What a Coincidence

Zhang Fusheng shuddered with disgust.

He gave a bitter smile.

"Senior Sister, that wasn't why I chose her."

Chen Yuque looked at him with disdain.

"The more you try to cover it up, the more obvious it becomes."

"Really not!" Zhang Fusheng shook his head helplessly. "What I wanted to ask instead was, what does 'little genius who takes shortcuts' mean?"

He was somewhat puzzled.

"I heard Chen Nuanyu was some monstrous prodigy whose Breathing Technique and Visualization Method had both reached Great Accomplishment."

"Heh."

Senior Sister Chen sneered.

"Never mind whether that's true or not. Even if it is, can she be as freakish as you?"

She sat down cross-legged, tossing her wine-red hair. Not an ounce of excess flesh covered her crossed legs; they were smooth as silk and so white they were almost dazzling.

"Normally, reaching Great Accomplishment in the Visualization Method requires over ten years of Mental Accumulation. Chen Nuanyu took a crooked path and forcibly piled herself into a fake Great Accomplishment with Mental Potions."

"This fake Great Accomplishment only possesses mental strength, without any of the wonders a Visualization Method at Great Accomplishment should have."

Zhang Fusheng asked curiously.

"Mental Potions are?"

"Just as the name suggests, high-energy potions that amplify mental strength."

Senior Sister Chen smiled.

"That girl Chen Nuanyu used most of her loan money on Mental Potions, forcibly stacking herself up to fake Great Accomplishment. Who knows what she was after."

As she spoke, she casually sent Chen Nuanyu's detailed files to Zhang Fusheng.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

"What's the big deal?" Chen Yuque waved a hand carelessly. "Right, Master told you to get ready. Starting in a couple of days, you'll be teaching the visualization classes."

"And tomorrow, Master will announce that you've joined us. Are you still attending the combat class at three in the afternoon? It probably won't be of much use to you."

Zhang Fusheng pondered for a moment.

"Seems there really isn't much point in attending. Is Little Senior Sister the teacher for combat class?"

"Yep."

"Then I definitely can't go." Imagining Little Bean teaching a class, Zhang Fusheng shook his head like a rattle drum.

The combat techniques ordinary students learned did not involve anything too profound. After bringing Tiger Roar Fist to Perfection, he had already thoroughly grasped many striking techniques and methods of exerting force.

After watching Senior Sister leave.

Zhang Fusheng opened Chen Nuanyu's detailed information on his phone and browsed through it with great interest, occasionally clicking his tongue.

His phone vibrated slightly.

Zhu Xiaoming: You there?

Zhang Fusheng raised an eyebrow.

Zhang Fusheng: Not logging on.

Zhu Xiaoming: Fuck off.

Zhu Xiaoming: I've got something to do tomorrow. How about dinner tonight instead?

Zhang Fusheng: Sure. Where are we eating?

Zhu Xiaoming: Just some random place near Jiang University. I'm planning to wander around Jiang University this afternoon. Want to come?

Zhang Fusheng pondered briefly before giving an affirmative reply. He did not continue chatting nonsense with Zhu Xiaoming, instead confirming Chen Nuanyu's file once more before slowly exhaling.

"So she's... a loan genius?"

He did not know whether to laugh or cry. Chen Nuanyu's talent was indeed high, but not that high.

At the very least, her comprehension should not have been that exceptional.

There was nothing to criticize about her innate physique. Even though she had bought quite a few supplements with loans, and her actual cultivation time over three years of high school might have been less than two years, she had still entered the Third Refinement level.

Just as Second Senior Sister had said, she was a little genius.

"Her repayment deadline is almost here. No wonder she went to rob Fushou powder."

Zhang Fusheng's gaze turned deep.

"But what consequences could overdue payments bring, to make her take such a huge risk?"

Thinking of Second Senior Sister's bright yet lazy appearance, he suddenly shivered.

Not a good person!

One in the afternoon.

"Why are you only here now?" A Bao, his entire body covered in tattoos, frowned. "I've been waiting for you forever."

"Where's Zhou Quan?"

Zhang Fusheng casually closed the clinic's front door and replied calmly.

"I just got back from the Martial Arts Academy."

"Today is the Fire Department's incense-offering day. Young Master went to offer incense." A Bao answered casually, placing two carrier bags, one large and one small, on the table.

Zhang Fusheng understood. No wonder he had not found Zhou Quan at the Martial Arts Academy, and no wonder A Bao did not know that his "identity" had changed.

"One contains your delivery fee, three hundred thousand. The other contains ten jin of Fushou powder. This is all for the first day."

A Bao explained in detail.

"Once you enter District Three, go directly to the villa district in the east. Villa Number 19 is a bar. Go there and find Mr. Black Eyes. He'll tell you how to distribute the goods and who to distribute them to. Understand?"

Zhang Fusheng did not answer. He opened the two carrier bags, took out a large package of powder, and walked to the sink under A Bao's puzzled gaze.

He tore it open.

And poured it out.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" A Bao froze at first, then abruptly came to his senses and pulled out a gun, aiming it at Zhang Fusheng.

After hesitating for an instant, he turned the muzzle toward the youth's leg. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he saw that the youth had somehow turned around and was quietly staring at him.

In a daze, he saw his own reflection in the youth's deep, shadowy eyes—a grim skeleton.

A Bao shuddered violently and abruptly regained his senses, but before he could react.

His vision blurred.

The handgun shattered into pieces. The madman was already before him, a not particularly fair hand clamping around A Bao's throat and lightly lifting him into the air.

A Bao exploded with all his strength, yet could not break free at all.

"Mar—" He rasped. "Martial artist."

Zhang Fusheng released him. A Bao fell to the floor and coughed violently.

"Zhou Quan isn't enough."

He crouched down and stared at A Bao, smearing the thick layer of Fushou powder on his hand across A Bao's face.

"The Fire Department's hall master is called... Zhou Xianmin?"

A Bao did not dare breathe heavily. It was not that he was afraid; he was afraid of inhaling the Fushou powder on his face into his nostrils. That would not be fun.

He stared fixedly at Zhang Fusheng.

"Who are you?"

A Bao had seen Zhang Fusheng's file and investigated him thoroughly. He was an utterly ordinary student from Linshu Middle School who had lucked into getting accepted by Jiang University's Computer Science Department.

Aside from that, there was nothing special about him.

How could he be a martial artist?

Zhang Fusheng clapped his hands, shaking off the remaining Fushou powder.

"Go back and make arrangements. In a couple of days, I want to meet Zhou Xianmin. As for who I am... Zhang Fusheng. I am Zhang Fusheng."

"My master is Hong Tianbao."

A Bao's expression changed drastically.

The completely different youth before and after lightly patted his own cheek, rubbing the final bit of Fushou powder left on his hand onto his lapel.

"Oh, and tell Hall Master Zhou that I happen to have some information regarding the forty jin of goods the Fire Department lost some time ago. Are you staying for lunch?"

A Bao blanked out for a moment, then struggled to his feet. He did not dare say a single word as he fled the clinic in a sorry state.

Zhang Fusheng stood up and exhaled.

Forty jin of Fushou powder was not a small amount for Chaimen, but it was not enough to wound its muscles and bones.

What mattered was face.

Chaimen had recently been searching the Lower-Level District. Money lost, goods lost—none of that mattered. But if its face was lost and its prestige damaged, certain wolves and jackals would start entertaining crooked thoughts. That was when Chaimen's real troubles would begin.

Therefore, they would certainly want to catch that robber.

Zhang Fusheng turned on the tap, washed his hands, and made a call.

"Master, I'm planning to meet Zhou Xianmin, the Fire Department's hall master. For your sake, he should be willing to see me."

"Mhm."

Hong Tianbao's gentle voice came through the phone.

"You needn't report everything. Chaimen is both a resource I'm giving you and a trial for your tempering. When it is time to draw in the net, I will deal with Chaimen's leader for you. But before then."

After pausing, the old man continued.

"Before then, you must walk each step yourself. Borrow Hong's name and influence as you please. If you encounter someone you cannot handle, you can spend money to hire your Eldest Senior Brother to act. His business is taking money to get things done. But aside from that, I will not help you with anything."

"How far you can push this, how much you can contribute, and how much unrest you can create will all depend on you."

"This will also determine how many resources you can enjoy after swallowing Chaimen."

Zhang Fusheng nodded silently.

"I understand, Master."

He hung up.

Eldest Senior Brother's business was taking money to get things done. An assassin? A killer?

He probably managed a group of "killers."

Thinking of Niu Dali's honest and simple appearance, Zhang Fusheng gave a bitter laugh.

One could not judge a person by their appearance.

Shaking his head, he returned to the basement and lit the gas stove in the corner.

At noon, his father cooked for himself at the clinic, so there was a full set of pots, pans, bowls, and utensils, along with all manner of seasonings.

He took out a piece of Star Beast Meat that he had taken in advance from the Martial Arts Academy cafeteria, removed the packaging, and carefully placed it in the pan to fry.

"Twenty grams of Level 1 Star Beast Meat costs two hundred thousand."

Zhang Fusheng clicked his tongue. His mindset had not fully changed yet; two hundred thousand was still an astronomical figure in his eyes.

A moment later, the fried meat came out of the pan. Zhang Fusheng did not hurry to eat it. Instead, he used a knife to divide it evenly into twenty portions, then weighed them on an electronic scale.

A tiny slice of meat, "weighing" one gram, went into his stomach.

His pores opened, and his whole body felt unrestrained and at ease. A vast amount of Mysterious Factor erupted in his abdomen, but it brought him no benefit. He had reached a bottleneck.

He could not send the Mysterious Factor into the deepest layer of his skin membrane to complete the final refinement of Three Refinements of Skin.

Zhang Fusheng did not particularly regret wasting the Mysterious Factor. His thoughts focused on the Contract Book.

As the one gram of Star Beast Meat dissolved in his stomach, some unknown substance seemed to flow into the Contract Book, and the dim Contract Book regained a faint bit of luster.

"The original charging time of sixty-two days has shortened to sixty days."

"One gram of Star Beast Meat can offset two days?"

Zhang Fusheng continued eating the Star Beast Meat slice by slice, gram by gram, while precisely measuring the reduction in charging time.

By the time all the Star Beast Meat was in his stomach, twenty-three days remained before the Contract Book could be used again.

"At a rate of two days per gram, there should only be twenty-two days left. The last few slices of Star Beast Meat had somewhat weaker effects."

Zhang Fusheng's expression was very unpleasant as he muttered to himself.

"What exactly is the reason? Some kind of 'drug resistance,' or something else?"

He picked up the packaging and glanced at it.

[Level 1 Star Beast Copper Horned Rhinoceros, tenderloin, net weight: 20 grams]

Zhang Fusheng calculated silently. He vaguely had a guess: the reason Star Beast Meat could charge the Contract Book was most likely because it contained some unknown substance.

If that guess was true, did Star Beast Meat from different levels and species contain different unknown substances?

And was the weakening effect because the Contract Book had "eaten" enough of the mysterious substance in this type of Star Beast Meat?

"The exact cause will need to be slowly verified later."

He exhaled. His wooden chopsticks tapped rhythmically against the bowl and plate as he pondered something.

A long time passed.

"Ring-ring-ring."

His phone vibrated.

He answered it, and Zhu Xiaoming's drake-like voice came through.

"Hey, Old Zhang, I'm downstairs at your place. Why are all your windows broken? What happened?"

"Nothing. There was thunder the day before yesterday, and the vibrations shattered them. I forgot to get them fixed. I'm not home—I'll head back now. Ten minutes or so."

Zhang Fusheng exhaled. He had nearly forgotten to ask someone to repair the windows. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain when his parents came home in a few days.

"Thunder shattered them?"

Zhu Xiaoming sounded confused over the phone, but he did not think much of it.

"Hurry up. It'll take time to get to Jiang University. Lu Yao has been studying in Jiang University's library lately. You need to be my wingman for a while later. I'll treat you to something good tonight."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added.

"Oh, right. Lu Yao said Chen Nuanyu has also been at Jiang University's library lately. We might run into this proud daughter of heaven this afternoon."

Zhang Fusheng froze for a moment, an inexplicable smile appearing on his face.

"Is that so? What a coincidence."