Chapter 570: The Smell of Death
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"How… could that be?"
Everyone was shocked, horrified and incredulous!
As a ruler in Level 4 of the Infant Transformation Stage, Xu Que's attack was so destructive that six powerhouses in Level 6 and Level 7 of the Infant Transformation Stage had been killed instantaneously.
This kind of strength seemed to be unheard of in the same stage, which was shocking!
Liu Jingning was also dumbfounded. Her small mouth was slightly open, showing her surprise.
She had learned from Jiang Hongyan that Xu Que was extraordinarily gifted and had the potential to become a Holy Son in future, but she had never expected that Xu Que would reach the Infant Transformation Stage in such a short period or that his strength would be so formidable.
His attack just now had been strong enough to be compared to that of the cultivators at Level 9 of the Infant Transformation Stage. And if he used all of his strength, maybe he could challenge the cultivators in the Void Training Stage!
"Awesome, little brat! Your killing was so exhilarating!" Buttface shouted loudly with shiny eyes. He had regained his arrogant attitude.
At the same time, the warning tone of the System was also echoing in Xu Que's mind. The People Killing Book and the People Killing Sword had reached the 30th layer, the highest, which could enhance his strength remarkably!
Xu Que looked down at the people in the stone quarry and asked in a deep voice, "Anyone else?"
"Oh, no! Let's get out of this place quickly!"
"Run!"
People in the stone quarry were scared out of their minds and started to escape in all directions.
Even the Jiang family's powerhouses in the Infant Transformation Stage had been killed instantly! The rest of the people had lost their courage to fight.
"It's too late to escape now!" Xu Que smiled coldly. Three mystical fires appeared in his hand suddenly, floating in front of him and giving off a violent and horrible energy.
Liu Jingning changed her expression immediately, then dashed over and stood in front of Xu Que.
"Xu Que, don't do that! There are many apprentices of the big sects and families in this area. If you kill them all, you will really become the enemy of the whole world!"
"So what?" Xu Que smiled and said calmly, "I was doomed to be the enemy of the whole world from the moment I decided to help Jiang Hongyan!"
"But—"
"There is no but!" Xu Que interrupted Liu Jingning directly, then moved his body, squinted his eyes, and began to brag, "The Jiang family and the Gong family are nothing compared to the Exploding Heavens Faction! Liu Jingning, you know nothing about the strength of the Exploding Heavens Faction! Our motto is to kill anyone who stands in our way, even God, Buddha, or Heaven!"
If a god stops you, you will kill the god, right?
If a Buddha stops you, you will kill the Buddha, right?
If Heaven stops you, you will kill Heaven, right?
Liu Jingning was in a daze instantly. It was hard to believe that such rebellious and ambitious words could be uttered by such a cultured and elegant young man.
Is he really going to do this because of Jiang Hongyan?
Liu Jingning's heart was full of shock, admiration, and even a tad bit of jealousy.
Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for acting tough successfully. The reward is 410 Acting Tough Points!"
Ding! "Congratulations to host 'Xu Que' for acting tough successfully. The reward is 430 Acting Tough Points!"
The System's warning tone echoed in Xu Que's mind.
He smiled quietly, then put his palms together to melt the three mystical fires in front of his body into a mesmerizing three-color fire lotus.
"Xu Que of the Exploding Heavens Faction, don't do anything stupid! I'm an apprentice of the Heaven Secret Pavilion!" a loud roar sounded from the stone field at this moment, uttered by the same man who had cut the stone just before.
Then all the others began to cry out, "I'm an apprentice of the Eight Directions Vermilion Bird Pavilion, and we've never met before! If you kill me, the Eight Directions Four Image will hunt you until your death!"
"True, I'm the apprentice of the Eight Directions White Tiger Sect, you can't kill us!"
"And I'm from the Gong family, you don't have to mess with us!"
A lot of people had extraordinary backgrounds, otherwise they wouldn't have been allowed to enter the Jiang family's stone quarry!
Seeing that Xu Que was really trying to kill them, all these people were flustered and shouted as they ran away.
They pinned their last hopes on stating their backgrounds so that Xu Que might be terrified by the strength of their families or sects.
Xu laughed out loud, "You've asked me to act tough twice for the same issue! Okay, let me tell you, today I want to kill people of big sects and big families like you. In the face of our Exploding Heavens Faction, you are nothing! And you have nothing to support your arrogance!"
Boom!
Before finishing his words, Xu Que waved his hand and threw the three-color fire lotus abruptly.
"No!" the crowd cried out in surprise. Before the arrival of the fire lotus, they had been awed by its horrible momentum. Their blood was frozen and they could feel chills starting from their toes.
They could smell death!
However, the fire lotus still appeared above them. The seductive flame petals blossomed like summer flowers and gave off a dazzling light.
Rumble!
An earth-shaking bang burst in the stone quarry. Violent energy swept out, as if it could devour everything!
Thanks to the power bonus of the Secret of "All" and the People Killing Book reaching the 30th layer, the destructive power of the three-color fire lotus had exceeded beyond his imagination.
"Sh*t!" Xu Que was also scared, so he immediately grabbed Buttface and Liu Jingning and flew high into the sky with lightning under his feet. They were still almost hit by the sea of fire!
The bursting radius of the fire lotus was really horrible, over ten times larger than the explosion in the Bright Moon Hotel!
Dozens of men and women in the stone quarry were killed instantly without leaving a drop of blood, for all of them were directly evaporated in the sea of fire.
Liu Jingning was completely shocked.
Now the stone quarry below them had been turned into a purgatory. She suspected that if she had been in the quarry, she would also have been killed or seriously wounded.
"Little brat, some of them have escaped!" Buttface said and pointed to a distant place.
A few people had escaped at the very beginning, so they hadn't been swallowed by the fire lotus. Now, they were running away crazily.
"Stop them!" Liu Jingning shouted immediately, even wanting to kill them herself.
"No, come on!" Xu Que dragged Liu Jingning away immediately and said in disgust, "Why do you want to do that? As the saying goes, forgive others whenever you can! We should have a bottom-line! It's so cruel to kill them all! Just let them go! This is a good thing!"
"What?" Hearing this, Liu Jingning widened her eyes and was so mad she could spit. "Do you know the consequences of letting them go?"
"I know! As an upright, open, and aboveboard man, I will not be terrified of their revenge!" Xu Que said passionately while he patted his chest.
Are you kidding me? If I kill them all, no one in this world will learn my reputation!
If I don't let them go, how would I get the big families and sects to come seek revenge against me?
If they don't come, how could I, as the King of Tough-Acting, act tough and cause trouble?
Liu Jingning said coldly, "If you insist on doing this, they will go back to get reinforcements! If powerhouses at the Form Synthesis Stage come for you, you'll face certain death, and no one will be able to protect you anymore!"
"Don't worry! If you're afraid, just don't follow us!" Xu Que said with a smile. He wasn't nervous at all, for he had prepared a plan in his head.
If an old monster in the Form Synthesis Stage really comes to me, I could just escape. Anyway, this is nothing for me, since I have the assistance of the Human-Skin Mask!
However, before Liu Jingning's reply, Buttface came forward and gave a thumbs-up to Xu Que. "Little brat, what you said is correct! I am also not afraid, but I remember I have to deal with an important issue. I have to go now. Remember, the green mountains do not change, the clear water keeps flowing, we will meet if fate beholds… Hey, what are you doing? Let me go! Let me go! Don't drag my collar!"
Chapter 571: Can You Stop Looking at Me!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Finally, Buttface followed Xu Que, and the two started their journey.
Buttface knew that he would be targeted and attacked if he wandered around outside by himself, since the few who ran away had met him before and knew who he really was.
As for Liu Jingning, she still wanted to stay with Xu Que and didn't show any signs of leaving.
Even if Xu Que said something harsh to her, she wasn't angry at all. Instead, she still smiled at Xu Que in a rather attractive way, which made Xu Que feel very uncomfortable.
"Can you stop looking at me?!" Xu Que suddenly said.
Liu Jingning laughed. "Little Que Que, you call yourself handsome and marvelous. I do agree with you and find you very attractive indeed, so I can't help looking at you."
"Well, sometimes, having a handsome face really makes my life a bit difficult. I never thought you, just like everyone else, would simply be attracted by my appearance. You never even bother to see the beauty on the inside! I'm really disappointed!" Xu Que sighed.
Hearing this, Liu Jingning was amused.
I have never seen someone who is as shameless as he is!
"Little Que Que, earlier, you didn't even blink while killing those people. Tell me, how can I see the beauty inside after I saw you showing off your cruel nature?" Liu Jingning shook her head.
Xu Que stared at her and said with a serious face, "Don't be daft! You should feel my inner beauty with your heart, not see it with your eyes! You should feel it with your own body. I can have sex with with you, if possible, but remember, I said this with the utmost reluctance. I believe you will feel my inner beauty when you have sex with me."
"I'm really looking forward to it!" Clearly, Liu Jingning was not embarrassed by what Xu Que had just said, rather, she beautifully smiled.
Seeing this, Xu Que rolled his eyes.
I knew it! This woman must be more experienced in sex than I am.
"You will be regret what you've said today!"
The three quickly left the stone quarry and flew away, soon arriving outside of the ancient city.
It was already very late, so Xu Que decided to find a place to sleep in the city.
However, Liu Jingning and Buttface disagreed. They believed that it would be too dangerous to stay in the city. Since Xu Que had made such a show, it was simply impossible for them to stay in the city.
"You two are really cowards! Haven't you heard that the most dangerous place is usually the safest place. Besides, I'm such an intelligent man, do you really think I'm stupid enough to stay in the city and wait for them to come to kill me?!" Xu Que said while taking out two masks of human faces from the System.
He wore one of the masks, and his face instantly looked exactly like Hu Ge.
Seeing this, Liu Jinging was seriously surprised. "That's how you managed to get into the Bright Moon Hotel earlier today? But anyway, that mask is really wonderful! Even I couldn't tell! Little Que Que, tell me, what do you call it, and who makes it?"
"Of course, this mask is made by people from the Exploding Heavens Faction. Do you also want to join us?" Xu Que smiled and handed the other mask to Liu Jingning.
Liu Jingning smiled. "If I join your Faction, can I be your wife?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. We have more people in the Exploding Heavens Faction than you could ever imagine. You could only be a maid, but of course, if you behave yourself, you might become one of my concubines!" Xu Que said with an arrogant face.
Hearing this, Liu Jingning laughed and hit Xu Que gently on the head.
"Young man, you are really funny. I'm much older than you, so you should pay your respects to me and mind your words."
She took the mask and put it on her face.
In the blink of an eye, Liu Jingning's face looked exactly like a handsome young man.
Liu Jingning used a piece of ice as a mirror and showed her the reflection.
"What? You mean I'm a man this time?!"
"Only in this way can we hide from them! Besides that, you had better change your clothes." Xu Que nodded and took out a man's gown.
"This is funnier than I thought it would be!" Liu Jingning instantly agreed with Xu Que's idea.
Xu Que also became rather excited, but still said with a serious face, "We don't have enough time, so you should just change here. I will stay here in case others secretly see you changing."
"Thanks, but you should close your eyes too." Liu Jingning blinked her eyes.
"I swear on Buttface's life that I won't watch you changing!"
Xu Que's heart was pounding very quickly and his eyes were wide open in great excitement.
This woman is crazy! I never thought she would agree. No matter what, I really want to see her chang.
Liu Jingning gently waved her hands. The next minute, her whole body was covered in light. She circled around, and when the light disappeared, Liu Jingning had transformed into a handsome young man.
"I'm done."
"Holy sh*t!" Xu Que was stunned by what he saw.
You changed so fast! But… excuse me, don't you think your breasts are a little too big?
Usually, when a woman wanted to dress like a man, in particular a curvy woman like Liu Jingning, would have to wear something similar to a corset to make her breasts seem smaller.
It seemed that it was the first time Liu Jingning had dressed like a man, since she had forgotten to bind her chest.
"Never mind. We shall go into the city now." Xu Que smiled and strode towards the city.
Liu Jingning hadn't noticed that something wasn't right, nor did Buttface.
As soon as they walked into the city, many people were surprised to see a young man with a huge pair of boobs.
"Look at that young man with that huge chest!"
"My god! I've never seen anyone like him!"
"Clearly, he looked exactly like a man…"
Many people began to discuss it with each other.
When Liu Jingning realized that the people were all talking about her, she suddenly stopped and was about to say something.
Right at this moment, Xu Que reached out his hand and put it on her back.
"Don't be afraid, I'll make them stop!"
Liu Jingning hadn't quite figured out what was really going on, but she was very moved by Xu Que's actions.
Well, I never thought he would be such a reliable man!
"F*ck off! Stop looking at him!
"He's a shemale! Is there really a need to be so surprised about this?!
"Get out of the way, otherwise, I'll tell him to take off his clothes and frighten the sh*t out of all of you!"
Chapter 572: The Stone-Cutting Convention!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The crowd was in uproar.
After all, Xu Que was a cultivator in the Infant Transformation Stage. These people also didn't want to offend a cultivator like him without any reason!
Fortunately, Liu Jingning had also concealed her cultivation level, otherwise, as a cultivator in the Void Training Stage, she might have startled the City Governor as well.
But at that moment, Liu Jingning was so annoyed that she was almost about to spit!
She had thought that Xu Que would step forward and stick up for her, but Xu Que had just introduced her as an androgynous man, which pissed her off immediately.
Only then did she realize what was wrong. She had disguised herself as a man, and although she was wearing a long robe and had changed her appearance, she had forgotten to cover up her figure.
According to Xu Que's speech, she knew that he must have long known, but he deliberately hadn't told her so that she would make a fool of herself in public.
"Xu Que, you little b*stard!" Liu Jingning ground her teeth with hatred, then dashed out of the city immediately.
At this moment, she couldn't stay any longer, and had to tidy up quickly, or she wouldn't be able to stand it anymore.
"Hahahah!" Xu Que and Buttface were so happy and burst out in laughter.
"Little brat, you're too mean. How could you work out such a cruel move? You're shameless!" Buttface said.
Slap!
Xu Que slapped Buttface's forehead and widened his eyes, saying, "You're asking for a good spanking! How could I be a man with vulgar interests like that?"
"Damn it!" Buttface became annoyed immediately and was ready to rush up to fight with Xu Que.
At this moment, there was a commotion ahead, and the people in the street were rushing toward one building.
"Quick, the Stone-Cutting Convention is about to commerce!"
"I've heard that people from many big sects and families will participate in this convention. It'll be quite exciting!"
"It's more than that! I've heard that this time, the Jiang family and the Gong family worked together to bring a lot of ancient stones here from the outskirts of the Heaven Dragon Cave, which is one of the Nine Deathtraps."
"Oh my god, this time, maybe something good will be discovered!"
"Come on, let's go have a look."
People were talking about the event, and more and more people were hurrying towards the building.
"A Stone-Cutting Convention? Little brat, would you like to go and have a look?" Buttface was excited immediately, his eyes lit up.
Xu Que was in a daze for a moment, and something occurred to him.
"That's right! The item that I got at the stone quarry of the Jiang family…"
Just then, he had focused his attention on the fight and had thrown an item into the System Package before he could take a closer look at it. Now, he thought about it and immediately opened the system interface.
In the storage grid of the System, an item of a jade-like substance was surrounded by a faint halo.
"A Dragon Soul Element?" Xu Que was stunned.
That thing, unexpectedly, was another Dragon Soul Element, which looked even bigger than the one stolen by Buttface.
However, it seemed that this item was still useless!
Regardless of its size, the properties of the two Dragon Soul Elements were exactly the same—a probability of sixty percent in getting a Basic Star Rank magic, a probability of fifty percent in getting an Intermediate Star Rank magic art, and a probability of thirty percent in getting an Advanced Star Rank magic art.
Ding! "Two Dragon Soul Elements have been found. Are you going to merge them?"
Suddenly, the warning tone of the System sounded!
Xu Que was instantly shocked. Could these items be merged?
An interface popped up in the system immediately. After the merging of two Dragon Soul Elements, the probability of obtaining magic arts will be enhanced.
"Then try to merge them!" Xu Que wasn't confident in his luck today but he still agreed to try.
The System interface immediately flashed. The two Dragon Soul Elements were turned into two strands of green light that intertwined and merged with each other.
Ding! "The merging was successful, congratulations to the host for obtaining a Two-Star Dragon Soul Element!"
[Two-Star Dragon Soul Element]
A probability of one hundred percent in getting a Basic Star Rank magic art, a probability of eighty percent in getting an Intermediate Star Rank magic art, and a probability of fifty percent in getting an Advanced Star Rank magic art.
"Wow, this time, it's profitable!" Xu Que was pleasantly surprised.
His goal was only the Advanced Star Rank magic arts. Through merging, the probability had been enhanced to fifty percent from thirty, so he had really gained a lot this time.
For something like luck, two thirty percents didn't equal sixty. However, one item with a probability of fifty percent was definitely better than two items with probabilities of thirty percent!
If he could get more Dragon Soul Elements, he could probably be guaranteed Advanced Star Rank magic arts through merging!
It's interesting, I'd better keep this item safe! Xu Que murmured to himself delightedly.
Bad luck today? It's definitely not! Strength is the ultimate decisive factor! When I obtain an Advanced Star Rank magic art, I will crush my enemies easily!
Xu Que's mood had been changed a little. In the past, he might have been inclined to be opportunistic, but now, he put more and more importance in his strength!
"Little brat, aren't you going to find a hotel? Why are you still here?"
At this moment, the voice of Liu Jingning could be heard.
She had become a little wiser this time. She had not only changed her figure, but even lowered her voice deliberately to make it more neutral.
"Buttface said he will attend the Stone-Cutting Convention, and I can't stop him. It's okay to go and have a look!" Xu Que replied.
Originally, he was not interested in this Stone-Cutting Convention, but now he was eager to get more Dragon Soul Elements, which could only be obtained from ancient stones!
Hearing that, Liu Jingning immediately changed her expression and said immediately, "No, the Stone-Cutting Convention is not a good place for you to make trouble. You should know that this event is guarded by many powerhouses in the Void Training Stage! If you make trouble there, even I can't protect you!"
"Just the Void Training Stage, which is nothing to me! Right, Buttface?" Xu Que said with a smile.
"Eh, perhaps we shouldn't go this time. I feel sick now and need some rest!" When Buttface learned there would be powerhouses at the convention, he became cowardly.
"It doesn't matter. If you feel sick, I can carry you there in my arms!" Xu Que grabbed Buttface's collar and walked directly to the building.
Buttface changed his expression and shouted in horror, ���Howl, no! I don't want to go there! Damn it!"
Liu Jingning was bewildered and said again, "Xu Que, you…"
Xu Que turned around quickly and said with a light smile, "Don't worry, I won't make trouble this time. I just want to get something good out of the stones!"
"Really?" Liu Jingning remained deeply skeptical.
"Of course! I always keep my word!"
"Damn! Don't believe him!" Buttface cried.
"But do you know how to cut stones?" Liu Jingning asked as she looked at Xu Que curiously.
"Are you kidding me? I'm the little prince of the Stone-Cutting industry, so I know everything about it. Let's go, and let me show you the world of Stone-Cutting!" Xu Que laughed and walked into the building.
In fact, he knew nothing about Stone-Cutting. He only knew it was similar to betting on stones—one bought a stone first, then cut it; if nothing good was found inside the stone, one bought another stone and cut it again!
Anyway, this time, he had made up his mind to get Dragon Soul Elements in the Stone-Cutting Convention, no matter how many Spirit Stones he would spend on it.
Liu Jingning found she couldn't waver Xu Que's determination, so she could only go with him while shaking her head with a wry smile.
At this time, the building was ablaze with lights.
It was a building smaller than the Bright Moon Hotel. However, its decorations were as good as those of the Bright Moon Hotel! The quaint building was full of carved railings and jade inlays that were magnificently impressive.
A lot of people had gathered in the building, but there was a large open space in the middle, as spacious as a football field. Inside this area, a large number of strange stones were stacked and giving off intense Spiritual Qi.
All the people were pointing at the stones and discussing their quality.
Some people were watching the stones carefully and thoughtfully.
"Little brat, just buy a stone and try it!" Buttface was attracted by the stones and eager to try.
It seemed Liu Jingning was not good at stone cutting, but she still nodded and said, "This is just the peripheral area of the convention, and basically, buyers were not optimistic about the stones here. But you still can try one or two first, perhaps you'll get a precious item if you're lucky!"
"One or two? Are you kidding?" Xu smiled immediately.
After that, he stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Listen, today, Wang Sicong of the Exploding Heavens Faction will buy all the stones here, just wrap them all up for me!"
Chapter 573: It's My Own Money, I Can Spend as Much as I Want
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Hearing what Xu Que had said, everyone present fell into silence.
You want to buy all the stones?
Everyone turned around and looked at Xu Que in great surprise, as if they were looking at a fool.
"Are you mad?! Do you have any idea what you're talking about?"
Liu Jingning pulled Xu Que's sleeve.
All of a sudden, people burst into laughter.
"It seems that this young man knows nothing about stone-cutting!"
"Young man, the key of stone-cutting lies in how you cut a stone and the ability of spotting a good stone. It has nothing to do with how many Spiritual Stones you have!"
"I'm sure you'll regret what you've just said."
"By the way, most of the stones here aren't a very good quality. What's the point of buying them all?"
Everyone laughed at Xu Que.
Xu Que waved his hand. "You know nothing! I said I would buy them all, and I will buy them all. I have many more Spiritual Stones, more than you can imagine. Do you know how it feels when I wake up and see piles of piles of Spiritual Stones around me?"
Hearing this, everyone was speechless.
This young man is so pretentious! He has plenty of Spiritual Stones, so what?!
No matter what, everyone present believed Xu Que would get nothing in the end, since most of the stones were just piles of crap. Only those who had the ability to spot a good stone could find a few good ones.
But it was still rather silly for someone to buy them all, since even if Xu Que found something good, it's value could never match the money he had spent on all the stones.
"Really?! You really have enough Spiritual Stones? It'll cost you at least a couple thousand Spiritual Stones of top quality!" Liu Jingning was worried.
"What?!"
These stones cost thousands of Spiritual Stones of top quality?! Holy sh*t! If I began to work in the industry of stone-cutting, I could definitely earn more than I did by selling hamburgers and ice cream.
"Stone-cutting is a very risky activity that also costs a lot. Normally, people don't dare to take part in this activity unless they really know what they're doing," Liu Jingning said while shaking her head.
"Hurry up! Man up! Don't care about if you're going to go bankrupt! Buy them all!" Buttface shouted.
"You're right! I should just buy them all!" Xu Que nodded.
Anyway, I have plenty of Spiritual Stones. Yes, thousands of Spiritual Stones is a big sum of money, but never mind that.
After he killed many powerful men of the Infant Transformation Stage that day and earned lots of Spiritual Stones, along with the Spiritual Stones he had brought with him from the Five Element Mountain, he had around three thousand Spiritual Stones of top quality.
"Pack all the stones up for me!" Xu Que shouted loudly.
Hearing this, Liu Jingning was speechless and brought her palm to her forehead.
I never thought he would be so stubborn, just like this damn dog!
"I've never seen someone who's willing to spend such a huge amount of money to buy a pile of crappy stones!" Liu Jingning forced out a smile.
Xu Que smiled. "What's the point of being granted the talent of making money if I don't spend the money I make?!"
Hearing this, the people around were completely stunned.
My goodness! I know you're rich, but there's really no need to be this arrogant!
Don't you feel shameless for what you've said?
…
At the moment, a male servant hurriedly came forward and asked again if Xu Que wanted to buy all the stones. When he learned Xu Que really meant what he had said, he was terribly shocked. Still, he sold the stones to Xu Que.
"The total amount is one thousand and two hundred Spiritual Stones, and you should give me a hundred more, since there's an extra fee for cutting the stone," the servant said.
Xu Que quickly handed all the stones to the servant without even blinking.
Seeing this, many people were quite jealous. Liu Jingning was also shocked, because she had never thought Xu Que was this rich!
Very soon, a few more male servants came forward, each with a jade knife, ready to cut the stones for Xu Que.
Xu Que sat comfortably on a chair to the side with maids serving him tea. Usually, a man of great fortune was always welcomed by the staff of the stone-cutting convention, since they could make a fortune off of him.
Quickly, people stopped laughing at him and even started to admire him.
"It seems that we underestimated him! He really is rich!"
"Haven't you seen? He is quite at ease and is not bothered by spending so much money at all."
"Wang Sicong of the Exploding Heavens Faction? Why have I never heard of him before?"
"I knew it! There are many powerful men in the Eastern Continent!"
Hearing people's comments, Xu Que laughed. Even if he couldn't get another piece of Dragon Soul Element, he was already quite satisfied with receiving so much admiration from others.
The sound of a notification kept ringing…
He had received more than five thousand Acting Tough Points by acting tough in front of everyone.
"Fantastic!"
Compared with Acting Tough Points, the Spiritual Stone was nothing.
Soon, the male servants managed to cut many stones, however, nothing valuable was found. Seeing this, people all shook their heads.
"It seems that there are more crappy stones than I thought. They've cut more than a third of the stones, and haven't found a single good one yet."
"I thought that round stones were supposed to be good ones!"
"Stone-cutting requires a bit of luck!"
…
Liu Jingning who was standing next to Xu Que, frowned. "Xu Que, you have really bad luck this time!"
"Nonsense! It's said that he who likes laughing always has good luck! You think I've lost a huge sum of money, but actually I haven't."
"Come back to reality! Do you have any idea how many incidents you've dragged yourself into today?!"
Hearing this, Xu Que suddenly realized what Liu Jingning had said was true.
When he first landed the Eastern Continent, he had been misunderstood by Qin Ji and killed someone in the The Illusionary Flower & Moon Sect. Then he had ran into trouble with Han Guoqiang when he was in Tian Luo City, and he had met people of the Gong family when he was at the Bright Moon Hotel…
"We all have bad luck sometimes. Believe me, everything will be better when you wake up tomorrow morning," Xu Que said rather casually.
Liu Jingning shook her head and smiled. "You're being naive. I'm afraid you'll get yourself into more trouble from today onward."
"F*ck off! Are you cursing me?" Xu Que was a bit unhappy.
Liu Jingning smiled, "I'm not cursing you. By the way, do you still remember what I said to you when we were in the Water Nation?"
"Not really, you know how I am…"
Liu Jingning rolled her eyes and said, "I said that you should keep your distance from Jiang Hongyan, otherwise you would be unlucky. Anyone who is close to Jiang Hongyan is dragged into bad incidents. I'm afraid that what you've experienced so far is just the beginning…"
"What?!" Xu Que was stunned.
Does that mean what I have experienced today was all due to Jiang Hongyan?!
This can't be true! I come from the twenty-first century, I'm an educated man!
This is just a bunch of nonsense!
Right at this moment, a male servant came forward and said, "We cut all of the stones, and we found nothing inside."
Chapter 574: I Was Set Up by the System!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Puff!
When he heard the waiter's words, Xu Que spat out the tea he had just drunk.
"Are all of them useless? Can't you even find one good one?" Xu Que stared at the boy in disbelief.
Liu Jingning was also surprised, then immediately smiled while looking at Xu Que, for she had warned Xu Que about this before.
The waiter smiled wryly and nodded. "Yes, my Lord. It's so strange that we've never encountered such a thing before. How could so many stones be useless?"
"Today, I'm as unlucky as a dog!" Xu Que was quite angry. Over 1,000 top grade Spirit Stones were gone with the wind!
Buttface, who was beside him, became sensitive again when he heard Xu Que mention dogs, so he said angrily, "Why am I involved in this bullsh*t?"
"Damn, I didn't mean you!" Xu Que said angrily.
"Hum!" Buttface snorted coldly because he felt something was wrong—he didn't want to admit he was a dog!
At this time, all the guests in the area were talking about this issue.
After all, it was the first time for them to witness something as weird as this.
Although people weren't optimistic about some of the stones there, sometimes these people bet on the wrong horse. There were always dozens of useful stones, or at least several useful stones in each batch of stones meant for cutting.
But now Xu Que had bought so many ancient stones, and none of them had been useful, which was weird.
"Could it be that my good luck ends here? Is calamity knocking on my door as soon as I arrive in the East Continent?" Xu Que laughed wryly.
Liu Jingning sighed and had to deliver a message telepathically to Xu Que, for so many people were around her. "Her mother was the best example, so I advised you not to wade in that muddy water! Even Hongyan thinks so. She doesn't want to have too much to do with you, otherwise, your luck will become worse and worse!"
"Boo, do you think I'd be easily terrified by this? It's only 1,300 top grade Spirit Stones. I just don't believe this! Today, I'll try my luck with these stones!" Xu Que snorted, as he was not satisfied with this explanation.
He patted his thigh and shouted, "Waiter, are there any stones left? I'll buy them all today!"
"Wow!"
His words caused uproar among the guests!
"Awesome, this cultivator really came here to donate Spirit Stones!"
"Normal people would stop trying if they encountered such a weird thing. Why does he insist on trying again?"
"I don't know, maybe the reason is that he's rich!"
"Yes, over a thousand top grade Spirit Stones is not a small sum, but he just threw them out as if he was playing!"
"How I envy him!"
Many people were deeply touched, seeing that the wealth gap among people was too big!
Ding! "Congratulations to the host 'Xu Que' for acting tough successfully. The reward is 430 Acting Tough Points!"
Ding! "Congratulations to the host 'Xu Que' for acting tough successfully. The reward is 450 Acting Tough Points!"
The warning tones of the System were echoing in Xu Que's mind. However, Xu Que ignored the tones and just stared at the waiter with fiery eyes.
The waiter's heart was filled with ecstasy, and he thought today he had met a truly impressive man, so he nodded immediately. "My Lord, we do have more! We still have a lot of better stones. Although the price is a bit higher, these stones are definitely worth the price. Would you please follow me to the venue of stone-cutting?"
"Sh*t! Isn't this place for stone-cutting?" Xu Que was stunned.
The waiter said with a smile, "My Lord, you misunderstand! This is just small sales field. The real Stone-Cutting Convention is in our backyard! All the big shots like you play there!"
"Fine, just lead the way!" Xu Que immediately got up and waved to the waiter to show him the way.
Liu Jingning dragged Xu Que and said in surprise, "You're just donating your Spirit Stones to them!"
"Yes, I'm here to splurge. As a foolish rich man, I can't help doing that!" Xu Que said naively as he winked with a smile.
Liu Jingning instantly became speechless. He had admitted he was foolish rich man, what could she do to stop him?
However, deep in his heart, Xu Que was not reconciled to his bad luck!
If he was really unlucky, his Spirit Stones would be far from enough. Stone-cutting was just a bottomless hole!
"System, do you sell X-ray perspective machines that could be used to check the quality of the stones?" Xu Que could do nothing but open the System to have communicate with it.
Ding! "Please upgrade the System to Version 5.0, so that the X-ray perspective machine will be available!"
"By the way, do you sell extraordinary powers? You even sell the powerful magic arts; you must have extraordinary powers for sale, right? I want a perspective eye!"
Ding! "Please upgrade the System to Version 8.0, so that the extraordinary powers will be available!"
"Sh*t! You're making trouble! Why do you always ask me to upgrade the System? This must be a conspiracy!"
Xu Que was quite unwilling to do that. However, if he didn't upgrade the System, he could really do nothing!
But after the upgrades, his Acting Tough Points, over 80,000, were at risk of being used up.
This is really annoying!
"All right, all right, you win! Just upgrade the System to Version 5.0 directly!" Finally, Xu Que was forced to give in to the System!
And he was not only focusing on the X-ray perspective machine. The most important thing was that a function of the name "Lucky Aura" would be available after Version 5.0 of the System was activated, which might give him unlimited luck to suppress the bad luck brought on by Jiang Hongyan!
Ding! "20,000 Acting Tough Points were consumed. The System was upgraded successively. The current version is 4.0.
"Star Rank magic arts are available in the Mall.
"Magical artifacts with levels from six-star to ten-star are available in the Mall!"
Ding! "40,000 Acting Tough Points were consumed. The System was upgraded successively. The current version is 5.0.
"More mechanical equipment and instruments are available in the Mall!
"More vocational skills are available in the Mall!
"The system has unlocked the function of 'Lucky Aura'!
"The system has unlocked the function of 'Debt Collector Beats Debtors'!
Ding! "The System found the 8,000 Acting Tough Points borrowed by the host 'Xu Que' have been overdue for one year, and nothing was paid back by the host! The host shall pay off the principal and the interest, which is 20,000 Acting Tough Points, within ten days; otherwise, the System will activate the function of 'Debt Collector Beats Debtors'!"
"F*ck!"
Hearing that, Xu Que cursed loudly and was ready to spit in anger.
Damn it, no one is wise at all times! I was set up by the System!
No wonder the system always asked him to upgrade; its purpose was to activate the function of "Debt Collector Beats Debtor" after being upgraded to version 5.0!
Even worse, a year ago he had borrowed 8,000 Acting Tough Points, now he was being asked to pay back 20,000 Acting Tough Points! Damn! Only a fool would pay you back!
"What's the matter?" Liu Jingning and Buttface were startled by Xu Que's sudden cursing at the same time.
Xu Que waved his hand and said in a cold voice, "Nothing. I just remembered that someone is going to beat me in ten days."
"Who is that?" Liu Jingning and Buttface asked simultaneously.
"Don't worry, just a few people I borrowed from. Let me tell you, I hate loan sharks the most, especially those debt collectors who often hit others in the genitals. If I see them, I'll stab them to death with an eel!!"
"Ah?" Liu Jingning and Buttface were totally dumbfounded and didn't understand what Wu Que was talking about.
"Forget it!" Xu Que shook his head to shake off his anger.
At this time, the waiter led them through the empty buildings to a huge arched door!
The entire door was covered by a faint blue halo, as if a clear stream was flowing on it and giving off intense Spiritual Qi with its ripples.
"My Lord, you will have arrived at the venue of the Stone-Cutting Convention by passing through this door. Please come in!" the waiter smiled warmly.
Xu Que nodded and looked at Liu Jingning abruptly, then asked with a smile, "By the way, little sister, what did you say just now? I'm here to donate the Spirit Stones, right? Hehe, let me tell you, from this moment onward, if I choose another piece of useless stone, you can write my family name, Wang Sicong of the Exploding Heavens Faction, upside down!"
Chapter 575: I Have to Show Them How Wonderful I Am
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Hearing what Xu Que had said, Liu Jingning was stunned.
She wasn't shocked by Xu Que's bragging, but instead by his overconfidence.
He's been so unlucky today, why on earth is he so sure that he'll definitely find something valuable in these stones?
"Xu Que, are you mad?! Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Buttface was surprised. "Sh*t! You're lying to them again! I won't buy your words anymore! You are Xu Que, not Wang Sicong!"
Hearing this, Xu Que and Liu Jingning looked at each other and smiled.
"Silly! Wang (王) is the family name of Wang Sicong, so it will still be Wang if you write it upside down!" Liu Jingning shook her head and smiled.
Buttface was confused, then he shouted, "You're such a schemer! If I'm cheated by you again, I'll also write my first name upside down."
"Stop talking nonsense! I'm sure all the stones will be good!" Xu Que said and took out the X-ray machine from the System. It was as big as a human's palm, and with its help, Xu Que could see through the stones. The inside would be projected onto the screen of the System. Besides, it only cost one thousand Acting Tough Points a day.
"Little Que Que, I think you shouldn't waste your Spiritual Stones anymore. As far as I'm concerned, all the stones here are better than the ones you bought earlier, but still, there will be some bad ones. Also, the stones here are much more expensive. I'm sure you can get something nice from them, but I'm also sure that what you get from the stones will be far less valuable than what you'll have spent."
Liu Jingning shook her head, rather worried.
After all, it wasn't clear that if Xu Que would be unlucky again.
Xu Que was very calm and smiled. "You'll see! Buttface, follow me and play some background music!"
"What? What did you just say?" Buttface was confused.
"Background music! Come and take this MP3 player and play the song from 'God of Gamblers'!" Xu Que said and gave Buttface a recorder that he had bought from the System.
Buttface was stunned and excited to see the MP3 player. He had never seen such a thing and was about to chew it.
Seeing this, Xu Que shouted, "You idiot! It's not edible! Now press that red button, I need to show them how wonderful I am!"
"You mean this thing can play music?!" Buttface grew curious, as did Liu Jingning.
Xu Que smiled. "You're full of questions, aren't you? Be patient, you'll see how it works soon!"
…
At the same time, at the huge yard behind the arched doors…
The whole yard was as big as two football stadiums and was surrounded by walls made of brick.
In the center, there was a pond in which several ancient pavilions of the traditional Chinese style were built.
Each one of the pavilions was a figure of great importance and represented an influential family.
Around the pavilions, there were many beautiful flowers and plants. Green mountains could be seen, and the murmuring of running water could be heard, as well.
Some scholars were playing the zither on the other side of the pond, and the sound of it could also be heard from time to time.
The atmosphere was tranquil and elegant.
In one of the many pavilions, there were a few old men of the Void Training Stage chatting happily.
"How nice this place is! The stone-cutting convention, under the cooperation of the Jiang and Gong families, is going to be a great success."
"To my surprise, apart from us Eight Directions Green Dragon Sect, the other three Sects are also here, and the three big families in the Eastern Continent have sent many people here as well."
"Both the Jiang family and the Gong family are bound to make a fortune from this convention. They've dug out many ancient stones from the Heaven Dragon Cave, and you know what, everyone in the Eastern Continent wants to have a look at them!"
"The Heaven Dragon Cave is such a dangerous place. It seems like they found the stones on the outskirts, but still, to get the stones, many powerful men in the two families have been sacrificed."
"I'm so glad that Elder Qin is also here today. I'm sure you can get many treasures from these stones."
Chapter 576: Be Cultured and Polite
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Eels?" The maidservant was stunned. "My Lord, why do you need eels?"
"I will use them to stab people! I will sit here and stab anyone who dares defy me!" Xu Que smiled coldly. He thoughtfully considered the woman whose family name was Li, then sat opposite her.
Apparently, he'd decided to confront her directly.
Hearing his words, everyone instantly became speechless.
Does he want to stab others with eels? What kind of thought process is that? I've never of someone being stabbed to death by an eel!
Of course, they hadn't heard of it before. If they had heard of it, the woman whose family name was Li might have gone mad on the spot!
The maidservant thought Xu Que was kidding, so she didn't take it seriously and left after laughing lamely. However, the woman whose family name was Li was still quite angry about Xu Que's reaction.
Identity and status were highly regarded in the World of Cultivators. She was self-assured for coming from the Li Family, which was quite famous in the East Continent—although it was not as famous as those big families like the Jiang Family and the Gong Family.
Now an unknown young sovereign dared to confront her in public! How could she diffuse her anger? If she did nothing, the Li Family would be looked down upon by other big families participating in the event!
"Behave yourself!" The Li woman slapped the stone table with her hand. The stone table was still intact, but all the blue and white porcelain tea sets on the table were smashed.
"Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you sit here? I give you a time of three breaths, you just get out with your dog!" the Li woman shouted peremptorily and ferociously, much too overbearing for a lady.
Liu Jingning's face darkened immediately. She looked at the Li woman coldly, her eyes full of killing intent. However, she didn't expose her cultivation level at the Void Training Stage. After all, there were too many powerhouses in this area. If she wasn't careful, she would be detected by others instantly.
However, Buttface lost his temper first. He angrily yelled, "F*ck you! Open your eyes and watch me closely. I'm a wolf!"
He attracted the attention of everyone in the area with his yelling.
What a ferocious dog it is!
The powerhouses at the Void Training Stage in the central area just glanced at them, then they continued to chat joyfully as if nothing had happened.
After all, the quarreling among the juniors was nothing for them!
It seemed there was no rules in the Stone-Cutting Convention. Quarreling was not forbidden. However, fighting was prohibited, and the violators would be punished.
Instead of getting a reply from Xu Que, the Li woman had been cursed by a dog, which flew her into a rage out of humiliation. Weren't they suggesting that the heiress of the Li family could only talk to a dog!
She could not start a fight because of the rules of the Stone-Cutting Convention. Therefore, all she could do was coldly stare at Xu Que.
However, the silent man beside the Li woman of the Li Family suddenly said, "Yan'er, you will only degrade yourself by talking with them! The Stone-Cutting Convention is about to commence, stop making trouble!"
"Hum!" Li Yan'er snorted. "When the convention is finished, you will know you have bitten off more than you can chew!" She stopped expelling Xu Que.
However, at this moment, Xu Que squinted his eyes. "Who said we have bitten off more than we can chew?" he asked vaguely. "Buttface, are you hungry?"
"Yes!" Hearing that, Buttface immediately became energetic and stuck out his tongue.
"Let's set up the pot!" Xu Que waved his hand, then he took out several items from the System Package and placed them on the stone table. The stone table was instantly occupied by a charcoal stove, an iron pot and oil.
Liu Jingning's eyes widened. What is this little brat going to do? Is he going to cook something here?
This was the Stone-Cutting Convention! How could he cook food in front of powerhouses from so many big sects and families?
How embarrassing this would be!
However, for an old driver like Xu Que, he was so thick-skinned that he could ignore the embarrassment.
After all, being shameless was the absolute best principle in these days.
When you were abused by others for being shameless, you could just confirm that you were indeed shameless, and, so what? Then this person could do nothing except fight you.
Therefore, before the surprised eyes of the onlookers, Xu Que continued to heat the pot until the oil boiled.
With a gloomy face, the Li woman stood on guard against Xu Que for fear that he might throw the pot with the boiling oil at her.
Xu Que smiled coldly as if he'd seen through the woman's mind. "Why are you on guard against me? Why are you here if you're so cowardly? You thought I would pour the oil on you, right? Let me tell you: all members of our Exploding Heavens Faction are virtuous elites who can recite the Eight Honors and Eight Shames fluently. We are cultured and polite. Why would I do that?"
As he spoke, he took out a bag of smelly tofu. Then he threw it all into the pot.
Chi!
Suddenly, the oil in the pot started to boil. Dozens of pieces of smelly tofu simmered in the hot oil and released a lot of hot gas. A stench gushed out instantly and permeated the whole area.
The woman of the Li Family and Liu Jingning were in the same pavilion as Xu Que, and they were immediately dumbfounded.
"What the hell is that?"
"Sh*t, what is this smell?"
"Whose crap is so stinky?"
"Who is crapping in public? This is outrageous!"
All at once, the Stone-Cutting Convention, which had been elegant and quiet, was a mess!
Many young sovereigns were cursing and covering their noses. The elders at the Void Training Stage were quite unhappy and knitted their brows.
Soon, people focused their eyes on the area where Xu Que was in. They realized that the horrible stench was coming from the pot in front of Xu Que!
"My Lord, what are you doing?" The sovereign in the pavilion next to Xu Que's couldn't take it anymore.
"Why are you poisoning us?"
"You could solve the conflict with the Li family privately. It is really unnecessary to do such an absurd thing here!"
"Right! This is the Stone-Cutting Convention. Why are you boiling crap here?"
More and more sovereigns started to express their dissatisfaction and anger toward Xu Que. This guy had just said he was cultured and polite. No one expected he would start to behave absurdly by boiling crap.
Even worse, someone saw him take the bag of crap out from his pocket!
This is insane!
What a maniac!
Who could put a bag of crap in his pocket?
Liu Jingning was almost about to spit blood. Although she had concealed her identity through disguise, she couldn't help flushing, and she even planned to hide herself in a crevice in the ground. It was too shameful!
The Li woman and the man beside her were even more shocked. Their eyes widened. They hadn't expected Xu Que to behave like this, which was unexpectedly gross and abnormal .
However, Xu Que and Buttface were so shameless that they just ignored the gazes and words of everyone!
Even worse, both of them took a pair of long chopsticks and stared into the pot expectantly. They started stirring the pot!
"Are they cooked enough?" Buttface asked anxiously.
Xu Que shook his head. "Not yet, wait a minute!"
"I think they are well cooked now!"
"Just wait!"
"Till when? I can't wait anymore!"
"What's the rush? Let me try one first!" Xu Que picked up a piece of black smelly tofu as he spoke.
Before the frightened eyes of the onlookers, he opened his mouth and bit the smelly tofu with his face full of sweet happiness.
All at once, all onlookers went nuts!
Chapter 577: he really ate it
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
No one in the huge yard made a sound.
People playing the Chinese zither and flute also stopped making noise.
After seeing Xu Que swallow those black, oily things, their minds all went blank.
My god! He ate it! He really ate it!
My eyes must be deceiving me! That young man cooked a pot of sh*t and ate it?!
"Xu Que, leave some for me!"
Buttface quickly put some black stinky tofu in his mouth and ate it.
Seeing this, everyone present was greatly shocked. They could not understand the happy looks on their faces.
The young woman with the surname Li could no longer stand it and began to retch, but nothing came out of her mouth.
Since she stood right next to Xu Que the stinky smell almost "killed" her, so she quickly stood up and left the pavilion with her face as white as a sheet.
Liu Jingning was stunned. She also knew Xu Que's character, however, and that he could not possibly eat sh*t. This made her feel a bit relieved.
Normally, for someone who had not experienced the smell of Stinky tofu, the idea of sh*t immediately came to their mind once they smelled it, and all their senses became magnified and extremely sensitive.
Also, for ordinary people who feared to walk alone in the darkness, whenever they encountered something they could not understand they blamed it on an evil spirit.
Even if no one present was ordinary at all, they still could not get away from this mind trap of ordinary men.
Liu Jingning could no longer suppress her curiosity. "Little Que Que, you…"
Xu Que quickly handed one piece of Stinky tofu to her and said, "Come and have a taste."
"What!" Liu Jingning was terrified and quickly backed off.
Seeing this, people became disgusted again.
This young man is crazy! He even wants to ask others to eat sh*t with him!
I never thought I would meet someone of this sort in this life. How terrifying!
"You can eat it all if you like," Liu Jingning said. "Please spare me of this!"
Xu Que rolled his eyes. "Look at you! There's nothing to be afraid of! This is called 'Stinky tofu.' It will help enhance your Soul Strength!'
Stinky tofu?
Liu Jingning was shocked and so was everyone else. Hearing this, they all began to carefully look at the things in the pot and found they indeed looked like tofu.
However, they still could not believe the stinky tofu was really edible, let alone its ability to enhance one's soul strength.
This is just impossible!
Liu Jingning still didn't believe Xu Que, and she didn't dare taste it.
What if he's lying to me? What if he really likes eating sh*t?
Some men of great importance became interested and felt it was worth a try. But, of course, they would not taste it by themselves.
"You!" An old man of the Void Training Stage pointed to a male servant. "Go and taste one piece of that stuff, and I'll reward you with a great prize later!" This old man was of very high status, so all the male servants and maids dared not contradict him.
The male servant was terrified. Spineless, he approached Xu Que. "Can you… can you give me a piece of Stinky tofu?"
"Man up! This is good stuff!" Xu Que happily gave one piece of Stinky tofu to him.
The male servant trembled and gently opened his mouth and swallowed the tofu with his eyes tightly closed. The Stinky tofu broke inside his mouth and the delicious soup came out. The smelly smell was gone and was replaced by some fragrant smell.
"This… this is…" The male servant was so surprised that his eyes were wide open/ He could feel that his soul strength had been enhanced.
"How does it taste?!" the old man asked hurriedly.
"My lord, it tastes much sweeter than ordinary tofu and is really delicious!" the male servant said happily. "I can feel my soul strength has been enhanced." Then he turned around and expressed his gratitude to Xu Que. "Thank you so much!"
Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
So that black and oily thing is not sh*t, but tofu?! Really?! It can also enhance one's soul strength?
"This is impossible!" Liu Jingning exclaimed. She had never heard of this type of tofu with such magical power.
The next moment, everyone become desperate to taste the tofu.
"Young man, would you mind giving me one piece?" The old man who just sent the male servant to taste the tofu was the first one to made the move.
The powerful man from the Eight Directions Green Dragon Sect said, "Young man, I also want to have a bite of it."
The strong man of the The Illusionary Flower & Moon Sect said, "So do I! I can give you a piece of ancient stone as a present!"
The man from the Gong Family said, "I want the rest of the tofu! If you give all of it to me, I will give you a magic weapon of six stars!"
"Young man," the man from the Bai Family said, "I will give you one of the seven stars if you give the rest of the tofu to me!"
Everyone had changed their tune and now believed in the magic power of the Stinky tofu.
Xu Que raised up the pot and banged on it. "Quiet! Quiet! Quiet please!" he shouted.
Seeing this, everyone shut up and looked at Xu Que.
Xu Que smiled. "I have a good news for you all," he shouted. "Today is a great day of discount! Just a few days ago, one piece of stinky tofu would have cost you 6,000 Spiritual Stones of top quality, while today one piece will only cost you 998 Spiritual Stones of top quality! Only nine hundred ninety eight!"
…
Chapter 578: Competition
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Nine hundred ninety eight?
The price for a piece of smelly tofu is 998 high quality Spirit Stones?
That's nothing short of robbery!
All at once, the powerhouses of the big sects and families became speechless and stared at Xu Que in confusion.
The sovereigns were dumbfounded. None of them expected this guy to be bold enough to offer such a high price in front of powerhouses of the big sects and families!
He's just robbing us!
The area fell into an awkward silence. Liu Jingning' s eyelids were twitching because even she wanted to beat Xu Que up.
Couldn't he live one day without causing trouble?
What he had was just some smelly tofu! Everyone who had just spoken to him was big shot!
If he could give them one or two pieces of smelly tofu for free he might leave good impression them, which could facilitate his future in the East Continent. This was absolutely worth the smelly tofu, and anyone in his position would know what to do.
However, this guy was unconventional enough that he dared cheat the powerhouses at the Void Training Stage! He must be tired of life!
"Hey, little brat, the smelly tofu is even more delicious than before! And the effect is even more extraordinary!" Buttface, who had swallowed several pieces of smelly tofu spoke suddenly, for he had belatedly sensed the smelly tofu was more delicious than before .
Xu Que smiled but didn't say a word. After his Chef Identity level had been enhanced, the smelly tofu prepared by him was certainly more delicious and powerful than before. And the enhancement effect on Soul Strength was increased from one percent to ten percent.
Ten percent enhancement of Soul Strength was nothing for cultivators at low cultivation levels. However, it couldn't be overlooked for cultivators at the Original Infant Stage or high stages. The higher the cultivator's level was, the more the cultivator would benefit from the smelly tofu!
However, the only shortcoming for this enhanced smelly tofu was that one person could only have it once in his or her life, and the enhancement effect would not superimpose itself if one ate the smelly tofu several times.
That was also the reason Xu Que dared sell it. If the smelly tofu could infinitely enhance Soul Strength, he would have eaten it every day.
"Hum! Young man, isn't your price too high?" an old man asked with a gloomy face asked in a way suggesting he wanted to warn Xu Que.
"The price is too high!" an old lady agree. "It's true the waiter enhanced his Soul Strength after eating the smelly tofu. However, for cultivators like us, this enhancement is almost nothing!"
The rest of the big shots nodded one after another.
They could sense the enhancement of that waiter's Soul Strength. As a cultivator at the Golden Core stage, the waiter enhanced his Soul Strength, but the enhancement was almost negligible for powerhouses like the old lady.
What interested them were the ingredients. If they worked them out, then they could make the smelly tofu by themselves and greatly enhance their Soul Strengths by eating the smelly tofu every day.
However, Xu Que just ignored their comments and continued to shout, "The last four pieces! The last four pieces in this pot! And the price for each is 998! Nine hundred ninety eight! It's cheap and good! Don't miss it!"
All the onlookers immediately became sheepish!
This guy is really going to make trouble! How can he keep shouting and ignore the comments of the two powerhouses?
But the real effect of Xu Que's smelly tofu had gone far beyond their imagination! Ten percent enhancement of Soul Strength was indeed nothing for cultivators at the Golden Core Stage! What they didn't expect was that the enhancement effect was same for each cultivation level!
However, the percentage was a relative value. If a cultivator at the Infant Transformation Stage ate the smelly tofu, his ten percent enhancement of Soul Strength was almost identical with the total Soul Strength of thousands of cultivators at the Golden Core Stage!
"My young friend," another man said, "could you stop peddling for a moment? I want to talk with you!" This old man was quite different from the others. His tone was very gentle and he had a benevolent countenance.
Liu Jingning told Xu Que by delivering a message that this old man was Elder Feng Wudao of the Illusionary Flower & Moon Sect, who was much revered in the East Continent. She reminded Xu Que to watch his mouth to avoid offending Elder Feng.
Xu Que was a man who believed in first impressions. This old man was the only one who appeared nice among so many aggressive onlookers, which made Xu Que feel good. Although his behavior at the Bright Moon Hotel had offended the Illusionary Flower & Moon Sect, it wouldn't prevent him from acting tough and cheating others.
Immediately, Xu Que smiled at the old man and said, "Sir, what do you want to talk about?"
"I have a pill which can enhance Soul Strength. It is called the 'Soul Coagulation Pill!'"
Feng Wudao took out a pill with a faint smile. "After the waiter took your smelly tofu, the enhancement effect he experienced on his Soul Strength was almost identical to the effect of this pill. However, the price of this Soul Coagulation Pill is about 300 high-grade Spirit Stones or three high quality Spirit Stones. Your smelly tofu is just a kind of food, so its cost shouldn't be very high, but your price is hundreds of times more expensive than the Soul Coagulation Pill. Isn't it too high?"
Feng Wudao said exactly what the rest of the onlookers were thinking.
The effect of a piece of smelly tofu was identical with that of a Soul Coagulation Pill. Why did Xu Que sell it at such a high price?
The reason that these people were interested in the smelly tofu was that they thought the cost of the smelly tofu would be lower than that of the Soul Coagulation Pill. Therefore, they just wanted to try it to research the ingredients of the smelly tofu.
But they didn't expect Xu Que to open his mouth wide enough to offer such a high price!
Xu Que smiled again. "If I say my smelly tofu can instantly enhance the eater's Soul Strength by ten percent, is the price still too high for you?"
What?
Enhance the Soul Strength by ten percent?
All of a sudden, the onlookers eyes widened with disbelief.
No one here was a fool. They understood the meaning of a ten percent enhancement of Soul Strength. For cultivators at low cultivation levels, it was nothing. As for powerhouses like them, they couldn't realize a ten percent enhancement of Soul Strength even they ate 10,000 Soul Coagulation Pills!
Moreover, when a cultivator kept eating pills, the pills would eventually cease being effective. Also, a lot of time would be consumed in refining pills. However, the smelly tofu could enhance Soul Strength by ten percent instantly!
Through comparison, the value of the smelly tofu was really unimaginable!
However, is the smelly tofu really so powerful?
Many people were suspicious and thought that what Xu Que said was unbelievable. After all, the effect was way too amazing!
"My young friend, what you say . . . is for real?" Feng Wudao asked excitedly.
He trusted his judgement. It seemed this young sovereign in front of him was not lying, for he had seen the calm and self-confidence in his eyes unusual to his peers.
"An honest man doesn't act tough underhand. If you doubt its effect, why don't you just buy one to check?" Xu Que smiled as if he was joking. His frivolousness made people believe he was teasing those big shots.
However, Feng Wudao took out 1,000 high quality Spirit Stones by waving his hand without any hesitation, then he said, "My young friend, I will buy one to check its effect!" Of course, if Xu Que were lying to him, he was confident enough to punish him on the spot.
Hearing his words, a waiter came to Xu Que with a jade plate in his hand. Xu Que took out a piece of smelly tofu from the pot and put it into the jade plate, then he received the 1,000 high quality Spirit Stones.
Seeing his first huge income here, Xu Que smiled.
On the other side, Feng Wudao put that smelly tofu into his mouth before the expectant eyes of the onlookers.
Although he frowned at the stench, he found it was indeed delicious.
The next moment, Feng Wudao felt a roar in his brain and his body vibrated a bit.
Boom!
All at once, his Soul Strength was really enhanced by ten percent!
"This…" Feng Wudao was shocked. Even though he now believed Xu Que was not lying, he was still terrified after experiencing the ten percent enhancement of his Soul Strength!
The other powerhouses at the Void Training Stage couldn't keep their seats anymore!
All of them clearly sensed the enhancement of Feng Wudao's Soul Strength, which proved the effect of the smelly tofu.
"My young friend, I will also buy one piece!" the Elder of the Gong Family said first.
Immediately after that, the Elder of the Jiang Family shouted, "Young man, I will also buy one!"
Soon, other big shots participated in the panicked buying.
"My young friend, I have 3,000 high quality Spirit Stones, please sell three pieces to the Eight Directions Green Dragon Sect!"
"Hum! The Eight Directions Green Dragon Sect is too greedy! There are only three pieces left, how could you buy them all? My young friend, the Bai Family will buy these three pieces of smelly tofu with 4,000 high quality Spirit Stones!"
"Heh-heh, does the Bai Family think only they can afford that price? I will buy them for 5,000 high quality Spirit Stones!"
"Hum! Here are 6,000 high quality Spirit Stones!"
"I will buy them using 8,000 high quality Spirit Stones!"
…
Chapter 579: Uncontrollable Situation
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Suddenly, everyone began asking for the stinky tofu, offering high prices. All the important figures were trying to get the tofu by bidding as if they were at an auction. Those who were short-tempered were almost ready to fight.
All the young elites present were shocked by the magic power of the tofu and wanted the opportunity to eat some. However, they could not possibly compete with the important figures present, both in terms of strength and money.
Xu Que was very calm, and had already expected this would happen. He sat aside and watched people bid.
Liu Jingning sent a voice message to him.
"Nice play!"
Xu Que smiled. "Thanks for the compliment!"
"I've been your protégé, so I think I deserve at least one piece of stinky tofu." Even she could no longer resist the temptation of magic power from the tofu, and she thought Xu Que would be very happy to give her one piece for free. After all, he had handed one to her earlier, it was just that she hadn't accepted it.
Xu Que muttered something.
"What? I did not hear you quite clearly!"
"You . . . "
The smile on Liu Jingning's face froze; she felt angry when glancing over at Xu Que's face and realized that he'd made her angry on purpose.
Soon, the important figures had already raised the price up to tens of thousands of Spiritual Stones.
But compared with the magic power of the stinky tofu, the Spiritual Stones were not that important anymore.
At last, the Elder from the Jiang family gave the highest price: 5,000 Spiritual Stones for one piece of stinky tofu.
Others became very jealous about this, but they could do nothing since it was their own fault for being unable to give a higher price. They had just come to this stone-cutting convention on behalf of their family and could only use a limited amount of Spiritual Stones. Besides, they had never imagined the stone-cutting convention would turn into a stinky tofu auction.
"Young man!" the strong man from the Gong Family suddenly said. "I will also buy one piece of stinky tofu with 5,000 high quality Spiritual Stones!"
Xu Que was very happy to hear this. He quickly gave one piece of tofu to each of them and received 10,000 high quality Spiritual Stones.
Seeing this, Liu Jingning was stunned. Although 10,000 high quality Spiritual Stones was not a big deal for her, she had never seen anyone make such a huge amount of money in such a short period of time.
Xu Que put the high quality Spiritual Stones into his storage ring. "There is only one piece of tofu here in the pot. Does anyone else want it? If not, I will eat it myself!"
What?! You ate so many pieces earlier, you still want another piece?! Wait a moment, why on earth has your soul strength not been enhanced more? After all, you ate so many of them earlier.
Realizing this, Feng Wudao asked, "Young man, is it possible that the tofu only works the first time someone eats it?"
Xu Que nodded. "You are right! It only works once. It will not do you any good later, no matter how many you eat!"
Even so, people still admired the magic power of the stinky tofu and thought it quite normal. If the tofu worked every time someone ate it, anyone could become powerful simply by eating a few hundred pieces.
"So no one wants it? Fine, I will eat it then!"
Xu Que was about to put it in his mouth.
Seeing this, people got rather anxious.
You just said that it won't do you any good if you've already eaten it once. Why are you going to eat it if you know it won't do you any good?
"Young man," an Elder said, "I am sorry to tell you that I only have 3,000 high quality Spiritual Stones. Can I have the last piece of tofu and give you the rest of them once the stone-cutting convention is over?"
Xu Que blinked. "Of course you can! But you need to write me an IOU!"
"Really?!" Hearing this, everyone else got excited.
In fact, everyone present had plenty of Spiritual Stones. The reason they didn't dare spend too many was that they needed to buy some ancient stones. But now that Xu Que said someone could have the last piece of stinky tofu under the condition that he wrote Xu Que an IOU, everyone became excited again.
"Young man, I also have 3,000 high quality Spiritual Stones, and I can write you an IOU of another 3,000!"
"I will buy it with 7,000 high quality Spiritual Stones!"
"Young man! Don't buy their words! What if they change their mind after they get the stones? I have 4,000 high quality Spiritual Stones here, and I can give you a bottle of Jiu Zhuan Golden Black Pills worth 1,000 high quality Spiritual Stones!"
Suddenly, a few old men got into a quarrel.
"Nonsense! Who said I would change my mind?!"
"I was simply telling the truth!"
"When the stone-cutting convention is over, stay here and I will come for you!"
"I'm not afraid of you at all!"
Seeing this, the two Elders from the Jiang Family and the Gong Family respectively sneered and felt happy that they had brought enough stones with themselves. After hearing what Xu Que had said, they also became interested.
Although the tofu would not do them any good, still, it would do great good to the people who were at even higher stages than they were back in the family.
"I will write you an IOU of 10,000 high quality Spiritual Stones," the Elder of the Jiang Family said, "and I will let you pick an ancient stone for free later, as long as you give me the last piece of stinky tofu!"
Hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Picking an ancient stone for free?! You know all the stones were carried from the Heaven Dragon Cave!
Even the Elder from the Gong family was stunned and never expected the Elder from the Jiang family to be so generous. "Young man!" he said. "I'll also write you an IOU of 10,000 high quality Spiritual Stones, and I will let you pick two ancient stones for free later!"
Hearing this, the Elder from the Jiang Family became angry.
"Three ancient stones!"
"Four!"
Hearing this, people were shocked again.
What on earth is going on?! I can't possibly believe this!
Everyone present knew the relationship between the two families was a rather delicate one. They had competed and cooperated with each other in the past. Recently, the two families were trying to connect through marriage. The stone-cutting convention was also proof of their intentions of mending the bridge between them.
However, their relationship was about to crumble simply because of a piece of stinky tofu.
"Five!" the Elder of the Jiang Family said.
"Six!" the Elder of the Gong Family said.
"Seven!"
"Eight!"
Clearly, something had happened between the two old men. Otherwise, they would not be willing to destroy the relationship between the two families.
At last, the Elder from the Jiang family got the last piece of stinky tofu with the condition of an IOU of 10,000 high quality Spiritual Stones and picking ten ancient stones for free.
The face of the Elder of the Gong Family grew dark. He meant to give a higher price but stopped when a man whispered to him.
Xu Que took the IOU with great satisfaction.
Then, he took out another bag of stinky tofu and poured it into his pot.
Everyone was speechless.
"I am very happy to tell you that those who didn't get any tofu can buy some now! Each piece of stinky tofu costs only nine hundred and ninety eight high quality Spiritual Stones."