Chapter 25: Invitation
Chapter 25: Invitation
Fang Xing struck up a pleasant conversation with Ding Hongxiu under the pretext of purchasing spirit rice and martial arts manuals.
"So it turns out that Miss Hongxiu is also a cultivator. My apologies, my apologies..."
Upon learning that she was a cultivator, Fang Xing feigned solemnity and bowed respectfully.
"Where are my manners? I, with my lowly talent, have only just reached the second layer of Qi Refinement..." Trailing off, Hongxiu continued, "Grandfather doesn't even allow me to leave the market district to make a living..."
Hongxiu waved her hand dismissively. "He's afraid that some martial arts expert will kill me on a whim."
Fang Xing's interest was piqued. "I wonder, in a fight between a natural-born expert and a Qi Refinement cultivator, who would emerge victorious?"
"I'm not too sure myself," Hongxiu replied. "But Grandfather once told me that if a Qi Refinement cultivator in the early stages fails to deploy defensive talismans or artifacts in time and allows a natural-born expert to get too close, they would be in grave danger."
She continued, "Of course, the situation improves significantly once a cultivator reaches the middle stages of Qi Refinement. With distance and preparation, a cultivator at this level can easily slaughter a natural-born warrior... As for those in the late stages of Qi Refinement, they are far beyond the reach of even the most formidable natural-born warriors."
"I see," nodded Fang Xing. This assessment was coming from a cultivator, so it was probably quite accurate.
'So a warrior in the Pristine State can pose a threat to a cultivator in the early or middle stages of Qi Refinement? What if the warrior has mastered an A-grade martial art?'
'What about a warrior in the Courage State?'
He felt that once he reached the third or fourth state of martial arts, he would finally have some sense of security.
"I wonder which major powers hold influence in this market district," Fang Xing mused.
After some thought, he decided it would be best to find out.
Hongxiu explained, "The Qingxu Sect is undoubtedly the most prominent force in the Qinglin Market District. This sect was the founder of the market, and they always have a Core Formation elder stationed here. Over sixty percent of the shops in the area have close ties to them..."
"Apart from them, the Zheng family produced a Core Formation ancestor, placing them second..."
"The Black Tiger Gang is the third most powerful force. It was founded by several dispersed cultivators who had reached the perfection of Qi Refinement. Their leader, the 'Black Tiger Sage,' is elusive, and it's rumored that he's secretly preparing for Core Formation. They are undoubtedly the third most influential force in the market district!"
A frail, elderly voice interrupted Fang Xing and Hongxiu's conversation.
Fang Xing turned to see an old man with a white beard, wearing a slightly ill-fitting Daoist robe that, despite its worn appearance with multiple damages, still emanated a faint spiritual glow.
As he drew closer, a cooling sensation washed over him.
This was the 'impervious to heat and cold' effect of the robe.
'This robe must have been used for who knows how many years... Probably a lower-grade, low-tier artifact.'
Fang Xing's gaze shifted to the old man's waist, where he noticed a yellow-skinned gourd emitting a faint alcoholic fragrance. The most striking feature, however, was the old man's red, alcoholic nose.
'Brewing wine with spirit rice... That's quite fitting.'
Fang Xing's heart stirred as he sensed the old man's formidable aura, realizing that he was not a cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refinement but rather in the middle stages!
"Grandfather, you're back?" Hongxiu beamed at the sight of the old Daoist, but her expression turned to annoyance as she eyed the gourd at his waist. "You went drinking again?"
"My dear Hongxiu, you don't understand," the Daoist said. "The 'Drunken Immortal Technique' that I practice requires me to drink. As the saying goes, 'Drink three dan of wine a day, and in a hundred days, you'll ascend to immortality'!"
The Daoist belched and bowed to Fang Xing. "Forgive this old man, Master Ding Bushan, for butting into your conversation earlier. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Fang Xing replied with a smile. "Your life experiences are vast, and I've learned a great deal from you."
Fang Xing bowed back, then turned to Hongxiu. "Please pack me thirty catties of lotus-scented spirit rice... Give me a discount, won't you?"
"Sure thing!" Hongxiu's eyes lit up at the prospect of a sale. "It's usually three spirit stones, but I'll give it to you for three spirit stones and seventeen spirit sands!"
Delighted to have a customer after spending half the day chatting, Hongxiu took a low-grade spirit stone and seventeen spirit sands from Fang Xing, who was packing up his basket, ready to leave the market district.
As he walked away, he could faintly hear the conversation between grandfather and granddaughter in the wind.
"Grandfather, you're too controlling," Hongxiu chided.
"My dear granddaughter," the old man replied, "do you know who this person is? He doesn't even rent a stall in the market. He's either a fugitive or a pauper. Does he look like a pauper to you? Stay away from people like him from now on..."
...
The voices gradually faded into the distance.
Fang Xing chuckled to himself. "Old folks do tend to overthink things, but he's just worried about his granddaughter..."
It was only natural for a grandfather to be concerned, and he didn't hold any grudges because of it.
Back at the temporary camp, everything returned to normal.
"In this world, the most useful things for me right now are the conducive cultivation environment and the various pills and spirit rice..."
"Or perhaps those low-level talismans and blood-forged artifacts..."
In the cave, Fang Xing practiced the Grand Dragon-Standing Posture while his mind wandered.
"To be honest, those artifacts aren't that useful to me... After all, once I have the money, I can just buy a laser gun, which is way more practical than any blood-forged artifact. But having a few low-level talismans as a surprise trump card wouldn't hurt."
"These are the things that have helped me the most in this world so far..."
"I'll focus on cultivating, and once I've reached perfection in the Sinew-Changing realm, I'll buy the 'Natural-Born Pill'!"
Fang Xing had inquired about the 'Natural-Born Pill' and learned that it was sold in Qingdan Lane. However, the price was steep—a whopping fifty low-grade spirit stones!
In terms of value, it was comparable to a low-grade artifact.
It was said that this was because the refinement of the 'Natural-Born Pill' required the consumption of some spiritual herbs used in Qi Refinement pills.
Furthermore, not many cultivators were willing to buy the 'Natural-Born Pill' as rewards for their subordinates, due to the small market.
However, for Fang Xing, this was not an issue.
"Fifty low-grade spirit stones aren't difficult to come by... As long as I have subsequent drone support, I can slowly gather spiritual herbs and turn them into cash."
...
Time passed unknowingly, and soon it was July.
Chick Eagle Star.
The Happy Home Community.
Feeling the somewhat scorching temperature outside and listening to the cicadas and birds chirping, Fang Xing couldn't help but feel sentimental.
"It's almost my birthday, isn't it?"
For the android Fang Xing, his birthday was naturally based on the day he emerged from the cultivation pod, which was July 17th.
Therefore, even though he wanted to continue his training in the other world until the school term started, he had to return now to take care of some matters, lest he be considered missing and cause unnecessary trouble.
Fang Xing glanced at his attribute panel:
[Name: Fang Xing]
[Age: 16]
[Occupation: Martial Artist]
[Second Realm: Sinew-Changing (Refine Sinews: 16/100)]
[Juntiquan Twelve Forms: 44/100 (Proficient)]
[Grand Dragon-Standing Posture: 6/200 (Mastery)]
[Gate of the Omniverse (Charging)]
...
"Ever since I consumed the spirit rice, my progress in Refine Sinews has been about one point per day. Although it's much slower than using pills, there's a sense of stability, with no hint of rushing or excess. It's a steady and solid improvement..."
"At this rate, before school starts, I should be able to get the Refine Sinews progress to over fifty percent... This is already remarkably swift progress. It's not good to rush it too fast without a teacher's guidance..."
Thinking of finding a master to guide him, Fang Xing sighed.
It was indeed troublesome to lose Summer Dragon's guidance during the holidays.
Aside from other things, he didn't know whom to turn to for advanced martial arts after breaking through the second realm.
"Should I give Master Xiaolong a call? Or should I... hire a private tutor? But I don't have the money..."
"I can use online videos as a reference, but if I follow them blindly, who knows what might happen..."
"Martial arts instruction is best done face-to-face, with personal guidance, to be truly safe..."
After all, everyone's physical condition was different, and tailored instruction was necessary.
Not to mention the abstruse concept of martial arts will, which the internet couldn't convey at all.
He opened his phone, replied to some messages, and his gaze landed on Liu Wei's number, causing him to fall silent for a moment.
Over the past few years, Liu Wei had always been there for Fang Xing's birthdays.
But now...
"Sigh... The past cannot be chased."
Fang Xing sighed, then noticed another message, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
After a moment of thought, he returned the call.
Whoosh!
A 3D projection appeared, and the little girl, Gu Yun, looked much colder. She glanced around and said, "So, you live in this kind of environment..."
"Miss Gu..."
Fang Xing nodded in greeting, then realized that his choice of words was inappropriate, probably influenced by the language style of the other world.
"Young lady is such an old-fashioned term; you can call me Ms. Gu..."
Gu Yun replied without any change in expression, "I need a sparring partner; Xing Yuan is easy to talk to, are you willing to come?"
"I'll come!"
...
Brilliant Jiang Mansion.
Training Ground.
Gu Yun's small face was cold, and she wore a training outfit, her wooden sword still in hand.
No! In Fang Xing's opinion, her personality had changed a lot since her father, Gu Renwang, had fallen in battle.
At this moment, her temperament was like a block of ice!
"This time, I hope you will give it your all and wear protective gear."
Gu Yun stood with her sword drawn and said coldly, "If I accidentally injure you, I will compensate for your medical expenses."
"I didn't bring my nano-suit..."
Fang Xing smiled, "But I'm confident..."
He had left the nano-suit and the electric baton in the other world and didn't plan on bringing them back.
What he wanted to bring back were some items from the other world.
Now, he was planning how to go to the black market and make some money.
'The spirit rice and talismans from the other world... They don't match the specialties of Chick Eagle Star, so even the black market might not be a good place to sell them... But there's also gold and silver there!'
In the interstellar age, gold was no longer considered a precious metal, and its price had dropped significantly, but it was still quite valuable.
In the Qinglin Market, gold was a refining material, and it took thousands of pounds to extract a few ounces of 'gold essence'.
The raw material of gold wasn't very expensive; one spirit sand could buy quite a bit.
Upon discovering that the two worlds had the same metal, Fang Xing immediately thought of profiting from the price difference.
'I'll just sell it once and make enough money...'
'At least, I'll be able to buy a proper self-defense weapon...'
'My current strength is too weak. If I encounter a well-prepared Qi Refinement cultivator in the middle or late stages, it would be extremely dangerous.'
'And my progress is swift, so I need an excuse, I need to make money, or even launder money... so that I can openly use it to buy nutrients and invest in myself...'
...
"Are you spacing out during our sparring session?"
Suddenly, a clear rebuke interrupted Fang Xing's thoughts.
Whoosh!
The dazzling blade landed right on top of his head!
(End of Chapter)
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