Chapter 73

Regarding the speed of star power cultivation, Tang Zheng was not worried. With the dual assistance of the Purple Jade True Phoenix Pendant and the Brown Marsh Pill, and the development of a double experience cultivation method, even if he couldn't achieve the beautiful expectation of becoming a fat man in one bite, he could at least match the top ten graduates of the noble academies each year!

As for the secondary equipment, as long as the Hundred Refinements Workshop acknowledged the bet, the dagger he bought with money would be enough to lure Lu Huang to Wulong Town.

The biggest problem now was still martial arts.

He had been practicing this dagger technique for almost a month and had only just reached the second move. The first volume of the dagger technique had five moves: the Opening Move, Crown Rush, Rain Rest, Sky Roar, and Hatred Extinguished. Not only were the moves connected, but each move was more difficult than the last...

Although martial arts cultivation emphasizes gradual progress, it wasn't abnormal to spend a year or two on a single move. However, his problem was that he couldn't go to Lan Shaoye and say, "Wait for me for three years, and I'll definitely make you regret messing with me."

If Lan Shaoye agreed, he would be seriously ill.

Tang Zheng was thinking about where to find a "skill mentor" when he looked up at Ghost Grandfather...

If it were a matter of strength, Ghost Grandfather was definitely qualified, but unfortunately, he wasn't familiar with him.

Moreover, teaching is a highly specialized profession. Having knowledge and being able to impart it are two completely different things. From his observations over the past few days, Ghost Grandfather had never given Ah Zhi any martial arts instruction.

Thus, he retracted his gaze and gave up on the idea of finding a mentor in Ghost Grandfather.

"Young friend, have you been looking at me for a while. Is there still something you're confused about with the 'Blood Attraction'?" Ghost Grandfather stroked his chin and asked Tang Zheng with a smile.

"No, nothing." Tang Zheng shook his head. "Thank you, Ghost Grandfather, for your guidance. I won't touch the second life palace until the Blood Attraction in the star chart is resolved."

"Hmm... You are currently at the mid-stage of the first star. Considering the second life palace is indeed premature." Ghost Grandfather smiled and looked into Tang Zheng's eyes.

Tang Zheng's eyes contained too many things that Ghost Grandfather couldn't understand even with his lifetime of experience.

However, being old and wise, he wouldn't directly ask about what he didn't understand. After observing Tang Zheng for a long time, he didn't continue talking about the Blood Attraction but said to Tang Zheng, "There is another very important matter I need to remind you of, young friend."

"Sure, please go ahead, Ghost Grandfather." Tang Zheng replied.

"You already owe Shadow Mountain a two-star Shadow King Order!" Ghost Grandfather said with a light laugh.

"Ah?" Tang Zheng was stunned. How could he owe something out of nowhere?

Moreover, if it were money, it would be easier to deal with, but what was a Shadow King Order?

Ghost Grandfather always spoke slowly and calmly. He explained leisurely, "Last night, didn't you invite the two-star martial artist Ah Zhi from the Shadow Stronger List to assist you in killing a two-star martial artist named Feng Le and a one-star peak martial artist named Lan Yan Yi?"

"Ah... Ah Zhi sneezed, and the pen in his hand left a large ink blot on the paper.

He was utterly shocked!

The Shadow King Order wasn't calculated like that!

Absolutely not!

Tang Zheng hadn't even added his name to the Shadow Stronger List, and they hadn't gone through the task assignment process. No matter how you calculated it, Tang Zheng wasn't considered to have invited him to act, and he certainly wouldn't owe Shadow Mountain a Shadow King Order...

So, Ghost Grandfather was bluffing, purely bluffing!

But the bluffing effect clearly shocked Ah Zhi even more.

"Owing a Shadow King Order means you have to repay it three to seven times the amount, and if you don't repay within a year, the amount doubles annually. If you don't repay a single Shadow King Order for three consecutive years, Shadow Mountain will definitely hunt you down..." Ghost Grandfather said with a smile.

"So, inviting Ah Zhi means I owe a two-star Shadow King Order, right? How many do I need to repay?" Tang Zheng asked.

"Hehehehehe..." Ghost Grandfather laughed for a long time before saying, "I need to see your ranking on the Shadow Stronger List to determine how many you need to repay. The higher your ranking, the fewer you need to repay."

"Alright... then check my ranking." Tang Zheng said.

Ghost Grandfather took out something from his pocket that looked very similar to a star chart and covered it with a layer of pale red star power.

As Tang Zheng leaned in, Ghost Grandfather asked, "The Shadow Stronger List is different from the Starlight Stronger List. The Starlight Stronger List is all real names, but the Shadow Stronger List can use aliases. What's your alias?"

"Long Aotian?" Tang Zheng said casually.

"No, it's already taken." Ghost Grandfather shook his head.

Tang Zheng's eye twitched: "Then, Dongfang Bubai?"

Ghost Grandfather checked: "It's also taken."

"Cough." Tang Zheng said, "Old Wang next door?"

"Taken." Ghost Grandfather replied.

"Three Seasons Rice!"

"Still taken."

"Impossible..."

"Really taken!" Ghost Grandfather was helpless.

Tang Zheng racked his brain for a long time. Not only could he not use "upright and honest" or "noble gentleman," but even "unified" and "Master Kang" were already occupied!

How many people were on the Shadow Stronger List?

How could all the aliases be so bizarre and already used?

In a daze, Tang Zheng felt like he was choosing a game ID from his previous life—good names were all taken by dogs!

He sat down in a chair.

His past life and current experiences were swirling in his mind.

He had given up the chance to be reborn and chosen to come to this dangerous and unfamiliar world, walking his own path and proving his own way!

He had given up the precious opportunity to "transform from a speck of dust into a speck of gold" and taken the first step on a more difficult but more exciting and inspiring path.

Thinking about it, Tang Zheng smiled and said to Ghost Grandfather, "Zishi!"

Zishi refers to the time from 11 PM to 1 AM, the moment when the old day ends and the new day begins!

"Oh? Zishi is the time of the dark night, when funerals and battlefield cleanups are often chosen, so it's the most inauspicious time of the day. No one would use this as an alias," Ghost Grandfather checked, "Are you sure you want to use it?"

"Sure, I'll be 'Zishi'!" Tang Zheng smiled and confirmed his alias on the Shadow Stronger List.

Ah Zhi was completely stunned and hadn't spoken for a long time.

He was so不服气 (unconvinced)!

He had tried his hardest to get Tang Zheng to pay more attention to the Shadow Stronger List, but Ghost Grandfather's casual bluffing easily got Tang Zheng to join the list!

Ah Zhi suddenly felt that he still had a lot to learn!

"Can you check my ranking now?" Tang Zheng smiled and looked at Ghost Grandfather.

"Sure." Ghost Grandfather nodded, closed his eyes, and raised his hands.

The dark red patterns that rose from his palms, which Ah Zhi had once used on Tang Zheng, were a method to determine how many people they had killed. Tang Zheng knew this and stood still without speaking.

However, Ghost Grandfather's movements were much faster than Ah Zhi's. With a slight push of his left hand, Tang Zheng felt a warm sensation, and five figures appeared before his eyes.

Feng Le, Viper, Little Gui, the unknown female assassin, and the head Ah Zhi took from the inn.

"You are currently at the mid-stage of the first star, but you have already personally killed a two-star martial artist and four one-star martial artists. Your ranking shouldn't be too low." Ghost Grandfather lowered his hands, and the dead people in front of Tang Zheng immediately disappeared.

"Only counting the kills, not assists?" Tang Zheng thought of the chopped-up assassin and Lan Yan Yi, who was finished off by Ah Zhi.

"Of course not!" Ah Zhi rolled his eyes.

Tang Zheng laughed: "Your ranking method, which only counts kills, is a bit biased. Isn't this encouraging conflict in the world?"

Ah Zhi snorted: "What do you know? If you kill a different race, it counts double!"

Tang Zheng was speechless: "But that's even more unfair. A dog's head is worth more than a human's. What kind of world is this?"

"Can't you just shut up?" Ah Zhi wanted to pounce and bite Tang Zheng to death.

As the two were arguing, Ghost Grandfather had already ranked Tang Zheng's alias "Zishi": "Not bad, you can rank 174,621 on the first star list..."

Tang Zheng's face fell: "Are you sure... this can be called 'not bad'?"

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Thank you to liuckly for the 3564起点币 (Qidian coins), 葭小柒 for the 1888起点币, 空龙灵 for the 1100起点币, 念冰/萧衍, 果梨街, DouB南波万 for the 588起点币, 雪叶星塵 for the 400起点币, 李如耀, 艾玛30, 小黑很坏, 跳舞的猫?, 轩冰雨桦, 碳碳乐淘淘, 水荷之舞 for the 100起点币.

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