Chapter 35

For the entire afternoon, Zhang Tie was as restless as the other animals, and today's biology class with Teacher Daina left an indelible impression on everyone. Even by the afternoon, some people were still in a daze, seemingly unable to believe that a wretched youth like himself could have made such a promise with Teacher Daina, who was as unattainable as a goddess. Could it be that there was even a slight chance that one day, she would become his woman?

Even a slight possibility was enough to ignite an unprecedented morale on the training ground, with everyone as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, leaving the instructors amazed.

As for Zhang Tie, from the afternoon until after school, and even after returning from working at Tang De's grocery store, his mind was preoccupied with two things.

The first thing was the No-Leak Fruit. According to Teacher Daina, a significant amount of the body's energy is lost in daily life, such as through urine, masturbation, sweat, and even undigested food. The total amount of this energy is unclear, but after careful thought, Zhang Tie realized that if what Teacher Daina said was true, he hadn't had a wet dream for five days since last week, which would normally mean at least three wet dreams. Now, he hadn't had any, meaning that the energy that would have created billions of sperm had been converted into the energy of the No-Leak Fruit. Zhang Tie didn't know how strong this energy was, and neither did Teacher Daina. The only information she could provide was that in the ancient cultivation system of the East, there was a description of transforming essence into qi, which seemed to be related to the immense life energy produced by the reproductive system. This was just one source of the No-Leak Fruit's energy. Upon reflection, Zhang Tie noticed that his urine had become much lighter in color, his appetite had increased, and he sweated less during exercise. Could these all be effects of the No-Leak Fruit?

Teacher Daina said that these were just the visible, tangible energy losses. There were even more invisible losses, such as the heat our bodies constantly emit, the magnetic fields and auras that humans discovered before the Great Catastrophe, and the electrical charges that are produced in the body every second. The largest invisible energy loss is the chaotic thoughts and ideas in our minds, which also result in significant energy loss. Some of these mental activities are conscious, while others are subconscious or superconscious. When Teacher Daina mentioned that dreaming and daydreaming were also channels for the loss of mental energy, Zhang Tie recalled that his sleep had been exceptionally good lately, and his mind was particularly clear in the mornings. Could this also be due to the No-Leak Fruit absorbing and converting his mental energy?

What kind of miraculous effects could the No-Leak Fruit, which gathered all the visible and invisible energy from his body over a week, have?

Thinking about this, Zhang Tie became even more eager for the No-Leak Fruit to mature in three days. At this moment, he couldn't fully understand the significance of the "No-Leak" in the small No-Leak Fruit. To him, no matter how great the significance, it couldn't compare to the Blood Scorpion Warrior's rank badge.

How could he become a Blood Scorpion Warrior before the age of 20, gain the strength to protect Teacher Daina, and make her his woman? This was the second thing Zhang Tie had been thinking about all afternoon. No matter how hard he thought, it seemed impossible.

A Blood Scorpion Warrior is the fourth rank of a warrior, above the five levels of battle soldiers. They are recognized as one of the nine advanced professions by the Warrior Guild, with the strength to ignite 34 bright points of fire along the spine. Many people can only look up to such powerful warriors, who are even more formidable than the one-eyed giant. A 20-year-old Blood Scorpion Warrior is a dazzling existence, and only such a dazzling existence could be worthy of a goddess like Teacher Daina.

From a wretched youth who hasn't even ignited the bright point of fire in the palace, to ascending eight levels within five years to become a Blood Scorpion Warrior before the age of 20—this was the only possibility for him to win Teacher Daina's heart. How could such a genius achieve this?

However, for Teacher Daina, he was willing to give it his all! He couldn't forget that he still had Black Iron Castle and the magical little tree...

Thinking of Teacher Daina's promise, Zhang Tie's heart was filled with passion.

On his way home from Tang De's grocery store, as the streetlights gradually lit up, the 15-year-old's gaze became increasingly determined. He began to look up to a goal he had never thought he could reach before—becoming a powerful warrior with the Blood Scorpion as his totem before the age of 20...

His stomach growled, and Zhang Tie muttered to himself, feeling more and more like a glutton. Urged by his hunger, he started running home...

When he arrived, Zhang Tie was surprised to find the door unlocked and slightly ajar. Could there be a thief? Knowing his parents' habits, he pushed the door open slightly and quietly entered, grabbing a stick hidden at home. As he tiptoed into the house, he heard a strange voice.

"I raised this girl for twenty years, and now your son has gotten her pregnant. How can she face people in the future? How can she get married? Today, I've brought her to your family. If you don't acknowledge that the child in her belly is from your family, then fine, you can kill her, and I'll pretend she never existed. If you do acknowledge it, your family needs to give us a satisfactory explanation..."

A woman's crying could be heard, and just as Zhang Tie was about to enter the inner room, the curtain was lifted, and the tailor, Mr. Wang, and his wife walked out. Mr. Wang looked furious and saw Zhang Tie, who quickly hid the stick behind his back and forced a smile, "Uncle Wang, would you like to stay a bit longer..."

"Hmph, there's not a good one in your family!" Mr. Wang stormed out, and the woman gave Zhang Tie a serious look before sighing and following. After they left, Zhang Tie locked the door from the inside, put away the stick, and coughed a couple of times before entering the living room...

In the living room, there were three people. His father was sitting on one side, frowning and smoking, the smell of the inferior tobacco from Black Flame City filling the room. Normally, his mother would scold his father, but this time, she was comforting the crying woman. Zhang Tie immediately recognized her and understood the situation. His parents, of course, also understood.

He never thought his older brother, who had been so smooth, would stumble this time. Heh... heh...

"Your dinner is warmed up, go eat!" Seeing Zhang Tie return, his mother lifted her head and said, then continued to comfort the girl.

His father gave Zhang Tie a look, and Zhang Tie, being very perceptive, said, "You guys talk, I'll go eat!" and ran to the kitchen to get the food. The meal was simple, but his mother's cooking was always delicious, and Zhang Tie ate until he was full.

After eating, he washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, earning another merit point. Feeling satisfied, he saw his father come in, indicating that his parents had made a decision.

"Zhang Tie, come here, I need to talk to you..."

"What is it, Dad?"

"Your brother, that scoundrel, and that girl..." It was hard for a father to talk about such things, and his father didn't know how to start.

"Am I going to have a new sister-in-law?" Zhang Tie asked with a grin.

"Stop being so frivolous!" His father glared and smacked Zhang Tie's forehead, making him jump. "In any case, your brother won't be home for a while, and the girl will stay with us, in his room. Be respectful and call her sister, understand? Don't make her feel uncomfortable..."

"What's uncomfortable? She's not new to staying in his room..." Zhang Tie rubbed his head, muttering.

"What?" His father's eyes widened again.

Zhang Tie stuck out his tongue, "Nothing, just thinking that Dad will be a grandfather in a year or two, I'm really happy for you!"

Before his father could kick him, Zhang Tie had already run off. He had already figured out that with his parents' character, they wouldn't force the girl to have an abortion, which would be a great sin. Besides, the girl wasn't ugly, and her family was respectable. They had grown up together on the same street, and there wasn't much to criticize. The only fault was that his brother had acted too quickly and hadn't taken proper precautions.

When his brother returned, the two families would likely start discussing the wedding. Zhang Tie noticed that while his father seemed angry on the surface, there was a hidden joy in his eyes when he mentioned becoming a grandfather.

Zhang Tie didn't want to cause more trouble. After dinner and washing up, he greeted his mother and the future sister-in-law, who were talking softly, and returned to his room.

In his room, Zhang Tie sat on the bed and began practicing the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation." Through his recent studies, he found that visualizing the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation" before and after practicing the palace bright point seemed to improve his cultivation. After visualizing the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation," his mental energy seemed more concentrated, and after his mental energy was depleted from practicing the palace bright point, visualizing the golden abacus in the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation" helped it recover faster. Zhang Tie felt he had discovered the effectiveness of the visualization technique in the "Pearl Heart Mental Calculation."

In recent days, Zhang Tie found it easier to enter the state of cultivation. Previously, it took a long time to enter the state, sometimes over an hour, but now he often felt the state come over him as soon as he sat down and closed his eyes, with no distractions. The palace bright point in his navel glowed brighter under the pure mental energy, and its connection to the crystal grew stronger. It seemed that in a few more months, it would turn blue, advancing his cultivation. Could this also be the effect of the No-Leak Fruit? Zhang Tie wasn't sure, but it was a good thing, so he didn't worry about it. The only thing that bothered him was that the crystal he used for cultivation was reaching its limit. Previously, it wasn't noticeable, but now, as his cultivation deepened, the energy provided by the ordinary crystal was no longer sufficient. It was frustrating, like a thirsty person putting their mouth to a faucet and finding the water dripping out in a thin stream, unable to quench their thirst. This was the reality of being poor. If he had a pyramid crystal, Zhang Tie believed his palace bright point might already be emitting a purple light.

After nearly two hours of cultivation, Zhang Tie stood up, stretched his numb legs, sighed, and placed the white crystal back in the crystal sand on the windowsill to recharge. He looked at the dark, empty street outside, where there were no streetlights, and closed the window.

What was his brother doing at this moment? Zhang Tie wondered.

Before going to bed, Zhang Tie habitually checked Black Iron Castle.

—Close eyes... Lock... Enter

The process of entering was becoming smoother...

Zhang Tie opened his eyes and found himself standing in Black Iron Castle.

—Welcome, noble and handsome lord, to Black Iron Castle!

Zhang Tie opened the basic attribute panel of Black Iron Castle.

—Black Iron Castle

—Length: 1 krosa

—Width: 1 krosa

—Spiritual Energy: 7.3

—Merit Points: 52

—Basic Energy Reserve: 0.5

—Special Output: None

As expected, he had earned 5 merit points today, 2 from home and 3 from school. The increase in spiritual energy surprised him slightly. After closing the attribute panel, Zhang Tie thought for a moment and went to his plot of land, squatting down to examine it closely.

To his surprise, a row of sturdy sprouts had already broken through the soil where he had planted the corn. The corn had sprouted three days earlier than he had expected, suggesting that the soil here was very suitable for plant growth. Thinking about the rising grain prices when he bought rice on the weekend and looking at the nearly 1,000 acres of empty land in Black Iron Castle, Zhang Tie had a somewhat crazy idea. If he planted 100 acres of grain and fruit, could he make a fortune from it...