Chapter 74

"Of course it's not bad!" Old Ghost smiled and said.

"You didn't count wrong? That's over a hundred thousand!" Tang Zheng protested.

"Do you know how many one-star martial artists are on the Shadow Stronger List?"

"I don't know," Tang Zheng shook his head.

"Then do you know how many troops are stationed in the Western Border each year? How many enemy heads they cut off?"

"..." Tang Zheng thought about the ranking system where killing different races doubled the points, and immediately understood.

"For someone like you, who has no military merit, being ranked within a million is already very good, let alone being ranked within twenty thousand!"

Tang Zheng nodded twice, it should be the two-star martial artist Feng Le who added points for him.

Although he still felt the ranking was a bit low, hearing that those who risked their lives might not rank higher than him, he thought it was still pretty good.

Confucius said, people are so cheap, happiness is only felt through comparison, and he is one of the millions of cheap people.

"Alright, I'm ranked over 170,000, and I owe a two-star Shadow King Order, how many Shadow King Orders do I need to repay?" Tang Zheng asked.

"Oh? Repayment?" Old Ghost stroked his chin, "Ah, old age makes the mind fuzzy... You didn't post a task on Shadow Mountain to invite Azhi, but invited him privately, um... no task record, so it seems you don't owe a Shadow King Order."

"..." Although Tang Zheng knew things wouldn't be so absurd, he was still angered to the point of laughter.

Old age makes the mind fuzzy, what kind of reason is that?

In Tang Zheng's view, if you want to trick someone, be more arrogant, don't give any reason. For Old Ghost, he is just a one-star martial artist, what can he do if he is tricked? Can he pull out Old Ghost's beard one by one to vent his anger?

"So, I don't owe Shadow Mountain anything?" Tang Zheng extended his hand, "But, what about the legendary 'rank rewards'?"

"Hehehe..." Although Old Ghost didn't quite understand his words, he knew Tang Zheng was asking for the Shadow King Orders given by Shadow Mountain.

Azhi was extremely depressed, he had repeatedly tried to give the Shadow King Orders to Tang Zheng, but Tang Zheng always threw them back. Now he had to give them again!

Tang Zheng took the Shadow King Order from Azhi, and also took out the one he had seized from the unknown female assassin, making it two in total.

"If you need something in the future that even the Purple Gold City can't find for you, you can go to Shadow Mountain," Old Ghost said, looking at his Shadow King Orders.

"Um," Tang Zheng smiled, "Thanks, and... I have one last question."

"Oh?" Old Ghost had that half-smiling, half-not-smiling look again.

"I'm just a one-star martial artist, and we're not related, why did you insist on... not, why did you insist on inviting me?" Tang Zheng didn't believe he had some kind of aura that could attract people just by shaking his body.

Old Ghost laughed at this question.

Why?

He wanted to ask why too!

Why does a one-star martial artist have combat experience that even five or six-star martial artists might not have?

Why does a person who kills without blinking never show even a hint of brutality in their eyes?

Why does a rich person who throws money around like it's nothing stay in Tang Family Castle to teach a bunch of kids to read and write?

Can't understand...

Too many things, even he couldn't understand at all!

"I look forward to your performance on the Shadow Stronger List," Old Ghost, of course, wouldn't directly ask those questions, but said, "Because, based on my experience, to cultivate someone like you, you would have to start with tens of thousands of children with good temperament, resilience, and talent, and in the end, only one out of tens of thousands would survive... even Shadow Mountain doesn't have such a grand plan!"

"..." Tang Zheng would never again say how strong his eyesight was!

Truly strong eyesight isn't about the details he has observed over ten years; they can see much deeper.

He isn't the one who survived out of tens of thousands, but he has died tens of thousands of times!

The amazing thing about the game is that he can resurrect infinitely.

Old Ghost doesn't know he can die tens of thousands of times, so he thinks he is cultivated from tens of thousands of talented children, which is the closest guess!

"If there's any other reason, it's probably that I look forward to seeing you display more diverse assassination techniques. Your understanding of assassination is very different from what I have learned and known in my life," Old Ghost said with a smile.

Tang Zheng was speechless.

He didn't want to comment on assassination anymore.

Currently, the only tactic he has summarized from the assassins who came to assassinate him is—climbing the roof.

One, two, three, they all have an abnormal interest in his poor roof, and he has struggled very hard to protect it...

And what did he do in his previous life's high-reward assassination missions?

To get the highest "Phantom" rating, not only must it be a non-assassin class, but before leaving the mission area, no one must know he came, no one must discover the target is dead, and there must be no trace left at the scene!

"So, do you want to see how I would assassinate someone if I were to assassinate someone?" Tang Zheng asked.

Old Ghost just smiled and didn't answer.

Azhi pouted, "You only have that much strength, and you're only a mid-level one-star martial artist at over twenty years old. Apart from those traps, what else can you do? Humph, if you don't take me with you..."

Tang Zheng didn't let him finish, "Take you with me!"

"You..." Azhi's face turned green.

"Isn't that what you wanted to say?" Tang Zheng said with a smile.

"Tsk! I... I'm afraid you'll mess it up!" Azhi said.

...

After finishing his daily routine of despising Azhi, Tang Zheng said goodbye to Old Ghost and went back to his room to practice martial arts.

The next day, he went to the Treasure Pavilion as usual, practicing star power, martial arts, listening to Ban Yilou talk about forging, and watching Tang Xiaotang and the others busily doing proxy purchases.

In the afternoon, Tang Boyuan arrived in Wulong Town.

He didn't stop for a moment on East Street and immediately went to the Treasure Pavilion on West Street.

The arrival of the lord of Tang Family Castle on West Street was already a slap in the face for Yilan Blue Manor, but his immediate visit to the Treasure Pavilion caused speculation throughout Yilan Blue Manor...

The shop owners on West Street of Wulong Town were also very perceptive. Seeing the lord of Tang Family Castle's carriage pass through West Street, and Yilan Blue Manor showing no reaction, they realized that Wulong Town was about to change.

The situation of the two families standing side by side might not last long...

As soon as Tang Boyuan arrived, he was invited to the inner chamber. Seeing Ban Yilou, he warmly held his hand, "Old Ban, it's been years since you've been to the Treasure Pavilion. I didn't expect we could be related, truly, no coincidence is a coincidence."

"Ah?" Ban Yilou felt uneasy from Tang Boyuan's smile.

"His seventh maternal uncle... come, please accept my bow!" Tang Boyuan saw Tang Zheng and bowed deeply.

"What? What?" Ban Yilou felt more and more uneasy, especially when Tang Boyuan mentioned "seventh maternal uncle"...

A few days ago, when he asked Tang Zheng why he was so high-profile about proxy purchases and wasn't afraid of trouble, Tang Zheng said he was someone's seventh maternal uncle!

At that time, Ban Yilou felt something significant was about to happen.

But from Tang Boyuan's words...

It seemed that something significant was about to happen to him?

"Wait, wait, you say, who is whose seventh maternal uncle?" Ban Yilou stopped them from continuing their conversation.

"Isn't Tang Zheng your long-lost seventh maternal uncle?" Tang Boyuan looked confused at Ban Yilou.

"Who? I'm this brat's seventh maternal uncle?" Ban Yilou gestured in the air, but couldn't figure out how he suddenly had a junior.

"No, no, no, I heard that he, Tang Zheng, is your seventh maternal uncle!" Tang Boyuan felt a bit confused, "Aren't you teaching him forging? Isn't it because you are his junior, so you can't take him as a disciple?"

"Damn! Where did you hear these rumors..." Ban Yilou was fine with having Tang Zheng as a junior, but this was even worse, he became Tang Zheng's junior?

He was already old, and now he had a seventh maternal uncle, how absurd was that?

Such an absurd thing could be spread all the way to Tang Family Castle...

Now, probably the whole Wulong Town knew!

"Tang! Zheng!" Ban Yilou's anger flared up. He had just felt grateful to Tang Zheng for making a lot of money, but now it was all gone.

"Cough... well, rumors, I can't control them, right?" Tang Zheng smiled innocently, "Why don't you clarify? Why did you teach me forging without taking me as a disciple?"

"I..." Ban Yilou's mind raced, and he became even angrier, "I'll clarify my ass!"

How could he clarify this?

(Hello everyone, I tricked this rich guy into buying a sword that hasn't sold for years, teaching him forging was just a condition for him to buy it?)

That would make him even more embarrassed.

Or...

(Hello everyone, I've had a grudge against Hundred Refinements Workshop for a long time, so I have to teach him forging well, so he can complete his bet with Hundred Refinements Workshop and give them a good beating?)

If he clarified this, he would never be able to buy even a needle from Hundred Refinements Workshop again.

Ban Yilou didn't believe that these well-founded rumors had nothing to do with Tang Zheng.

But how could he clarify?

Left or right, he couldn't find a way out, and the only result he could think of was to swallow his pride and take the hit...

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Oops, today while eating chips, I found a pack of "Spicy Chicken Flavor," and I'm really impressed by Lays.

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