C20 Requests

The young man's expression became ugly when he noticed the sheer disregard Chu Zhongtian and the shopkeeper was showing him.

Eyes filled with resentment, he stared at Chu Zhongtian's back and said in no whispers, "What's so special about you? You are still trash who can't cultivate."

Chu Zhongtian didn't turn around to respond to the young man's provocation.

After all, he knew that there would be no more interactions between him and the young man in the future. So, if he turned around and fought a battle of words with the young man now, it would make him look like a narrow-minded person.

"Tian, where have been for the past month?" After they had settled down, the shopkeeper poured him a cup of tea.

Chu Zhongtian had already concocted the tale he would feed everyone, so he narrated the tale to the shopkeeper in great detail. Time and time again, he would focus and emphasize how he obtained a Meridian Protection Pill through sheer dumb luck.

After hearing the parts of the tale that dealt with how Chu Zhongtian escaped Qi Yiloong's pursuit and survived in the Endless Forest, the shopkeeper didn't show much reaction. However, once he heard that Chu Zhongian was now a Level-2 Qi Refiner, he was left shell-shocked.

What the shopkeeper knew about this trip was limited. To him, Chu Zhongtian followed Elder Chu Fann to the Endless Forest a month ago to harvest herbs. However, he didn't know what kind of herbs they were harvesting.

When Chu Fann and the others returned to Luolin Town from the Endless Forest, they only gave him a simple explanation. After assuring him that Chu Zhongtian would be back soon, they rushed back to the Chu Family headquarters.

Three days later, instead of returning with Chu Zhongtian, Hu San returned alone. However, Hu San himself was grievously injured and had his life hanging by a thread.

Hu San told the shopkeeper everything that happened while he was leaving the Endless Forest with Chu Zhogntian. From that, he learned that Chu Zhongtian was in danger and required immediate rescue. Anxious, the shopkeeper thought about going out to rescue Chu Zhongtian, but he couldn't just leave the injured Hu San alone; he had to take care of him.

Hu San's was a Body Refiner, and Chu Zhongtian was a cultivation less trash. Obviously, saving the former took priority. Therefore, he could only suppress the anxiety and treat Hu San.

Five days later, the experts of the family came to pick up Hu San. As for Chu Zhongtian, no one mentioned him, much to the shopkeeper's dissatisfaction. However, as an elder of the family, he knew very well what the higher-ups of the family were thinking.

Had Chu Zhongtian's meridians not been damaged, the clan would've surely sent enough experts to rescue him. Even if they had to go against the royal family, they would still save Chu Zhongtian. After all, Chu Zhongtian was a peak Level-8 talent—Chu Family's hope for rising to the peak.

After the experts of his family left, the shopkeeper went to Endless Forest alone to search for him. However, Chu Zhongtian's hiding place was so well-hidden that he came out empty-handed despite searching for days. In the end, he gave up helplessly.

The shopkeeper's shock wasn't just because of Chu Zhongtian's—truly—shocking news. It was also because of his undying loyalty toward the Chu Family. Now that Chu Zhongtian could use his peak Level-8 talent to its fullest, the Chu Family was bound to rise to new heights. Just the excitement from those shocked him to no end.

"Tian, I need to examine your body." It wasn't that he didn't believe Chu Zhongtian's words; instead, he wanted to confirm that Chu Zhontian didn't suffer any backlashes due to the pill. After confirming it for himself, he could carry out the next step of his plan.

"No problem!" After spending more than a year with the shopkeeper, Chu Zhongtian became quite aware of his thoughts and habits. Chu Zhongtian knew how much the shopkeeper cared about the Chu Family. So, he knew that the only reason the shopkeeper was checking him was to confirm that he could indeed bring the Chu Family to new heights.

When the shopkeeper's rich Qi entered his body, Chu Zhongtian was surprised to find that the seemingly weak shopkeeper was actually very strong.

If the spiritual power in Chu Zhontian's meridians was a drop of water, then the shopkeeper's was comparable to a river. At this moment, Chu Zhongtian realized that he just might not know as much about the old man as he thought he knew.

"Not bad." The shopkeeper was afraid that his spiritual power could hurt Chu Zhongtian, so he only used a thousandth of his actual power. After a single circulation within Chu Zhongtian's body, he got a rough idea of the situation inside.

Now, he knew that not only were his meridians wholly healed, but they were also way stronger than the meridians of other regular cultivators.

This meant that Chu Zhongtian's strength was several times what the other cultivators of the same realm had. After learning such a shocking truth, the shopkeeper couldn't help but exclaim twice.

"Tian, for the time being, don't go anywhere and just stay here. Wait for the experts of our family to bring you back to Lu City." After the brief inspection, the shopkeeper found that Chu Zhongtian's condition was much better than he had imagined. It was a matter of great importance, so he had to inform the family; the shopkeeper knew it.

In the past few years, the struggle for resources between the four great families became increasingly intense. Like tigers eyeing their prey, everyone was eyeing the geniuses of other families.

Apart from the shopkeeper and the four Body Refining guards, there was no other expert in the Luolin Town. If the royal family’s experts or the other two families discovered this news, they wouldn't let Chu Zhongtian leave Luolin Town so easily.

"All right, I got it. Shopkeeper, I have two requests, though." Chu Zhongtian didn’t oppose the shopkeeper’s suggestion.

Luolin Town was at least a few thousand miles away from the capital city of Qi Country, Lu City. Chu Zhongtian would need more than a month on foot even if he tried to be quick. So, he decided to wait for the experts of his family to escort him instead. It was the best choice.

Once the shopkeeper had sent the news about his recovery, the family would send their experts over. The whole process would take at least ten days. Chu Zhongtian certainly couldn't waste these ten days. So, to continue improving his strength, he could only shamelessly make some requests.

"Tian, you don't have to be polite with me," said the shopkeeper, pretending to be unhappy.

Instead of being unhappy, the shopkeeper was actually quite glad that Chu Zhongtina was making requests.

After all, a year ago, after everyone knew that Chu Zhongtian could not cultivate, the family gave up on him. Not only did the family cancel all of his benefits, they even sent him to this remote and dangerous Luolin Town.

The shopkeeper could understand if he hated the family, but now that Chu Zhongtian had taken the initiative to ask for his help, it meant that he still had a sense of belonging to the family. So as long as Chu Zhongtian's request wasn't too much, the shopkeeper would agree to it.

"Shopkeeper, for my first request, can you cook me some good food?”

"I ate nothing but fruits for an entire month. I do not have enough nutrition." Chu Zhongtian thought it was embarrassing that his first request was food, of all the things he could’ve asked for. However, he couldn’t have cared less about the embarrassment—he needed a full meal!

"Tian, how can this be considered a request? I will get someone to arrange a table of delicious food for you right away." Hearing that Chu Zhongtian's first request, the mature and steady shopkeeper couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Also, Shopkeeper, I can cultivate now. But I lack resources, especially inferior stones that can aid my cultivation. Can you lend me some first? I'll return them to you when I earn in the future." Because he couldn't cultivate, Chu Zhontian tried to keep his distance from those who could. Like that he wouldn’t become a target of their mockery. Therefore, he didn't know what kind of treatment his family gave to their cultivators. Consequently, he was also unaware of the resources he was entitled to now that he could cultivate again.