Era of Mist

’Damn it, are all these guys in the Sharp Qi Realm like this? Always threatening to smash people’s heads in!’

Liu Qigang’s words were a direct threat, but this time, Shi Tiexin refused to yield. He spoke, his voice firm and resonant, "President Liu, a single conversation with you is more enlightening than ten years of study. You’re right; I’ve gained a great deal just by listening in."

’The progress bar for General Knowledge just kept rising, jumping by more than forty points in total. Combined with the natural increase from sleeping lately, my General Knowledge skill has reached eighty points, putting it nearly on par with Biology!’

’Gaining so much just from listening to a few sentences... The payoff was huge.’

"But it’s not like you’re at a loss, either."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Shi Tiexin replied without hesitation, "Because it cancels out your insult to my dignity."

"Hmph!" Liu Qigang sneered. "Your dignity isn’t worth that much."

"Maybe it’s not worth much right now, but it won’t be this cheap forever. Your information will depreciate, but my pride will appreciate. Not only will it appreciate, but it will do so quickly, growing more and more expensive. One day, you’ll realize what a bargain it was to trade that little bit of information to offset the humiliation you’ve dealt me. At that time, you’ll feel like you got the deal of a lifetime."

With that, Shi Tiexin picked up his tray, turned, and walked away, not wanting to spare Liu Qigang another glance.

He held his head high, his back straight. Though the crushing weight of life had worn him down, even grinding away some of his sharp edges, the backbone in the deepest part of his soul had never been broken.

After Shi Tiexin left, Si Chongtian watched his departing figure for a long time. Then he turned to Liu Qigang and said seriously, "Uncle Liu, what you’re doing is wrong. You shouldn’t think in terms of who’s high and who’s low, or who you look up to and who you look down on. People are equal. If someone provokes you, it’s not wrong for you to react. But when someone hasn’t done anything to you and you still speak to them like that, it’s just too much."

Liu Qigang was unconcerned. "You have your thoughts, and I have mine. The powerful don’t care about the words of the weak. It’s like the so-called rules and etiquette at a drinking party or a banquet—it’s all bullshit. Whatever the high-status person does is right, while the low-status person can only offer forced smiles and tread carefully. Today, I’m stronger than you, so what I say goes. When you’re stronger than me one day, then whatever you say will go."

Si Chongtian argued stubbornly, "So you’re saying the world only judges people based on strength?"

Liu Qigang stated as if it were obvious, "Of course. That’s just how the world works. If you don’t like it, then get stronger. Get even stronger. Get stronger than everyone else. Only then can you change things. When your Sharp Qi is at its peak, you can influence an entire factory. When your battle aura soars to the heavens, you can change an entire city. Ascend to the Fourth Layer Heaven, and you can participate in politics and propose new laws.

"If you can soar to the Fifth Layer Heaven, or go even further and become a Saint, then you can make your own rules the law of the world, just like the Origin Saint. That’s far more efficient than going around whining and arguing with people. So, the most important thing for you right now is to build up your power, to prepare, until the day you can’t contain it any longer. Then, you’ll burn your pill, shatter your sharpness, and ascend to the heavens in a single thought."

Having said his piece, Liu Qigang left. He was confident that Si Chongtian’s father would hear of his actions and would surely be grateful for the guidance he had given his son.

As soon as Liu Qigang was gone, the workers started sneaking glances at Si Chongtian, wondering what the background of this soft-skinned pretty boy could be. A figure hesitantly, yet eagerly and fawningly, shuffled over. It was Old Wei.

"Young Master, is there anything that’s troubling you?" Old Wei’s face was puckered into a smile like a chrysanthemum. "I don’t have any great abilities, but when it comes to work assignments, I can still help you out a little!"

When Si Chongtian had reported for work earlier today, Old Wei had already been very enthusiastic, having heard the kid had connections. But he hadn’t expected the kid’s background to be even greater than he imagined. The high-and-mighty President Liu himself had deigned to come all the way to the workers’ cafeteria to find him. Didn’t that mean this young master’s status was exceptionally noble?

This was a genuine, bona fide noble!

’If I don’t seize this chance to suck up, what kind of old social hand am I? If I can really butter him up, this could be the turning point for my career.’

And so, the fawning expression on Old Wei’s face intensified.

But as Si Chongtian looked at Old Wei’s chrysanthemum face, he suddenly lost all interest. Everywhere he looked, he saw the same kind of expression, and the more of them he saw, the more it proved that what Liu Qigang had said was right.

’It really is... a bit suffocating.’

’Oh, no—there’s still someone who isn’t like that.’

"Director Wei."

"Don’t be so formal, don’t be so formal! Just call me Old Wei. What can I do for you, Young Master?"

Looking at the lapdog-like Old Wei, Si Chongtian became even more resolute in his decision. Even if he was going to experience the life of the working class, he had to carefully choose whom to observe and learn from. He absolutely could not associate with fawning, bootlicking sycophants like this.

’A person who can’t even stand up straight in front of me truly can’t be someone I interact with as an equal.’

So Si Chongtian’s expression hardened, and for the first time, he projected the aura of a superior. "Alright then, Old Wei, I want to change my work assignment..."

「Meanwhile, Shi Tiexin returned to Tumu Castle.」

The moment he got back, he headed straight for his bedroom. Without a word, he took out a pen and paper and began to write furiously at his desk. The tropes in cheap literature about chance encounters with noble patrons leading to meteoric rises were all fake, just as he’d thought. Where were all these kind-hearted benefactors? People like Old Wei, who bootlicked the powerful and trampled the weak, and people like Liu Qigang, who looked down on everyone—that was the reality of this world.

’I should be used to this by now. I’ve grown up with it my whole life.’

’Analyzing it rationally, I really shouldn’t have spoken up so rashly just now. If a real conflict had broken out with Liu Qigang, the consequences would have been unpredictable. The optimal strategy at this stage would have been to endure it silently, commit it to memory, refrain from any big talk, and just quietly get on with my own business.’

’But... but... But reason is one thing, and emotion is another!’

’Who the fuck wants to be looked down on like that?’

’Who the fuck wants to be targeted like that?’

’No, to be precise, Liu Qigang wasn’t just targeting me. In his eyes, everyone from the Orphanage, all the workers at the Meat Processing Plant, and even all the readers of cheap literature... we’re all just trash.’

"Get stronger, get stronger, get stronger!"

Shi Tiexin clenched his jaw, pouring all his furious indignation into the characters he wrote. Each stroke of the pen was a desperate, suffocating struggle. Sweat dripped down his face, but Shi Tiexin didn’t notice. He glared at the paper, venting all his emotions through pen and page.

「Three hours later, he slammed his pen down and stood up.」

POP. A star flew over, and the world shook.

’Ninety-eight. Just one more mark to reach the limit.’

’One more mark, and I can use the Celestial Golden Light for an infusion, laying a perfect foundation for the first level of Basic Rhetoric!’

"Time for bed!"

Without a moment’s delay, Shi Tiexin took a quick shower and went to bed.

In his dreams, Champion Scholar Stone and Big Brother Tie worked together with all their hearts, striving ceaselessly.

’I, Shi Tiexin, can’t rely on anyone else. I have to rely on myself.’

’Champion Scholar Stone is me. Another me.’