"This Dragon and Tiger Pill can enhance the spirit and aid in perceiving mysterious factors... sixteen thousand."
"This Super God Potion can greatly accelerate the Contemplation Technique, eight thousand five."
"This Western Royal Family special rice, enhances intellect and amplifies surrounding mysterious factors, three thousand two hundred per pound."
Uncle Wang sighed deeply, moving each pill, potion, and bag of rice in front of Zhang Fusheng.
Zhang Fusheng fell into silence.
Heartless.
Someone's even more heartless than me!
He gave a bitter smile:
"You bought it all?"
Uncle Wang shook his fan, feeling melancholic:
"Bought it all."
"This Contemplation has been my obsession for decades..."
Zhang Fusheng remained silent.
For a moment, he feigned reaching into his pocket, but actually directly communicated with the ancestral acupoint between his brows, materializing the Contract.
An ordinary-looking piece of lambskin parchment was placed on the table.
A vertical line in the middle split the parchment in two.
"Entry-level Sunrise Contemplation Technique, ensuring you can sense the mysterious factors."
[Sunrise Contemplation Technique (Entry Level Progress)]
Zhang Fusheng picked up the pen and wrote in the column close to himself on the parchment. Then, he glanced at the perplexed Master Zhang and wrote in his column, the 'purchase items.'
[Contemplation Technique Cultivation Time]
He ensured he wrote 'cultivation time' instead of cultivation progress.
The transaction in cultivation and skills is divided into two types: one is progress, the other is time, the former pertains to the 'level' reached in that skill,
the latter refers to the time spent on it.
[Memory related to this transaction] Zhang Fusheng wrote again.
There was no anomaly on the parchment, indicating it was within Uncle Wang's psychological acceptance range—if it went beyond his acceptance range,
even if he wasn't aware the transaction was genuine and effective, the transaction couldn't be completed.
In other words, it directly eliminated the possibility of completing the transaction through fraud.
"Uncle Wang, you've been cultivating the Breathing Technique for a while too, right? Although I reckon there's not much result, I'll exchange it for your cultivation time."
[Breathing Technique Cultivation Time]
"Uh, not to mention your decades of life experience, worldly knowledge?"
[Life Experience, Worldly Knowledge]
The parchment began to heat up, representing the scale tipping, and the transaction couldn't be completed unless Zhang Fusheng added some chips.
He decisively scratched off this last line, and the parchment returned to normal.
"Just these then."
Zhang Fusheng pushed the parchment forward, Uncle Wang looked at him as if he was a fool.
Silent for a long time.
Uncle Wang took a step back, cautiously said:
"Little Fusheng, you shouldn't join cults, they're all harmful and brainwashing stuff, listen to Grandpa's advice..."
Zhang Fusheng chuckled:
"I know you don't believe me, but why not give it a try?"
"Decades of obsession, don't you want to resolve it?"
"You don't need to do anything, just write your name on the parchment, or press your thumb, even just nod... Even if I'm babbling, gone mad, what loss is it to you?"
Uncle Wang became more cautious, thinking this kid had been bewitched by cultists, perhaps already lost his mind.
He felt somewhat chilled, the TV always said cultists were mad as hatters, utterly vicious!
Zhang Fusheng's voice suddenly deepened:
"Mysterious factors, every time I contemplate the ancestral acupoint between my brows, imagine dawn light and swirling morning glow, I can vividly sense them floating around me, incredibly splendid, incredibly radiant."
"Grandpa Wang, you're already over seventy."
Uncle Wang was stunned for a moment.
Although he didn't believe it at all, if asked truthfully, would he agree to such a deal?
Yes.
Definitely would.
Looking at Zhang Fusheng's utmost serious expression, the old man shook his fan, just wishing this kid would hurry up and leave!
He reached out and pressed the parchment.
"Alright, alright, you go quickly..."
Before he could finish speaking.
Uncle Wang's eyes suddenly widened, seeing a black fingerprint appear where he had pressed his thumb on the parchment.
'Boom!'
A mighty bell seemed to ring in my ear.
"Transaction, complete."
Zhang Fusheng spoke in a low voice, the parchment crumbling into droplets of light rain, gradually fading, gradually disappearing.
The [experience] and [time] Uncle Wang spent on the Contemplation Technique and Breathing Technique, along with a small segment of memory regarding this transaction, were all absorbed by the somewhat dim contract into his brow's Ancestral Acupoint, ready to be accessed at any time.
Similarly,
Zhang Fusheng could feel that his understanding of the [Sunrise Breathing Technique] was quickly becoming obscure. He sold the progress of this skill, so the memory about the breathing technique was still there, but it became extremely unfamiliar, as if he had never cultivated it.
The vague perception of the Mysterious Factor was also stripped away.
Uncle Wang was stunned in place, the palm fan no longer swaying, his eyes were unknowingly closed.
Zhang Fusheng quietly left.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to take that bottle of aged liquor with him.
......
Fifty-one years of cultivation in the Contemplation Technique and Breathing Technique, of course, the true amount of time Uncle Wang spent on these two [skills] was much less.
But it was enough, as over the past three years, Zhang Fusheng spent daily only two to three hours on the Contemplation Technique.
"Thankfully the contract can 'store' the gains from the transaction, but if it could be 'divided' into smaller portions, it would be even better."
Zhang Fusheng sighed, first trying the Sunrise Contemplation Technique, only to find he had forgotten all its contents.
Carefully sensing himself, he discovered a faint feeling of fatigue—the mental boost brought by the entry-level Contemplation Technique was also stripped away after selling the progress, naturally leading to feelings of fatigue and weariness.
He then shifted his focus to the contract, the contract within his brow's Ancestral Acupoint was somewhat dim but gradually brightening, very slowly, yet surely.
"Is it..."
"Recharging?"
Zhang Fusheng thought for a long time, unable to find an appropriate word, silently sensing the feedback information from the contract. When it brightens again, he can reinitiate the transaction.
And the time... a month?
There seemed to be some way to accelerate 'recharging,' or a method to expedite the contract's recovery, but the feedback information was very vague.
"Have to wait for a month..."
He sighed lightly, his thoughts touched upon the light ball within the contract representing Uncle Wang's 'transaction memory,' instantly expanding a segment of memory in Zhang Fusheng's mind.
It was a moment ago, from Uncle Wang's perspective of what happened.
"Indeed, memories can be bought and sold, and I can directly purchase memory related to the transaction, allowing short-term concerns about exposure to not become too worrying."
"Time to register."
A surge of indescribable excitement welled up in Zhang Fusheng's heart, the Martial Arts Dojo's Contemplation Technique is surely better than the Sunrise Breathing Technique,
Though my own enlightenment is poor, I was able to gain entry-level in the Contemplation Technique over three years—then, what if it's fifty-one years?
Minor Achievement?
Even Great Success?
Teachers say that Contemplation Technique at Great Success has a divine wonder.
Something called... 'I should see myself as such.'
"Off to the Martial Arts Dojo!"
......
Once again knocking on the door, after confirming Uncle Wang didn't remember anything before, Zhang Fusheng decisively headed for the city center.
The Third District.
He felt a sense of impatience, even indulged himself—taking a taxi.
From the Seventh District to the Third District, over thirty to near forty kilometers, taking more than an hour,
Ordinary residents of the Lower Three Districts and Central Three Districts are actually not allowed to enter the Upper Three Districts.
The entire Upper Three Districts is encased by high walls, with established entry and exit checkpoints, akin to an inner and outer city... but Zhang Fusheng is different.
He is a soon-to-be student at Jiang University.
As the best university in Jiangzhou City, although Jiang University is nothing within the entire Federation range, at least locally, the students of Jiang University have in some meaning already accomplished a small step in 'social hierarchy advancement.'
'Beep!'
The identity card scans, the indicator light turns green.
The staff nodded, returned the identity card, meanwhile reminding the driver:
"Leave immediately after dropping off the passenger, you only have one hour of stay time, if needing to extend the stay, it requires online application."
The driver nodded and bowed.
Passed through the checkpoint, not long before arriving at the destination.
"One hundred and seven... Sir, can you take off a zero?"
"Take off a zero? Do I look like a zero to you?"
Zhang Fusheng glanced at the round-faced, whiskered driver, who was wearing white socks; paused for a moment, hurriedly paid and got off.
Recently, people online say that Celestial Shu Province's flashy ways are blowing evil winds to Golden Province, boys out alone should be careful...
"One hundred and seven!"
Zhang Fusheng winced painfully, but as he stood before [Hongji Martial Arts Dojo], the sting of spending money faded entirely.
"Contemplation Technique, then..."
"Contract, give me more strength!"