 2 weeks from commitment to delivery
Success requirements:
Find 20 confirmed customers
Collect 80 points prepayment
Execute wholesale purchase without issues
Deliver quality product on schedule
Handle customer service professionally
Exit conditions:
If we can't find 20 customers in one week, abort
If more than 2 customers demand refunds, abort future operations
If net profit drops below 10 points after costs, reconsider model
"This is conservative," Chen Ling noted. "Most bulk purchase models assume higher volumes, lower margins. We're doing lower volume, higher margins."
"Because we're testing," Wei Chen said. "Twenty units is manageable. If this works, we scale to fifty units, hundred units. But we prove the model first."
"One addition," Xu Lan said. "We need someone handling quality control full-time. I'll do it. Every unit gets inspected before distribution. Any defects, we handle with supplier directly, not customer."
"Smart," Wei Chen agreed. "Chen Ling handles money collection and distribution logistics. I handle supplier relationships and customer acquisition. We each have clear roles."
They drafted a simple announcement:
BULK PURCHASE OPPORTUNITY - WEAPON MAINTENANCE OIL
Supply shop price: 5 points
Our price: 4 points
Your savings: 1 point per unit
Quality guaranteed or full refund
Payment required upfront
Delivery in 2 weeks
Limited to 20 participants
Contact: Wei Chen, Room 23
They posted it on the Outer Disciple message board that night.
The next morning, Wei Chen woke to knocking.
He opened the door. Three students stood there — all ranked 40-60, all looking uncertain.
"The bulk purchase," one said. "Is this legitimate? You're actually getting wholesale access?"
"Yes. Merchant guild partnership. I have documentation if you want to see it." Wei Chen pulled out the papers Lian Xiu had sent.
They examined them carefully. "Four points is good price. But why prepayment?"
"Because we're not fronting capital for twenty units on speculation," Wei Chen said bluntly. "No payment, no participation. We collect money, confirm commitments, then buy wholesale. Standard business practice."
"What if we pay and you disappear?"
"Then you report me to Sanctuary administration and I get expelled for fraud," Wei Chen said. "My reputation is collateral. I'm rank 52, climbing steadily, building relationships. I'm not risking that for eighty points."
They looked at each other, then nodded. "We're in. Three units total."
By end of day: eight commitments, thirty-two points collected.
By day three: fifteen commitments, sixty points collected.
By day five: twenty-three people wanted in.
Wei Chen capped it at twenty-two — even number, manageable logistics. He refunded the last applicant apologetically.
"Next operation," he told them. "We'll do this monthly if it works."
Day seven: Wei Chen and Chen Ling took the sixty points to treasury, exchanged for six gold. Walked to the merchant district, presented guild credentials to the wholesale supplier.
The merchant — middle-aged woman with calculating eyes — examined the credentials carefully. "Liu's protege? You're younger than I expected."
"I'm competent enough to execute purchases and maintain relationships," Wei Chen said. "That's what matters."
"Indeed." She gestured at her inventory. "Twenty-two units of weapon maintenance oil. Standard quality. That's 3.3 gold total — I give you small discount for clean bulk order."
Wei Chen inspected three random units. Quality was consistent with supply shop stock. "Acceptable. Payment now."
The transaction completed smoothly. They hauled the oil back to Sanctuary in a rented cart.
Day nine: Distribution began. Each customer received their oil, inspected quality, confirmed satisfaction. Zero complaints. Zero refund requests.
By day ten, operation was complete.
Wei Chen tallied results:
Revenue: 88 points (22 customers × 4 points)
Wholesale cost: 66 points
Operating costs: 7 points (cart rental, quality control materials, time investment)
Gross profit: 15 points
Liu's cut (30%): 4.5 points
Orphanage allocation (10% of net): 1.5 points
Our net profit: 9.45 points (split three ways: 3 points each)
Not the projected twelve points. Operating costs had been higher than estimated. But positive result.
"Phase 1 success," Chen Ling declared. "Lower than projected, but profitable. We learned the actual cost structure."
"Operating costs are the variable we need to optimize," Wei Chen noted. "Cart rental was expensive. If we did this monthly, we could negotiate better rates."
"Or find cheaper transport," Xu Lan added. "I know some outer district workers who haul cargo for less than merchant district rates."
They discussed improvements for thirty minutes. Then Chen Ling asked: "Phase 2?"
Wei Chen pulled out plans. "Multiple products simultaneously. Weapon oil, sharpening stones, shadow quartz fragments. Same model, different items. Target thirty points monthly net profit across all operations."
"Capital requirement?" Xu Lan asked.
"About sixty points liquid for simultaneous purchases," Wei Chen calculated. "We need to build that buffer first."
"Two more weapon oil operations builds that buffer," Chen Ling said. "Then we scale."
They formalized Phase 2 planning over the next week:
PHASE 2 - SCALE PROVEN MODEL
Products:
Weapon maintenance oil (monthly, 20-25 units)
Sharpening stones (bi-monthly, 15-20 units)
Shadow quartz fragments (monthly, 10-15 units)
Projected monthly net profit: 25-30 points (split three ways: 8-10 points each)
Capital requirement: 60 points liquid minimum
Timeline: Three months to test sustainability
"If Phase 2 works for three months, we know the model is stable," Wei Chen said. "Then we think about Phase 3 — hiring distribution help, getting official merchant credentials, building actual infrastructure."
"One step at a time," Xu Lan said.
"One step at a time," Wei Chen agreed.
That night, Wei Chen wrote to Lian Xiu:
Lian Xiu,
Phase 1 complete. Twenty-two units weapon oil, 9 points net profit split three ways. Lower than projected due to underestimating operating costs, but successful proof of concept.
Tell Liu his infrastructure investment is working. Thirty percent cut is fair for what he's providing. We're moving to Phase 2 — multiple products simultaneously.
Also: you were right. I was thinking too small. This model works better than grinding missions. If we execute properly for six months, this could generate 150-200 points total net profit. That's transformative.
Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for being ruthlessly pragmatic. That's more valuable than comfortable friendship.
— Wei Chen
P.S. Tell my parents I'm fine. Making progress. Not dying doing stupid things.
He sealed the letter, set it aside for tomorrow's outgoing post.
Then pulled out his ledger:
Current balance: 61 points (58 + 3 from bulk purchase)
Monthly expenses: 17 points
Standard mission income: 12-15 points
New income stream: 3-10 points monthly (scaling)
The math was finally working. Not breaking even anymore — building capital.
Wei Chen lay in bed, thinking about trajectories.
Two months ago: rank 54, breaking even financially, grinding missions.
Now: rank 52, profitable side operation, team coordination, wholesale access.
Not dramatic. But measurable progress.
And if Phase 2 worked...
His shadow moved on the wall.
Wei Chen glanced briefly. No candle lit. But his shadow was there.
Probably residual magic from earlier practice.
Probably.
He closed his eyes.
Tomorrow would bring more planning. More coordination. More execution.
But tonight, he allowed himself small satisfaction.
He'd built something. Not inherited it. Not been given it. Built it through seeing value others missed.
That was worth more than contribution points.
That was the foundation of something larger.