Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"300 silver, I bid 300 silver!" A man outbid Chu Hao with his offer, and as fate would have it, it was the very man who had tried to drive Flying Fire away earlier, a man in his forties with a fairly well-dressed appearance.

A total of eight children and one elderly man were being auctioned off together.

"1000 silver!" Chu Hao casually raised the bid. He never cared much for money, especially now that he didn't need to spend on Strong Muscle Powder, Strong Body Pill, or Star Stones, money had suddenly become useless to him.

"Dammit!" The middle-aged man glared at Chu Hao, but when he caught Flying Fire baring his teeth at him, he swallowed the vile curse that reached his lips and hesitated for a moment before raising the bid. "1200 silver!"

Hiss!

The crowd beneath instantly burst into discussion. Eight children and an old man, how could they possibly be worth 1200 silver? Such a transaction was an extreme loss.

"Isn't that guy Zhang Jun?"

"Oh, I get it now, he's the pervert who likes boys!"

"No wonder he'd offer such a high price!"

Hearing the others, Chu Hao's face darkened, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes as he looked at the middle-aged man. Such a beast deserved to die! He said in a deep voice, "Two thousand!"

Zhang Jun hesitated for a moment, but in the end did not raise the bid further, his fortune could not sustain such reckless spending.

Chu Hao patted Flying Fire on the head. He would let Flying Fire bite off that scum's neck tonight!

"You, I brought you here to buy a few maidservants, yet instead, you've bought a few kids and an old man. Are you planning to start an orphanage or a home for the elderly?" Tang Xin complained unhappily.

Chu Hao laughed heartily and patted her on the shoulder. She was a native of this world and would never understand his thoughts.

After paying, he led the eight children and the old man back home.

"Uncle Yu, give them a good cleaning and buy some clean clothes for them!" Chu Hao ordered as soon as he saw Uncle Yu greeting them.

"Yes, young master!" Uncle Yu quickly nodded in agreement.

Chu Hao turned back to the eight children, who were filled with fear and uncertainty, and said, "From now on, consider this place your home. I'll find a way to teach you a skill so you can support yourselves!"

"Young master—" Uncle Yu hesitated, then said, "I know you mean well, but slaves have no household registration. They can only stay in our house for life. Otherwise, they would be considered runaways, which is punishable by death!"

Chu Hao nodded and replied, "I know! However, the nobility are entitled to grant household registration to slaves. There are three such chances every year!"

"Young master, can our Chu family become nobility again?" Uncle Yu's face lit up with excitement. He did not mind for himself, but it was something the old master had worked hard for, only to lose it tragically with his unexpected death!

If they could win back the nobility status, the old master would rest in peace in the Nine Springs.

"Of course!" Chu Hao said with a smile. Uncle Yu was not a Martial Artist, so Chu Hao had never mentioned his Cultivation progress to him, or else Uncle Yu would not have been so surprised.

"Old master! Old master! Can you hear me? Can you see this? The young master is becoming more and more promising!" Uncle Yu exclaimed with tears streaming down his face.

Chu Hao was also touched and gently patted the old butler's shoulder.

He did not intervene further, allowing Uncle Yu to take care of the eight children. The old man they had acquired could also lend a hand. After all, life at the Chu family didn't require heavy labor, at most just tending to the garden and cleaning the house.

However, he totally failed to notice that the old man, practically a giveaway, was eyeing him with a look full of enthusiasm, his gaze unfathomably deep.

After three days, the eight children had quickly adapted to life in the Chu Family, demonstrating their strong ability to adapt and high malleability. Uncle Yu was very happy as well; childless himself, he was overjoyed to have the company of eight energetic children making him smile from ear to ear all day long.

But on the fourth day, something strange happened—the old man who came packaged with the others had vanished!

He was nowhere to be found, and Uncle Yu soon returned with a sorrowful expression, reporting that the family's savings had been stolen!

It must have been that old man's doing!

Chu Hao remembered that the old man had claimed to be Gu Zhihong, but as for his actual background, the man had not elaborated, and Chu Hao had not asked, thinking an ordinary old man couldn't have an illustrious past.

But now, it was clear he had misjudged!

The old man was a thief!

Thankfully, the Mustard Seed Ring was still there!

Chu Hao probed the ring's space with his consciousness, and his expression changed drastically!

Because, inexplicably, a piece of paper and a thin book had appeared in the ring's space!

The paper was certainly not the note left by the fair maiden in white, nor was the book the "Sky Wind Eight Styles"!

Hurriedly, he took out the paper and the book. Seeing that the book was unnamed, he set it aside for the moment and read the paper, scribbled with wild, carefree handwriting that reflected a certain transcendental ease.

"Kid, you seem like a decent fellow, so I only robbed half of your stuff to fund my drinking habit! Good deeds earn you good karma! Whatever Technique you're practicing is utter rubbish; it's a wonder you haven't gone berserk. Heaven must be blind!"

"I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left you a Cultivation Technique. At your stage, being able to absorb Star Force is quite commendable!"

"Forget about that mess of a Technique you practiced before. Right now, your Meridians aren't open, so you can mess around without consequence, but once they open, you're in for a world of suffering!"

"Doing good is not easy; you must preserve this kindness, or else, I wouldn't mind coming back to twist off your head for a wine jug!"

"Remember my words!"

"Gu!"

"Furthermore, you actually have an Earth Origin Pill, which really surprised me! Tsk tsk tsk, Su? Which Su family has such strength? Never mind, it's none of my business. I'm off to buy some drinks, don't bother looking for me, it would surely be a waste of time!"

The message ended there.

Chu Hao felt helpless. One Expert after another kept emerging in this world, first the dry corpse of the old man Lv Congwen, then the woman in white, and now another one, Gu Zhihong!

Yet, normally they were like air, completely unknown to anyone.

Gu Zhihong's ability to leave something inside the Mustard Seed Ring meant he must be able to use Star Force! That meant his strength... must have surpassed the Vajra Realm!

It was truly laughable yet impressive – a revered Expert from beyond the mundane world pretending to be a slave up for auction, only to rob his "master" blind. With his capabilities, he could have just taken everything by force!

One could only say that an Expert's way of thinking was indeed vastly different from ordinary people!

However, what did Gu Zhihong mean by saying that the Cultivation Technique he was practicing was a mess?

He hadn't practiced any Technique at all!

Wait!

Was it referring to what he learned from Flying Fire, the method to channel Star Force?

Indeed, it was a Cultivation method of ferocious beasts, and he had merely deduced the essence of it by observing the changes in the light emitted from Flying Fire, so it was impossible for him to grasp the complete path of the Star Force's circulation.

Because it seemed effective, Chu Hao had been using this method to absorb Star Force, but from the note left by Gu Zhihong, it was as if he had been walking a tightrope!

Luckily, he hadn't opened his Meridians yet?

Above the Vajra Realm, was it necessary to unlock the Meridians? Like in martial arts novels, where one opens the meridians to cultivate inner energy? No, here it is called Star Force!

Chu Hao took another look inside the Mustard Seed Ring; the bottle containing the Earth Origin Pills quietly lay there. He took it out to look, the seal was still intact, and upon shaking it, there were clearly two Pills inside.

The Star Stones were also all accounted for. Additionally, the space in the ring still held the silver notes and a small amount of gold and silver he had gotten from the Seven Wolf Stockade, untouched as well.

No wonder Gu Zhihong said he would only take half the money!

In fact, the old man had been quite merciful. The value of just two Earth Origin Pills was immeasurable! If he were willing to sell them, it was guaranteed that the Eight Great Nobles would be willing to trade at least half of their fortune for them!

After the age of 30, it became very difficult to increase one's strength, yet two Earth Origin Pills could directly enhance one's strength by 200,000 catties. What a concept that was!

The Star Stones were equally valuable and beyond estimation!

Thieves also have their principles, games outside of the mundane world!

Chu Hao opened the nameless book, slowly flipping through it.

It was definitely not a Martial Technique, but rather what they called a "Cultivation Technique," detailing how to guide Star Force through the body.

Chu Hao closed the book, hesitating. Gu Zhihong likely wouldn't carelessly give him a shoddy "Cultivation Technique" to practice that could harm him since, with the old man's strength, killing him would be far too easy!

Give it a try!

He opened the book again and began to carefully read it, word by word.

According to the book, practicing Cultivation Techniques was a very precise affair; the circulation of Star Force had to be exact, or if Star Force went into the wrong meridians, it could be minor injury at best, or a decline in Cultivation level at worst, possibly even leading to disability or immediate death from the body exploding!

Chu Hao couldn't help but sweat coldly, thankful that his Meridians were not yet penetrated. Otherwise, if he were to follow the Star Force guidance method he imitated from Flying Fire, perhaps by now he'd already be joining the previous Chu Hao in the Underworld!

He kept exploring his body. This nameless Cultivation Technique contained many references to Meridians, something Chu Hao had never tried before. He had to touch and feel them to know their locations.

The nameless Technique was divided into Nine Layers of Realms. The higher the level of Cultivation Technique practiced, the faster the absorption of Star Force. Unlike directly absorbing Star Force or imitating the method of Flying Fire, this Technique formed spirals of Star Force after absorption, creating an overlapping attraction that further increased the absorption speed.

The Technique had Nine Layers, each one referred to as a Turn. Upon reaching the Nine Turns, the absorption speed of Star Force could be increased by ninefold—this was an additional boost, not conflicting with the increased speed due to the enhancement of one's own strength.

Moreover, the higher the level of the Technique practiced, the faster the flow of Star Force, thus even a single punch thrown would unleash more ferocious power.

But the Star Force he was absorbing now was all used to strengthen his cells and enhance his physical strength; it was impossible to have any residual Star Force!

The Sky Wind Eight Styles also mentioned the need for Star Force to be actuated!

Chu Hao silently nodded, realizing that only after surpassing the Vajra Realm could he begin to accumulate Star Force within his body.

Forget all that for now!

What he wanted now was to increase his strength, to break through the Vajra Realm as quickly as possible!

Chu Hao sat cross-legged, holding a small Star Stone in his hand, and began to guide the flow of Star Force following the method described in the nameless Cultivation Technique.

Eh?

He suddenly paused because he discovered that not only was Star Force coming from the Star Stone in his hand, but his skin was also absorbing Star Force!