Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that he couldn’t possibly fool Old Mi with the same excuse he’d used on Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru. Of everyone in the Chu Estate, the one person who knew Zu An’s circumstances the best was none other than Old Mi. Old Mi knew that, only a month ago, Zu An had just been an ordinary human, and that his journey towards becoming a cultivator was only possible through the cultivation technique the the old man had imparted to him.

“How did you raise your cultivation so quickly?” Since Zu An was slow to respond, Old Mi repeated his question, his tone getting impatient.

“I think it’s because I’m still young, that’s why I’m cultivating a bit faster?” It took Zu An some effort to squeeze out an excuse.

However, Old Mi simply glared at him coldly, not bothering to respond.

Zu An’s face heated up. That excuse sounded ridiculous, even to him. He pondered once again before replying, “I entered the academy. The academy distributes ki stones to each of us to use in our cultivation. On top of that, the ki in the academy is much richer, so…”

Before he could finish, Old Mi cut in, “Even with ki stones, there’s no way you could have progressed that quickly. Besides, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra relies mainly on getting beaten up to raise your cultivation. Ki stones are of limited effectiveness to you.”

Zu An was surprised by that. Old Mi mentioned that ki stones were of limited effectiveness, not that they were completely useless. Yet, why didn’t he succeed the last time he tried?

He thought about how the Keyboard system had turned the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra into a series of formations within his body. Could it be that the way he was practicing the cultivation technique was different from how it was supposed to be, resulting in some divergence? Perhaps that meant that he could only raise his cultivation either through getting beaten up, or by consuming Ki Fruits.

He figured it wasn’t such a bad trade-off in the end, since Ki Fruits were much easier to obtain than ki stones. 

While Zu An was distracted, Old Mi had finally lost his patience. He reached out to grab Zu An’s hand to check on his condition personally.

Zu An had reveled in having defeated two experts in the dueling ring, but, to his astonishment, he couldn’t even dodge Old Mi’s casual grab. He tried to pull his arm away, but Old Mi’s viselike grip made it feel as though a metal claw had firmly latched on to him.

Zu An was alarmed. What the hell! Just how powerful is this old man? 

“Hm?” exclaimed Old Mi in surprise. He flicked his long fingernail against Zu An’s fingertip, creating a small incision. He squeezed out a small droplet of blood.

He brought the droplet of blood up to his nose for a sniff, and his body immediately jerked in shock. His eyes were full of disbelief as he looked at Zu An. “Transcendent class aptitude?”

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. He remembered Jiang Luofu’s warning about how he shouldn’t reveal his aptitude level to others. So, he feigned ignorance and said, “What transcendent class aptitude?”

However, Old Mi brushed his words aside and reached out to grab his collar. He looked at Zu An with heated eyes and asked anxiously, “What happened to you during this period of time? How did your aptitude suddenly rise by so much?”

He was certain that Zu An’s aptitude had only been at lower Ding a month ago. And yet, it had now risen to the legendary transcendent-class aptitude. How could he possibly not be surprised?

Zu An knew that it was impossible for him to hide it anymore, so he quickly cooked up an excuse. “I’m not too sure either. I think it might be related to that wild fruit I ate the last time I went into the outskirts of the city.”

“What wild fruit?” Old Mi inquired further. “What did it look like? Describe it to me.”

“Errr…” Zu An hesitated for a moment before continuing, “The fruit was oval in shape, and red on the outside. It was covered with scale-like protrusions with sharp tips. It had a thick and slightly waxy skin, and its flesh was red in color. There were lots of black bits embedded in its flesh…”

As he tried to picture the fruit based on Zu An’s description, Old Mi began murmuring under his breath. “Could it be the legendary Dhara Scales? No, that’s not right. The color of the flesh is a little different. Cold it be the Redcloud Divine Fruit then? The exterior looks different though. What could it possibly be…”

Zu An almost burst into laughter there and then. You’d be a god if you could guess it. That’s a dragonfruit from my previous life! I don’t think I’ve heard of it spoken of anywhere ever since I arrived in this world.

“It looks like you’ve stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter, obtaining a fruit that could alter your aptitude. However, it’s hard for me to imagine how a treasure of such a tier could be found in the Hidden Dragon Mountain,” said Old Mi.

Zu An chuckled in response, “I guess dumb people are compensated for by their luck.”

A frightening smile crawled its way onto Old Mi’s aged face. He patted Zu An’s shoulder and said, “Wonderful. The higher your aptitude, the more heartened I am.”

“Thank you for your concern, elder,” replied Zu An. He looked at his still-bleeding fingertip as he reassessed his evaluation of Old Mi. All along, he’d thought of Old Mi as a ‘grandfather gift pack’ accorded to newbie transmigrators to give them a leg up as they embarked on their journey. However, it seemed he was sorely mistaken. No one would selflessly impart their teachings to a stranger for no good reason… 

“You didn’t use the Sunflower Phantasm in the tournament today, did you?” asked Old Mi.

“I didn’t. I used the modified version you imparted to me, and it looks like it was more than enough.” Had he asked him about it before, Zu An might have just confessed that he had used a move from the Sunflower Phantasm at the very last instant in order to deal with Yuan Wenji. However, his trust in Old Mi was now on shaky ground.

“That’s good,” replied Old Mi with a nod. He harbored no doubts that his movement skill would be more than enough to deal with most low-level cultivators, and so he believed Zu An’s words wholeheartedly. “All right, you should get some rest.”

After saying those words, he began to stagger his way out. Despite his seemingly slow movements, it took only a few moments for him to completely vanish from view.

Zu An finally let out a long sigh of relief. Being in Old Mi’s presence always stressed him out terribly.

It looks like I need to prepare a countermeasure against Old Mi… 

A problem presented itself immediately. The pressure that Old Mi exerted on him was even greater than what Yuan Zhengchu and the others had given off when they had charged at him earlier today. Old Mi was, without a doubt, a powerful cultivator, and that made Zu An’s heart sink even further.

With a deep sigh, he closed his door.

As usual, he began by washing his hands and face. Now that he was a bit more well-to-do, he was even able to purchase fragrances and joss sticks in order to upgrade his ritual. As they say, the Goddess of Luck shines on those who are well-prepared. 

Once the preparations were made, Zu An dove into the lottery. He had accumulated a total of 58,835 Rage points thus far. Most of it had come from the ‘splash damage’ he had dealt upon the spectators. It was only fitting that a good performance had to be enjoyed by a huge audience!

Should I try to hug Jiang Luofu’s legs in public next time?

Zu An quickly dismissed that thought. While he would surely make a killing in terms of Rage points, he was pretty sure that he would be killed as well.

He drew the lottery as usual, but didn’t obtain anything special. He only managed to bag fifty-nine Ki Fruits, which was pretty disappointing, although it was within expectations. He swallowed all the Ki Fruits, which filled the fourth formation roughly a third of the way.

He let out a deeply resigned sigh. He was only at the fourth step of the third rank, yet the amount of Rage points needed to make a breakthrough was already astronomical. Racking up the Rage points necessary for subsequent breakthroughs seemed like an impossibility to him.

All of a sudden, someone knocked on his door, and Cheng Shouping’s fawning voice came through. “Young master, let’s go redeem the betting slip. It’s a million taels of silver!”

Zu An’s eyes immediately lit up, dispelling his low spirits in an instant. So many things had happened that this had nearly slipped his mind.

“Let’s go!”

Zu An charged out of the estate, only to swifty turn back around. “No, this won’t do. I need to find someone to accompany me.”

While his winnings this time around weren’t as exaggerated as what he had earned from the Silverhook Casino, it was still no small sum. The few guards from the Chu clan might not be enough to settle the matter. He needed to find a more reliable backing.

In the end, his wife was still the most reliable one of all. After the previous incident, she was well-versed in handling these gambling-related matters.

… 

In her own room, Chu Chuyan was in the midst of circulating her ki through her body to recuperate from her injuries. An unnatural redness suddenly colored her face, and she lurched forward abruptly, spurting out a mouthful of blood. To her distress, she noticed a few small shards of ice in the puddle of blood.

Confusion flickered across her face as she murmured in disbelief, “How could this be…”

“Honey, honey~” Just then, a familiar, light-hearted voice sounded from the outside.

With a wave of her sleeves, the puddle of blood vanished without a trace, just as Zu An barged right in. “Hm? Honey, what are you doing lying in bed in the middle of the day? Are you inviting me to join you?”

Chu Chuyan nearly choked. It’s almost as if this fellow is incapable of spouting anything good. “What are you doing here?”

Zu An said with a sheepish smile, “I want to invite you out for a walk.”

Chu Chuyan closed her eyes once more and replied placidly, “I’ll pass.”

She had been duped by Zu An the last time he’d asked her to walk with him, and ended up becoming a spectacle on the street. He was probably doing the same this time around just to satisfy his vanity.

“Err… All right, I’ll be honest with you. I’m heading down to a gambling den to collect my winnings, but I’m afraid that they might try to pull a fast one on me. I’ll feel more assured with you by my side,” said Zu An with a smile. “I’ll even split a portion of it with you!” 

“You went to gamble again?” Chu Chuyan’s eyes flew open, and she stuck Zu An with a displeased glare.

“It wasn’t a gamble; I’m just collecting school fees. You see, they actually dared to put out odds of one hundred-to-one against me! As an arithmetic teacher, I felt obliged to teach them some basic math by showing them what could happen in the case of a freak accident, which will drive home the importance of controlled risk-taking. It’s not like I’m taking a lot from them anyway,” answered Zu An vehemently.

“You can phrase it however you want to, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re gambling,” Chu Chuyan replied in a huff. “The Chu clan has strict rules against gambling. I already made an exception by following you to the Silverhook Casino the last time. There’s no way I’ll do it again.”

“At least do it on the account of the huge contribution that I’ve made to the Chu clan. I mean, instead of rewarding me for my accomplishments, you all ended up interrogating me instead. Now, you won’t even accompany me out for a walk. Hmph, it looks like there’s no point staying at the Chu clan anymore!” Zu An scoffed angrily before storming out.

“Where are you going?” Chu Chuyan asked in bewilderment, taken aback by Zu An’s sudden tantrum.

“I’m going to announce to the world that we’re divorcing one another!” Zu An waved his hand casually as he continued walking away without the slightest break in his step.

“Come back here!” Chu Chuyan cried out in alarm.

It hadn’t been easy for her to find a fitting husband to shield her from the other factions pursuing the Chu clan. If Zu An were to leave, how in the world was she going to find another one?

Besides, even if she could find someone who fit the criteria, surely she, as the proud First Miss of the Chu clan, couldn’t possibly marry twice! That would be hugely embarrassing for her, and would surely cause a scandal.

However, Zu An paid her no heed. He continued walking away as if he hadn’t heard her. Flustered, Chu Chuyan bit her lips and dashed ahead, planting herself in front of him to stop him. “Fine fine, I’ll accompany you, all right?”

“Really?” It was hard for Zu An to stop his lips from spreading upwards. He never expected that the usual tricks used by vixens in soap operas would be effective even for men. If he refuses, cry. If crying doesn’t work, throw a tantrum. If even throwing a tantrum doesn’t work, threaten him with your life!

“Of course!” replied Chu Chuyan. “Only this time!”

Zu An contemplated for a moment longer before adding, “I also want to sleep with you tonight. Otherwise, I’ll announce to the world that we’re divorcing one another!”

“Go ahead then!” Chu Chuyan eyed Zu An coldly.

Zu An nearly sputtered. Hey, you’re supposed to follow the script! “We don’t need to share a bed. Even just being in the same room is fine with me.”

Chu Chuyan turned around and walked off, saying, “If you don’t catch up, I won’t even bother going to the casino with you.”

“Wait a moment, does that mean that you’re agreeing to my request?”

“Shut up!”

… 

Having learned from her previous lesson, Chu Chuyan insisted on taking the carriage this time. It didn’t take them long to arrive at the entrance of the Four Seas Casino. This was where Cheng Shouping had made his bet the last time around.

“Go and redeem the prize,” Zu An passed the betting slip to Cheng Shouping and instructed.

“All right!” Cheng Shouping’s eyes immediately lit up. He was more than willing to do fun tasks like this. He puffed up his chest and walked up to the counter, smacking the betting slip down loudly. With a voice loud enough for everyone in the casino to hear, he shouted, “Manager, I’ve struck the lottery. Pay me my one million taels of silver!”

As expected, that immediately drew the attention of everyone in the casino.

The manager’s face darkened at once. He glanced at the person behind him before gritting his teeth. He took the betting slip and tore it into shreds, yelling, “Where did this swindler come from? How dare you bring us a fake betting slip to fool us? Men, chase him out!”