Max was surprised by the look on her face. He immediately realized that this Elder was a woman in need.
Realizing this, a smile appeared on his face, and he moved his face near hers and said, "Yes, Elder, I want to buy the middle-tier foundation strengthening liquid. However, I don't have enough to buy it since my share is only a fraction of the total stones I'll receive after selling these cores."
The Elder was surprised to see him leaning closer to her, and after hearing him, a crafty light flashed in her eyes.
Max then whispered, "Can you please sell it at a lower price? I'll be very grateful. If Elder ever needs me to do anything, I won't reject and help you to the best of my abilities."
As he said this, he stressed the word anything, which made her heart beat faster and look at him in a new light.
"Since you brought so many cores in your first outing, it means that you have good potential. So, I'll give you a ten percent discount on grade two middle-tier foundation strengthening liquid." The Elder said.
Other people manning the counter looked at her weirdly but didn't say anything as every Elder of the resource hall has the authority to give discounts to the three disciples every month they deem talented.
"Woah! This guy is quite lucky to gain an Elder's approval." Some disciples commented.
"Well, it's extremely normal if you think about it. Who can hunt down so many middle-stage beasts in their first outing?"
"Keke, My group and I also slew a few middle-stage beasts; maybe I can also get some discount."
"…"
Afterward, Elder gave him a small crystal bottle containing foundation strengthening liquid and the remaining 3800 Mana stones.
When Max stored them in his inventory, he found that there was a paper slip among the Mana stones. He chuckled inwardly and kept it too.
He then walked out of the resource hall.
When he returned to the dorms, he saw Neer standing there.
Neer also noticed him and bowed, "Young master!"
Max smiled and helped him up. "You are a core disciple now. You should stop bowing to me." He laughed.
"No, young master. It's my way of showing you the respect you deserve." Neer said in a firm tone.
Max could only sigh at his stubborn attitude. At the same time, he was also pleased to see that even after becoming a core disciple, he didn't get arrogant.
"How was the outing, young master?" Neer asked.
"It was quite enjoyable." Max smiled and said. Neer was confused by his words but didn't ask further. He was happy that Max could return safe and sound.
"Let's go inside the room and talk." Max turned to walk toward his room.
"I'm sorry young master. I can't go inside right now." Neer shook his head and apologized.
"Hmm? Why?" Max asked.
After that, Neer told him that in this time, an Elder had taken him as her disciple, and he was busy training under her and only came to see him.
After that, he swiftly left, and Max went inside his room.
…
Anna had prepared food while he was away. After eating food, Max took out the dead body of the wolf leader and told her that they would eat its meat until it was finished.
Anna was delighted to see it and almost jumped in excitement. "Little Max, I'll be able to break through to the two-star realm in 2-3 days if I eat such Mana-rich food daily."
Max smiled at her being so excited, and took out a spatial bag and gave it to her.
"Hmm? What's in it?" Anna said and curiously looked inside. Immediately after, she gave it back. "I told you not to give me your stones. You also need--"
"Shhh!" Max put his finger on her soft lips and stopped her from speaking.
Anna's cheeks started to redden as she felt his finger on her lips and remembered the time when he kissed her before going on the outing.
Her eyes revealed a panicked look; her heart started beating faster as she evaded his gaze.
Seeing this, Max was tempted to kiss her, but he held back and said, "I've improved too quickly and need to consolidate my foundation. So, I don't need them. Moreover, with my strength, I can easily earn more."
"Yes." Anna nodded like a chick and accepted them without saying anything.
"Okay then. Let's cultivate for a while now." Max said and sat down on the ground cross-legged.
Anna took a deep breath and calmed her heart. However, deep down, she felt somewhat disappointed.
Max didn't know her state of heart. He took out the crystal bottle from the inventory. It was only three-inch in size. As he opened it, the medicinal fragrance permeated the air.
"Huh?" Anna looked at the bottle in his hand and asked, "What is it, Max?"
"It's the foundation strengthening liquid," Max replied.
"Foundation strengthening liquid? Are you alright?" She worriedly asked.
"Everything's fine. I've told you it's because I've improved too quickly, and it made my foundation a bit weak. No need to worry." Max casually said.
"Oh, okay." She then sat beside him and started to cultivate using the Mana stones she had just received.
Max drank the liquid, closed his eyes, and started consolidating his Mana core.
…
As they immersed in cultivation, time passed quickly; soon, it was nighttime.
Huuu….
Max exhaled a long breath and opened his sapphire eyes.
'It's indeed good medicine. My core has returned to 80% of its peak in just a couple of hours. Now, I only need to strengthen it for a maximum of two or three days before I can raise my mana again.' He thought excitedly.
He saw that Anna was still cultivating. After stretching his body a bit, he took out a paper slip.
It had an address and time written on it. Seeing this, a smile appeared on his face.
'It's almost time to pay the generous Elder back and see how many LPs a three-star mage can give me. Hehe.'
He glanced at Anna and left a note on the bed before walking toward the Elders' residences.
