At the same time, in a high-end villa neighborhood, Zhou Xueman put down her phone, an unconcealed, scornful chill spreading across her face. The memory of what happened ten days ago in that dilapidated rental house, which reeked of poverty, rekindled a fire of hatred in her heart.
"Qin Fan, you waste of space! Calling you a toad would be a compliment. You turned down ten million, insisting that this lady has to sleep with you before you'll tear up that ridiculous, so-called marriage contract! Fine! Since you refused the toast, you'll drink the forfeit! I'll make sure you get a taste of it!"
With a cold sneer, Zhou Xueman picked up the keys to her sports car from the living room table without a moment's hesitation. She roared away from her home in the red Maserati, a car worth millions.
***
Outside a private club in Jiangzhou, well-known among the city's elite, the Maserati pulled to a stylish stop. Dressed luxuriously, sporting sunglasses and clutching an LV handbag, Zhou Xueman strutted inside with the air of a celebrity.
"Halt! This is a private club and isn't open to the public!" two young men said, reaching out to block her path.
"Scram!" Zhou Xueman huffed coldly. "Didn't Zhao Yuhao tell you someone was coming to see him? Get out of my way!"
"Ms. Zhou, please!" the two young men said in unison, quickly stepping aside to clear a path.
With an arrogant sneer, Zhou Xueman strode confidently into the elevator.
Such brazen arrogance was hardly befitting an eighteen-year-old girl. It must be said that Zhou Xueman's future misery would perfectly illustrate the adage: you reap what you sow. In this world, every effect has a cause.
When the elevator stopped on the eighth floor, Zhou Xueman stepped out and called directly to Zhao Yuhao, who was brewing kung fu tea. "Boss Zhao, I'm Zhou Xueman!"
"Sit," Zhao Yuhao said indifferently without turning his head. He was dressed in a light cotton-linen Zhongshan suit, wore a sandalwood pendant around his neck, and his hands were busy rubbing a pair of lion-head walnuts.
Having accompanied Zhou Yihang to countless grand occasions, Zhou Xueman showed not a hint of timidity. She walked straight across from Zhao Yuhao and sat down. Getting right to the point, she said, "Five hundred thousand to teach that forsaken son from the Qin family a lesson. No bloodshed, just a regular beating will do."
"Heh heh…" Zhao Yuhao's left hand, which had been rubbing the walnuts, paused. He looked up at Zhou Xueman with a playful expression and shook his head. "One million."
"A loser is worth one million?" Zhou Xueman immediately glared and shouted.
"One and a half million," Zhao Yuhao continued to chuckle, staring at her with a harmless-looking smile.
"You—!" Zhou Xueman shot to her feet, her face flushed as she glared at Zhao Yuhao with rage. It wasn't that she didn't have the money, nor was she stingy about a million or so. But spending one million, let alone one and a half million, to deal with Qin Fan felt like an insult to herself!
Was that good-for-nothing worth one and a half million? To her, even 500,000 was an astronomical price!
"Scram." Zhao Yuhao raised a finger and pointed toward the elevator. "You've successfully made me lose all interest in talking to you. Get lost! Come back when you've thought it through."
After all, Zhou Xueman was a spoiled, wealthy heiress. When had she ever been treated with such an attitude? She bit her lip, said nothing more, and grabbed her handbag, turning to leave. She already felt 500,000 was too much. 1,500,000? Impossible!
With Zhao Yuhao leaving no room for negotiation, Zhou Xueman directed all the anger from the failed meeting toward Qin Fan. Fuming, she yanked open the Maserati's door and sat inside. After a moment's thought, she took out her phone and dialed a number.
"I need you to find a few people to teach that useless, forsaken son of the Qin family, Qin Fan, a lesson. No crippling injuries or accidental deaths, and preferably no bloodshed. I'll give you 200,000!"
"My dear Sister Xueman, consider it done! It's a deal!"
Zhou Xueman wasted no more words and hung up. Starting the sports car, she snorted, "Hmph, Zhao Yuhao, you wouldn't take 500,000? This lady can still find someone who'll do it for 200,000! If it weren't for your classier operation, I never would have bothered with you in the first place!"
She let out another cold laugh before muttering, "You'd better pray for your own safety, you loser Qin! Go on and enjoy the forfeit this lady has prepared for you!"
***
Even though Qin Fan had lived for several centuries, he never could have imagined that after just ten days, Zhou Xueman would be so determined to set a trap for him.
But so what if a trap had been set? The Shura Venerable didn't mind adding a little fun to his life in this mundane world.
At the break of dawn the next day, Qin Fan appeared by Qingling Lake, right on schedule.
As he sat cross-legged and concentrated, a continuous stream of Spiritual Energy surged toward him. After ten days of absorption, the meridians in his body had gradually grown thicker, and he could even feel the approach of a bottleneck. His mind was so focused on sensing the changes within his body that he was completely oblivious to the outside world.
Gradually, two thin streams of cold white air, visible to the naked eye, emerged from his nostrils. Soon after, a layer of white light, like a film of mist or frost, covered his face. Fortunately, it was still early dawn, and Qingling Lake was deserted. Anyone else who witnessed such a sight would have been scared witless.
Even with this strange phenomenon appearing on his face, Qin Fan remained unaware. At that moment, completely absorbed in his body's internal changes, he grew ecstatic as the True Qi flowing through his meridians suddenly accelerated.
Am I touching the bottleneck of the Qi Refinement Realm?
At the same time, his Dantian was no longer slowly accumulating and digesting Spiritual Energy as it had over the past ten days. Instead, it was like a bottomless pit, instantly absorbing everything that came its way.
It seems that even though my cultivation from the Transcendance Tribulation Stage was reset to zero, traces of my previous practice still linger within me. Otherwise, this progress wouldn't be so rapid!
Thinking this, Qin Fan's excitement was beyond words. He knew that with the Spiritual Energy from Qingling Lake, breaking through the threshold of the Qi Refinement Realm and officially stepping into the Cultivation Realm was only a matter of days. Still, this sudden change thrilled him, even with his cultivation back at square one.
Forgetting himself completely, he circulated his True Qi with abandon. In response, the Spiritual Energy from Qingling Lake surged toward him in even greater waves.
Just as the eastern sky began to brighten, the frosty layer covering his face suddenly shattered without a sound. It transformed into wisps of ethereal white vapor and vanished into the air.
As the vapor dissipated, Qin Fan's eyes snapped open.
"Haha—HAHAHA!"
Feeling the immense change within his body, Qin Fan could no longer suppress his wild laughter. At this point, after he had used it to break through the Qi Refinement bottleneck, the Spiritual Energy in Qingling Lake had become sparse. To preserve what was left of the lake's essence, Qin Fan stopped absorbing it.
He glanced around, seeing that the morning exercisers had not yet arrived. With practiced ease, he summoned the mantra of the Cangqiong Refining Body Technique from his sea of consciousness.
Compared to the Void Sky Control Technique, the Sky-breaking Saint Emperor Technique, and the Great Heavenly Immortal Technique, the Cangqiong Refining Body Technique seems rather low-grade. But given my current level, having just barely stepped into cultivation, the others are far too advanced. They're simply beyond what someone in the Qi Refinement Realm can handle!
The Cultivation Technique was summoned. Just as he was preparing to integrate the Cangqiong Refining Body Technique into his body, a young woman's voice came from behind him.
"Grandfather, is this the 'interesting kid' you were talking about? He certainly is interesting… It looks like he's already driven himself mad!"