Chapter 148: Mirror Flower, Water Moon

Zu An's mind replayed the flamboyant styles of powerful figures from his previous life, like Jack Ma, who built empires, and "Uncle Wang" with his "small goal of a hundred million." He mused that they must have naturally possessed such a skill.

Come to think of it, since arriving in this world, I seem to have acquired a natural skill myself. Reflecting on Chu Chuyan's peerless beauty, I wondered if declaring "I don't know my wife's beauty" in front of a large crowd would make the collected rage points skyrocket.

Hmm, that's a good idea. I must try it when the opportunity arises.

He carefully studied the skill "Approachable Billionaire." While it had no usage limit, it concealed a major restriction: each activation required a massive amount of money.

He also wondered if the "one hundred million" referred to copper coins. If so, a single use would cost 100,000 taels of silver. "Huh," he mused, "that doesn't seem like much."

He disregarded the 7.5 million taels in IOUs, as they had already been given to the beautiful Headmistress as a betrothal gift. Considering his current silver notes, which amounted to about 650,000 taels, plus the 500,000 taels still owed by the Four Seas Casino, he figured he could use the skill at least six more times.

Anyone else hearing his thoughts would undoubtedly scold him. "100,000 taels isn't much?" Even a wealthy merchant family in this world would struggle to produce that sum.

Zu An was currently contemplating a different matter: the actual effect of spending that hundred million. The description wasn't detailed, only stating that the target would consider him a friend for half an hour. But there are many kinds of friends: lifelong friends, fair-weather friends, even mere acquaintances. To what extent would this skill work?

For instance, if I used this skill on the beautiful Headmistress, could it make her willing to become my "bed friend"?

Zu An was eager to try, but the thought of the seal on his "little brother" immediately doused his enthusiasm.

The most urgent task was still to find the Traceless Illusion Lotus; he shouldn't dwell on such trivial matters.

He then continued to use up the remaining rage points but didn't draw any other special items, only 70 Vitality Fruits in total. After consuming and refining these, the fourth magic array had been filled with 156 fruits, leaving only 77 more to reach the full 233.

Although his cultivation level seemed to progress slowly, if the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture's "berserk" characteristic was triggered, the resulting increase in vitality would far exceed the effect of these 70 fruits.

Moreover, even geniuses in this world would need at least ten years of arduous cultivation to reach the same realm, yet he had achieved it in just over a month.

If this secret were exposed, everyone in the world would surely go mad with jealousy and hunt him down to force him to reveal the secret of his cultivation.

Zu An was aware of this, but he remained unsatisfied. After all, he was determined to become the strongest man in the world!

Having been accustomed to various online content in his previous life, his mind was filled with thoughts of how incredibly powerful other protagonists were. What did his current achievements truly amount to?

In his mind, he wasn't comparing himself to the average person in the world but rather using the incredibly powerful protagonists from his memories as a reference. "Yes," he thought, "that's how high the standards are for a genius!"

After this period of rest, Zu An felt much better physically and began walking out of the forest. He had originally planned to find Ji Xiaoxi but had been delayed by those assassins.

Having set his direction, he walked towards the edge of the forest. He had just uncharacteristically drawn two skills/items, and his mood was quite joyful.

However, the moment he stepped out of the forest, the smile on his face froze. His entire body tingled as he nervously stared at the woman not far away. She wore a green dress, her figure appearing slender and delicate. A palm-width belt further accentuated her incredibly narrow waist, making it seem as though it could be encircled by a single hand. As she stood there, the forest breeze stirred her fluttering skirt. With the translucent veil covering her face, she exuded an ethereal and otherworldly aura.

Any other man, encountering such a beautiful and delicate girl in the wilderness, would undoubtedly find it a most pleasant experience.

However, Zu An had no inclination to admire her beauty at that moment, for he knew the terrifying power hidden beneath her delicate frame.

The young woman before him was none other than Xue'er!

She had clearly seen him too, and her lips curved slightly upward. *This guy has finally been caught!* she thought.

Zu An's eyes darted around. Instead of turning to flee, he smiled and walked over. "Oh, Miss Qiao," he said, "I didn't expect to meet you here."

Xue'er was startled. In her imagination, they would undoubtedly glare at each other like sworn enemies the moment they met, either fighting to the death or engaging in a chase. His natural tone was completely unexpected.

She suddenly realized that her current identity was Qiao Xueying, a student of the academy. This guy clearly didn't recognize her.

"Hmph, he must know I'm the tenth most beautiful woman on the academy's beauty ranking," she thought, "and is just looking for an opportunity to strike up a conversation."

"This guy truly is something; even after everything, he's still so lustful!"

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 233!

Zu An, walking towards her, felt his heart skip a beat. It seemed this girl truly hated him to the core; even a simple greeting could provoke her rage points.

At this moment, Qiao Xueying saw him approaching her like a clueless goose, and the curve of her lips became increasingly pronounced.

She suddenly didn't want to kill him so quickly. This guy had made her suffer so much before and had even… done that to her. How could she appease her grudge without thoroughly toying with him first?

"Miss Qiao, what are you thinking that makes you so happy? Could it be because you saw me?" Zu An couldn't help but sigh. "There's nothing I can do; I was just born this handsome and charming. Women find it hard not to be happy when they see me."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.

After not seeing him for days, his shamelessness remained unchanged.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 131!

Nevertheless, she still smiled faintly. "Young master," she said, "aren't you afraid of making your beautiful wife at home angry by acting this way?"

"Hmph, I'll properly toy with you first," she thought. "After making you completely infatuated, I'll then reveal my true identity. His expression at that moment will surely be very amusing."

Zu An waved his hand. "Miss Qiao, don't worry. My wife said she doesn't mind me seeking other women. If you don't believe me, you can ask her yourself."

Qiao Xueying secretly cursed him as shameless. This guy was actually trying to flirt with other pretty girls behind the young mistress's back.

As soon as this thought arose, she was startled. She was still subconsciously calling Chu Chuyan "Young Miss" and even felt indignant on her behalf. It seemed that years of being by her side had subtly influenced her in many ways.

"Miss Qiao, why are you here alone? This secret realm is far more dangerous than expected," Zu An said, patting his chest. "But you don't have to worry now. From now on, I'll protect you."

"You?" A hint of mockery appeared at the corner of Qiao Xueying's lips. "Well then, thank you, young master."

"Don't you believe me?" Zu An immediately grew anxious. "Do you know Yuan Wendong from the Heavenly Class? He's a fifth-grade cultivator, and he lost to me! And..." Qiao Xueying couldn't be bothered to listen to his nonsense and directly interrupted, "By the way, have you encountered any other students on your way?"

"Students? No, you're the first student I've seen. What a coincidence!" Zu An laughed.

"Haven't encountered any?" Qiao Xueying's gaze fell on the wound on his chest. "Then what about the wound on your body?"

"Oh, I just ran into a few skeleton soldiers; they were quite tough to fight," Zu An said, his voice laced with feigned lingering fear, making it sound as natural as possible. "This secret realm is truly bizarre; it actually has zombies and skeletons. I've never heard the school mention such things before."

Qiao Xueying was startled. She recalled the situation in the valley she had just passed, and her brows involuntarily furrowed. Could Jia Zhengjing and his group have been so unlucky as to encounter a horde of zombies and be completely wiped out?

"Huh, wife, why are you here?" Zu An said with feigned surprise, looking behind her.

"Young Miss!" Qiao Xueying's body trembled. She subconsciously turned her head, but there was nothing there.

Zu An had been waiting for this exact opportunity. He had been feigning ignorance and chatting idly with her precisely to lower her guard as much as possible. As expected, she was indeed most sensitive to news about Chu Chuyan.

He thrust his sword towards her heart. This time, he didn't hold back out of pity for her beauty as he did last time; he directly used a lethal strike. Although the young girl was quite pretty, it would be a shame for her to die like this.

But he knew that her appearance in the secret realm was to kill him. With her fifth-grade cultivation, if he showed even a shred of misplaced kindness, he would be the one to die.

The "Bixie Sword Art" was inherently fast, and this strike came as a complete surprise from him. Even Xue'er couldn't avoid it.

*Thwack* — blood splattered!

His… sword had entered Qiao Xueying's body!

However, Zu An showed no joy, as the sensation of the strike felt distinctly wrong.

As expected, the Xue'er on his sword rippled, then transformed into a flower, which was torn to shreds by the sword energy. The real Xue'er, meanwhile, stood several yards away, glaring at him with a frosty expression.

It turned out that the moment Qiao Xueying turned around and saw nothing, she knew something was wrong. She had initially thought of using her protective energy to resist the blow, but every cell in her body warned her as a terrifying sense of crisis enveloped her.

Although she didn't understand why her opponent could pose such a great threat, her body's instinct immediately activated her innate skill, "Mirror Flower, Water Moon"—a skill she could only use three times in her life—transferring the damage she received to a flower illusion.

"You actually made me waste a 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon'!" Qiao Xueying's beautiful eyes seemed to spit fire.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 1024!

Only she truly knew the extent of her loss. With these three uses of "Mirror Flower, Water Moon," she effectively possessed three extra lives.

From the time she could remember until just now, no matter how great the danger she faced over the years, she had never dared to use them. She understood that these three opportunities were meant to save her life when she faced absolutely insurmountable peerless powerhouses in the future.

But now, such a precious opportunity had been wasted on a guy she had always regarded as a worthless ant!

Unfortunately, her opponent did not respond. Instead, he turned and ran towards the small forest.

He remembered the maxim: "If one strike misses, retreat a thousand *li*." At this moment, his figure was already close to disappearing from Qiao Xueying's sight.