Chapter 183: 183. I’m not pretending anymore, I’m laying my cards on the table.

“Achoo!”

Fang Zhou sneezed.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, it’s impossible to catch a cold, so sneezing is likely a curse from someone else.

Fang Zhou sneered inwardly, weakling, only dares to curse in secret. If you have the guts, come in front of me.

Since the Heavenly Sword Daily got on track, Fang Zhou has been in a state of idleness.

Ling Xiaoyue hasn’t returned yet, Wise Time hasn’t cooled down, and his cultivation can only stop at the daily absorption of Spiritual Energy. He can vaguely feel the presence of Innate Yang Qi in his kidneys, but unfortunately can’t absorb it.

He might have to wait until the Foundation Establishment reaches the third layer to absorb the Innate Yang Qi in his organs, so for now, Fang Zhou relies on his hands to alleviate boredom.

The Golden Core in his heart continues to refine the Yin Cold Spiritual Energy daily, but after Foundation Establishment, Fang Zhou realized the Spiritual Energy refined from the Golden Core still contains a bit of chill.

This situation worries him a bit, but he’ll have to wait until Ling Xiaoyue returns to ask her about it. Did that troublemaker die out there?

Due to not finding the Wanhua Mirrors, the manga project is temporarily shelved. Cheng Xing is honing her drawing skills in the gourd space, and has grown to an impressive level.

The manga she produces looks indistinguishable from what Fang Zhou saw in his previous life.

Apart from her intelligence, Cheng Xing’s body and talent are exceptional.

Fang Zhou no longer hides it; he openly admits he’s craving Cheng Xing’s body, often secretly bringing her out to cultivate feelings and increase favorability.

After prolonged efforts, hugging and holding hands are no longer an issue.

Although it’s unclear who is taking advantage of whom, both sides are happy, and it’s a win-win situation.

Fang Zhou also can’t let the gourd children be idle. Besides sorting waste, he instructed Cheng Xing to teach her sisters to read and write. Though they don’t need high education, they should at least be literate.

Initially, Cheng Xing thought her sisters didn’t need literacy as long as she was literate.

But Fang Zhou convinced her–“Remember my promise to teach you monsters to become stronger? That’s right, the way is through learning. Learning makes you smarter, broadens your perspective, and of course, enhances your intelligence.”

Cheng Xing has a clear flaw–she can’t recognize her strength positioning and always thinks she’s superior in intelligence to her sisters.

So when Fang Zhou said she seemed smart because of literacy, she immediately agreed and began supervising her sisters’ studies.

Fang Zhou personally tutors the sixth child, teaching her literature, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and political thought.

The sixth child is overwhelmed by Fang Zhou’s tutoring but can’t escape in the gourd space, having to accept the torment passively.

Originally resistant to literacy, the other gourd children developed the illusion that learning to read wasn’t so painful after seeing the sixth child constantly buried in piles of homework.

While tormenting the gourd children, Fang Zhou isn’t completely idle.

It has been over ten days since the statue’s collapse, and Yan Gulan and the Cloud Sea Gang have received their due punishment.

Yan Gulan was stripped of her elder status and sentenced to guard the forbidden area in the rear mountain, probably not emerging for decades.

The Cloud Sea Gang disbanded as its members fled; its leader Zhou Chaosiang and core members were deprived of their abilities and sent to the Yunshan City government office.

Indeed, Yunshan City still has a government office, but it’s specifically assigned by the Chu Kingdom to serve the Heavenly Sword Sect, acting mostly as a puppet.

In a sense, Yunshan City is the fiefdom of the Heavenly Sword Sect, holding absolute power there, though rarely exercised.

With the Heavenly Sword Sect’s backing, the Cloud Sea Gang acted like local tyrants, with the government office not daring to interfere. Now, having angered the sect, the office swiftly sentenced Zhou Chaosiang and the gang’s criminals.

Fang Zhou achieved his revenge against Yan Gulan, but his desire to build a house was genuine.

Otherwise, the high-quality materials he exchanged from the three veins would go to waste.

Finding time, Fang Zhou plans to descend the mountain and hire craftsmen to construct the house.

After the Cloud Sea Gang’s liquidation, the artisans’ association disbanded as well, but the foremen are happy, no longer competing for business.

This time, all the foremen in Yunshan City came forward to build Fang Zhou’s house, unlike last time, offering nearly free prices.

Yet Fang Zhou knows their intentions–they cursed Zhou Chaosiang while hoping to become the next Zhou Chaosiang.

Fang Zhou won’t give them the chance; he privately hired a reasonably priced, honest foreman for the job.

Afterward, Fang Zhou visited the horses Sixth Generation and Fifty-Fifty.

These two horses are quite spiritual; despite not seeing Fang Zhou for nearly two months, they still recognized him, affectionately sneezing close by.

Fang Zhou doesn’t know why Ling Xiaoyue didn’t take the two horses back up the mountain. With nothing else to do, he decided to bring them back, thinking the large Moon Viewing Peak could accommodate free-ranging.

…

The Heavenly Sword Daily gained fame and sales by exploiting the Xuanji Sect’s controversy, allowing the Heavenly Sword Sect to publish more issues to solidify their market.

It seems even the Righteous Alliance’s headquarters subscribes to the Heavenly Sword Daily now.

Several major sects in the Cultivation World instinctively began using the Heavenly Sword Daily to understand the community’s various happenings.

Through the newspaper’s sales, the author IP “Laoshi Ji” exploded in popularity throughout the Cultivation World.

Initially, the Heavenly Sword Sect debated replacing Laoshi Ji’s novels, aiming to formalize the paper, questioning the inclusion of erotica.

Eventually, under Fang Zhou’s strong insistence, Laoshi Ji’s novels continued serialization.

Laoshi Ji’s novels’ popularity is understandable, as locales began collecting and fighting over newspapers for the serialized erotica.

Yu Qing’s novels also gained traction, spreading throughout the Cultivation World, sparking considerable controversy.

Similar to reactions within the Heavenly Sword Sect, these dark-themed novels garnered a niche audience who praised the authenticity of cuckolding plots.

Reportedly, disputes and fights occurred, resulting in one death and one injury due to arguments between two cultivators.

Yu Qing had to publish an appeal for rationality, urging readers to appreciate the positive aspects of his novels.

This invited letters of anger from readers, accusing him of poisoning minds with dark plots and demanding he stop immediately.

In this fervor, Xuan Ling, who had been silent since returning to the sect, submitted his novel to the Heavenly Sword Daily and got it published.

Xuan Ling finally took action, launching his literary attack against Yu Qing.