The man being held aloft saw the order-maintenance staff approaching and immediately stopped panicking. Even if he had started the trouble, he had not laid a hand on anyone.
A meaningful smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "The people keeping order will be here any moment. I didn't make a move, so if we're talking punishment, mine will definitely be lighter than yours. If you're willing to give me something, we can settle this privately."
The man did not lower his voice, and his words reached the surrounding onlookers. Those who knew what had happened began whispering among themselves.
"That guy might not be able to recruit disciples, but he really does have a problem with saying whatever he wants regardless of the occasion. And now he's demanding money too. Shameless."
"Heh, among martial arts academy owners, he's probably the weakest one. Otherwise, how could he not have a single disciple? He can only bully people who don't practice Martial Dao.
"He gets carried away just because he has a little strength. The order-maintenance staff are almost here. Let's see how he cleans this up."
"What decent person still studies Martial Dao? It's all dust from history."
"Then why are you here watching?"
"..."
Chen Xu remained expressionless as sixth-level Tiger Might burst from his body.
"Ah!" The lewd-looking man's expression drastically changed. He let out a scream, and a foul stench spread from his crotch. The surrounding spectators could not help covering their noses and backing away.
Chen Xu casually tossed the man farther away, then unhurriedly left the scene.
"What happened?" The staff member had just arrived when a wave of stench hit him head-on, making him instinctively retreat two steps.
The onlookers had already scattered. Within dozens of meters, only one person lay sprawled on the ground. People liked gossip, but no one developed an appetite in a restroom.
"What's going on with you?" Covering his nose and mouth, the staff member forced himself to approach the lewd man despite the urge to vomit.
He spoke to the man, but the man only trembled nonstop, as though enduring immense fear.
No matter how the staff member questioned him, the man gave no response. Whenever someone came slightly closer, he immediately curled into himself, terrified beyond measure.
Several staff members exchanged looks and fell into thought.
They did not care to learn the cause of the conflict. They were only considering whether that bit of salary was worth getting shit all over themselves.
Naturally, Chen Xu had no idea the staff members were facing such a difficult decision because of him. He was already seated in a restaurant, waiting for a certain client. This was their agreed meeting place.
The item being traded was the [Assault Glory], which was completely useless in his hands.
Through the previous owner's Black Market Website account, Chen Xu had listed it online. He would not accept cash and specified Refining Liquid in exchange.
His luck was not bad. Less than two days after listing it, someone privately messaged Chen Xu and arranged to meet today for a detailed discussion.
To prevent his identity from being exposed, Chen Xu had deliberately adjusted his face shape and height. He could not make drastic changes, but minor alterations were still possible.
About five minutes later, a woman wearing sunglasses and a mask walked in. After sweeping her gaze over the food on Chen Xu's table, she calmly came over and sat across from him.
They were seated at the very edge of the restaurant, and with the noisy environment, as long as they did not deliberately do anything eye-catching, they were practically invisible.
The woman tentatively spoke. "Tiger King?"
Upon hearing that name, Chen Xu's mouth twitched slightly. Just how obsessed had the previous owner been with Tiger Howl Fist to choose a name like that?
"It's me. Are you Demon God's Eye?"
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Chen Xu felt that the woman's cheeks faintly reddened.
Glancing at the woman from the corner of his eye, Chen Xu found her somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her recently.
"Sir Tiger King, may I ask where you obtained that item?" Demon God's Eye extended her slender, fair fingers from her long sleeves, removed her mask, and covered her mouth lightly with her other hand.
She picked up the watermelon juice on the table, inserted a straw, and took small sips.
Chen Xu did not know whether she was highly skilled and bold or simply a complete novice. She drank a beverage ordered by a stranger without any guard up.
"No comment. That information is not included in the service." Chen Xu picked up a slice of meat covered in fresh sauce and put it into his mouth.
Every serving here was ridiculously expensive. If he had not borrowed some money from Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy, he really might not have been able to afford this meal.
Speaking of Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy, he wondered how Chang Wei was doing. Today was the Martial Arts Academy Tournament, so they should be able to meet. He could borrow some more money from him then.
Hearing this, the woman did not press further. She picked up her chopsticks and began competing with Chen Xu for the food.
Anyone unaware of the situation would probably think they were a couple who had come to watch the Martial Arts Academy Tournament.
They might even mock Chen Xu: "How much of a straight man do you have to be to think of taking your girlfriend to watch live fighting?"
"Burp~" After letting out a full belch, Demon God's Eye looked at Chen Xu, who was still wolfing down food.
"One hundred grams of Refining Liquid, plus one In-Ranked Martial Arts manual."
Chen Xu raised his head. "An In-Ranked Martial Arts manual? I might consider it if it's at the [Martial Form] level."
"[Martial Form]?" The woman looked as though he had to be joking.
"Do you think you can take advantage of my lack of knowledge about the Federation? Dream on!
"The stronger someone is, the less useful your item becomes.
"And you have the nerve to ask for [Martial Form] Martial Arts for something whose upper limit cannot even reach the [Martial Form] level?"
After clearing another plate, Chen Xu raised one finger.
"Only one hundred grams of Refining Liquid?"
"One thousand!"
"Impossible. That D-rank armament is absolutely not worth that price." Demon God's Eye refused decisively.
Chen Xu looked deeply at her, then suddenly mouthed two words.
"Lin... Lin Qi?" Demon God's Eye's voice abruptly cut off. An invisible aura erupted and enveloped Chen Xu.
"You. Are. Threatening. Me?" She spoke one word at a time, clearly furious to the extreme.
Her aura was a notch weaker than his sixth-level Tiger Might and could not affect Chen Xu at all.
Chen Xu had not expected that he would actually guess right just because the woman looked familiar. After comparing her to every woman around Lin Qi, Chen Xu found her in a corner of his memories: the baseball-cap girl who had kept her head lowered from beginning to end and had not said a single word.
Her presence had been so weak that even after her rough disguise, Chen Xu had only found her familiar without recalling who she was.
Seeing her brows tightly furrowed, he knew she was desperately searching her memories for Chen Xu's face.
But with Chen Xu's current appearance, even if the old academy master came back to life, he would have difficulty recognizing him, much less her, someone who had met him only once.
More precisely, she had not even considered Chen Xu at all, since his face shape, build, and height had all changed.
Besides, she did not believe someone with Chen Xu's strength, someone who could not even recruit students, could have mastered techniques like bone-shrinking.
She was not afraid of the man before her threatening her, but that did not mean Lin Qi was not afraid, or that his younger sister was not. If Lin Qi had not happened to save her one night when she was unconscious and near death, she would probably have died long ago.
If something like this dragged her lifesaver into it...
Well, they were simply lifesaver and saved. Do not get any ideas.
When she looked up at Chen Xu's ancient well-like, unruffled face again, she found him more and more detestable.
"One thousand is fine, but I can't produce that much right now. I need some time to prepare.
"Also, I'm warning you: after taking the Refining Liquid, you are not allowed to do anything to Lin Qi's family. Otherwise, I guarantee you'll die an ugly death!"
"No problem," Chen Xu readily replied.
If you think this book is good, please add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time.
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