"Are you free? If you are, I can come to Spirit Turtle Peak right now and teach you the Thunder Technique!"
Wang Xiu was dumbfounded.
This is something else. To be honest, I only intended to ask Ji Zidian for a few Thunder Technique mantras. With my mastery of the Thunder Path, I just need the textbooks. I don't need anyone to teach me in person. And yet, here we are. I ask to borrow your textbooks, and you offer to come over and be my private tutor?
Wang Xiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Wouldn't it be too much trouble for you, Junior Sister, to come all the way to Spirit Turtle Peak to teach me the Thunder Technique?" he asked helplessly.
"No trouble! No trouble at all!" Ji Zidian grinned. "You saved my life, so what's teaching you a few Thunder Techniques in return? Even if my dad finds out, he won't mind."
With that, Ji Zidian stood up, ready to head straight for Spirit Turtle Peak. At that very moment, however, a towering figure blocked her way. "Who said I wouldn't mind?"
The person was none other than the Head of the Thunder Sect, Ji Yan. Looking at his daughter, who was brimming with excitement, the old father was practically grinding his teeth.
Learning the Thunder Technique? Who does he think he's fooling! Does this boy really want to learn the Thunder Technique? He's clearly just using it as an excuse to hit on my daughter! The lowlife! Such a ploy might work on a naive girl like Xiao Jiu, but does he think he can fool me? I'm an old hand at love with over thirty concubines, the Sea King of the Thunder Sect! In his dreams!
"Dad~" Ji Zidian forced an embarrassed, placating smile. "What brings you here?"
"What brings me here?" Ji Yan retorted irritably. "If I hadn't come, my daughter would have been spirited away by that brat from the Divination Sect!"
*Ahem.* Wang Xiu wore a look of helpless resignation. He was just video chatting with the young lady to arrange a meeting and got caught red-handed by her father. What can I even say? This is so awkward!
Forcing a smile, Wang Xiu gave a respectful bow. "Greetings, Elder Ji."
"Hmph!" Ji Yan looked at Wang Xiu indifferently and huffed, "Wang Xiu, I have already settled the debt for you saving my daughter with the Tribulation Thunder Fluid and a personal favor. Now you're pestering my daughter again. What are your intentions?"
Ji Zidian tugged on Ji Yan's sleeve and murmured, "Senior Brother didn't harass me. I was the one who messaged him first."
Ji Yan was stunned. Then, his expression shifted to confusion. Finally, his face hardened with fury.
"So you were going to teach him the Thunder Technique for free? And even go to Spirit Turtle Peak personally to do it?"
Ji Zidian's cheeks turned slightly red. "That was my idea, too. Senior Brother didn't ask. In fact, he kept telling me not to go to the trouble, saying he didn't want to impose."
Ji Yan fumed, his anger boiling over until he looked ready to flip a table in sheer rage.
What skillful tactics! This ploy of feigning retreat to advance is even more masterfully executed than my own attempts back in my youth. Daughter, you've truly met your match this time. This scoundrel's skill in wooing women is likely on par with your father's in his prime!
At this thought, Ji Yan felt as though he were looking at a younger version of himself, which only made him find Wang Xiu more and more disagreeable.
"Wang Xiu!" Ji Yan roared. "Mark my words! As long as I am on Thunderclap Peak, Xiao Jiu will not set a single foot on your Spirit Turtle Peak! As long as I live, you think someone from the Divination Sect can learn the Thunder Technique for free, without paying Spirit Stones? Not a chance!"
[Ding!]
[Bragging detected. Congratulations to the Host for acquiring Mana +666.]
HUM. As the System's notification sounded, a tremendous and vast surge of Mana flooded Wang Xiu's body. His Cultivation Level, which had just broken through to the Seventh Heaven of Foundation Establishment, soared. The influx not only stabilized his Realm but pushed him right to the threshold of the Eighth Heaven. Only a thin membrane remained, one that felt as if it could be pierced with the lightest touch.
In an instant, Wang Xiu's awkward expression vanished completely, replaced by one of intense, fervent excitement.
Good grief, this Martial Uncle is far more rewarding than his daughter!
All reverence he had for the Head of the Thunder Sect vanished from his heart, replaced by a singular focus on the pursuit of rewards. "Martial Uncle," he said, "I believe you owe me a favor. You promised you would do one thing for me, correct?"
Ji Yan was bewildered. What a crafty kid. Is he planning to use this favor to shut my mouth? Fine, let him try. But why does the way he's looking at me feel so... off? There's a catch. There's definitely a catch!
Ji Yan sneered. "I agreed to do one thing for you, provided it is within my power and does not violate my moral principles."
The implication being: if you think you can use this favor to get with my daughter, that would violate my principles. So don't even think about it.
Wang Xiu nodded with a smile. "I'd like to use this favor to get a chance to learn the Thunder Technique."
HISS. Ji Yan's gaze sharpened. Using a favor from a Great Ability of the Emergence Stage just for a chance to learn the Thunder Technique? Is this kid trying some kind of roundabout strategy? Still, if he insists on using this favor to make me agree to have Xiao Jiu teach him, I'd have a hard time refusing. After all, if I claimed something like that violated my moral principles, my standards would seem absurdly high!
Ji Yan's expression turned ugly. "You want to use this favor to learn the Thunder Technique from... whom?"
Wang Xiu grinned, stating the obvious. "Since you're the one who owes me the favor, Martial Uncle, then naturally I hope to learn the Thunder Technique from you."
If possible, I'd just have Ji Yan brag for me directly. But that won't work. First, he's a Great Ability of the Emergence Stage. It would be incredibly rude for a junior like me to ask someone of his stature to just... brag for my entertainment. Second, the System has limits on rewarding bragging. You can't just farm it deliberately, or the rewards won't trigger. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to beat around the bush at the market; I could've just hired a hundred people to boast for me 24/7. Considering all this, my best bet is to infiltrate the Thunder Sect first. As long as I can get close to Ji Yan, I'll definitely find chances to provoke him into bragging for my benefit!
HISS. While Wang Xiu's mind was furiously scheming, Ji Yan sucked in a cold breath upon hearing his words. His gaze toward Wang Xiu grew increasingly complex.
What a kid! I originally thought he planned to win over Xiao Jiu first, present me with a fait accompli, and force me to agree. That's the path of a scoundrel, beneath a true hero! But I never expected this. The kid has the audacity to try to win my favor by learning the Thunder Technique from me, so he can then pursue my daughter through proper, honorable channels? Is he trying to conquer the father-in-law first? Taking on the highest difficulty setting in the art of pursuit? Ambitious!
Ji Yan couldn't help but sigh. This kid truly understands the art of wooing women. He's practically a kindred spirit. If only he wasn't from the Divination Sect... and if only it wasn't my daughter he was after. I, Ji Yan, might have actually sat down with him for a proper discussion, become friends despite our age gap, and maybe even taught him the art of maintaining a harem!