"You still owe me a Phoenix Pill, boy."

If Yun Hao had an avatar inside of his mind, it would be wincing right now. He has been lucky that Song Jian's family was still lenient with him, and did not outright kill him on the spot. He had heard stories before of cultivators killing each other because of simple reasons, some even include the innocent family members in their squabble, killing them without any mercy.

Although he didn't personally take the so-called Phoenix Pill, he was still the reason why Song Jian used it. In their eyes, he might as well have stolen it. Now that he knew that Song Jian was and would be fine, he had no intention of staying any longer. But alas, it would seem his escape was too slow and the old bearded fellow who seemed to be their leader was already behind him, his hand grabbing Yun Hao's shoulder with a little bit of pressure.

"Uncle, it is my fault. I will be the one to pay for the Phoenix Pill!" Song Jian quickly grabbed Song Chao's arm, pleading to him with her eyes slightly glistening, "I would--"

"Silence!" Once again, Song Chao's roars silenced any other sound in the hall, "You have already been punished, and that is enough. The Phoenix Pill is a different matter, however. That was supposed to be reserved for you to use for your breakthrough in the future. But to think it would be wasted to a cultivator not even our own."

Song Chao continued to voice out his displeasure, either by a click of his tongue or by the sigh that reverberated throughout the entire hall. He then looked towards their family's promising young cultivators, who were all still lying unconscious on the stage. Yun Hao might be a troublesome fellow, who will most likely bring a lot of baggage with him...

...But Song Chao would be lying if he said he doesn't see his potential after everything that has happened. He would lie if he said he did not want Yun Hao in his family. But then again, the baggage he was carrying really was too much. Although he doesn't know how heavy Yun Hao's altercation with the Long's young master is, it was still a path he did not want to tread.

And so, with all those thoughts circling in his mind, Song Chao looked Yun Hao straight in the eyes and said, "We both know that you will not be able to pay for the Phoenix Pill as you are now."

"...How much is it?" Yun Hao could not help but take a gulp.

"It is worth more than a few Level 5 Beast Cores."

Although Yun Hao was still quite uninformed with the Beast Core currency, he knew that that was a lot. The highest level Beasts are at level 9, and they are beasts of legend only seen in the deepest trenches of the Dark Zone. He would probably need to train his duplication to the extreme in order to even have the capacity to pay for it.

Even as a cultivator, money is still god. If he was to gain the ability to duplicate the Phoenix Pill into thousands... wouldn't that make him practically immortal? He would just chuck a mouthful of them while he fights. But forget duplicating something that valuable-- he can't even duplicate a Level 1 low-quality Beast Core without feeling like shit.

Well, at least for now. As soon as he gets the time to, improving his duplication powers should be his top priority, as well as absorbing the Cores that he had already duplicated to see if they still have the same efficacy.

There was a very long road ahead of him… maybe he should imitate those hermits that go into secluded cultivation, except instead of cultivating, he duplicates Beast Cores in secret instead?

"Now that we have established that you will not be able to pay for it," Song Chao interrupted Yun Hao's thoughts as he saw the complicated expression on his face, "We need to find a different way for you to pay for it."

"Can you give me a month or so?" Yun Hao then meekly said, "I'll try to find a way to pay for it. How many Level 1 beast cores do I need to be able to pay--"

"Enough," Song Chao quickly dismissed Yun Hao's words, "You need thousands. As I was saying, I have already thought of a way for you to pay for the Pill. It doesn't count as fully paying for it, however."

"...What?"

"There is supposed to be a Treasure Hunt next week out in the Danger Zone. And seeing as you have incapacitated our Mortal-rank cultivators mentally, I want you to go in their stead."

"...A treasure hunt?" Yun Hao blinked a couple of times as he looked at the people around him as if asking if the family head was serious, "Why not just send someone stronger?"

"The Confederation has deemed the Area only for Mortal ranks, we can not disobey them," Song Chao shook his head, "Anyway, this is final. I will have someone send you the location in a few days. I hope you can find a team to go there before then. You may go."

"But--"

"That was an order, get the fuck out of my estate."

"I--"

Yun Hao was no longer able to rebuke or even say anything as 2 robed men carried him away. He couldn't even budge the two as he was swiftly and forcefully thrown through the Song family's steel gate.

"..." Yun Hao could only stare in disbelief as the steel gate proceeded to close on him. He came here to "rescue" Song Jian, but all he managed to do was dig himself into deeper problems. He doesn't even have a place to crash for the day.

He had already decided not to go home to the scrapyard anymore as he had enough money to rent an apartment. But how was he even going to go back to the city? He rode here using Huang Yi's motorcycle, but he couldn't just steal it now, can he?

Yun Hao then let out a long and deep sigh as he walked towards Huang Yi's motorcycle, grabbing the bag that he left hanging on the seat. It was a good thing that Song Jian's house was in a private villa, if it wasn't, then his bag would have surely already been nabbed.

Yun Hao was about to leave, but before he could do so, his phone rang. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone, but when he saw it was Huang Yi, he quickly answered it.

[Sorry, I have to stay with Song Jian.]

"It's fine. Tell her I'm sorry about her being punished because of me."

[I will. Also, can you take my bike? I don't want it gathering dust outside. You still have the key, right?]

"...Sure."

[Thanks, I owe you one. Just don't leave a scratch on it, okay?]

"I'll try not to."

[Aight, bye.]

Yun Hao let out another long and deep sigh as he put the phone back in his pocket. Maybe he should buy the motorcycle from Huang Yi in the future? He was starting to get attached to it, he thought as he hung the bag back on the motorcycle and started riding away. He had already thought of duplicating it before, but even if he managed to do that, there was still the registration to worry about.

Yun Hao continued to ride until he got back to the city's business district. There should be a few apartments for rent around the area, so he parked the bike in a plaza and started inquiring. He found a large apartment in no time, but when he found out that it was owned by the Long family, he quickly left the building.

He found another one in less than an hour, but once again, it was owned by the Longs. Just how much can one family own in this country!? Yun Hao thought. He was already in a different city from Long Yazhu, and yet their influence could still be felt here. Just why was someone like that, who had everything he could ever want, be jealous of Yun Hao?

"...Rich people," Yun Hao could not help but breathe out as he once again stepped out of the building. At this rate, he might just end up spending the night in some crazy expensive hotel.

Wait…

...He could afford it, couldn't he?

And so, with that thought, Yun Hao returned to his motorcycle and found the nearest fancy hotel he could find that was not owned by the Longs.

And within an hour, he was already looking over the city, a glass of non-alcohol wine in his hand, inside a penthouse suite that he had booked for a month. He then turned around to look at his room, only to let out a short but deep sigh.

He had told himself that he would never live in luxury… but is it truly luxury when one could afford it without even batting an eye?

If Zhang Angela knew he was living like this, would she return to--

Before Angela's face could continue to manifest inside his mind, Yun Hao quickly shook his head off the thoughts he was having. That chapter of his life was over and he needed to completely erase her from his mind.

Perhaps because of the spacious room he had, he felt lonely. Yes, that was probably just it.

"..."

Yun Hao then quickly grabbed a Beast Core from his pocket as he stepped outside the veranda. He then sat on the marbled floor, in front of the private swimming pool of his suite.

"Duplicate."

He needed something to distract him, and this was probably the best way to do it. And finally, Zhang Angela's face was drowned by the city lights that soon filled Yun Hao's entire view. He could feel his whole body turn to noodles as he slowly dropped to the floor.

His stuttered breaths almost silenced the noise of the city as he laid flat on the floor. He then turned his eyes towards his hand, only to see two Beast cores in it. Once again, he was successful in duplicating the Level 1 Low-quality core--

And this time, he did not lose consciousness. Although it was weak, a small peal of laughter still escaped from his mouth. Now, if there was only a way to recover as soon as possible…

...Wait.

Yun Hao then used all of the strength he had left to sit back up, looking at the 2 Beast Cores in his hand firmly. He then gently placed one of the beast cores to the side, leaving only one to remain in his hand.

"Will… this actually work?"

Yun Hao muttered as he started absorbing the Beast Core…

...as a way to recover his strength.