Charging Fees

Losing to Li Mengxue did not make him feel embarrassed.

He had already beaten her many times before. Losing once now was no big deal.

Chen Mo did not care about winning or losing.

When he sparred with Jiang Tao, he did not even know how many times he had lost.

Even now that he had the System Panel, he was not invincible and could still lose. As long as it was not a life-and-death battle, he did not care.

There were only two things he could not lose: life-and-death battles, and battles against Fierce Beasts.

Chen Mo glanced at the time. The sparring session had ended, but he did not leave.

He had not collected the fee for his guidance yet!

Li Mengxue might be a stunning beauty, but that did not mean she could freeload.

Chen Mo pondered how much he should charge her.

Charging too little would be a loss, but charging too much might make Li Mengxue refuse.

Forget it. He would name a sky-high price first, then bargain on the spot.

Seeing that Li Mengxue would not be stopping anytime soon, Chen Mo opened his System Panel to check his cultivation progress.

[Host: Chen Mo]

[Talent: Diligent Heaven Rewards (one part effort, one part reward; once proven, forever proven)]

[Realm: Sixth-grade Martial Disciple (Dantian shattered) Vitality Value: 68 Spirit: 161]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Stance Training Major Accomplishment (57/500) Visualization Method Beginner (32/1000)]

[Martial Skills: Basic Fist Technique Minor Accomplishment (42/200) Basic Saber Technique Perfection Realm (46/1000) Basic Movement Technique Minor Accomplishment (85/200)]

[Special Skill: Spiritual Perception Beginner (79/500)]

[General Proficiency Points: 0]

His spiritual power had increased by 1 point. While resting, he had used the Visualization Method to recover his spiritual power, and it had risen along with the method's proficiency.

Basic Saber Technique proficiency had increased by another 20 points, Basic Movement Technique proficiency by 30 points, and Spiritual Perception proficiency by 12 points.

This sparring session had also let Chen Mo see his shortcomings.

For the time being, he would prioritize raising the realm of his Stance Training, thereby increasing his Vitality Value.

After reaching his daily limit in Stance Training, he would practice saber techniques. His movement technique would slowly improve along with his saber proficiency, so there was no need to train it separately.

Every night, he would cultivate the Visualization Method to increase his spiritual power.

As for Basic Fist Technique, Chen Mo automatically ignored it. At the very least, he would wait until Basic Saber Technique broke through to the next realm.

He also needed to practice Flying Daggers.

"If it's Flying Daggers, forget it. There's nowhere to practice them at home!"

"Why not switch Flying Daggers to flying needles, or Flying Toothpicks? They'd be more concealed and make even less sound when launched."

Chen Mo had made up his mind. Whichever one cost less was the one he would practice.

So naturally, it would be Flying Toothpicks.

As long as his proficiency was high enough, launching one with a thousand kilograms of force would definitely hit a Fierce Beast's or an enemy's eye.

Thinking back on his cultivation time at school, Chen Mo frowned slightly. There was not enough time.

At school, he could not cultivate all day long.

The school also arranged cultural classes, which covered subjects such as history, martial arts theory, and the illustrated catalog of Abyssal Fierce Beasts.

Cultural knowledge accounted for 20% of the Martial Examination, while martial arts realm and martial skills each accounted for 40%.

Martial arts realm was, in reality, a measurement of Vitality Value.

Cultural classes occupied half the day, while the other half was practical combat class.

In practical combat class, the teacher's instruction took up nearly half the time, leaving only the remainder for individual cultivation.

Of course, geniuses received certain privileges.

Chen Mo considered his own situation. The matter of his Dantian would spread sooner or later, and he was not sure what the school intended to do.

However, regardless of the school's intentions, he would persist in cultivating. He had to get into Martial University.

Only by attending Martial University could he obtain more cultivation resources and Cultivation Methods.

Cultivation Methods on the market were scarce and outrageously expensive. Chen Mo had looked into it.

No matter what, for Monday's assessment, Chen Mo had decided to reveal everything without holding back. They would find out sooner or later anyway.

Before news of his ruined Dantian spread, he could at least freeload some resources.

Suddenly, Chen Mo sensed someone approaching. He quickly came back to himself and saw Li Mengxue walking over.

"Li Mengxue, have you stabilized your swordsmanship realm?"

"Mm!" Li Mengxue revealed a delighted smile, her face flushing faintly. It was unclear whether it was from having just practiced swordsmanship or from excitement.

"Thank you, Chen Mo. If it weren't for your guidance, I would have needed quite some time before my swordsmanship could break through to Perfection Realm."

"Verbal thanks are enough. Just pay me the guidance fee!" Chen Mo was not polite. Helping someone break through a realm took effort, so naturally he had to charge.

"Alright! I'll go get my phone and transfer the money to you."

Li Mengxue did not think there was anything wrong with Chen Mo's actions. If Chen Mo did not want money, she would instead overthink it and feel that she owed him a favor.

The two of them were not that familiar. Why should Chen Mo spend his effort guiding her?

She did not have a habit of freeloading either.

Chen Mo followed her over as well. His phone was in the Rest Area too.

Li Mengxue took her phone and came before Chen Mo.

"Add me as a friend, and I'll transfer the money to you."

"Alright!"

After adding each other, Chen Mo said, "Since we're schoolmates, transfer me..."

Before he could finish, a message appeared on the friend screen: "Li Mengxue has transferred yuan."

The young miss truly was lavish with her money. He had originally intended to ask for fifty thousand, but Li Mengxue had transferred one hundred thousand.

Chen Mo did not say anything else and directly tapped to accept it.

"I've received the money!"

"As long as you received it!" Li Mengxue raised her head and glanced at Chen Mo. "By the way, Chen Mo, how is your fist technique? How about you guide me in Basic Fist Technique? The fee will still be one hundred thousand!"

"Uh, to be honest, I really want to agree, but I don't have that ability. My fist technique is still only at Minor Accomplishment."

Chen Mo shook his head. One hundred thousand was tempting, and he really wanted to agree. With more money, his cultivation speed would be even faster.

However, thinking of the potential danger, he felt that improving his strength was more important. Improving his fist technique would not do much for his strength.

"Oh!" A trace of disappointment flashed through Li Mengxue's eyes. "Then forget it."

When she had placed the appointment at noon, she had briefly investigated Chen Mo's past. She knew that his original aptitude had been ordinary, but after an accident a few days ago, he had displayed Basic Saber Technique at Perfection Realm.

Perhaps the danger had made him stop hiding himself, or perhaps he had suddenly become enlightened.

That was merely her guess. She had not investigated further, after all, Chen Mo was not anyone important to her.

Asking Chen Mo to guide her fist technique had also been a way to see whether he was hiding something, but Chen Mo's refusal left her unable to guess.

"Li Mengxue, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving!" Seeing that it was already six in the evening, Chen Mo did not want to linger any longer.

"Mm, go ahead. I'll book you for sparring again when I have time."

"Alright! Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

After leaving the Cultivation Chamber, Chen Mo instinctively looked around. Seeing no descendants of prominent families, he quickly ran to the stairwell and headed downstairs.

If the descendants of prominent families set their sights on him, his peaceful little life would be over.

Li Mengxue felt nothing much about Chen Mo's departure. After replenishing her energy, she began practicing her swordsmanship again.