Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Zhang Qiang paused, taken aback.

As a project manager for a loan company, he was naturally aware of the customers’ various situations. He knew that Xu Yang could never pay off those debts. This time, it was to intimidate and tempt him into squeezing out his last bit of value—the property left by his parents.

Although Longhai was a first-tier city with sky-high housing prices, Qianjin’s middle-class parents left behind a property worth several million yuan. Otherwise, the loan company would not have lent him so much money for no apparent reason.

Now, without him having to apply pressure or temptation, Xu Yang was taking the initiative to pledge his house as collateral?

This caught Zhang Qiang off guard, and it took him a while to react. A genuine smile appeared on his sullen face, “Jin, that’s very genuine of you, I like that. In light of our familiarity, I’ll offer three hundred thousand for your house, and I’ll write off all your debts. How about that?”

“Fine!”

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang was just as decisive, “I want the three hundred thousand now and I can transfer the house to you right away.”

“So soon?”

Zhang Qiang frowned, somewhat skeptical.

Xu Yang’s expression didn’t change as he continued, “Also, give me a month to move out and vacate the house.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, Zhang Qiang said nothing further, “Alright, a deal’s a deal!”

After that, he instructed his henchman to drive to Xu Yang’s house.

Although he didn’t understand what made the young man so anxious, the chance to buy a house worth millions for three hundred thousand was a deal he had no reason to refuse.

…

A few hours later, at the house registry office.

“Jin, it’s been a pleasure doing business. The next time you need anything, just give me a call.”

Having made a hefty profit from the deal, Zhang Qiang’s smile grew more genuine. He patted Xu Yang on the shoulder and let him down from the van.

Xu Yang didn’t say much, clutching the freshly credited bank card and the house transfer contract, and turned to enter a convenience store.

“This kid…”

Zhang Qiang sat in the van, watching Xu Yang’s departing figure with a sense of strangeness he couldn’t quite place.

The blond-haired sidekick beside him felt similar, “Brother Qiang, we let him off that easy, isn’t that a bit too cheap? What about the three hundred thousand?”

“Humph!”

Zhang Qiang scoffed, holding the property deed and said, “There’s a saying ‘To spare someone when you can.’ We’ve already made enough from this deal. Let’s let him off for now and avoid pushing him to desperation. We’ll find another way to get more out of him later. I hope the kid is smart enough not to spend that three hundred thousand too quickly.”

These words illuminated his underling, “Brother Qiang, you’re brilliant!”

“How else would I be your boss?”

“Exactly, exactly…”

Let’s set their conversation aside for a moment.

Inside the convenience store, Xu Yang wheeled a cart full of items to the cashier.

“Eighty-five yuan, thank you… Ah!”

The cashier looked up, gasped in shock, and stared at Xu Yang with a horrified expression.

Xu Yang’s face was pallid, his eyes bloodshot—his appearance was truly frightful, no wonder the cashier was startled.

Ignoring the terrified cashier, the pale Xu Yang endured the pain in his skull, took out his phone, completed the payment, and left the convenience store with a bag of goods.

Stepping out of the store, without wasting time going elsewhere, he opened the bag on the street corner, took out a large bottle of mineral water, poured in a bag of white sugar, shook it, and then gulped it down.

“Glug glug glug!”

The large bottle of sickly sweet sugar water went down his throat. With a series of characteristics from his dietary skills and the effects of the Martial Arts Scripture, the high-calorie nutrients were quickly broken down into sugars, absorbed by his weakened and depleted body.

Thus, the intense pain in his skull ebbed away slightly, and some color returned to Xu Yang’s pale face.

Still, Xu Yang’s actions didn’t stop there. He took out several packets of high-calorie foods from the bag and wolfed them down.

People like Zhang Qiang had one thing in common—they were greedy to the extreme, sucking the marrow from the bone.

“Do you think that if you cooperate obediently, offer tributes to him, and allow him to exploit you, he would stop at the appropriate point and spare your life?”

“Impossible!”

“Such a person is like a jackal, a hungry tiger that can never be fed enough, never be sated!”

“He will only consume you completely, never understanding the concept of restraint.”

Therefore, Xu Yang had no choice but to resort to measures and cast the Secret of Heavenly Demon on him.

Although he now had no Cultivation and was just a mortal, casting the Soul-Enticing Technique did not necessarily require Mana; similar methods existed within Martial Arts Scriptures, such as the Heavenly Demon Great Skill from the War God’s Atlas, all of which had the ability to capture and bewitch souls.

At the cost of consuming a large amount of his Qi Blood, he cast the most superficial level of the Heavenly Demon Great Skill on Zhang Qiang and the others, slightly confusing their minds, allowing that three hundred thousand to successfully land in his pocket without further bone-breaking and marrow-sucking.

But the consequence of doing this was that Xu Yang, who had not a trace of Cultivation and was extremely weak, entered a severe state of Qi Blood deficiency.

If anyone else had done this, they would have lost at least half their life and have to struggle with illness thereafter.

But Xu Yang was not ordinary, with Skill Characteristics and Cultivation Techniques, this deficit was nothing to him.

After finishing a bag of food and feeling much recovered, Xu Yang did not linger any longer. He found a bank to withdraw some funds, and then began his shopping spree.

Although he now had no Cultivation and his body was extremely weak, with his methods, taking out a few gang members was still easily within his reach.

But he did not do so, choosing instead to use the Secret Technique of Heavenly Demon to facilitate the transaction between both parties.

There were two reasons, one was that he needed start-up capital, and the other was that he did not want to alarm anyone prematurely.

Killing was simple, but dealing with the aftermath was difficult!

This is the modern age, not ancient times; there is no such thing as citizens not reporting and officials not investigating. Zhang Qiang and his cohort belonged to a social gang, a loan company, and with the myriad of cameras on the streets, killing them directly would have left Xu Yang with a mess to clean up and might even attract the focused attention of the Federation agencies, potentially tracing back to him in the end.

“To have seen the Red Moon last night, and to dare to kill people today?”

“Isn’t that clearly asking for trouble?”

Without sufficient power to protect himself and understand the true nature of this world, he had to maintain a certain level of vigilance toward the Federation agencies.

Hence, Xu Yang decided to spare them for the time being, spend the money over some time, and then settle accounts with them later, doing some social cleansing.

…

After withdrawing several thousand in cash from the bank, Xu Yang did not proceed with his initial plan to indulge in an all-you-can-eat buffet. Instead, he first visited an electronics market and purchased a brand-new smartphone and a high-performance laptop.

Three hundred thousand, one-tenth of it gone in an instant.

But Xu Yang didn’t mind in the slightest, taking his purchases and heading to a buffet restaurant.

“Eighty-five yuan per person, no time limit, all you can eat, seafood and steak, enjoy the entire buffet.”

Ignoring the dubious advertising slogans, Xu Yang paid the meal fee and deposit, grabbed a large plate of food, then started recording himself eating and drinking in front of the camera on his new phone.

In this world, Spiritual Energy is scarce.

This body, of low aptitude.

How to cultivate quickly and gain powerful combat abilities?

Just by eating?

That’s far from enough!

One must start in other areas as well.

For example… the human population!

To Xu Yang, the human population was also a resource for Cultivation.

Because he possessed the Taoist Martial Two Scriptures and the feedback from Skill Characteristics, allowing him to add “Cultivation Accessories.”

In this world, the land area is similar to the World of Dao and Law; although the population isn’t as exaggerated as under the rule of Wandao School, the combined population of the five major regions—East, South, West, North, and Central—is nearly a hundred billion.

A hundred billion people, if they were taught Martial Arts, how many Cultivation Accessories would that add?

Even if it couldn’t fully replace Spiritual Energy, it could greatly enhance the efficiency of Cultivation.

Therefore, spreading the Cultivation Techniques was imperative!

But how should these methods be spread?

Direct spreading?

That’s impractical!

Let alone the response of the Federation agencies, the diffusion rate alone is a significant problem.

This world, on the surface, seems like an ordinary one without Cultivation. If you tell someone you want to teach them peerless Martial Arts, nine times out of ten, they will think you’re crazy.

If you want others to accept your ideas and Cultivate Martial Arts with you, you must first possess enough influence.

Thus, Xu Yang decided to become a streamer.

A streamer?

Internet celebrity?

It might sound demeaning, but you must admit that the internet is an exceptionally efficient platform for dissemination.

Xu Yang is a pragmatist. So long as it doesn’t deviate from his original intent and can achieve his goals, he doesn’t mind which means he uses.

Now was the same, although being a streamer or internet celebrity is at the bottom of the hierarchy of contempt and carries significant negative connotations, he did not mind taking on the role temporarily to exploit it to his advantage.

In truth, no profession is inherently noble or lowly. The negative image of streamers and internet celebrities largely stems from the chaotic antics of those on the internet.

Xu Yang decided to become a counter-current, opening up a new path as a “Martial God Streamer,” making it his first step towards influencing the world.