Chapter 79: Zhang San's Bet

For most people in the Seventh Blood Sect, this night seemed no different from any other, yet for some, it was a little different.

Some sighed on their magic boats, envious of others' extraordinary status.

Some were hysterical with rage, swearing to tear their enemies into ten thousand pieces.

Some sat comfortably in rocking chairs, fruit pits piled like mountains beside them.

Some felt bitter in their inns, their minds in utter turmoil.

Sometimes, judging whether a person has integrated into an environment is not about looking at their achievements there, nor their behavior, but at how many people's emotions they can stir.

The one envious of the extraordinary was a disciple from the 79th Port; the one hysterical was a Mermaid race cultivator; the one with fruit pits like mountains was the Captain of the Sixth Team; the one with a panicked heart was the Old Ancestor of the Vajra Sect.

But regardless, when the morning light spilled down, the night's thoughts rose with the early sun and slowly faded away, much like people tiredly leaving the scene after a sleepless night of revelry as described in poetry.

Thus, when the morning light spilled through the dilapidated cabin and tapped gently against Xu Qing’s eyelids, he opened his eyes, blending the stillness within his lids with the brightness of the outside world.

The eyes revealed in the sunlight were crystalline, carrying an expectation for the future, just like the early sun outside.

"I wonder if the morning on the sea has a bit more charm." Xu Qing whispered softly, his eyes filled with yearning as he stood up.

Today, he had many things to do.

First, he had to go to the Homicide Department to request a long leave for his upcoming voyage. This process was not complicated in the Homicide Department; disciples of the Seventh Peak were often not at the port, and since they cultivated by the sea, going out to sea was inevitable.

So, after reporting to the Homicide Department, Xu Qing completed a series of procedures and obtained a forty-day leave. If he returned early, he could cancel the leave; if he was delayed, he could make a supplementary report later.

After finishing this, it was still early, but Xu Qing did not slow his pace. He went to the shops of the Sixth Peak. Although he had experienced the previous incident and such things were unlikely to happen again, Xu Qing had to be cautious, so he spent some effort looking for a shop.

Yet in the end, Xu Qing was still hesitant. As he looked at a shop, debating whether to enter, the Captain sent a voice transmission through his identity token.

"Xu Qing, did you forget something recently?"

Xu Qing was stunned and began to ponder.

"Forget it, I'll just say it. Xu Qing, when are you going to pay back those five hundred spirit stones you owe me!"

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, and he replied.

"One hundred spirit stones!"

"Fine, fine, I won't haggle with you so much. Three hundred it is. When will you give them to me?"

Xu Qing was silent. He took out the bamboo slip engraved with his enemies' names and crossed out the question mark after the Captain's name.

"Why aren't you saying anything? I saw you requested leave at the department. You aren't trying to go out to sea to escape your debt, are you? Forget it, going to sea is dangerous and has high requirements for magic boats. To keep you from dying out there and causing my five hundred spirit stones to go down the drain, let me remind you: to refine a magic boat, find Zhang San!"

"Zhang San?" Xu Qing was a bit puzzled.

Speaking of Zhang San, the Captain seemed to have even greater interest. He gave some pointers through the voice transmission jade slip, told Xu Qing how to act and what to say, and then ended the transmission.

Xu Qing stood where he was, pondering for a long time, and finally, with some strangeness and surprise, found Zhang San at the Transportation Department.

When he arrived at the Transportation Department, Zhang San was squatting on a pile of cargo, smoking a pipe, his expression as comfortable as an old man enjoying the nourishment of tobacco and sunlight, occasionally shouting to direct the handymen of the Transportation Department to work.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, Zhang San’s eyelids narrowed slightly, and after a careful look, his eyes brightened.

"Oh, why does Junior Brother Xu have time to come here today?"

Xu Qing walked closer, looked at Zhang San squatting on the cargo, and leaped up onto the cargo as well. But this time, before he could maintain a certain distance, Zhang San quickly moved away.

Xu Qing glanced at Zhang San and squatted down.

Zhang San looked smilingly at Xu Qing in the sunlight, especially at that side profile that could make the opposite sex obsessed. He couldn't help but mutter a few words in his heart, but his expression revealed nothing.

"Squatting is more comfortable, right?"

"Yes." Xu Qing nodded.

"What's the matter?"

"Senior Brother Zhang, I want to refine and upgrade my magic boat."

"Refine a magic boat? Who told you to come to me? Your Captain?" Zhang San was stunned.

Xu Qing didn't speak; he took out two apples and gave one to Zhang San.

Zhang San instinctively took the apple, but after holding it in his hand, he suddenly regretted it and wanted to return it, but Xu Qing didn't take it.

Zhang San gave a wry smile, his eyes slowly showing contemplation. After weighing the apple in his hand, he looked at Xu Qing again.

Xu Qing also turned his head to look at him.

After a long while, Zhang San suddenly laughed.

"If you promise me one thing, I'll refine it for you."

"Senior Brother Zhang, please speak." Xu Qing noticed the wording; it wasn't asking someone else to help refine it, but rather that the man himself would take action.

"When you look at me in the future, can you stop staring at my neck? It's so hot... I'm afraid of the cold." Zhang San winked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing thought for a moment, shifted his gaze, and looked into Zhang San’s eyes.

Zhang San slapped his forehead and sighed.

"Your gaze always makes me feel weird, as if wherever you look, that place is about to get hurt. Forget it, forget it, it's rare that you can change your gaze. I'll help you refine it, but I'll say this in advance: I'm expensive when I refine magic boats..." As he spoke, Zhang San jumped off the cargo and beckoned to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing stood up, cupped his fists, and followed. Soon, the two arrived at the back of the Transportation Department, where there was a huge warehouse. When the warehouse doors were pushed open, the light from countless refining materials spread out brilliantly.

Xu Qing was stunned, noticing that the types and quality of the materials inside were extraordinary. In particular, he saw seven or eight magic boats that had been dismantled into pieces, and in the distance, there was even half a warship from the Sea Defense Department being assembled...

There were also boats from other foreign races scattered all around. All of this made him gasp, and in a daze, he felt as if he had gone to a shop on the Sixth Peak.

Thus, he couldn't help but look at the proud Zhang San beside him.

"How about it? Let me tell you, among all the disciples of the Seventh Peak, I'm not good at fighting, and my cultivation is average, but when it comes to refining boats, humph, there aren't many among the Sixth Peak disciples who are better than me. These dozen warehouses around here are all my works." Zhang San said proudly with his hands behind his back.

"And no one dares to come and rob them!"

"Is Senior Brother Zhang really a disciple of the Seventh Peak?" Xu Qing hesitated for a moment, remembered the Captain's words, and tried to widen his eyes, putting on a stunned look as he asked.

"Your Captain asked the same thing back then. Hahaha, it's a pity I discovered this talent too late, otherwise, I would be a core disciple of the Sixth Peak now." Zhang San enjoyed Xu Qing’s expression, feeling incredibly comfortable in his heart.

"Show me your magic boat."

Respect appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes as he took out his magic boat bottle and handed it over. Zhang San took it and scanned it, his brows furrowing slightly, but he didn't say anything. Just as he was about to take it to refine, Xu Qing hesitated, remembered the words the Captain had taught him, and spoke.

"Senior Brother Zhang San, I think this magic boat of mine is refined quite well; many parts of it have reached a high standard."

"Not bad? High standard?" Zhang San stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows immediately raised into an inverted 'eight' shape, and he couldn't help but speak.

"What kind of mess is this? The materials are one thing, but the technique is poor to the extreme, and these two sides of the hull have flaws in the arrays."

"These scales are also pasted incorrectly, destroying the structure of the magic boat. This will definitely affect the Spirit Gathering Array. It looks like it was refined by those trash disciples of the Sixth Peak."

"And the bow and stern, this is a Level 6 boat, not a Level 1 boat. The focus isn't on the styling, but on the inner quality... Why make it so flashy? To attract enemies?"

"Practicality is the best choice."

"Trash, it's refined like total trash. This magic boat of yours, it's fine if you don't go to sea, but once you encounter storms and large sea beasts, it simply doesn't possess enough strength, rigidity, stability, and reliability under external forces. Being able to maintain a certain degree of watertightness is already the limit."

Zhang San looked at the magic boat bottle and criticized it thoroughly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing was shaken. He felt that the other's words were very professional, so he became even more respectful and bowed to Zhang San.

Seeing Xu Qing like this, Zhang San felt proud and very comfortable. He loved seeing those fellow disciples who were usually feared by others show admiration in the face of his expertise. The Captain was like that back then, although it ended up costing him a lot of spirit stones...

And he originally didn't want to criticize this time, just intending to refine it simply, but Xu Qing’s "not bad" comment made him unable to hold back.

However, Zhang San had no malice; what he said was correct. Such a magic boat was fine for ordinary disciples to go to sea, but Xu Qing’s combat power meant he would challenge stronger sea beasts and go to more dangerous areas. As such, this kind of magic boat was naturally unsuitable.

"Looking at your direction, it should be durability. I'll help you fix it. I guarantee that on the sea, even if you encounter a giant beast, as long as that beast hasn't reached Foundation Establishment, your magic boat can withstand multiple hits. Even if it cracks, it will be very hard for it to fall apart!" Zhang San waved his hand proudly.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother." Xu Qing’s expression was solemn, and he took out the spirit stones from his pocket.

"I have two hundred spirit stones here, and I need to reserve some for the voyage. I don't know if..." Xu Qing was a bit hesitant; he felt his spirit stones were likely not enough.

Zhang San’s eyes swept over, then he looked at Xu Qing. The words of the Sixth Team Captain from the past, his observations in the Sixth Peak shop, the sound of the Dragon Whale last night, and the spiritual energy fluctuations he had just felt from the other party all surfaced in his mind. Finally, thinking of the criticism he had just given so readily and the satisfaction he had gained, he suppressed his heartache and pretended to be relaxed.

"It's enough. You might have a great future. I invested in your Captain back then, and I'll consider this an investment in you... Come get it tonight." Zhang San said, and began to get busy.

Xu Qing looked up, took a deep look at Zhang San, thanked him solemnly, bowed deeply, and then left.

Not until Xu Qing had walked far away did Zhang San let out a long sigh, muttering with a bitter face.

"I lost money. Every time I see these fast cultivators, why can't I break the habit of showing off? I should have just refined it casually. Now... I have to live up to what I said."

"Hey, that's not right. This kid’s demeanor is somewhat similar to his Captain's... But his Captain is petty; he didn't give a single spirit stone back then, always stingy. This kid has more conscience than his Captain."

But ultimately, he knew he did this because, first, the Captain had recommended him, and second... he trusted the Captain’s judgment.

"This investment shouldn't be a loss!"

Over the years, he had gone from being truly unknown to now being deliberately unknown, sitting on such wealth, controlling the Transportation Department, and having no one dare to rob him. The reason for all this was that he had refined a boat for the Captain once.

And at this moment, Xu Qing, after leaving the Transportation Department, had a strange look on his face. He took out the voice transmission jade slip and, after hesitating, sent a message to the Captain.

"Captain, is this okay?"

"Did you say it according to what I taught you?"

"I did..."

"Haha, that's fine. Don't worry, Zhang San is one of our own. This guy is a big spender. If you feel you've taken advantage of him, help him out more in the future."

Xu Qing nodded seriously, took out the bamboo slip, wrote Zhang San’s name on the other side, then flipped it over to look at the side engraved with enemies, and added a question mark after the Captain’s name.

At this moment, in the Homicide Department, the Captain of the Sixth Team was smilingly eating a strange fruit that could not be bought in the main city and was only produced on the islands of foreign races in the sea.

After finishing, he put down the voice transmission jade slip and picked up a report file about Zhang San. It stated that during a mission, Zhang San had been bloody and cruel, killed too many, and robbed foreign merchant ships. The document strongly protested this and demanded severe punishment.

Glancing at the document, the Captain chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, the document burned and turned into fly ash.

"My friend, as long as you don't betray me under this mountain, no one can touch you."

Two chapters, nearly 8,000 words.

Pretty boys and beautiful girls, the new book has been out for a month, and I've updated 300,000 words. Seeing some people guessing that this little newbie is going to be published soon, I think I'll just wait until the end of the month to publish.

Although none of you are short of money... just consider it a little sincerity from this little newbie. August 1st, it will be published.