Chapter 53 of 100

Chapter 53

16 min read3,895 words

On Wednesday, after being a human punching bag four times, the first iron embryo fruit finally ripened. Along with the iron embryo fruit, the sycamore trees lining the streets of Black Flame City also matured.

Exiting the Iron Thorns Battle Hall and walking down Radiant Street, Zhang Tie felt something hit his head and then roll to the ground. He squatted down, picked up the object that had rolled to the ground, and found it to be a sycamore seed. Every year in May and June, the sycamore trees in Black Flame City start to bear seeds. These sycamore seeds are covered with fine spines, and after drying, the seeds, about the size of walnuts, fall from the trees and scatter all over the sidewalks.

On his way home, under the streetlights, Zhang Tie picked up quite a few seeds and filled his pockets.

Zhang Tie planned to throw all these seeds into Black Iron Castle. Thinking about the sycamore forest that would grow there in a few years, he felt a surge of joy.

Wednesday was a day of harvest. Although he had ignited the Divine Palace Bright Point, his strength was only slightly above those young brats. Each visit to the Iron Thorns Battle Hall meant a severe beating. Although his body's endurance had improved, it still took two full days to recover after each beating. It was a very painful process. When the strength difference was not significant, no one would not feel pain after being beaten.

A guy named Benetta seemed to have it out for Zhang Tie, always looking to knock him out. Zhang Tie, like a resilient blade of grass, stubbornly persisted, falling and rising again, until Benetta's strength was completely drained. What kept Zhang Tie going was not just his body and willpower, but his mindset. Because his mindset was different, everything was different. For Zhang Tie, no matter how fierce the blows, they were all helping his iron embryo fruit ripen faster. He was like a piece of iron on an anvil, being hammered and forged. Without thousands of hammer strikes, how could he become fine steel?

Each blow, each pain, Zhang Tie faced with gratitude. The effects of the first flawless fruit made Zhang Tie fully understand the extraordinary nature of the small tree. So, he was very grateful. He thanked heaven for this opportunity to change his life, for the Black Iron Castle and the small tree. In the entire Kunang Continent, Zhang Tie knew no one else had such luck and opportunity to turn every blow into sweet fruit.

Because of gratitude, he knew how to cherish more.

Another day passed, and the unknown danger did not come. Except for the disappearance of a towel he had used for a long time from his locker, nothing unusual happened. The towel, used for three years to wipe sweat and wash his face after training, was already old and had some holes. Zhang Tie didn't know who would be so bored as to be interested in his old, tattered towel. A prank? Too low-level. So, he was a bit annoyed but didn't take it seriously.

The members of the Airplane Brotherhood were discussing how to end their virginity. Not just him, but it seemed that the entire graduating class of the school was also discussing this. Many had already taken action. The survival trial was about to begin, and the question "Do you want to die a virgin?" was more effective than a thousand slogans. No one wanted to die a virgin, and neither did Zhang Tie. The result of the separate schools for boys and girls in Black Flame City meant that when the boys wanted to end their virginity, they had no girlfriends and could only seek "professionals." This had become a tradition.

So, in the last week of school, the women who operated in Black Flame City's sex trade were doing great business. Every evening, as the lights came on, the boys from the twelve boys' schools would appear in groups, their eyes glowing green, in places they rarely went before. During this time, all the small hotels in Black Flame City were doing booming business.

On his way back from Radiant Street, Zhang Tie encountered several groups of boys. These boys appeared in twos and threes on the streets, looking around, and when they spotted the women in revealing clothes who wandered the streets after dark, they would gather their courage and approach. After some conversation, they would disappear into dark alleys or head to small hotels.

Dying a virgin is shameful!

So, Zhang Tie was also looking forward to his first battle to end his virginity tomorrow. The welfare program set up by the Airplane Brotherhood, thanks to the fatso Bally, was truly tempting!

According to the progress bar, the first iron embryo fruit should be ripe today!

With a somewhat excited heart, carrying a pocket full of sycamore seeds, he returned home, had dinner, and after tidying up, he was about to chat with his parents. Unexpectedly, his father secretly pulled him into the small courtyard behind the kitchen. Before he could speak, his father handed him a handful of silver coins, at least six or seven of them...

"Dad, what's this..." Zhang Tie asked, surprised at the weight of the silver coins in his hand...

"Shh..." His father made a gesture to be quiet, then looked back nervously at the door. The sound of his mother and future sister-in-law chatting could be heard faintly from inside. "This is your allowance for the week, all from Dad's private stash. Don't let your mother know..."

Zhang Tie scratched his head, confused. "Dad, this is too much. Seven silver coins, I don't need that much. Are you sick or something..."

His father swatted away Zhang Tie's hand that was reaching for his forehead, looking a bit embarrassed and angry. "Brat, don't think Dad is old and doesn't know anything. Dad was young once, hmpf... hmpf... Remember, for the first time, choose a younger woman with lustrous skin and eyes. It's worth spending an extra silver coin or two; such women are healthier..." After saying this, his father, feeling guilty, whispered again, "Remember, don't let your mother know!"

After saying this, his father coughed twice, then put on a serious face and left the courtyard, leaving Zhang Tie standing there, holding the handful of silver coins, stunned for a moment...

After a while, Zhang Tie finally swallowed hard, realizing what his father meant. No way, his father actually gave him money to go to a prostitute... to choose a younger woman with lustrous skin and eyes, such women are healthier, even sharing his old man's experience... Having such a father was... really... too... too great, too damn great.

Zhang Tie almost shed tears. His father was truly the most considerate person.

Because of this, during the family chat later, Zhang Tie felt the atmosphere at home was a bit strange. After reporting his day at school to his mother and casually mentioning how beautiful the bathhouse in the battle hall was, how comfortable the baths were, and the colors of the mosaics, which his mother found very interesting, the evening chat time passed.

...

After washing up, Zhang Tie returned to his small room and entered Black Iron Castle.

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

Seeing this message always made Zhang Tie feel great.

In the past two days, Zhang Tie had realized a truth: in nature, no one digs holes, plants seeds, or fertilizes them, yet the wilderness is still full of life. This shows that seeds and nature have their own way of coexisting, with the fittest surviving and thriving. Those that are not suitable don't need to be bothered with. Except for food crops, which require some attention, he could just scatter other plant seeds randomly. This was simple, efficient, and saved effort. If these seeds could survive in the wild, there was no reason they couldn't survive here, and the conditions here seemed even better for plants.

Understanding this, Zhang Tie found a place in the eastern part of Black Iron Castle, broke open the sycamore seeds he had picked up on the way, and scattered them randomly over a large area, completing the planting. Then he went to the small tree.

Just like when the flawless fruit ripened, as soon as Zhang Tie approached the small tree, he smelled the refreshing fruit aroma.

On the branches of the Manjusha Tree, there were now two fruits, one red and one silver, both very cute.

He first checked the flawless fruit.

—The flawless fruit will ripen in 27 hours!

A line of text appeared before Zhang Tie's eyes and then disappeared. He chuckled. One flawless fruit a week, without fail, life with a flawless fruit was truly wonderful. After checking the flawless fruit, he looked at the silver one, which was slightly larger than a walnut and shaped like a rhombus. As his hand approached, a line of text appeared naturally.

—The iron embryo fruit is ripe. Usage: Pick and eat directly. Note: The fruit cannot be taken out of Black Iron Castle. After 12 hours of picking, the energy and essence within the fruit will gradually dissipate.

Watching the text gradually fade and disappear, a smile appeared on Zhang Tie's face...

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