Chapter 7: The Wonderful Use of the Break-Saint Fruit, Red-Haired Lingzhi!

Chen Yan ultimately did not use his full strength.

It was not out of concern for what might happen to Hu Yuan; he was afraid that one punch of his would truly kill the person.

The harvest from today was simply too great; after consuming one Strength Character Po Saint Fruit, he then consumed one Technique Character Po Saint Fruit, and Chen Yan's strength had increased a bit too much.

Hu Yuan's howling came from behind, but Chen Yan left without even looking back; the other classmates looked at Chen Yan's lean back, their eyes all carrying a trace of fear.

Chen Yan practiced until nightfall, and only when the school was empty did Wang Yang call him to go home.

Walking onto the street, Chen Yan discovered that their own Fried Noodle Shop had already closed.

The clothing store next to the Fried Noodle Shop was being dismantled, and the proprietress was moving the clothes out of the shop with red eyes.

Chen Yan's thoughts stirred, and thinking of what Hu Yuan had said to him earlier, he hurriedly opened his mouth to ask:

"Auntie, is your shop not opening anymore?"

The proprietress looked at Chen Yan, her eyes carrying a trace of grievance and anger, and she spoke in a muffled voice:

"We are all poor people, without power or influence; if the shop is gone, it is nothing more than a word or two from others."

Chen Yan frowned; shopfronts in the Town need to be applied for at the Town Martial Bureau, and there are Contracts for all of them.

The proprietress seemed to see the thoughts in Chen Yan's heart and gave a cold snort:

"Contracts and such, we see them as important, but for big shots, they have no binding effect at all; it is like this everywhere."

"That Zhang Ge has money and power, he runs a Martial Arts Hall in the Xian, and his own Son has even had an Awakening of SoulRefining; wanting a piece of territory is simple, isn't it?"

Chen Yan pursed his lips; it seemed his own Fried Noodle Shop was truly going to be reclaimed by the Town Martial Bureau and rented to Zhang Qingsi's Father.

The key is that their family only has three mu of land, and the land is planted every year, but the annual harvest of wheat is only a little over Two Thousand, and that is not counting labor costs and fertilizer.

Without the Fried Noodle Shop, their family will only be more strapped for cash in the future.

His heart felt heavy.

Although he and Zhang Qingsi are classmates, the other's Father only needs a single word or a smile to easily cut off his family's Fate.

In his mind, there were suddenly sounds of hissing, and he looked at the street, looked at the passing residents of the Town, and a sense of indignation was condensing and piling up.

"Heard that someone at Majia Cliff went into the Qingshan Inner Perimeter yesterday and picked a red-haired lingzhi."

"These few days are indeed the season for red-haired lingzhi to mature; one red-haired lingzhi is worth at least Ten Thousand."

"Too dangerous, are you trying to seek death? If the family has some spare money, don't take risks; don't you know that Zhang Yu from Zhang Village went into Qingshan two days ago and died?"

"Yes, it is too dangerous; if you aren't too short on money, it is better to prioritize saving your life."

………………

Several people walked by discussing this, and Chen Yan's Mu Guang shifted as he ran toward home.

Once he arrived at Jia Li, Chen Yuhu was reading a book, and the food was already set on the table.

"Dad, the True Martial Prize Money selection is next Monday, and I feel there should be no problem."

Chen Yan entered the door and spoke.

"True Martial Prize Money?" Chen Yuhu was stunned and hurriedly put away the book in his hand:

"Is that the selection where one class picks one person?"

"Hmm?"

Chen Yuhu nodded and smiled:

"My Son is naturally capable."

Chen Yan pursed his lips; Chen Yuhu was definitely just brushing him off.

"Dad, our shopfront..." Chen Yan continued to speak.

"Oh, you heard about that? It's fine, Dad is high school classmates with the Town Martial Bureau Director; others will be moved, but our family doesn't need to."

Chen Yan was somewhat surprised, but Chen Yuhu's words clearly dispelled the Anger in his heart.

Is that so?

He had previously worried that his Father would be forced to take risks in the Qingshan Inner Perimeter.

There are many treasures in the Qingshan Inner Perimeter; the Li Ming family, their neighbors, can basically pick a treasure worth One or Two Thousand every year.

But going into the Qingshan Inner Perimeter carries great danger.

Hearing that their shopfront did not need to be reclaimed, Chen Yan felt much more at ease and continued to perform that punching move in the Yuan Wai.

Although he was not at school at this moment, after a day of practice, he was already very familiar with that movement.

…………

The morning light was barely visible, and a faint orange-red climbed over the wall.

Listening to the leisurely sound of Cicada echoing, Chen Yan walked out of the room and stood in the courtyard to stretch.

On the front courtyard wall, the locust flowers peeking out from the Yuan Wai swayed their figures.

"We can eat Huaigao Cake these few days."

Smelling the refreshing fragrance of the locust flowers, Chen Yan smiled, walked back and forth for a while, and only then discovered that Chen Yuhu was not at Jia Li.

Chen Yan immediately frowned; his Sister was at the Xian high school, and she would come back around noon every Saturday; logically, Chen Yuhu should not be away at this time.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door, and Chen Yan opened the wooden door; a Mediterranean Sea man of about forty years old stood outside the courtyard gate.

"Is Chen Yuhu here?"

The man's voice was stern, carrying a trace of irresistible momentum.

Chen Yan was startled; this person should be a Martial Officer from the Town Martial Bureau, and he should have seen him before.

"He's not here, what is the matter?" Chen Yan asked.

"Not here?" The Mediterranean Sea man frowned, then looked at Chen Yan and said indifferently:

"When Chen Yuhu returns, tell him that the items in your family's Fried Noodle Shop must be cleared out by next Tuesday at the latest; if they are not cleared out by next Tuesday, our Town Martial Bureau will help your family clear them out."

The man said this and left directly.

Chen Yan frowned; Chen Yuhu had lied to him yesterday.

Walking to the backyard, Chen Yan's Mu Guang narrowed slightly; that brand-new chopping knife placed in the backyard was gone.

Chen Yan frowned and entered Chen Yuhu's room; Chen Yuhu's cotton-padded jacket was gone.

Chen Yan felt a chill in his heart; many mountain-runners wore cotton-padded jackets even in midsummer. His Mu Guang swept over and saw a book placed at the bottom of the wardrobe.

Looking at the cover, it was the same novel Chen Yuhu had been reading. Chen Yan picked it up, his expression worsening.

【Qingshan Mountain-Running Diary】

Chen Yan stood stunned in place, a trace of Anger appearing in his eyes, though this Anger was not just directed at himself, but also at Chen Yuhu.

And also at those who forced his Father to go mountain-running.

His own Son had been bedridden for a year and was about to take the college entrance exam without having undergone a Medicine Bath, and his daughter was still studying at the Xian high school; the tuition and living expenses for both children made it impossible for him to stand straight.

Walking out of the courtyard, next door, an Elder sat at the entrance, watching Chen Yan gloomily.

Compared to the earthen walls and wooden doors of Chen Yan's home, the newly tiled exterior of the neighbor's courtyard shone brilliantly, and a large Iron Gate painted with red lacquer looked bright and polished.

"Your dad must have gone to Qingshan; I saw him leave very early." The Elder spoke with a light Laughter, a pair of turbid Eyeballs rolling around:

"The red-haired lingzhi are ripening these few days; perhaps your family is about to strike it rich."

Chen Yan narrowed his eyes; his family and the neighbors were not on friendly terms and had had many conflicts in the past.

Chen Yan returned to the Tingyuan and stood still for a long time.

The Heaven seemed to have turned gloomy.

Outside the Yuan Wai, the sound of the neighbor Elder's Laughter while talking to others drifted over.

Boom!

A Fist was thrown out, and a crisp sound of an air explosion echoed around Chen Yan's Fist.

Chen Yan retracted his Fist, his entire expression cold and stern.

【Po Sheng Realm: Level 2 (1/15)】

【Break-Saint Fruit:

Strength: (73/100)

Blood (9/100)

Technique: (27/100)】

"I have indeed been living too comfortably."

He muttered, grabbed a schoolbag, picked up half a bag of Stone from the corner of the wall, and then went to the Chu Fang to take a Fire Poker.

He went out.

"What is the Chen Family kid doing with a stick?"

Next door, the man who was still chatting with Li Family Old Man saw Chen Yan's back and asked in surprise.

"He's poor, so he's going to seek death; not everyone has the ability of my Li Xuan."

Li Family Old Man watched Chen Yan's back with turbid Mu Guang, merely smiling strangely.

Along the way, Chen Yan asked the villagers if they had seen Chen Yuhu.

The conclusion reached was that Chen Yuhu had indeed run toward Qingshan.

…………

At the foot of Qingshan, there was a Lake, and Hu Zeyuan was fishing.

"Old Hu, it's bad; I just saw your nephew walking toward Qingshan. You should go and persuade him."

A person walked over and spoke hurriedly.

"Chen Yan?" Hu Zeyuan was Stun.

"Yes, that kid is clearly going to Qingshan; it seems Chen Yuhu has already gone in." That person frowned.

Hu Zeyuan frowned, then raised his brows:

"What does that have to do with me?"

"He is your nephew." That person was Stun.

"Nephew my foot." Hu Zeyuan said with annoyance and continued fishing.

"To have such poor relatives is truly the worst luck in eight lifetimes."

"Chen Yan is no less capable than your son; he passed the Fist Power Test."

"My son was only off by a little!" Hu Zeyuan was even more dissatisfied.

………………

Running all the way to the front of the Mountain, Chen Yan was blocked by a two-layer giant iron net that enclosed the entire Back Mountain. This iron net was ten meters high and was an Arrangement by the Martial Officer.

It was electrified; if a normal adult touched it, they would immediately pass out, and if touched from the other side of the Mountain, they would be directly killed by Lightning.

Chen Yan looked at the ground; there was no road here, but the uneven grass had been trampled into a path, clearly made by people.

Following the path trampled by others, Chen Yan walked along the iron net for about fifty meters and saw a hidden corner where the iron net had been artificially broken into a large hole.

It was done by people in the Village; Chen Yuhu had said that this large hole had existed for a long time.

Chen Yan crawled through the inner perimeter and soon followed the still-clear footprints up the Mountain.

Gripping the Fire Poker in his hand, Chen Yan did not dare to be the slightest bit careless.

The air gradually became humid, the stuffiness of summer gradually dissipated, and the Tree around Chen Yan grew taller and thicker.

Some were even as thick as ten people could embrace.

Suddenly, Chen Yan's Footsteps stopped; he frowned and looked at the trunk of a sturdy Spruce Tree beside him, which was covered in yellow-green moss, and coexisting with this large patch of moss were dense clusters of purple hazel mushrooms.

This...

Chen Yan frowned; gathering medicine is just like this, sometimes you can still discover treasures in places others have already walked past.

Purple Hazelnut Mushrooms are good things; in Qingshan Town, one jin of Purple Hazelnut Mushrooms can sell for one hundred and fifty, more expensive than beef.

Such a large patch, there is at least three jin here.

Chen Yan gritted his teeth, and after memorizing the surrounding environment, he prepared to run toward the mountain.

Where did Chen Yuhu go?

He dared not imagine how long Chen Yuhu, a person without the strength to truss a chicken, could last in Qingshan.

But the moment he thought to start running, he was stunned once again.

A trace of strangeness floated up in Chen Yan's heart, because this change came from the Po Sheng Realm.

Yet he saw, within the endless starry sky, orange light flowing from the boundless Darkness, slowly submerging beneath the roots of the Sacred Tree.

The orange light acting upon the Strength Character Po Sheng Fruit appears as long as Chen Yan is moving or laboring.

But besides this orange light, there was also a nearly imperceptible red light.

That red light was acting upon the Blood Character Po Sheng Fruit.

This change gave him an abrupt feeling; Chen Yan frowned, for he had not yet broken his Limit, which meant this red light was not brought by him.

Rather, it was from the Outer Realm...

Whoosh!

A gust of chilling forest Wind blew over, giving one a sense of biting cold in the current season of midsummer.

Chen Yan looked around; where the dark tree trunks overlapped, he always felt something was staring at him, they were breathing deeply, scrutinizing the prey that had fallen into the Senlin.

The forest was like an endless ocean, with towering trees piercing through Heaven and Earth; being inside it was like a fish unable to breathe.

A sense of panic suddenly rose in his heart; thinking of Father still in the dangerous deep forest, Chen Yan no longer paid attention to the changes within the Po Sheng Realm, and quietly and quickly ran toward the Crown of the Mountain.

Yet as he ran, the red light within the Po Sheng Realm became increasingly obvious, until at one moment when it was at its most intense, Chen Yan halted his steps and looked around.

About fifty meters to his upper left, Chen Yan caught a glimpse of a blood-red color amidst a patch of weeds.

Chen Yan hesitated somewhat; the surrounding scenery became increasingly gloomy, and the panic from within his heart grew more intense.

"What exactly am I hesitating for?"

Did Chen Yuhu not come in regardless of danger precisely for precious Medicine?

He walked over rapidly and pushed aside the weeds; it was a red-brown, umbrella-shaped organism about the size of a hand, its umbrella leaves layered like a lotus flower, yet it was covered in fine red threads, just like hair.

It was this thing that caused the Po Sheng Realm to react.

Red-Haired Lingzhi!