Chapter 88: Dark Supplementary World

Confronted by Zhang Yu’s formidable aura of combativeness and resolve, the Doll thought to herself, “It’s only been two months since I last saw Zhang Yu, yet his will and spirit have changed so drastically? What kind of potential has been unleashed in him?”

In the past, the Doll would have dismissed Zhang Yu’s threat; she had countless ways to deal with him.

But now, she was extremely weak and yearned to re-ascend Kunxu and reclaim everything that was hers.

The Doll sighed inwardly, “Alas, the barefoot aren’t afraid of the shod. There’s no need to fight desperately with a pauper from this layer. I’ll just employ a clever scheme, dangling a carrot to make him move forward.”

After a moment’s thought, the Doll’s tone softened as she spoke, “Don’t be nervous, Zhang Yu. I came to you because a great stroke of fortune has fallen upon you.”

Zhang Yu, however, asked a question that had long bothered him: “Was Zhou Tianyi sent by you?”

“Zhou Tianyi? Who’s that? I don’t know him.”

The Doll seemed unfamiliar with the name and uninterested in the person. She continued her previous topic, “You achieved what you have now because I unlocked your potential. Don’t you want to enhance your potential further?”

Enhance his potential further?

Zhang Yu suddenly remembered the catalog of the *Feather Scripture*. He had previously wondered if the current *Feather Scripture*, with only a prologue, implied more content to follow. Now, hearing the Doll’s words, his suspicion seemed confirmed.

Zhang Yu mused inwardly, “Indeed, my potential is not limited to this. If the *Feather Scripture* hadn’t failed to fully unleash my potential, my current scores and competition results should be higher and stronger. Alas, I’m ultimately being held back by the *Feather Scripture*.”

Zhang Yu’s slight silence was interpreted by the Doll as a sign of interest.

So she quickly said, “Let’s cooperate and climb Kunxu together. With my assistance, you are destined to stand at the peak of Kunxu, become an immortal ancestor, and achieve financial and cultivation freedom.”

Zhang Yu, however, remained vigilant towards this evil god from beginning to end and was not easily swayed.

Instead, he was more concerned about the wish: “Can the wish be revoked?”

The Doll, of course, immediately denied it, but Zhang Yu didn’t believe her.

After some back-and-forth, Zhang Yu repeatedly threatened to die, finally stating, “This ritual power is so rigid, like a mindless program. How could you not have left yourselves a backdoor?”

The evil god sighed profoundly, “Then you should also know that if I revoke the wish, wouldn’t I be at your mercy? Do you think I could possibly agree to that? Don’t ask for such an unrealistic thing. We are in the same boat now; let’s discuss something practical.”

After their recent exchange, the Doll understood that Zhang Yu was no longer as pliable as he used to be.

The current Zhang Yu was no longer the helpless student she could bully. Not only was his will like steel and his actions decisive, but he also possessed the means to achieve mutual destruction with her and the power to implement it.

The Doll understood that, under the current circumstances, he had the right to negotiate with her, so she intended to make some concessions.

The Doll said, “Alright, to show my sincerity, I will revoke the wish that made you kneel just now.”

Zhang Yu replied, “And release your wish.”

The Doll quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, I’ll revoke both.”

It was unclear what the Doll did, but moments later, Zhang Yu exited his cultivation state and indeed found that those two wishes no longer bound him.

The Doll then said, “Now can you put me down so we can talk properly? Holding me like this is very disrespectful.”

Zhang Yu chuckled, “Holding you in my hand is the only way I can threaten you. Do you think it’s appropriate for me to let go?”

The Doll sighed inwardly, “He really hasn’t let down his guard at all.”

Zhang Yu continued, “Since you refuse to revoke the wish and still want to use the ritual to control me, then I’ll simply have to carry you with me at all times to ensure I can commit mutual destruction with you whenever necessary.”

The Doll began, “You…”

The next moment, she was startled to see streaks of formless cloud qi emerge from Zhang Yu’s body, swirling out like clouds from within him.

The Doll exclaimed, “This is a manifestation of Level 10 Boundless Cloud Hand? Your Boundless Cloud Hand is Level 10? Only two months have passed, how is this possible?”

Zhang Yu stated calmly, “I hope you understand that with this technique, as long as you are near me, I can attack you with formless cloud qi at any moment.”

The Doll’s gaze towards Zhang Yu intensified. She thought, “This child’s potential seems even more terrifying than I originally estimated. But this is good… relying on him… I might truly be able to go up there and retrieve what’s mine.”

If Zhang Yu had remained weak and incompetent, the Doll would not have valued him, even if she had his complete loyalty. But now that Zhang Yu had displayed his strength and potential, even if she couldn’t fully control him, the Doll held him in much higher regard.

So she reiterated her cooperation plan: “I will help you enhance your potential and climb Kunxu, and you only need to take me with you on your way up.”

Zhang Yu squeezed the doll in his hand and asked, “Is there any way for me to carry you around conveniently?”

The Doll chuckled, and in an instant, her form shrank, becoming smaller and smaller, transforming from a cat-sized plush doll into a black prayer bead roughly the size of a thumb.

Zhang Yu casually found a string and put the thumb-sized black bead around his neck. Then he asked, “You won’t be detected as an evil god normally, right?”

The Doll laughed heartily, “Though I’m not at my peak, when it comes to the art of concealment, those in the first layer can’t possibly detect anything amiss.”

Zhang Yu nodded, then said, “Alright then, boost my potential.”

The Doll gave an awkward chuckle, “It’s not as simple as just ‘boosting it,’ of course, but it’s not difficult either. As long as you help me hunt another evil god in this layer, I can enhance your potential after I devour its power.”

Zhang Yu immediately squeezed the Doll in his palm, “Are you messing with me? I’m only in my first year of high school; you want me to deal with another evil god?”

The Doll quickly explained, “I’m not asking you to act immediately. You can accumulate more strength, and when you’re powerful enough, then you can make your move.”

But Zhang Yu grew curious: “Where is that evil god? What’s its specific strength? Does it have any followers?”

The Doll replied, “One is probably hidden behind Songyang High School, and another should be hidden at Bailong High School. As for their strength, the most powerful evil god kings are all underground in the eighteenth layer, and the evil gods who climb higher are stronger. Those lingering in the first layer aren’t particularly powerful. However, the specific details of the evil gods hiding in those two high schools, like where exactly they’re hiding or how many followers they have, would require us to investigate together.”

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes. This evil god started by promising to boost his potential, then immediately wanted him to deal with another evil god and investigate the specifics himself.

“This evil god is full of hot air; she certainly can’t be trusted easily.” So Zhang Yu stopped listening to her boastful claims and opened his phone, intending to quickly find some profitable work.

After experiencing the effects of the Yuan Dan, Zhang Yu no longer wanted to cultivate without supplements, eating nothing.

“If I had enough money to use Yuan Dan every day, the speed of my physical strength improvement would definitely be eighty or ninety percent faster than before. The difference is too great; how can I calmly endure harsh cultivation now?”

He sighed inwardly, “Indeed, it’s hard to go from luxury to frugality.”

After talking for a long time, the evil god noticed Zhang Yu was no longer paying attention to her, so she simply climbed onto his shoulder to see what he was doing.

The Doll thought, “No, I need Zhang Yu to rely on me more and recognize my importance before I can proceed with my plan.”

So, after watching for a while, the Doll suddenly asked, “You want to make money?”

Isn’t that obvious? Who in Kunxu doesn’t want to make money? Zhang Yu responded with a faint affirmative.

The Doll then asked, “Heh heh, it’s not that easy to make money through legitimate means. You’ll just be manipulated by those big companies, squeezed dry, and toil your whole life, ending up with next to nothing. Poor people who want to make money must break the rules; they must go rogue.”

Zhang Yu frowned, “Rogue?” He imagined various dark, violent, and malicious things.

Just as Zhang Yu was about to flat-out refuse, he heard the Doll continue, “I have connections in the dark tutoring world. Do you want to try it?”

“Dark tutoring world?” Zhang Yu hesitated, “How can tutoring be dark? Scamming students? Taking money and running? Making students take out loans for cards?”

Regarding Zhang Yu’s suggestions, the Doll scoffed, “What kind of things are those? How many tutoring institutions haven’t done such things? What I mean by the dark tutoring world is illegal tutoring! They don’t buy the right to propagate cultivation methods! They don’t buy the right to teach! They don’t buy any rights; they just take the money and tutor students directly! Illegal tutoring… although the course prices are much lower than regular tutoring classes, because they don’t buy propagation rights or teaching rights… they actually earn more!”

“You have Level 10 Boundless Cloud Hand; in terms of skill, you are absolutely qualified to tutor and teach others Boundless Cloud Hand. But you usually wouldn’t dare expose your Level 10 Boundless Cloud Hand, right? Then the dark tutoring world is perfect for you; you can hide your identity and sell courses there.”

But Zhang Yu was no longer a newcomer to Kunxu; he understood many aspects of Kunxu’s reality. Hearing this, cold sweat continuously trickled down his forehead.

“Are you crazy? This kind of dark tutoring, not buying propagation rights… wouldn’t that offend large tutoring institutions and cultivation method development companies? If I went to rob someone, it would seem as safe as a picnic compared to this.”

The Doll, however, spoke nonchalantly, chuckling, “In Kunxu, if you’re not willing to take risks, how can you make big money? Can mere robbery profits compare to illegal tutoring? Or do you want to work your whole life and stay poor? I tell you, many of the big shots in the dark tutoring world earn tens of millions a year.”