"What do you mean?"

Chen Che’s expression didn’t change.

"Owner, please understand!"

The man with the vertical scar slowly rose and cupped his hands.

"Any Cultivator, even if they don’t have a photographic memory, still has far better recall than an ordinary person."

"And as everyone knows, Cultivation Techniques are not to be shared lightly. Although you only looked at two pages, Owner, you must have memorized some of the content. For us, that constitutes a loss."

As he spoke, the other two Cultivators standing in the backyard also uncrossed their arms and stared over coldly.

"So..."

Chen Che glanced at the two and frowned.

"If you think it’s too expensive, Owner, we can negotiate the price."

"But if you truly don’t want to buy it, we won’t force you. We just ask that you compensate the three of us brothers for our loss. Don’t worry, Owner, we’re all respectable people. We won’t be unreasonable—five Spirit Stones will suffice."

The man with the vertical scar said with a beaming smile.

"In other words, you’re extorting me?"

Chen Che suddenly understood. So, he’d run into scammers.

In reality, the first two pages were mostly an introduction with very little actual cultivation content, yet they were using it as a basis for extortion.

Moreover, seeing how they were respectful at first, only to turn hostile later—and with such practiced ease—they had likely done this many times before.

"You exaggerate, Owner."

The man with the vertical scar didn’t deny it. "But if you insist on seeing it that way, then so be it!"

If their target were powerful, they would have backed off and left without another word. But since this one looked like an easy target, they decided to squeeze him for what they could. After all, he wouldn’t kill them over a few Spirit Stones. Many merchants in this situation would just accept their bad luck and pay for peace and quiet.

And if he tried to retaliate later, they had ways to deal with it. After all, the barefooted aren’t afraid of those who wear shoes.

"If you were going to try and scam me, you should have just said so. I have urgent business to attend to, and you’re wasting my time!"

Chen Che suddenly laughed.

"You’re a straightforward one, Owner!"

The man with the vertical scar didn’t understand, but seeing Chen Che laugh, he laughed along.

Just as he thought Chen Che was about to pay, Chen Che suddenly made a grabbing motion with his backhand. Before the man could react...

ZING!

A flash of Sword Aura streaked past.

CRACK!

A crisp snap rang out.

To the astonishment of the other two Cultivators, the water vat in the yard suddenly split in two, and water gushed out.

At the same time, the scarred man’s body shuddered. His torso slid apart from his legs as he was cleaved in two, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

The smile hadn’t even faded from his face.

"Big Brother!"

"Let’s get him! Avenge Big Brother!"

The other two Cultivators cried out in alarm, clearly not expecting Chen Che to attack so suddenly.

With roars of anger, they both lunged at Chen Che.

The flash of the sword appeared again.

In an instant, two heads went flying.

"The atmosphere in this Otherworld is truly terrible!"

Chen Che slowly sheathed his sword.

...

In the front shop, Zhao Deyou stared toward the backyard, his heart filled with anxiety.

"Master Ding, those men didn’t look like good people. They’re likely Overseas Dragons from Chi State."

As they say, the face is the mirror of the heart.

Though their words and actions were flattering, they still revealed a thuggish air from time to time.

They didn’t seem like the easy-to-deal-with type.

"The owner went in with them. Do you think something will happen?"

"One of them is at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, and the other two are at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. If they cause trouble, we won’t be able to handle it."

"And I heard the Market hasn’t been safe lately. There have been several massacres where entire families were wiped out! They still haven’t found the killer. Master Hu’s side is still investigating..."

Zhao Deyou was extremely worried.

Just then, a sudden clamor came from inside, which even included the ring of a sword.

But it vanished just as quickly.

Ding Fei’s expression changed.

"This is bad! Hurry and get Hu Yao! Tell him..."

He’s a disciple of Jinyun Valley; he can definitely handle these Overseas Dragons.

Before he could finish his sentence, a voice suddenly called from the inner courtyard, "Ding Fei, Zhao Deyou..."

The two men, who had been discussing fetching reinforcements, were startled by the call and hurried to the backyard.

Pushing open the door, they saw Chen Che sitting there unharmed, still flipping through a book. The three Cultivators who had entered earlier were now in pieces.

Seeing this, Zhao Deyou didn’t dare to breathe a word.

He only heard Chen Che say nonchalantly, "Clean this up."

"Yes!"

Ding Fei was already used to this.

Most Loose Cultivators were adept at destroying corpses and erasing all traces. Although Ding Fei’s cultivation was low, he had secretly done this kind of work before.

Seeing this, Zhao Deyou also prepared to help.

But he was immediately stopped.

"Do you recognize this? I found it among the Moon White Ginger Flowers you were processing."

Chen Che closed the *Bright Moon Heart Nourishing Scripture* in his hand and held out a leaf of a Yingyue Flower.

The moment Zhao Deyou saw it, cold sweat broke out on his brow.

"Forgive me, Owner!"

Mistaking a Medicinal Herb was a major offense.

He had worked so hard to find a job here that could feed his family, only to make such a mistake.

If he had caused a major loss, the owner could have punished him however he saw fit. Even if he were beaten to death, no one would question it; they would just think he deserved it.

"The Market is full of all sorts of people lately, with many selling Medicinal Herbs. It’s inevitable that some will try to pass off fakes. You must be more careful and cautious."

The mistake had led to the discovery of the Yingyue Flower, which was a point in Zhao Deyou’s favor, but it didn’t erase the error itself. "This is the first time, so I’ll let it slide. If there’s a next time, you can get out!"

"Thank you, Owner!"

Zhao Deyou quickly bowed.

"Also, put up a sign. Start buying up Yingyue Flowers."

"Yes, Owner!"

...

Meanwhile, after Ding Fei finished dealing with the bodies, he handed over a Storage Pouch.

Owning a Storage Pouch meant that this group was among the more successful Loose Cultivators.

He opened it and looked inside.

Inside were over forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, half a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, a bottle of Body Nourishing Pills, a bottle of Antitoxic Pills, and several Secret Manual Techniques.

The total value was nearly two hundred Spirit Stones.

Unfortunately, there was nothing particularly special.

’These guys were loaded. They probably weren’t your average Loose Cultivators.’

Chen Che couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

As the saying goes: Murder and arson fatten your purse, while building roads and bridges leaves you in a hearse.

Just this one act of murder and robbery had earned him more than his Elixir Shop’s revenue for several months.

’No wonder things like Tribulation Cultivators exist.’

After all, what honest living could ever be as fast as a big score?

This haul was enough for any Loose Cultivator to live comfortably for two or three years.

However, if you walk by the river often enough, you’re bound to get your shoes wet.

Who could guarantee they would always run into such easy targets?

...

「Arriving at the classroom」

Chen Che rubbed his eyes.

Discovering the Yingyue Flower and fighting that brief battle had taken a large toll on his mind. He had only slept for half an hour and hadn’t fully recovered.

However, if he could condense his Divine Sense sooner, he could drastically reduce the amount of rest he needed.

"Master Chen..."

Huang Zhongfei sidled up, looking at Chen Che with puppy-dog eyes.

"Alright, here you go."

Chen Che took out the Demon-Slaying Sword and gave it back to him.

During that time, a few more people had sent him love letters, extending the time he got to use the Demon-Slaying Sword.

Unfortunately, no one had sent any more, and today was the day he had to return it.

"You didn’t get it dirty, did you?"

With a ZING, Huang Zhongfei drew the sword and inspected it carefully. After confirming there were no nicks or stains, he quickly hid it inside his desk.

Weapons like this weren’t allowed in school. If Li Xiaoshuang saw it, it would be confiscated.

DING-A-LING~

The school bell rang, and Li Xiaoshuang stepped into the classroom.

"I will now hand out the report cards and written exam papers from the second monthly test of the semester."

"106th place, Zong Yudao, total score 198."

"105th place, Shi Hao, total score 207."

The papers were being handed out in reverse order of score.

Each time a student’s name was called, they would go up to get their paper.

...

"49th place, Lin Yi, total score 699."

’I won’t get a beating when I get home.’

Lin Yi happily took his paper. For him, this score was right where he expected to be.

Hearing his voice, Zong Yudao’s face turned pale.

He had a premonition.

Tonight, when he got home, only one of them would survive: him or his dad’s Red Rhino Leather Belt.

"Old Chen, what place do you think you got?"

"Either second or third!"

Chen Che said after thinking for a moment.

Huang Zhongfei’s Realm score was always a big chunk higher than his; he wasn’t that easy to surpass.

And he wasn’t bad in the other subjects either.

Besides, in the second monthly test’s combat portion, the fifth stage featured an Array Cultivator, and many of the top students managed to pass it. So he wasn’t able to create a huge point gap.

...

"3rd place, Ye Youwei, total score 1071. A good result, keep up the good work!"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Ye Youwei took her paper and offered her thanks.

"2nd place, Chen Che, total score 1079."

Chen Che stood up.

He met Ye Youwei as she was walking back down. The two of them nodded at each other as they passed.

’I’m first in class again!’

Huang Zhongfei rubbed his hands gleefully. Being around Chen Che was just too demoralizing.

The guy was handsome and popular with the girls.

Only the monthly test results could let him reclaim some of his confidence as class president. But just as he was thinking this, he heard a surprised and questioning voice from the front of the room:

"You’ve reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer?"