“What?!”

It was Ikasa’s turn to be shocked. His hand shivered and some tea spilled from the cup. It gave him time to compose himself.

Xue Mi’s eyes shined when she saw his reaction. A bit of levity returned to her tone. She thought she could use this information to pressurize Ikasa into accepting her deal.

“Did you not know this? Back when the Patriarch Wei was killed, the Li’s allied with City Lord Du to uproot their whole family. Their alliance is still strong.”

He looked at her with a grave expression.

“Ms. Xue, thank you for the information. This is a very strong reason for me to not deal with the Xue Family.”

“What? Why?” Xue Mi was startled by Ikasa’s declaration.

“As of this moment, I am still safe because Patriarch Li does not consider me a threat. My cooperation with Li Fan is also successful because of this. The moment I sign a contract with you, they will get a legitimate reason to act against me.”

Ikasa calmly explained his reasoning to the girl before him. Then he posed a valid question that would decide the fate of this deal.

“Since you cannot guarantee the safety of me and my people, why should I agree to your request?”

Xue Mi had an urge to palm her face. Her plan to force Ikasa backfired. He had used the information she had given to wriggle out of her trap. But she was not willing to let him escape so easily.

In her haste, she missed the ghost of a smirk on Ikasa’s lips.

“If Li family comes for you, we may not be able to back you outright. However, I can personally guarantee you and your people a safe passage to Birch City.”

She offered something Ikasa desperately wanted. A chance to start anew in a new city. Once he heard the news of the Li Family and City Lord’s collusion, he knew it was impossible for an individual like him to operate in this City.

‘I cannot fight against City Lord as well as the Li Family. It’d be better to start anew in Birch City.’

He had made up his mind; now all he needed was an incentive. He sighed and looked at Xue Mi’s anxious face.

“Ms. Xue, I am touched by your willingness to offer me a way out. Still, this deal is disadvantageous for me. If you raise my profit share to 40%, we can immediately begin our cooperation.”

Xue Mi’s face turned ecstatic.

“Forty percent? Done! I will prepare a contract as soon as possible.”

Ikasa was surprised by her jubilance.

‘Was that the number she was aiming for all along?’

He did not regret agreeing to that number. After all, his main goal was to spread his manuals. Earning gold would help in expanding his reach.

“Mr. Ikasa, will you draw up our contract?”

“Sure, Miss Xue. I will prepare the contract according to the terms we agreed upon. You just need to procure the Mystique Blood to seal the contract.”

An hour later, Ikasa and Xue Mi imprinted their thumbprints on the contract. A connection signifying a successful contract formed between them.

“I hope to get my first batch of all Battle Techniques by next week.”

Xue Mi requested. Ikasa nodded in agreement.

“Mr. Ikasa, to our happy co-operation!”

Xue Mi said with cupped fists. Ikasa also imitated her actions.

“Happy Cooperation, Ms. Xue!”

She bid Ikasa farewell and left now that her mission here was accomplished. Unbeknownst to her, a figure saw her exit the gates of Ikasa’s manor.

“Why was Xue Family’s young miss here? I should report this to the Young Master.”

Li Wu murmured as he entered Ikasa’s Manor.

“Master Ikasa! I am here to get another batch. Is it ready?”

Li Wu stated his purpose as soon as he came face to face with Ikasa. Of all the Li Family Servants, Ikasa liked this one for his straightforwardness.

“He has already sold 5 Hundred-Use manuals!”

Ikasa exclaimed as he took out two thick, glossy black-covered books from his bookshelf in the living room. Li Wu had no change in his expression.

“Here, I have prepared two manuals for you. Did you bring my share?”

Li Wu handed over the heavy pouch hanging on his waist.

“Young Master asked you to prepare two more manuals for next week. Is it possible?”

“As long as you give money, everything is possible.”

Ikasa said while weighing the bag in his hands.

Li Wu accepted the answer and bowed on his way out.

Once he had sent off his visitors, Ikasa returned to his room. He connected to the Printer. Recently he had a new obsession; watching his CP go up every few hours.

When he began cooperation with Li Fan, he realized his CP had a cap. His cultivation points would not increase beyond a specific number.

He was still in the first stage of the Path Forging realm at that time. And his cap was fixed at 110 points. As he came to know about this max value, he used CP to run his Cultivation cycles.

He still remembered the embarrassingly long fart he had let out after using 10 CP. And a few seconds later, he had entered the second stage of the Path Forging Realm! His max cap had also increased by 10, making it 120 Points.

In the subsequent days, he continued to use points to circulate along his energy paths. After another 10 points, he was in the 3rd stage.

Since then, whenever the points neared the capped value, he added them to his Cultivation.

Current stats on the interface showed 148 points in CP. His cap had increased to 180 CP. Within three weeks, he had become a Veteran Path Forger of Stage 8 from a small Stage 1 ant.

“It took me 10 points for every upgrade during the initial stage of Path forging realm. For the intermediate stage, the number increased to 20. And now in the Advanced Path Forging Realm, I need 30 for each stage.”

He rubbed his hands in joy as he spent 30 points to advance to Stage 9 of the Path forging realm.

The moment he finished circulation for the 30th time, he started sweating profusely. His stomach began to feel uncomfortable.

His Urinary Bladder was also full suddenly. He ran to the washroom to excrete the waste his body was producing.

This process lasted for half an hour. During this time, his excretory process made noises like *purrrt put purput PLAT*.

Caretaker Han was concerned by these firecracker-like noises coming from the Lavatory. Still, he didn’t dare investigate because it was the master of the mansion inside.

When Ikasa emerged from the toilet, he looked disheveled and drained. And yet his eyes were energetic like never before.

“Caretaker Han, draw a bath for me!”

Ikasa ordered. His mind euphoric from the breakthrough, he submerged himself in the giant pail of water. As he scrubbed off the impurities on his body, he couldn’t help but compare himself to the natives of this world.

‘Xin Ruo and the kids started earlier than me and yet they are still in Stage 5 or 6 of the Path Forging Realm. They were only able to advance so fast because of the Energy-infused Water I got for them.’

“Truly, a Cheat is a Cheat!”

He laid his head back on the edge of his tub. When he took a deep whiff, he smelt a foul stench. As he looked for the source of the smell, his attention was drawn to the turbid water.

It brought back his memories of the breakthrough.

His process of breaking through was unusual and embarrassing. What with Farts and Diarrhea and stinky sweat, he had experienced what they would call a thorough cleansing in Martial Arts Novels.

This led him to one important question.

“The technique that kids and I practice are the same; then why am I the only one who suffered this embarrassing situation?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep