Chapter 8: The Banquet Trap

"Nope!" "That won't work either." "Nothing." …… Ethan Letherdale stared at the files on his computer, from the Muscle-Tendon Change Classic and the Marrow Cleansing Classic to the Yellow Court Classic, even things like Toad Skill and Innate Skill, all of them touted online as "Secret Manual." He shook his head again and again. The Mysterious Tattoo on his chest showed no response at all. With Ten Thousand Blood-Energy and the Blazing Solar Body, Ethan should have had a decent chance. As long as he ran an Energy Training Art, he could likely carve open a Martial Meridian. Once Meridian Opening happened, he would be a Martial Artist. Becoming a Martial Artist had been a childhood dream. These days, he did not cling to it. Money mattered more. In Ethan's eyes, a Martial Artist was just another job. Still, if he could avoid turning it into a career and simply possess that kind of power, he certainly would not complain. "Looks like it's a no." A Martial Meridian could also be called an Energy Meridian. It was the key to condensing and circulating True Energy. Once you cultivated True Energy, it was not just another massive leap in physique. It opened the door to all kinds of uses too, like Vigorous Energy, Weapon Manifestation, and more. The problem was, Ethan did not have an Energy Art. Society was a gigantic pyramid. The higher-end the resources, the tighter the monopoly. Energy Art, Combat Skill, Potion, Equipment. In this era, those Martial Artist resources sat at the very top, almost entirely controlled by major clans and powerful martial halls. Especially the Energy Training Art that could trigger Meridian Opening. Access to those was locked down so hard outsiders could not even brush the edges. Ethan was not born into some family with a lineage. If he wanted an Energy Training Art, he would have to join a Martial Artist organization. And once he did, he would be under someone else's thumb. He did not want to be a career Martial Artist, so he had been trying to see if he could piece together an Energy Training Art himself. After all, he had a cheat. In truth, whether online or passed around in back alleys, there were plenty of "ancient texts" that claimed they could achieve Energy-Meridian Opening. People shouted slogans about letting everyone cultivate, letting everyone become a Martial Artist, making the world a place where everyone was a dragon, and then they posted their so-called Secret Manual for all to see. Unfortunately, Ethan's Mysterious Tattoo did not react to any of them, which meant they were all fake. It made sense. If any of them were real, how could they possibly be dumped onto the internet? Most of the loudmouths pushing those slogans were scammers anyway, fishing for the last few dollars in the pockets of idiots who loved daydreams. "Huh?" Disappointment piled on disappointment. Just as Ethan was about to give up, the tattoo on his chest flickered. "Yes!" His eyes widened as he stared at an ancient text on his screen titled the Tao Te Ching. A reaction meant it was workable! "This is…" But the next second, the smile on his face froze. His brows drew together. 10,180. After the Mysterious Tattoo finished analyzing it, it marked a staggering 10,180 flaws in the text. In other words, if Ethan wanted to use the Tao Te Ching for Energy-Meridian Opening, he would have to patch all 10,180 flaws first. How much Spiritual Energy would that take? "Let's try." He hesitated only briefly before activating the Mysterious Tattoo again, forcing it to repair and refine the Tao Te Ching. In the blink of an eye, his Spiritual Energy ran dry. "I…" Ethan checked the result and went blank with disbelief. It had only fixed thirteen flaws. Counting the Spiritual Energy spent on the analysis earlier, even at full Spiritual Energy, he estimated he could only repair around twenty flaws at a time. 10,180 flaws. That meant refilling his Spiritual Energy and doing it again five hundred times. Of course, as his Spiritual Energy emptied and refilled, his limit would rise, so it would not actually take five hundred cycles. Even so, it would probably still take three or four hundred. "Forget it." If he used the old method to replenish Spiritual Energy, just thinking about it made his kidneys ache. He would have to take the long view. Even if he committed to completing the Tao Te Ching, it was not something he could finish in a few days. "Why's Fatty looking for me?" He set the Energy-Meridian Opening mess aside for the moment, grabbed his phone, and saw an unread message. It was from his college best friend, Lyle Warth. [Fatty: You coming tonight or what?] Coming where? Ethan blinked, then smacked his forehead as he remembered. A couple days ago, Kyle Luet had posted in their college group chat, saying he was treating everyone to dinner tonight. [Ethan Letherdale: Of course I'm going. If you skip a free feast, you're the idiot.] After replying, Ethan got out of bed and changed. Kyle had even @'d him in the group chat. Ethan had no interest in that piece of trash. But it was an opportunity. Ethan had studied Potion. Plenty of his classmates were still in the field, and some even worked at research outfits under big groups like Stellar. If he used tonight to reconnect, maybe he could find a channel to cash out the formula he had in hand. An hour later. Dragon City Hotel, 76 Chunjiang Road, one of the well-known luxury hotels in the South River District of Double Bright Base City. On the third floor, the Fish Dragon Hall, a lavish private room that could fit forty or fifty people. "Ethan, over here!" When he pushed the door open, a dozen or so people were scattered around the room. Lyle Warth sat on the left. The moment he spotted Ethan, he waved him over. "Long time no see. Hey, everyone." Ethan greeted the room and took the seat beside Lyle. "Long time no see!" "School Heartthrob finally showed up. I've been waiting forever, hee-hee!" "Zhu Bajie, stop going into heat. Ethan's been taken for ages." "Damn you, Tom Shirvinton! Who are you calling Zhu Bajie? My name is Juliet!" "By the way, Ethan, where's your Candace Scurr?" "Yeah, back in school you two were glued together. Why didn't you bring Department Beauty Candace?" Everyone crowded him with greetings, and it did not take long before someone mentioned Candace Scurr. Ethan poured himself a drink, smiled, and did not answer. He lowered his voice and spoke to Lyle instead, quietly getting a sense of what everyone in the room was doing these days. "Sorry, everyone. I'm late." More than ten minutes passed. It was nearly 8:30 when the door opened again and Kyle Luet finally walked in, the host at last. Candace Scurr followed at his side, clinging to his arm like it belonged to her. "Holy shit…" The room, which had been buzzing, fell into a brief, dead silence. Eyes widened all around. Then, as if on cue, people snapped out of it and looked toward Ethan. Ethan was still talking to Lyle, as though he had not even seen Kyle and Candace enter. "No wonder…" They exchanged looks, tongues clicking in their heads. No wonder Ethan had not answered earlier. Candace Scurr had been stolen by Kyle Luet. Kyle was not treating them to dinner at all. He was putting on a show for Ethan. He had even @'d him in the group chat. So this whole thing had been a banquet trap. They were all from the same department. What Kyle did was downright dirty. But nobody dared say it out loud. Kyle was a Martial Artist. If you could avoid offending a Martial Artist, you did. Besides, aside from freeloaders like Lyle, most of the people who showed up tonight were here to cozy up to Kyle. In this era, having a Martial Artist friend made a lot of things easier. "Tonight, your brother's going to drink with you. We're getting wasted together." Lyle jabbed Ethan with his elbow, playing the loyal friend to the hilt. "Get lost. With your tolerance, don't embarrass yourself." Ethan chuckled and poured Lyle a cup of soda. "Drink more of this." "Who are you looking down on? My tolerance's improved this year, okay?" Seeing Ethan was not forcing a smile, seeing he truly did not seem to care, Lyle finally relaxed. "Waiter, bring the food!" It looked like nobody else was coming. As long as Ethan showed up, that was enough. Kyle curled his lips into a smile and shouted toward the door. The dishes were abundant, and the alcohol was decent. Only then did Ethan realize he had not eaten all day. He was starving. He kept his head down, chopsticks and glass never stopping. Maybe it was the Blazing Solar Body, but his tolerance had risen with it. A few drinks in, and he still felt fine. Watching him eat and drink like that, a few people curled their lips in private. So he was going to "get back" at Kyle by stuffing himself on Kyle's dime? Childish. No wonder his girlfriend got stolen. "Everyone." Ethan was drinking in earnest when Kyle tapped the table. When the room quieted, Kyle leaned back, wearing his satisfaction like a badge. "I'm hosting tonight to celebrate my Candace officially being accepted into the Martial Artist Training Camp at Stellar Hall." "Martial Artist Training Camp!" Faces filled with surprise, and then understanding followed. In their eyes, envy rose without even trying to hide it.