The beautiful woman was taken aback, not expecting Shi Hao to respond in such a way.
She was overly confident in her charm; what man wouldn't be totally captivated by her presence? Even if some feigned propriety, they couldn't hide their lecherous demeanor.
However, this young man was truly indifferent, and, moreover, he was so handsome that she found herself somewhat enchanted.
How could she, Ruan Jiaoyu, be bewitched by a young boy?
At this moment, a girl in red also carried over a wooden box that seemed heavy, making her show a bit of strain.
Shi Hao went over to lend a hand, placing the box on the table, which naturally won him the good graces of the women, especially the girl in red, who looked at him with dreamy eyes.
"Please go ahead," said Ruan Jiaoyu.
Shi Hao began to look through the raw stones, which indeed were very pure. Although not crystal clear and free of all impurities, their quality was significantly higher compared to those he had seen before.
"Do you have any that are even purer?" he asked.
"Not at the moment," Ruan Jiaoyu replied. "If you're willing to wait a few months, I could arrange to have some shipped to you."
"That's alright," Shi Hao shook his head; he was going to the County Town in a month.
He selected a few pieces and then asked Ruan Jiaoyu, "How much for the lot?"
"Seven hundred and sixty-five Silver, but for someone as handsome as you, I'll round it down," Ruan Jiaoyu said with a smile.
"Seven hundred Silver?" Shi Hao inquired.
"Seven hundred and sixty Silver!"
Shi Hao didn't mind, took out a silver note, and paid for the stones. Silver notes, issued by the Royal Family of Hua Yuan Nation, could be exchanged for actual gold and silver at any bank and were convenient to carry.
Watching Shi Hao leave, the women shop assistants were still infatuated, almost wishing to follow him out.
Ruan Jiaoyu, swaying her willowy waist back up to her room in a charming manner, arrived at an elegant chamber.
She moved to the window and looked down at the street, watching as Shi Hao's figure gradually disappeared.
"Choosing based only on purity and not on appearance or color, isn't that the requirement for creating a Formation?" she murmured with a strange look on her face, "But in such a remote and backward place, is there actually someone knowledgeable in the Array Path?"
"I must keep an eye on this. If this young man truly understands Formations, he might have come for the Princess. We must be cautious."
She took out a paper bird and flung it into the air. A bizarre scene unfolded as the paper bird actually took flight, trailing after Shi Hao.
Shi Hao was unaware of the paper bird following him; he returned to his dormitory and immediately began to work on setting up the Formation.
He etched patterns onto the jade stones, known as Formation Patterns, crucial in harnessing the energy of heaven and earth. During the etching process, it was also vital to infuse Soul Force, as if giving life to the Formation itself.
By the time Shi Hao had finished etching all thirty-six jade stones, his Soul Force had been completely drained.
Well, he couldn't practice today.
No matter, as long as the Formation was successful, he could recover the day's loss in training, and everything else would be a gain.
With the Formation Base complete, it was time to set up the Formation.
You can't just set up a Formation anywhere; there are forces in heaven and earth, and a Formation can only borrow these forces, not create them from nothing. Shi Hao searched around the Academy but couldn't find a suitable location.
Suddenly, he remembered observing the terrain while he was outside the city and had found a suitable spot for a Formation.
He immediately left the Academy and returned to the city.
Starwind Academy's management of students was quite lax—a training plan was provided, and it was the student's responsibility to follow through. Failure to pass the annual test meant being dismissed.
Shi Hao arrived at that location, spreading his Soul Tentacles. Although he couldn't absorb the energy of heaven and earth, he could observe the surrounding energy.
He nodded, this place seemed to be a depression where the energy of heaven and earth converged, so the energy gathered here far exceeded other places, which was evident from the thriving state of the plants and trees around.
Shi Hao knocked on the door, and soon an elderly man came out to open it.
"Who are you?" the old man asked with a face full of confusion.
Shi Hao smiled, "Sir, this house belongs to you, right?"
"I would like to buy it." Shi Hao revealed a sincere smile.
The old man was taken aback, not expecting someone to be interested in buying his house.
Truth be told, his house was quite dilapidated, and even the foundation was somewhat damaged—mainly because the trees grew too rapidly, their intertwined roots having cracked the ground.
"How about two hundred silver?" Shi Hao said with a smile as he took out a silver note, "Sir, if you don't trust me, you can have someone knowledgeable come over to verify the authenticity of this silver note."
He didn't mind raising the price a little, but alas, that was all the money he had on him now.
This surprised and delighted the old man. His shabby house was worth so much?
Still, fearing a scam, he went ahead and called over a neighbor, a businessman who often dealt with silver notes.
After the authenticity was verified, the elderly man happily agreed to the deal.
Shi Hao immediately handed over the silver note, while the old man signed a transfer agreement, imprinting his thumbprint. Since it was already too late, they had to wait until the next day to process the transfer at the City Lord's Mansion.
The old man moved out that evening, leaving behind all his furniture for Shi Hao, as it wasn't worth much anyway.
Shi Hao immediately began the setup, burying the jade stones one by one in the courtyard.
When he buried the last piece, the formation was established; the energy from heaven and earth converged, taking the already dense energy of the place to the next level.
Shi Hao revealed a satisfied smile, and after having dinner, he slept soundly through the night.
The next morning, he noticed that the grass and trees in the courtyard seemed to have grown taller than the day before.
The effect of the formation was like a miracle.
After breakfast, he took a medicinal bath and began practicing the Tyrant Body Technique, tormenting himself to the point of howling in pain.
In the afternoon, once his Soul Force was fully replenished, Shi Hao started to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Sky-Plundering Scripture.
First revolution, second revolution... By the time he reached the fifth revolution, Shi Hao found that he had hit a limit, fifteen thousand jin of strength.
This should have been the limit for a primary level martial master, and breaking through it would allow one to advance into the middle-level martial master, but it was just Shi Hao reaching the limit of an advanced martial disciple.
Humm, the Nine Revolutions Sky-Plundering Scripture gently nudged, and the limit was broken, as effortlessly as drinking water.
Sixth revolution, seventh revolution... ninth revolution.
Shi Hao stopped cultivating and estimated that his strength had reached sixteen thousand jin.
An increase of two thousand jin!
Training here, the efficiency was twice that of normal conditions.
Across Mengyang City, only the City Lord had reached the level of a middle-level martial master, his strength ranging from fifteen to twenty-five thousand jin. Exactly how much, well, only the City Lord himself would know.
But even if City Lord Chen Zihao reached the limit strength of twenty-five thousand jin, Shi Hao needed only about five days to catch up with or even surpass him.
Thump, thump, thump, just then, the door suddenly drew a beating, urgent and loud, as if announcing a death.
Shi Hao furrowed his brows, a sense of displeasure already rising in his heart as he went to open the door.
Standing at the door was a young man in his twenties, with a rascal's brazen face and an air of arrogance.
"I am the owner of this house. I heard you want to buy a house?" the young man said immediately upon seeing Shi Hao.