Chapter 152: Trending Topic! Zhao Zheng's Embarrassing Moment?

Chapter 152: Trending Topic! Zhao Zheng's Embarrassing Moment?

"Old Chu, thank you for telling me all this. I wouldn't have known if you hadn't mentioned it!" Zhao Zheng said with a smile.

On the other end of the call, Old Chu didn't mind Zhao Zheng's casual address and asked, "So, which item caught your eye? I think the 'Thunderbolt Fist' superhuman skill is pretty good and suits you well."

Hearing this, Zhao Zheng couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Thunderbolt Fist? Did he want to become the Thunderbolt Fist master 'Wen Tai'?

"Old Chu, I have a question for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Regarding the superhuman talents in the Holy Land, what if someone possesses two of them? Will there be any conflict?"

Hearing this question, Old Chu on the phone responded seriously, "It depends on the nature of the talents. If they are of the same type, there will definitely be a conflict!"

"For example, if a Devil Fruit Ability User consumes another Devil Fruit, there will be a clash, and there's a high chance of sudden death."

"Two different bloodlines are also out of the question. If a superhuman already has one bloodline and uses another bloodline card, it will also result in a conflict, leading to unpredictable consequences. The best outcome is that one bloodline talent will be overridden by the other..."

Zhao Zheng nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Then, he asked, "What if a superhuman with a bloodline talent consumes a Devil Fruit? Will there be a conflict?"

Hearing this, Old Chu, despite his simplicity, realized something was amiss.

"Zhao Zheng, you wouldn't be after that Tremor Fruit, would you?"

"Yes!" Zhao Zheng readily admitted.

There was no need to hide this fact.

Old Chu on the phone fell silent for a moment, then said, "Have you looked into the Tremor Fruit? This Devil Fruit isn't something an ordinary person can handle. While it does grant powerful attacks, the side effects are severe!"

"Every time the Tremor Fruit is used, it causes intense vibrations that harm the user. It's a self-destructive ability, damaging the user by a thousand for every thousand damage dealt to the enemy. Only an exceptionally robust physiology can withstand such side effects..."

Although Old Chu was being tactful, Zhao Zheng could tell that he didn't approve of him taking the Tremor Fruit.

Zhao Zheng understood.

After all, Old Chu didn't know how powerful his Kryptonian bloodline was.

"I'm aware of what you're saying," Zhao Zheng said with a smile. "With the Spirit Energy Points I gain from each tier of the Spirit Realm, along with my Armored Color Mastery, as long as I focus on increasing my Constitution attribute, it should be fine."

"It's not that simple," Old Chu sighed. "Even if your Constitution attribute is higher than your Strength attribute, it's still difficult to withstand the side effects of the Tremor Fruit. That's why so many superhumans avoid it like the plague."

After a pause, Old Chu continued, "The only ones who can truly wield the Tremor Fruit are probably those with healing abilities or other defensive talents."

"As for you, Zhao Zheng, I don't recommend you go after that Tremor Fruit. For superhumans, Spirit Energy Points are already scarce. If you allocate most of your points to the Constitution attribute just to use the Tremor Fruit normally, it's not worth the trade-off!"

"Doing so will severely hinder your progress in becoming stronger. It's better to acquire several offensive superhuman skills instead of that Tremor Fruit, which has lost its Training Boost!"

Although Old Chu's analysis made sense and was genuinely for Zhao Zheng's benefit, the latter didn't have the patience to listen.

Only he knew his own situation.

"Old Chu, just tell me, if I consume the Tremor Fruit, will it conflict with my Kryptonian bloodline?"

"It... shouldn't. That Tremor Fruit has been stored for so long that the Training Boost it once had must have completely dissipated. It won't affect you, but it also won't allow you to increase your attributes through training."

"Alright, I understand."

Zhao Zheng smiled and said, "Thank you for your advice. I know you're looking out for me, but I have a clear plan. I'm determined to compete for that Tremor Fruit."

On the other end of the line, Old Chu remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Since you seem to have it all figured out, I won't say more. But I should warn you that many others are eyeing that Tremor Fruit. From what I know, there are quite a few students in your batch with healing abilities or defensive talents."

"I understand. Thanks for the heads-up."

...

After hanging up with Old Chu, Zhao Zheng continued to research the items available at the auction.

Moments later, his phone started buzzing incessantly with text messages.

They were from Jiang Hebin, Chen Kai, Zhou Junjie, and others.

The content of the messages was similar.

[Brother Zhao, for this auction, I wonder if there's anything you have your eye on? If you don't have enough points, I can lend you all of mine...]



Upon seeing these messages, Zhao Zheng smiled and replied, [No need, I have enough points!]



...

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

At noon, after finishing his lunch, Zhao Zheng sat in front of his dormitory computer, waiting for the live auction to begin.

The Ministry of Education had specifically set up a live streaming page for this auction, and it was indeed a commendable effort.

At exactly 12:00 p.m., the live stream started promptly.

Within just a few seconds, the number of online viewers in the live stream reached several hundred thousand.

Naturally, only freshmen could access this live stream.

Surprisingly, with so many viewers, the stream remained smooth and lag-free.

"Hello, fellow students. I'm a teacher from Magic Capital Wu Da, and I'll be hosting today's auction."

A fair-skinned and beautiful teacher appeared on the live stream.

Smiling at the camera, she said, "Next, I'll introduce each of the extraordinary items up for auction, one by one. If you see something you want, feel free to click on the 'Bid' button in the lower left corner to participate in the bidding!"

"To prevent outsiders from infiltrating and to avoid unnecessary trouble, this auction is conducted under a real-name system..."

At this point, Zhao Zheng's gaze shifted to the upper left corner of the screen, where his ID was displayed.

His ID read: True Martial University - Zhao Zheng.

And it couldn't be changed.

The fruit auction was indeed a real-name system.

Soon, the auction began.

The female teacher hosting the auction started presenting each extraordinary item in front of the camera for open bidding.

Almost every extraordinary item attracted a large number of students to participate in the bidding.

Zhao Zheng wasn't particularly interested in these items.

Although there were many one-time enhancement-type extraordinary artifacts among the auctioned items, they were of little significance to Zhao Zheng at his current level.

Most one-time enhancement artifacts wouldn't provide percentage-based boosts; they would only enhance some basic attributes.

For example, the "Speed Shoes" being auctioned at that moment simply increased the Agility attribute by 80 points.

80 attribute points were of no use to Zhao Zheng.

Moreover, many Spirit Realms would ban the use of one-time extraordinary artifacts.

During the bidding process, Zhao Zheng noticed quite a few familiar names among the bidders.

Names like Jiang Hebin and Zhou Junjie appeared from time to time.

Even Song Haitang's name occasionally popped up...

...

About half an hour later, the Tremor Fruit was finally placed on the table.

"The next item up for auction is a Devil Fruit!" the beautiful teacher announced.

Zhao Zheng, who had been watching the live stream, suddenly felt a jolt of excitement.

His hand hovered over the mouse, ready to place a bid!

"This Devil Fruit is the Superman-Type Tremor Fruit. Among all Superman-Type Devil Fruits, the Tremor Fruit is an extremely rare one, renowned as the most powerful of its kind."

The teacher couldn't help but praise the Tremor Fruit.

However, the chat box was filled with contrasting comments:

"Haha, you almost had me convinced!"

"If it's as good as they say, why is it still here? Someone would have used it by now."

"Don't just talk about the advantages! What about the side effects?"

"The Tremor Fruit is indeed powerful and rare, having appeared only five times so far, but its side effects are not something most people can handle..."

"Exactly! With side effects like killing a thousand enemies but hurting yourself eight hundred times, it's enough to scare off most extraordinary beings."

"The most important thing is that this Tremor Fruit has been stored for too long, losing its crucial training enhancement effect. Now, it's just a useless remnant, a liability to oneself."

"It's true! If the training enhancement effect was still intact, consuming it would allow one to improve through training. I might have considered bidding, but now, I'll pass!"

"I guess only those with self-healing abilities or other defensive talents would be interested in this fruit, right?"

...

The teacher seemed to notice the comments in the chat.

She mentioned the drawbacks of the Tremor Fruit before continuing:

"Now, the bidding begins!"

"The starting bid is 500 points. Feel free to place your bids..."

Hearing the high starting bid of 500 points, the chat box immediately filled with comments like "Too expensive!" and "Only a fool would want it!"

However, someone still placed a bid.

The bidder was a student from Magic Capital Wu Da named Li Junhua, and his bid was 550 points.

As soon as the bid was placed, someone else followed with 600 points.

Old Chu's words proved true; the Tremor Fruit was indeed trash to most superhumans, but it remained a decent ability for those with special talents.

Zhao Zheng checked his account balance, which had over 6,100 points.

He wasn't sure how the exchange rate worked, so he decided to go all out and bid 6,000 points! His plan was simple: scare off other bidders with a high offer to avoid a bidding war.

Moreover, he rarely had a chance to use these points at school, so this was an opportunity to put them to good use.

"Zhao Zheng from Zhenwu University has bid 6,000 points!" The beautiful teacher exclaimed, then asked, "Any higher bids?"

The 6,000-point bid shocked countless people.

The chat box lit up with comments:

"Holy sht! Who bid 6,000 points?"

"Badass! Spending 6,000 points on a Tremor Fruit, which is practically useless? I've seen it all now!"

"How does he have so many points? It's not fair!"

"What's unfair about it? He consistently gets superhuman evaluations in the Spirit Realm, so it's normal for the school to reward him more."

"Zhao Zheng from Zhenwu University? Is he the one who's always trending? Isn't he the one with the strongest brain? Why would he do something so stupid?"

"6,000 points could buy several offensive superhuman skills. Why would he want the Tremor Fruit?"

"I thought he fused with Kryptonian heritage? Does this talent have any defensive abilities?"

"Haha, I think he wants a shorter life!"

"Maybe he's buying it for a friend or classmate?"

...

Just as Zhao Zheng predicted, the price soared to 6,000 points, scaring off those interested in the Tremor Fruit.

With no further bids, the beautiful teacher announced, "6,000 points, first call. 6,000 points, second call. 6,000 points... Sold! Congratulations to Zhao Zheng from Zhenwu University for successfully bidding on the Tremor Fruit!"

Zhao Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face.

Soon, his phone rang.

It was a message.

Jiang Hebin: [Brother Zhao, I never thought your target would be the Tremor Fruit?]



Wang Fei: [Brother Zhao, I heard using the Tremor Fruit reduces your lifespan! Why would you bid on it?]



Zhou Junjie: [Brother Zhao, think it through! This isn't a good thing...]



Song Haitang: [Not bad, it suits you well.]



Only Song Haitang knew how formidable Zhao Zheng's defense was.

After reading these messages, Zhao Zheng smiled and replied briefly before putting down his phone.

...

The auction lasted for a full three hours.

"Students, with the final item sold, this concludes our university auction. Thank you all for your participation. The items you've won will be delivered to your respective schools within 48 hours, so please keep an eye out for them..."

As the teacher finished speaking, the live stream ended.

Zhao Zheng shut down his computer, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Tremor Fruit.

He was well aware of the fruit's terrifying power in the hands of Whitebeard, the strongest of the Four Emperors and a man capable of world destruction, thanks to the fruit's destructive capabilities.

Of course, Whitebeard's own strength was also formidable, allowing him to unleash the fruit's full potential.

As for Zhao Zheng, with his extraordinary physiology, he believed his future strength would surpass Whitebeard's.

When he punched, the sheer destructive force would be immeasurable!

Most importantly, ever since learning about the terrifying existence beyond the atmosphere, Zhao Zheng had been eager to become stronger.

He welcomed any opportunity to enhance his combat power, the more, the better!

...

That evening, the auction made it to the trending topics.

This was the Ministry of Education's first university auction, which already had a significant impact.

Moreover, Zhao Zheng's unusual bid of a large sum for the seemingly useless Tremor Fruit added to the auction's" buzz.

Zhao Zheng's role in making the auction a trending topic was undeniable!

Netizens discussed him almost exclusively...

(End of Chapter)```

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