Making Money Through Deception

"Shattered Stone Armor Puppet!"

Shi An stomped his right foot, and the second soul ring around his calf lit up. The ground instantly began to tremble violently, as though something was about to burst from beneath it.

Shi An did not panic in the slightest. The next second, the earth split apart, and an earthen snake abruptly burst out of the ground.

Its brown scales looked cold and heavy beneath the moonlight.

The snake was around ten meters long. There was no light or life in its eyes, only absolute stillness and indifference.

Standing atop the earthen snake's head, Shi An looked down at the massive creature beneath his feet and nodded in satisfaction.

His second soul skill was called Shattered Stone Armor Puppet, a puppet-type soul skill.

As long as he expended soul power, he could manipulate the earth to create a puppet with formidable defenses.

He could shape the puppet into any appearance or form he wanted, much like customizing a character's face in a game.

However, the puppet had no consciousness and could only be controlled through his divided attention.

That placed a major restriction on Shi An at his current level. He could not create anything too complicated, such as robots from movies with lethal weapons hidden in every part of their bodies.

Otherwise, controlling it alone would be no small burden.

Shi An could only create simple puppets, such as snakes, tigers, wolves, and people he knew best.

It was as though Shi An's mind was connected to the huge creature beneath his feet. With a single thought from him, the earthen snake would carry out the corresponding command.

Bang~~~

The earthen snake's tail snapped a large tree in half. Shi An rubbed his forehead. He had to admit that snakes really were not easy to control.

How it should wriggle to move faster, and how it should pounce and kill with greater lethality—

Still, with this thing, he would no longer need to travel on foot.

As he neared the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, Shi An had the earthen snake stop.

It was simply too large and too eye-catching.

Shi An did not want to be so high-profile. After merging the earthen snake back into the ground, he started walking toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Bright sunlight shone through gaps in the shadows of the trees ahead, like the breaking of dawn.

Shi An emerged from the bushes, and the warm sunlight poured over him, making him narrow his eyes.

The sky was still blue, and the clouds were still white.

Everything seemed unchanged, yet everything seemed to have changed.

A few days ago, he had only been a prospective soul master who had just awakened his martial soul. Yet now, he was already a Grand Soul Master.

A six-year-old Grand Soul Master.

Perhaps only Qian Renxue possessed such talent.

When Shi An returned to the town, the cries of vendors reached his ears once more, making him feel as though he had returned from the desolate wilderness to the human world.

A familiar warmth washed over him.

After having a hearty meal, Shi An found an inn and checked in.

During the past few days in the Star Dou Great Forest, he had neither eaten nor slept well. He had not rested properly at all.

Now that he was out of the Star Dou Great Forest, of course he had to get some proper rest!

"Yiran, have you decided what soul beast soul ring you want? Grandpa will catch it for you."

The next morning, Shi An was eating breakfast in a corner of the inn's hall when an elderly, doting voice came from the direction of the entrance.

Shi An turned and saw two elders and a young girl enter from outside.

The girl had short purple hair and appeared to be seven or eight years old. Though her little face was still childish, there was already a hint of heroic spirit between her brows.

However, Shi An's attention was not on her, but on the two elders beside her.

Shi An had become more skilled at controlling the earth. From the sensation of their footsteps striking the ground, he could tell that these two were extremely powerful.

At the very least, they were beyond his ability to defeat right now.

Hearing her grandfather's words, the girl's lively eyes turned, and she shook her head. "Grandpa, Yiran hasn't decided yet."

"Haha, little Yiran, there's no rush. If you can't decide, Grandpa will find the one that suits you best!"

The elder beside her laughed heartily. It was clear how much he doted on the girl.

Shi An withdrew his gaze, a thoughtful look flashing through his eyes.

Yiran... Meng Yiran.

The age matched. Then the two elders beside her should be Dragon Duke Meng Shu and Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang.

Shi An did his best to blend his aura into the earth, making himself look completely ordinary.

He did not dare guarantee what a six-year-old Grand Soul Master would mean in the eyes of Dragon Duke and Serpent Grandmother.

A genius to be strangled in the cradle, or a future tool to be forcibly bound to them.

Shi An did not leave immediately. Leaving now would definitely mean crossing paths with them.

It was more natural to pretend he knew nothing, finish his meal, and quietly leave.

Shi An kept his eyes on his plate, taking small bites of roasted potatoes, while his senses remained fixed on the grandfather and granddaughter trio.

When he sensed that they had sat down in another corner, Shi An finally let out a breath of relief.

He then paid his bill and left, directly hiring a carriage and heading toward the nearest city, Moss City.

There were still more than two months before the Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy began its term.

So he was in no hurry to return.

What would he do if he went back now? Cultivate obediently, then become a work-study student?

He was already a fucking Grand Soul Master. Who still wanted to be a work-study student?

Did a genius with innate soul power rank twenty not have any dignity?

"Come take a look! Hand-carved stone statues of the Angel God! Take one home and worship it, and your child is guaranteed to awaken soul power!"

"As long as you worship sincerely, the Angel God's glory will shine upon your heads."

"Ma'am, looking at your child, they'll be awakening their martial soul next year, right? Why not buy an Angel God statue to worship at home? Guaranteed to work!"

On a street in Moss City, Shi An sat behind a stall. In front of him lay rows of Angel God statues, each holding a longsword pointed toward the sky.

The statues depicted a woman with a holy and solemn expression, yet with a trace of compassion and kindness. They were lifelike, and at first glance, they truly looked convincing.

That was right. Shi An planned to earn some money before returning to Nuoding City.

Otherwise, once he went back, would he not still become a miserable work-study student?

What? Why not sell them in Nuoding City?

What nonsense. If that bastard Tang Ritian saw him selling Angel God statues while lavishly praising them, would he not swing a hammer straight at him?

And honestly, ordinary people in this era had truly sincere faith in the Angel God.

Seeing the lifelike Angel God statues, many people bought one and took it home to worship, hoping that the Angel God would truly bless them the following year and grant their family a child with soul power.

After staying in Moss City for several days, Shi An continued onward to the next city.

Once he had harvested one crop of suckers, he needed to move on to the next. Plenty more suckers were still waiting for him to harvest them.

Just like that, Shi An traveled through several cities in succession, and his gains were truly substantial.

Shi An patted his bulging money pouch, a smile appearing on his face.

The Douluo natives, who had never been shaped by all sorts of twenty-first-century rhetoric, were so easy to fool.

A few casual words of deception, and they happily handed over their money.

Of course, Shi An still had some conscience. He charged the rich more and the poor less.

Some of the rich were naturally dissatisfied. Why could the poor spend so little on a statue while they had to pay such a high price?

Shi An answered with a single sentence, leaving them somewhat stunned.