Chapter 631: Receiving You as a Maid

"This... how is this possible?" Miss Liu and the young man exchanged glances, their bodies trembling.

Just moments ago, they had carefully examined the stone pillars, trying every method, but couldn't identify anything. They had guessed many names randomly, all to no avail. They thought this guy would be similar, but they never dreamed that he would just walk over, point casually, and immediately call out a name, without even looking closely.

Then the stone pillar exploded! Was it real? Is he cheating?

"This, this..." Gan Yiping's eyes were also wide, as if they might pop out of their sockets.

Although he hadn't said much just now, he shared Miss Liu and the young man's thoughts, believing this fellow was just bragging too much. He never imagined he would be so formidable!

With a mere touch of his finger, he could declare what the stone pillar contained. The speed was astonishing. How... how did he do it?

He had studied for fifty years and only deciphered three. Yet, this person had already deciphered twenty, no, thirty, forty, even fifty or more in less than twenty breaths!

This speed was faster than simply seeing the treasures directly!

Earlier, the butler said their young master could decipher all of them, and he hadn't believed it, thinking it was an exaggeration. Only now did he realize that not only had they not exaggerated, but they had actually been quite modest.

This wasn't deciphering; it was a complete sweep!

"Miss... it seems you lost the bet," Gan Yiping couldn't help but say, swallowing hard.

Remembering the wager, Miss Liu swayed, her vision darkening.

Although her status was not low and she possessed a good number of spirit stones, she only had a few hundred at most, and a thousand would be difficult to produce. If each stone pillar cost 100 spirit stones, and forty or fifty had already been deciphered, that meant four to five thousand spirit stones had just been thrown away...

If she had known he was so capable, why would she have made such a bet? Wasn't she just asking for trouble?

With a bitter expression, Miss Liu was on the verge of tears. She gritted her teeth and said, "Stop for a moment, I need to speak with you..."

"Speak with me?" Zhang Xuan stopped.

"Yes, I've already seen your ability. I don't think there's any need to continue deciphering, is there?" Miss Liu said, her pretty face flushing.

Just moments ago, she had proudly wagered with him, and now she was trying to deliberately scheme. The intense shame made her feel extremely awkward.

"Seen my ability? You haven't seen anything yet. Don't worry, I'll be done soon!"

With a slight smile, Zhang Xuan extended his hands, one touching a stone pillar near him, the other touching a pillar in another row. He continued to move forward as he spoke.

"This is Accumulated Rain Thorn, this is Resonant Wood, this is Hundred Roots Red, this is Three-Leaf Golden Scale Immortal..."

Bang, bang, bang, bang! The stone pillars in both rows continuously exploded, revealing treasures identical to what he had described.

Five breaths later, he stopped. Clapping his hands, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. "Alright, all deciphered..."

Crash! Before and behind him, over a hundred stone pillars lay shattered on the ground, revealing the dazzling treasures hidden within.

The treasures weren't of high grade, but they were still valuable and would fetch a considerable price if sold.

"It hasn't even been... a minute!" Looking at the incense stick nearby, which had only just begun to burn, they realized less than a minute had passed. Yet, this person had deciphered all those stone pillars. Everyone was silent, their teeth chattering.

They had seen formidable people, but never anyone this formidable...

"Um... Pavilion Master, now that I've deciphered so many stone pillars, can I take the three items I mentioned earlier directly?" Coming closer, Zhang Xuan looked at the old man nearby.

"Uh..." Gan Yiping's mouth twitched. He quickly turned to the attendant nearby and gritted his teeth, "Why aren't you quickly packing all the treasures in the pavilion for this young master? From today onwards, he is the Pavilion Master of the Pavilion of Exquisite Treasures..."

"Yes!" The attendant hurried away.

"Pavilion Master?" Zhang Xuan was surprised.

"Yes, deciphering stone pillars increases your points based on the number. Over a hundred pillars, accumulated, totals more than six thousand points..." Gan Yiping nodded. (1234...110 equals 6105).

More than six thousand points, to be honest, even if all the treasures in his Pavilion of Exquisite Treasures were combined, it wouldn't be enough compensation...

Others couldn't even decipher them one by one, but this guy had deciphered over a hundred in one go. Witnessing it firsthand, he felt his worldview overturned and was somewhat frantic.

However, after the initial frenzy, he was also filled with excitement.

Although he had instantly lost so many treasures, even his entire possessions, the decades-long dilemma weighing on his mind was resolved in a single moment. It was as if he had understood the Dao in the morning and could die content in the evening.

"Many thanks..." Gan Yiping cupped his fist and bowed deeply.

Fifty years, a full fifty years! After acquiring these stone pillars, he had continuously pondered and researched them, expending his essence and blood. He had believed these puzzles would accompany him to his grave, never to be deciphered. Yet, this young man had completely solved them in less than a minute.

Knowing the secrets of these stone pillars, he had no regrets, even if he were to die immediately.

"Young Master... became the Pavilion Master of the Pavilion of Exquisite Treasures?" "He took all the treasures and they're still thanking him?" Sun Qiang and Yuan Tao exchanged bewildered glances.

They just came to buy something, and as a result, he completely dismantled the Pavilion of Exquisite Treasures, severing its foundation... Not only that, but he also had the Pavilion Master express profuse gratitude, filled with excitement. The Young Master (Teacher) truly was the Young Master (Teacher); he certainly couldn't be understood with ordinary thinking.

"Didn't you say just now that if I solved a stone pillar, you'd give me a hundred mid-grade spirit stones? I solved over a hundred. To make it cheaper for you, let's say a hundred. That's... ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones!" After a few pleasantries with Pavilion Master Gan, Zhang Xuan looked at Miss Liu, who was not far away.

Compared to the treasures, he was more interested in the spirit stones.

"I..." Miss Liu's face flushed crimson, her delicate body trembling.

She had originally thought that the other party wouldn't be able to decipher a single one, would obediently kneel before her, and she could teach him a lesson about knowing his place. She never dreamed that he would not only decipher the stone pillars but also completely take over the Pavilion of Exquisite Treasures... What kind of situation was this?! If only she had known he was so powerful, why had she opened her mouth?!

Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones... even if she brought out her entire fortune, it wouldn't be enough!

"What? Are you trying to go back on your word?" Seeing her face alternate between red and white, remaining silent, Zhang Xuan frowned.

If she hadn't been acting so arrogant and putting on airs in front of him, he wouldn't have bothered with her. But since she had boasted so much and even demanded he kneel, she had to bear the consequences of losing the bet.

"What Miss Liu lost, I'll pay for it..." The young man, who was pursuing Miss Liu, saw her speechless under pressure. He gritted his teeth and stepped forward. Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones — even he couldn't produce that much. But now, cornered, he had no choice. If he could help her in her moment of crisis and win her heart, any price would be worth it. He had considered not acknowledging the debt, but the bet had been clearly made with the other party. As a dignified five-star master teacher, if he reneged, what face would he have to meet people with in the future? If this matter reached headquarters, he wouldn't be able to remain a master teacher. Only a person of integrity could educate others; if he himself went back on a wager, who would dare send their students to him for instruction?

"I don't need your help!" Before the young man finished speaking, Miss Liu gritted her teeth. "I'll pay it myself!" She then looked up at Zhang Xuan, saying, "I can pay you the ten thousand spirit stones, but... I don't have that much on me right now. It will take a few months."

She couldn't even produce a thousand spirit stones right now, let alone ten thousand. However, once she returned home, although ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones was a large sum, with her family's resources, she could certainly acquire them.

"A few months?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "In a few months, I'll be able to produce ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones easily myself; I wouldn't need yours then!" Heavenly Feather Imperial City was merely a stop on his way to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. He couldn't even stay for half a month, let alone several months.

Furthermore, he had only been cultivating for about half a year. In a few months, he didn't know what realm he would reach, and mid-grade spirit stones might already be useless to him. As his cultivation advanced, and his Heaven's Path True Qi became purer, his demand for spiritual energy would only increase. Although he had only reached the peak of Mortal Transcendent 4-dan, he had already noticed that the effectiveness of mid-grade spirit stones was gradually diminishing. If his cultivation continued to rise, they would surely become as ineffective as low-grade spirit stones.

In a few months, they would be useless to him. What would be the point of acquiring more then?

"You... what do you want to do then?" Miss Liu gritted her teeth.

"Well..." Zhang Xuan also frowned. The other party had sworn confidently when making the bet, promising mid-grade spirit stones. He had thought she could afford it, but it turned out she was also poor. If he had known this, he wouldn't have bothered with such a troublesome bet.

"Didn't you say just now that if I lost, you'd make me kneel?" After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Xuan continued, "How about this: I won't make you kneel. I need a maid to serve tea and pour water. You can follow behind and take orders from Sun Qiang. As long as you're obedient, we'll forget about the ten thousand spirit stones!" She couldn't produce the money, and he couldn't just let it go! Since this person was so arrogant, he might as well teach her a lesson. Besides, taking her in as a subordinate could solve quite a few problems.

"A maid? A subordinate? Do you even know Miss Liu's identity...?" Before the girl could speak, the young man beside them was startled and immediately shouted.

"What identity? Is any identity more distinguished than our Young Master's? Stop wasting your breath here. Being able to serve as our Young Master's maid is a blessing cultivated over several lifetimes. If you talk any more nonsense, pay up!" Sun Qiang interrupted him with a wave.

The Young Master is the Master's personal student. His status is many times higher than that Hall Master Mo. Taking you as a maid is already an honor, and you dare to talk about identity... You don't know your place!

"You... what do you know? Miss Liu is a pri—" Seeing the fat man also come out to cause trouble, the young man scoffed. Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the girl again.

"Enough!" Gritting her teeth, Miss Liu looked over coldly, her voice filled with arrogance. "A maid is out of the question, and ten thousand spirit stones are not enough to make me anyone's maid. Propose another condition!"

"Don't want to? Then just kowtow!" Zhang Xuan said indifferently.