Translator: Pika
Zu An suddenly thought of his previous life’s Jack Ma, the creator of Alibaba, as well as Uncle Wang, who charismatically lectured the crowd that they ought to start with a small financial target, for say, a hundred million RMB.[1]
Hmmm, I could do that too, right? If I go in public and start talking about how easy it is to get a pretty wife or something, I should be able to collect a massive outburst of Rage points.
Yeap, this idea is not bad. I ought to give it a try too.
He examined the ‘Befriend a Rich Man’ skill and found that even though it had no usage limit, there was actually a huge restriction to it—money.
However, he noticed that the artifact effect was described rather ambiguously. The 100,000,000 coins seemed to be referring to copper coins, which meant that it was 100,000 silver taels each use. Hmm, that doesn’t sound too much.
Currently, he had 650,000 silver taels on him at the moment, and the Four Seas Casino still owed him another 500,000 silver taels. In total, he would be able to use the ability six times.
Had anyone else known what he was thinking, they would have surely burst out cursing. 100,000 silver taels was definitely a huge sum. One must know that even wealthy merchant clans in this world would have difficulty forking out 100,000 silver taels at one go.
Right now, Zu An was considering another problem, and that was the effect of the skill after spending the money. The details in the artifact effect were lacking, only mentioning that he could turn a target into his friend for an hour. However, there were many different kinds of friends too, such as friends who had been through hardship and friends who scurried off in the face of trouble. He wasn’t certain how effective the skill would be.
For example, if I try this skill on Jiang Luofu, could the two of us become friends with a lot of benefits?
Zu An was a little tempted, but he suddenly recalled the sealed state he was in and fell gloomy.
My priority right now should be to find the Evanescent Lotus. Let me put all miscellaneous thoughts away for now.
He continued to draw the lottery, but he didn’t get anything else that was worthy of note. His final loot was 70 Ki Fruits. With that, he had used a total of 156 Ki Fruits on his fourth formation, which meant that he just needed 77 more to fill it up entirely.
While it looked like the speed of his cultivation was incredibly slow at the moment, it was already much faster than the other cultivators in this world. Others had to spend at least decades of hard work in order to reach his current cultivation rank whereas it only took him a month or so.
Besides, his cultivation would rise significantly every time he suffered a beating due to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, which meant that it was only a matter of time before he caught up with the others.
If others were to learn of his secret, they would surely go green with envy and chase him down for his cultivation secret.
Zu An had noticed this too, but he viewed it as a path he had to tread down. After all, he was aiming to become the strongest man in the world!
He had read far too many s in his previous life, and his head had been poisoned by all sorts of overpowered protagonists. He compared himself with those protagonists—as if he was on the same level as them—and he felt that his current accomplishments were still lacking in comparison.
Well, a top-notch prodigy like me should aim for the stars, right?
After some rest, Zu An felt that he was faring much better now, so he headed out of the forest to resume looking for Ji Xiaoxi. His mood was pretty good from having obtained two artifacts from the lottery.
However, the moment he walked out of the forest, the smile on his face froze up. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and his heart began thumping out of nervousness.
There was a woman dressed in a green dress before him. She had a graceful slender figure and an alluringly willowy waist. A slight breeze swept across the land, fluttering her skirt. Her face was hidden behind a veil, shrouding her in an air of mystery.
Any other men would be delighted to stumble upon such a beautiful woman in the wilderness, but Zu An was in no mood to appreciate her beauty. He had a firsthand experience of the terrifying power harnessed within her slender profile.
This woman was no other than Snow!
The latter had already noticed him too, and her lips curled up in glee. Found him!
Zu An’s eyes flickered around nervously for a moment before he finally managed to calm his nerves. Instead of turning tail and fleeing, he walked over with a smile and said, “Oh? Miss Qiao, I never expected to meet you here.”
Snow was surprised. Given the grudge between them, she thought that the two of them would break out into a fight right away upon meeting one another, but the other party was approaching her amicably instead.
It took a moment before she realized that she was currently Qiao Xueying of Brightmoon Academy, not Snow. It was only natural that he didn’t recognize her.
Hmph! It must be because I’m in the tenth place in the Sweetheart Ranking that he’s trying to chat me up! This fellow sure is... Despite being impotent, he’s still so lecherous!
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +233 Rage!
Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. Woah, she must really hate me a lot. She’s raging at me when all I’ve done here is to greet her?
Watching as Zu An approached her like an ignorant fool, Qiao Xueying’s lips curled up in ridicule. All of a sudden, she didn’t want to kill him that quickly anymore. That fellow made me suffer so much the last time, making me... me... that! How can I vent my anger if I don’t toy with him a bit?
“Miss Qiao, you seem to be in a really good mood. Is it because of me?” Zu An sighed deeply. “I guess it can’t be helped. With my dashing appearance, it’s hard for any woman not to be in a good mood upon meeting me.”
“...” Qiao Xueying.
Still as thick-skinned as ever, I see.
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +131 Rage!
However, she maintained the smile on her lips and said, “Young master Zu, aren’t you afraid that your wife will be displeased?”
Hmph, I shall twirl you around my fingers like an utter fool. I’ll first make you fall for me before exposing my true identity to you. Heh, let’s see how you’ll react to that!
Zu An waved his hands and said, “Miss Qiao, please do not worry. My wife has said that she doesn’t mind me looking for another woman. If you don’t believe me, you can feel free to ask her.”
Qiao Xueying clicked her tongue in annoyance. How dare this fellow mess around with other women behind the young miss’ back?
However, barely as this thought surfaced in her mind, she realized that she was still addressing Chu Chuyan as young miss and feeling indignant on her behalf. It looked like the years she spent by Chu Chuyan’s side had really left a deep impression on her.
“Miss Qiao, what are you doing alone? It’s not safe for you to walk around alone. This dungeon seems to be far more dangerous than stated in the records,” said Zu An. “However, now that you’ve met me, there’s no need to worry anymore. I’ll protect you from now onward.”
“You?” Qiao Xueying couldn’t help but sneer mockingly. However, she quickly changed her tone and replied, “You have my deepest gratitude, young master Zu.”
“Wait a moment, what’s with that ‘you’? Do you not believe me?” Zu An immediately got agitated. “Have you heard of Yuan Wendong? He’s a fifth rank cultivator—a fifth rank cultivator, I joke you not—and I defeated him! There’s also...”
Qiao Xueying couldn’t be bothered to listen to his nonsense. She interrupted him and asked, “Did you meet any other students along the way?”
“Students? I don’t think so. You’re the first one I encountered. Ah, it must be fate bringing us together!” Zu An chuckled.
“You didn’t meet anyone?” Qiao Xueying eyed the wound on Zu An’s chest. “What’s with that injury then?”
“Ah, I stumbled into a few zombie soldiers and fought against them. Ahhh, it was really a tough fight. There’s really something weird about this dungeon! I didn’t think that there would actually be zombies here... The academy should have told us something in advance!” Zu An spoke with a hint of fright in his voice. His acting was as genuine as one could imagine.
Qiao Xueying pondered over Zu An’s words. She recalled what she had seen in the mountain valley she passed by earlier, and a furrow formed on her forehead. Did Jia Zhengjing and the others encounter the zombies and get killed off by them?
“Hm? Honey, what are you doing here?” Zu An suddenly glanced behind Qiao Xueying and exclaimed in delight.
“Young miss!” Qiao Xueying’s body shuddered as she subconsciously turned around to take a look, only to see no one behind her.
Zu An was waiting for this opportunity all this while. He intentionally dragged the conversation around the place in order to make Qiao Xueying lower her guard so as to create this opportunity.
Without any hesitation, he drove his dagger straight toward Qiao Xueying’s heart. He didn’t show any mercy this time around, resorting to Poisonous Prick for this attack. While it was a pity to let a beauty die just like this, he was well aware that she had entered the dungeon to take his life. With her fifth rank cultivation, any compassion he showed would likely spell in his death.
‘Bixie Swordplay’ was fast enough as it was, and Zu An had taken her by surprise this time around. Even a cultivator of Qiao Xueying’s level couldn’t hope to dodge it.
Psh!
Blood splattered all over the place.
Zu An had managed to pierce his dagger into Qiao Xueying’s body! However, he didn’t look relieved at all. There was something weird about the feedback coming from the dagger.
As he had expected, ripples suddenly appeared on the ‘Qiao Xueying’ which he had pierced, and she eventually morphed into a flower that dissipated into thin air. Meanwhile, the real Qiao Xueying was standing several meters away, glaring at him chillingly.
From the moment she turned around and saw no one at all, she knew that she had made a fatal mistake. Her initial thought was to use her ki armor to guard against his incoming attack, but every cell in her body was tingling, warning her of a terrifying danger that was encroaching on her.
She couldn’t understand why Zu An could make her feel such a great threat, but she instinctively resorted to a talent that she could only use three times in her life, Moon’s Reflection, and transferred the damage she suffered onto a flower.
“You actually made me waste a use of my Moon’s Reflection!” bellowed Qiao Xueying.
You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for +1024 Rage!
One must know that every use of Moon’s Reflection was equivalent to an additional life! She had been in danger many times since a young age, but she could never bring herself to use Moon’s Reflection. She knew that this technique could save her three times from a powerful opponent whom she stood no chance before, which was why she treasured it greatly.
Yet, she actually wasted it on a man whom she thought of nothing more than a mere ant!
Despite her furious bellow, there was no one to answer her. Zu An had already turned around to flee back into the forest, and he was just a moment away from vanishing from Qiao Xueying’s side.
1. Wang Jianlin was an internet meme for a while for saying that ordinary people should start with a small financial goal of 100 million RMB first, which is equivalent to around 15 million USD.
😉