After some banter back and forth, Xu Feng recounted the events to Zhao Kai, albeit with a shorter version and detail.
Instead of revealing the fact that he had slain multiple drakes, Xu Feng merely revealed that he got lucky when he climbed up a cliff and gathered the necessary pyrite materials.
During the relay of the event, Zhao Kai's reaction was a mixture of shock and awe.
"What the hell? You can climb in this world?" Zhao Kai exclaimed in astonishment.
"Do you need like an actual climbing experience to do that? Fuck, should I sign up for a rock-climbing lesson to practice in advance then?" He asked, having multiple questions when he learned of Xu Feng's deed.
"You don't really need to sign up for a lesson, but I suppose it's not bad to do so." Xu Feng knitted his brows and responded.
A few seconds later though, Xu Feng shook his head and rejected the idea.
"Actually— there's no need to sign up for those lessons because they wouldn't know how to teach you properly."
"Oh, and you know how to teach me~" Zhao Kai flashed a smug smile and stared at Xu Feng.
"Free of charge, right?"
A deadpan expression instantly appeared on Xu Feng's face, and without even needing an answer, Zhao Kai knew it by heart.
"You are really one stingy man, Feng." Zhao Kai scoffed, finding him to be very unbelievable.
However, Xu Feng shrugged his shoulders. "It's not called being stingy, but being frugal and wise. Money doesn't grow on trees, so I need to work very hard to make a living, especially for someone all alone."
Speechless, Zhao Kai was unable to rebuke his statement, otherwise it would be seen as him being inconsiderate.
Frustrated, he scratched his head and glared at Xu Feng, "You always use that trick to retaliate when you're in a tough spot. Can't you use other tricks?"
"A trick might be old, but as long as it's effective, then that's all it matters." Xu Feng grinned, not feeling any shame in using his pitiful background as leverage against Zhao Kai.
Sure, his illegitimate status was pitiful, but at the very least, he got a great eldest sister to support him as opposed to his condition.
"Anyway, we should head to the Shadow Wolves area and gather the final material." Xu Feng suddenly said.
"You've been practicing a standstill monster all along, and now it's time to upgrade it to live—moving monsters." He added, increasing the difficulty of his training.
It was just a shame that Zhao Kai's next words nearly caused Xu Feng to strangle him.
"Um, Feng, about that. We still need to gather more Ironwood Treant Barks." Zhao Kai smiled sheepishly and explained, taking a few steps back.
Stunned on the spot, Xu Feng took a deep breath and massaged his neck softly. "Speak, did you only focus on that Ironwood Treant to practice and not bothered in killing any others?"
"Well, they're tough to find and I didn't feel like searching for a new one." Zhao Kai replied, retreating a few more steps.
And he continued, "So instead of wasting time to search for another disguised monster, I just waited for one to slowly recover while using that time to ponder my mistake."
Zhao Kai believed he was going to get scolded or bashed, but Xu Feng merely sighed and rubbed his temples.
With an exhausted tone, Xu Feng subsequently questioned, "So how many Ironwood Treant Barks are we missing in total?"
There wasn't an immediate response, given Zhao Kai began counting with his fingers silently.
When Xu Feng saw his counting reach five fingers before he restarted again, he was already ready for the bad news. At the same time, he realized it was a mistake to teach Zhao Kai early on.
'I should have told him about the critical flesh points after he gathered all the Ironwood Treant Barks.' He blamed himself silently.
Had he done this instead, then Zhao Kai would be the only one suffering, but the mission would have been completed.
'But if I think that way, then did I just curse myself for being weak?' Stunned, Xu Feng decided to let it go and forgive Zhao Kai.
Just earlier, he had thought that anyone who would feel pity, regret, and sympathy were weak people. Thus, how could he feel regretful about this matter?
He facepalmed and exclaimed, "Alright, stop finger counting and just tell me how much we are missing. I'm not angry, okay."
"A-Are you sure?"
"Yes, but I will be angry if you continue to stall for time."
Right as soon as Xu Feng said that, Zhao Kai stood up straight, fixed his posture, and revealed, "We are missing 23 Ironwood Treant Barks."
"So you did finish counting a while ago." Xu Feng rolled his eyes, and raised his leg, seemingly trying to give him a kick.
However, Zhao Kai was rather slick and had distanced himself already.
"Ahem, you said you won't be angry." He then shouted, warning Xu Feng to not go back on his word.
"Yes, I said I won't be angry. But I never said I wouldn't kick you now, did I?" Xu Feng smiled gently.
Upon seeing that disgusting friendly smile, Zhao Kai flinched for a bit, his spine felt a cold chill.
'Why am I even more afraid here than in real life?' He wondered silently, unsure of why he felt so threatened by Xu Feng. It was just a great pity that his perception increased due to the training Xu Feng had given him which resulted in such a change.
Previously, Zhao Kai was no different than the average player in the Divine World, but with his perception heightened, he could now subtly detect Xu Feng was concealing a fearsome presence.
After all, Xu Feng had been baptized in the Holy Sanctuary, and a baptized player was naturally more dangerous than the average norms.
'At least this Kai didn't waste my effort in the demonstration.' Pleased, Xu Feng was satisfied that Zhao Kai could subtly sense his looming danger compared to before.