"Ha?"
Mike took the Banruo Axe and weighed it in his hands, unable to help but say, "A dignified sect like Taixuan Holy Land, and all we get for a participation prize is a broken axe? Oh well, it's fate."
"Please forgive me, Master," Liu Dongyue clasped his hands and said.
"Forget it, it's not your fault." Mike didn't intend to scold Liu Dongyue, because in his view, Liu Dongyue had probably done his best.
This Changsheng Temple was poor, and the disciples barely had enough nourishment, so how could they compare to the disciples from the wealthier and more prestigious sects?
Liu Dongyue was a bit surprised. He had come back mentally prepared for Mike to scold him, but Mike didn't scold him at all. It was strange.
"By the way, Master, did you encounter any problems when refining the Seven-Treasure Gourd?" Liu Dongyue couldn't help but ask.
"Problems?" Mike's heart jolted. He had suspected the gourd was problematic ever since it emitted green light. It seemed like it was the reason he didn't win the competition.
Liu Dongyue hesitated but still told Mike what had happened, although he left out the part about himself winning the first place.
Mike froze when he heard, "It absorbs clothes?"
The manual didn't say the Seven-Treasure Gourd had this function.
The code he wrote didn't have any issues either. How could this happen?
"So, you stripped people from the Zhao family and Ba Dao Sect too?" Mike paused in surprise.
"Yes," Liu Dongyue said awkwardly. "Including Taixuan Holy Land's Lu Tianxing and others."
Mike's face darkened.
Not only had he failed to get the money back, but he had also offended so many people.
What if they came asking for an explanation?
Maybe it's time to disband and go back to my old life in Gaolao Village.
Seeing Mike's gloomy face, Liu Dongyue quickly added, "But Master, the talisman you drew is truly powerful. That Lu Tianxing, with his ninth-tier cultivation, couldn't break your Vajra Talisman with one strike. When did you become so strong…"
Before he could finish, Liu Dongyue froze.
Because now he noticed that Mike didn't have a trace of true qi in his body.
It was as though he was an ordinary person.
What was going on?
Although Mike's cultivation had never been high, he at least had reached the sixth tier before. But now it was like he had no cultivation at all?
Sigh, how am I supposed to live this life? Mike ignored what Liu Dongyue said about the Vajra Talisman. In his view, Liu Dongyue was just changing the subject. He knew perfectly well what kind of thing he had drawn. That stuff was impossible to be useful.
Block the attacks of a ninth-tier cultivator? Ridiculous.
"Master, what's happened to you?" When Mike returned to his courtyard, Liu Dongyue asked Stone Ming and Yun Qianchu, but both shook their heads. They didn't know what had happened to Mike.
"Master said he wants to ascend," Stone Ming said.
"Ha!" Liu Dongyue almost choked on his own spit.
"Could Master be sick?" Liu Dongyue guessed.
Not long after, Mike grabbed his Pingjin Fan and left.
He had to go to Baiyun City and see if he could meet a few more big suckers to earn some money and pay off his gambling debts.
"You all stay here and behave. I'm going out to make some money," Mike said, leaving Changsheng Temple.
"Make money?" Liu Dongyue sighed. "Looks like Master is really sick."
Upon returning to Baiyun City, Mike casually inquired about the city lord's residence. He had seen a grim omen hanging over Ye Yun's head and guessed that the Ye family might be destroyed.
But when he inquired, he found that nothing had happened to the city lord's family.
"Strange."
Mike muttered to himself, "That grim omen is still there? How are they still alive?"
"Could it be my Wangqi Technique has gone wrong?"
With this doubt in mind, Mike was about to set up his booth when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.
Mike turned around and saw over thirty people approaching. The leader had a scar on his face, looking very fierce, and the others were all eyeing Mike warily.
This made Mike's heart skip a beat.
From memory, Mike recognized that these people were from the gambling house.
"Mike, didn't expect to run into you here. How's the money coming along?" The scarred man sneered. "There are three days left before the due date. If you don't pay us back, you can forget about using your hands."
"Three days left, huh?" Mike furrowed his brow. "I'll definitely pay you back the 800 taels of silver after three days."
"Eight hundred taels?" The scarred man raised a finger and shook it. "Eight hundred is just the principal. You haven't calculated the interest. With the interest, it's 4,200 taels."
Hearing this, Mike fell silent for a moment. He didn't argue, because he knew it wouldn't help. The other side was just taking advantage.
Looks like I really have to run now.
4,200 taels.
Where can I steal that?
"Eight hundred taels, and you're saying it's 4,200 with interest? What an audacious claim! Who gave you permission to calculate money like that?" At that moment, a voice came from behind the scarred man.
"Who dares meddle in our Baiyun Gambling House's business?"
The scarred man shouted angrily and turned around, only to see a young man on a carriage, sneering at them.
"Ye Yun!" The scarred man froze.
"So, it's Young Master Ye Yun," the scarred man immediately became polite.
"This senior owes you money. I'll pay it for him," at that moment, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Ye Ziying slowly stepped out.
Her powerful aura immediately pressed down on the group.
The gambling house people were all startled. They hadn't expected Ye Ziying to personally show up.
"Miss," everyone greeted respectfully.
The scarred man awkwardly laughed and said, "He owes us 800 taels."
Ye Ziying didn't waste words. She directly took out a banknote and tossed it in front of the scarred man. "Here's 1,000 taels. Take the money and leave. Don't disturb the senior's mood."
"Yes, yes. We'll leave right away."
The scarred man quickly took the banknote and led his people away.
Mike stood to the side, feeling his heart bleed. He only owed 800 taels, so why not ask for the extra 200 taels?
"Ye Ziying of the Qingcheng Sect, I pay my respects to the senior," Ye Ziying said as she stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Mike.
"Ye Yun greets the senior," Ye Yun also quickly stepped forward to salute.
This made Mike a little surprised. They weren't here to find trouble with him. They had helped him pay his gambling debt and were so polite.
What was going on?
"No need for formalities." Mike opened his Wangqi Technique to look at Ye Yun and was surprised to see that the grim omen on his head had almost disappeared.
The ominous energy was gone?
Had someone helped them change their fate?
"Thank you for the talisman, senior. It saved our entire family's life. My father asked us to invite you to the city lord's residence as our guest. Please, let us show our hospitality." Ye Yun quickly said.
"Invite me as a guest?" Mike looked at the two of them, deep in thought.
Could it be that they realized I had tricked them, and now they wanted to lure me to the city lord's residence to break my ribs while no one's watching?
But no, I only tricked them out of 500 taels.
But just now, they had paid off 1,000 taels in gambling debt.
This doesn't add up.
Could it be that my talisman really helped them solve their problem?
"Could it be..." Mike couldn't help but think of some online novels he had read in his previous life when he was bored. Could it be that I'm a hidden expert and I just don't know it?
The talismans I draw are really that powerful?
Am I actually a genius?
As Mike was lost in thought, Ye Ziying was also observing him. She noticed that she couldn't sense any trace of true qi on Mike at all.
She was more certain that Mike was an unparalleled expert.
Because she had once seen the ancestor of Qingcheng Sect at the sect, and someone of that level also had an unfathomable aura, where she couldn't feel any trace of true qi either.
Could this senior have already reached that level?