Chapter 67: Don’t Cause Unnecessary Trouble
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The next day, Han Zhao went to the Mountain Shaking Fist Academy early and told Lu Yi that he was going out for the next period of time.
Lu Yi scolded him jokingly and told him not to die outside.
In this world, life and death were determined by fate, and wealth depended on people.
After Han Zhao left the martial arts school, he went to the Xu residence in the inner city and gave the remaining three catties of Black Ink Demon Snake jerky to Xu Ling.
“Junior Brother Han, be careful. Come back early.” When Xu Ling learned that Han Zhao was going out, she didn’t ask further and only looked at him with concern.
“Okay.” Han Zhao smiled and reached out his fingertips to gently pat Xu Ling’s cheek. However, when he touched her chubby face, he couldn’t help but pinch it.
“You have to cultivate hard during this period of time. It would be best if you can directly break through to the Blood Tempering Realm. If you can’t, don’t be anxious. You can practice that first.”
Han Zhao blinked at Xu Ling.
“I… Yes!” When Xu Ling heard him say ‘that’, she reacted. Although she was a little shy, she still agreed.
“Let’s go!”
Han Zhao turned around and left, waving his hand behind him.
…
One and a half months later.
Jade Wind City’s Myriad Treasure Pavilion, in a room on the fourth floor.
Fang Ling placed a long wooden box on the table.
He opened the box and saw that there was a small wooden board in the middle of the box. There were fist-sized pitch-black stones in the large area on the left, and some colorful ores in the small area on the right.
All of these added up to about 30 to 40 catties.
“Brother Ding, these are the 30 catties of black gold you wanted. There’s also a small amount of black iron, refined iron, and so on. They’re all here.”
Fang Ling picked up the ores in the wooden box and displayed them one by one. Then, he took out a scale and weighed them in front of him.
This time, in order to purchase materials for Ding Xiu, the Fang family spent a lot of effort just to deepen their relationship with Ding Xiu.
When Han Zhao heard this, he said seriously, “Thank you, Manager Fang. I’ll remember the Fang family’s favor. I don’t like to be superficial. In a few years, when I reach the Greater Mastery of Force Tempering, if the Fang family needs anything, you can look for me.”
“Brother Ding, you’re being too serious. Our Fang family opens our doors to do business. We love to befriend young heroes like you.”
Fang Ling couldn’t help but smile when he heard him say that he would be able to reach the Greater Mastery of Force Tempering in a few years. His smile became even brighter.
“This is the balance of the purchase of the ore. Supervisor Fang, please count it.” Han Zhao took out 40 banknotes with 100 denominations.
Supervisor Fang took the banknotes and only roughly squeezed the thickness. He did not count them. Instead, he returned ten banknotes.
“Since Brother Ding treats our Fang family as friends, the cost price this time is enough.”
Fang Ling smiled.
“In that case, it’s impolite for me to refuse.” Han Zhao took the banknote and couldn’t help but sigh.
Back then, in order to earn an additional tael of silver every month, he had taught the children in the commoner district for half a year. Now, one face was worth more than a thousand taels.
“Brother Ding, are you preparing to forge a high-quality weapon? Our Fang family knows a few masters with exquisite forging skills. If you need help, we can help.”
Fang Ling changed the topic and probed.
When Han Zhao heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he quickly reacted.
“I appreciate the Fang family’s kindness, but this time, Thirteenth Miss has already found an old master in the family to forge a weapon for me.”
“I see. The masters here are indeed not worth mentioning compared to the Ji family.” Fang Ling laughed.
Han Zhao knew that this answer was not completely satisfactory to him, so he added,
“I’m now permanently stationed in Yuan Chang County. I often move around Jade Wind City, Jiayuan City, and Blackrock City because of some missions. If there’s a chance for cooperation next time, I’ll prioritize the Fang family.”
“In that case, I wish us a happy cooperation!” Fang Ling was beaming.
He could basically confirm that Ding Xiu was a member of the Ji family. After all, only a descendant of an aristocratic family could take out a complete Internal Force martial art to sell at the Blood Tempering Realm and spend seven to eight thousand taels of silver to forge a weapon.
Even Fang Ling himself, other than some businesses, could only take out tens of thousands of taels of silver. He was a martial artist at the Greater Mastery of Force Tempering.
Fang Ling was worried that after they paid and worked hard, this Ding Xiu would return to Heavenly Prefecture’s Great Liang City. Then, no matter how strong he was in the future, it would not have much to do with their Fang family.
this level, they will definitely know of the existence of our aristocratic family.”
“The only people who dare to not give the Ji family face are the members of the five aristocratic However, if Ding Xiu stayed in Yuan Chang County permanently, there would definitely be a chance to cooperate in the future.
“Manager Fang, I’m in a hurry to return to the clan to forge weapons, so I’ll take my leave first.” Han Zhao bade farewell.
“Brother Ding, you brought so many precious materials. Do you need us to send someone to escort you for a while?”
Fang Ling suggested. His words were sincere. He wanted to befriend Ding Xiu further.
“There’s no need for that. I don’t care about the Blood Tempering Realm at all. I have a way to deal with ordinary Force Tempering Martial Masters.” Han Zhao’s expression was ‘pretty smug’.
“Of course, although I can’t deal with an expert among Martial Masters like you, Manager Fang, at this level, they will definitely know of the existence of our aristocratic family.”
“The only people who dare to not give the Ji family face are the members of the five aristocratic families. However, they won’t attack me for just 10,000 taels of silver.”
“Brother Ding is right.” A smile appeared on Fang Ling’s face again.
There were not many martial artists who knew that Great Wei had five Spirit Beast Families and ten Divine Weapon Families.
At such a young age, Ding Xiu knew when to advance and retreat. His words and actions were watertight. Even if he was not from an aristocratic family, he would still be a hero among men in the future and was worth befriending.
“Manager Fang, see you again.” Han Zhao lifted the strap on the wooden box and carried it on his back.
“Brother Ding, I’ll send you off.”
Fang Ling sent Han Zhao downstairs and arrived at the entrance.
“Manager Fang, please wait.” Han Zhao gestured for Fang Ling not to send him off.
“Who is this person? He actually got the Fang family’s Martial Master to personally send him off?”
“Judging from his age, he’s probably a descendant of a large family, right?”
“Which family is so powerful? They’re from the prefecture capital?!”
Everyone in the hall discussed animatedly. Han Zhao rushed towards the Datong Bank in the city without changing his expression.
The Fang family was indeed not bad. If there was a chance in the future, he could use the alias ‘Ding Xiu’ to cooperate.
Originally, he had to spend nearly 8,000 taels of silver to buy the materials this time. Now, he only used 7,000 taels of silver.
He still had 7,000 taels of silver left.
Since he was already here, he would exchange for some gold to top up.
…
“System, charge.”
[Current Balance: 320 taels of gold]
After leaving Jade Wind City, Han Zhao charged all the 300 taels of gold he had exchanged. He still had 3,800 taels of silver left.
Then, he circulated his Life Nurturing True Qi and hurried on.
It took him an entire afternoon to run back from Jade Wind City to Nine Links Mountain. He basically did not rest much during the journey.
In the evening, Han Zhao rushed to Nine Links Mountain and sent the materials he bought to Edge Sharpening Manor, personally handing them to Zhu Kangsheng.
That was because Zhu Kangsheng had to refine the ores in advance to prepare for forging. When Han Zhao sent the Qi Xing head over, he would definitely be able to open the furnace immediately.
When Han Zhao walked out of Edge Sharpening Manor, he realized that someone was secretly staring at him in the corner.
He paid attention. After returning home, he focused his attention on the system interface.
[Collected 120 Notification Fragments. Do you want to synthesize the Trait?]
[Each synthesis will consume 35 Notification Fragments and 20 taels of gold.]
[You will definitely obtain a one-time Basic Trait, Life Simulation. The probability of obtaining a White Trait will increase by 7%. The probability of obtaining a Green Trait will increase by 5%. The probability of obtaining a Blue Trait will increase by 4%. The probability of obtaining a Purple Trait will increase by 3%. The probability of obtaining an Orange Trait will increase by 2%.]
A month and a half ago, his Life Nurturing Technique had broken through. It was equivalent to the second Blood Qi Breakthrough of an external cultivation technique, so the price of synthesis had increased.
This time, it increased by 10 taels, but the probability of Orange Trait appearing increased by 2%.
During this period of time, he had already accumulated 120 notification fragments. There was still a quarter of the Yin energy accumulated by the Essence Soul Bead in Taoyuan Village, so he estimated that he had about 50 fragments left.
The Essence Soul Bead could automatically accumulate Yin energy and produce about 20 fragments every half a year.
Considering that there was a chance of a high-level Trait appearing from the ten consecutive draws, he wanted to save up enough fragments to synthesize ten times.
However, the materials he bought this time were expensive. He had to simulate them to ensure their safety.
“Synthesize. Beginning simulation.”
[19 years old. Returned from Jade Wind City and handed the forging materials to Zhu Kangsheng.]
[After returning to Blackrock City, you discovered that Zhang Tianwen had already broken through to the Blood Tempering Realm.]
[Five days later, Zhang Tianwen’s performance was not bad in the martial arts school competition.]
[A month later, Zhu Kangsheng sent a message to tell you that Qi Xing would head to Nine Links Town every 30 to 40 days. There were still about 30 days until his next trip to Nine Links Town.]
[Another month later, Zhu Kangsheng sent someone to inform you to go to Edge Sharpening Manor. When you arrived at Edge Sharpening Manor, you found that Zhu Kangsheng had been tortured. It was horrific, but he did not betray you.]
[At this moment, Qi Xing and another Blood Tempering Realm martial artist appeared and attacked you. You easily suppressed the two of them. Just as you were about to kill the two of them, Meng Zhi of the Meng family appeared and blocked your fatal strike.]
[You fought one against three and still had the upper hand.]
[Suddenly, the Meng family’s Force Tempering Martial Master appeared and ambushed you from behind, severely injuring you.]
[You fought one against four and killed three people first. In the end, you used the Sword Drawing Technique and perished with the Meng family’s Martial Master.]
“It seems that the frequent contact with Zhu Kangsheng has aroused the vigilance of the Flying Dragon Stockade. However, why is the Meng family involved?”
Han Zhao’s expression darkened.
“Could it be that these materials worth thousands of taels are too tempting? Or do they have a share in the Flying Dragon Stockade?”
[The simulation is over. You can choose one of the following.]
[1: Obtain Trait (Selectable)]
[2: Obtained attribute points]
[3: Obtain any part of the life experience.]
[Current Balance: 300 taels of gold]
“There’s a Trait?” Han Zhao was stunned when he saw that [Option 1] was available.
“First, I’ll break through to the second Blood Qi Breakthrough. Then, I’ll increase my blood qi by two times to increase my combat strength.”
Han Zhao pondered for a moment and made a decision.
“Since there are still two months to buffer, let’s deal with the person who caused the trouble in advance to prevent unnecessary trouble.”
Han Zhao muttered to himself, “Delay Option 1. I choose Option 2.”
[Attribute Points +8]