Chapter 44: The Minotaur

Zhang Wei truly felt it was incredibly low-class.

Other people all comprehend sword intent, blade intent, or things of that sort; just hearing the names makes them sound high-end and sophisticated, how much prestige they have.

But what was stick intent again?

In the process of evolving weapon intent, without caring whether he was willing or not, a set of laws regarding the stick was deduced and entered his brain just like that.

What was even more low-class was that this thing didn't impart a set of stick techniques like in novels, or skills like pointing, poking, chopping, or sweeping; it just went straight forward and acted recklessly...

Consequently, a hollow iron pipe smashed a large piece of whetstone to pieces in one go, and the stick was still perfectly fine afterward.

To put it plainly, this so-called stick intent is just an extended application of Star Power; the Star Power within the body echoes from afar with the stars in the sky, using one's own heart and intent as the handle, crushing whatever it hits, overcoming everything.

Theoretically speaking, the bigger the heart and the firmer the intent, the stronger this stick power is; hating the sky for having no pillar to prop it up for a while, or hating the earth for having no hole to poke the Earth all the way through—all of this is possible, provided the stick is hard enough and long enough.

Of course, even with the legendary Golden Cudgel, it doesn't mean Zhang Wei could go wild across the entire Earth. The stronger the stick, the more formidable the cultivation required to control it; heart and intent are not empty things either. A cultivator's heart and intent can be said to be a materialized concept, and its Dao is profound and long-lasting. Otherwise, even if one hypnotized oneself into imagining being Sun Wukong in the Laozi furnace, swearing to overturn the Lingxiao Dian, it would be useless.

This is the reason why people who practice the sword often say they need to hone their sword heart.

However, if there were a choice, who would want to carry a stick to hit people? Others all draw their blades and swords in unison, unleashing various moves that are either domineering or sharp, while he himself carries a lousy stick like a hoodlum getting into a fight...

How low-class!

How cowardly!

How sleazy!

At the mere thought of that scene, Zhang Wei simply didn't want to speak.

But things had reached this point, and complaining more was useless, so he simply let this matter go, buried his head, and clicked on the Lucky Draw, wanting to get some comfort from it.

An hour passed quickly, the remaining 20,000 Resentment was squandered away, and Zhang Wei stared blankly, dumbfounded, at a pile of messy things on the bed.

An apple that looked like it had been gnawed on by a rat, two pitch-black, similarly incomplete unknown fruits, a piece of old animal skin the size of a book...

What was even more outrageous was that there was also something resembling a date pit that looked like someone had chewed the fruit flesh and then spat it out!

This is just...

Zhang Wei took a deep breath, comforting himself that one shouldn't look at appearances but at the essence; although the apple was rotten, it had many benefits, right? If packaged well, couldn't it still be sold for a hundred and eighty thousand?

He looked at those two never-before-seen fruits; the skin faintly revealed irregular patterns, the volume was slightly smaller than the apple, the skin and flesh were black, and the fruit flesh faintly revealed a dark purple. The place where it had been bitten once was very fresh, as if it had happened just a minute ago.

Zhang Wei hesitated for a while, carefully took a bite, felt the taste was plain, completely lacking the strange fragrance of the previous apple, and there was no special reaction after eating it into his stomach.

Could this be a scam? Zhang Wei was somewhat unwilling to accept it, thinking he would keep them to sell, but the effects were unknown, and he might ruin his own reputation, so he simply swallowed it in one gulp.

However, there was still no reaction.

Zhang Wei was really, really angry, feeling like he was a complete fool, eating someone else's leftovers and naively thinking some miracle would appear; just thinking about it made his heart burn.

In a fit of shame and anger, he casually grabbed that thing resembling a date pit and flicked it hard into the soil of the courtyard.

"If you don't grow me a Snail Girl, I'll burn you."

Zhang Wei let out a long sigh, put the remaining things into his space, and when he went into the bathroom to fetch a basin of hot water to wash up and sleep, he inadvertently looked at the mirror, and the hair on his neck stood up; he almost exploded and punched toward it.

Who the hell is this???

Zhang Wei touched his face in disbelief, still unable to believe that the guy in the mirror was himself.

Covered in fur and whiskers, big eyes and a broad nose, fangs exposed, and two sharp horns on his head—he was a complete, silly-looking minotaur!!!

"F—u—c—k—y—o—u!"

Zhang Wei was stunned for a long time, finally pulled out a long hair, and only after a sharp pain did he confirm this wasn't a dream; he couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse word by word, even his voice sounding muffled and nasal.

By this time, how could he not know that this was the work of that unknown fruit!

At this moment, he just wanted to ask the heavens in silence: which bastard came up with this to screw people over???

At this moment, Zhang Wei especially hated his own mouth; why was he so obsessed that he dared to swallow anything into his stomach?

He remembered Lei Zhenzi in the Investiture of the Gods; didn't he also eat a fruit and end up with that appearance full of bumps? But growing a pair of wings to realize the dream of flying in the new era would be nice, but what is the meaning of turning me into a minotaur???

Does he want me to carry the signboard of Dali Niu Mo Wang to mingle in the demon world?

Zhang Wei complained for a long time, only then realizing, could it be that he would stay like this forever? That his original face, with red lips and white teeth, in the prime of youth, couldn't be restored?

As soon as his thought moved, the minotaur in the mirror slowly changed; the dense whiskers retracted, his facial features twisted and squeezed for a moment, and he actually returned to his original appearance.

Only then did Zhang Wei breathe a sigh of relief, a heavy stone in his heart falling.

Is this the effect similar to a Transformation Fruit?

He thought about the appearance of the minotaur just now in his head, and as a result, just as he thought, he turned into that muscular minotaur from before; it worked every time he tried it.

Having let go of the worry of "leaving the tribe," Zhang Wei became optimistic again, thinking that there are more and more awakened exotic beasts now, and their strength and intelligence are not inferior to humans; perhaps an society composed of exotic beasts will appear in the future, and when that time comes, he can go and experience "bovine life" when he has nothing to do, right?

He originally thought about trying it himself first, and if there were benefits, he would share the other one with Bai Guagua, but now it seems that if he doesn't want to be chased all over the city by Bai Guagua, it's better to keep it in the space first.

After all, young girls are usually not interested in this kind of thing, and even if it's a temporary transformation, it's probably hard to accept, unless he turns her into a Magical Girl...

Just as Rongcheng was gradually sinking into the deep night, and even the crowds in the most prosperous areas were gradually becoming sparse, at the sinkhole not far from Zhang Wei's house, the roar of machines was still being emitted.

The night in Rongcheng was extremely muggy; the workers didn't even wear clothes, working with bare backs, and the guarding armed police were soaked in sweat, yet they remained fully equipped and solemn, the submachine guns on their bodies flashing with cold luster.

After these few days of grinding day and night, Jiang Yuanzhan, who originally had a neat appearance, was also somewhat disheveled, sitting on the mud bank smoking a cigarette regardless of his image; the blue smoke swirled lingeringly under the searchlight, and his usually steady eyes had some anxiety.

Suddenly, a tooth-aching crisp sound came from the pit, as if the machine had touched something extremely hard; Jiang Yuanzhan stood up with a start, and a series of "click-clack" sounds of bullets being chambered echoed all around...