Chumming

This time, as he had said, Li Shutong didn't make Qing Chen go through the trouble of lighting the campfire himself. Instead, he took the boy directly to the river.

It seems this teacher genuinely intended to freeload and wasn't embarrassed at all.

"Teacher," Qing Chen asked as they walked, "Just now, when Qin Cheng was trading with Zhang Tongdan, the Wilderness People, they almost got into a fight over four bottles of medicine. I think Zhang Tongdan seemed about to draw his gun. Are people here so ruthless towards their partners?"

"Of course," Li Shutong replied, "The Wilderness People struggle for survival, and their living conditions are much harsher than you can imagine. So, when faced with something that could save their lives, they'll fight for it with their lives, which naturally makes them seem a bit ruthless. However, Qin Cheng didn't really intend to take the medicine; he just wanted Zhang Tongdan to owe him a favor."

Qing Chen seemed to be deep in thought.

Li Shutong said, "Xiao Chen, everyone in the world experiences hardship. Ordinary people learn how to face the world early on, and everyone has their own way of surviving. Observe and listen more on this trip. Your teacher can't always be by your side to accompany you for a while. After that, you still have to walk the road ahead on your own."

Qing Chen suddenly realized that his teacher's words had a hidden meaning.

The two arrived at the shallow riverbank. The water here was clearer than any river in the Outer World. The riverbed, which was several meters wide, was covered with pebbles, and even in places two meters deep, the bottom could be seen at a glance.

Putting everything else aside, the environmental protection in the Inner World is far better than in the Outer World.

"So many fish!" Qing Chen exclaimed, noticing hundreds of fish swimming slowly in the river. "Teacher, shall I go down and catch some?"

The fish in this river look just like those in a fish farm pond.

These fish are quite large, each weighing three to five pounds.

Li Shutong glanced at him and said, "Going down to the river to catch fish? Wait a minute."

As he spoke, he took a ball of fishing line out of his backpack, tied one end to his hand, and attached a fishhook to the other end.

Li Shutong broke off a small piece of protein bar and threw the fishhook into the water. "Look carefully."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the river surface seemed to boil, and large fish dozens of meters away from the fishing hook suddenly swam over to bite the hook.

Amidst the churning river, a large fish took the bait, and the sharp hook pierced its mouth.

The stench of blood flowing from the wound drove the big fish completely mad. They were no longer attracted to the protein bar, but instead took bites of the fish that had taken the bait!

In just a few seconds, the fish's thick bones were already visible on the hooked fish.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Shutong suddenly pulled the fishing line, and several large fish that couldn't let go in time were thrown ashore together!

Qing Chen watched this scene silently, utterly shocked. "Teacher, are these all piranhas?"

"To be precise, that's not the case," Li Shutong shook his head. "In the records of the New Era of Humanity, fish in earlier years had not yet fully evolved into this form. It should be that a giant fish that transcended species died in a certain river basin, causing the river to begin to change. Just like the great whale in the Forbidden Sea."

Qing Chen walked closer to examine the large fish that were still jumping around and clearly saw that they all had sharp teeth in their mouths, a rare occurrence in freshwater rivers.

Li Shutong glanced at him and said, "Remember, every river in this world is dangerous. Don't try to go into the river before you've completed the sixth Life and Death Trial. Otherwise, you're not catching fish, you're just baiting the way in."

In other words, going into the river before reaching Level A means certain death.

Li Shutong picked up a few leaves from his fingertips and flicked them lightly.

In Qing Chen's eyes, those few leaves that were originally soft and fluffy suddenly became as straight as blades. They didn't seem to fly very fast, but they pierced the big fish's head hard.

"How was it?" Li Shutong asked with a smile.

"Teacher is amazing," Qing Chen said sincerely.

After saying this, Li Shutong's smile deepened, as if he had successfully put on a show in front of his students.

"This is the effect of the energy in your body," Li Shutong said. "Logically speaking, it should only appear in the body after passing the fifth Life and Death Trial, begin to show its power after the sixth Life and Death Trial, and reach perfection after the seventh test by covering the whole body. But you are a bit special, as it appeared before you even passed the first test."

Qing Chen listened attentively.

Li Shutong continued, "Besides catching leaves and flying flowers, everyone's qi has a different effect. My qi can cause a burning sensation. For example, when I fought Guo Huzhan, even though I held back my strength, he still had to sit cross-legged and endure it, regulating his breathing. Your senior uncle's qi can cause nausea. I don't know what yours is."

Qing Chen thought for a moment and asked, "Aside from catching Ye Feihua, does the Qi not cause any physical harm when it comes into contact with a person, but will it cause the opponent to feel some kind of discomfort during combat?"

"Yes," Li Shutong nodded.

Qing Chen thought to himself, "Isn't this a negative buff?!"

He looked at his teacher, Li Shutong smiled and said, "Your little bit of energy won't have any effect on me at all, and it might not even work on ordinary people. You should wait until your energy grows stronger and then try it on someone else."

"Profound."

When the two returned to the camp, the campfire was already blazing.

Li Shutong handed the five fish in his hand to Qin Tong: "I caught five fish. We can have an extra meal tonight."

After saying that, he naturally sat down by the campfire, making no attempt to take Qing Chen to the other side to start a fire. He even said to Qing Chen, "Come, sit down too."

At this moment, Qin Yiyi had already told her brother Qin Tong and father Qin Cheng her guess.

Qin Cheng's attitude immediately changed after he learned that Qing Chen was not a servant.

Although he guessed that Li Shutong was only a C-Class was actually better, because a level that was too high was beyond the reach of their Qin Family!

"My dear in-law... no, sir, may I ask how you are addressed?" Qin Cheng asked.

Upon Qin Yiyi immediately stood up, pulled Qing Chen's hiking backpack off, and whispered, "I'll go help you set up the tent."

After saying that, he took the tent out of his bag and ran away.

"My surname is Mu, and the person next to me is my student. You can call him Xiao Tu," Li Shutong said with a smile.

Qing Chen: "..."

So, when the word "dust" is so elegant, it turns into a name as simple as "TU" when broken down?

Qin Cheng and Qin Tong exchanged a glance. Now that Li Shutong had personally admitted that Qing Chen was not a servant, they were naturally secretly delighted.

"Mr. Mu," Qin Cheng said, "I know you are an expert, but there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Li Shutong smiled and said, "Please speak freely."

"The drones we brought this time were all destroyed, so our self-defense capabilities aren't very strong," Qin Cheng said after thinking for a moment. "How about this, if we encounter any danger on the way, please ask Mr. Mu for help, and we won't charge you for your travel expenses."

In Qin Cheng's opinion, there shouldn't be too much danger before reaching the Forbidden Zone. He just wanted to bring up the matter of canceling the travel expenses to get closer to each other.