The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 529 - 378: The Wretched Fan

Chapter 529: Chapter 378: The Wretched Fan

Fan Zhizhou was still narrating his experiences in Tianchang City at this moment.

In order to cultivate, he joined a meditation chamber and spent over three million in total, almost throwing all the money Li Yi had given him into it. Yet in a modern city, being without money means you can hardly take a step, and this marked the true beginning of Fan Zhizhou’s nightmare.

"Damn it, I drank three bottles of cultivation water and still failed to embark on the path of cultivation. Is my aptitude really that poor, Fan Zhizhou? Those who started cultivating at the same time as me have begun their journey. Even though they’re not progressing quickly, I can feel them transforming day by day, and it won’t be long before they surpass me in strength."

"Once an ordinary person begins cultivating, they can quickly surpass my twenty years of arduous effort. Mr. Li, you’re right, the strong in this world are indeed numerous as fish swimming across the river."

Fan Zhizhou sighed with these thoughts, also expressing frustration; he hadn’t expected his first step into the Otherworld would be so challenging.

Li Yi said, "So, you’ve spent all your money in the meditation chamber. How have you managed to survive during this time?"

"After running out of money, the teacher in the meditation chamber suggested I get a job to earn money. I didn’t want to work and said I could hunt Fierce Beasts. Showing off my skills as a Qi Cultivation Martial Artist, the teacher immediately offered to introduce me to some partners so we could venture into the danger zone together. Before that, however, I needed to pay an introduction fee of five hundred thousand and a security fee of one million, with a promise that if they couldn’t find any partners for me in ten days, they’d refund the full amount."

Fan Zhizhou said, "Since I didn’t have enough money on me, I paid with some elixirs."

"That teacher quickly told me to go back and wait for a notification, but after waiting for twelve full days at the hotel, there was no news at all. When I returned to the meditation chamber, I found it empty and out of business, and the teacher had completely disappeared."

"Damn it."

Fan Zhizhou slammed his fist on the table as he got to this point: "He promised a full refund if they couldn’t find a partner in ten days, yet he lied to me. Aren’t they afraid of divine retribution for their lies? How can they be so evil, their words as unreliable as farts, with no integrity at all? My Gold membership—supposedly entitling me to lifetime classes—all gone in an instant."

"Cough, cough!" Li Yi couldn’t help coughing twice.

The teacher at the meditation chamber scammed Fan Zhizhou out of millions and also took a batch of valuable elixirs, of course, they would flee. By now, they’ve probably left Tianchang City. As for this meditation chamber gimmick, it can be started up with just a rented room, there’s barely any cost involved—only, at most, a few tens of thousands for decoration.

"Fan, Earth doesn’t have this notion of divine retribution. I’ve warned you before that humans on Earth are inherently wicked and their words untrustworthy," said Li Yi.

"Mr. Li’s advice is sound; I was too naive, not realizing how treacherous human hearts could be." Fan Zhizhou was always incredibly outraged whenever he mentioned this matter.

Because he later realized how significant a fortune of four million was; to have it all pocketed by the meditation chamber made him feel heartache.

Li Yi asked, "After the meditation chamber closed down and ran away, where did you go?"

"At the time, I thought that if I wanted to turn the tables, I definitely shouldn’t just get a job. If I could hunt down a Fierce Beast in the danger zone, I could make back several millions. So, with the resolve to risk my life, I headed to the danger zone, hoping to spot a weaker beast and hunt it for sale," Fan Zhizhou explained. "I camped near the abandoned city area for almost a month and finally got my chance, finding an injured and isolated Fierce Beast."

"I fought with it and was able to hunt it down, narrowly escaping danger. Just as I was happily carrying the beast’s carcass back to sell, on my approach to the city area, someone suddenly jumped out claiming they were hunting this beast and demanded I hand it over. Mr. Li, isn’t this just robbery? I couldn’t stand for it and fought them, but I was no match and lost."

Fan Zhizhou said this in a dejected tone.

Li Yi looked at him with an odd expression. A person going alone into and out of the danger zone with a beast’s carcass—of course, you’d be the target of a robbery. Even he and Zheng Gong were robbed before.

In the abandoned city area, there’s no legal enforcement. In the past, there was a group entrenched there, committing crimes, and even the investigative bureau was unable to eradicate them.

"Having lost the fight and been robbed of my prey, I, Fan, accepted it. After recovering from my injuries, I returned to the danger zone. With the experience of being robbed, I was much more cautious and stationed myself nearby again, planning to hunt another Fierce Beast. That time I was lucky, and on the third day, I found an isolated beast. However, when I rushed at it, the beast slapped me away."

Fan Zhizhou stood up excitedly: "That beast was actually an Extraordinary Creature, playing possum, fishing for prey—it’s way too cunning! The people here are utterly untrustworthy, and even the beasts are extremely sly. In the end, I only escaped by consuming a potent elixir to unleash my potential and spent a month recuperating."

"During that time, I exhausted all my resources; penniless and desperate, I had no choice but to get a job."

"I, a distinguished Family Disciple, never imagined I’d fall on hard times and have to maintain a living through labor. But do you know, Mr. Li? I worked my fingers to the bone for twenty-nine days, without complaint or regret, only to be dismissed by the foreman in the end. They said there was no salary within the thirty-day trial period, and since I worked for twenty-nine days without reaching thirty, I wasn’t eligible for any wages."

Fan Zhizhou was clenching his fists at this moment, gritting his teeth and saying, "Where in the world is there such reasoning? At that time, I really wanted to punch that foreman to death, but then I thought about how I, Fan, am destined to dominate the eight continents and bring glory to my ancestors. How could I ruin my great life over a few thousand yuan and a foreman?"

"I endured it, so I stopped working. I decided to make a living on my own. I know painting and calligraphy; I can sell paintings to make money. So, I went through a lot of effort to finally set up a stall, ready to show what I could do, and yet, before I could even set up for a morning, my stuff was confiscated."

By the end of his tale, tears were uncontrollably streaming down his face: "Mr. Li, is life really so harsh?"

"Life is indeed so harsh," Li Yi said, empathetically nodding.

Wiping his tears, Fan Zhizhou said, "I can’t succeed in cultivation, hunting fierce beasts is out of the question, working jobs doesn’t work out, and even setting up a stall selling paintings and calligraphy isn’t possible... At that moment, I really wanted to go home, but I don’t even have the capability to pass through the dangerous zones. Moreover, if I return like this, how would my family and friends in the clan mock me?"

"I thought about just scraping by in the city, living day by day; at least the people of my clan don’t know how destitute I’ve become. So, I took on some daily wage jobs, barely managing to stave off hunger, and when I was tired, I would find a place to stay in the abandoned part of the city. When I was hungry, I’d buy some dried noodles and boil them with water. As for martial arts and cultivation, they’re no longer related to me."

"With living being this difficult, how could I have the time and energy for cultivation? My Qi-Blood is seriously declining and even my Qi Cultivation is becoming unstable. If I wasn’t at my wit’s end, why else would I have the nerve to come to Mr. Li for help?"

Li Yi said, "You should have come to me earlier."

"I did come earlier, but the several robots at Mr. Li’s residence were all pointing guns at me, and if I had rashly barged in, I would have been killed on the spot," Fan Zhizhou said while another wave of pathetic tears fell.

Li Yi thought of the armed robots he had set up in the building, their hands holding high-powered sniper rifles. Even a person at the Soul Realm would be finished if hit, not to mention the three high-energy beam cannons on the roof, designed to counter those at the Spirit Power Realm. Under such security, indeed no one who wasn’t recognized by the intelligence system would dare to approach.

"Hearing you say this, I feel that I’m somewhat responsible. Originally, I thought of letting you fend for yourself and grow and progress alone, but I didn’t expect it to turn out like this," he said with a helpless shake of his head.

"It’s not Mr. Li’s fault, I am the pathetic and incapable one, failing the expectations of the Fan family," Fan Zhizhou said dejectedly, hanging his head low.

Li Yi asked, "So, what are your plans now? If it really doesn’t work out, I can send you back to the Four Seas and Eight Continents; at least when you return, you can still be a noble son of a great clan and not have to end up as a beggar."

"No, I won’t go back."

Fan Zhizhou immediately refused: "Returning like this would feel worse than death. Furthermore, I have recently discovered that I can actually begin cultivation, sensing cosmic energy. It’s just that, due to financial constraints, I can’t afford even basic food, because cultivating easily leads to hunger, preventing my progress. Therefore, I’d like to ask Mr. Li for some money to get by, and once I overcome this difficult period, I promise to repay it a hundredfold."

A man can be brought to his knees by a lack of money.

Fan Zhizhou’s body had been baptized by the cosmic energy of Earth and had started to adapt and accept this energy, allowing him to commence cultivation. However, with his finances entirely depleted and barely able to maintain his subsistence through odd jobs, he couldn’t afford to eat properly, let alone cultivate. Lacking this initial start-up capital, his situation became extremely awkward.

That was the same scenario Li Yi had found himself in once.

Working every day, providing for his parent’s nutritional liquid, where was the opportunity for cultivation?

In the end, it was only by risking his life to obtain a broken artifact, and with Sister Lin’s help, that he managed a breakthrough and became a guide. After earning his first sum of money, things started to look up.

Without that initial start-up capital, even a genius would have their backbone broken by reality, forced to lie prostrate on the ground.

"Fan, your situation isn’t something a small amount of money can resolve. The path of cultivation requires vast resources, and even if you practice martial arts, it will be hard to achieve anything substantial in a short time. Moreover, the situation in this world isn’t great, and there isn’t much time for you to slowly grow," Li Yi said: "Since that’s the case, I’ll just help you all the way. From now on, come here to cultivate; I’ll provide you with a Cultivation Cabin and nutritional liquid for free. Once you open the Spirit Medium, I’ll give you a dose of gene enhancement serum to become a genetic warrior. As for what achievements you’ll make in the future, that will depend on your own abilities."

He was now giving away gene enhancement serums to whoever he met. With over a hundred doses of the serum stored in his Magic Artifact, if he didn’t use them soon, they would lose their value should Golden Academy initiate a mass genetic evolution.

"Mr. Li is truly kind-hearted," Fan Zhizhou said, almost moved to tears again, as he grabbed Li Yi’s hand: "I have nothing to offer in return, but once I have the power to return to the Four Seas and Eight Continents, I will definitely introduce you to my beautiful cousin. No, also my mature elder cousin; I’ll introduce the both of them to Mr. Li."

"What a joke, what do you take me for? I am a disciple of Bai Bone Temple," Li Yi said sternly as he pulled away his hand.