Chapter 38

Is this the strange beast Da Feng from ancient Chinese mythology?

In his previous life, as someone who often engaged in online forum debates, the bizarre and mystical books like the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" were practically required reading. The Da Feng, a divine beast mentioned in these books, seems to look like this bird.

Suddenly, he was struck by a thought. He remembered the legends from mythology. Besides the nine sons of the dragon, the phoenix also had nine chicks. The eldest was the peacock, the second was the golden-winged great peng, the third was the fire phoenix, which "shines brilliantly when happy and scorches the earth for a thousand miles when angry," the fourth was the golden phoenix, which "shines with golden light and its call stirs the eight winds," the fifth was the green crane, the sixth was the snow phoenix, the seventh was the hundred-voiced phoenix, the eighth was the blue duck, and the ninth was the Da Feng!

If you ask why he remembers this so clearly, it’s all tears. Back then, during the NetEase game department’s written test, there were all sorts of bizarre questions, and the nine chicks of the phoenix were much easier to remember compared to the nine sons of the dragon, which had so many obscure characters.

However, there are many different versions of the nine chicks of the phoenix, and what he remembers is just one of them.

Zuan An thought about the "Phoenix Nirvana Sutra" he was cultivating. Now that he had reached the second level of great perfection, the pattern of Da Feng appeared. Could this be a coincidence?

It seems that with each level of great perfection, a new phoenix chick will appear. But what is the use of this thing? It can’t just be for scaring people, right?

He had already secretly tested it; others couldn’t see the magic array on his body, so they naturally couldn’t see the pattern of Da Feng. Therefore, using it to scare people wouldn’t work.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He channeled his inner essence into the lines of the Da Feng. When the essence flowed through the entire body of the Da Feng, its fierce eyes suddenly lit up, and a shadow of the Da Feng appeared in front of him.

Zuan An was overjoyed. It really works!

But what is its power? It can’t be like a flying sword, right?

He thought for a moment, then gave the command for the Da Feng to crash into the wall to test its power.

The Da Feng spread its wings, and a gust of wind swept through the room, knocking over tables and chairs. It almost instantly crashed into the wall.

Zuan An was watching with wide eyes, worried that the power might be too weak to disappoint him, or too strong to attract the experts in the duke’s mansion.

Before he could even see what happened, a powerful force hit him, and he involuntarily flew toward the wall, crashing into it almost instantly.

Bang!

It was truly like being hit by a painting!

Zuan An slowly slid down the wall, leaving a human-shaped mark on the white wall, along with two streaks of fresh blood from his nose, which had collided with the wall.

What the hell!

Zuan An cursed and was excited at the same time. It turns out this thing can teleport! If used properly, it’s a great tool for ambushes or escapes.

But he didn’t know how far it could move each time. He didn’t even bother to wipe the blood from his nose and started channeling essence into the Da Feng pattern again, trying to summon it once more.

But after a short while, he felt dizzy, realizing that his essence was almost depleted.

It seems this thing can only be used once a day. In the future, when his level is higher and his essence is more abundant, it should be better.

He slowly crawled back to bed and lay down, noticing that the first magic array in his muscles had some golden substance. It seemed that the impact with the wall had caused significant injury, allowing the array to collect some material.

Previously, Ji Xiaoxi mentioned that the second level makes the skin resistant to ordinary weapons, and the third level allows the formation of a protective armor to defend against attacks. Now, although he was at the lowest tier of the third level, he was still a genuine third-level cultivator.

He tried to gather the remaining essence, finally forming a small piece of armor on his body, but it quickly dissipated due to the lack of subsequent essence.

Despite this, Zuan An was overjoyed. Now that he had advanced to the third level, theoretically, he had the strength of 88 normal people. In his previous life, he would have been a minor superhero. In the Marvel world, even if he couldn’t match the Hulk, he could probably beat up a mediocre superhero like Black Widow.

Additionally, he had the Death Dagger and the Da Feng as hidden trump cards. No matter who in the mansion wanted to kill him, he now had the confidence to survive.

Zuan An was just feeling spirited when he suddenly changed his tone, rubbing the various injured parts of his body: "That wall crash really hurt."

His injuries were almost healed, but this crash made them worse.

He didn’t dare to act recklessly anymore and lay quietly in bed, waiting for Ji Dantu’s healing medicine to take full effect.

The next day, Zuan An found that after a night of rest, although his body was still weak, his injuries were mostly healed. However, he was somewhat dissatisfied. It seemed that Ji Dantu’s medicine was far inferior to the red bottle from the lottery.

If others in the city heard this, they might come to kill him. The healing elixir Baihua Wuchang Dan, which many people couldn’t obtain, was considered trash by him. This was intolerable.

Zuan An then remembered something else. With so many things happening yesterday, he had forgotten to draw a lottery. He summoned the keyboard and calculated that he had 69 anger points left after the last draw. Yesterday, he earned some more from the Chu couple and Pei Mianman, totaling 3273 points.

He frowned. Yesterday, he had been too soft. Otherwise, he would have earned more anger points from Pei Mianman. However, he knew that facing such a charming woman, no man would be willing to harm her.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but miss the Twelve Plum Blossoms and the Black Wind Gang. Now, how could he find them so cute?

Heaven, please send me a villain!

Bang!

The door was suddenly pushed open, and a handsome young man with neatly combed hair entered, looking down at him from the bed: "How are your injuries? Can you go to the academy today?"

Anger points from Hong Xingying +299!

"Fine, I guess," Zuan An replied instinctively, "Who are you?"

"That’s good." The young man didn’t answer his question and turned to leave. When he saw the human-shaped mark on the wall, he was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure and walked out with his head held high.

Zuan An was stunned. He had just wished for a villain, and one appeared. Could it be that effective? Who is this guy, and why does he have so much anger toward me?

"Son-in-law~" A怨妇-like voice called out. Cheng Shuping appeared at the door with dark circles under his eyes, looking resentful.

"What happened? Were you drained by a female demon last night?" Zuan An was startled.

Cheng Shuping walked over with unsteady steps: "Son-in-law, you have the nerve to say that. I didn’t sleep all night, copying the family rules until dawn."

Zuan An smiled awkwardly and got up to pour him a glass of water: "Xiaoping, it’s a good thing you stayed in the meditation room copying the family rules. If you had gone out with me, you would probably be a corpse by now."

"Thank you, Son-in-law," Cheng Shuping took the glass, looking bewildered, "Why would I become a corpse?"

Zuan An pointed to the human-shaped hole on the wall: "See that? Last night, an assassin tried to kill me. Fortunately, I have great fortune and powerful skills, so I escaped. If you had been there, you would have had to fight to save me. The assassin’s blade wouldn’t have spared you."

Cheng Shuping swallowed hard, subconsciously muttering: "Then I’ll just keep copying the family rules."

"What did you say?" Zuan An’s eyebrows shot up.

Cheng Shuping quickly smiled: "I mean, I would fight to the death to protect you. The assassin would have to step over my dead body to hurt you."

Seeing his righteous and passionate words, Zuan An pushed his face away: "Enough, don’t get too into it. Tell me, who is that arrogant guy who just left?"

"He’s Hong Xingying, the precious son of the Hong family’s steward," Cheng Shuping replied, "He’s a bit arrogant, but he’s a cultivation genius. He reached the third level without formal training, and the steward is very proud of him. Even the lord and lady praise him highly and consider him a leader among the young generation in the mansion."

So he’s the steward’s son. No wonder his hair is as neatly combed as his father’s.

"Pfft, I thought he was something. He’s only a third-level cultivator after years of practice," Zuan An thought. "I reached the third level in just a few days from being a waste. Do I go around boasting?"

Cheng Shuping couldn’t help but sneer. No wonder they say the Son-in-law has big ambitions but little talent. You have no real skills but a big mouth. If you ever reach the third level, the lord and lady would probably laugh in their sleep.

"What are you muttering?" Zuan An glared at him.

Cheng Shuping immediately smiled: "I was thinking about going to the lady and telling her that your injuries are severe, and you shouldn’t go to school today."

"No need. These injuries are minor. My in-laws sent me to the academy for my own good. How can I辜负 their kindness?" Zuan An patted his chest. He didn’t want to go to school, but staying at home was even more boring. Due to the assassin incident, Chu Zhongtian had assigned two people to guard his door, preventing him from leaving. It was better to go to school, where he might find a chance to escape.

Hearing his eloquent words, Cheng Shuping’s mouth opened wide enough to fit a fist. He quickly felt his forehead: "Son-in-law, are you running a fever?"

"Get lost!" Zuan An kicked him away.

"Ha ha ha~ Zuan An, you’re becoming more sensible. It’s worth all our efforts." Laughter echoed as Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru walked in with smiles.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, why are you here?" Zuan An put on a surprised and grateful face. Acting like this every day was exhausting. If he stayed longer, he might be able to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

"I heard from Xingying that your injuries are minor and you want to go to the academy. I was a bit worried, so I came to check on you," Qin Wanru’s usually stern face softened.

Zuan An was overjoyed. It really works!