Oh No, the Flame Emperor Became My Cheat!

He returned home.

Zhou Changqing walked into his bedroom and dug an unassuming wooden box out of the cabinet in the corner.

Taking out a key, Zhou Changqing unlocked the wooden box.

Click.

As the lid opened a crack, a faint golden glow immediately spilled out.

Once he opened it all the way, he saw that it was nearly filled with gold coins.

He took the ten gold coins from his robe and carefully placed them inside, then returned the wooden box to its original spot.

Returning to his bed, Zhou Changqing flopped onto his back.

"Four hundred and eighty. At my current income, I'll probably have to save for another ten years or so."

Thinking of the gold coins in the wooden box left Zhou Changqing deeply disheartened.

Cultivation methods were among the most precious things on the Dou Qi Continent. Even a yellow tier low grade method could easily cost thousands or tens of thousands of gold coins.

Twenty gold coins were enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for an entire year.

To an ordinary household, four hundred gold coins were already a fortune.

Yet it was not even half of what he needed to escape his current predicament.

And that was only because half the money in the wooden box had been left behind by his adoptive parents.

Even his income of ten gold coins a month already far surpassed that of nearly ninety percent of Wutan City's residents.

But after buying iron and covering his daily living expenses, he only earned fifty or sixty gold coins a year.

All he could say was that, for an ordinary family, cultivating Dou Qi was almost as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Sometimes Zhou Changqing wondered whether he should take up some shady business, or risk venturing into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to make some quick money.

But after thinking it over, he realized that doing either with his strength would be courting death.

Besides, unless he had absolutely no choice, he did not want to abandon his principles.

"Why dwell on all this? I haven't even done today's work yet. One step at a time."

He abruptly sat up, shook off his thoughts, and headed outside to work at the forge.

Whatever happened, life had to go on. He could not simply give up on himself because his goal remained far out of reach.

Time flew by.

Half a month passed.

Zhou Changqing continued living his quiet life, spending each day forging, cultivating, or exploring certain ideas he had come up with.

Unlike before, however, he had not seen Xiao Yan at all over the past half month.

Xiao Yan had not come looking for him either.

Zhou Changqing had a good idea why.

Over the past half month, news had spread throughout Wutan City that the Xiao Clan's third young master had had his engagement broken off by Nalan Yanran, the young lady of the Imperial Capital's Nalan Family and the Misty Cloud Sect's junior sect master.

The news had caused an enormous stir in Wutan City, almost as though someone had deliberately been fanning the flames.

Xiao Yan's reputation as "trash" had consequently been brought up again, enjoying another surge of notoriety and becoming the talk of the town over tea and meals.

When Zhou Changqing heard the news, he knew the plot had begun.

And Xiao Yan was probably cultivating like mad under Yao Lao's guidance right now.

Zhou Changqing could only envy him.

He wanted someone to break off an engagement with him too, so he could acquire a cheat, race down the path of cultivation, and finally show off and slap everyone in the face.

For one brief moment, Zhou Changqing even considered using their three years of friendship to ask Xiao Yan for a cultivation method and solve his current problem.

After thinking it over, he decided against it.

Although Xiao Yan now had Yao Lao behind him and cultivation methods were no issue at all, he owed Zhou Changqing nothing.

Besides, a friendship between gentlemen was as clear and light as water. Whether for maximizing his interests or for personal feelings, Zhou Changqing did not want to make that request.

Using up the goodwill between them so casually while Xiao Yan was still weak would undoubtedly be the stupidest possible move.

As long as he maintained their friendship, even if Zhou Changqing did nothing else in the future, he believed Xiao Yan would not forget him once he grew strong.

By then, never mind a Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique—Xiao Yan would probably give him an Earth Tier Cultivation Method without hesitation.

After all, a saying had circulated in his previous life: better to be Xiao Yan's lackey than Tang San's brother.

That alone showed Xiao Yan's character was beyond reproach.

He believed Xiao Yan would be more than happy to lend him a hand.

That day, Zhou Changqing was forging in his courtyard as usual.

The clang of hammering rang out incessantly. Between the scorching weather and the furnace's heat, Zhou Changqing was drenched in sweat.

"Old Zhou! Old Zhou! Open up! Your godfather's here!"

Just as Zhou Changqing was swinging his hammer with fiery enthusiasm, an obnoxious shout came from outside the little courtyard.

His hands paused. Hearing that familiar voice, Zhou Changqing's face darkened.

Setting down his hammer, Zhou Changqing rolled his sleeves even higher and headed toward the gate.

A weakling still at the Dou Qi stage actually dared provoke a mighty Dou Zhe like him?!

Today, he would make this brat understand who the real godfather was!

Creak!

Pulling the gate open hard, Zhou Changqing saw Xiao Yan standing outside.

Xiao Yan wore a fitted black outfit today, little different from his usual attire. The only difference was that the air of gloom hanging over him seemed to have vanished completely.

In its place was a sense of keen edges carefully concealed.

Zhou Changqing paid that no mind, however. He did not need to guess the reason for the change.

Right now, he only wanted to stretch his muscles properly.

"You unfilial brat! Who are you calling your godfather?!"

Before Xiao Yan could speak, Zhou Changqing barked at him, then charged out and swung a fist straight at his face.

At the sight, the previously grinning Xiao Yan jumped in fright. "Holy shit! Old Zhou, what are you doing?! Don't hit the face! Don't you know the rules of the martial world?!"

"Heh, my rules are the rules!"

"Stop! Chotto matte!"

Seeing the fist about to land on his face, Xiao Yan hurriedly raised a hand and called for a timeout, so frantic that even the Japanese from his previous life slipped out.

At the same time, his other hand pulled two jade scrolls from his robe.

"Chotto what? I won't spare you just because you're speaking gibberish..."

"Huh? Those are...?"

Zhou Changqing was still grumbling, but the next second, his gaze fell on the scrolls in Xiao Yan's hand. He froze in place.

Once he got a clear look at the scrolls, Zhou Changqing's breathing immediately quickened.

Seeing Zhou Changqing's reaction, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he had escaped disaster.

Then Xiao Yan started swaggering again.

"Little Qing, what exactly were you about to do just now? Hmm?"

"Old Xiao, those..."

But Zhou Changqing had no attention to spare for Xiao Yan's teasing. His eyes were fixed on the scrolls as he asked uncertainly.

A trace of smugness flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes, and he nodded. "Yes, exactly what you're thinking. Cultivation methods. Two of them, and both Yellow Tier High Grade!"

Gulp.

At those words, Zhou Changqing swallowed with difficulty. His eyes seemed to blaze with dazzling light, and he could barely tear his gaze from the scrolls.

In that instant, many thoughts crossed Zhou Changqing's mind, and he guessed why Xiao Yan had brought out the scrolls.

It gave him the strange impression that the protagonist was his cheat.

After a while, he suppressed the longing in his heart and gave Xiao Yan a look filled with complicated emotions before turning back into the courtyard.

"Come in. Let's talk."

Xiao Yan stared at Zhou Changqing's retreating back in surprise, unable to understand.

A moment ago, he had practically wanted to glue his eyes to the scrolls. How could he suddenly seem so indifferent?

He knew how much Zhou Changqing had suffered for a cultivation method. Now that one was right in front of him, he could actually resist the temptation.

Xiao Yan could not help admiring him, while also feeling a little proud.

See? This is my friend! No ordinary fellow!

They entered the courtyard and sat down beside the stone table.

Xiao Yan placed the two scrolls on the stone table and pushed them toward Zhou Changqing. "Don't say your brother doesn't look out for you. This is the biggest gift I can manage right now."

Rather than reach for the scrolls, Zhou Changqing looked Xiao Yan up and down, his thoughts unreadable.

"Don't look at me like that. I know you're curious where the methods came from, but I can't tell you. Just pretend I stole them from home."

"And don't turn them down. I'm not short of this stuff, so take them without worrying. Otherwise, you're disrespecting me."

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under his stare, Xiao Yan coughed twice and put on a generous air.

Clearly, Xiao Yan had misunderstood Zhou Changqing.

How could he not know where these two cultivation methods came from? Yao Lao had given them to him, of course.

Zhou Changqing simply had not expected Xiao Yan to specifically ask Yao Lao for cultivation methods after becoming his disciple, then personally bring them over for him.

Haki Yan, you really have moved me.

Nodding, Zhou Changqing reached out and tucked both cultivation methods into his robe, then looked solemnly at Xiao Yan and said:

"I won't stand on ceremony with you. 'Thank you' is far too pale. If you ever need anything, just say the word. I'll be there whenever you call!"

"Good! I won't hold back, then."

Seeing how solemn Zhou Changqing was, Xiao Yan put away his smile and nodded firmly.

The next second, they exchanged a smile.

"Come on, hurry! I haven't had your Green Plum Wine in half a month. I'm dying for some."

"All right. For the sake of these cultivation methods, you can drink your fill today. Want a couple of dishes to go with it?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

The little courtyard immediately grew lively.

Yet neither of them could possibly have imagined that what happened today would later become a famous historical event on the Dou Qi Continent.

History would call it the Friendship of Two Emperors.

And Xiao Yan would even be jokingly dubbed the Dou Qi Continent's foremost angel investor by later generations.

(End of chapter)