After more than a dozen unknown materials had been appraised, veteran insiders were still buzzing with discussion.
Meng Chao kept a low profile. Running into the Demon Dragon Eye had been like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat. Considering how his memory fragments worked one moment and failed the next, he had better not go onstage and make a fool of himself.
The Zhao Surname Strongman from the Blood Wolf Squad was especially enthusiastic toward him. After thanking him, he even asked whether Meng Chao was interested in joining the Blood Wolf Squad.
Meng Chao said that he had yet to become a Transcendent, so he probably was not suited to following a Transcendent squad into Deep in the Mist to fight and kill.
The Zhao Surname Strongman said that, with Meng Chao's strength, getting into a prestigious university was a sure thing. They would definitely have chances to work together in the future. After a round of mutual business flattery, they exchanged contact information, and this connection was established.
Afterward, Young Master Nie, who had nearly been set up by Liao Feijun, came over as well and domineeringly insisted on transferring three hundred thousand to him.
"Industry rules say that appraisal fees for unknown materials are three to five percent of the material's transaction price. Being able to identify the Demon Dragon Eye is no small feat. I'll give you the maximum—five percent of six million, which is three hundred thousand."
Young Master Nie took out a glittering golden card. "Also, this is my business card. You saved me today, and I, Nie Weihao, hate owing anyone anything. So make sure you keep it. If you run into trouble, come find me."
After he left, Ning Shewo stepped forward and said quietly, "Put the card away. Unless it is absolutely necessary, you should avoid provoking this 'Young Master Nie.'"
Meng Chao thought for a moment. "Is he a bad person?"
"Not really. In their circle, Nie Weihao is considered one of the better ones, at least far better than Liao Feijun. But spoiled rich kids are always dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses, arrogant and overbearing. They think Dragon City is guarded by their fathers, and the Otherworld is theirs to conquer. There is no person or matter they dare not provoke."
Ning Shewo explained, "Nie Weihao owes you a favor today. If you need something tomorrow, he will definitely come help without a second word. But the way these spoiled rich kids help, and the consequences that follow, may not be something you can accept."
Meng Chao roughly understood.
He changed the subject. "Old Ning, what if those two medicines don't work? I heard Liao Feijun's grandfather is your junior brother. He won't be easy to deal with, right?"
"Just from the innovation of the Reverse Lock Seven Solutions, one can see how extraordinary the Fire-Passing Old Man is. Not to mention that his knowledge is vast beyond measure. With just a few casual pointers from him, you were able to identify even the Demon Dragon Eye. What is there for me not to believe?"
Ning Shewo smiled. "Today's grudge between you and Liao Feijun began because of Liao Santong and me. If not for your unfathomable inheritance, you would have nearly been humiliated in public. If I still refused to stand up for you, what right would I have to face the Fire-Passing Old Man in the future?
"Enough of that. I'll introduce you to a few friends in the circle. Everyone is very interested in you, a rising star of hope. Hahahaha!"
In high spirits, Ning Shewo had Meng Chao make an appearance together with his granddaughter.
While they laughed and chatted here, an eerie wind swirled around Liao Feijun.
Jun Shao's face was so dark it could scare people to death, and none of his fair-weather friends dared approach him.
Nie Weihao said coldly, "Jun Shao, you want to make a move against this kid? Then wait a few days, until I repay what I owe him. Otherwise, what I owe him can only be repaid through you!"
Liao Feijun was burning with rage, but he did not dare provoke Nie Weihao, whose background was even deeper than his own. He could only cast all his hateful glare upon Jiu Xin Technical Director Gu Ming.
Damn it, it was this bastard who had said Meng Chao was just some poor kid living in public rental housing, causing him to capsize in a gutter!
Feeling Liao Feijun's murderous gaze, Gu Ming shook uncontrollably, nearly wetting his pants in public.
Heavens damn it, what kind of demon or monster was Meng Chao? Why did everyone who provoked him meet such a miserable end?
A few days ago, Shen Rongfa had provoked him and been beaten into the hospital on the spot by Tiger Lord.
Today, he had merely said a few careless words, yet he had caused his teacher's favorite grandson to suffer such a crushing defeat.
Gu Ming wanted to cry but had no tears, drowning in regret.
After the trade fair, Meng Chao kept quiet for several days.
Although his Contribution Points continued to grow like a seventy-year-old man urinating—drip, drip, drip, utterly unsatisfying—he only gained thirty to fifty a day, seventy or eighty at most.
Fortunately, his pockets were stuffed with hard cash. He had also obtained a large amount of cultivation resources from his classmates and, through Ning Shewo, bought many secret medicines unavailable on the market.
Now, he could truly be said to have traded a bird gun for a cannon. Every morning and evening, he bathed in Monster Blood. Before sleeping, he applied specially prepared medicinal paste to his palms, soles, and the Yuzhen Acupoint at the back of his head. As for muscle growth hormone, Bone Cell Growth Factor, Energy Potions, ultra-concentrated protein powder... he consumed all kinds of cultivation resources as though they were meals. His conditions were better than those of many rich second-generation heirs.
He had always been a cultivation maniac, only over-drafting himself because he lacked resources.
Now that his back was straightened, all his potential erupted. After just a few days of frenzied cultivation, he had thoroughly integrated the entire high school knowledge system, raising his strength to a whole new level.
For the past few days, he had resisted using his Contribution Points. As a result, the proficiency of the Savage Bull Art and Ripple Force had increased by one percent and one and a half percent respectively, while even his treatment progress had risen by two percent.
Meng Chao's mood soared into the sky.
But that afternoon, an extremely strange message popped up in the upper-right corner of his vision:
You saved the life of Elite Citizen Yan Zhennan. Contribution Points +333
"What is this—"
Meng Chao was stunned. "No business for days, then more than three hundred Contribution Points the moment business opened. This wave was a huge profit. But who is Yan Zhennan? Oh, right, isn't he the Ripple Princess's father? I was clearly sitting in the classroom, so how did I save his life for no reason?"
At the same time, on the outskirts of Dragon City, Deep in the Mist.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Three monster hunters covered in wounds lay sprawled on the ground like three lumps of rotten flesh.
Before them lay an even larger lump of rotten flesh, three to five times their size. It looked like a hybrid of a giant insect, a large feline monster, and a carnivorous plant. It was dead beyond death, foul-smelling fluid spilling all over the ground.
"Brother Zhennan, you..."
The Bald Strongman and the scar-faced woman among the three exchanged glances, both deeply shaken by what they had witnessed moments earlier.
Originally, this had merely been an ordinary hunt.
Although their prey had been a level-five super beast, the Tiger-Striped Giant Mantis, a terrifying existence capable of wiping out a military squad.
The three of them also possessed the formidable strength of Five-Star Extraordinary beings.
Transcendents and super beasts were both divided into nine levels, but humans possessed intelligence and knew how to use all kinds of equipment. Generally speaking, they could defeat super beasts one level above themselves.
The three hunters had been old friends for more than a decade. Their coordination was seamless, their combat methods practiced. Three against one, they had not thought a level-five super beast would pose much difficulty.
Who could have expected that after the Tiger-Striped Giant Mantis was severely wounded, it would suddenly undergo an unknown mutation? Its head exploded outward in every direction, spewing huge amounts of sticky sawteeth and tentacles from its body cavity, as though an enormous Man-eating Flower had burst open from inside it.
The mutated Tiger-Striped Giant Mantis not only had its speed and strength increased severalfold, but also acquired dangerous traits such as toxicity, corrosiveness, and even mental interference, instantly reversing the roles of "prey" and "hunter."
"Unknown mutation, evolution at critical health!"
The three monster hunters fell into despair.
Just as the Bald Strongman and the scar-faced woman could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground convulsing, Yan Zhennan, driven into a corner like a dog, changed his fighting style.
Under the threat of death, he had actually attained sudden enlightenment into an entirely new martial truth. His breathing and force-generation system completely changed, and he unleashed a series of magnificent killing moves that flowed like moving clouds and running water, miraculously turning the tables!
Having survived the calamity, the Bald Strongman and the scar-faced woman were naturally overjoyed. What confused them was how Yan Zhennan's combat style seemed to have suddenly leveled up, with his combat power increasing by at least ten percent.
If he had such formidable martial arts, why had he not used them from the start?
Yan Zhennan panted for three minutes before he could slowly sit up.
As he stared at the savage remains of the mutated super beast, the bewilderment and confusion on his face were even stronger than those of the Bald Strongman and the scar-faced woman.
After pondering bitterly for a moment, his pupils suddenly contracted to their limits, and he began trembling uncontrollably.
"Brother Zhennan, what's wrong? This mutated super beast is already dead at your hands!" The two hunters hurried forward to support him.
Yet they could feel that every goosebump on Yan Zhennan's body had risen.
No matter how savage a super beast he had faced, not even when he had been on the brink of death moments ago, had they ever seen such intense and undisguised terror on Yan Zhennan's face.
"I... I think I offended someone."
Yan Zhennan was at a loss like a child, and even his naturally deep voice dragged with a tremble.
The Bald Strongman and the scar-faced woman exchanged glances, both baffled. "Who did you offend? Could they be more terrifying than this mutated super beast? Even your Yan family cannot withstand them?"
"Yes, ten times more terrifying than this mutated super beast."
Yan Zhennan said dazedly, "I offended an unfathomable old monster. This time, disaster is looming over the Yan family!"
When Yan Feirou opened the door to the secret chamber on the top floor of Flying Swallow Building, she heard the sound of bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat—smack, smack, smack, smack—coming from inside.
Walking in, she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Her father, that powerhouse built like a mountain, whose presence was as fierce as crashing waves, who had hunted countless savage beasts in the mist, was actually kneeling on the ground like a child who had made a mistake.
Meanwhile, her grandfather, the head of the Yan family and martial arts Grandmaster Yan Hengbo, who had developed Ripple Force, was jumping about in fury like an old monkey.
Dragging his two mechanical legs, her grandfather kicked her father around like a ball. He also swung a rattan cane, lashing him without mercy.
As he lashed him, he cursed, "You don't provoke the disasters on the ground, yet you insist on provoking the disasters in the heavens! Is the Fire-Passing Old Man someone you can afford to provoke?"
Yan Feirou felt her entire worldview collapse in an instant, shattered into tiny pieces.
She even wondered whether she was hallucinating. Was she dreaming?
She lightly pinched her palm with her fingernail. It was not an illusion, nor was it a dream. Her grandfather was still lashing and cursing:
"They saw that your daughter had some potential and kindly gave her a cultivation method to study. They even said they sought neither fame nor profit, only to make some contribution. And you? Measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind, you actually dared suspect that they had sinister intentions and that this Modified Ripple Force was fake? If his is fake, then what does our Ripple Force 2.0 count as? Trash! Before this Modified Ripple Force, Ripple Force 2.0 is trash! Trash!"
Yan Feirou stood dumbfounded.
Before you continue