"!!!"
The moment Xue Ren's fist made contact with the Golden Hammer, cracks immediately formed on the hammer's sides. Then, with a huge, wild explosion of wind, the Golden Hammer shattered.
Bo Lou was sent flying backward, hitting the ground running. His body only stopped flipping, rolling, and tumbling after traveling thousands of meters, with his mouth now eating a pound of dirt.
"That was all your strength amounted to?" Xue Ren pulled back his fist, shaking off the residual gold element particles. "It turns out it was only this much. I overestimated you, nearly killing you because of it."
Overestimated!?
How in the hell does a 15 to 16 year old boy underestimate a Middle Golden Core Realm Expert who had walked the planet for centuries!?
Ludicrous!
Unbelievable genius!
"He really is as you said he was." A wizened old man entered the scene from a space pocket behind the Enforcement Head. "I didn't come for naught."
This old man casually exited the space pocket, bringing with him a young woman so perfect that she could only be described as a doll. The eyes of many were focused on her.
Xue Ren, however, was far more interested in how this old man had been hiding so excellently.
'The Space Element? Like my sister?'
'No.' He shook his head.
'The Space Element is not so common. What this old man used must be a Technique of some kind.'
"Young man." Jiang Hao walked up to Xue Ren, his every step carrying with them the profundities of higher cultivation principles. "How would you like to become my second disciple?"
Even Yi Xu was shocked by this proposal, let alone everyone else.
'Is he really that much of a genius…?' she wondered while staring at his dashing appearance. 'If nothing, he's certainly… very handsome.'
A small blush formed, forcing her to hide behind her Master. From there, she occasionally glanced at the aloof young man, dazed by his attractiveness.
Even the way he carried himself was…
Yi Xu could no longer look at him, lest everyone witness how closely she now resembled a tomato.
"Ho?" Headmaster Jiang noticed this inner turmoil his first disciple was experiencing. He suddenly got an idea, prompting him to say, "On top of assisting you in improving your cultivation, I'll also help you get permission from this girl's parents."
He scooted Yi Xu around to face Xue Ren, making smoke rise from her ears.
"M-Master, what are you talking about…?" She whispered, flustered beyond belief. "He's going to get the wrong idea—"
"What do her parents have to do with me?" Xue Ren appeared genuinely confused. "Do they want to give me money?"
Silence…
Even the densest of iron-headed bastards would figure out that Headmaster Jiang was talking about marriage!
And Xue Ren wasn't faking his obliviousness either. He was legitimately puzzled.
"Cough! Young man, so you like money, do ya?" Headmaster Jiang coughed to change the subject, sneakily returning Yi Xu to her hiding spot. "Well, I'll tell you now that I'm not only the most influential figure in the Star Bearer Province. I'm also a Grandmaster Rank Alchemist, one respected throughout the whole Kingdom. Even the Dukes and King have to show me some respect when they see me, so can you take a guess on just how much wealth I've accumulated?"
Xue Ren stared at Jiang Hao with a vacant look on his face.
"You have money?" He was deadly serious when he asked this, his eyes seemingly stripping down the Headmaster and uncovering his true value.
In this world, one could never have enough money. Just like one could never have enough protein powder.
"...Yes, I have money." Jiang Hao was a bit taken aback by the young man's seriousness, but still maintained his composure. "More than enough to buy several Provinces like this one."
The Headmaster of Starling Academy was actually so affluent?? How come not even the Head of the Enforcement Department was aware of this!?
If before, Xue Ren couldn't care less about the old man's request, now he was actually deliberating the matter.
However, after taking another look at Jiang Hao's cultivation base, Xue Ren frowned. It hurt him to pass up on such a lucrative offer, but having a Master with cultivation in the same Realm as his combat power was no good.
"Sorry, I refuse. You're simply too weak."
"..." "..." "..."
Xue Ren turned around, planning to head over to the unconscious Bo Lou to ask if charges were going to be pressed against him.
If they were, then the Regional Official would have to be dealt with accordingly.
'No one comes for my money—'
"Wait, young man!" Grandmaster Jiang was not willing to give up so easily. "I didn't want to ever reveal this in Star Bearer Province, but I have no choice now. Passing up on a supreme prodigy like you is something I can't bring myself to do."
"Hmm?"
For some reason, everyone felt like the ground was shaking.
That was when they followed the disturbance back to its origin, only to have their eyeballs practically fall out of their faces!