Zhuang Xun spent another half a day making sure his other clones could also utilize the Six Harmonies Force and the Heart Hibernation Technique.
Then, at noon the following day, he controlled Bai Yujing to walk over to the pond in the backyard.
Inside the pond swam two precious fish. One was as long as an arm, while the other was slightly smaller. Their scales were a brilliant white, reflecting a vibrant spectrum of colors under the midday sun.
These were apprentice-welcoming gifts presented by the Liang family half a month ago.
They were ten and nine years old, respectively.
At the time, Zhuang Xun did not have a high demand for panel points, so he had left the two precious fish in the pond. He figured that the older they grew, the more valuable they would become, essentially letting them accumulate interest like a compound investment.
However, since he had decided yesterday to take action against the Zhong family, he was now in urgent need of panel points. He had no choice but to eat one of them first.
Compared to younger precious meat, aged precious meat contained far more energy and was much more effective at stimulating the growth of flesh and blood.
For instance, if Zhuang Xun wanted to convert and obtain ten panel points:
Eating one-year-old precious fish would require him to consume ten of them and wait over ten days.
But eating a ten-year-old precious fish would only require a single fish and a single afternoon.
Zhuang Xun squatted down and flicked his finger against the surface of the water.
The two precious fish, whose eyes had been fixed on Bai Yujing all along, immediately swam over.
Zhuang Xun played with them with his fingers for a brief moment. Then, with a sudden flick of his wrist, he grabbed the fattest one, knocked it unconscious with the Six Harmonies Force, and brought it to the kitchen. He heated up some oil in a wok and prepared it into a delicious dish.
“Not bad, not bad. Home-raised really does taste the best.”
Zhuang Xun ate happily, lifting his chopsticks one bite after another.
Every mouthful of fish meat dissolved into a surge of majestic energy, merging into his blood qi and flowing toward his limbs, stimulating his body to grow rapidly.
After just a few bites, his stomach sent a signal of fullness.
Zhuang Xun opened the Character Creation Panel, selected his second clone, Bai Yujing, and began converting the energy into panel points.
As the newly grown flesh and blood in his body were drained away, the sensation of fullness vanished instantly. He raised his chopsticks and continued eating.
Two shichen later.
【Current Points: 33 → 43】
By this time, Bai Yujing's lips had turned slightly pale.
The rapid growth and conversion of flesh and blood might seem to leave the body unchanged on the surface, but it actually severely depleted one's vitality. This depletion could not be replenished by eating precious meat; it could only be restored through rest or by consuming precious herbs specifically meant to nourish vitality.
Fortunately, Zhuang Xun had just the thing.
He went down to the cellar, took out a wild ginseng root that had been gifted to him during his apprentice-welcoming ceremony, and chewed on it raw. Finding it a bit bitter, he grabbed a jar of honey to dip it in.
Before long, his complexion regained its original rosy color.
“Whew... back to life.”
The Character Creation Panel could not directly extract the energy from precious meat to convert into points; it required Zhuang Xun's body to act as a medium. Among all his bodies, Bai Yujing was the best medium.
Because his Skeletal Structure was at maximum value, he could achieve zero waste during the conversion.
This was also the reason why Zhuang Xun did not temporarily create a random clone just to convert points.
Unless the newly created clone also had a maximum Skeletal Structure attribute, a significant portion of the precious fish's energy would have gone to waste.
Dipping his wild ginseng in honey and chewing on it, Zhuang Xun began creating the Debt-Lending Bladesman.
—— Character Creation Panel ——
[Character 3 under creation]
[Name: Debt-Lending Bladesman]
[Age: 28]
[Realm: Eighth Rank]
[Skeletal Structure: 54/100 (Average Skeletal Structure)]
[Comprehension: 50/100 (Average Comprehension)]
[Charm: 76 (Superior)]
【Current Points: 43】
【Do you wish to consume 43 points to create Clone 3?】
【Tip: Once creation is confirmed, all attributes except for Realm cannot be modified.】
Raising his strength from One Stone to Nine Stones consumed eight points; promoting his realm to Ninth Rank and Eighth Rank consumed ten and twenty points respectively; his Skeletal Structure and Comprehension had a base value of fifty, and adding four points to Skeletal Structure required four points; and creating the clone itself required an additional point—totaling forty-three points.
After verifying that everything was correct, Zhuang Xun tapped to confirm.
Forty-three crimson light orbs drifted out of Bai Yujing's body, slowly coalescing a few meters ahead into a lean-faced man with a short stubble on his chin.
Zhuang Xun controlled the man to retrieve a dark black scholar-warrior robe from the wardrobe and put it on in front of a full-length bronze mirror.
The moment he put on the bamboo hat, the man's brows in the mirror furrowed slightly, and his once clear eyes turned cold and ruthless.
“Tonight, the Debt-Lending Bladesman joins the hunt.”
Zhuang Xun flicked the hem of his robe and strode out.
As the Chief Disciple, he was naturally familiar with the patrol schedule and layout of the martial academy.
Back when he had casually mentioned wanting to learn more about the academy, those eager to curry favor with him had immediately handed over all the details.
Because of its steep terrain and isolated location, the secluded cliff where he resided happened to be a blind spot for the academy's patrols.
Zhuang Xun took down a grappling hook hidden on the ceiling beam, wrapped it coil by coil around his forearm, hid it under his sleeve, and then held down his bamboo hat with one hand as he leaped off the cliff.
His body plummeted rapidly, the fierce wind whipping his hair and robe.
When he was still a hundred meters from the ground, Zhuang Xun threw out the grappling hook, which caught onto a protruding rock with pinpoint accuracy. His body, which had been about to crash onto the ground, suddenly rebounded upward.
He reeled in the hook, landed lightly on the ground, and with a light tap of his toes, leaped onto a treetop. Darting through the forest canopy, he slipped away from the martial academy without a sound.
Just as darkness fell, Zhuang Xun arrived at a steep slope outside Zechuan City. Peering through the leaves, he watched the soldiers patrolling the city walls.
On this trip, he planned to visit an old acquaintance to gather detailed intelligence on the Zhong family before deciding how to strike.
Zhuang Xun pulled his bamboo hat lower and activated the Heart Hibernation Technique, rendering his entire presence as inconspicuous as a stone.
He slid down the steep slope, threw out his grappling hook mid-descent to catch a battlement, and soared over the city wall like a passing shadow.
The soldiers on both sides noticed absolutely nothing.
Landing on the street, he slipped into a dark alley on the left like a ghost. He sped through the darkness until he arrived outside the grand estate of a wealthy family.
Looking at the gold characters spelling out “Cao Manor” written in a flamboyant hand on the vermilion gates, an inscrutable smile appeared in Zhuang Xun's eyes.
He scaled the courtyard wall, navigated the familiar path to the backyard study, and knocked on the door. Then, he turned around and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Inside the study, the sound of rustling pages suddenly ceased.
After a moment, a broad silhouette crossed the paper window lit by candlelight. The door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy lord stepped out with a frown.
Seeing no one in front of him, the man instinctively looked to the side.
At that exact moment, Zhuang Xun suddenly reached out, grabbed his face, and pushed him step by step back into the study.
“Long time no see, Hunter Shen... Oh, I forgot. I should be calling you Master Cao now.”
As his hoarse voice echoed, the candlelight flickered across the corners of Zhuang Xun's smiling lips and lingered on his cold, ruthless eyes, which were half-hidden beneath the bamboo hat.
“Mmph!”
Seeing that Shen Zhi could not speak, Zhuang Xun lightly released his grip.
Shen Zhi immediately stumbled backward, his face twitching as he gritted his teeth and said, “Debt-Lending Bladesman! You said that once that matter was settled last time, we would be even and you would never come looking for me again!”
Zhuang Xun casually admired his metal gauntlets. “Under Zechuan City's laws, colluding with bandits is punishable by the execution of one's entire family. Surely the lives of Master Cao's family are not so cheap. How could a single task possibly be enough?”
He lowered his hands, met Shen Zhi's gaze, and smiled. “This secret of yours will feed me for the rest of my life.”
“You!”
Seeing Shen Zhi's furious yet fearful expression, a wave of satisfaction washed over Zhuang Xun.
His history with Shen Zhi was neither too complex nor too simple.
To put it simply, a wet-behind-the-ears newcomer had met a seemingly kind senior who offered to show him the ropes, only to wake up one day and find himself sold by that same senior to mountain bandits as a mine slave.
When the newcomer eventually "deleted his account and restarted," he had finally tracked down his betrayer for revenge, only to discover that the man had already washed his hands of the underworld and was living peacefully with his wife and children.
And so, he used the Fire Punch on him...
No, rather, it was a story of using the classic Japanese trope of “You wouldn't want...” to threaten him into doing his bidding.
Rate on N.U.
