Chapter 41: Chapter 36: Tail
“Are you, ready to learn Fist Techniques?”
Tao Yu ran to the front of Smith just as the dojo was about to finish teaching for the day, leaving the latter completely bewildered.
He had planned to let Tao Yu take three days to get familiarized at an Accelerated pace, but how much Yuan Force had he used? Was he really that rich?
Yuan Force Acceleration was a great thing, but the faster the Acceleration, the lower the cost-effectiveness…
“I want to master all five Fist Techniques before heading to the Abyss, to increase my survival ability as much as possible.”
Tao Yu stated bluntly, causing Smith to pause for a moment before sighing,
“I know that you mastered the Stance Skill after just three tries, your Talent is truly high, but since they even went to the trouble of streamlining an introductory Skill for the five Fist Techniques, it indicates how difficult these techniques are. With your talent, mastering one or two techniques in a month should be feasible, but all five is too forced.”
“I want to try.”
Tao Yu insisted.
He knew Smith meant well, because a fellow student with a scarred face had said before that one should at least reach level 4 in all five Fist Techniques to attempt their mutual integration and stabilize Qi-Blood.
Even if he were to hastily master the basics of all five Fist Techniques, the cost-effectiveness might actually be worse than specializing in a single Fist Technique.
Such an Ability, even needing a Skill specially simplified as a prerequisite, would inevitably consume more Yuan Force for acceleration.
But Tao Yu himself possessed Deification abilities, regardless of the specifics, better to master the basics and form the Skill first…
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“Alright, I’ll let you try. You’ll change your mind when the time comes. It’s already late today, let’s start tomorrow.”
“Okay, thank you, Brother Smith.”
Zhang Wei and others, equally exhausted, were now looking on with envy.
They couldn’t afford things like Qi-tonic Soup, it was too extravagant, and they were already extremely tired.
And now, not only had Tao Yu already mastered the Stance Skill, but he was also speeding up with the aid of Qi-tonic Soup, and now he was going straight to learn Fist Techniques?
The disparity was simply too great…
If it were someone from the Inner City, surpassing the peak of an Outsider from the start wouldn’t be surprising, with their massive accumulated resources, that they could purchase with money.
But these are all Outsiders, the contrast was indeed a bit striking…
…
“The dojo is still quite generous, even giving out uniforms for free.”
Tao Yu looked at the grey training clothes in his hand and sighed internally.
The material was very rudimentary, potentially abrasive if worn directly, but its primary feature was durability.
Even so, this was the best piece of clothing Tao Yu had ever owned.
Heaven knows how uncomfortable the fabric of his underwear had been for the past eighteen years, to the point of causing calluses.
When they registered, they provided their height and weight, and everyone received a set on their way out to go home—quite an efficient process.
But if you wanted a second set, you’d have to pay for it yourself, costing 10 units of Yuan Force.
The expenses of this dojo were truly high for the Outer City, yet the cost-performance ratio of each item was actually quite good.
The same was true for Qi-tonic Soup and medicinal ointments.
Tao Yu had also purchased two jars of ointment, which indeed had an effect of stimulating circulation and could be used while practicing.
With the augmented auxiliary Abilities of Deification, Tao Yu also had a basic understanding of these ointments.
“The ingredients are unknown, but if I could learn the craft of making these medicines to earn money, that would be really sweet.”
Because of his Deification of auxiliary Skills, Tao Yu had a rough idea about the Qi-tonic Soup and ointments.
The Qi-tonic Soup should be a type of medicinal porridge, made by simmering a certain creature’s innards, herbs, and staple food in a specific ratio, perhaps from some particular company’s breeding grounds for Wish-Powered Creatures.
The ointment would likely be similar to a horse balm, probably also made from some Yuan Force creatures.
It wouldn’t be surprising for company conglomerates to have mature industrial systems in place with various industries.
As for the new conglomerates in this area, who knew how they managed.
“Uh, maybe they farm Aliens?”
Tao Yu mused, and come to think of it, the characteristic of Aliens rapidly breeding through parasitizing ordinary animals was indeed quite suitable for breeding.
Although excluding the value of Skills, each creature was just twenty units of Yuan Force, but the difference lay in their numbers.
However, it was foreseeable that even if the company really did manage to breed Aliens and the number of Aliens increased, the company would definitely control the flow of Skills, preferring to convert any surplus directly into pure Yuan Force rather than undercut their own prices.
“There’s also the Blood Orchid, Li Le probably has channels to find people, and I also sold it to Manager Liu, who should use the valley as a cultivation field once things stabilize.”
Although it was highly unlikely that Blood Orchids could be artificially cultivated, and could only be harvested periodically with long intervals between years, the effects were undeniable. Even if the habits of the Blood Orchid were to be figured out, they still wouldn’t give up…
Tao Yu merrily thought about this while also turning off into a small alley from the city’s fort.
The so-called alley was actually two makeshift buildings erected outside the city fort, attempting to take advantage of the protection of the city’s high tower turrets, with wastewater overflowing on the ground.
As soon as Tao Yu entered the alley, he suddenly accelerated and started running, darting between the disorganized buildings of the Outer City, with a burst of speed surpassing that of Bolt, causing shouts of surprise from the passersby he occasionally encountered.
“Yuck, you trying to kill me? You kicked shit right onto my face, yuck!”
“What the hell?”
“You tryna run somebody over…”
“…”
The already chaotic and filthy environment of the Outer City immediately burst into complaints after Tao Yu made his escape.
If it weren’t for Tao Yu’s speedy getaway, clearly not to be trifled with, there might have been some who would have started a fight.
In the Outer City, there were some basic rules in place, but the Security Team wouldn’t intervene in trivial matters, and many areas’ order was even dominated by gangs.
After Tao Yu’s gleeful escape, two figures that had been lingering at the entrance to the city fort quickly followed suit. Although they were not as fast as Tao Yu, their speed was not much slower!
But they had been left behind by Tao Yu from the very beginning, having started a beat too late. After chasing and realizing they had lost him, they spat viciously.
“Damn it, why’s he running so fast?”
“Looks like he wasn’t lying about eating all those flowers, indeed, that’s the only way it makes sense.”
Both individuals were dressed like typical Outsiders, but the speed they had previously displayed was certainly no weak feat.
After glaring fiercely around at the crowd with unfriendly eyes to avoid a sneak attack, the two quickly left the area as well.
However, just after the two left, Tao Yu slowly emerged from the shadows of an alley behind them, watching the backs of the two with a somewhat profound gaze.
“I wasn’t being paranoid after all. They came after me on the second day, so impatient.”
The very next morning, he had come to the Hound’s Fort, then sold items and learned Skills.
These two had stayed outside the fort without coming in, so they were likely carrying weapons.
Regardless of which side they were from, they were definitely related to the Blood Orchid, with a slight chance they were from Manager Liu’s side, but a greater likelihood they were either Li Le or someone contacted by Li Le.
However, their surveillance was completely evident in front of his Dynamic Vision; that peripheral glance at him and the slight changes in their facial expressions were all too obvious to Tao Yu.
“Not from the Security Team, which is a lot better than the worst-case scenario,” Tao Yu murmured in his mind.
If they really had enough power to roll over him blatantly in broad daylight, with the Security Team on his face, Tao Yu would have no choice but to cooperate obediently, act docile, and give whatever was requested, provided he didn’t want to flee into the mists of the Abyss.
To survive by any means necessary! To endure humiliation and bear a heavy load, even playing the role of a dog if need be!
But this kind of shadowing indicated it wasn’t that severe.
Perhaps they were also considering Uncle Hu’s involvement, or maybe Li Le’s reach was just limited.
Tao Yu even suspected they didn’t know he had already traded some information at the recycling station.
Tsk. Just one was a bit too precarious; he should’ve given away some free information at the dojo as well. He hadn’t considered thoroughly enough.
“Right now, I’m still all elbows and knees, and Uncle Hu’s backing isn’t thick enough. I can only try to find leverage where I can…”
Tao Yu didn’t consider himself to be particularly smart, but he knew the pig paths of the networked world, where many truths were quite straightforward.
When one’s personal power is insufficient, they must try to shift interests and alliances.
If one recycling station isn’t enough, include the dojo too.
After all, free information cost nothing to give away, and it could curry some favor…
Looking up at the sky, although it was always gray and blurry, it was clearly becoming darker, signaling the approach of night. Tao Yu quickened his steps.
Let’s hope there won’t be any surprise attacks at night.
The more than ten thousand Yuan Force he had left was useful, and it would be best not to waste it on recovery…