Chapter 15: Scheme of Huang Biaozi
Chapter 15: Scheme of Huang Biaozi
“Hey, Huang Biaozi, why didn’t that Goddess see me just now? Was there something wrong with her eyes? Night blindness?”
Tang Jinbiao walked down the mountain path while recalling that scene, which exceeded his own understanding.
He clearly had no Magical Power and could not hide in emptiness; he merely stood there simply, yet the Goddess did not see him, and this baffled him.
“Hehe, do you know how amazing that was? That was just the simplest technique of the Way of Deception. The core of the Way of Deception has only one principle: a sincere heart brings miracles!”
Huang Biaozi seemed very proud, his voice echoing in Tang Jinbiao’s mind, but Tang Jinbiao cut him off almost immediately.
Tang Jinbiao said, “Wait, you mean you used a technique of the Way of Deception just now? How did you do that? You obviously have no Magical Power?”
Huang Biaozi snorted disdainfully and boasted extravagantly, “Hmph, shallow brat! Could someone as foolish as you ever grasp the profound mysteries of the Way of Deception? I spent my whole lifetime on the Way of Deception and only reached the fourth step! But even so, I am a God-King in the Divine Realm, and the most exceptional God-King at that—no other compares!”
“Bah, God-King my ass! If you’re a God-King, I’m a Celestial Lord!”
Tang Jinbiao naturally did not believe it; he snorted scornfully and ignored Huang Biaozi, beginning to rush toward his residence instead.
“…”
Huang Biaozi was speechless.
…
However, Tang Jinbiao did not notice that when he reached the mountain foot, a woman with a slender figure and wearing night stealth outfit stood on a mountain boulder at the peak, her eyes slightly narrowed as she watched the direction of his departure.
“Is there such a person in the Tang Family?”
The woman gazed at the spot where Tang Jinbiao had vanished, her brows furrowed as she muttered softly.
…
Tang Jinbiao naturally did not know he had been targeted. As for whether Huang Biaozi knew, heaven alone could tell—no, Huang Biaozi himself must know!
…
In the blink of an eye, another month passed!
Tang Jinbiao persisted with daily training, and over this month he increased the load, from one jin, two jin, three jin, five jin at the start to ten jin, twenty jin later, up to a current fifty jin!
In this past month, he had not encountered that mysterious woman again, but he always felt someone in the shadows watching him, though he couldn’t spot them. When he asked Huang Biaozi, the latter just smiled without speaking, giving only a “hehe” laugh.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Tang Jinbiao’s body hadn’t changed much, only becoming more athletic and his appearance more stern—even simply standing there gave off a cool vibe.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Step by step, he trod on the mountain path, and wherever his feet touched, a dull sound erupted. If one looked closely, they would see iron sandbags tied all over him.
The path of four to five hundred zhang took a full shichen to climb.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
“Hey, Huang Biaozi, dammit, when will this unchanging training ever end?”
Upon reaching the peak, Tang Jinbiao plopped down onto the ground, gasping for breath and complaining.
Thud!
But he did not notice that when he sat down, the ground actually dented slightly.
“Haha, still too early, still too early! When you can carry 250 catties and run a full trip in just half a shichen, then you’ll be ready to cultivate!”
Huang Biaozi maintained his usual charlatan aura. Why not 249 catties or 251 catties? Why insist on exactly 250?
“S the h! Didn’t you say only three months? I’ve already done the damn three months! Are you messing with me?” Tang Jinbiao was furious, almost exploding inside, and immediately cursed.
“Hmph! How is this my fault? You didn’t put in the effort and instead blame this old man? When I mentioned three months, I never said you could rest at night! You were supposed to train day and night! You only train half-day sessions and then blame me?” Huang Biaozi was displeased and retorted mockingly.
“Damn it! Fine, you win!” Rage swelled within Tang Jinbiao. He desperately wished he had a Watermelon Cleaver in his hand right then.
“Hell’s bells, I wanna destroy the whole world!”
But cursing aside, Tang Jinbiao struggled back onto his feet and resumed his frantic sprint towards the foot of the mountain.
His frantic effort wasn’t driven by a life-or-death crisis, but by an inner longing and relentless persistence.
In that other world, he had just been a loser – not due to a lack of ambition or effort, but simply because he was a Mortal. Even exerting ten times the effort of the wealthy and privileged, he remained an ordinary Mortal, trapped in a world that defied all ordinary logic.
Therefore, he was burning with desire now. He had a starting point, an opportunity to succeed through his own struggle. Why wouldn’t he strive? Why wouldn’t he fight? Did he want to fall back into his old ways, endlessly complaining about society, cursing fate, and blaming his parents?
…
Time flew, and another month passed!
Tang Jinbiao’s body grew increasingly robust. He even felt as if one punch could shatter an ordinary person’s skull, harbouring the delusion that a single blow could destroy the world.
After another exhausting half-day of practice, Tang Jinbiao collapsed onto the ground to rest.
“Hey, Huang Biaozi, what’s your problem? Is my body still not sufficient?” Tang Jinbiao couldn’t understand why Huang Biaozi kept finding excuses, delaying him.
Huang Biaozi pondered for a moment before replying, “Hmm, it should be about right. But now this old man must verify it. Good. You see that big rock behind you?”
Tang Jinbiao turned his gaze and saw a massive stone lying on the ground nearby. It had to weigh at least a thousand jin.
“Yup! I see it!” Tang Jinbiao nodded, stood up, walked towards it, rubbing his fists together, his expression extremely serious.
Soon, Tang Jinbiao stood before the Giant Boulder.
Huang Biaozi declared, “Alright! The time has come to prove your readiness to cultivate! Don’t disappoint this old man!”
“Fine! I definitely won’t disappoint you!” Tang Jinbiao nodded, his voice brimming with confidence.
He knew exactly how much effort he had poured in over these four months. He was utterly confident he possessed the strength to shatter that boulder with a single punch. He truly believed it in his bones.
Thump!
He shifted into a horse stance, bracing himself firmly. He rolled his shoulders, his formerly casual demeanor hardening into focused intensity. He twisted at the waist slightly, raised his right hand high, and clenched it into a fist.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The knuckles of his clenched fist issued sharp cracking sounds.
Huff!
“Shatter for me!”
Tang Jinbiao suddenly exerted force, sharply twisted his waist, and fiercely slammed his right fist onto the Giant Boulder.
“Fuck, what are you doing, kid?”
After seeing Tang Jinbiao’s action, Huang Biaozi was startled, but before he could finish speaking, the tragedy occurred.
Crack!
Thud!
A dull thud sounded, and the sound of bone breaking came; clearly, something had happened to Tang Jinbiao.
“Ah, my hand’s broken! Huang Biaozi, I fuck your ancestors!”
“I bought a watch last year!”
“I…”
Tang Jinbiao was thrown to sit on the ground by the rebound force.
However, what pained him most was that his right arm was broken, and his finger joints were probably shattered too.
Waves of piercing pain spread through his body, so agonizing that he didn’t even have the strength to turn over.
But seemingly to lessen the pain, he cursed that unscrupulous Huang Biaozi repeatedly.
“Fuck, you stupid idiot! I didn’t tell you to shatter that stone; I only said to lift it. How the hell did you manage such crap? Turns out you’re the real expert! Fuck, you’re one freaking weirdo! I bought a watch last year!”
Huang Biaozi was also scared half to death by Tang Jinbiao’s move; it overturned his worldview entirely, unsure if Tang Jinbiao was overly confident.
With no professional training, not even practicing Body Refining Technique, in just four short months, he dared try crushing giant rocks barehanded! Even a seasoned veteran like him was astounded.
“I bought a watch last year, why didn’t you tell me sooner, damn it?”
Tang Jinbiao writhed in agony on the ground, and upon hearing Huang Biaozi’s words now, he felt so hateful he wanted to lash out at society.
“Fuck!”
Huang Biaozi was quite furious too; he’d thought he found a brilliant disciple, never expecting such a mishap in mere days.
“Ah! Huang Biaozi, you fucking unscrupulous bandit, rogue, Old Charlatan!”
Tang Jinbiao rolled back and forth on the ground, but his mind never paused, still spewing curses, as if only this eased the pain.
……
In the blink of an eye, another two months passed. Tang Jinbiao had lived in this world for half a year and somewhat adjusted to life there.
Thump!
Tang Jinbiao fiercely punched the sandbag before him.
Thump!
As that punch landed, another slammed the sandbag right after.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
In the blink of an eye, he threw over a dozen punches.
“Fuck, Huang Biaozi, what exactly are you after? First running, now punching drills—when the hell will it end? Where’s my Body Refining Technique? What about the damn promise you made?”
Tang Jinbiao viciously struck the sandbag while constantly cursing Huang Biaozi, who refused to leave.
For some reason, Huang Biaozi seemed just a soul, yet he lingered stubbornly in his mind.
“Haha, almost there! One last month, really just one month!”
Huang Biaozi laughed heartily, as if some scheme had succeeded.
Tang Jinbiao heard this, plopped right onto the ground, folded his arms, and bellowed, “A month? Fuck that, I quit!”