I Cheated While Cultivating

“Congratulations! You’ve defeated a deadly opponent, Liu Changsheng, as the opponent held back. You received a Silver Lucky Bag.”

A notification sounded in Zhou Heng’s mind.

This made him a little surprised.

He did not expect to be rewarded with a lucky bag through such a competition.

He was already prepared to receive nothing, so this was a good surprise.

He began to look forward to the contents of the Lucky Bag.

After thinking about it, he never received a notification that said he was lucky when he opened the Silver Lucky Bags.

However, he had no time to open the Lucky Bag now.

Right now, thousands of people were all focused on him.

Liu Changsheng’s question raised the interest of everyone present.

Everyone was puzzled.

‘That’s right.

‘How did he do it?

‘What exactly happened just now?

‘Liu Changsheng could clearly dodge the attack just now, but why did he retreat in the end? He even retreated to a far distance.’

“Ahem.”

Right then, Butler Wang, who stood behind Liu Changsheng, suddenly faked a cough.

“Huh?” Liu Changsheng was taken aback for a moment. Then, his expression changed. He quickly changed the topic and asked Zhou Heng with a smile, “Haha, I made a faux pas. I was so excited that I forgot the rules of the world of martial arts.

“Let’s settle the matter like this then. We’ll go to your restaurant and inn. I will ask Butler Wang and Zhao Yuan to do the paperwork with you later.”

It was the world of martial arts’ rule to not ask the secret of the opponent’s skill.

Liu Changsheng had always regarded himself as a wanderer. He agreed with the rules and had been following them all the time.

However, he could not understand Zhou Heng’s skill, so he could not help but ask in his shock.

He realized that he made a faux pas when Butler Wang reminded him by faking a cough, so he quickly changed the topic.

But he still felt bad for it.

After all, it was him who broke the world of martial arts’ rule first, so he felt a little apologetic.

‘Should I give him some compensation?’

Zhao Yuan and the others came back to their senses when they saw Liu Changsheng suddenly fall silent. The three of them exchanged glances and quickly walked off the high platform. They came to Zhou Heng and saluted him in flattery.

“I’ve heard about you for a long time, Mr. Zhou. I didn’t expect you to be more powerful than the rumors. Hahaha.”

“That’s right. I became curious when I heard that you defeated Sun Zhengpin. Now that I saw you, I knew that young heroes must have been cultivated since childhood. You’re awesome!”

“In the future, you’ll definitely be famous, Mr. Zhou. You have a boundless future!”

The three of them flattered Zhou Heng.

They wanted to divert Zhou Heng’s attention and help cover up Liu Changsheng’s reckless behavior. At the same time, they were trying to show their martial arts schools’ stances on the boy.

Although this was not a big deal, it might change to another version through hearsay after word spread out.

‘Breaking news!

‘The original disciple of Five Elements Clan, Liu Changsheng, intimidated an unranked apprentice with his subordinates, the three masters of the top three martial arts schools. These four seventh-class experts forced the apprentice to tell them the secret of his skill.

‘Is this the distortion of human nature or the loss of morality?’

It was easy to spread rumors but difficult to deny it.’

If that time really came, the reputation of both Liu Changsheng and the top three martial arts schools would be damaged.

It was better to make a good relationship with Zhou Heng in advance to avoid troubles.

Zhou Heng understood what they meant as well, so he responded with a smile.

But their flattery only confused Yu He. He never dreamed that he would see such a scene.

Zhao Yuan and the other two people were bigwigs in Yellow Wood City. They were usually flattered by other people, but now, they were actually flattering Zhou Heng!

Yu He could not help but feel odd.

‘When did my friend reach such a high status?

‘He is amazing!’

Everyone was having a good time. The surrounding air was full of joy.

Only Shopkeeper Qian lowered his head at the side. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he could not accept it.

‘How did this happen?

‘Zhou Heng is just an unranked apprentice, so how did he repel Liu Changsheng?’

‘There’s no need to ask. It must be fake!’

A soft voice, which seemed like an illusion, suddenly rang in Shopkeeper Qian’s mind. This voice had no source. Although it disappeared instantly, it completely sent his emotions bursting out.

‘That’s right.

‘It is fake.

‘This must be fake!

‘It has nothing to do with the rules of the world of martial arts.

‘There must be something fishy if he is not willing to explain his skills in detail.’

Shopkeeper Qian suddenly came to realize the truth. He felt that he had seen through the truth.

‘It must be like this.

‘It must be like this!

‘Zhou Heng must have set it up with Liu Changsheng in advance.

‘The final choice was actually decided long ago!

‘They were staging it. Zhao Yuan and the others are in on it as well.

‘They worked together to put me down!

‘They have a shady deal!

‘That’s right.

‘It must be like this.’

Right now, Shopkeeper Qian had been overwhelmed by emotions.

He did not realize that the statuses between Zhou Heng and Liu Changsheng were different, so it was impossible for them to cooperate. Besides, they had no reason to put him down together.

This made him more unhappy and angry.

‘I worked hard to start my own business despite being under the pressure of being criticized. I imitated the operations of the Sun family’s restaurant and inn as I strived for perfection to do better.

‘I even let Sun family’s chefs work for me and gave them higher wages so that they can make better dishes. No matter what the aspect is, my restaurant should be better!

‘I paid a lot of money because of this, so I need this business urgently to turnover the capital. I was sure that I could get this business, but why did this happen?

‘Why am I not chosen? Why?

‘I’m not convinced! I won’t accept this!’

Shopkeeper Qian shouted in his mind. But in reality, he did not dare to say a word. He even had to force a smile when he left.

He did not dare to offend Liu Changsheng.

He could not afford to offend him as he was the original disciple of Five Elements Clan and the son of a fourth-class expert.

This made him more aggrieved, and resentment grew in his heart.

…

Splash!

The rain started to pour.

The sky became dim, so the shops on the roadside hung lanterns to light the road dimly.

Qian Buduo had not prepared for the rain. It happened to rain on the way home from Five Auspicious Martial Arts School, so he was completely drenched in the rain.

He could not help but think of Zhou Heng and Yu He, who stayed at Five Auspicious Martial Arts School together. ‘They will definitely not get caught in the rain, and they may even have the time to watch the rain!

‘Damn it!’

“Ahhh! Why?!” Qian Buduo shouted at nothing in particular. He threw his fists to the sky to vent his anger. He felt detested and rejected by everything in the world.

However, there was something he did not notice. Under the dim light of the shops on the roadside, his shadow in the rain did not follow his movements and throw its fists.

It was as if the shadow had been separated from him and gained independence.

It remained motionless.

…

As Qian Buduo returned home, he rushed into his bedroom without saying anything. He sat directly in front of a bronze mirror without changing his drenched clothes. He lit up the light and looked at his reflection in the bronze mirror.

He looked battered.

He was completely drenched. His hair was a mess and was dripping water. He looked like a drowned mouse.

He grabbed his hair and slowly lowered his head.

His body was trembling, and his heart was full of resentment.

Resentment toward Zhou Heng and Liu Changsheng.

But what else could he do except feel resentful because he was unwilling to admit defeat?

He was only a ninth-class martial artist.

There was nothing he could do.

“Are you unwilling to admit defeat?”

Suddenly, an ethereal voice sounded. It was the same as the previous voice in his mind.

“Who is it?”

Qian Buduo was startled.

He looked around, but there was only him in the bedroom. This made him puzzled.

However, when he turned around and looked at the bronze mirror again, he suddenly found his reflection still maintaining the posture of grabbing his hair with his head down!

What the hell was going on?

Qian Buduo’s pupils instantly shrank.

Thud!

He immediately knocked over the bronze mirror and stood up in a panic.

“No! What’s going on?! That’s weird. W-Where is my shadow?”

Qian Buduo exclaimed.

He quickly turned around as he tried to find his own shadow.

But when he turned around, he found the overturned mirror back in its original position!

But the inside of the bronze mirror was empty this time.

There was nothing in it.

Qian Buduo hesitated, but he still moved closer to the bronze mirror. He intended to see what was going on.

This time, he saw his face in the bronze mirror.

It was indeed a face that was exactly like him, and nothing seemed unusual.

Suddenly, the bronze mirror showed a second face of him slowly crawling out from behind his left shoulder!

Then, this face suddenly opened its mouth and showed thirty-two white teeth.

“You’re unwilling to admit defeat?

“I’ll help you!”