“Of course I know what it is, Esteemed Leader,” she replied calmly. “After all, it is a product developed by my company Fleming.”

  She secretly hoped that he just wanted to congratulate her on creating a good product. After all, she had done nothing to deserve his anger.

  “Did you develop this product all by yourself, without anyone's help?” he asked, one of his eyebrows raised slightly in disbelief.

  Oh, could it be that he couldn't believe it? Well, it is indeed suspicious for a child to develop something like this, so maybe he thinks I had some outside help?

  One of the worst crimes against the sect was espionage. If it turned out that May had received help from someone from another sect, it could indeed be considered treason, but that was unlikely. Fortunately, she had no reason to worry.

  However, I can't say that I discovered it myself... After all, it was Alexander Fleming's achievement, not mine. I assume that if he wants to learn something, he has a way of finding out if I'm telling the truth, so I have to phrase it carefully.

  “Esteemed Leader, while I understand your concerns, I genuinely believe that I am the first person in the world to discover, create, and develop penicillin. I did this without the help of any cultivator from within or outside the sect,” she said.

  None of her words were lies. She sincerely doubted that anyone before her had discovered penicillin here. She also had no help except for the system. However, the system was neither human nor a cultivator, so her words were still true.

  Hearing her words, Xinsu Yun's expression softened a little. May thought that he must indeed have some ability to detect lies.

  “I understand, in that case, let me be pleased that the sect has such brilliant mind,” he replied with a slight smile. “However, allow me to ask, how exactly did you discover penicillin?”

  May began to wonder how to answer that. She had to weigh her words carefully. She had to somehow gracefully avoid the subject.

  "Penicillin comes from mold. Esteemed Leader, allow me to use an analogy. When we plant a tree, for example, it will compete with other trees for resources, such as water, access to light, and soil. In this analogy, we can treat mold the same way... It also fights for resources, for example, on citrus fruits. Mold fights thanks to penicillin, limiting the growth of its competition."

  “It fights, against what? Another mold?” Shen Baoxu suddenly joined the conversation, seeming somewhat interested in the topic.

  Hmm, how should I explain this...? People here don't know about the existence of bacteria. I'm not sure if I should reveal this now, especially since I don't have any proof.

  “Well, I have a theory, but it's not ready yet. But I believe that there are extremely small things that can cause disease.”

  “Oh, something like miasma? It seems to be just a slightly different understanding of the concept. So penicillin just gets rid of miasma, that's all you had to say.” He replied, rolling his eyes and laughing slightly.

  May had no intention of correcting Elder Baoxu's mistake. Miasma and bacteria were something completely different, but at the time it was a sufficient explanation.

  To be honest, I didn't even answer his question, and instead explained something completely different. I hope that's enough.

  “I understand. In that case, I will await further development of your theory,” said Xinsu Yun, the leader of the sect. He suddenly stood up and walked to the window, staring outside. “Now that we have verified the most important basics, do you know what happened?”

  May thought for a moment and tried to figure out what he might mean. However, once again, she had no idea what he was referring to.

  “No, I don't know, Honorable Leader,” she replied honestly. She clenched her hands tightly on the fabric of her robe. She felt uncomfortable in the presence of the sect leader, who was essentially the equivalent of the country president. The intense stares of her Master and Elder did not help either.

  “You don't know? Are we supposed to believe that?” Shen Baoxu asked harshly. “That's impossible, unless you were living under a rock!”

  “Elder! That's enough!” Her master intervened, defending her.

  May answered honestly. Neither today nor yesterday had she been in the city or anywhere outside Cloud Academy, which was quite unusual for her lately. Could something have happened during that time?

  “I see,” replied the leader. “Something unusual has happened. Riots have broken out in the capital.”

  “Riots?” May was surprised. It was indeed unusual.

  No mortal would dare to disturb the peace, especially in the capital, where such an act could even result in the death penalty. The laws were extremely unfavorable to non-cultivators.

  I had never heard of riots or protests in this world before... Mortals are too afraid of cultivators. And cultivators are too proud to bother with such things.

  However, she quickly understood the reason. Otherwise, they would not have called her here. But could the situation really be that serious?

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “All the supplies of penicillin we had are already sold out, May,” said Hua Tang, his arms folded and a thoughtful look on his face. “It’s the season for diseases, and news of the low price and absurd effectiveness spread in a matter of moments.”

  Wait... Everything sold out...?! That’s absurd!

  Even May couldn't hide her shock. Her whole body stiffened and her eyes widened in astonishment. She knew very well that this must mean a profit of almost a million after deducting the costs of materials and labor! And thanks to the fact that they didn't have to pay taxes, they could keep practically all of it.

  I expected it would take months to sell that amount... Not days!

  May swallowed hard. If demand was so high, and they had steady production, would that mean tens of millions in revenue per year? With penicillin sales alone, they would quickly become one of the richest alchemical companies of the sect!

  May looked at the sect leader and laughed to herself.

  He must surely be regretting exempting my companies from taxes! The poor guy doesn't know that this is only the beginning.

  “Everything was sold out… It certainly exceeded my expectations.” May replied after a moment, realizing that such a long silence was rather inappropriate.

  “Indeed.” The leader agreed with her. “Due to the circumstances, I would like to offer you some protection.

  “Protection?” One of her eyebrows rose slightly.

  “It appears that your product has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of alchemy. Once it gains popularity outside the sect... I fear that many people will want to know the secret and the manufacturing process.”

  So, as the leader, he is offering me the entire sect's protection. It makes sense, as our sect does not have many things of value. The soil is infertile, there are few natural resources, and we are generally underdeveloped technologically. On Earth, every country protects its assets.

  Norway and Iceland chose not to join the European Union because doing so would have weakened their vital fishing industries. Similarly, Taiwan has prioritized the protection of its semiconductor industry, recognizing it as essential not only to its economy but also to national security

  The leader of the sect must have seen an opportunity for the sect there and did not want anyone from a rival sect to take it over.

  “How exactly would that work?” May asked. Despite his words, she had no intention of accepting anything that would be unfavorable to her.

  “The sect's elite will protect your company and its secrets. We will make sure that the production method does not fall into the wrong hands.”

  It was rather vague, but she didn't hold it against him, as the whole situation had developed quite recently and he hadn't had time to prepare better. To be honest, considering the situation, his reaction time was fairly good.

  “It's certainly a tempting offer...” May began. “But nothing in this world is free, right?” As she said this, she feared that he would want to cancel their tax exemption agreement. That would hurt her a lot.

  “You put it wisely,” he replied. “Penicillin and its production can become an important product for the sect, so as a sect we must control its sale. Its distribution cannot be blind.”

  Could it be that he wants to limit its sale to certain sects? I don't like that. It will mainly affect common people. On the positive side, at least he didn't mention anything about taxes.

  “In addition, I would like the sect to become an official partner of your company. We will provide a distribution network abroad and protect your company's interests on behalf of the entire sect. Of course, in exchange for a share of the revenue,” he added.

  So that's his way of getting around our no-tax agreement. He wants to invest in us. It wouldn't be a tax, but a payment for services. Having the sect's support might not be a bad thing. Besides, it's the type of offer you really can't turn down.

  “I understand, but this is not something I can decide on the spot, Esteemed Leader.” She replied calmly. Then she glanced at Hua Tang out of the corner of her eye. “I should discuss this with my master, as he also has a part in this.”

  The leader nodded. Fortunately, he seemed to be a reasonable person.

  “That is understandable, but time is against us, so I would ask for a decision as soon as possible.”

  ───── ??☆?? ─────

  Shortly thereafter, the sect leader left the place. May also returned to class. She did not answer anyone's questions about her visit to the principal's office.

  Nevertheless, she had to discuss the matter with Hua Tang. When she finished her classes, she went straight to him. However, he only confirmed her fears.

  Refusing this proposal was essentially out of the question. According to Hua Tang, refusal would result in unpleasant consequences from the sect. The matter was therefore serious.

  “So we have to pay them for protection, huh...” May sighed. Although she intended to hire security sooner or later anyway, she wasn't sure about this idea.

  “They will also handle distribution to other sects,” her master said, sighing as well. “I’m not happy about this. They want to take over a significant part of the control. However, even with my influence, it would be difficult to resist too much.”

  There was only one way to free herself from these bonds. May had to gain more influence and power so that no one could impose their terms on her.

  “What about the money from the sale?” May asked. Ironically, only now did she realize that she shouldn't have completely handed over all the responsibilities related to the sale.

  He's unlikely to try to cheat me, but asking him for my share is humiliating. I have to take care of these matters myself...

  “I was just about to discuss that, follow me.”

  May got up and followed him. They went to a mysterious room she had never seen before. It had a hidden door that was protected by some kind of formation. It was carved on the door, resembling a strange geometric drawing and many intersecting lines forming strange symbols.

  The man somehow activated the formation, causing it to glow bright red, and after a moment it disappeared. He opened the door and they went inside. May saw unimaginable amounts of money.

  “Excluding the portion we sent abroad through The Blue Goose Company and a few unforeseen expenses, there is over 675,425 [mu] here. We need to move on to distribution.”

  Their original assumption was that May would receive 51% of the revenue and Hua Tang 49%.

  “However, we first have to deduct the costs for the next batch, and we also have to invest part of it in infrastructure development; after all, we have too much demand. In the future, we will also include part of the payment to the sect for protection... Ugh! How is this any different from taxes?”

  After all expenses, they were left with only 235,192 [mu]. Most of the money went towards infrastructure development.

  “For now, though, that's enough for me.”

  She was going to spend the money to become stronger as quickly as possible. She was tired of waiting. Even if it seemed suspicious, she wanted to finally make real progress and become a force to be reckoned with.

  And with such high demand, I will soon earn that amount again, and even more. There is no reason to limit myself.