Chapter 13 The Objective of Cultivation

As expected, none of the students who used to bully Zeke at Nance Street School showed up for class. Zeke's actions throughout the day had frightened them all. Carter and Corbin were injured by Zeke and were probably still bedridden at home. As for Darby, after being taken away by Barrett from Bully Association, his fate remained unknown.

Zeke had used his own concocted medicine the previous night and took a hot bath. Though he still felt some discomfort, he was already much better compared to the previous day. He told Gordon to sit at home with the window open, cross-legged on the step, not moving no matter what happened outside. Gordon, after a moment of silence, went and fetched a chamber pot, saying it was for any urgent needs.

Zeke called Brogan to go to school together and upon entering, they found that the room was almost empty. Sometimes, one's temperament can be contagious. In the school on Nance Street, when Darby and the others bullied Zeke, others saw it and followed suit. The influence of the environment on people is indeed immense. The remaining individuals in the school had complex expressions upon seeing Zeke and Brogan enter.

Zeke sat down at his seat and closed his eyes, contemplating.

Though he had managed to control his injuries, his physical condition was still lacking. In order to regain his cultivation and seek revenge in Shaoke Dynasty, he must first find a way to improve his physical condition. Even if the soul was powerful and memories were extensive, their usefulness for Zeke's current situation was limited, and their value would diminish in the future.

The Cook brothers was actually quite impoverished, lacking not in money but rather in rare treasures that could refine the physical body. With Zeke's experience, he knew the status of the Cook brothers within Fantasy City. Nance Street was just a small street in Fantasy City and not entirely under the control of the Cook brothers. They had to consider the Chapman family's influence in every matter, so the Cook brother were considered insignificant.

Currently, Zeke's physical body barely met the standards, but it required sufficient medicinal materials to rebuild his body and enter the early stage. Brogan had an average physique, and if he wanted to cultivate, he would need to change his constitution through herbs as well. Zeke couldn't go alone; he had to bring Brogan along.

So, it seemed that the quickest way was to acquire some usable herbs from the Chapman family.

"Brogan, do you know where we can find a black market in Fantasy City?" Zeke suddenly asked.

Brogan paused for a moment. "Why are you asking about that?"

Zeke replied, "Do you want to cultivate?"

"Of course I do, I've always dreamed of it," Brogan responded.

Zeke patted Brogan's shoulder. "I know how we can cultivate, but we need enough spiritual stones. I estimate that the Cook brothers hardly have any low-grade spiritual stones, so we have to figure something out on the black market."

Brogan couldn't cultivate, but his brother was a janitor in a small sect and often shared stories about cultivators when he came back home. So, Brogan also knew that for ordinary people to cultivate, the only way was to obtain enough spiritual stones and seek assistance from a cultivator who was willing to help refine their bodies using the power of the stones. However, for ordinary people, the value of even one low-grade spiritual stone was forever out of reach.

"My brother mentioned that one low-grade spiritual stone can be sold for up to five hundred thousand gold coins on the black market. He said that for an ordinary person to change their constitution and cultivate, they would need a minimum of twelve low-grade spiritual stones, along with the assistance of a middle-stage cultivator to rebuild their body,"

Brogan shook his head, "That's five hundred thousand gold coins, not just three or two thousand. Even if we have the money, where would we find a middle-stage cultivator willing to help? Zeke, I've heard that the strongest cultivators of the Cook brothers are Dean Cook and Bishop Cook, and they are only at the early-stage."

Zeke replied, "As long as we find a way to obtain spiritual stones, I'll figure out the rest. The key issue now is that we lack money, so the only option is to try our luck gambling on stones in the black market."

Brogan said, "That's not possible. My brother told me that everything sold on the black market is fake. There is no spiritual jade inside any of those stones; it's all a scam. And the ones manipulating the stone gambling are major forces. Those who get cheated dare not speak up. If we, small fry like us, go there, we'll be played to death."

Zeke said, "We won't be able to encounter a truly good stone on the black market ourselves, so we'll need some support. Since the Chapman family has been contacting me, I plan to make contact with them. With the influence the Chapman family has on Nance Street, we should at least be able to see a stone containing spiritual jade."

"The Chapman family is too dangerous," Brogan expressed concern.

Brogan grabbed Zeke's arm tightly and said, "You've seen it too. The people from the Chapman family are all a certain type. That Alex is sinister, like a venomous snake. No one knows when he'll strike. You've already injured members of the Chapman family before, and they won't let you off easily. And... the one you injured was Alex's son."

Zeke smiled and replied, "Alex is just a minor character. As long as you have the will to cultivate, I can definitely help you on your path."

Brogan opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. A warm current flowed through his heart, making him feel like crying. Although he knew that it would be nearly impossible for him and Zeke, two half-grown kids, to acquire the ability to cultivate on their own, he preferred to believe that everything Zeke said could come true.

While the two whispered to each other, a person suddenly stood at the door, casting sneaky glances inside. The room was quiet as the members of the nine Cook brothers hadn't arrived for class yet, and most of the people were sleeping on their desks. The person outside looked into the room and then waved at Zeke, saying, "Mr. Anderson, can you come out for a moment?"

Zeke stood up with the kitten in his arms and nonchalantly walked to the door, asking, "What's the matter?"

The person outside was none other than Barrett, the boss of the Bully Association, whom Zeke had nearly crippled. Seeing Zeke coming out, Barrett nodded and bowed, saying, "Mr. Anderson, Mr. Chapman said he wants to visit Elysium Auction House this afternoon. If Mr. Anderson is free, he can accompany him."

"Mr. Chapman" referred to the son of Mr. Derek Chapman, Blake Chapman.

Elysium Auction House was the only auction house on Nance Street, occasionally offering some coveted items. Most of the inhabitants of Fantasy City were desperados who risked their lives hunting low-level monster in the depths of Mount Savage to obtain crystals and sell them at the auction house. However, the majority of the profits ended up with the auction house, leaving those desperados with very little. And this money flowed into the brothels and gambling dens run by the major powers.

"Alright." Zeke's response was straightforward. "Tell Mr. Chapman that I will wait for him at the entrance of Elysium Auction House this afternoon."

Upon hearing Zeke agree, a relieved expression appeared on Barrett's battered face. "Okay, I'll go report back. By the way, Mr. Anderson, Darby... I left him crippled rather than killing him. He's now left in the mountains to die. If Mr. Anderson has any other orders, feel free to let me know."

Zeke shook his head. "No, that's all. You can go."

Barrett bowed and then hurriedly ran off, seemingly terrified of Zeke, just like encountering an unparalleled monster.

"Let's go."

Zeke pulled Brogan along. "Today, no one from the Cook brothers will come for class, and there might be some conflict between the Chapman family and the Cook brothers behind the scenes. If you want to cultivate, you can't be lazy. This world is unfair. Some people are born with great constitutions, while most people, like you and me, are ordinary. We have already fallen behind. The talented ones can start cultivating as soon as they are born and reach the early-stage at three or five years old. But we're already ten years old and haven't even started."

"So we must work harder than those prodigies. Come with me to my house, and we'll start with physical cultivation. From today onwards, don't expect to have any free time for playing around. Remember all the acupoints and practice the speed and strength of your strikes. Until I can find a way to change our constitutions, you must at least do justice to your desire to cultivate."

Brogan nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Zeke. I won't let you down!"

The two left the school, leaving the remaining children in the room heaving sighs of relief. For some reason, with Zeke sitting there, they felt an immense pressure, as if a mountain was weighing on their backs.

When they arrived back at Zeke's house, Zeke noticed that the people from the Chapman family who had been lurking in the shadows had already withdrawn. This puzzled Zeke. If the Chapman's family couldn't even keep a small number of people here, it meant that something significant had happened. Combined with the fact that no one from the Cook brothers had shown up for class today, and Blake from suddenly wanting to visit Elysium Auction House, Zeke couldn't help but feel that Nance Street might be facing a storm of bloodshed.

Gordon's face twisted upon seeing Zeke return.

"Sir, you're finally back,"

Gordon said, looking at Zeke as if he had found a savior. His face was twisted, almost like his muscles were twitching. As soon as Zeke walked in, he noticed a strong smell of urine and couldn't help but furrow his brow. "What's this?"

Gordon explained, "Mr. Anderson, you told me not to move, so I stayed in this position and didn't even dare to take a sip of water. But...there are some things that can't be controlled."

"You peed? Didn't you have a chamber pot prepared?"

"Yes, I did prepare one, hidden in my clothes, but...I missed..."

Zeke covered his face with his hand. "Forget it, Brogan, let's go out for physical training. Let this guy change his clothes."

Brogan laughed and walked out, giving a thumbs up as he turned around. "Very professional, rather pee in your pants than move."

"That's right, it's my professional integrity," Gordon replied.

Once outside, Zeke taught Brogan acupoints and practiced the speed, strength, and precision of his strikes. This kind of training required hard work without any shortcuts. Zeke had gone through the same arduous training when he cultivated before. Brogan was naturally lazy, but the thought of future cultivation made him grit his teeth and persevere. However, after just half an hour, his whole body ached and he couldn't bear it anymore. He instantly felt that he was far inferior to Zeke. He glanced at Zeke, who was on one side of the yard, eating sunflower seeds.

"Zeke, didn't you say we would train together..."

"At this stage, I don't need to train anymore. Further physical training won't make a qualitative change or improve my abilities," Zeke replied.

Just as Zeke finished answering, a carriage arrived outside the yard.

"Mr. Anderson, it's time for us to go to Elysium Auction House. We have come to escort you as ordered by Mr. Chapman," one of the servants said.

Zeke wiped his hands on his clothes and said, "Let's go."

A servant from the sedan chair held up a royal blue silk robe. "This is prepared for you by Mr. Chapman."

Zeke looked down at his own clothes, dirty and soaked in dried blood, and shook his head. "I'll stick with what I'm wearing."