The Young Master Doesn't Handle That

[Ding! Check-in successful!]

[Obtained one-star entry "Heaven-Rumbling Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao" - farts like thunder, Heaven-Rumbling Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao!]

[When activated, it releases poisonous smoke from the buttocks, paralyzing enemies' nerves, slowing their reactions, and obscuring their vision.]

Chu Ge: "..."

Just what he'd feared had come to pass.

He had long since prepared himself to draw a one-star entry, but he hadn't expected this one.

No matter how weak Blue Silver Grass was, at least its attack method was normal enough that using it wouldn't be embarrassing.

As for Heaven-Rumbling Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao, calling it a release of poisonous smoke was putting it nicely.

To put it bluntly, it was farting.

And a fucking poisonous fart at that.

If he ever got into a real fight, his opponent would stink to death before he could beat them to death.

If word got out, how could he show his face in the East Sea again?

Everyone else's move names sounded magnificent, but if he announced his, everyone present would have to hold back their laughter.

Was this system here specifically to mess with his head?

Just then, another system notification sounded:

["Heaven-Rumbling Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao" has been stored in the system inventory. Replace the current talent "Blue Silver Grass"?]

"...No."

Chu Ge was a little surprised. The system was quite considerate, actually asking whether he wanted to switch.

But if he really did switch, he'd be a complete idiot.

Blue Silver Grass was at least a proper control skill. Luo Sanpao was a suicide attack: for every thousand points of damage it dealt the enemy, it dealt eight hundred to its user, and he'd have to turn his back on the enemy first.

What respectable martial artist aimed his butt at his opponent at the start of a fight?

Was he supposed to give them a thousand years of death?

With his check-in done, Chu Ge thought no more about it. He closed his eyes and continued cultivating.

The next morning.

Sunlight shone through the glass onto Chu Ge's face. He opened his eyes, let out a breath of turbid air, and got up to stretch his muscles.

After a night of cultivation, the already surging Primordial Force within him had grown even more abundant. It had broken straight through the ninety-ninth-level bottleneck, taking him to the hundredth level of the Qi and Blood Realm.

The hundredth level. The hundredth level!

On some Dou Continent, a realm like this would at least make him a god.

Chu Ge walked out of his room and immediately saw that the silly roe deer, still bound hand and foot above the living room sofa, was fast asleep.

He didn't wake her. He washed up first, then went to the refrigerator, took a fine cut of demonic beast meat from the freezer, and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Demonic beasts were ranked the same way as humans, cultivating upward from the Qi and Blood Realm.

In the early realms, however, demonic beasts were generally stronger in combat than humans of the same realm.

At the same hundredth level of Qi and Blood, an elephant's basic strength was bound to be greater than a human's. That was an innate difference between species.

Of course, not all demonic beasts relied on strength.

Some were born able to fly, some breathed fire, and some were naturally poisonous. Their abilities came in all shapes and sizes, and counted as innate racial divine abilities.

Fortunately, humans had an advantage of their own: entries.

The demon race couldn't awaken those.

With powerful entries, some human geniuses could gain the upper hand over demonic beasts of the same realm, or even kill them with ease.

That was one of the reasons the human race had the confidence to stand on equal footing with the demon race.

The sizzle of frying came from the kitchen.

Before long, two large demonic beast steaks were ready and laid on the dining table.

That Black Iron Realm demonic beast meat was not to be underestimated; it wasn't cheap on the market.

In Blue Star's current martial landscape, humans and demons each held up half the sky.

Although the two races hadn't gone to war on a large scale, minor clashes kept breaking out.

Hunting demonic beasts was too risky, so the supply of their meat had never met demand. Most of the meat on the market was still ordinary beef and mutton.

Chu Ge sat down and ate his steak at a leisurely pace.

The meat contained pure Primordial Force, making it an excellent supplement for martial artists.

His ability to reach the hundredth level of the Qi and Blood Realm at his age was inseparable from the years he'd spent eating demonic beast meat.

Having a plentiful supply of family resources was one thing; being willing to eat and train himself was another.

The aroma drifted over to the silly roe deer.

Her nose twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The moment she saw Chu Ge eating breakfast, she started shouting:

"Chu Ge! You're eating without calling me! Do you even care about me, your older cousin, anymore?!"

"You make it sound like I've ever called you my older cousin." Chu Ge rolled his eyes at her and kept eating.

"..."

Xiao Yan thought back over the years they'd spent together. Come to think of it, Chu Ge really had never once called her his older cousin.

"What a guy, no respect for his elders," she muttered. Suddenly, she felt the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around her begin to loosen.

The blades of grass unwound inch by inch, and she dropped from midair onto the sofa.

Boing~~

The sofa bounced gently twice.

Xiao Yan rubbed her bottom, which hurt where the grass blades had pricked it, then shifted her numb legs before making her way to the bathroom with a hand against the wall.

Standing in front of the mirror, she looked at her reflection, her hair a mess but still pretty, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

She really couldn't understand how Chu Ge could bring himself to lay hands on a beautiful girl like her.

He didn't know the first thing about cherishing a delicate flower.

"Not smart."

It was unclear who she was talking about.

She picked up her toothpaste and toothbrush and began brushing her teeth.

Although her apartment was downstairs, she preferred staying at Chu Ge's place, so she often came over to spend the night.

She had a room here, along with her daily necessities. It felt like home.

Of course, she also had a debt here: twenty-four and a half, still unpaid to this day.

After leaving the bathroom, Xiao Yan went to the dining table and saw the breakfast that was hers.

"At least you've got a bit of a conscience..."

A faint smile curved her lips, and she had already forgiven Chu Ge's rudeness in her heart.

Then she heard Chu Ge say:

"Don't misunderstand. That's payment for helping me test Blue Silver Grass."

"If you want breakfast tomorrow, make it yourself."

Xiao Yan: "..."

Damn.

She'd been touched for nothing.

Chu Ge, give me back my tears.

The awakening test for first-year high school admission lasted two days, and classes didn't officially start until the third day.

Today was the second day of testing, so there was no need to go to school.

After breakfast, Chu Ge headed out, going straight to the nearest martial arts school.

Martial arts schools were common on Blue Star, essentially another kind of school.

Regular schools taught theory; martial arts schools taught practical combat.

Chu Martial Arts School.

The name alone made it clear that it was a family business.

As soon as Chu Ge entered, the young woman at the front desk recognized him and greeted him sweetly:

"Hello, young master."

"Could you stop calling me young master?" Chu Ge looked at her helplessly. "Every time you say it, I feel like some utterly wicked remnant of feudalism."

"You're such a joker, young master." Xiao Lan giggled. "Where in the world would you find a remnant of feudalism as handsome as you?"

"...That's true enough."

"Then, young master, about making me a permanent employee?"

"...The young master doesn't handle that."

With that, Chu Ge walked deeper into the martial arts school.

Xiao Lan was left standing there alone in disarray.

Yep, her nose was red.

Chu Martial Arts Schools could be found throughout Huaxia, with quite a few branches overseas as well.

With Chu Ge's standing in the Chu Family, he could do more than make Xiao Lan a permanent employee; he could even give her this entire school without a problem.

But he wasn't an idiot.

A few flattering words were enough; hearing too many could go to his head.

He would rather be a rich second-generation heir who spent his days wining and dining than meddle in the family business.

Even over something as minor as making an employee permanent.

Once he opened that door, countless people would come looking for him afterward.

The Chu Family never treated its employees poorly.

If Xiao Lan had the ability, she could become more than a permanent employee; she could even become the school's director.

If she didn't, then it would have to be goodbye.

To borrow a line from an AI short drama:

Only by laying down firm rules can the road grow wider and stretch farther.