Trampling the Bottom Line

The handymen of Thousand Bamboo Ridge led Fang Chen to a relatively level area.

More than a dozen Exquisite Bamboos grew here.

Old Deng said to Fang Chen, "Fang Chen, cut here with everyone first. We'll head farther up afterward!"

"Thank you!"

Fang Chen nodded. He knew the handymen of Thousand Bamboo Ridge were looking out for him. Taking his woodcutter's knife, he began chopping bamboo.

He found that the chopping knife was nowhere near as good as his Heavenly Remnant Sword, but with people watching nearby, it was inconvenient for him to summon it.

Over the past month, his strength had improved tremendously. His eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, speed, reflexes, and strength were all a far cry from what they had once been.

He could now easily lift a massive stone weighing a thousand jin. Even without using the Heavenly Remnant Sword, it would not take him the time for an incense stick to burn to chop through an Exquisite Bamboo.

An hour later, the others had successively chopped down their bamboo and headed elsewhere.

By the time the last handyman had finished chopping down his bamboo, Fang Chen had only cut through a third of his.

This handyman was already past fifty. Smiling at Fang Chen, he said, "Fang Chen, take it slow. No need to rush!"

After saying that, he sat down on a large boulder to rest while rubbing his identity token.

A short while later, Wu Qingfeng arrived.

"Greetings, Manager Wu!"

Fang Chen and the handyman immediately gave Wu Qingfeng slight bows.

Wu Qingfeng nodded faintly and took out the Spirit Pen to mark the handyman's token.

Once the mark was made, the handyman left at once. After all, chopping down one Exquisite Bamboo now earned a tael of silver. Such an opportunity was truly hard to come by for them.

Wu Qingfeng came before Fang Chen and looked at the Exquisite Bamboo Fang Chen had cut through by a third. Smiling, he said, "Not bad efficiency today. At this rate, you can chop down at least four bamboos by tonight!"

"I have to thank Manager Wu for the knife you gave me!"

Fang Chen said humbly to Wu Qingfeng.

"Take your time. There's no need to hurry. I'll get back to work first!"

After saying this to Fang Chen, Wu Qingfeng immediately turned and left.

Only after watching Wu Qingfeng leave did Fang Chen take out the Heavenly Remnant Sword and continue chopping.

An hour later, he "finally" chopped down the Exquisite Bamboo.

After he activated his identity token, Wu Qingfeng appeared very quickly.

Looking at the Exquisite Bamboo lying on the ground, Wu Qingfeng said to Fang Chen with a smile, "Not bad. Faster than I expected!"

With that, he took out the Spirit Pen and marked Fang Chen's token.

"Thank you, Manager Wu!"

Fang Chen gave Wu Qingfeng a slight bow.

"No need to be so polite!"

Wu Qingfeng waved him off and left.

Fang Chen was in a fine mood as well. He had originally worried that Wu Qingfeng would exploit him like Cao Bin had, but now it seemed he had worried for nothing.

It truly felt good not to be exploited or bullied.

In another relatively flat area, Fang Chen found an Exquisite Bamboo that had reached maturity.

All the qualifying Exquisite Bamboos around it had already been chopped down. This one had been left behind because it stood right beside a huge boulder, making it time-consuming and laborious to cut.

The other handymen avoided it like the plague, but Fang Chen liked it very much. This way, he could chop bamboo while also cutting stone.

He summoned the Heavenly Remnant Sword and began cutting.

An hour later.

Fang Chen, who was using the Heavenly Remnant Sword to chop bamboo, suddenly stopped.

He spun around sharply and saw two figures standing behind him, their arms folded and their eyes fixed dead on him.

"Zhang Tieniu, Tian Hu?"

Fang Chen froze for a moment. He had not expected Zhang Tieniu and Tian Hu to appear here.

He had been too absorbed in chopping bamboo just now to notice them. Besides, he had thought that all the mature bamboo nearby had already been cut down and that no one else would come here, so he had lowered his guard.

At that moment, he wanted to put away the Heavenly Remnant Sword, but held himself back. He knew that if he withdrew it now, Zhang Tieniu and Tian Hu would certainly notice.

They walked toward Fang Chen step by step.

Looking at the Exquisite Bamboo Fang Chen had cut through by two-thirds, Tian Hu said coldly, "Get the hell out of here. Now!"

Fang Chen knew that Tian Hu wanted to steal his bamboo.

He had not expected Tian Hu to remain so arrogant even though he was no longer a handyman of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Staring at Tian Hu, he gritted his teeth and said, "Tian Hu, I'm part of Thousand Bamboo Ridge now. If you dare steal my bamboo again, I'll report you to Manager Wu!"

"Wu Qingfeng? That useless old fossil?"

Tian Hu's face revealed a trace of disdain. Then he said coldly, "I'll count to three. If you don't want to die, get the hell out of here!"

Fang Chen gritted his teeth. With the thought that taking a step back would open up a vast sea and sky, he walked aside, picked up the two machetes, and prepared to leave.

"Hold it!"

Tian Hu called out to Fang Chen again.

Fang Chen turned to look at Tian Hu, not knowing why he had stopped him.

Tian Hu stared at the machetes in Fang Chen's hands and said, "Leave the blades behind!"

Fang Chen's gaze narrowed slightly as he stared at Tian Hu. "Don't go too far. Stealing my bamboo is one thing, but now you want to steal my blades too?"

"I'm robbing you. So what?"

Tian Hu looked at Fang Chen with a provocative expression.

Fang Chen gritted his teeth, tossed the blades onto the ground, and turned to leave.

"Stop!"

Zhang Tieniu called out, stopping Fang Chen.

Fang Chen turned to Zhang Tieniu and Tian Hu. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "What else do you want?"

Zhang Tieniu stared at the Heavenly Remnant Sword in Fang Chen's hand and said coldly, "Leave that sword too!"

Fang Chen's face darkened at once. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Don't push it too far! I endured you stealing my bamboo. I even endured you stealing my blades. And now you want to steal my sword too? Do you have to drive a man into a corner with nowhere left to go?"

Tian Hu's gaze fell on the sword in Fang Chen's hand, and he frowned slightly before saying to Zhang Tieniu, "A Niu, this sword is covered in rust. It doesn't look like anything good. That kid probably dug it out of the junk pile in the tool shed. Why not just forget it?"

Zhang Tieniu shook his head slightly. "This sword isn't as worthless as you say. When that kid was cutting bamboo with it just now, it sliced through iron as if it were mud. It's definitely not ordinary. Otherwise, why would he leave his machetes unused and cut bamboo with this sword instead? Is he stupid?"

Tian Hu froze for a moment. Recalling how Fang Chen had cut the bamboo with his sword earlier, his face immediately darkened. He shouted at Fang Chen, "Kid, if you don't want to die, throw the sword over here now!"

Zhang Tieniu possessed a Mixed Spiritual Root with three attributes. Its quality far surpassed Tian Hu's, so his cultivation speed was also much faster.

Although Zhang Tieniu had only just arrived at Dragon Tiger Mountain, his strength already far exceeded Tian Hu's.

When Tian Hu and Zhang Tieniu had been cutting Exquisite Bamboo together earlier, Tian Hu had deliberately competed with him. Zhang Tieniu had cut through one stalk of Exquisite Bamboo in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick—more than twice as fast as him.

That was why he now wanted to curry favor with Zhang Tieniu.

Zhang Tieniu wanted Fang Chen's sword, and Tian Hu wanted to put on a good show by helping Zhang Tieniu get it.

Fang Chen stared at Tian Hu, gritted his teeth, and said coldly, "What if I refuse?"