Chapter 94: Whatcha Starin' At?

Zu An blinked in surprise. “You want me to rile Yuan Wendong up once more?” He’d never expected such a suggestion out of his wife.

Chu Chuyan thought that Zu An might be feeling intimidated, so she added, “Don’t worry, I’ll accompany you tomorrow. No matter how you rile him up, I’ll be there to ensure your safety.”

Woah, what’s with this sudden declaration that almost sounds like a confession? Why does it feel like our positions have been reversed… Well, I guess it’s fine. Mooching off others is pretty cool after all.

Zu An nodded affirmatively. “Rest assured, honey. Since you’ve decreed it, I’ll make sure to blow him up with rage!”

The way Zu An referred to Chu Chuyan as ‘honey’ brought frowns to Chu Chuyan and Qin Wanru’s faces, but neither made any further comment.

“Big sister, you’ll be heading to the academy tomorrow?” asked Chu Huanzhao.

“I am. What’s with your expression?” asked Chu Chuyan with a smile. “Could it be that you’ve stirred trouble in the academy, and you’re worried that the teachers will complain to me?”

“Of course not! It’s just that you haven’t been to the academy for quite some time now. I’m just delighted,” Chu Huanzhao replied indignantly, directing a secret wink at Zu An. “Speaking of which, doesn’t the Sky class have an arithmetic class tomorrow?”

“That’s right,” replied Chu Chuyan. “Actually, most of the cultivation classes in the academy don’t serve much purpose to me anymore. These arithmetic classes are far more useful. After all, the Chu clan has many finance-related matters that need dealing with.”

Chu Huanzhao tried her best to suppress her smile, her face straining with the effort. “It just so happens that the academy brought in a new arithmetic teacher. He might be more to your liking.”

“They’ve changed the arithmetic teacher? What happened to Yang Wei?” Chu Chuyan was surprised to hear that news. She had been so busy dealing with the affairs in the Chu clan that she hadn’t paid any attention to the recent happenings in the academy.

“It seems like Yang Wei has been fired for oppressing his students,” replied Chu Huanzhao vaguely.

Chu Chuyan took her time to reply. “I can’t deny that Yang Wei has some serious character flaws. However, his skills in arithmetic are the real deal. I’m not sure if the new teacher will be able to fill his shoes.”

“Oh, he definitely will!” Chu Huanzhao shot a glance at Zu An as she replied. “Yang Wei had a competition with the new teacher earlier today, but he suffered a complete loss.”

“Huanzhao, why do you keep looking at your brother-in-law while talking?” Qin Wanru asked in displeasure. She felt like her second daughter was getting excessively close to Zu An. Then again, Huanzhao has always been a candid child. Am I thinking too much into it?

Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue in response. She had planned to brag about Zu An before her parents, but changed her mind upon confirming that her older sister was going to have an arithmetic class in the academy the following day.

I would love to see her reaction when she enters the classroom and sees that the teacher is Zu An. 

Just imagining it was enough to pump her full of excitement.

“A complete loss? Are you certain? It’s hard to imagine that someone of Yang Wei’s caliber would be thoroughly defeated.” Chu Chuyan was astonished. “How was the competition held?”

Chu Huanzhao launched into her telling of the story with unbridled excitement. “It started with Yang Wei setting twenty questions for the new teacher. Unexpectedly, the new teacher swiftly answered them all, and got all of them correct. After that, the new teacher set twenty questions for Yang Wei, but after trying his best, Yang Wei didn’t manage to get even a single question correct.”

“He didn’t get a single question correct?” Chu Chuyan widened her eyes. “How could that be possible? What kind of questions did the new teacher set?”

Chu Huanzhao shot a glance at Zu An, clearly seeing the mirth in his eyes. He must be secretly delighted right now. Heh, look at how hard I’m working to brag for him. I’ll be expecting something good from him for this.

“The questions set by the new teacher were a little peculiar…” She began to roughly explain the twenty questions. For those that she wasn’t too sure about, she naturally turned to Zu An for help.

No one questioned how he was involved. It was an open competition after all, and Zu An was a student of the academy. It wasn’t much for him to know the details of the competition.

After hearing the twenty questions, Chu Chuyan gasped in amazement. “That new teacher seems truly formidable. I’m starting to get a bit curious about him.”

“You should be.” A gleeful glean shone in Chu Huanzhao’s eyes from having succeeded in setting up her prank. It had been a long time since she was this happy.

“Hmph, it’s nothing more than small tricks.” Qin Wanru sniffed. “Ultimately, one’s cultivation is still the most important thing in this world. Don’t hold up the advancement of your cultivation over such trivialities.”

“Chuyan, it’s good that you’ve helped us manage the family business over the years, but these things are all of minor importance. You mustn’t get too caught up in them,” said Chu Zhongtian.

Chu Chuyan replied with a smile, “Rest assured, I know my priorities.”

Chu Zhongtian nodded in relief. “That’s good. You have always been mature even at a young age, and your mother and I have never needed to worry about you before.”

Qin Wanru glared at her second daughter. “Huanzhao, take a look at your older sister. She already has her priorities set straight, whereas you are still spending your days idly and getting into trouble.”

The smile on Chu Huanzhao’s face immediately froze. I know that you want to compliment my big sister, but surely you don’t have to come around and berate me!

Zu An, meanwhile, was beginning to understand why Chu Huanzhao had been so rebellious the first time they’d met. Ever since she was young, she had been constantly compared to her outstanding big sister, and she was unable to catch up to her no matter what she tried. Anyone in her position would inevitably feel horrible about it.

On top of that, Chu Chuyan had quite a cold personality as well. All in all, it seemed that there was not a single ordinary human in this family. In a sense, Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru weren’t really good at raising kids.

Oh well. Since she has an unhappy childhood, I guess I should try to take care of her a little more.

“You too, Zu An!” Qin Wanru had been in the middle of berating her daughter when she noticed Zu An watching in a relaxed manner from the sidelines. She thought about all of the trouble that had occurred ever since Zu An joined the family, and her rage was whipped up. Why are you acting so carefree? You’re worse than Huanzhao!

Zu An was astonished. He hadn’t expected to suddenly be implicated in this.

Chu Huanzhao was glad to see that Zu An was there to tank the damage. It looks like my life can only get better now that my brother-in-law has joined the family.

“Yes, I’ll heed your teachings, mother-in-law,” replied Zu An obediently. He had a firm grasp as to who was the one truly in charge here. In any case, there was no reason for him to provoke Qin Wanru unnecessarily.

“Forget it!” Qin Wanru was about to lecture Zu An to work harder, and that even if he couldn’t cultivate, he could at least help with the family business and alleviate Chu Chuyan’s stress. In that way, Chu Chuyan’s talents wouldn’t go to waste. 

However, she suddenly remembered Chu Chuyan’s intentions for bringing him in, and her words could not leave her mouth.

Given Zu An’s nature, it was a better use of her time to tutor Huanzhao instead. She was more likely to be of help in the future. With that, she directed her sharp eyes back to her second daughter and began nagging her.

Chu Huanzhao was stunned. Why are you nagging me?! Just let me have my meal in peace, all right?

After dinner was over, Zu An returned to his room and checked the Rage points he had earned. With the upcoming Clans Tournament and the imminent opening of the Ursae Dungeon containing the Evanescent Lotus, he would need great power to back him up.

God knows what Yuan Wendong is planning for the Clans Tournament coming up in two days.

Even though Yuan Wendong had been crushed by Pei Mianman, there was no denying he was a fifth rank cultivator. If he were to pull some kind of despicable move and kill him in the dueling ring… 

That seems a small possibility. I do have the Chu clan backing me, after all.

However, it was still possible for Yuan Wendong to feign carelessness and take off one of his limbs, or something like that. He had read plenty of novels in his previous life, and it was usually the offspring of noble clans that were the most despicable of all.

While Chu Chuyan had promised to ensure his safety, it wasn’t like Zu An to put all of his eggs in one basket. Becoming strong in his own right was the real way to go.

Including the points he had saved up from the last draw, he had 88,018 Rage points at the moment. Most of them had come from the crowd, right after Jiang Luofu’s announcement that he was going to take over from Yang Wei as Brightmoon Academy’s arithmetic teacher.

Hehe, I sure was sharp-witted to immediately capitalize on the situation and trigger them.

Just thinking about it filled him with glee. The incident also reinforced how inefficient it was for him to try squeezing Rage points out of an individual. It was much better to juice a whole crowd at once. To be honest, the academy still wasn’t a large enough stage for him to truly shine. A day would eventually come when he would stand before thousands and squeeze out every single Rage point from each of them. 

Just thinking about it makes me a little excited.

Mindful of tradition, he started off by washing his hands and face before beginning to draw the lottery.

As expected, he received a series of ‘Thanks for playing!’ messages.

However, Zu An had already gotten used to it. He simply continued drawing the lottery, watching as the light marker flew across the various keys on the keyboard.

Thanks for playing… Ki Fruit… Thanks for playing… Thanks for playing… Ki Fruit… Whatcha Starin’ At… Thanks for playing… Ki Fruit… 

Zu An was starting to find drawing the lottery a chore. If the day came when he managed to amass several million Rage points, he would probably be drawing until his fingers broke.

Hm? Wait a moment. Did I just get something weird?

Zu An took a look at his notification logs and realized that he had managed to draw a new skill.

He had been feeling somewhat lethargic, but he bolted upright when he realized that he had drawn something new. The last few skills he’d obtained were all pretty useful, and he was excited at what the new skill could be.

He saw that the ‘N’ key was lit. He tapped it, and saw three words: Whatcha Starin’ At.

Zu An was stunned. Is the Keyboard mocking me?

He pressed the ‘N’ key once more, but the same three words lingered on the screen, as if mocking his foolishness.

“What the hell? I’m staring at you, shithead!” Zu An roared angrily.

*Ding~*

As if some sort of condition had been fulfilled, several more lines appeared on the screen.

Congratulations on obtaining the skill: Whatcha Starin’ At!

Skill Effect: It’s said that this is a taboo phrase in a certain region. Once used, it will undoubtedly result in a calamity of bloodshed. Whenever you use this skill, your target will reply with “I’m staring at you, shithead!”

Zu An blinked his eyes in confusion. Is that all? Nothing else?

Unwilling to give up, he squinted to see if there was any fine print or some such hidden away, but he could find nothing else.

What’s with this shitty skill?! What’s the use of making my target say a few words?!