The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 71 - 69: Stand out by Killing (Seeking the first subscription!)_1

After careful calculation, it seems it was a hundred years ago that Ye Hongshi was born - the 856th child of the king, as well as my sister.

Her inheritance position and Blood Covenant Fond Spirit were both of above-average quality.

If she had played her cards right, she could have increased her chances of passing the trials by at least 10 percent.

Unfortunately, she chose to sell common goods, which our family deemed worthless, using formulas she remembered from when she was young.

In five years, she managed to establish the top-ranked super trading company in the Trial Ground, becoming unignorable and unsurpassed.

However, when the family assessment team arrived, they deemed her exceptional, but noted that she was too savvy for her own good.

After a comprehensive evaluation, they gave her an unsatisfactory rating and she lost the surname "Ye".

Standing out has never been a simple task.

It comes with hidden rules and limitations, and it requires trialists to use their wisdom or abilities to achieve the best results.

"If I instruct and educate these students using what I’ve learned in the past, would that be considered cunning?"

"After all, I’m still utilizing what I learned before to guide them."

"By following this route alone, even if I became the most famous mentor in Canghai Pavilion or even the Giant Frog Marsh, I’d still barely qualify... and with no certainty."

The scenery outside the window was picturesque, but thoughts within were jumbled.

Ye Hanjun had no heart to appreciate it.

He felt uncertain about how he should distinguish himself from others.

The most common and successful way through the trials in his family is known as "Outstanding through Slaughter".

The founder of the Ye Clan achieved his status this way—slaughtering his way through from childhood to peak, every marked enemy, regardless of age or seniority, fell one by one into hell.

Slaughter, darkness, cold-bloodedness, brutality, madness, ruthlessness... these have always been the labels of the Ye Clan, unchanged for twelve eras.

Two-thirds of the clan members who achieved success in the trials walked this path, and it received more recognition.

Slaughter wild Fond Spirits indiscriminately, use mountains of corpses and seas of blood as proof of your excellence.

Challenge everywhere, defeat everywhere, butcher everywhere, use your unbeatable record to prove your excellence.

Wander the city at nightfall, hunt the nobles or royal families randomly, and then leave arrogantly - a deranged serial killer.

Issue a death sentence, wherever the target flees, no matter how many guards he has, will be decapitated within seven days - a mysterious assassin...

...

These were the ways his brothers and sisters made it through the trials.

Although not all of them went this route, it accounted for a substantial majority.

In contrast, Ye Hanjun was too gentle, too kind-hearted, too low-key.

"Moo―!"

The ox cart stopped and Ye Hanjun got off.

The next stop was Cross Old Street.

This place located southwest of the North Campus District, once prosperous, was now increasingly desolate.

Still, Sikong Wei had mentioned that this place offers plenty of good stuff, one just needs to have discerning eyes.

"Handsome man, come and take a look! Our shop sells shields, plastic, wood, iron, alloy ones – we offer what you can’t even think of, nothing we can’t make!"

"Clothes made by the tailor, training suits, insect-resistant jackets, dust-proof cloaks, upskirt-proof battle skirts, super sexy maid uniforms, night walker trench coats... if unsatisfied we also offer tailor-made services, the price is negotiable!"

"Hey student, do you need a ’Secret Book’? Our shop has the precious ’Sound of Bursting’, a powerful skill that goes beyond 90 patterns, as long as you can comprehend it, your Contracted Fond Spirit would surely become invincible at the same level..! Wait! Don’t rush off, we don’t cheat!"

...

The bustling Cross Old Street had more human joys and sorrows than the Chick House.

Quite a number of students wandered here, accompanied by a variety of Contracted Fond Spirits.

Those with unique appearances often caught Ye Hanjun’s attention.

However, he was not interested in interacting with any passionate salespeople.

Especially the shops selling secret books, with words like "honesty for young and old" and "guaranteed authenticity" falling from their mouths.

If their secret books were indeed reliable, the prices shouldn’t be so cheap.

The shop wouldn’t be so deserted, not a single person willing to check it out.

— They’re all scams.

In a short while, Ye Hanjun saw at least three groups of students.

They were full of joy, buying products that initially looked good but ended up being severely different from what they had expected, at hefty prices.

This wasn’t surprising though, given that some upfront merchants overexaggerate their products, making them sound amazing.

They’d even hire salesmen or guides to amplify the effect of their words.

Under the influence of various sales strategies, students with insufficient determination and limited experience were highly likely to be hoodwinked.

"Huh?"

There was a small, dark Five Cereals Grocery Store at the corner, it was about fifty square meters.

An old man who seemed to be the owner was sitting on the back of an old rock dog, playing gambling games with a rotund old neighbor, with excitement in his eyes.

"You’re cheating!"

"Nonsense! I won this money fair and square, why should I give it back to you?"

"You son of a—!" the skinny old man rolled up his sleeves, declaring rebelliously: "One more round!"

"I won’t stop until I’ve won your underwear today! You’ll see!"

"Who’s afraid of who!" the fat man slapped the caterpillar in his arms, chuckling with contempt.

...

These two old men who seemed close to a hundred years old acted like two kids, squabbling and making noise.

Judging by the indifferent expressions of the bystanders, it was likely this was a common occurrence.

Ye Hanjun gave them a glance, unimpressed.

His attention was always on the inside of the Five Cereals Grocery Store.

Silver rice, grey beans, golden buckwheat, furry potatoes, weird-tasting corn, safety beans...

There were about 110 styles available for sale.

There were seeds as well as freshly harvested crops.

I don’t know if it’s because business is dreary or the owner lost interest in his business and no longer wants to run the shop.

Not only was the store poorly lit, but some of the runes used for thermal insulation and moisture prevention were also blurred and dim. They were not very effective.

"Boss, what is this?"

Ye Hanjun casually walked into the shop and first pointed at a pile of red beans, pretending to be puzzled.

"Can’t you see the label? Red Beans!"

The skinny old man glanced back and shouted loudly:

"One spirit stone for a jin, two for three jin. How much do you want?"

"No,..." Ye Hanjun scratched his head showing a shy smile, "I’m just curious about its effects and wanted to ask."

"Damn! What do you students learn these days!"

The skinny old man immediately got impatient and pointed to another corner, complaining:

"The effect charts are posted on the wall over there. Just look at it yourself."

"By the way, the scale is also over there. You weigh whatever you want to buy and just give me the spirit stones!"

"Stinky old man!" the fat old man grunted, "Hurry up, it’s your turn to play your card!"

"Don’t rush me, can’t you see there’s a customer?"

The skinny old man grumbled without standing up to serve the customer, just kept looking at his cards.

"Interesting."

Turning around was Ye Hanjun, with his back to the two old men.

From an angle that no one could see, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

He took two steps forward and looked down at a half-rotten wooden frame.

There were three "stones" as big as human babies inside, which were dented, showing a pale yellow color.

And on the wooden sign next to it, it was crookedly written "Mutated Potato". There was no price besides these four words.

"Boss, are these potatoes really mutated? They are so big and have sprouted. Would eating them be toxic?"

"How should I know?"

The skinny old man lost another round and his face turned greenish.

Suppressing his anger from arguing with the fat old man, he said grudgingly:

"Mutations are commonplace. Every year at harvest time, there are always some strangely shaped mutated crops dug up, and some taste pretty good!"

"Boy, are you buying or not? Can you stop asking questions?"

"Every time you talk to me, I get distracted, and when I get distracted, it affects my luck. Even with good cards, I can’t put them to good use!"

"Sorry." Ye Hanjun, helpless, apologized:

"I’m just curious. I want to buy some and taste them, and do some plant-related research."

"How much are you selling these mutated potatoes for? If it’s not too expensive, I can buy all."

"Huh, it’s rare! Someone wants to buy your potatoes!"

The fat old man won the round. Looking at Ye Hanjun, he felt very pleasant. He hoped Ye Hanjun would stick around and create more distractions.

"Three potatoes, five spirit stones, take them if you want!"

The skinny old man was like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment.

Upon hearing his quoted price, Ye Hanjun was stunned for a moment. This made him even more upset.

"What, you think it’s still too expensive?"

"After all, they are mutated. We spent quite some effort to bring them back!"

After swearing a couple of times, the skinny old man lifted a finger:

"I will add an extra iron cart! And a snake skin bag!"

"Buy or not? I am giving you five seconds to decide! There’s no shop beyond this village!"

"Deal!" Ye Hanjun with his innocent look, nodded and agreed in one breath.

Because the price was surprisingly low, his act of being stunned was interrupted. He was genuinely surprised.

Unexpectedly, when the skinny old man saw it, he thought he was short on money and immediately added more free gifts.

This old man... is quite kind actually.

He quickly paid five lower-quality spirit stones, each the size of a green bean.

Leaving with three big potatoes in tow, Ye Hanjun looked pleased, showing a hint of a smile, his mood was pretty good.

"Talent Identification!"

----

[Race Name]: Peanut Spirit

[Chaos Seal]: "Demon"

[Major]: Enlightenment Path/Shape Transformation Path

[Rank]: Mud-Cast Fetus·Perfection

[Chaos Spirit Pattern]: ×××

[Core Personality]: ×××

[Current Status]: Dead

[Contractual Relationship]: ×××

"Tsk." Ye Hanjun tied up the snake skin bag, feeling rather emotional.

Originally, he had no idea how to make money properly. He was wandering through the market, hoping to find some inspiration.

Now, he scored a deal by chance and also got some inspiration.