Chapter 44: Ask Doesn't Work?

Mobile users, please visit the Pavilion of Pen's Fun to read!

Volume One: First Steps in a New World

Volume One: First Steps in a New World

Zu An remained unmoving. "Hand over your primal stones, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

"You little brat, you're asking for death!" Man Yu roared, his large fist instantly swinging towards Zu An's face. It was fast, ruthless, and precise. He had no idea how many disobedient people he had subdued with this move; one punch would send snot and blood flowing, and any meager courage would vanish completely.

Anger value from Man Yu: 177!

Zu An was somewhat dissatisfied. The fellow looked fierce, but his anger value was clearly not high enough.

Man Yu, however, was questioning reality at this moment, as his powerful punch had been gently blocked by the other party's outstretched hand. He tried to pull his hand back, but it wouldn't budge.

Zu An sighed. "You wouldn't listen to good advice, did it have to come to this? Now, can you hand over your primal stones?"

His cultivation had now reached the third rank, meaning his pure strength was equivalent to that of 88 adult men. The fat man in front of him was, at best, a low-level second rank; otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to the Yellow Class. How could he possibly beat Zu An?

The fat man didn't give up and swung another punch with his other hand, but it was still easily blocked.

Zu An felt that this wasn't going to work, so he increased the strength in his hand.

"Ow, ow, ow, let go, let go..." Man Yu was in so much pain that tears nearly came out. He hadn't expected his normally strong self to be subdued by such a scrawny monkey.

Anger value from Man Yu: 66!

"Stop with the nonsense. Hand over the primal stones." Zu An applied a little more force to his hand.

"I'll hand them over, I'll hand them over..." Man Yu seemed to hear the sound of bones cracking. He quickly looked at the pouch on his waist. "They're in my pouch."

Zu An was concerned there might be a trap in the pouch. He cautiously released Man Yu's hand. "You hand it to me."

Man Yu quickly took off his pouch and poured out the primal stones inside. As he watched the primal stones fall one by one into Zu An's hand, the fat on his face trembled.

Anger value from Man Yu: 9999...

"Huh, only seven?" Zu An was instantly greatly disappointed. He had thought he could extort a "fat sheep," a fellow predator, but it turned out even the "landlord's family" didn't have much surplus.

"That's all there is. Our class isn't rich in cultivation resources to begin with, and everything that could be collected has already been collected," Man Yu quickly explained.

"What about what you collected before? Hand it all over to me." Zu An extended his hand again, palm open.

Anger value from Man Yu: 666!

So you're trying to take everything!

A flicker of grief and indignation crossed Man Yu's chubby face. "There really isn't any more. We have to hand over most of what we collect. How about you just take two, and we'll call it even? We'll be friends, and I won't report this matter to anyone higher up. Otherwise, if Boss Ye finds out, you won't get away with it easily!"

"Oh, so you've formed a whole chain of operations now," Zu An said, amused. "Who is this 'Boss Ye' you're talking about?"

"Ye Chenliang from the third-year Earth Class," Man Yu said, a sneer hanging on his lips. "He's a high-level third-rank cultivator. Dealing with a first-year Yellow Class freshman like you would be effortless for him."

Zu An frowned. Someone stronger than himself; that truly was a bit troublesome.

Noticing his reaction, Man Yu chuckled. "Scared now, aren't you? If you're scared, then obediently hand over the items!"

That's how human relationships were. Believing the other party was timid, Man Yu no longer mentioned his previous promise of two primal stones. Instead, he demanded Zu An hand over his own as well.

"Where's all this nonsense coming from!" Zu An said impatiently, and directly slapped Man Yu, knocking him dizzy. Then, weighing the primal stones in his hand, he added, "I'll take these. Tell that fellow named Ye to come find me himself."

"You'll regret this, Zu!"

"With a missing tooth, your words leak air. Speak less."

Anger value from Man Yu: 666!

When Zu An returned to the classroom, he found Wei Suo peering out from the classroom doorway. Seeing him approach, Wei Suo quickly asked, "How was it? Are you okay?"

Zu An was amused. "If you're really so righteous, why didn't you come to the small grove to help me?"

Wei Suo chuckled. "I'm powerless; I can't even tie a chicken. Wouldn't I just be a burden if I went with you? Then I'd get captured and held hostage, and you'd have to rescue me."

"You're not a beauty, why would I save you?" Zu An rolled his eyes, but nevertheless, he tossed a primal stone to him.

"This... this..." Wei Suo looked at the primal stone in his hand, somewhat shocked. "Where did this come from?"

"That fat guy saw how handsome I am and gave it to me," Zu An replied casually.

"How is that possible!" Wei Suo quickly chased after him. "That fat guy has someone backing him. Be careful of retaliation."

Zu An looked unconcerned. "Someone backing him? Are they more powerful than Duke Mingyue? Although he himself was unwelcome in the Chu family, outsiders didn't know that. This 'tiger skin' was free to use, so why not?"

"No wonder," Wei Suo instantly realized. "Marrying the Chu family's eldest young lady truly saves fifty years of struggle."

After returning to his seat, Zu An quietly asked him, "How do you use these primal stones?"

Wei Suo was stunned for a moment. He found it strange that Zu An didn't know such a basic thing about cultivation. However, he still explained, "Place the primal stone in your palm, then circulate your cultivation method to absorb the vital energy within it, using it to refine the corresponding parts of your body."

Zu An thought to himself that the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" didn't seem to mention any method for absorbing vital energy. He took a stone, not giving up hope, and tried to concentrate on it for a long time. Unfortunately, he couldn't absorb any vital energy at all.

Only then did he remember that the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" cultivated in a unique way: it relied on getting beaten to improve, rather than the traditional method of using vital energy to temper the body.

He couldn't help but feel frustrated. If it were before, he probably would have seized the chance to swap out this masochistic cultivation method. But that night, fighting Pei Mianman for life and death, his strength surged dramatically towards the end. Moreover, a strange beast, one of the Phoenix Nine Chicks, appeared with each cultivation rank he achieved. Even if he were dumber, he would know this cultivation method was extraordinary, and of course, he was reluctant to change it now.

This made primal stones useless to him, like a chicken rib. Zu An thought for a moment and nudged the person beside him. "Hey, want to buy some primal stones?"

Wei Suo's eyes lit up. "How many do you have?"

"Seven, I think," Zu An replied, musing that if he sold them for ten taels of gold each and added the silver he already had, he could easily cover the one thousand taels of gambling debt.

Of course, he was reluctant to actually use his own money to pay off that dead guy's debt. However, given how seriously the mysterious woman in the pavilion had described the contract last time, it was better to be prepared.

Thinking of the mysterious woman in the pavilion, Zu An wondered if he would ever have a chance to see her again. Perhaps he should find an opportunity to visit the pavilion again?

"How much are you planning to sell them for per stone?" Wei Suo asked.

Zu An put his arm around Wei Suo's shoulder and said, "You just said these things are rarely sold; they have a price but no market. Between us brothers, I won't cheat you. Eleven taels of gold per stone, take them all. At most, I'll round down for you—seventy-five taels of gold in total!"

Wei Suo blinked. "I didn't study much, so don't trick me. If you round down, shouldn't it be seventy taels of gold?"

Zu An snorted. "Then why wouldn't I just say ten taels per stone directly? Seventy-five taels is the lowest. This is a friendship price." As he spoke, he handed over the small pouch of primal stones. "Here, primal stones for you, money for me."

Wei Suo replied, "Look, I don't have that much money."

Zu An frowned. "Then how much do you have?"

Wei Suo rummaged in his pocket, then looked at Zu An with innocent eyes. "Fifty-four taels of silver in total."

Zu An was shocked. "If you can't afford it, why are you even asking?"

"Can't I just ask to satisfy my curiosity?" Wei Suo said, looking perfectly reasonable.

Zu An's face darkened, and he said nothing more. He immediately pressed Wei Suo onto the table and gave him a good pounding.

"You just said we were brothers?"

"What if I was just tricking you!"

The next class was a military strategy lesson, taught by the city's military official:

"Achieving complete victory without battle, having great armies without injury, and communicating with spirits—how subtle! How subtle! Those who share a sickness help each other, those with shared feelings succeed together, those with shared hatred assist each other, and those with shared interests flock together. Thus, victory can be achieved without armor or weapons, attack without siege engines, and defense without moats... When a fierce bird is about to strike, it flies low and folds its wings; when a fierce beast is about to pounce, it lowers its ears and crouches low; when a sage is about to act, they must assume a foolish appearance..."

Zu An listened to the whole thing as if it were an incomprehensible heavenly text. He just felt as if a mosquito was buzzing around his ear the whole time. He felt he was about to lose it. He had painstakingly transmigrated, only to end up in school again, learning such chaotic, nonsensical courses.

He felt that he was simply wasting his life. He had already wasted enough time in his previous life; did he have to do it again in this one?

He was originally planning to just get up and leave. However, considering that this teacher not only had a high-level third-rank cultivation but was also a court official, he decided it was better to keep a low profile.

Hmm, it wouldn't be too late to skip class after this one ended.

Despite his continuous prayers, the class time not only didn't speed up but became incredibly long. Finally, when the class ended, he felt like he was going crazy.

"I can't take it anymore, I have to leave!" Zu An said, his face darkened, and walked out.

"Going to the cafeteria for lunch? Let's go together, it's on me," Wei Suo said, catching up from behind with a fawning smile. Clearly, the recent beating had been quite effective.

Only then did Zu An realize it was already noon. He thought that he would have to eat out anyway and pay for it himself, so it wouldn't be too late to leave after eating.

"By the way, you're so well-informed about school news, do you know someone named Wei Hongde?" Zu An asked, remembering Old Man Mi's instructions. If he skipped class today and went back with no results, that guy probably wouldn't let him off so easily.

"Yes, I do. He's my brother. Do you know him?" Wei Suo looked at him with curiosity.

"Your brother?" Zu An said, looking suspicious. "What a coincidence. How come your names don't sound alike?"

"Who says brothers' names have to be similar?" Wei Suo pouted. "I think my brother's name is a bit old-fashioned and rustic. It doesn't have the grand feel of mine. Wei Suo, Wei Suo — it evokes searching high and low, and sweeping the entire world. Doesn't it sound more impressive?"

Zu An held back his laughter. "Yes, yes, yes, your name is definitely more impressive. Is your brother in this school too?"

"Yes, he is. His talent is better than mine, so he's in the third-year Earth Class." Wei Suo's eyes were full of envy as he spoke.

"What does your family do?" Zu An was a little curious, as he really couldn't figure out why Old Man Mi would want him to get close to Wei Hongde.

"My old man used to work in the Minor Treasury Bureau," Wei Suo replied. "In recent years, he was sent out to Brightmoon City to retire. Can't compare to your Chu family."

Minor Treasury Bureau?

Zu An mused. The Minor Treasury Bureau was one of the Nine Ministers, a department that managed the Emperor's private treasury. A large portion of the people there were trusted eunuchs, and the others were also trusted by the Emperor. What exactly did Old Man Mi want him to do by getting close to their family?

Just then, a discordant voice suddenly rang out: "Boss Ye, that's the guy who stole our primal stones!"

Seeing this, Wei Suo darted aside like a rabbit, looking as if he wasn't familiar with Zu An.

Chapter List