C5 Abject Poverty

The little girl knew that there was no place for him to vent his anger, so she curled her lips and asked, "Why didn't you make a move earlier?"

"Although she is despicable, she is still one of the few family members that I have left in this world!"

Zhang Hao slowly raised his head and looked at the illusionary girl in front of him. He sighed and said, "As a junior, how could I attack her?"

"Hmph, since she doesn't have the appearance of a senior, why should you worry about that? If it were me, I would have long since smashed her eyes apart!"

Ling'er was extremely disdainful in this regard. She curled her lips and turned her gaze toward the grandmist fire tower that was floating in the air. Her eyebrows knit together as she said, "Try using your soul …"

Just as she said that, she remembered that Zhang Hao was still a Qi Condensation cultivator, so he couldn't use his soul power. She quickly changed her words, "Try using your mind to summon it and see if you can store it. This is a very important matter, you can't let anyone see it, otherwise, it will bring disaster to you!"

Zhang Hao pondered for a moment before calling out with his mind.

As for the grandmist fire tower that was floating in the air, it instantly turned into a streak of black light and floated beside him. Under the urging of the girl opposite him, it was stored in the dimensional ring.

It was only when the grandmist fire tower was put away that Ling'er finally relaxed. She rolled her eyes and wanted to take this opportunity to return to the ring and find a way to completely cut off his connection with the small tower.

However, Zhang Hao seemed to have thought of something. He abruptly covered the dimensional ring with his hand and looked at her with an awkward expression as he smiled: "Do you have anything that can be sold?"

"What?"

When Ling Er saw the trace of greed in his eyes, her delicate body trembled slightly before she took two steps back and asked with a vigilant expression.

Seeing that, the corner of Zhang Hao's mouth lightly twitched for a moment, then he braced himself and said, "You've seen my current situation. You can't possibly be hungry and cultivating, right?"

"No!"

Ling'er understood what he meant, and firmly shook her head in refusal. "I believe that you've always been at a disadvantage to me, so don't even think about getting the things in my hands!"

"I'm just borrowing from you. I'll return it in the future!"

Zhang Hao felt helpless. Right now, he was as poor as a pauper. He didn't even have anything to eat. How could he concentrate on his cultivation when he was hungry?

"Oh?"

Ling'er's eyes narrowed when she heard this. She seemed to be considering if she should lend him something.

After a long while, under his expectant gaze, she nodded and said: "Sure, but if you don't return it in the future, I will definitely smash your eyes!"

"Huh?"

Ever since they met, Zhang Hao had gotten used to hearing this catchphrase. Seeing Ling'er agree, he quickly stood up and walked outside!

About ten kilometers away from this place was a city.

Although it couldn't be compared with those large cities, it was still considered a small area. The population was dense and there were numerous street shops. The last time Zhang Hao came here was when he was 15 or 16 years old!

Now that he stepped into the city, the scene before him left him at a loss.

He had a problem since he was young, and that was that he could never remember the way. He could be said to be an extremely stupid person, and after walking along with the flow of people for a while, he actually lost his way in the city!

Ling'er, who was hiding inside the dimensional ring, saw that he was leading her aimlessly and hadn't found the place to sell the items for a long time, so she became angry. Only then did Zhang Hao secretly tell her the news that he had long been lost.

After Ling'er heard about it, she was slightly startled, but immediately covered her face with her hands, and cried out in grief, "Heavens, just what kind of idiot did you make me meet? It's truly sinful!"

To this, Zhang Hao's face trembled, but he could only suppress his anger. After all, his lifeline was still in the little girl's hand. Endure it!

As he comforted her in his heart, he could only turn to her for help as a Spiritual Energy quietly spread out from within the dimensional ring. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped the entire city, which covered dozens of kilometers!

With his current cultivation level, it was impossible for him to detect what Ling'er was secretly using.

After waiting for a while with a blank face, the little girl angrily snorted in his heart, "Left side!"

Following the directions, Zhang Hao soon arrived at a shop called the Jadeite Pavilion.

The dimensional ring flashed, and a stone emitting a faint white light appeared in his hand.

He placed the fist-sized stone on the counter. The eyes of one of the elders in charge of the counter narrowed. He extended two fingers and gestured, "Two hundred taels of gold!"

"Huh?"

Zhang Hao didn't know what the stone Ling'er took out was, but seeing that the old man behind the counter was so sure, he nodded, turned around, and left with the two hundred gold coins.

Only later did he learn that today, he was selling the spirit stones used by cultivators to cultivate. However, this fist-sized spirit stone was expensive!

Ling'er clearly wasn't too clear about this either. Seeing that he wasn't haggling, she didn't say anything further.

It was just that it was painful for her to take out this spirit stone.

Zhang Hao helplessly shook his head while he was buying what he needed while listening to her complaining in his heart!

However, when he hurried back with some of the things he had bought, he found that the doors of the three huts had all been opened.

A man with a pockmarked face that was full of tough flesh slowly walked out of the house. When he saw Qin Lie, he revealed a sinister smile.

Zhang Hao had just rushed back when he noticed a fierce-looking man standing at the entrance of his house. He looked up and his face immediately darkened as he shouted, "Zhang Tian? Isn't it a bit too much for you to barge in like this? "

His second uncle had a total of three children. Other than the person in front of him, the other two had not seen him for quite some time.

Ever since Zhang Hao became ill, his second aunt strictly forbade him to have any contact with her three children. Only Zhang Tian, that naughty brat, came to visit him often without being taught a lesson.

However, the purpose was to chase him away and occupy these three shabby rooms.

"Originally, I wanted to let you live for a few more days. I never thought that you would actually dare to attack my mother. Haha …"

At this moment, Zhang Tian was standing at the door of the house. His pair of small eyes slowly narrowed as he evilly grinned and said, "You asked for this yourself!"

"Finally, I can't hold it in anymore!"

Seeing that, Zhang Hao's expression became ice-cold. He slowly walked up to the old man, looked him straight in the eyes, and said lightly, "By doing that, have you considered the relationship between brothers for many years?"

"Brother?"

Hearing those words, Zhang Tian suddenly threw his head back and laughed heartily.

The laughter suddenly stopped. With a disdainful snort, he said, "You actually dare to talk about brotherly relationship with me? Hehe, if you say anything, I'll lose my face!"

"In that case, please go ahead!"

Zhang Hao looked at his disdainful gaze and knew that it would be useless to speak any further. He stepped out of the way and made a cold smile.

As for Zhang Tian, his narrowed eyes suddenly opened. It was as if he couldn't believe that his young cousin, who had a weak and sickly body, would dare to speak to him in such a manner.

"Hehe, it seems like you still haven't thought it through!"

Zhang Tian looked around for a while before chuckling. However, before his laughter even finished, he suddenly punched out furiously. He shouted, "You are courting death!"

"Scram!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Hao's expression turned completely cold. He abruptly punched out his fist, and the two fists fiercely collided with each other.

However, Zhang Tian's face suddenly twisted.

From within his fist, a burst of light crackling sounds could be heard.

Immediately after, his entire arm was lifted upwards from the impact.

"You …"

The immense strength from the other party's fist caused Zhang Tian to be extremely shocked in his heart.

His good-for-nothing cousin who was almost beaten to death by him in front of the Lonely Grave yesterday now had such great strength. How could it be possible for such a change to occur overnight?

"Ah …"

While he was shocked in his heart, a sharp pain suddenly came from his fist. Zhang Tian's face immediately trembled, and he grabbed his other wrist with his left hand as he let out a series of miserable shrieks.

Zhang Hao didn't expect his punch to break the arm bone of this cousin of his. While he was puzzled about this, he heard him squatting there and screaming, causing him to frown.

Zhang Tian was a person who had always bullied the younger generation in the surrounding villages. He was infamous. Who would have thought that he would be in such a terrible situation? Even this little bit of pain was unbearable.

Zhang Hao's eyes suddenly darkened when he saw Liu Ming screaming like a pig being butchered. He made up his mind and decided to not do anything. He raised his fist and viciously smashed it down on Liu Ming's body.

"Bang, bang, bang …"

Muffled sounds continuously rang out from Zhang Tian's body. Every time a fist descended, it would cause ripples to appear on Zhang Tian's body.

Zhang Hao himself also did not realize that during his rage, a surge of Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth was quietly flowing through his meridians, causing his fists to fall like heavy hammers.

"Don't... Stop fighting! "

Zhang Tian didn't know when, but he was already lying on the ground. Seeing that he was screaming, the other party's fist became heavier. He hurriedly begged for mercy, "Cousin, don't hit me anymore, I …"

"Bam!"

However, before he could finish what he wanted to say, Zhang Hao suddenly raised his foot and ruthlessly kicked his face.

This kick was extremely powerful, causing Zhang Tian to swallow the latter half of his sentence. His two front teeth, however, were vomited out along with the blood.

"Scram!"

Zhang Hao also knew that if he were to continue fighting, he would most likely lose his life. He hurriedly retracted his hand and took two steps back as he shouted angrily. Zhang Tian then scrambled out of the courtyard.

However, as he neared the exit, he suddenly turned his head. His gaze was filled with hatred, as if he wanted to leave behind some vicious words!

Zhang Hao's face darkened. He raised his leg and was about to chase after them to continue fighting.

Seeing this, Zhang Tian's face slightly trembled. He hurriedly turned around and rushed out of the courtyard. However, he did not notice that there was a rock fragment beneath his feet.

He took one step and fell. After rolling twice on the ground, he slowly got up in a sorry state and left with a limp.

After being bullied so many times, Zhang Hao had finally let out his anger today.

Ling'er's illusionary body floated out of the dimensional ring. Looking at the figure in the distance, she giggled and said, "Well fought, for this kind of person, you have to use fists to reason with him. Hehe, but the way you were beating him up a moment ago was no different from a magical beast.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Zhang Hao suddenly turned his head and looked at her with narrowed eyes, "Do you have a way to stop me from using brute force against others?"

"Huh?"

Ling Er suddenly woke up. After being slightly startled, she hurriedly shook her head and said, "No!"

However, Zhang Hao was certain of this. Seeing that she was shaking her head in denial, he smiled lightly. Then, he turned around and sat back down on the bed. He leisurely smiled and said, "Really?"

"I already said no, just no. Don't even think about getting those things in my hands!"

Upon seeing this, Ling Er's pretty face darkened. She glared at him and snorted: "When are you going to repay me for lending me my item?"

"This …"

Just as he wanted to shirk away, an idea flashed through his mind. He chuckled and said, "I will naturally return the money I borrowed from you, but before that, I plan to first find a place to cultivate in seclusion to see if I can break the seal on the dimensional ring!"

As soon as his voice fell, the grandmist fire pagoda slowly floated out from the ring on his hand. As the small black pagoda spun, a tyrannical pressure suddenly pushed Ling'er outside the door!

"You …"

Seeing this, the little girl's face immediately became completely gloomy. However, the pressure from the grandmist fire tower became increasingly stronger the more she resisted.

Seeing that he was about to be pushed out, he hurriedly shouted, "Do you dare to threaten me?"

"Hehe, it's not a threat at all. I just want to discuss it with you!"

Zhang Hao understood in his heart that if he were to show weakness now, there would be an unpredictable danger. After pondering for a moment, he slowly stood up and walked towards the grandmist fire tower: "Without the strength to protect yourself, this thing will end up in someone else's hands. And at that time, your future will also be unpredictable!"

Ling'er knew that what he said made sense, but she was still unwilling to admit defeat.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and refuse, Zhang Hao hurriedly said: "After I die, if the Hongmeng Fire Tower falls into the hands of someone with strength, I'm afraid that his first thought will be to kill you!"

Hearing this, the smile on Ling'er's face froze, and her eyes became gloomy.

She also understood that with the Primordial Fire Pagoda in Zhang Hao's hands, she still had the right to speak. However, once it fell into those vicious hands, not only would the item in the dimensional ring be unprotected, even her remnant soul would be forcefully refined!

"Hehe, do you want to believe me or choose to believe the unknown risks? Think about it carefully!"

Seeing that her expression had started to change, Zhang Hao knew that what he had said had worked. He hastily laughed and his body was enveloped by the black light and disappeared from the grandmist fire tower.

"Damn it!"

Ling'er stood there, thinking for a long time before coming to a decision. She then scolded angrily, "There will be a day when I will smash your eyes. Just you wait!"

Zhang Hao didn't know about this. The current him had already appeared on the first floor of the Hongmeng Fire Pagoda. After being covered by the silver flames, he let out a roar and gradually got used to it.