Volume One, Chapter 16: The Precious Fruit, the Power of Gold

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The words were utterly sincere. Everyone was moved by them, and as they thought of their current situation, emotion showed on their faces.

People of the old man’s age had generally learned to take life as it came.

After all, they had lived through most of their lives. They had enjoyed the blessings they were meant to enjoy and endured the hardships they were meant to endure.

When it came to death, they could accept it calmly.

But the young people in the prime of their lives could not help feeling a dark cloud gather in their hearts.

They still had so much time ahead of them that they had yet to enjoy.

They were unwilling to die just like this.

In the end, Chu Ge managed to obtain another Spirit Fruit, bringing the total to three. It had been a bountiful harvest.

Chu Ge did not linger in the hotel lobby. After ordering the thugs to guard the entrance, he prepared to go upstairs.

“Big brother, there’s no need for polite words. From now on, Weiwei’s life and mine belong to you.”

Jiang Tao dragged his girlfriend over to Chu Ge and thanked him profusely.

“In the face of disaster, the fact that you didn’t abandon one another or give up is a quality worth cherishing.”

Chu Ge changed the subject and continued, “But only overwhelming strength can ensure that you and the people you love survive in this cruel world.”

With that, Chu Ge and Su Ran walked straight into the elevator.

At that moment, the young married woman in the lobby hurried after them and slipped inside.

“What are you doing?” Su Ran turned around and looked warily at the woman who had entered the elevator uninvited.

The woman’s name was Liang Yin. She was an English teacher who had come to Jiang City to travel two days earlier. Who could have imagined that the moment she arrived, the entire world would undergo a cataclysmic transformation?

Several of Liang Yin’s friends had been bitten to death by demon beasts.

She had narrowly escaped death and was fortunate enough to hide inside the hotel.

Who would have thought that escaping one danger would only lead her straight into another?

Liang Yin had keenly noticed that the tattooed man was looking at her with ill intent.

She was a woman—and a remarkably beautiful one at that. If she fell into their hands, what happened to her was easy to imagine.

Just as Liang Yin was sinking into despair, Chu Ge appeared.

After witnessing him crush the gangsters to death, Liang Yin’s thoughts began to stir.

“He’s powerful and decisive in killing. At a glance, he’s clearly a ruthless man.”

“If I can stay by his side, my chances of surviving will be higher. The worst that could happen is that I’ll be... But he’s young, handsome, and not a bad person. I wouldn’t exactly be losing out.”

In a chaotic age, no one was truly master of their own fate.

If one wanted to live, one always had to give something in return.

A one-sided demand could never last.

Besides, even in the worst-case scenario, if she were forced into something, he had still stepped forward and crushed the gangsters. However bad his character was, could he really be worse than those thugs?

After weighing the pros and cons, Liang Yin decisively followed them.

“Hello. May I go upstairs and rest?” she asked nervously.

Su Ran curled her lips, but said nothing. Instead, she glanced toward Chu Ge.

“There are plenty of rooms upstairs. Find an empty one for yourself.” Chu Ge glanced at the mature young woman and spoke without revealing any emotion.

Hearing this, Liang Yin breathed a sigh of relief.

He had not refused her. It was a good beginning.

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The elevator arrived at the nineteenth floor.

Chu Ge and Su Ran entered the presidential suite one after the other, then shut the door firmly.

Liang Yin found a room next door, and the heavy stone in her heart slowly sank.

Her original intention had been to share a room with Chu Ge and Su Ran.

But she also knew that they were complete strangers to one another, making that possibility practically nonexistent.

Everything had to proceed gradually.

Being able to live next door to Chu Ge was already enough to satisfy Liang Yin.

At the very least, no thugs would harass her.

...

No matter what era one lived in, life still needed a sense of ceremony.

What difference was there between doing nothing but cultivating and fighting monsters and punching in at work every day?

After returning to the presidential suite, the two people and one dog plunged into the kitchen.

After half a day of hard work, more than a dozen dishes covered the table.

Chu Ge brought out a large case of beer, and the two people and one dog raised their glasses together.

“To our tomorrow. Cheers!”

More than an hour later, Little Blackie could hold his liquor no longer and fell into a hazy sleep.

Chu Ge’s belly was round from eating. After belching contentedly, he said to Su Ran, “Come to my room after you’ve taken a bath.”

He intended to teach Su Ran the Great Celestial Immortal Art.

Chu Ge possessed the Eight-Nine Mysterious Technique, so he had no use for the Great Celestial Immortal Art. Su Ran, however, happened to lack a cultivation method.

It would be better to pass it on to her than let it go to waste.

Yet when those words reached Su Ran’s ears, her delicate body trembled and her face flushed slightly.

“C-Chu Ge, isn’t this too fast? How about waiting a few days?”

Shouldn’t they date first?

Or were they supposed to get intimate first and sort out the formalities afterward?

But she was still a virgin!

“Wait? What are we waiting for?” Chu Ge asked in confusion.

Su Ran drew in a deep breath.

She knew that she was very attractive. Back in school, the boys who pursued her could have circled the campus twice.

But Chu Ge was being far too eager.

Could it be because they were alone together in the same room, and he had been suppressing himself too painfully?

Su Ran gazed at Chu Ge with deep feeling, then pressed her lips together.

“I can agree to it, but can you promise that I’ll be the only one in the future?”

Chu Ge shook his head without hesitation.

“What are you talking about? If someone else comes to trade with me in the future, and the terms are suitable, you want me to refuse?”

Crack!

It was like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.

Trade? What kind of trade? Was it the kind of trade she was imagining?

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Who would have thought you were this kind of man, Chu Ge?

“How did you manage to convince yourself?” Su Ran bit her red lips lightly.

“It’s a trade. We each get what we need. As long as I’m not losing out, what’s the problem?” Chu Ge said with complete composure.

Su Ran: “...”

What a fine excuse—so long as he wasn’t losing out.

Was their peaceful little life no longer possible?

“Hurry up. We still have to cultivate tonight.”

Chu Ge picked up Little Blackie and returned to his room.

He had no idea what was going through Su Ran’s mind.

He was only going to pass on a cultivation method. Why was she being so coy and making such a fuss?

Women were troublesome.

Su Ran watched Chu Ge’s departing back with a sorrowful gaze. Only after a long while did she manage to pull herself together.

“I can accept him finding a few other women, but he absolutely cannot engage in that kind of trade again.”

“What if he catches some strange disease? What will I do then?”

Chu Ge had no idea that the two of them were speaking on entirely different wavelengths. At that moment, he was studying the treasure fruit.

Each treasure fruit was covered by a special seal that ensured the contents inside would not be damaged while also preventing anyone from seeing through it.

Chu Ge clenched his hand and crushed the fruit. A streak of multicolored light instantly merged into his mind.

“Five Elements Divine Art: Power of Metal!”

This was a divine ability that granted Chu Ge the power to control metallic elements.

“Power of Metal...”

After pondering for a moment, Chu Ge’s eyes narrowed as he looked toward the window.

A strange sensation arose, almost like instinct.

The window twisted at a visible speed, liquefied, and reassembled. The impurities within it were separated and stripped away. In the end, it formed a long blade that slowly flew toward Chu Ge.

Chu Ge reached out and weighed it in his hand. Since it had been condensed to its purest essence, the blade was astonishingly heavy.

The Power of Metal could transform ordinary iron into wondrous metal and refine all things into divine weapons.

The long blade tempered by the Power of Metal could cut through iron as easily as mud. It was in no way inferior to any famous blade in the world.

With a flick of his wrist, Chu Ge sent the blade shooting forward. Its entire length sank into the wall.

“How impressive...”

A gleam lit up in Chu Ge’s eyes.

The potential of the Power of Metal was immense. It was not limited to controlling metal and tempering weapons.

Once Chu Ge’s strength increased further, he might even be able to create metal from nothing, transform his own body into metal, or turn his targets into metal...

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