Xiao Che raised an eyebrow.

Ah, the main culprit had come knocking.

He accepted the request, and a barrage of messages immediately flooded in from the other side.

“Brother Xiao! No, Grandpa Xiao! Please, have mercy! Stop your divine powers and give a man a way to live!”

“The little bit of family savings I worked so hard to scrape together has all been paid out to you over the last two days! I’m about to lose my damn underwear!”

Xiao Che looked at this melodramatic wailing and nearly laughed out loud.

This guy was quite the actor.

He lazily typed back a single sentence.

“Oh? What does that have to do with me? You’re the one who opened the betting pool.”

The other side went silent for a few breaths, seemingly choked by the response.

Then, another message popped up.

“You can’t say that, Brother Xiao! This strength of yours… It’s just not reasonable!”

“A 1st layer Foundation Establishment student taking down two 7th layer opponents in a row, and winning so… so uniquely! My gold-lettered reputation is about to be smashed to pieces!”

“And?” Xiao Che asked.

“Collaboration! Brother Xiao, let’s collaborate!”

“I’ll provide intelligence, analyse your opponents’ weaknesses, and I can even help you… appropriately build hype to control the odds!

“You just keep… uh, doing things at your own pace. We’ll split the Academy currency and spirit stones seventy-thirty! Seventy for me, thirty for you!”

Xiao Che saw the words “control the odds” and understood perfectly.

This wretched fellow wanted to treat him like a trump card he could play repeatedly.

However… it didn’t sound like a bad deal.

This Xuan Buyan was a famous source of information and gossip within the Academy. He was from the Divination Court, skilled in calculations, and his methods for running betting pools were slick.

He could actually be useful.

Xiao Che thought about it and typed a reply.

“Collaboration is possible. Two conditions.”

“Name them! Brother Xiao is a straightforward man!”

“First, delete that post about Senior Shijie Bai Ling and me. Issue a public apology and a clarification.”

This time, the silence on the other end lasted longer.

It took a full dozen breaths before a new message popped up tremulously.

“Brother Xiao, the heat on that post is at its peak. It would be such a waste to delete it… That’s pure traffic!”

“No deletion, no deal,” Xiao Che replied bluntly.

“…Deleted! I’ll delete it right now!” Xuan Buyan seemed to grit his teeth. “And the second?”

“The second isn’t urgent. Delete the post first, issue the clarification, and then we’ll talk.”

…

In a certain divination room in the Divination Court, filled with tortoise shells and copper coins.

Xuan Buyan stared at his jade token, scratched his messy, explosive hair, and bared his teeth.

This guy was not easy to deal with.

His finger hovered over the light screen for a dozen breaths before he finally stabbed it down.

Deleted.

He spent another few breaths editing a public clarification and sent it out.

After finishing this, he gasped from the sheer pain of the loss and messaged Xiao Che.

“Brother Xiao, the post is gone, and the apology is issued. Can you tell me the second condition now?”

The other side of the jade token remained quiet for a moment.

Then, a new message popped up.

“Second, a fifty-fifty split. Settled on the spot. If there are any discrepancies, the collaboration ends immediately.”

Xuan Buyan’s vision went dark.

“Fifty-fifty… Brother Xiao, I have costs over here for gathering intel and maintaining the pool… how about forty-sixty?”

“Fifty-fifty. Take it or leave it.”

Xiao Che’s reply was crisp and left no room for negotiation.

Xuan Buyan was about to haggle further, but his finger suddenly paused in mid-air.

He thought for a moment, then instead of replying, he grabbed three copper coins from the table and tossed them onto the desk.

The coins settled. He looked down, and his entire body seemed to freeze. His brows slowly knitted together.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke in a low, halting voice.

“This is… a variable? Layers of mist… outside the five elements… not entering reincarnation… This person is unmeasurable… untouchable…”

He swallowed the last three words, slowly gathering the copper coins back into his palm and tucking them into his sleeve. His movements were slow, as if he were burying something.

“Deal.” This time, his reply was decisive. “Fifty-fifty it is.”

“Brother Xiao, I look forward to a happy collaboration!”

“Happy collaboration.”

Xiao Che smiled and closed the communication interface.

This partnership was somewhat interesting.

He understood the situation clearly. If he didn’t agree, this fellow would either stop opening pools for his matches or set the odds at 1.1-to-1, which would mean he wouldn’t earn a damn thing.

By agreeing, he secured a steady stream of income.

A win-win situation.

His mood improved further.

Not only had he obtained a Mysterious Grade movement technique that was a perfect fit for him, but his future path for making money in the arena was now completely stable.

No time like the present to practice.

He took a stance in the quiet room, stepping out according to the key formulas of the Sun-Chasing Seven Star Steps.

The first few steps were a bit jerky, but as the Pure Yang Qi within his body flowed according to his will, it quickly became smooth.

His steps grew faster, his figure creating streaks of afterimages within the room.

After seven steps, one cycle was complete. He could already feel that scorching field of Momentum. Although it was still weak, it had already taken shape.

“It’s done!”

Xiao Che withdrew his stance and stood tall, his breathing steady.

The compatibility between this movement technique and himself was too high. In just a short time, he had already reached the threshold and entered the stage of Small Success.

He glanced at the sun outside the window and estimated it was near the Hour of the Sheep.

*Time for class.*

Xiao Che straightened his robes, belted on the Flowing Fire sword, and pushed the door open.

This afternoon was the first lecture for “Introductory Alchemy.”

…

The Hour of the Sheep.

Alchemy Court.

Classroom C.

The classroom was already mostly full.

Xiao Che pushed the door open and entered.

His white robes fluttered, a long sword was on his back, and his features were as handsome as an immortal guest from beyond the mortal realm.

Every gaze in the room fell on him simultaneously.

“It’s Xiao Che!”

“Which Xiao Che?”

“The one from Tianshu Court! He challenged two 7th-layer Foundation Establishment cultivators in a row and won. He’s even on the Heavenly Pride Ranking. You actually don’t know him?”

“He’s Xiao Che? That aura… his reputation is indeed well-deserved.”

Whispers rippled through the room like waves.

In the front row, the eyes of several female cultivators lit up. Some instinctively straightened their collars while nudging their companions with their elbows.

“Go on, didn’t you say you wanted to meet him?”

“Why don’t you go!”

“I… I’m not ready yet…”

While they were still pushing each other, Xiao Che had already retracted his gaze and walked straight toward the back row.

There, Xiao Qing was waving at him vigorously.

He was just about to walk over.

“Senior Shixiong Xiao.”

The voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for the surrounding rows to hear.

Liu Ruyan rose from the first row. Her purple dress trailed on the floor, and her black hair fell like a waterfall. With her foundation as the third-ranked beauty on the Beauty Ranking, the sunlight in the room made her look like a fairy from a painting.

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes shimmering.

“We added each other as friends last time, but I haven’t had a chance to speak with you. Are you free tonight, Shixiong? A new Juxian Restaurant just opened in the city, and their spirit meals are quite good. I’ve booked a table and would like to invite Shixiong to grace me with his presence.”

The surroundings went silent for an instant.

Then came the uncontrollable whispering.

“Goddess Liu… is actually taking the initiative to ask someone out?”

“Did I hear that right? She booked a table to treat Xiao Che?”

“When we first enrolled, so many people added her, but who did she ever pay attention to?”

Her smile was gentle, and her posture was perfectly poised.

***

NOTES

Session Glossary Updates (Memorised):

– 柳如煙 = Liu Ruyan

– 丹院 = Alchemy Court

– 丙字講堂 = Classroom C

– 聚仙樓 = Juxian Restaurant

Footnotes:

TN1: Hour of the Sheep (未時 – Wei Shi): 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.

TN2: Outside the five elements (不在五行). A common trope indicating someone whose destiny is not bound by the natural laws of the world, making them impossible to predict via divination.

Translator’s Note: Frenadro Steph here. Xiao Che is now moving from a “scandalous joke” to the “most eligible bachelor” in the academy. Between a shady bookie partner and the third-ranked beauty asking him to dinner, his social life is getting as complicated as his cultivation.

Ink Hub, Frenadro Steph, your translator. Enjoy, and drop feedback; it sharpens the blade.