The Great Ming Demon Pill: Your Majesty, please address me as the Crown Prince!

Zhu Zhanjun glanced at the rewards, his expression quite interesting.

I got an ibuprofen capsule from the silver treasure chest.

This is such a steal!

But that's nothing.

The rewards in the Golden Chest are amazing!

Leaving aside those complete systems of materialization, chemistry, and life, they are top-tier cultivation techniques in the present day.

The spinning jenny is also a great gadget!

Of course, none of these are the most important things.

Most importantly, it is the "Duan Yang Gong" (a type of exercise).

According to the system's information, this thing is actually used by Lian Kun.

Having trained since childhood, he became an unparalleled warrior, capable of subduing demons without a doubt.

Cough cough cough, a friend of his said this is fantastic!

Prism rewards are also incredibly generous.

The value of the Compendium of Materia Medica needs no further explanation.

That high-temperature coke blast furnace, equipped with desulfurization technology, could serve as the foundation for initiating the industrial revolution.

Plant nutrients are even more amazing; they directly accelerate ripening.

That "talent show order" is quite interesting.

Zhu Zhanjun touched his chin.

Based on the information in my mind.

This draft order is like a token.

Using it will increase his chances of meeting beautiful women.

Moreover, the beauty is highly likely to be a famous concubine in history!

Damn, this is good stuff!

As for the last Prism mission, it left him somewhat bewildered.

He's right here in the Ming Dynasty, where is Cthulhu?

The system must be crazy.

How am I supposed to complete this damn task?

....................

Main hall.

According to unofficial historical records, Lü Bu's Beta had miraculous effects, capable of bringing the dead back to life and healing flesh and bones. This elixir attracted the plundering of Dong Zhuo and a group of heroes, and it was because of this that Lü Bu became a slave of the three families.

As soon as Zhu Zhanjun entered the room, he heard Zhu Yi excitedly recounting unofficial historical events.

Damn it, all that's left of the unofficial history is the historical fact.

They're all soldiers I trained!

Upon seeing Zhu Zhanjun enter, Zhu Yi, Zhu Zhanqi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, Zheng Yu, and others immediately turned their gazes towards him, their faces filled with excitement.

"Your Highness has arrived!"

"When working, we use job titles! Everyone calls us 'team leader'!"

"The class monitor is here!"

"Squad leader, I missed you so much!"

"The class monitor is awesome!"

"..."

The crowd immediately gathered around, chattering amongst themselves.

Zhang Mao chuckled and gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Your Highness, that hot air balloon is absolutely amazing! How did you come up with that idea? It can actually carry people into the sky! My father talked about it for half the night after he got back home, exclaiming, 'A genius has descended from heaven!'"

Zhu Yi leaned closer, his large face looming over. "My father said that throughout history, there have been many skilled craftsmen, but who has ever created something that can fly? Your Highness's work is simply the reincarnation of Lu Ban and the rebirth of Zhuge Liang!"

Zheng Yu squeezed to the front, his eyes shining.

"Your Highness, could we take a ride in that hot air balloon too?"

Liu Zhong coughed lightly.

"Your Highness, ever since those young ladies found out about my relationship with you, they've been trying every trick in the book to get me to do things through you. They're really trying to get ahead of themselves!"

Zhu Zhanjun listened to the chattering and remained speechless.

What the hell is all this nonsense?

"Your Highness, please accept me into the Bowen Pavilion. From this day forward, I will submit to your rule."

Zhu Yi looked on with utter admiration.

Zhu Zhanqi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, Zheng Yu, and others also looked on with deep respect.

This is flying!

Throughout history, who has been able to do that?

Bowenguan is amazing!

In recent days, even students from the Imperial Academy have been trying various methods to inquire about entering the Prince of Jiyang's library.

Zheng Yu said excitedly.

"Me too, I am willing to submit to Your Highness's feet."

Zhang Mao shouted.

Me too.

Zhu Zhanjun gave them a disdainful look.

"Pah, foot fetishist, get out of here!"

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, and Zheng Yu: "???"

Zhang Mao couldn't help but say.

"Your Highness, are we brothers not qualified to become scholars in the Imperial Academy?"

Zhu Zhanjun sneered.

"Which of you looks like a bachelor?"

"I see that you spend more time sleeping than reading every day."

[Ding! You have obtained a silver treasure chest!]

Zhang Mao looked on incredulously.

"Your Highness, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?"

"Can a scholar's work be called sleeping?"

What followed were some incomprehensible remarks, such as "Sleeping is to replenish energy" and "There are golden houses in books, and I sleep in them," which made everyone laugh and filled the room with a joyful atmosphere.

After a while, everyone quieted down.

Zhu Yi chuckled.

"Squad leader, they say that those who are near the water get the moon first."

"We may not have a chance to be accepted into the museum, but doesn't that mean we don't have a chance to ride in this hot air balloon?"

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, Zheng Yu, Zhu Zhanqi, and others stared intently at Zhu Zhanjun.

Every human being dreams of flying.

Now that the opportunity is right here, they naturally want to give it a try.

Zhu Zhanjun coughed lightly.

"You don't understand my suffering."

"You only see the glory of flying, but you don't know how great the price is behind it!"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances and strained their ears to listen carefully.

Zhu Zhanjun counted on his fingers, looking very serious.

"First of all, the balloon's bladder isn't made of ordinary fabric."

"It must be made by mixing silk spun by snow silkworms from the Tianshan Mountains with yarn from the South China Sea mermaids, then soaking it in the water of the eternally cold pool at the top of Kunlun Mountain, and drying it for forty-nine days, in order to weave a heat-resistant and airtight fabric."

Zhu Yi's eyes widened: "Heavens... Heavenly Mountain Snow Silkworms? Mermaids from the South China Sea?"

Zhang Mao swallowed hard. "Your Highness, this sounds like something out of a myth..."

Zhu Zhanjun waved his hand and continued seriously, "Never mind the details, you just sound impressive, don't you?"

Everyone nodded quickly.

That's really awesome!

Zhu Zhanjun continued.

"And the oil burning in that stove down there isn't ordinary kerosene either."

"That is the 'Earth Core Flame Marrow' that was collected by sending people to the Western Regions, deep within the Flaming Mountain's veins. A single drop can burn for three hours, but the collection process is extremely dangerous, and craftsmen are often swallowed by the earth's flames."

"A bucket of Earth Core Flame Marrow costs five thousand taels!"

Li Heng gasped, "Five...five thousand taels a barrel? How much would that cost for one flight?"

"That's not much, after all, it's durable." Zhu Zhanjun nodded seriously. "Also, every time we take off, we have to ask the doctors from the Imperial Observatory to calculate the wind direction and star positions to prevent collisions with the stars in the sky."

"Upon landing, high-ranking monks and Taoist priests will chant sutras and offer blessings to dispel any 'Nine Heavens Yin Sha' that may have been tainted. These two rituals will cost another thousand taels."

He concluded by extending his hands, "So you do the math, just the materials, labor, and rituals alone—the cost of one flight is as high as tens of thousands of strings of cash!"

"Brothers, we're all on the same side, you should know how hard it's been for me."

"Don't even mention you guys, lately quite a few nobles have been asking me to ride in a flying balloon. It's giving me a headache."

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, Zheng Yu, and Zhu Zhanqi looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhang Mao immediately pulled a cloth bundle from his pocket, his face serious.

"Squad leader, you have a headache."

"I have medicine."

"Experts say that gold can be classified as a medicinal material because research shows that gold has good effects in relieving anxiety and reducing stress."

After saying that, he opened the package, revealing a small golden Buddha statue inside.

Zhu Zhanjun's eyelids twitched, and he quickly took it.

"No, no, you mustn't!"

"Tsk tsk, this golden Buddha must be expensive."

Zhang Mao chuckled.

"I don't know, anyway, I took it from my dad."

"Squad leader, what about that hot air balloon ride we did?"

Zhu Zhanjun waved his hand.

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, Zheng Yu, and Zhu Zhanqi looked at each other in bewilderment.

This isn't acceptable?

Zhu Yi couldn't help but say.

"Your Highness, is there some other difficulty?"

Zhu Zhanjun put the golden Buddha in his pocket.

A wave of the hand doesn't mean rejection; it simply means no further words are needed.

"We're all brothers, how could I possibly charge you?"

"The guys want to ride in a hot air balloon, it's on me."

Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Liu Zhong, and Zheng Yu's eyes lit up immediately.

Zheng Yu coughed lightly.

"Class monitor, I have a distant cousin who'd like to ride in this hot air balloon. How much would it cost?"

Zhu Zhanjun said nonchalantly.

"Dude, isn't talking about money vulgar?"

Zheng Yu looked troubled.

"I don't want to put the class monitor in a difficult position either."

"But my cousin insisted on giving me some expensive medicinal herbs and jewelry to give to the class monitor. I estimated it would be worth about 12,000 strings of cash. I really didn't want these vulgar things to insult my pure and noble feelings for the class monitor."

Zhu Zhanjun's eyes lit up, and he immediately spoke.

"Let bad habits from the common people blow in."

"I want to challenge my weakness."

Damn, these rich bastards are really rich.

Marketing is more important than research and development.

This is a profitable trade.