It's too formal to talk about money between friends, so just owe me a favor.

Because of Su Qi's words, the entire classroom fell into an eerie silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, as if they were seeing Su Qi for the first time.

Well, technically, they were.

Bro, is this really the time for that?!

It was like they had already taken their pants off, hands already moving, only for the video to suddenly cut to black with a warning about illegal content.

Take the bespectacled guy who had been leading the charge earlier.

His bloodshot eyes behind the lenses burned with manic intensity, his entire body thrumming with restless energy.

His mind raced at breakneck speed, sparks of inspiration crackling wildly, yet he was missing that final, crucial piece—the part Su Qi had left unfinished.

The frustration was worse than death.

"No... Professor... Senior... Bro!"

He was practically babbling.

"Just five more minutes! No, three! Please!"

"I'm on the verge of enlightenment! I'm so close! I'm begging you!"

"I'm about to break through!"

The brawny student next to him couldn't take it either, slamming his hands on the desk as he shot to his feet, sending his chair screeching backward.

"Damn it! You're killing us here!"

"Name your price! Money? Materials? Whatever you want—just say the word!"

That sparked a frenzy.

Right—they were scions of powerful, interconnected families.

Trading resources for knowledge? That was their bread and butter.

The classroom instantly turned into an auction house.

"My family owns a premium high-density source-energy site. Small but top-tier—yours to use anytime!"

"We've got black-market channels for source crystals! Steady supply guaranteed!"

"Whoa, dude, you can't just admit to that out loud—"

"My dad's vice-chair of the Shanghai Cardmasters Association. Need rare cards? I’ll hook you up!"

Promises flew thick and fast, each more tempting than the last.

These were offers that would spark bloodshed in the outside world, yet here they were, tossed out without a second thought.

All to keep Su Qi talking.

Even the balding professor in the front row, who'd been quietly scribbling notes, finally cracked.

Clutching his half-filled notebook, he stood, his aged face twisting awkwardly. "Ahem. My, uh, colleague suddenly fell ill. How about we extend this lecture next class?"

"Whatever you need, just ask. Official resource allocations? I’ll swallow my pride and petition for you!"

His offer carried far more weight than the students'.

Those kids? Half their promises were hot air.

They weren’t family decision-makers yet.

If their clans later decided Su Qi’s "Sourceflow Framework" had critical flaws or wasn’t as revolutionary as claimed?

Cue the backtracking: "Kids say the darndest things!"

Borrow our training site? Sure—but we never said for how long. You’ve had enough, right? Others need it too.

Source crystal connections?

Never promised you a discount.

Rare cards?

You’re paying full price, buddy.

But the professor’s quasi-official pledge? That was binding.

Yet faced with this avalanche of temptation, Su Qi merely smiled.

He raised a hand, palm down.

The room hushed instantly, every gaze locked onto him.

His voice remained measured.

"I said we’re friends here."

"Between friends? Money and deals feel... transactional."

Su Qi studied their expressions, then pivoted.

"How about you each owe me a favor?"

The room’s fervor chilled instantly.

Their upbringing had taught them everything had a price.

Knowledge, resources, power—even emotions could be acquired through exchange.

Throwing money at problems was their comfort zone.

But Su Qi had sidestepped that entirely.

No cash. No goods. Just... a favor.

And that was far more dangerous.

Money debts were simple. Favors? Those were shackles.

An invisible chain linking them to Su Qi, with no way to gauge the future cost.

Yet...

Refusing a "friend" who casually dropped paradigm-shifting theories?

That price might be even steeper.

Now they had to weigh: Was an untested, unproven Sourceflow Framework worth their family’s marker?

Unlike earlier boasts, welching on this would nuke their reputations.

The bespectacled kid recovered first.

He adjusted his glasses, took a deep breath, and bowed solemnly to Su Qi.

"Senior, the Liu family acknowledges this debt of gratitude!"

His voice was no longer urgent but carried an unprecedented gravity.

"I’m in too! Just say the word, and I’ll have your back!"

The burly student quickly followed suit, thumping his chest in assurance.

But some chose to leave: "Never mind... class is over. I’m out."

"Been sitting too long—need to stretch my legs."

The Origin Flow Construction Method was indeed a rare treasure.

But Su Qi would ultimately have to hand it over.

Once submitted, the factions behind these students had ways to obtain it.

The cost would surely be less than owing a personal favor.

Even if they learned it now, they’d still need to verify its side effects and versatility before putting it to immediate use.

In truth, Su Qi’s declaration had shifted the stakes.

This wasn’t just about mastering the Origin Flow Construction Method anymore.

It was a gamble—a bet on whether Su Qi was a genius worth their families’ early investment...

Or a fleeting accident, best left to fade on his own.

In the end, out of the forty-plus students in the classroom, only nine remained.

Even so, Su Qi was pleased with the outcome.

This was pure "unexpected gain."

Now, he had connections in the upper echelons of Demon City’s elite circles.

"Alright, since you’ve all stayed, consider us friends. I can’t just leave you hanging."

Su Qi’s voice rang out again, instantly sharpening everyone’s focus.

"For suppressing Origin backlash, consider the 'repulsion point' approach."

"Designate the most unstable loop in a multi-circuit system as the 'repulsion point.' Use it to actively repel and dissipate negative energy overflow from other loops instead of passively enduring it."

"As for the construction method and selecting the repulsion point..."

Those few sentences cut through the fog like a beam of sunlight, igniting a flash of clarity in their minds.

They knew they’d bet right.

The Origin Flow Construction Method might lack versatility, but judging by Su Qi’s explanation, every potential side-effect node had a flawless theoretical countermeasure.

Even textbooks couldn’t compare to this level of perfection.

Hell, future editions might need to be rewritten using this as the new standard.

This line of thinking was nothing short of genius!

"It’s working! I’ve got it!" The bespectacled boy trembled with excitement, hastily pulling out an Origin Crystal while muttering under his breath.

He levitated the crystal above his palm, eyes shut tight.

His mental energy extended like tendrils, weaving the intricate Origin Flow circuits within his body according to Su Qi’s revolutionary framework.

The classroom fell deathly silent—even breaths were held.

The remaining eight, plus a balding professor,

stared unblinkingly at Liu Feiyu.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to try. They simply didn’t dare.

Origin Flow construction was perilous. A misstep could lead to backlash—ranging from mental sea damage to complete collapse, rendering one a cripple.

Attempting it here and now was like tightrope walking over an abyss.

This Liu family kid was downright insane.

Su Qi, however, watched with amused interest, hands in pockets, utterly relaxed.

Clearly, only he knew there was no real risk.

Minutes ticked by.

Eighteen agonizing minutes later,

beads of sweat formed on Liu Feiyu’s forehead.

His face paled visibly, his body quivering faintly.

The Origin Crystal hovering over his palm wobbled erratically.

"He’s going to fail..."

Someone murmured instinctively, tone laced with relief—

relief at their own restraint.

The burly student clenched his fists, knuckles white, palms slick. He wanted to shout a warning but feared disrupting the process, left to stew in helpless anxiety.

Suddenly, Liu Feiyu’s body jerked violently. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

"Ghk—"

Crimson stained his collar, tightening every heart in the room.

This was the precursor to Origin backlash!

If he lost control now, the consequences would be catastrophic!

Just as despair set in, Su Qi’s calm voice cut through again.

"The repulsion point isn’t a trash bin for dumping all your negative energy at once."

"It’s a floodgate."

"Open it the instant before the flood peaks—not after the levees are already breached."

Those words struck like a temple bell at dawn, reverberating through Liu Feiyu’s core.

His pain-fogged mind snapped back to clarity.

Right!

The repulsion point’s role was to repel and dissipate!

He’d been too hasty, trying to cram all the overflow energy into it.

Gritting through the agony, he mustered his last shred of focus and fine-tuned the designated "repulsion point" loop.

Like twisting open an invisible valve,

the rampaging energy within him—teetering on the edge of devastation—

found its release.

The surge of energy wildly poured into the "repulsion point" circuit, yet it didn’t burst it apart. Instead, under the circuit’s unique structure, it was rapidly spun, repelled, and refined, eventually transforming into the purest source energy before being fed back into the other main circuits.

A perfect loop had formed!

Hum—

A faint hum resonated from Liu Feiyu’s body.

The source crystal in his palm flared brightly before quickly dimming, turning into a handful of dust that slipped through his fingers.

As for him, his pallid complexion swiftly regained its healthy flush, and his entire aura underwent a transformation.

Outwardly, he still appeared to be the same frail scholar, but inwardly, it was as if he had undergone a baptism of rebirth.

He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing briefly within them.

"This time… I’ve truly succeeded!"

Though it had taken nineteen minutes in total—seemingly long—it was only because he was unfamiliar with the process.

With practice, he was confident he could reduce it to around fourteen minutes.

He still couldn’t fathom how Su Qi had managed it in just two and a half minutes.

Even if he practiced for two and a half years, he doubted he could match that.

But fourteen minutes was already staggering—equivalent to the cultivation speed of a newly ascended tenth-tier powerhouse.

He abruptly stood up from his seat, nearly stumbling in his excitement.

But he paid it no mind. Instead, he took advantage of the momentum, rushing toward Su Qi in three quick strides before bowing deeply at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

"Senior, your guidance has given me a new lease on life! Liu Feiyu will never forget this kindness!"

"From now on, if you ever need anything, my Liu family will spare no effort!"

The remaining eight students in the classroom were utterly dumbfounded.

Just like that… he succeeded?

Absorbing a source crystal in just over ten minutes on his first attempt, with no visible side effects?

Just moments ago, they had been weighing whether a single favor was worth it.

Now, it was clear—it wasn’t just worth it. This was a heaven-sent opportunity!

Trading a favor for a path to greater heights!

Trading a favor to befriend a future prodigy destined to shake the foundations of Demon City!

This was a profit beyond their wildest dreams!

"I—I-I’ll try too!"

The burly student finally snapped out of his daze, pulling out a source crystal and mimicking Liu Feiyu’s method.

The others, as if waking from a dream, quickly followed suit.

After all, these were just a group of barely-adult students.

Seeing a peer succeed so spectacularly had ignited their fervor.

They didn’t even stop to consider whether there might be hidden drawbacks.

In an instant, the small classroom was alive with the undulating waves of source energy.

Oh, right…

There was also the combat instructor, quietly tapping on the barrier with an uncertain tone:

"Old Centipede, my class started a while ago. How much longer are you planning to hog the space?"

The balding teacher mimicked the combat instructor’s earlier tone:

"You’re sick."

The combat instructor couldn’t even be bothered to react.

"Oh, I’m sick? Guess I’ll go sleep then."

……

In the end, the remaining eight students all completed their source crystal absorption within roughly twenty minutes.

Gratitude filled the classroom as each of them described their experience as nothing short of rebirth.

They didn’t just feel like they’d learned a technique for rapid energy absorption—they felt as though they’d gained an entirely new understanding of the fundamental logic of source energy.

Over a decade of ingrained worldview had been utterly overturned and reshaped by Su Qi’s few casual pointers.

The burly student, flushed with excitement, strode up to Su Qi. He wanted to deliver an eloquent speech like Liu Feiyu, but after struggling for words, he simply raised a thumb and blurted out:

"...Damn, you’re insane! If you ever need anything, I’m your guy."

Even he knew his words fell short, so he followed up with a deep bow.

The others took their cue, rising one after another to face Su Qi and offer solemn bows of their own.