Chapter 436 - Low-key 7th July.
Chapter 436 Low-key 7th July.
Tian Du City.
The Sword Card Master Association.
The teenager in white silently looked into the distance.
His heart was aching.
From the silhouette that he saw, Yun-er’s shadow would occasionally place her hand on her chest, held hands with Lu Ming, and even knelt down, her shadow overlapping with Lu Ming’s…
He felt a pain in his heart.
Fine.
Hence, he looked up at the sky at an angle of 45 degrees. There seemed to be a trace of tears at the corner of his eyes. This was the face of grieving youth.
“My condolences.”
The therapist patted him on the shoulder. “There are some things that you will only understand after you have experienced them.”
The teenager was lost in his thoughts.
After a long while, he seemed to understand something. “Don’t tell me you also…”
“Heh.”
The therapist laughed at himself, pointing to his name tag on his white coat. “From that day onward, this was what was left on my clothes.”
The teenager looked. There was only the word “therapist” on his clothing.
There was no name after it.
Suddenly…
He seemed to gain some understanding.
The reason was—
A simp did not deserve a name.
Hence…
The two of them sat side by side on the hospital bed, looking at the night sky at a 45 degrees angle.
Some stars shone unusually bright.
“Today seems to be the 7th July,” the therapist said in a daze, “That year, at this time, she…”
“She broke up with you?”
The teenager in white asked.
Right them, revealing one’s innermost feelings seemed to be the most comforting.
“No.
“She unfriended me.”
The therapist sighed.
The teenager was speechless.
“O-online dating?”
The teenager in white sighed.
“Well…”
The therapist sighed. “She used to be so close to me. Although I never saw her, I felt that she must be as beautiful as a fairy.”
The teenager in white had no idea how he should comfort him. He thought and said, “She must be an interesting person?”
“Well…”
The therapist smiled. “She is very interesting. Her hobbies are very different from mine. Her favorite hobby is to run at night. Every time we had a voice call, she would be running.”
The teenager in white was silent.
After a long while…
He patted the therapist on the shoulder. What else could he say?
For unknown reasons, after listening to the therapist’s story, he was in a better mood. Even when he looked at the silhouette in the distance, he did not…
Crap!
Why were they so close to each other?!
ヽ(#`Д́)ノ
…
After a long while…
The therapist sighed. “Don’t look anymore. You should know that given the president’s age and abilities, he is the most dazzling genius of this era!
“If I were a woman, I would probably fall in love with the president,” the therapist said.
“I understand now.”
The teenager in white was in despair.
He understood everything. After all, the president was so outstanding…
At his age…
In this day and age…
The president had good looks and talents. This was plain torture to them. If he were a woman, perhaps he would fall in love with him as well.
Therefore…
He could not bring himself to hate them.
He felt helpless.
“Let’s go.
“Let’s have a walk outside.”
The therapist consoled him.
“I can’t move,” the teenager in white lamented.
“It’s alright, I will carry you on my back.”
The therapist carried him.
“Thank you.”
The teenager in white was grateful.
They had just left the room when the two of them were startled at the same time.
Over there, a teenager in black looked up with a sorrowful face, staring at the sky at a 45 degrees angle. There seemed to be traces of tears at the corner of his eyes…
After a long while…
Three people kept sighing.
That night… was destined to be special.
…
At that moment, Zhou Yun entered the medical department.
She felt perplexed as she stared at the empty bed.
Where did he go?!
She felt somewhat confused.
He was already in that state, where else could he go?
Hence…
She instinctively contacted the teenager, there was only a “Haha” on the other end of the phone.
When she probed further…
He replied that he was “bathing”.
When she continued to probe, he said that he was “sleeping, good night.”
Zhou Yun was speechless.
Did he take the wrong medicine!?
She asked Li Haoran and found out that the therapist brought two boys from the Sword Card Master Association to have a drink. She was speechless.
It was no wonder he sounded like a fool…
Then again, can he drink when he is injured?
Forget it.
There should not be a problem since the therapist is around.
Zhou Yun had no time to worry about him. She had more important matters to deal with. She went back to her room and began to write the list of names excitedly.
This was the task given by her master!
This was her first priority now!
Right then, the president’s office.
Lu Ming felt satisfied.
He had taken a look just now. After Miss Zhou Yun joined them, there was an increase of 40% to his talents!!! She was second to Xiaobai!!!
40%!
What did it mean?!
This was equivalent to 400 Ye Liangfeis!!!
This was equivalent to 400,000 cleaning aunties!!!
He had gained a lot!
Of course.
It was thanks to Xiaobai that there were such amazing results. He knew that she was special, but he never thought that she was that powerful!
Xiaobai…
She was indeed extraordinary..
Hence…
Lu Ming planted a kiss on Xiaobai’s cheeks out of excitement.
Whoosh!
Xiaobai’s tender face turned bright red.
“That is annoying!”
Xiaobai lowered her head, pinching the corner of her shirt. “Master, someone is watching.”
“Who is it?”
Lu Ming frowned.
How dare someone peek at the Sword Card Master Association?
Afterward…
He looked in the direction that Xiaobai was glancing at and saw an Original Card lying down by the side.
Xiao-Xiaojian was speechless.
Crap…
Did he mean to drive me away?!
What were the young and old trying to do?!
Forget it.
Seeing that Lu Ming had a threatening look in his eyes, it snorted and turned around to leave. Since there was no place for it there, it would go elsewhere. Xiao-Xiaobai happened to be alone too.
At the thought of this…
Xiao-Xiaojian suddenly felt very excited.
Swoosh!
It charged to the spirit body classroom excitedly but was shocked to find that Xiao-Xiaohou was cultivating in the classroom, and next to it… were Xiao-Xiaolei, Xiao-Xiaoshé, Xiao-Xiaohou and other inferior spirit bodies who had bad personalities. They were watching Xiao-Xiaobai intently.
Damn it!
How dare they spy on its Xiao-Xiaobai?!
Bang!
Xiao-Xiaojian cast a lightning strike toward them.
(╬◣д◢)!
Xiao-Xiaoshé and other spirit bodies were enraged and they retaliated. Therefore, the quiet and harmonious spirit body classroom was filled with shooting energy and bolts of lightning.
Xiao-Xiaobai looked at them in confusion. It changed to another place to cultivate.
…
On the other side, Lu Ming and Xiaobai did not stay idle for long.
He was just about to ask what was with Xiaobai’s eyes, when he suddenly felt a warm current in his body. His talent had increased again!
An increase of 1%!
Lu Ming’s heart jumped a beat.
Wait a minute.
What was happening with this 1%?!
In order to make it easier to calculate the talents, he had used his initial measurement of 100% as the reference value!
1% seemed low, but that was equivalent to 10 Ye Liangfeis!
Could it be that apart from Miss Zhou Yun, someone else had joined the association as well?
Lu Ming was puzzled.
Bang!
The door opened.
Li Haoran rushed inside in a hurry. “Master, something had happened. Zhang Yang is being beaten up again.”
Lu Ming was doubtful.
Zhang Yang…
He was beaten up everyday, what was so strange about it?
“This is done by one of us.”
Li Haoran coughed.
Lu Ming was even more confused. It was always done by one of them.
Li Haoran whispered. “This is done by a disciple who just joined the association. This was a direct confrontation, hence it was more serious.”
Eh?
Lu Ming became serious.
A newly-joined disciple…
Direct confrontation…
This was not good.
Hence…
He immediately got up and went with Li Haoran to check the situation. However, they were speechless when they found out what had happened.
In fact…
It was simple.
Before, Lu Ming sought Zhang Yang’s help to recruit disciples and Zhang Yang went to make the arrangements right away.
However, his method was somewhat special.
“Take a look.”
Li Haoran showed him his recruitment process. Lu Ming merely took a glance and his scalp turned numb.
Damn!
Was Zhang Yang trying to go to heaven?!
——
Information For Members
1. A second generation disciples will get 1000 points if they get a highly talented member to join. They will get 20% of the contribution points that the member had!
2. The newly joined member is the third generation disciple. If they invite other members to join, they receive 20% of the member’s points. The more they invite, the more points they have.
…
And so on.
——
Lu Ming was stunned.
What was this?
Pyramid selling…
This was plain pyramid selling!
Zhang Yang figured it out on his own to use this kind of bluffing method. If Zhang Yang had existed in his previous life, he would definitely have been a cult leader!
He would be dismembered!
“Has he started publicizing it?”
Lu Ming sighed.
“He has just started.”
Li Haoran was honest. “Then he was beaten up.”
“Tell him to stop it,” Lu Ming said unhappily.
Forget it that Li Haoran was being brainwashed, it would be serious trouble if the pyramid selling method was used!
By then the comprehensive talents of the Sword Card Master Association might have gone up, however, since the disciples were fooled into joining, they would not be very smart. What was the use of having them?
Did talents matter?!
Of course.
It had an impact on the cultivation speed and breaking through the bottleneck!
However, one could break through by force using other methods. There were many people who had poor talents but were peak six-stars! How did they do it?
Through experience!
Even Lu Ming who had poor talents was able to make it all the way to his current stage!
There was nothing to be afraid of!
However…
If they had good talents but were not smart, there was no hope of them breaking through to seven-star!
There was also another point.
Other than being not as smart and not being able to increase overall talent, things could easily go wrong!
These people might cause trouble from time to time. It would only be a few years before the Sword Card Master Association became the cheating association that everyone hated…
Once the overall quality or national impression fell to a certain point…
It would be hard to reverse the situation!
Like the reputation of “Baidoo[1]”.
“Are we really putting a stop to it?”
Li Haoran felt regretful.
He felt that this project had potential… It did not matter that Zhang Yang was being beaten u. In the association, he was the only one who could withstand a lot of beatings.
“Stop it!”
Lu Ming did not hesitate at all.
What a joke!
Potential?
The potential of this scheme was one hundred times more terrifying than he could imagine!
It would cause direct damage!
Hence…
Under his strong insistence, the program was halted!
Afterward…
It was the issue of Zhang Yang being beaten up.
There was no doubt that he was being beaten up by the fools who were duped into joining as well as their families.
They were indeed awesome.
They had good talents.
However…
Their average age was 40 years old and the average energy level was four-star.
They heard that as long as they became a Sword Card Master, spirit bodies would help them to cultivate and warm their beds. They were glad to say goodbye to being single and hence they went to the association in excitement.
All of them passed the talent testing!
They were talented yet they were only three-stars. One could imagine how lazy they must have been!
However…
Interestingly…
The spirit bodies at the spirit body department were very smart as well.
In particular, the female spirit bodies who were very popular. They could tell at one glance that these people were like salted fish[2]!
They were lazy. They did not want to move. They were unmotivated, not hardworking, and were single.
Afterward…
There was nothing more.
Only a few spirit bodies like the toilet bowl spirit, kelp spirit or salted fish spirit that were sick of the life of a spirit body chose to serve them. But when they became card spirits, they became lazier…
Cultivation?
No way.
Since they did not cultivate, they should not pin their hopes on them.
Speaking of this.
Xiao-Xiaojian who had just returned from a fight instinctively looked at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming became sullen.
This had nothing to do with him!
“Hehe.”
Xiao-Xiaojian merely sneered and looked at the spirit bodies. “Although the cultivator is lazy, unmotivated, likes to beat people and does not wish to move, if he is as dashing as the president…
“I will marry him!”
One spirit body said without hesitation.
“I like to be beaten,” a spirit body said shyly.
“I am very hardworking, but I lack a goal to work toward. If the president is willing, I don’t mind it at all,” the spirit body said.
The rest of the people were speechless.
“Heh, spirit bodies.”
Xiao-Xiaojian sneered.
“Shut up!”
Lu Ming was upset and he shoved Xiao-Xiaojian back into the card bag.
Well…
There was the issue of Zhang Yang being beaten.
Actually…
It was nothing serious if it was purely a scam.
The problem was Zhang Yang had gone to the spirit body department to hold a meeting, saying that his plan was very successful. When he was bragging about his achievements, a few of them could not stifle the urge to charge toward him.
Afterward…
That was it.
Lu Ming was speechless.
This was crap!
True enough.
They could only market the characteristics of the Sword Card Master Association toward talents!
This was because even if talents were lazy, they could clearly recognize their own positioning. They knew what they should do. As for the salted fish who were being fooled…
They were real salted fish!!!
Hence…
Lu Ming helped them to revert back to their original vocations, recovered the spirit bodies by force and compensated them, before finally sending them away.
“Remember!
“The first priority of the Sword Card Master Association’s recruitment is that the disciples must be smart!
“It is understandable if they are young and childish. But like these people who are in their thirties and forties and are still lazing around at this stage, what is the use of recruiting them? Are we going to treat them like big and mighty masters?
“Remember!
“We must never lower the recruitment standards of the Sword Card Master Association!
“Understood?”
Lu Ming looked solemn.
“Understood,” Li Haoran replied.
As for Zhang Yang…
Sigh.
Lu Ming personally went to the sickbay to look at him and he told Zhang Yang his requirements as well as the regulations that had to be followed!
“Oh!
“You should have told me earlier!”
Zhang Yang finally understood.
“Don’t worry.
“I will strictly follow your orders this time!”
Zhang Yang made a solemn vow.
“Previously, you said you wanted qualified talents but you didn’t say they must be very motivated. Now I finally understand. You need talented elite disciples!
“Don’t worry.
“I know what I am doing.
“Humph!
“I will definitely come up with a brilliant recruitment plan, to bring the Sword Card Master Association to greater heights!”
Zhang Yang assured him.
Lu Ming was speechless.
Why did he have an ominous feeling about it?!
Forget it.
What else could he do?
“It’s alright.
“There’s no hurry,” Lu Ming assured him. “As the publicity department, you must make sure that the daily advertisements, videos and slogans about the Sword Card Master Association are done properly.”
“Understood,” Zhang Yang reassured him.
Did he really understand what he meant?
Lu Ming had no idea.
However, Zhang Yang was considered an internet celebrity by online media. A few words from him was indeed effective in promoting the association.
As for the rest, he would leave it to fate.
…
It was very late at night.
Lu Ming finally had time to rest.
He checked the time. The day was about to end. He pondered for a moment and called Xiaobai over.
“Master.”
Xiaobai pinched the corner of her shirt, her little face blushing.
The timing…
Sigh…
What does Master want…
“Come over here.”
Lu Ming pulled her to the bed and said seriously, “Your body…”
Whoosh!
Xiaobai blushed.
Goodness.
Master is going to do a body check-up?
That’s annoying.
I am not ready yet.
“What the hell is going on?”
Lu Ming was concerned.
“Huh?”
Xiaobai blinked her eyes.
“I am glad that you could see the spirit body hidden inside Zhou Yun’s body.”
Lu Ming looked serious. “However, this also means that you have a very special force inside you. Given what happened to Zhou Yun… I have to figure out what is going on!”
Lu Ming was very serious.
He had to get to the bottom of things!
Zhou Yun was very similar to Xiaobai!
They were very talented. Both of them were 40% and above!
Zhou Yun was powerful due to a flower!
Xiaobai was powerful due to the spring of life!
Zhou Yun had almost died because of the flower!
As for Xiaobai?
This was the reason why Lu Ming called Xiaobai to his room in the middle of the night. He had to figure it out, otherwise he would not be able to sleep!
“It’s alright,” Xiaobai assured him. “Dad said that I am very safe.”
“Really?”
Lu Ming was still very worried.
Jiang Feng…
That guy was too unreliable!
“Yes.”
Xiaobai nodded with a serious look on her face.
“Can you see my Sea of Consciousness?”
Lu Ming suddenly asked.
“Oh…”
Xiaobai glanced at him. It was hazy. Apart from the short glimpses she saw when Lu Ming showed it to her last time, she could hardly see anything.
“No.”
Xiaobai shook her head.
“Really?”
Lu Ming pondered deeply.
It might be that Brother Cat had shielded it.
He thought about it and was still worried. “Xiaobai, be good. Go and boil some water.”
“Okay.”
Xiaobai went to boil water obediently.
Lu Ming tried to contact Jiang Feng.
Ring—
Ring—
The communication device vibrated.
Very soon…
It was connected.
“Lu Ming?”
Jiang Feng’s collected voice sounded from the other end of the phone.
“That’s me,” Lu Ming answered. “I am with Xiaobai now. I called you to ask…”
“Wait a minute!”
Jiang Feng came to his senses. “Are you with Xiaobai now?”
“Yes.”
Lu Ming was puzzled.
Jiang Feng suddenly turned silent.
He checked the time. Today was the 7th of July. It was late at night. Lu Ming and Xiaobai were not sleeping but were in the same room and he decided to call him…
“Lu Ming…”
Jiang Feng sighed.
“Huh?”
“You might be open-minded, but don’t drag older generations into this…
“Don’t think that I am clueless…
“When I was younger I also surfed websites that started with p…
“I don’t think it is a good idea to make phone calls,” Jiang Feng advised him earnestly.
Lu Ming was dumbstruck.
After a long while…
He finally understood what Jiang Feng was saying.
“Principal!”
Lu Ming was angry. “I have serious matters to ask you!”
“It is indeed a serious matter.”
Jiang Feng was full of emotions. “Let me say this first, the child must take the surname Jiang…”
“Principal!!!”
Lu Ming became sullen.
“Alright, tell me.”
Jiang Feng pursed his lips.
What could be more important than the surname of the child?
“It is regarding Xiaobai.”
Lu Ming took a deep breath. “I would like to know if there are any repercussions from Xiaobai increasing her talents at the spring of life?!
“After all…
“This is a change of destiny!
“I don’t believe that there are no repercussions!”
Lu Ming looked serious.
Shush!
The other party was silent.
After a long while…
Jiang Feng said, “Don’t worry. There are definitely some repercussions. But they won’t endanger her life. It is something else. You must not dislike her for it in the future.”
Lu Ming was confused. What did he mean by he must not dislike her?!
“Well…
“Actually, I don’t really know.”
Jiang Feng was hesitant. “Perhaps due to the spring of life, Xiaobai will never grow up?”
Shush!
There was pin-drop silence in the room.
Lu Ming hung up the phone and was in a daze.
After a long while…
“Master~
“Have some water.”
Xiaobai was carrying a cup of warm water.
Looking at Xiaobai in front of him, Lu Ming was lost in his thoughts.
Damn!
Is that legal?!
Eh?
Xiaobai blinked her eyes, an adorable look on her face.
…
At this very moment…
Somewhere.
Jiang Feng silently ended the call.
In the end, Lu Ming managed to discover the truth.
It was true that she would never grow up. He had meant it when he ridiculed him and changed the topic. However, the truth about the spring of life was far more complicated. Xiaobai…
Whoosh—
Jiang Feng let out a long breath, feeling troubled.
Forget it.
He would take one step at a time.
No one could tell what the future would be. No matter what happened in the future or what happened to Xiaobai, the child… had to take the surname of Jiang!!!
This was the bottom line. It could not be challenged!
However, at this moment, a blue flame began to appear around him.
Buzz—
The flames were silent, like a ghost.
Jiang Feng sighed. “You are here again.”
“Tell me…
“Where is it…”
The flames were erratic. The voice was eerie and cold.
“Hehe.”
Jiang Feng unzipped his pants skillfully.
Water flowed.
Surprisingly, the dark blue flames flickered several times but were not extinguished. They lingered on the edge of being extinguished several times, but were still burning.
The flames were speechless.
Jiang Feng was silent.
Why weren’t they extinguished?
After a long while…
The dark blue flames seemed to understand something and there was a strange smile in their midst.
“Hahahaha! Before you were very powerful but right now your urine flow has weakened. You have finally reached this age!
“Hahahaha!”
The dark blue flames suddenly became arrogant.
Jiang Feng!
To think you would reach this day!
Humph
The flames were very smug.
Jiang Feng briefly became silent before he continued to pee on the flames.
“It’s useless!
“Haha!
“Your energy is no longer sufficient to extinguish my inextinguishable flames…
“凸(艹皿艹)?
“What is this?!
“Damn it!”
The dark blue flames were suddenly frightened. They flickered under the water, terrified. “You actually… have urinary stones…”
Water flowed.
The dark blue flames were extinguished in a flash.
…
[1] Baidoo is a similar name for Baidu, one of the companies specializing in Internet-related services.
[2] Salted fish: Chinese internet slang for a boring and idle person with no ambitions.