"Big brother, you promised you wouldn't laugh."
At the dinner table, Zhu Kui cast a resentful glance at his elder brother. Ever since Zhu Bo had heard the whole story behind the wrestling incident, his laughter hadn't stopped.
"Second brother, don't misunderstand. I'm not laughing at you. I'm happy! You and I haven't seen each other for three months, and I'm simply happy to see you!" Zhu Bo wore a solemn expression, but as he spoke, he turned away so he wouldn't have to meet Zhu Kui's eyes. Only his shoulders kept trembling.
"Big brother, that's enough. I'm practically depressed to death."
Zhu Kui complained, "I thought that after learning the whole story, you'd help me vent my anger. Who would've thought you wouldn't mention it at all and would only laugh?"
"Second brother, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's that people have to be reasonable. You fell down yourself. What does Uncle have to do with it?"
"Not Uncle. I'm talking about that petty scoundrel."
Zhu Kui gritted his teeth. "You have no idea how much that brat bullied me. He took advantage of the fact that I wanted to keep the peace and couldn't be bothered to stoop to his level. Every day, he came to humiliate and tease me, all while grandly claiming that he wanted to be my friend."
"Maybe he really does want to be your friend. After all, you're so generous with your money—giving it away for free and even paying him on top of that. If I were him, I'd be happy to be your friend too."
Zhu Bo had said it casually, but then his voice turned stern. "Second brother, Uncle has already shown himself in this matter. He told you not to cause any more trouble, so don't cause any more trouble. Otherwise, if you fall out with County Lieutenant Wei Mao, Uncle will only lose even more face."
"I know. Otherwise, I would've beaten him right out the door already. It's not like I can't afford to provoke him and still can't hide from him!" Zhu Kui huffed angrily.
"All right, stop feeling sorry for yourself. We brothers haven't seen each other in ages. Have a few drinks with me. It'll get your blood moving and disperse the bruises, so you can recover sooner..."
As Zhu Bo spoke, his face flushed red. He tried desperately to hold back, but failed. "Pfft—hahaha! You really fell hard!"
Seeing this, Zhu Kui's expression grew even gloomier. The longer he endured it, the angrier he became; the more ground he gave up, the more he felt he had lost. He grumbled, "Big brother, do you know how much money I gave that brat?"
"How much?"
"This much."
"Five thousand taels? That's quite a lot. It doesn't match the going rate."
"Big brother, think again. Your perspective is too narrow."
"What!"
Zhu Bo slapped the table and stood up, raging, "Have you gone mad? It was just hush money. Why did you give him so much?"
"The Zhu family can't let its dealings cheapen its reputation. We have to live up to the bloodline passed down by our ancestors..."
Zhu Kui spoke proudly, but when he saw his elder brother's grim expression, he hurriedly changed his words. "I thought Wei Mao was planning to take a share too. I didn't want Uncle to owe him a favor, so I paid a steep price to settle the trouble."
"Putting powder on your face before entering the coffin—you're determined to save face even in death."
Zhu Bo said irritably, "No wonder Uncle refused to let you take medicine. Letting you hurt for a while so you learn your lesson is probably for the best."
"What about that stinking brat? Every time I think about how he got such a huge bargain, I lose my appetite and feel miserable all over."
"There's nothing we can do. Uncle gave his orders."
Zhu Bo shook his head, then frowned slightly after a moment. "Still, he really has gone too far. It was already bad enough that he profited, but then he kept acting smug about it. Coming to provoke you every day was definitely wrong."
"So, big brother, you're going to teach him a lesson?"
"How could that be possible!"
Zhu Bo let out a cold laugh. "I made a divination with my fingers. That brat is like a man sending off an empty coffin, arrogant and blind to everyone around him. In a few days, someone will surely club him from behind."
"Big brother is right!"
Zhu Kui was overjoyed. Remembering Zhu Ting's warning, he felt the bruises on his face ache and added, "Big brother, just help me vent my anger. Don't beat him too badly."
"I know."
Zhu Bo nodded and asked, "By the way, from your observations, does that brat have any cultivation?"
"A little. It barely counts. He's not even as strong as me!"
"Then it'll be easy."
"Oh, right, Big brother. Uncle told you to go see him as soon as you returned. He said there was something he wanted you to deal with."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"My thoughts weren't clear, so I forgot."
"..."
Another day passed beneath clear skies and gentle winds. After finishing his experience run, Lu Bei passed by Zhu Mansion as usual. Making friends required patience. He firmly believed that as long as he persisted, he would definitely hammer open the Zhu family's door.
The carriage rolled along slowly. As it passed a corner by an alley, the coachman cried out and fell off. A shout rang out, and the carriage suddenly sped up.
Hearing the coachman chasing and yelling behind him, Lu Bei set down the Roast Goose in his hand, took a white cloth, and wiped the grease from his fingertips before lifting the curtain slightly.
What entered his view was the unfamiliar back of a man urging the horses onward, driving the carriage down an unfamiliar road.
Lu Bei's brows drew tightly together. He lowered the curtain without saying a word.
There were two possibilities: robbery or revenge.
Dasheng Pass had fairly good public security. The chances of being robbed in broad daylight were low, and revenge was even less likely. He had only just arrived and hadn't made enemies with anyone. Even though there had been some minor misunderstandings between him and Zhu Kui, Zhu Ting and Wei Mao had negotiated a settlement and let the matter pass.
So...
The situation was unclear. He would level up first.
Half of the 300,000 experience points in his inventory came crashing down, all of them added to the cultivation art Demon Slaying Scripture. The Personal Panel refreshed, and his cultivation surged.
[You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and achieved some success. Strength +2, Speed +2, Spirit +3] [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and achieved some success. Strength +2, Speed +3, Spirit +4] [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and gained greatly. Total Level Experience +5,000, Cultivation +100, Life +100] [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and achieved some success. Strength +4, Speed +4, Spirit +6] [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and achieved... [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and gained greatly. Total Level Experience +50,000, Cultivation +500, Life +300] [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and broke through realms in succession, comprehending the skill Blood Rage. Spirit +5, Stamina +3, Charm +1, Free Attribute Points +3, Skill Points +200] [You comprehended Demon Slaying Scripture and broke through realms in succession, comprehending the skill Dark Tide. Strength +5, Speed +3, Free Attribute Points +4, Skill Points +200] Demon Slaying Scripture Lv6 (10/120,000)
Name: Lu Bei Level: 11 Experience: 15,010/50,000 Cultivation: 900/900 Life: 550/550 Attributes: Strength 30, Speed 23, Spirit 34, Stamina 15, Charm 4, Luck 3
Looking at the 150,000 experience points left in his inventory, Lu Bei felt faintly uneasy. It was too little, completely insufficient. Refining pills to farm experience really was far slower than completing quests.
Besides, Demon Slaying Scripture brought enormous benefits. Its level far surpassed that of ordinary beginner cultivation arts, especially when it came to increasing basic attributes. It was practically unheard-of. Yet it consumed experience just as ruthlessly—he had emptied half his stockpile to raise it by only five levels.
There was nothing more to say. He would keep pouring in experience.
Lu Bei opened the two skills and studied them carefully.
Blood Rage was an active mental-type attack skill. It could capture one to ten targets and consumed a large amount of cultivation every second in exchange for a powerful intimidation effect. Once the judgment succeeded, the target would be afflicted with a negative BUFF that lowered all of their basic attributes.
In other words, all he had to do was glare, and the opponent's Strength, Speed, and Spirit would plummet, while their Cultivation, Life, and other stats would plunge as well. If the difference in levels was enormous, they could only let him pose them in all sorts of positions and butcher them at will.
Dark Tide had an effect similar to charging energy combined with a critical hit. Likewise, it used high consumption to deliver high damage.
As the levels of both skills increased, all their effects—including their capture range—would improve. Their destructive power could only be described as terrifying.
Nothing more needed to be said. He fed them experience.
Blood Rage Lv3 (10/10,000) Dark Tide Lv3 (10/8,000)
Looking at the effects again, Lu Bei nodded repeatedly and praised Mo Buxiu, who had moved into the small box. "As expected of a cultivation art from the Far West Land. Its might is even greater than demonic sect cultivation arts. It truly lives up to the words 'Demon Slaying.'"
The carriage stopped. A dozen or so footsteps surrounded it, and a sinister voice rang out. "Kid, quit dawdling. We don't have time to waste fooling around with you. Get out here and take your beating."
"Can this be settled with money?"
"What do you think!"
"Then there's nothing I can do."
Lu Bei lifted the curtain and said helplessly, "I was thinking that if you gave me some money, I'd apologize upside down and let today's matter go!"
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