Liu Changsheng Sells Fish

The story begins just as Liu Changsheng was puzzled, when a cultivator at the Spirit King realm next door suddenly glanced at him and winked.

"Huh?" Liu Changsheng was even more confused. Why did it feel like he knew him?

However, he had never been to the Zhao State before, let alone made any friends here. In addition, Liu Changsheng's personality was such that he only befriended people with higher cultivation levels than himself, and those with lower cultivation levels had long been left far behind.

"Brothers, what are you doing?" Liu Changsheng asked amicably, cupping his fists. After a month of studying the Analects, Liu Changsheng's personality had changed somewhat. At least on the surface, he was able to talk to others in a friendly manner, no longer acting like Laozi the boss.

"Oh, we're just like you! Preparing to sell fish," one of the cultivators replied.

Liu Changsheng looked puzzled and asked, "With your high cultivation levels, why are you selling fish?"

Are you sick?

To everyone's surprise, the two looked at Liu Changsheng and said, "What? You're allowed to sell fish here, a great figure at the Spirit Venerable realm, but we little Spirit King realm figures aren't allowed to?"

There was a hint of barbs in those words, and Liu Changsheng's face darkened. He felt extremely uncomfortable, but after thinking for a moment, he held back, his expression returning to normal, and said, "Then I won't disturb you two selling fish any longer."

In the past, if someone like Liu Changsheng dared to speak like that to a nobody, Liu Changsheng would immediately slash them twice with his sword, regardless of whether they could withstand it or not; if they were killed, it would be their bad luck.

But now, a gentleman has three things to be wary of: when young, when his blood and energy are not yet settled, he should be wary of lust; when he is strong, when his blood and energy are vigorous, he should be wary of fighting; and when he is old, when his blood and energy have declined, he should be wary of greed.

Liu Changsheng silently recited these words to himself, calmed his emotions, and began to quietly sell fish.

At this moment, a woman dressed in simple clothes and a hairpin walked into the fish market. She looked quite old, with a pale face, deep wrinkles around her eyes, and rough skin.

Behind the woman were two servants dressed in blue servant uniforms, each carrying some vegetables or meat.

The woman stood at the entrance of the fish market, glanced around, and finally walked in the direction of Liu Changsheng.

Liu Changsheng's eyes lit up as he watched the woman walk towards him with anticipation.

"Excuse me, are you looking to buy fish? Come and see our fish! We just caught some first-tier rainbow trout, they're very fresh and reasonably priced." These two powerful figures, usually at the Spirit King level, shamelessly blocked the woman's path, flanking her from both sides.

Liu Changsheng's face instantly darkened.

"Holy crap, this is outrageous!" The crowd of onlookers outside the Bookstore couldn't help but exclaim upon witnessing this scene.

This is simply devastating! If every customer who comes to Liu Changsheng to buy fish is snatched away like this, wouldn't Liu Changsheng be unable to sell a single fish?

The woman in the projection seemed to be persuaded by the words of the two Spirit Kings. She stopped in her tracks and was led to the stall she had just bought, where she began to select fish.

"How much are these fish?" The woman looked at the fish in the wooden bucket and was very satisfied to see that they were all lively and energetic.

"Whatever, just give me a little money as a token," a cultivator at the Spirit King realm said nonchalantly.

"That's right. If we don't have Spirit Crystal, gold coins will do. If we don't have gold coins, copper coins will do," another cultivator at the Spirit King realm chimed in.

The two spoke in a voice that was not too loud, just loud enough for Liu Changsheng to hear.

The woman was a little surprised; it was the first time she had encountered a fishmonger like this, and she didn't quite believe it.

Upon seeing this, a cultivator at the Spirit King realm quickly grabbed a rainbow trout from the bucket and handed it to the servant behind the woman, saying, "Here, young brother, take this."

The School of Names hesitated for a moment, glancing at the woman.

"Oh, what's there to hesitate about? It's free, free, free is fine, right?"

Seeing such a good deal, the woman didn't hesitate and said to the servant, "Lin San, accept it."

Lin San nodded, took the rainbow trout, knocked it unconscious with a single slap, and put it in the basket.

Then the woman happily took the free rainbow trout and left.

"Gentlemen, this is going too far!" Liu Changsheng's sinister voice rang out.

If he still couldn't see that these two Spirit King realm cultivators were after him, he would be incredibly foolish. Although he didn't know why they were looking for trouble for no reason, as Spirit Venerable realm Liu Changsheng, Liu Changsheng had his own dignity. If it weren't for the fact that he was on a training mission, he probably would have killed them on the spot.

Upon hearing Liu Changsheng's words, the two cultivators turned to look at Liu Changsheng simultaneously. One of them, with a puzzled expression, asked, "May I ask, Venerable, what do you mean by that?"

"Perhaps the Venerable feels that we've taken away his business?" another practitioner said.

"Did we rob it?" the first cultivator asked curiously.

"We should have robbed them," another cultivator said uncertainly.

"Then let's just rob it!"

Liu Changsheng's face had turned deathly dark.

"When you're young and full of vigor, be wary of fighting." Liu Changsheng closed his eyes and silently recited this sentence in his heart.

The two cultivators looked regretful when they saw that Liu Changsheng had actually held back.

If Liu Changsheng hadn't held back and had attacked them directly, the mission could have been completed smoothly. However, they hadn't expected that the Mad Scholar who used to be quick to criticize everyone seemed to have become a completely different person, with such Bide self-control.

Even the practitioners outside the Bookstore couldn't help but sigh in amazement at this scene.

"I haven't seen this Mad Scholar for months, and I never expected his personality to have changed so much," exclaimed a cultivator who had entered the Bookstore on the same day as Liu Changsheng last year.

"Yes, I remember last time he was at Nine Heavens Mountain, he got into a fight with a Venerable from the Jiang Family without saying a word, and he wasn't afraid at all. Now, facing two cultivators at the Spirit King level, he's actually holding back again and again, which really surprises me," another cultivator said in disbelief.

"I think there might be some hidden reasons behind this. The Analects suddenly gave him the task of selling fish, there must be a reason. Maybe it's this reason that restricted Mad Scholar, forcing him to suppress his anger." A cultivator Analytic, looking at the few lines of text on the projection.

"So, according to you, the purpose of the obstacles that the Analects gave us was to prevent the Mad Scholar from completing the task?" a cultivator asked.

"That's very possible," the cultivator who Analytic earlier nodded and said.

"Why is that?" some practitioners asked, puzzled.

Although Liu Changsheng did not enter the world within the book, it was essentially no different from entering the world within the book. Completing the tasks issued in the book and obtaining the rewards from the Analects was to be expected. However, the newly introduced obstacle task was a bit puzzling.

Even the expert Analytic couldn't answer this question, so everyone stopped discussing and continued watching the projection.

Suddenly the projection went black, and when it lit up again, the scene had changed.

"Huh?" The cultivators outside the Bookstore were even more confused. Why had the location suddenly changed?

"Does anyone know where this is?" a cultivator asked.

The background projected on the screen was a very dilapidated small town. The houses in the town were mostly made of yellow earth, and the roads were rugged and muddy.

Surrounded by mountains, the town appears to be a town encircled by mountains.

"Taiqing, I've never been there." Almost all the cultivators seemed bewildered by this suddenly appearing small town.

"This place seems to be in the Qi State," a cultivator in the crowd said, stroking his chin with a somewhat uncertain tone.

"The Qi State?"

The State of Qi State was the least prominent of the five states, with the smallest territory. Due to Qi State rugged mountainous terrain, Qi State's economy could not develop, making it the weakest of the five states in terms of national strength.

Moreover, the people of Qi State were quite hostile to outsiders, and many former practitioners did not receive any kind treatment, which made Qi State with the fewest foreign immigrants among the five states.

Although the Mysterious Bookstore is now very famous, it has not yet become a sensation throughout the entire Azure Dragon Continent, so there are still very few Qi State people in Dubian Town.

However few in number, there were still a few people from the Qi State, and some of them happened to have been to this place before.

"This should be Mangcang Town, located north of Qi State, near the Death Desert. It's a small town surrounded by mountains. Because of its remote location, very few outsiders ever go there," said a man from Qi State.

"Death Desert!" The cultivators present all paled in shock.

Like the Nine Heavens Mountain, the Death Desert is one of the five major adventure destinations on the Azure Dragon Continent.

The Death Desert borders the territories of the Qin, Qi, and Yan kingdoms, covering an area of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, making it the largest of the five major adventure destinations.

However, due to the extremely high mortality rate in the Death Desert —at least five out of ten people would die if they went in—it is the least popular of the five major adventure Death Desert, and few adventurers would go there to seek opportunities.

Just as everyone was discussing the Death Desert of Mangcang Town, a figure appeared in the shadows.

"President Gongsun!" everyone exclaimed.

Surprisingly, the person inside is Gongsun Qiong, the current president of the Wantong Chamber of Commerce, the number one chamber of commerce in the Chu Kingdom!

"It's over, President Gongsun is in danger!" the Qi State man said worriedly.

Everyone looked at him with puzzlement.

The man from Qi State explained, "The people of Qi State are known for their fierce and valiant nature, especially in Mangcang Town. Moreover, Mangcang Town is a remote and impoverished area, so when they encounter outsiders, they basically resort to Snatch."

By now, the people of Qi State understood that in a place like this, rife with unruly people, the fate of an ordinary person like President Gongsun was generally predictable.

Suddenly, everyone looking at Gongsun Qiong on the projection screen felt a pang of worry.