Chapter 107: The Benefits of Keeping an Old Man at Home

Over the next few days, Zhang Chu truly tasted the sweetness of having Guan Zifang around.

This old treasure was looking better and better by the day.

Chen Tianxiang and Luo Zhidong had visited no less than three times.

Before Guan Zifang could even decline, Zhang Chu barred them at the door, declaring righteously, "Old Guan is my teacher. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today. If I didn't support him in his old age, would I even be human?"

This display utterly flabbergasted Chen Tianxiang and Luo Zhidong.

Zhang Xueying, who had caught wind of this, looked at Zhang Chu in a completely new light, her favorability towards him soaring to a hundred percent.

A genius martial artist who understood filial piety—how could he possibly go wrong in the future!

Even the Martial Arts Research Institute began to whisper tales of Zhang Chu's deeds.

During his two days at work, many teachers and students gave him a thumbs-up.

But behind closed doors...

Looking at Guan Zifang sitting cross-legged in the living room, playing a massive video game on a 120-inch laser screen, Zhang Chu flashed a hungry smile. "Old Guan, what's for lunch? Sweet and sour pork ribs or braised pork belly?"

*Swish!*

Guan Zifang was currently tearing it up in the Rift.

With a wave of his finger, ten 9-star astral beast cores flew out of his storage ring. "My food budget for today. Make it as extravagant as possible."

"Understood!"

Zhang Chu smoothly pocketed the cores and began ordering takeout like crazy.

Over the past three days, Zhang Chu had realized just how filthy rich this sloppy-looking old man was.

He was like those retired old uncles from Magic Park in his past life, sitting on assets worth hundreds of millions...

After ordering the food, Zhang Chu went down to the basement to tend to his green plants.

"Even the smallest mosquito is still meat!"

He had to complete his fifty passive devours per day. He didn't save any of the absorbed mental power, using it all to nourish the Vine Demon seed inside him.

What a joke!

A few days ago, Jin Shilong had basically gifted him 4,000 combat power and 4,000 mental power.

Over the last three days, Guan Zifang had been even more generous.

He had given him no less than fifty 9-star astral beast cores.

After absorbing the ten cores just now, Zhang Chu pulled up his personal status panel:

Name: Zhang Chu
Level: 5
Combat Power: 91,000 / 100,000
Mental Power: 96,500 / 100,000

"System, run another simulation of the high-tier composite combat technique, 'Teleportation'. I still feel a bit rusty."

After checking his status, Zhang Chu called the system to get to work.

This was a manual Guan Zifang had tossed to him last night while happily eating hot pot.

Items given by a Spirit Realm Master were rarely subpar.

A quick search on the forums revealed why this technique was hailed as one of the "Ten Greatest Movement Techniques."

Composite combat techniques were exclusive to Spirit Realm Masters.

And this "Teleportation" technique was a movement style originally created by Guan Zifang when he attained the Spirit Realm. It was officially recognized as one of the ten greatest movement techniques on the Spiritual Qi Continent.

At mastery, it was said one could teleport kilometers away with a single thought.

This was a hundred thousand times better than Silver Flash.

However, with Zhang Chu's cultivation as a Dual-Force Warrior, practicing "Teleportation" required constant calibration of the balance between combat power and mental energy. It wasn't something that could be learned in a day.

He practiced for the entire afternoon.

Zhang Chu's core philosophy was diligence and hard work, like a slow bird flying early, squeezing as much out of Guan Zifang as possible while the old man was still at his house.

Just as he came upstairs from the basement, he received a call from Zhao Wuming.

"Director Zhang, the first phase of the Realm-Breaking Pill has been developed. Director Qin asked me to see if you have time to test the drug?"

"I'm coming! Right away!"

Hearing this news, Zhang Chu was thrilled.

He was just a hair away from reaching 6-star.

He had originally planned to go to the Boundary Stone Hall's Astral Beast Hunting Ground today to hunt beasts and spend two days breaking through.

But now that Version 1.0 of the Realm-Breaking Pill was ready, testing a drug was much more comfortable than hunting beasts, and it was much faster too.

"Old Guan, I'm heading out. Don't wander off," Zhang Chu yelled to Guan Zifang, who was glued to his online game, before quickly driving away.

Only when the sound of the car faded did Guan Zifang pause his game. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Luo Zhidong, tell Fan Tianlei to make arrangements. I want to see Su Mingyue."

"Teacher, I'll come pick you up right away."

Guan Zifang hung up the phone. Watching the Thunderstrike car disappear in the distance, a cold light flickered in his eyes. "The members of the Godfall Alliance didn't hesitate to expose themselves just to win over that little girl Su Mingyue. If the projection I saw in the Demon Suppressing Tower wasn't wrong, her identity might not be simple at all!"

***

With a stylish drift, Zhang Chu parked the Thunderstrike at the entrance of the Kewei Research Institute.

The sight of the Thunderstrike was the signal of Zhang Chu's arrival.

The young women in the research institute crowded around the windows, screaming as they watched him step out of the car.

"Where's Old Qin?"

As soon as he entered, he saw Zhao Wuming waiting with the research team.

"Director Qin went to the Martial Bureau for a meeting today," Zhao Wuming said.

"Let's start the testing process."

Zhang Chu was highly experienced in drug testing.

After signing the liability waiver, he entered the sterile testing laboratory.

Zhao Wuming and the others sat in a row outside. Over a dozen monitoring devices were powered on simultaneously, and medical staff stood by.

A mechanical arm delivered a box.

Inside lay a milky-white pill, roughly the size of a quail egg.

The pill smelled highly fragrant, thanks to a precious raw material: the Equinox Flower.

"Director Zhang, the efficacy of the Realm-Breaking Pill is thirty times stronger than that of the Blood Essence Pill. We aren't entirely sure about this experiment ourselves. If you feel any discomfort later, please call for a halt immediately."

Zhang Chu rubbed his hands in anticipation, gesturing for them to begin.

With the system backing him up, what did he have to fear?

It wasn't like he would die.

"All teams, prepare."

Once Zhao Wuming and his team were ready, Zhang Chu picked up the Realm-Breaking Pill and swallowed it.

It tasted... fragrant.

As it went down, a cool sensation spread.

The moment the pill dissolved, a domineering hot current split into two. One rushed straight to the crown of his head, while the other surged into his dantian.

"Director Zhao, Director Zhang's vital signs are erratic! His heart rate has reached 180!"

"Oh no, Director Zhang's mental power is also skyrocketing. There's a risk of mental rupture!"

"We've detected rapid expansion in Director Zhang's meridians, exceeding the safe threshold!"

Alarms began to blare from the monitoring equipment outside the laboratory.

Zhao Wuming was scared out of his wits.

If Zhang Chu died, the Martial God Academy would hold him responsible, and his career would be completely ruined!

Just as the medical team was about to rush in, the data on the instruments began to drop, returning to normal parameters.

Zhao Wuming and his team were dumbfounded. "You can even stabilize like that? As expected of Binzhou's number one drug tester, truly extraordinary!"

Meanwhile, inside the laboratory, the discomfort in Zhang Chu's body gave way to a wave of pleasure, feeling as though several eighteen-year-old masseuses were giving him a massage at the same time.

"Ding! Detected host swallowing one incomplete unnamed pill. Combat Power +5,000, Mental Power +5,000!"

"Congratulations to the host for becoming a 6-star Dual-Force Warrior."

Holy crap!

Hearing the system's voice, Zhang Chu was completely stunned.

An incomplete Realm-Breaking Pill could boost his combat power and mental power by this much.

If they actually developed a complete version, it really would allow someone to break through realms effortlessly!

"Director Zhang, how do you feel?"

Seeing Zhang Chu grinning like a fool inside the laboratory, Zhao Wuming's nerves were shot, thinking the backlash had turned him brain-dead.

"Do you have any more? Bring me another basket!"