Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Li Banfeng lay on the bed; Sun Tiecheng stood beside it.

His hands were clasped together, his smile simple and honest, still looking like the sincere man he always appeared to be.

His tone was as plain as ever, as if he were chatting with Li Banfeng about everyday matters. "I really didn't expect you to be a Lazy Cultivator," Sun Tiecheng said. "I've never seen anyone who dual cultivates Traveling Cultivator and Lazy Cultivator. Logically speaking, these two Taoist Sects can't be practiced together. If I had known you were a Lazy Cultivator, I wouldn't have invited you to participate in the evaluation. Lazy Cultivation has too much of an advantage in Fool's City. Your passing the evaluation was purely a fluke."

"Lazy Cultivation overpowers Foolish Cultivation?" Li Banfeng asked weakly.

"You don't know about this?" Sun Tiecheng pursed his lips, hands still clasped as he squatted on the floor, earnestly saying, "Then let's pretend I never mentioned it..."

This honest and simple demeanor was too deceptive.

Sun Tiecheng continued, "I just told you that you passed the evaluation, but perhaps you still don't understand what this means. It's actually similar to clearing land in New Land. Surviving three days on a piece of land counts as passing the evaluation for New Land. Similarly, if you manage to leave Fool's City alive, it counts as passing the evaluation for Fool's City. I have three rewards for you—rewards that others wouldn't even dare to dream of..."

Li Banfeng's gaze was unfocused; he was almost asleep.

With a wave of his hand, Sun Tiecheng brought a breeze that woke Li Banfeng up.

"The first reward is to reserve a territory for you in Fool's City. Of course, it can't be as big as New Land. Would you like to pick it yourself, or shall I choose for you?"

"Don't want it," Li Banfeng said succinctly.

"Why not?" Sun Tiecheng was curious.

Li Banfeng couldn't be bothered to explain.

A territory in Fool's City? Is he insane? That place, Li Banfeng would rather die than visit again. Moreover, who asked him to evaluate me? By what right does he evaluate me?

"You have to take it whether you want to or not. I've gone to great lengths just for this, and you'll have to accept it." His tone was no longer that naive.

With another wave, Sun Tiecheng dispelled some of Li Banfeng's drowsiness. Li Banfeng took a deep breath and sat up on the bed.

The principle of a Magical Treasure is an iron law, one extremely difficult to break. Not even his wife had a good solution for the cost of using a Magical Treasure.

This man could easily offset a part of the cost of the Judge's Pen, which showed his high status.

He had just offered Li Banfeng a territory, indicating that he was likely a Local Deity of the First Layer.

Is there a possibility higher than that of a Local Deity?

"Who exactly are you?" Li Banfeng wasn't so lazy anymore.

"I am Sun Tiecheng, a very sincere man." His tone shifted, becoming more like that of an experienced sage. "In all these years, only two people have passed my evaluation. Such a rare opportunity, you have no reason not to cherish it."

"Who is the other person who passed the evaluation?"

Sun Tiecheng shook his head. "I won't tell you, nor will I tell him about your situation."

After a moment of thought, Li Banfeng asked, "How many people have participated in your evaluation?"

"Tens of thousands. I've lost count. They all stayed in Fool's City," Sun Tiecheng said.

Li Banfeng thought of those tangible Lost Souls.

He understood where all that flesh and blood came from.

"Why did you choose me?"

Sun Tiecheng replied, "At first, I didn't want to choose you. I selected those without any cultivation level. Those without cultivation level are more useful to me.

"But they were useless, going to Fool's City and never coming out, most of them not surviving even two hours."

Those who died in Fool's City had no cultivation level.

No wonder Red Lotus wouldn't eat the scattered flesh on the ground.

Tens of thousands, he mentioned it so nonchalantly.

Suddenly reverting to his sincere demeanor, Sun Tiecheng squatted at the bedside. "I put in so much effort and always came up empty-handed, so I had to find someone capable, and I chose you."

Li Banfeng still didn't understand. "How did you know I was capable?"

"Anyone who can clear ten miles of land in New Land must be capable," Sun Tiecheng replied.

"Did you come to Zhengjing Village just to lure me to Fool's City?"

"Initially, I wanted to deceive Ma Wu; I didn't notice you at first.

"But after spending a few days in Zhengjing Village, I learned from Shui Yongquan that the real person in charge was you, the one who cleared the land was you too."

Standing too tall attracts the wind! I might have stayed in Greenwater City too long, and too many people learned about me. I instructed Ma Wu to hide as best as he could, and he tried his best, but some things seem impossible to conceal.

Li Banfeng clenched his teeth. "You're really ruthless."

Sun Tiecheng stood up, his plain face full of defiance. "Speak with Conscience. I'd been warning you all along not to be fooled. You were the one who was stubborn and insisted on staying in Fool's City."

Yes, he had been warning Li Banfeng all along not to be deceived by the plaster seller or tricked by the fortune-teller.

This made Li Banfeng develop an illusion that the honest and simple hunter, Sun Tiecheng, was on his side, always considering his interests.

It made Li Banfeng never suspect from beginning to end that Sun Tiecheng was a swindler.

"What's the purpose of your evaluation? To boost the popularity of Fool's City, to make Fool's City become Proper Land?"

Sun Tiecheng's expression turned serious, his face once again that of a sage. "Old Land can never become Proper Land again. Although there are legendary methods, they are not within the reach of mere mortals.

"I simply need to find someone to continue the legacy of Foolish Cultivation, to really continue it, rather than living on in such a zombie-like state, barely breathing."

Li Banfeng was startled.

He had said before that he always used people without cultivation levels for evaluations.

People without cultivation levels were more useful to him.

What was the reason for this? Because people without cultivation levels are easier to recruit into his Taoist Sect!