Without Cao Huang realizing, the time passed so quickly. He stared outside through the window and saw that it was time for the Sun to rise meaning that a whole day was about to pass.
Realizing what Cao Huang was looking at, he spoke.
"We have been standing here for more than Twenty-five hours. The diffusion of Chaos Origin Blood in your body took Twenty-five hours so I changed your perception of time without you realizing because I felt that it was impossible for the current you to bear such extreme pain continuously for that much time."
"Thank you." Cao Huang was grateful to Azurus as he had already given him so much.
"Don't ever thank me again. You are my successor. If I don't help you then who will. Cough! Cough!" Azurus started to cough as he wasn't used such polite speech.
"Now then as you are my successor, I can't let you walk an easy path. So I have something for you here."
He flicked his finger from God knows where a bag appeared in his hands. He handed the bag to Cao Huang. Cao Huang recognized the bag as a storage bag. Azurus signalled Cao Huang to open the bag with a movement of his eyebrows.
Cao Huang opened the bag and found that it was filled with several things. Two rings; one thumb ring and middle finger ring, a scroll, a stone and a letter and three skill books.
"My work here is done so I shall take my leave. We will meet again." Azurus's voice rang out as his figure started to fade.
When will I get such teleportation skill. Cao Huang though in his mind.
He wanted to check what he had received when another system notification rang out.
System: Please Save your progress. Servers logging out in one minute.
He went to a dark corner of the house and saved his progress. He wanted to log out when he heard Vilariun's voice in his head.
"User, I won't be able to appear in the real world because of the absence of a suitable medium. I advice user to buy several bottles of nutrition fluid when he is free."
Although he had guessed it but still he felt a little empty as he had gotten used to Vilariun's presence.
"Why should I buy several bottles of nutrition fluid? I don't want to waste so much credits in doing so as I am not doing any workout."
"You will know when you log out." Vilariun smiled mysteriously.
That was the last thing he heard before his vision got blurry.
Beijing, suburbs, Xinghai Housing Society.
Early morning, a layer of fog still covered the outer layers of the window. The Sun was beginning to rise, rays of light illuminated the dew drops on the surface of grass outside the house giving them a sparkling effect. A gentle and cool wind blew making the leaves and branches of trees dance joyfully. The cool and gentle wind carrying the fragrance of nature came in through the windows slightly blowing across the face of Cao Huang who was looking outside. Cao had previously stood here many times before but never knew such a beautiful scene existed. It filled him with a sense of serenity he felt never before. The cooling sensation was amplified by the sweat that covered his whole body. The events he experienced in the game had greatly increased his state of mind. He was far more confident, energetic, calm and composed then before. His previous dead eyes were filled with vigour, his body filled with vitality.
Everything was fine except his body which was aching with pain and tiredness. He now knew what Vilariun meant that it was necessary for him to buy nutrition fluid. This was because Vilariun was continuously stimulating his real body when he was playing the game. Whatever he did in Virtual World was transmitted back to his real body. Him running ten kilometers in the game would be same as him running ten kilometers in real life. So Absolute Supremacy was kind of an intense training ground for him. But this wasn't completely harmless as it only strengthened his inner body and mental strength. In order to negate the side effects he had to he had to train his body in real life as well. Not only this would negate the side-effects, it will also increase the rate at which his body and mind develops.
He picked his phone to see the time and saw that it was seven in the morning. Only one hour left till his school started, he took a quick shower, woke up his little sister and prepared a breakfast. Finishing his breakfast, he sent his little sister towards her school.
While Cao Dan was walking to school, she realized that something about her Brother had changed but couldn't put a finger on what had changed about him. After sometime she sensed that her Brother was more cheerful and happy. Even his physique had changed. It had been a long time since she had seen her brother like this.
"Brother, did something good happen?" she asked while tilting her head slightly.
"Why do you ask?"
"You have a wide smile on your face." she said while spreading her hands to show how wide his smile was.
"Nothing, I was just happy about the reward I got from the company." he lied with a straight face.
"Really? But you received the reward two days ago but why are smiling now?" she asked with a doubtful face.
"Haha, I also had my school fee paid." he tried to cover up his lies.
"Oh, What about you becoming slim overnight?" she asked about another thing bugging her.
When Cao Huang looked at his body, he realized that this was the case. The intense stimulation had burned his slightly excess body fat. He felt like he had become several times stronger and faster. The bag he was carrying on his shoulders felt like thin air.
"It's because and friend of mine gave me a medicine which burns off the excess body fat in a single day. I took it before sleeping and found that I was indeed more slimmer than the night before." he came up with an even bigger lie.
"Really? Can you also give me some?" she asked with begging eyes.
"Why do you want such a medicine? You are already in good shape. If you took it then you will become a skeleton." Cao Huang didn't know what his sister would do with such a medicine.
"I want to give it to my best friend. She always remains sad because she is unable to loose weight."
"Stop talking your school has arrived. We will talk about this later. See you later. Goodbye!" Cao Huang ran immediately to avoid further questioning.
"For a second it looked like my lies would be exposed." he thought while sighing.
On the way to his school, Cao Huang went to the Nutrition Center and bought three bottles of C-grade Nutrient Fluids. They were enough to last him for a week. He opened the bottle lid and gulped down half a bottle instantly. He felt a burning sensation in his throat and stomach. All the fatigue he had accumulated vanished immediately.
He felt so rejuvenated that he could run a marathon if he had to.
He went to the counter and paid 1500 credits for the three bottles. a single bottle of:
C-Grade nutrient fluid cost 500 credits.
B-Grade nutrient fluids costs 1500 credits.
A-Grade nutrient fluids costs 15000 credits.
S-Grade nutrient fluids cost over a million credits.
[Author: I just decided to change to prices of the fluids as the previous ones looked just to far fetched.]
After buying the nutrition fluids, he put the rest of them in his bag and continued onwards towards his school.
When he got there, Tang Tang was already waiting for him at the gates. Seeing Cao Huang arriving, he went to him and gave him a big hug.
"Brother Cao, when are you going to change your habit of arriving late?" he complained.
"Sorry, I had to buy something on the way." he said.
"Did you play Absolute Supremacy yesterday?" Tang Tang asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I only stopped playing when the servers closed today."
"How many coins has Brother Cao accumulated?"
"Hahaha-" while he was about to answer he was interrupted by Tang Tang.
"From your gaming skills you wouldn't have accumulated any less than 50 bronze coins, am I right?" he said expectantly.
"I-I.... am broke." Cao Huang said with embarrassment.
"What? Even I have 36 bronze coins. What did you do with your starting balance of twenty-five bronze coins? Oh, Now I get it! You must have spent it while buying good equipment. Not bad! Not a bad trade after all." he started to infer everything on his own.
"No, I used them to buy poison--" he was again interrupted by Tang Tang.
"A sharp weapon and poison, they really go along well. You must have used them to hunt for high level monsters. Not a bad trade after all. I had always known that you were wise beyond ages." complemented Tang Tang.
"Stop guessing everything by yourself. I hadn't bought any equipment or sharp weapon. I only bought five vials of Poisonous Toad's poison." He explained slightly irritated with all his guessing.
"Whaaat!!! Brother Cao are you alright? What happened to your wisdom? Even if you are tired of all your suffering and want to see how it feels to suicide in the game, you only need one vial. Why did you waste extra twenty bronze coins?Why? Tell me why?" He started to shake Cao Huang who stood there with a blank expression.
"What the fu*k are you thinking about you brainless monkey. Suicide? Suicide my a*s. Even if I wanted to do suicide, should you be worried about me or the twenty bronze coins." He kicked Tang Tang on his butt.
"Sorry, brother Cao, I over reacted. I have been this way since I found that currency exchange system for the game will start from today. One bronze coin in game is expected to be priced at 100 credits in reality. Which means that you just wasted twenty-five hundred credits on five vials of poison. he explained while rubbing the place where he had been hi by Cao Huang.
"Wasn't the currency exchange system scheduled to be released two months after starting of the game?" He asked, the pain of loosing twenty-five hundred credits evident in his tone.
"Don't you read the game forums? As the game was a hit during it's opening day, the creators have decided to open it sooner under strong public opinion." he explained.
"You should earn more coins quickly and exchange them to get rich."
"Hahaha, I wanted to see who was talking about getting rich, so it was you two brats." someone interrupted their conversation.
"Wang Huizhen, go mind your own business." Said Tang Tang angrily.
From the other side, a group of four people came and surrounded Cao Huang and Tang Tang.
These were Wang Huizhen and his lackeys. Wang Huizhen was a well-known scoundrel in the school and the areas surrounding it. He was a typical bully who liked to cause trouble and collect lunch and credits from people and beat those who were weaker than him and suck up to those stronger than him. In many of the beatings Cao Huang suffered from, Wang Huizhen was the main contributor.
"I am minding my own business. You see, my lackey saw your friend here, walking out of the Nutrition Center with three bottles of C-grade nutrients fluids". Said Wang Huizhen licking his lips.
"What does that have to do with you?" Asked Tang Tang.
"Recently, my girlfriend has been been nagging me to bring her to a cinema to watch movies. I who recently who had empty pockets wouldn't have been able to do so." He said while grinning.
"What do you mean by 'recently' ?" Asked Tang Tang while holding back his anger.
"Well, now that you are rich, you wouldn't mind helping out this brother a little. Right?" He asked while turning to Cao Huang.
"Wang Huizhen, you are going too far." Said Tang Tang ready to fight.
"Hahaha, what can you two weaklings do even if I am going too far? Also my lackeys here are getting weaker day-by-day, so you can also give your nutrient fluids to them. If you don't want to, I don't mind being you up." He said menacingly.
"Thank you boss!" His lackeys were delighted.
"I shall see who touches my brothers!" someone roared and stood between Cao Huang and Wang Huizhen.
"Shi Yan, don't you remember the lesson my cousin taught you, last time you interfered with my business.
Shi Yan was also one of the closest friend of Cao Huang. He was a boy with a burly figure, who played within the school's rugby team. He was always there to beat people who bullied Cao Huang. Last time he had beaten up Wang Huizhen and his lackeys as they had stolen Cao Huang's lunch money. So the next day, Wang Huizhen came back with his Elder cousin who was Martial Artist disciple of the Black Dragon Martial Arts Dojo. Although being a rugby player, Shi Yan great strength, but how could he beat Wang Huizhen's Elder cousin who was a Martial Artist. As expected, he wasn't a match of Wang Huizhen's Elder cousin, who beat him so much that he had to be hospitalized for two days. He was arrested but being a disciple of the Black Dragon Martial Arts Dojo he was released soon after.
This was an era, where the most respected profession in the world apart from Military and Doctors, was being a Martial Artist. Successful Martial Artists were respected where ever they went in the world. So the institutions that trained them also had a say in the political and public matters.
Black Dragon Martial Arts Dojo was ranked this third in Beijing, while it ranked fifteenth among the Dojo and Martial Arts Training across China. The Chairman of the Black Dragon Martial Arts Dojo was also a member of the Chinese Martial Arts Association, so he enjoyed a great authority and prestige among the public and people of the same profession. In Beijing only a slight few can afford to offend the Black Dragon Martial Arts Dojo.
"I don't care who your cousin is. If I decide to protect my friend then even if someone breaks my bones, I won't let him get harmed. Shi Yan said heroically.
"Haha, very well, then I shall see you tomorrow after school." Wang Huizhen threatened Shi Yan and turned to leave.
"Wait!" A voice stopped him from leaving.
"Everyone turned around and found that the voice belonged to Cao Huang. They were puzzled to why was Cao Huang stopping Wang Huizhen and his lackeys from leaving.
"Smart boy, you know what's good for you and your friends." He thought that Cao Huang had stopped him give him what he had demanded from him.
"Brother Cao don't worry, they can't harm you in the school. If it comes to that we can always inform Principal Dong." Said Tang Tang while trying to stop him.
"Yeah, don't worry we will protect you." Said Shi Yan.
Cao Huang patted Shi Yan and Tang Tang on the shoulders from behind and came forward, face to face with Wang Huizhen.
"Fools! He isn't worried about himself but he's worried about you guys." Wang Huizhen said while laughing.
"Do you really want my money and my nutrient fluids?" Asked Cao Huang was smiling faintly.
"At least you aren't a retard unlike them. Now quickly hand them over. I am starting to run out of patience." Wang Huizhen said while stretching out his hand.
Cao Huang showed him the middle finger and said, "Then come and take it."
"Brat, you are courting death!" Wang Huizhen aimed his punch straight towards his face.
Cao Huang had chosen to suffer a beating because he couldn't see his friends suffer anymore but when saw Wang Huizhen's punch, he was astonished.
Not because of the power behind the punch but because the punch seemed too slow. He realized that his increases in mental strength and reflexes had caused this to occur. Since that was the case, he wasn't afraid of a fight.
Cao Huang leaned his body to the left slightly and delivered a knee straight to Wang Huizhen's stomach.
Arrgh!
With a groan Wang Huizhen fell to the ground holding his stomach.
Tang Tang who was drinking water nervously when he saw this spat out a mouthful on Shi Yan's face. Shi Yan didn't even realize what had happened to him.
Shi Yan, Tang Tang and Wang Huizhen's lackeys never expected this scene to occur. The scene in their minds differed greatly from what was before them. They had imagined a black eyed Cao Huang but they got a groaning Wang Huizhen who was clutching his stomach in pain.
Soon after, Wang Huizhen's lackeys also made their move. Shi Yan and Tang Tang were about to rush in to help Cao Huang but were stopped by him. He shook his head indicating that they should only watch.
The first lackey came from the front, punching towards his head just as Wang Huizhen had done. Behind him, was the second lackey. The third one came from the side to kick him in the shins.
Cao Huang ducked under the first lackey's punch and delivered a knee strike to the second lackey's chin. He jumped in the air to avoid the third lackey's kick and delivered an aerial round house to his chest. The first lackey when realized that his two partners have been taken out, wanted to run but Cao Huang delivered a chop to the back of his neck and made him faint out.
All of this occurred within seconds. Tang Tang and Shi Yan had their mouth wide open in wonder. All the skills Cao Huang had displayed now, weren't something an amateur can pull off. This type of dodging required good reflexes and an even more good awareness. Cao Huang for a second looked like a professional Martial Artist there.
"Brother Cao, how in the world did you pull that off." Tang Tang was the first one to snap out of his stupor.
"Yeah, Brother Cao tell us. The last time this happened, you were beaten really badly I presume. How did you improve so much?" Asked Shi Yan.
"Haha, I had been watching a lot of Kung Fu videos nowadays." Cao Huang knew that he had overdone it and tried to cover up.
"Wow! Then Brother Cao should also share those videos with me. Maybe I can become a Grand master." Said Tang Tang excitedly.
Kung Fu videos? Do you take me for a fool. Although Shi Yan was really intrigued, he didn't ask him anymore as he knew that everyone had their own secrets.
"Let's go or if a teacher saw us here, we would have a lot to explain." Said Shi Yan.
They had only walked a few meters, when Wang Huizhen who was lying down, stood up with a brick in his hand wanting to strike at the back of Cao Huang's head.
Cao Huang wasn't an ignorant person who will leave his back unprotected against his opponent. When he saw Wang Huizhen stand, he got ready to strike. But what he didn't expected was that Wang Huizhen would attack the back of his head. Such a vicious move can also leave him vegetable.
"If you want to be vicious, don't mind me for being the same." he thought extremely in fury.
Cao Huang turned, used his hand to pushed aside the arm of Wang Huizhen in which he held the brick and delivered a vicious kick to his balls.
PA!
A clear strike of balls bursting rang out. Wang Huizhen wanted to scream but no sounds came out. He fell to the ground and curled up while holding his balls and screamed in muffled voice.
"Wang Huizhen, mark my words. I will beat you every time I see you. So try to appear less before me." Cao Huang declared while walking away.