The Filthy Taotie

The next day.

When Feng Jiu emerged from his room, his entire body reeked.

Sweet, sour, stinky, spicy—all kinds of smells mingled together, like a beggar who'd slept ten days in a garbage dump without a bath, his whole being marinated in filth.

The two maidservants attending him looked at him with inexplicable fear, wanting to cover their noses but not daring to. They did their best to keep their distance from Feng Jiu, both holding the same pose—holding their breath, pursing their lips, their small faces flushed red. When they absolutely couldn't hold it any longer, they'd gasp in a lungful of air, and then a mask of agony would clamp down on their faces. Beside Feng Jiu, even breathing felt like a crime.

Feng Jiu was brimming with energy, utterly unconcerned about the stench clinging to him. He hoisted the stone lock from the courtyard, tossing it up and catching it, testing his strength. The forty-jin stone lock felt weightless in his hands.

When he saw Du Ge emerge from his room, Feng Jiu excitedly dropped the stone lock and ran toward him, like a child showing off to an adult: "Seventh Brother, I did it, I did it..."

A wave of foul odor slammed into him. Du Ge's face changed instantly. With a whoosh, he shot far away, pinching his nose with one hand and thrusting the other forward in a stop gesture, his voice muffled: "Stop right there. Don't come closer."

His five senses included smell. If the maids could barely tolerate Feng Jiu's stench, Du Ge couldn't stand it at all. To him, the smell on Feng Jiu was practically a biological weapon. For the first time, Du Ge tasted the downside of sharpened senses. If Feng Jiu was going to smell like this from now on, he'd have to consider whether to ditch this little brother...

Taotie was a dragon's son, and he'd managed to get it this filthy!

What a piece of work!

Feng Jiu lifted his sleeve and sniffed, giving an awkward laugh as he backed up two steps: "Seventh Brother, it is a bit stinky! I'll go wash up in a bit. I just wanted to tell you—your method works. Eating laxatives while gorging on food really did let me grow. In just one night, my strength more than doubled, and my five senses sharpened too..."

Your five senses are sharp?

You're way behind me!

Du Ge froze, his eyes widening in surprise: "You really spent the whole night eating and shitting?"

The maidservant thought of something, her face twitching as she let out a few dry heaves.

"Mm. No madness, no success." Feng Jiu said excitedly. "That saying really makes sense. Seventh Brother, I've thought it over. My current state isn't suited for wandering the martial world. Why don't I stay and guard your home for you? If the Feng Family really brings in other Heavenly Demons from outside, I'll handle them..."

Hearing this, the maidservant outside Feng Jiu's room saw black, nearly fainting on the spot. The two of them looked at Du Ge with pleading eyes, their expressive gazes practically screaming, Please, take him away!

If you really are going to eat and shit the whole way, I'm definitely not taking you. First, I can't afford the shame; second, I can't stand the smell. Du Ge ignored the maids' looks, staring at Feng Jiu with a complicated expression. He had to admit, this guy was a ruthless bastard.

Too bad he'd been led completely astray, gone fully down the wrong path.

When he'd first transmigrated, that flash of cleverness that fooled him must have been a fluke!

If everyone in the Simulation Field was this kind of material, then his first-place finish really had no substance to it...

If his own keyword were Taotie, he'd probably focus on greed and ferocity!

Still, Taotie was hard to pin down...

Du Ge didn't tell Feng Jiu the cultivation secrets of Taotie. They were competitors. This guy had even tried to screw him over back then. Letting him keep his dog's life was already generous—no way was he going to actually nurture his growth!

Don't go spilling your guts just because he calls you Seventh Brother. If he backstabs you later and you get kicked out of the Simulation Field, you wouldn't even know who to take revenge on. What if he had two keywords too?

Du Ge had brought Feng Jiu along hoping to slowly pry information out of him about what the real world was like.

Now he'd completely dropped that idea. He nodded at Feng Jiu: "Fine. Staying in the Feng Family gives you more resources. Taking you out with me really isn't suitable. Go wash up first, then come find me. We'll discuss arrangements for the future."

"Mm. I've got some things to tell you too." Feng Jiu smiled. With that, he said goodbye to Du Ge and turned to find the maids to prepare hot water for his bath.

Du Ge, meanwhile, went to find Feng Yunjie. Martial arts couldn't be mastered overnight. He felt he needed to prepare some throwing knives to compensate for his inability to deal with Lightness Skill experts. Along the way, he'd also instruct the Feng Family to keep an eye on Feng Jiu, making sure he didn't get too out of hand and backstab him again for some experience points.

Maintenance had to be done, but backstabbing couldn't be neglected either.

Even a mosquito leg is still meat.

Half an hour later.

Du Ge and Feng Jiu met in the back garden of Feng Manor.

Both had changed clothes.

Clothes make the man.

Du Ge wore a deep blue robe, a sword slung diagonally across his back, and a leather pouch stuffed full of throwing knives at his waist. Feng Qi's features were ordinary, but Du Ge carried the aura of a modern man—confident, bold. At first glance, he cut quite the figure of a young martial artist, a world apart from yesterday's ragged Training Partner.

Feng Jiu, on the other hand, wore a pure white robe, looking rather flashy. He was young and handsome, giving off the air of a rich family's young master. But a big cloth sack stuffed full of food hung at his side, bulging heavily, dragging his aura down a whole tier—from young master to the simpleton son of a landlord.

Du Ge was now a guest elder of the Feng Family, with an elevated status. Without his orders, no one would be foolish enough to tail him or spy on him like yesterday.

"Seventh Brother, want some?" Feng Jiu pulled a Roast Chicken out of his big cloth sack, tore off a drumstick, and grinned as he offered it over.

"No thanks, I've eaten." Du Ge shook his head, firmly refusing. The moment he saw Feng Jiu, his mind would involuntarily flash to the image of him eating and shitting at the same time, killing any appetite.

"Seventh Brother, you were right." Feng Jiu glanced at Du Ge, smiled, and stuffed the drumstick into his own mouth, tearing off a chunk of meat. He chewed with puffed cheeks, talking as he ate: "Yesterday, I really did burst my stomach. I was rolling on the ground in pain, thought I was going to die. But then I forced myself to keep stuffing food into my mouth through the agony. The ruptured stomach healed, and my physical condition got a huge boost. In that instant, I understood the true meaning of Taotie. Gluttony—you really have to be greedy. Greedy enough to eat yourself to death, and then you succeed."

"Congratulations." Du Ge clasped his hands, asking casually, "Being that ruthless with yourself, you must have awakened an Advanced Skill, right?"

"How could it be that easy? One in ten people awakening an Advanced Skill is already good odds." Feng Jiu kept eating, tossing the chicken bone into his mouth, crunching it a few times before swallowing it whole. "But you, Seventh Brother—your strength shot up by leaps and bounds. You must have awakened a skill, right?"

The rhythm of his chewing slowed for a split second. His brow twitched unconsciously. His pupils dilated slightly...

Feng Jiu had already concealed it well, but he still couldn't escape Du Ge's sharp observation—this bastard had definitely awakened an Advanced Skill!

He shot Feng Jiu a meaningful glance and said, "I don't have one either. Maybe my maintenance only scratched the surface without putting it into practice. I really wonder what kind of Advanced Skill would awaken from maintaining something like that—if it's still a support skill, that wouldn't be much fun."

Feng Jiu laughed. "Seventh Brother, even without an Advanced Skill, with your physique and brains, breaking into the top ten shouldn't be a problem. By the way, I never got a chance to ask—what's your rank now?"

Du Ge opened his personal profile, glanced at the dazzling first place, and said casually, "Forty-nine."

Feng Jiu froze. He looked at Du Ge with envy and gave a bitter smile. "Sure enough, you made it into the top fifty. Tsk, comparing people just makes you want to die. I've been eating like crazy all night, torturing myself to death, and my rank is only in the two hundreds. You just casually chatted a few idle words and broke into the top fifty. For us students from ordinary academies, compared to you coming out of the Elite Academy, our starting point is way too far behind. It really isn't something you can catch up on just by hard work..."