Early the next morning, the sun rose in the east, dispelling the biting chill of early spring.
Woken by his alarm, Xu Yuan left his room, yawning from lack of sleep.
Last night, after sorting out a way to make money, he had tried cultivating in the Divinity Realm.
He had cultivated from a little past nine until three in the morning, only to find it was as good as not cultivating at all.
The Divine Substance his tier-one divinity talent could sense was pitifully scarce. Even when he circulated the Savage Bull Skin-Toughening Method with all his might, he could draw in only the tiniest bit.
After several hours, the improvement to his skin and flesh was barely perceptible.
If nothing changed, he would probably be trapped in the Skin Grinding Realm for the rest of his life.
Beast Ranking, oh, Beast Ranking, you'd better not let me down.
Muttering inwardly, Xu Yuan went into the bathroom to wash up.
When he came out, he found that the previously empty dining table now held a bowl of congee, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and a peeled boiled egg.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yaying was holding a roll of beast hide, about to head outside.
This was because his predecessor had forbidden her from processing beast hides while he was home. But she relied on this work to support the family and couldn't simply leave it undone, so she could only work outside.
As this memory surfaced, Xu Yuan's nose prickled slightly.
"Mom, wait."
He stopped Zhang Yaying. "Don't take that outside. I'm heading out right away. Also, once you deliver this month's work, stop doing this job. I'll cover the household expenses from now on."
With that, Xu Yuan added a few chopstickfuls of pickled vegetables to his plain congee, stirred it, and gulped it down in two mouthfuls. Then, under Zhang Yaying's stunned gaze, he took the egg and left.
Yang City's overall appearance was much like that of some small county towns in Huaxia.
The roads weren't particularly wide, and the buildings weren't particularly tall.
Walking along the road, he could see breakfast vendors handing steaming portions of food to passersby.
Xu Yuan walked to the bus stop and boarded a bus bound for White Lake Sky Street.
White Lake Sky Street was the pedestrian street where he had arranged to meet Luo Han and Sun Hao, and the nearest shopping street to Third High School.
Before going to the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Base, he intended to verify whether the Beast Ranking could actually be put to use.
Soon, the bus arrived at the pedestrian street.
Xu Yuan got off and immediately spotted Luo Han waiting beside the bus stop.
"Brother Yuan, you're here?"
The fatty held a bag of steamed buns, eating them one per bite, his chubby cheeks bulging.
"Where's Haozi?"
Haozi was Sun Hao's nickname.
"Huh? Haozi? He said he wasn't hanging out with us anymore."
"Really?"
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. It seemed Sun Hao intended to keep being a scumbag.
But that was normal. Learning to be good had never been easy.
Some guys spent half their lives being reformed through labor and still came back scumbags. How could he expect someone like Sun Hao to suddenly abandon evil and turn over a new leaf?
What was surprising was that the fatty before him hadn't continued running wild with Sun Hao and had chosen to follow him instead.
"Fatty, you've opened up your road!" Xu Yuan said with a smile, patting Luo Han's shoulder.
Luo Han didn't quite understand what that meant, but it sounded like something good. He scratched his head with a smile. "So, Brother Yuan, what was that good thing you mentioned?"
"Doing good deeds and accumulating virtue."
Grinning, Xu Yuan slung an arm around the fatty's shoulders and headed toward a nearby pedestrian overpass.
Just as in his predecessor's memories, many beggars gathered there.
And that was why he had chosen to meet here.
It made conducting experiments convenient.
"Go give him a hundred."
Pointing at a disabled beggar with graying hair, Xu Yuan gave the fatty a direct instruction.
"Huh? Why?"
"Just give it to him. Listen to me."
"Oh, all right."
The fatty was a little reluctant, but he still pulled a crumpled wad of money from his pocket, picked out a hundred-yuan bill, and walked toward the beggar.
Seeing this, the old beggar hurriedly hugged his bowl to his chest and watched the fatty warily.
Xu Yuan froze. Are beggars on Earth Star really this hardcore? Someone's giving him money, and not only does he not hurry to hold out his bowl, he hides it against his chest?
What, not interested in money?
The next second, several scenes surfaced in his mind, leaving him dumbfounded.
It wasn't that the beggars were hardcore. Most of the beggars here had been robbed by his predecessor and his companions.
Those rotten bastards hadn't just stolen the money they begged for; they had even kicked their bowls around like balls.
What the fuck... no wonder my predecessor remembered this overpass so clearly.
"Stop hiding it. We won't rob you anymore."
The fatty tossed the money in front of the beggar and walked back under his bewildered gaze. "Done, Brother Yuan. I gave him the money. What next?"
"No rush."
Xu Yuan's consciousness instantly arrived before the Beast Ranking, and he quickly "looked" at Luo Han's name.
What he wanted to verify wasn't whether doing good deeds could reduce Sin Points.
He already had a definite answer to that.
What he wanted to verify was whose Sin Points would be deducted when he told someone else to do good deeds.
Would only the other person's points drop, would both their points drop, or would only his drop?
If only his dropped, or both their points dropped, then his plan to force those beasts on the ranking to do good deeds, thereby raising his own rank and earning rewards, wouldn't work.
But if only the other person's points dropped, then he could truly put the Beast Ranking to use!
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Xu Yuan had already "seen" the number after Luo Han's name.
1560!
It had dropped!
Before getting off the bus, he had checked his own Sin Points, along with Luo Han's and Sun Hao's, once again.
Luo Han's had been 1562, the same as last night.
And now they had dropped to 1560!
He was halfway there!
Xu Yuan's heartbeat quickened slightly as he slowly shifted his "gaze" to his own name.
[Xu Yuan: 2308, rank 10!]
They hadn't dropped!
Just like before, they were still 2308!
It worked!!!
Whoosh!
Xu Yuan's eyes snapped open, and a smile rapidly spread across his face!
It was usable!
It might be a little troublesome, but as long as it worked-as long as it worked!
"Brother Yuan, what are you smiling about?" The fatty looked baffled.
"Someone else. Give them another ten!"
Xu Yuan didn't answer, raising his hand to point at another beggar.
He wanted to investigate a few more of the Beast Ranking's mechanics.
"We're giving more...?"
Muttering, the fatty gave another beggar ten yuan.
But this time, his Sin Points didn't change.
Still 1560.
Unhurried, Xu Yuan continued, "Give another ten!"
Still no decrease.
Keep going...
Ten minutes later, the experiment ended. Looking thoughtful, Xu Yuan quickly summed up several conclusions.
First, reducing Sin Points through charitable donations required giving roughly fifty yuan to lower them by one!
Second, donations had a limit. Once donations to the same beggar exceeded a certain threshold, further donations could no longer reduce Sin Points.
That threshold was probably related to the beggar's assets.
Third, taking donated money back restored the corresponding number of Sin Points.
"Brother Yuan, isn't it kind of wrong to give them money and then take it back?"
Looking at the money he had lost and regained, the fatty asked with a conflicted expression.
He hadn't expected Xu Yuan to have him donate the money only to tell him to take it back afterward. He was completely at a loss.
"What's wrong with it? Didn't we leave them a little?"
Xu Yuan was all smiles.
Looking at the coins in their hands, the beggars nearly started cursing.
If he didn't want to give, then don't! He had given them several hundred, then taken it all back and left only a few coins. Was he messing with them?
Could he be any more of a bastard?
Unconcerned by the fire in the beggars' eyes, Xu Yuan hooked an arm around the fatty's shoulders and headed for the bus stop.
"So what are we doing now?"
The fatty was dazed, thoroughly confused by Xu Yuan's string of maneuvers.
"Making money."
Xu Yuan kept it brief.
Although he had confirmed that the Beast Ranking could be used, in his current situation, getting the beasts ranked above him to do good deeds was clearly unlikely.
Never mind anyone else-with his injuries, he couldn't even keep Sun Hao in line.
So the most urgent matter was still making money to buy medicine and heal his injuries, then successfully passing Monday's martial arts class assessment!
Everything else could come one step at a time.
"Huh? Making money?"
The fatty was startled. We're not going back to extortion and robbery, are we?
Didn't Brother Yuan say he'd never do that sort of thing again?
"What are you thinking? This time, it's legitimate." Xu Yuan saw through the fatty's thoughts at a glance.
"Oh, oh. Then what do I need to do later?"
"Be my shill."
"Didn't you say it was legitimate?"
"Then let me put it another way."
Xu Yuan stopped beside the bus stop. "In a bit, I'll guide you in taking your Mountain-Crushing Strike from beginner to minor mastery in front of a crowd. So, more accurately, you're not a shill. You're my living advertisement!"
The fatty: "..."
"What, think I'm bragging?"
"Yeah." The fatty nodded honestly.
He might be a little slow, but he wasn't mentally disabled. How could he believe something like that?
"It's fine if you don't believe me. You will in a bit."
Xu Yuan chuckled. "Maybe you won't even want to call me Brother Yuan afterward."
"Then what would I call you?"
"God Yuan!"