Chapter 26: Chapter 26
“Then, Great Hero, should this humble one leave or not?” The Third Chief wished he were dead. Was he supposed to leave or stay? Zhao Jiu’s smiling face made him feel that if his answer displeased Zhao Jiu, he would undoubtedly fail to live until dawn.
Zhao Jiu continued smiling, his tone gentle, like a patient teacher carefully guiding his pupil. “What I mean is that leaving just like this would not be good for any of us. Do you understand?”
The Third Chief scratched his head and glanced around in utter confusion. If he was not supposed to walk away like this, then how was he supposed to leave? By crawling? All his subordinates were watching. If he genuinely crawled away, how could he ever face them again?
Qian Nian, who was standing nearby, noticed the Third Chief’s predicament and hurried forward. Leaning close to his ear, he whispered, “Third Chief, I think the brat wants money!”
The Third Chief’s pupils contracted when he heard that. After thinking it over carefully, he realized Qian Nian was probably right. He turned and gave Qian Nian a questioning look.
Qian Nian nodded, then silently stepped aside.
“Great Hero, this humble one has given the matter some thought. Heh heh. It was all because I was ignorant and disturbed you. The brothers have pooled together a little something as a token of respect!” The Third Chief beamed like a groom on his wedding day as he announced it loudly.
“Third Chief, explain something to me. What exactly is a token of respect?”
“It is… a token of respect.” The Third Chief’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.
“Explain it.” Zhao Jiu pointed at the Third Chief with a solemn expression.
“It means we are paying our respects to you. How am I supposed to explain that?”
“Explain it. What is a token of respect?”
“A token of respect is…” The Third Chief waved his hands nervously and looked from side to side.
“Explain it! What the fuck is this fucking ‘token of respect’ supposed to mean? Explain it!” Zhao Jiu roared.
The Third Chief suddenly thought of Qian Nian. His gaze darted back and forth between Qian Nian and Zhao Jiu.
“Old Qian, what exactly is a token of respect?”
His voice was already on the verge of tears.
“Paying respect means that we have prepared one hundred—no, one hundred and fifty taels of silver so the Great Hero can sleep peacefully tonight! That is paying respect! Is that clear enough?” Qian Nian blurted out. His voice trembled, and his face twisted into a grimace.
“Brother, now that is one hell of a surprise!” Zhao Jiu grasped the Third Chief’s hand, his face lighting up with delight. “So, when are you giving it to me?”
Feeling as though he had narrowly escaped death, the Third Chief gasped for breath and replied, “Immediately. Right away. It will be ready at once.”
With that, the group gathered into a circle. Before long, the Third Chief returned with a Money Pouch cupped in both hands.
“Great Hero, may this humble one leave now?”
“I never said you could not leave.” Zhao Jiu accepted the Money Pouch and replied innocently, his face full of confusion. Had he ever told them they were not allowed to go? He did not remember doing so.
The Third Chief reacted as though he had received a life-saving pardon. He hurriedly ordered the others onto their horses, then turned and fled.
Zhao Jiu was left speechless. He was hardly some ravenous monster. What were they so afraid of?
The members of the escort agency stared in stunned silence. It was the first time they had ever seen someone conduct extortion with such righteous conviction.
This was part of the highest order. It deserved to be declared an intangible cultural heritage!
“Having powerful Martial Arts really is wonderful. If I tried something like that, they would probably start preparing my seventh-day funeral rites in advance!” Lin Zheng thought.
Zhao Jiu glanced at the people from the escort agency, returned to his original spot, and sat cross-legged to cultivate in silence.
“Convert it into God of Wealth Points.”
He silently issued the command, and the 150 taels of silver he had just obtained became 1,500 God of Wealth Points.
Naturally, Zhao Jiu had not gone through all that trouble to extort a group of mountain bandits for no reason. He had simply been bored and jokingly asked the System, “Can silver obtained through extortion be converted into God of Wealth Points?”
The System had answered:
“As long as you put in labor, it counts.”
That was why Zhao Jiu had gone to such lengths to demonstrate his Throwing Knives by arranging them into a single line. What he had not expected was that after displaying the trick, the System would actually classify it as a paid performance!
Life was hard. Even an Assassin had to perform for a living!
—Zhao Jiu, the Bloodstained Artist
An occasional slip of the hand during a performance was perfectly normal. Who could guarantee that they would never make a mistake throughout their entire life? Besides, if a customer insisted on paying extra, was that not simply their way of supporting the arts?
Once it was “explained” that way, everything became perfectly reasonable.
Even the mountain forests had artists!
With this, the number of God of Wealth Points in the System reached 26,100.
Coincidentally, a new pill had appeared in the System Shop: the Mystic Insight Pill. Like the Foundation-Nourishing Pill, it cost 500 God of Wealth Points per bottle, with five pills in each bottle.
The Mystic Insight Pill could not only refine True Qi, making it denser and purer, but also deepen one’s understanding of heaven and earth, allowing one to better nurture their Momentum. It was the ideal pill for cultivators at the Third Rank or above.
Without wasting any words, Zhao Jiu bought five bottles of Mystic Insight Pills and one bottle of White Jade Flesh-Regeneration Pills, spending 3,500 God of Wealth Points.
Zhao Jiu never treated himself stingily. Since better pills were available, he naturally had to use them immediately.
After leaving the System Shop, he checked the Discount Shop. Most of the items were still outrageously expensive, with prices casually reaching hundreds of millions or even trillions.
Although Zhao Jiu desperately wanted them, he still knew exactly where he stood. He skipped the first four absurdly expensive items and stopped at the final one.
“Tang Sect Arcana: Bone-Eroding, Soul-Dissolving. It is not expensive—only 2,000 God of Wealth Points. I am buying it!”
Heroic extravagance surged through Zhao Jiu’s heart. He had to take ruthless revenge on all those days he had spent in poverty!
Taiqing Yuxu Scripture—upgrade!
Heavenly Origin Saber Art—upgrade!
Turtle-Breathing Technique into Aura-Concealment Art—upgrade!
Disguise Technique into Complete Transformation—upgrade!
After that flurry of purchases and upgrades, his 26,100 God of Wealth Points plummeted to 14,600. He had truly spent money like flowing water. More than ten thousand God of Wealth Points had vanished just like that.
Nevertheless, Zhao Jiu was overcome with delight. His own strength was the only thing he could truly rely on. Although spending so many God of Wealth Points at once caused him a certain amount of pain, his strength had increased tremendously.
The Taiqing Yuxu Scripture had reached the Seventh Level, significantly improving the circulation of his True Qi. If the Sixth Level had been a gently flowing stream, the Seventh Level was a roaring waterfall. His True Qi circulated faster and in far greater volume. The difference was self-evident.
The Heavenly Origin Saber Art had reached Minor Mastery, allowing him to naturally comprehend its second form.
After Questioning the Heavens came Heaven-Cleaving.
Hundreds or thousands of currents of Saber Momentum were compressed into a single current. Although the affected area became smaller, the Saber Momentum grew sharper, and its destructive power became far more concentrated.
If Questioning the Heavens produced saber light that filled the entire sky, then Heaven-Cleaving produced only a single current of Saber Momentum, condensed to the absolute limit. Its True Qi was more focused, and its killing power was far more ferocious.
What pleased Zhao Jiu the most, however, were Complete Transformation and the Aura-Concealment Art, which had evolved from the Disguise Technique and the Turtle-Breathing Technique.
Compared to the Disguise Technique, Complete Transformation could alter his bones, flesh, and skin until he took on another person’s appearance. He could now completely dispense with Human-Skin Masks.
The changes to his appearance were also far more natural. He could even alter his voice, height, and the texture and condition of his skin. He could practically become an entirely different person.
The Aura-Concealment Art was far more comprehensive than the Turtle-Breathing Technique. It could even conceal the fluctuations of his True Qi to the point that they were almost impossible to detect without deliberate scrutiny.
Compared to before, the improvement was enormous.
When the Aura-Concealment Art and Complete Transformation were used together, Zhao Jiu could observe and approach a target almost without revealing the slightest trace of his presence.
By contrast, Bone-Eroding, Soul-Dissolving, which he had just purchased from the Discount Shop, did not give Zhao Jiu much of a surprise.
Tang Sect Arcana: Thousand Flowers and Myriad Stamens could already infuse his True Qi with poison. Bone-Eroding, Soul-Dissolving merely possessed a more vicious toxicity, so it could not be considered a particularly significant improvement.
Its only distinctive use was probably destroying corpses and erasing all evidence. After all, the defining characteristic of Bone-Eroding, Soul-Dissolving was its exceptionally powerful corrosiveness.
He could simply regard it as another tool at his disposal.
“Open the Panel.”
After spending so many God of Wealth Points, Zhao Jiu naturally had to inspect the changes in his abilities.
Host: Zhao Jiu
Cultivation Rank: Fifth Rank
Martial Arts:
Chasing the Stars and Pursuing the Moon (Perfected)
Taiqing Yuxu Scripture (Seventh Level)
Heavenly Origin Saber Art (Minor Mastery)
Secret Arts:
Tang Sect Arcana: Thousand Flowers and Myriad Stamens / Bone-Eroding, Soul-Dissolving
Complete Transformation
Aura-Concealment Art
God of Wealth Points: 14,600
“At last, I have begun to glimpse the mountain ahead!”