Chapter 22 - Asian Man's "Looksmaxxing" Challenge Backfired as Men Showed Interests in Him Instead of Women
Fu Tong cupped his fist and lowered his head.
"I'm merely a lowly junior. I'm no young master."
"No, no. You're being humble for someone of your status!"
Fu Tong frowned. He wondered why Ji Guoli praised him so much, even though his cultivation base was trash. He also glanced at the mysterious maiden, who had been standing behind the two elders, blushing and sneaking glances at his face.
Ji Guoli caught Fu Tong glancing at the maiden. He smiled and whispered.
"I know you're hiding your cultivation base. Please don't worry. We aren't hoodlums who judge people by Qi. We know how to value people!"
"…"
The fatty was the same as the game. He was cowardly, yet sharp and insightful. Fu Tong gave up pretending to be a nobody and bitterly smiled.
"I guess I'm exposed."
"Mind if I ask why you are pretending to be a Qi Condensing cultivator? Why not a quasi-immortal like the others?"
Fu Tong raised an eyebrow. He played along.
"Unfortunately, due to some unexplainable circumstances, I can't tell you my reason."
"I see! I see! Well, forget it. Let's talk about something else."
Ji Guoli gestured for the elders to step aside. He waved his hand and called the maiden behind him over.
"This is my daughter, Ji Zixuan. Unlike my idiot son, she's talented in music and spear martial arts. She is 19 this year, but her cultivation base has already reached the golden core realm! She's also one of the top inner disciples of the Golden Swan Spear Sect."
At that moment, Fu Tong remembered the NPC. Ji Zixuan, the younger sister of Ji Ziyan, would become the mother of the 8th chapter villainess and a nemesis of the players.
'Oh dear.'
Fu Tong cursed his 100 luck stat. He didn't want to do anything with the Ji Clan, yet he maintained a fake smile and greeted the young lady.
"I'm Fu Tong, a humble cultivator. Pleased to meet you, Young Lady Ji."
Ji Zixuan looked at Fu Tong's face again and blushed, turning away in embarrassment. Ji Guoli and the elders grinned from ear to ear, satisfied with her expression and reaction.
Ji Guoli gave Fu Tong a hint.
"My daughter here has been asking me about you since you showed up, so I thought it might be better to have you two talk in person. There, Xuan'er, go talk to him."
Fu Tong wryly smiled as he guessed the fatty's intention. However, as he had recently accepted Jin Yu as his wife, he was not interested of having a relationship with another girl.
Changing the subject, Fu Tong asked Ji Guoli.
"Before I forget myself and keep the lady company, let me ask you something first. Senior Ji, by chance, do you have a lot of spirit stones?"
Ji Guoli and the elders paused and gave Fu Tong a meaningful look. The former confirmed it.
"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
"Ah, I have a karma coin in my hand. I was wondering if I could exchange it for some spirit stones. You see, while I was traveling with my seniors, we got attacked. I lost a storage ring that contained all my spirit stones. I need some local currency right now. Otherwise, I might have to waste karma coins for something trivial, which isn't worth it."
"Aha!" Ji Guoli rubbed his hands and salivated. He immediately offered. "How about a 10,000 spirit stones for one karma coin, young master Fu?"
Fu Tong almost cursed Ji Guoli out loud as he knew the real value of the coin. One coin was worth at least 50 million spirit stones, equal to the average price of an immortal-grade artifact.
He coughed and stared into Ji Guoli's eyes. He warned the fatty.
"Please don't joke around. That's not funny."
Ji Guoli could see frustration surfacing on Fu Tong's face. He feigned laughing and corrected his offer.
"That was obviously a joke, young master Fu. Only idiots would offer such a puny amount. How about 10 million spirit stones?"
Ji Zixuan gasped, having never realized the true value of karma coins. The elders, meanwhile, broke into a sweat—not because the offer was generous, but because it was insultingly low.
Fu Tong clicked his tongue and sighed. He stated the fact. "Do you know that one of these can even buy a hundred heaven-grade artifacts or weapons?"
"A-A HUNDRED?!" Ji Zixuan almost fainted.
Meanwhile, Ji Guoli remained firm and explained. "I'm very sorry, young master Fu. This is all we have in our treasury. I know the offer is too low, but no place in this mortal world possesses such wealth. Again, please accept our apologies. We're just too poor to exchange fairly with the esteemed you."
Fu Tong narrowed his eyes. He didn't believe in the fatty one bit. Still, at a time like this, he had to concede and move on. After all, he had infinite karma coins.
"Fine. Give me everything you can afford."
"Of course!" Ji Guoli gleefully accepted the karma coin. He turned to the two elders and ordered them. "Go gather every spirit stone we can. Hurry!"
The elders nodded and rushed out. Meanwhile, Ji Guoli fetched a blank storage ring and transferred all his spirit stones to the container. He then passed it to Fu Tong.
"This is the initial amount. There are two million spirit stones in there, but we will gather more for you. Also…" Ji Guoli gestured toward his daughter once again. "Could you keep my daughter company? I am very busy today."
After pushing Ji Zixuan closer to Fu Tong, Ji Guoli laughed and dashed out of the hall, leaving them alone.
Fu Tong inwardly facepalmed. He felt like he had been scammed. Regardless, he secured enough local currency for shopping. Before heading to the Divine Cloud Sect, he needed low-tier weapons and consumable items to match his cultivation base.
"Umm…"
Ji Zixuan looked at Fu Tong, mustering her courage to speak with him.
"A-Am I a nuisance?" She trembled.
Fu Tong was startled. He sighed and rubbed his temples.
"No."
"S-S-So, w-where are you from? I-I heard you're from a higher realm. How did you cultivate?"
Fu Tong had a headache. He was not into entertaining a lovestruck maiden.
How did she fall in love with him in the first place?