Abundant Martial Arts Virtue
Chapter 542 - 428: What Royalty and Wealth

Chapter 542: Chapter 428: What Royalty and Wealth

The barren and gloomy land.

A cavern leading down, from which burst forth a blazing fire.

The crowd stood on a plain not far from the cavern, each showing a cautious and wary expression.

—This was where the Destruction Council and the Ten Thousand Spirit Silence Association participated in the Heroic Spirit trial.

They had to experience this world belonging to the calamitous demons—

Only then were they deemed worthy of the Heroic Spirit’s favor.

Unfortunately, this time they happened to encounter the first calamity’s master, the Feeding Demon!

In the crowd.

Two youths stood with crossed arms, chatting leisurely.

"Hey, that calamitous demon will appear soon, and then, I gave it a task..."

Wu Xiaode recounted everything that was about to happen to that youth.

The youth nodded continuously.

"Strange, why can’t they see us?" The youth asked curiously.

"I have a skill I shouldn’t talk about." Wu Xiaode shrugged.

Everday City.

This divine skill cannot be shared, publicized, or known by others.

He experimented with it himself.

The so-called sharing meant the skill could only be activated by himself.

Though his Shadow Followers could borrow his other skills, they could not borrow this one.

This was what meant by non-shareable.

As for publicizing—

He certainly wouldn’t loudly advertise this trump card skill in front of others.

"Alright, the scene starts now, let’s go through the plot first,"

Wu Xiaode pointed at the eerie long hair continuously emerging from the ground and changed the subject.

The youth said somewhat speechlessly:

"Why are you making saving the world seem like you’re playing a plot-driven game?"

"It makes me feel a bit more relaxed," Wu Xiaode said.

Suddenly, the cavern ablaze with firelight erupted with a roaring sound.

Tut tut tut tut tut—

Amidst a series of noises, dozens of fireballs shot out from the cavern, heading toward the crowd’s direction.

Everything happened in order.

Wu Xiaode and the youth kept watching.

They watched as the Wu Xiaode within the flow of time issued the task to the calamitous demon and began his journey to gain reputation.

The subsequent events kept unfolding.

Until that moment—

Sare Town.

The sun sets in the west.

A burst of lively music emanated from a bar.

A young girl quietly appeared on the street outside.

She slowly walked to the crossroad diagonally opposite to the bar, squinting her beautiful eyes, carefully examining the bar’s sign.

In no time.

A mirror materialized in front of the girl.

She began to adjust her appearance and figure in front of the mirror.

"Is that the monster?"

The youth asked.

"Yes, apart from monsters, I’ve only seen this level of appearance adjustment in games," Wu Xiaode said.

"So, you like this type," the youth said.

"What, I can’t?" Wu Xiaode glared.

"No, I was just thinking, what will you do in the future?" The youth patted his shoulder sympathetically.

Wu Xiaode was slightly taken aback, then realized.

Yes.

Whenever he saw a desirable target in the future—

The first reaction wouldn’t be to like and pursue, but—

This is definitely a calamitous demon.

He would wake up frightened from dreams at night.

"...No problem, I’m very faithful, I have Sister Lan," Wu Xiaode said confidently.

The youth’s mouth twitched, seemingly incredulous.

But this matter was indeed interesting.

He and Little Wu stood here, yet the monster was completely unaware.

This was truly the astonishing part.

"As long as we don’t show up, it will never notice us, right?" the youth asked.

"Of course," Wu Xiaode said.

"Isn’t this a guaranteed victory then?" the youth asked again.

"It’s not guaranteed," Wu Xiaode said with a wry smile, "if it weren’t for the task limiting it, the moment we appear, it could easily tear us to shreds."

The youth looked impressed.

At that moment, the girl spoke:

"A distressed woman exists in this world."

"Upon arriving in this town, every word she spoke related to her identity would immediately become true, beyond anyone’s doubt."

An invisible wave radiated from her.

Almost simultaneously, the Book of the Dead unfolded in front of Wu Xiaode, revealing three lines of ice-crystalline text:

"You have witnessed the other party deploying the Destiny Skill: Existence."

"The influence of this skill is broken."

"You are no longer affected by this art."

Wu Xiaode’s gaze flickered.

Shortly, he would be returning.

Everything was about to begin.

The youth stood beside him, pondering, "I’ve heard you say, calamitous demons specifically counter all creatures, can I really handle it?"

Wu Xiaode patiently explained:

"Indeed, calamitous demons counter all beings, but now, I’ve limited her other powers by gaining reputation, and more importantly—"

"We know she is a monster!"

"That’s why I dared to let you come and try."

"I see," the youth’s face lit up with a slight smile, "In that case, you made the right call by choosing me."

"I’m not sure if it’ll work out, if it doesn’t, I’ll swap you out and go myself,"

Wu Xiaode said.

They waited a bit longer.

The sky gradually darkened.

Night fell.

The desert town was nearly deserted, only the bar continued to emit bursts of music, lighting up warmly.

Wu Xiaode suddenly spoke:

"I am here."

The youth looked up, only to see the void flash, and a figure landed on the street.

It was Wu Xiaode.

The youth looked from the Wu Xiaode in front of him to the one striding forward, momentarily shocked.

Wu Xiaode smiled and said nothing.

This art couldn’t be spoken aloud, but it could be "shown" or "hidden."

A rather strange setup.

Unsure what the actual Everday City was as per the skill’s description that "captured a slight emergence from the infinite chaos of nothingness."

Wu Xiaode faintly felt he was touching upon something.

But—

he hadn’t yet reached the point where he could fully connect.

He withdrew his thoughts and gently placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, softly saying:

"Ready?"

"No problem—you’re so strong, I can’t stay useless forever. Thanks for giving your brother this opportunity," the boy said.

"Shall we go then?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Let’s." the boy responded.

Wu Xiaode pressed his shoulder and pushed hard—

In an instant, rows of ice crystal characters flashed in the Void:

"You have released the Divine Skill: Everday City."

"With this moment as the base, you switch with your friend, making him your stand-in at this moment."

"Completed!"

A dim mist dispersed from the body of the boy.

He stepped forward and found himself standing at the entrance of the bar.

Looking around—

In this moment, Wu Xiaode, who had just arrived, was nowhere to be seen.

"So I’m replacing you now?"

the boy asked.

There was no response in the Void.

The boy glanced at the floor-to-ceiling mirror next to the bar.

Hmm.

He had indeed become Wu Xiaode.

The boy thought for a moment and chuckled:

"If it weren’t for fighting, but for love, I think we’d definitely win."

He pushed the door and entered.

...

"I’ll make you something to eat," Shen Xiujun naturally picked up the conversation.

"Is there soup?" he asked.

"I’ll make you some," Shen Xiujun smiled.

"Go ahead," the boy said indifferently, looking utterly natural, as if it was common for him to order others around.

Shen Xiujun’s smile slightly retracted.

...

She placed several dishes on the bar, along with a bowl of soup and a bowl of rice, in front of Wu Xiaode.

"Try some?"

Shen Xiujun smiled.

"Sure," the boy said casually, picking up a piece of meat.

"Brother Wu, my sister’s cooking is good, right?" Shen Feixue said with a smile.

"The meat is a bit tough, wasn’t it made with care?" the boy chewed a few times, his expression neutral while casually commenting.

Shen Xiujun was slightly taken aback and also took a bite.

The meat wasn’t tough at all.

Wait.

What does tough mean?

I specifically followed the methods in the cooking menu.

Shen Xiujun hesitated: "Brother Wu, I clearly followed the menu—"

"This dish can be prepared in many ways, merely following an online menu is inadequate, it only satisfies a basic hunger," the boy said lightly.

A basic hunger...

The two women digested the comment.

Shen Feixue tried to smoothen things over: "I did not expect Martial Arts Master Wu to have such a deep understanding of food."

"It’s merely eating a lot of good stuff," the boy laughed.

He didn’t give Shen Feixue a hard time.

After all, the other person wasn’t a monster, but a friend of Wu Xiaode.

"You’re not getting younger, when will you find a girlfriend?" Shen Feixue changed the topic.

"Girlfriend..." the boy fell into reminiscence.

He had staged a confession at the Capital University playground—

If it weren’t for Little Wu saving the day, he would have probably died then.

Then he dated online for a while.

Who knew the other party turned out to be a female assassin, coming specifically to kill him.

Talking about wealth and power.

He was so devoted, yet this was his outcome.

Women.

Haha.

The boy’s gaze turned cold, he put down his chopsticks and said, "I’m going to rest, you two enjoy."

...

Knock, knock, knock.

The door opened.

"Brother Wu, time to eat!" Shen Xiujun called out.

"Alright."

The boy followed her downstairs and sat down at the dining table.

Shortly.

The girl swiftly served eight meat and eight vegetarian dishes, two pots, and one soup.

The flavor of each dish was nearly supreme.

The boy took a few bites and happily said, "Not bad, Xiujun."

"As long as you like it, I can cook for you every day," the girl said with a light smile.

She really didn’t lie to him.

He went specifically to understand human food and found that there really were many techniques, simply relying on basic recipes wasn’t enough.

This meal was truly a result of her hard work!

The boy ate silently for a while.

"I’m full, I’m going to rest in my room—maintain this standard tomorrow, Xiujun."

The boy put down his chopsticks and left.

"Wait a moment, Brother Wu."

"Is there something else?"

"I put so much heart into making your meals, don’t you have anything to say to me?"

The girl’s face turned slightly red, her gaze filled with tender feelings.

The boy thought for a moment and suddenly realized.

"I was negligent..."

He nodded at the girl and, under her expectant gaze, said:

"How much do you want to be paid a day? I will pay you a salary."

The girl was stunned.

The boy added, "It seems like you don’t grasp the concept of money. Don’t worry, I’ll think it over and then settle it monthly."

After saying this, he turned and went upstairs.

Wu Xiaode stood in a parallel world, silently watching until now, finally feeling relieved.

— Zhao Junyu possesses three supernatural abilities: "Iron Heart," "Element Detection: Wave," and "Mind Control."

Iron Heart, never tempted, unswayed by emotions.

Element Detection: Wave can detect advance arrangements of others, smoothly handling everything.

Mind Control could understand others’ inner thoughts, even controlling their bodies.

— This is practically the bug-level boss of dating games!!!

Alright.

The game has been killed!