Chapter 45: Ask Won't Work?

Zu An remained motionless. "Hand over your primal stones, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

"You little brat, you're asking for death!" Man Yu roared, his large, sandbag-sized fist immediately flying towards Zu An's face. It was fast, fierce, and accurate. He had used this move to subdue countless disobedient people; one punch would result in snot and nosebleeds, making any meager courage vanish completely.

Rage value from Man Yu: 177!

Zu An was somewhat displeased. This guy looked menacing, but his rage value was clearly still insufficient.

At this moment, Man Yu began to doubt his life. His powerful punch had been lightly blocked by the other party's outstretched hand. He tried to pull his hand back, but it wouldn't budge.

Zu An sighed. "I tried to reason with you, but you wouldn't listen. Did it have to come to this? Now, can you hand over your primal stones?"

His cultivation had now reached the third rank. In terms of pure strength, he possessed the power of 88 adult men. This fatty in front of him was, at best, a low-tier second-rank cultivator; otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to the Yellow Class. How could he possibly defeat Zu An?

The fatty wouldn't give up, and swung his other fist, but it was still easily blocked.

Zu An felt this wasn't going anywhere, so he increased the pressure on Man Yu's hand.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, let go, let go..." Man Yu was in so much pain that tears nearly streamed from his eyes. He never expected his usually strong self to be subdued by such a skinny monkey.

Rage value from Man Yu: 66!

"Stop spouting nonsense and hand over the primal stones," Zu An said, applying a little more force.

"I'll hand them over, I'll hand them over..." Man Yu seemed to hear the sound of bones cracking. He quickly looked at the pouch on his waist. "They're in my pouch."

Zu An was wary of any traps in the pouch, so he cautiously released Man Yu's hand. "You take them out for me."

Man Yu quickly removed the pouch and poured out the primal stones. As he watched the stones fall one by one into Zu An's hand, the fat on his face trembled.

Rage value from Man Yu: 9999...

"Huh, only seven?" Zu An was immediately disappointed. He had thought he could fleece a fat sheep by robbing a robber, but it seemed the landlord's family didn't have much surplus grain either.

"That's all there is. Our class isn't rich in cultivation resources to begin with, and everything due has already been collected," Man Yu quickly explained.

"What about the earlier ones? Hand them all over," Zu An said, extending his hand again.

Rage value from Man Yu: 666!

So you intend to strip us bare!

A hint of indignation and sorrow flashed across Man Yu's chubby face. "There really isn't any more. We have to hand over most of what we collect. How about you take two, and we'll call it even as friends? I won't report this. Otherwise, if Big Brother Ye finds out, you'll be in big trouble!"

"Oh, so you've formed a whole industry chain," Zu An chuckled. "Who is this 'Big Brother Ye' you're talking about?"

"Ye Chenliang from the third-year Earth Class. He's a peak third-rank cultivator. Dealing with a first-year Yellow Class freshman like you would be effortless," Man Yu said with a cold smirk.

Zu An frowned. Someone with higher cultivation than him would indeed be troublesome.

Noticing his reaction, Man Yu laughed. "Scared, aren't you? If you're scared, then hand over your things obediently!"

Human relationships were like that. Believing Zu An was intimidated, Man Yu no longer mentioned his previous offer of two primal stones; instead, he demanded Zu An hand over his own as well.

"Enough with the chatter!" Zu An said impatiently, directly slapping Man Yu, making him dazed and disoriented. Then, he weighed the primal stones in his hand. "I've taken these. Tell that 'Ye' person to come find me himself."

"You surnamed Zu, you'll regret this!"

"With missing teeth, you're whistling through your mouth. Talk less."

Rage value from Man Yu: 666!

When Zu An returned to the classroom, he found Wei Suo peering out the doorway. Seeing Zu An approach, he quickly asked, "How was it? Are you alright?"

Zu An chuckled. "If you were truly righteous, why didn't you come to the grove with me to help?"

Wei Suo chuckled. "I'm powerless to even truss a chicken. Wouldn't I just be a burden if I went with you? They'd capture me as a hostage, and then you'd have to rescue me."

"You're not a beautiful woman, why would I save you?" Zu An rolled his eyes, but still tossed a primal stone to him.

"This... this..." Wei Suo looked at the primal stone in his hand, a little shocked. "Where did this come from?"

"That dead fatty gave it to me because he saw I was handsome," Zu An replied casually.

"How could that be!" Wei Suo quickly chased after him. "That fatty has someone backing him. Be careful of retaliation."

Zu An looked unconcerned. "Someone backing him? Are they more powerful than Duke Mingyue?" Although he himself was not favored in the Chu clan, outsiders didn't know that. This 'tiger's skin' was too good not to use.

"No wonder," Wei Suo suddenly realized. "It's true that marrying the Chu clan's eldest daughter saves you fifty years of struggle."

After returning to his seat, Zu An quietly asked him, "How does one use these primal stones?"

Wei Suo was startled, finding it odd that Zu An didn't even know such a basic piece of information. Nevertheless, he explained, "Place the primal stone in your palm, then circulate your cultivation method to absorb the vital energy from it, using it to refine the corresponding parts of your body."

Zu An thought to himself that the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" didn't seem to mention any method for absorbing vital energy. He took a stone and tried to concentrate on it for a long time, but unfortunately, he couldn't absorb any vital energy at all.

Only then did he remember that the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" had a unique cultivation path: it relied on being beaten to improve, rather than the traditional method of using vital energy to temper the body.

He couldn't help but feel a little exasperated. If this were before, he would probably have changed this masochistic cultivation method at the first opportunity. However, that night, during his life-and-death struggle with Pei Mianman, his strength had surged dramatically towards the end. Combined with the emergence of a mythical beast from the Nine Phoenix Chicks with each rank he cultivated, even he, foolish as he might be, knew this method was extraordinary. Of course, he was reluctant to change it now.

This made primal stones useless to him, like a chicken rib – little meat but a lot of trouble. Zu An thought for a moment, then nudged the guy beside him. "Young man, want to buy some primal stones?"

Wei Suo's eyes lit up. "How many do you have?"

"Seven, I think," Zu An replied, thinking that if he sold them for ten taels of gold each, combined with the silver he already had, he could easily cover the one thousand taels of gambling debt.

Of course, he was reluctant to use his own money to pay off that dead man's debt, but given how seriously the mysterious woman in the pavilion had described the contract last time, it was better to be prepared.

Thinking of the mysterious woman in the pavilion, Zu An wondered if he would ever see her again. Should he find an excuse to visit the pavilion sometime?

"How much do you plan to sell each for?" Wei Suo asked.

Zu An put his arm around Wei Suo's shoulder and said, "You just said these are rarely sold, they're priceless but have no market. Between brothers, I won't cheat you. Eleven taels of gold each, take all of them. I'll even round down for you, so it'll be 75 taels of gold in total!"

Wei Suo blinked. "I'm not well-educated, so don't trick me. Shouldn't rounding down make it 70 taels of gold?"

Zu An snorted. "Then why wouldn't I just say ten taels each? 75 taels is the lowest I'll go; it's a friendship price." He then handed over the small pouch of primal stones. "Here, the primal stones are yours, now give me the money."

Wei Suo replied, "Look, I don't have that much money."

Zu An frowned. "Then how much do you have?"

Wei Suo rummaged through his pocket, then looked at him with an innocent expression. "Fifty-four taels of silver in total."

Zu An was stunned. "If you can't afford it, why the hell are you asking?"

"Can't I just ask for the fun of it?" Wei Suo said, completely unabashed.

Zu An's face darkened, and he said nothing more, immediately pressing Wei Suo onto the desk and giving him a good pounding.

"You just said we were brothers!"

"Can't I lie to you?"

The next class was a military strategy lesson taught by the city's military official:

"Complete victory without battle, a great army without wounds, communicating with spirits, how profound! How profound! When people share the same affliction, they help each other; when they share feelings, they achieve success together; when they share evil, they assist each other; when they share interests, they follow each other. Thus, one wins without weapons, attacks without battering rams, and defends without trenches... When a fierce bird is about to strike, it flies low and retracts its wings; when a fierce beast is about to pounce, it lowers its ears and crouches; when a sage is about to act, they always appear foolish..."

Zu An listened to the entire class as if it were an incomprehensible book. He felt as though a mosquito was constantly buzzing in his ear. He felt he was about to lose it. After finally transmigrating, he ended up back in school, learning such nonsensical subjects.

He felt he was simply wasting his life. He had wasted enough time in his previous life; did he have to continue doing so in this one?

He was about to get up and leave, but then he remembered that this teacher not only had a peak third-rank cultivation but was also an official of the imperial court. He decided it would be better to keep a low profile.

"Hmm, it won't be too late to skip class after this one ends."

Despite his continuous prayers, the class time did not speed up; instead, it dragged on endlessly. When the class finally ended, he felt like he was going crazy.

"I can't take it anymore, I have to leave." Zu An walked out with a darkened expression.

"Going to the cafeteria for lunch? Let's go together, I'll treat you." At that moment, Wei Suo caught up from behind, a flattering smile on his face. Clearly, the earlier beating had been quite effective.

Only then did Zu An realize it was already noon. He also remembered that he would need to eat if he went out, and he'd have to pay for it himself. It wouldn't be too late to leave after eating.

"By the way, you're so well-informed about school news, do you know someone named Wei Hongde?" Zu An remembered Old Man Mi's instructions. If he skipped class today and returned with no progress, that guy probably wouldn't let him off so easily.

"Of course, he's my elder brother. Do you know him?" Wei Suo looked at him with curiosity.

"Your brother?" Zu An looked suspicious. "What a coincidence. Why don't your names sound alike?"

"Who says brothers' names have to sound alike?" Wei Suo pouted. "I think my brother's name is rustic. Mine is much grander. Wei Suo, Wei Suo – it implies seeking high and low, or even scouring the world. Doesn't it sound much more impressive?"

Zu An suppressed a smile. "Yes, yes, your name is much more impressive. Is your brother also at this school?"

"He is. His talent is better than mine, and he's in the third-year Earth Class." Wei Suo's eyes were full of envy as he spoke.

"What does your family do?" Zu An was curious, unable to figure out why Old Man Mi wanted him to get close to Wei Hongde.

"My old man used to work in the Imperial Household Department. In recent years, he was sent to Mingyue City to retire. We can't compare to your Chu clan," Wei Suo replied.

Imperial Household Department?

Zu An pondered. The Imperial Household Department was one of the Nine Ministers, responsible for the Emperor's private treasury. A large portion of its staff were trusted eunuchs, and others were also trusted by the Emperor. What exactly did Old Man Mi want by having him get close to their family?

Just then, a discordant voice suddenly rang out: "Big Brother Ye, that's the guy who robbed us of our primal stones."

Seeing this, Wei Suo darted aside like a rabbit, pretending not to know Zu An.