Zhao Mu lowered his head and listened quietly.
"When did this happen?" he finally asked.
Shen Moran replied softly, "After the Awakening Ceremony. Shao Han came and told me."
She paused for a moment before smiling faintly and looking away.
"So that's why..." Zhao Mu thought.
It was because she had already decided to go to Iron Ridge City that she had broken up with him without the slightest hesitation.
---
"I still believe I made the right choice."
Shen Moran looked at Zhao Mu with a calm smile.
"Although your performance recently has surprised me, I still don't think I was wrong."
"I'm a Space Element Ability User with E-Rank Talent. My ability is perfectly suited for the battlefield."
"As for you..."
"You also only have E-Rank Talent."
"No matter how outstanding your current performance is, you'll never reach the same ceiling that I can."
Zhao Mu smiled helplessly.
"So you came all this way just to tell me that?"
Shen Moran took two slow steps toward him.
Her eyes were as gentle as they had once been, but now they also carried determination and stubborn pride.
"Ten years."
"Hm?"
"Ten years from now, let's see where we both stand."
"I believe that by then, I'll have become one of the military's strongest experts."
Zhao Mu immediately understood what she meant.
She believed her future potential far surpassed his.
In her eyes, Zhao Mu's current brilliance was only temporary.
She refused to admit she had made the wrong decision.
So...
She wanted to let time decide.
Zhao Mu sighed.
"Ten years is too long."
"Let's make it five instead."
Shen Moran blinked in surprise.
Five years...
That was more than enough.
After all, Zhao Mu possessed the Demon Clown ability.
His growth would only accelerate as time passed.
If his progress now was like a heavy truck slowly starting to move...
Then once it gained momentum...
Nothing would be able to stop it.
A ten-year agreement?
By then, the gap between them would probably be unimaginable.
Shen Moran nodded firmly.
"Fine."
"Five years."
"I hope that when we meet again on the battlefield..."
"We'll finally know who was right."
After saying those words...
She turned around and walked away without looking back.
Watching her leave, Zhao Mu smiled to himself.
"Five years..."
"What an interesting promise."
---
Shen Moran departed with the Beitang Family.
However...
Shao Han's situation was completely different.
Because he had lost to Zhao Mu...
The Beitang Family no longer approved of him joining Iron Ridge City.
In the end...
He was forced to remain at Qingfeng Camp.
---
The next day, Zhao Mu deliberately visited the infirmary.
Shao Han lay weakly in bed.
Although the Spirit Doctor had repaired his internal injuries...
His Origin Qi had been badly damaged.
It would take at least ten to fifteen days before he fully recovered.
When he saw Zhao Mu enter...
A bitter smile appeared on his pale face.
"You came."
"I came."
"You shouldn't have."
"But I had to."
Zhao Mu pulled over a chair, sat beside the bed, and smiled.
"You still owe me three spirit sources."
Shao Han nearly spat out blood.
"You..."
"I..."
After struggling for several seconds...
He simply rolled his eyes and turned his head away in frustration.
"What?"
"Young Master Shao plans to avoid paying his debt?"
Zhao Mu asked calmly.
Grinding his teeth, Shao Han roared,
"I'll have someone deliver them immediately!"
Zhao Mu nodded with satisfaction.
"Good."
He stood up, ready to leave.
After all...
Collecting his payment had been his only reason for visiting.
Just then...
Shao Han suddenly called out.
"Zhao Mu!"
"Hm?"
"What is it?"
After remaining silent for a long moment...
Shao Han finally gritted his teeth.
"This isn't over!"
"I admit I lost this time."
"But one day..."
"I'll challenge you again!"
Like Shen Moran...
He firmly believed his future potential surpassed Zhao Mu's.
He simply refused to accept defeat.
Zhao Mu shrugged.
"I'll gladly accept your challenge anytime."
"Just remember to prepare the spirit sources first."
---
After the Beitang Family left...
Mo Guanguan returned to Qingfeng Camp.
Zhao Mu never asked about her true identity.
The two simply continued training together every day as they always had.
During public lectures...
Mo Guanguan always chose the seat beside Zhao Mu.
Her explanation was simple.
"Your grades are good."
"You can explain the lessons to me."
---
Several days later...
The three promised spirit sources finally arrived.
As expected...
Shao Han hadn't broken his word.
All three spirit sources were excellent.
Each came from an exotic beast with a Combat Level above 30.
Zhao Mu urgently needed to improve his own Combat Level.
By now...
Shen Moran had already reached Combat Level 13.
The other trainees had also progressed steadily.
Even Meng Qiuqiu and Zhuo Yun had advanced to Combat Level 6.
Without wasting any time...
Zhao Mu entered the training room.
Finding a quiet corner, he sat down with the three spirit sources resting in his palms.
Spiritual Energy Circulation
Intermediate Meditation Technique
Proficiency: 548
Closing his eyes...
He began circulating his spiritual power, gradually drawing the energy from the spirit sources into his Spiritual Sea.
About ten minutes later...
His Spiritual Sea expanded by nearly one-third.
His Combat Level successfully advanced to...
Combat Level 7!
Opening his eyes, Zhao Mu wasn't particularly surprised.
Still...
He couldn't help taking a deep breath.
"A Level 30 spirit source..."
"For an ordinary Ability User, a single one would be enough to advance from Combat Level 6 to Level 7."
"But I needed all three."
"The stronger I become..."
"The more spirit sources I'll need."
"This cultivation path is ridiculously expensive."
Thinking about the cost...
Zhao Mu came to a simple conclusion.
Making money...
Was just as important as becoming stronger.
---
From that day onward...
He devoted much more of his time to Jinhai Manufacturing inside Tiangong Hall.
Less than half a month later...
Their first batch of Ember Remains was finally completed.
Although every piece was made using Low-Grade Materials...
Their quality fully met delivery standards.
At the same time...
Zhao Mu's Jinhai Manufacturing proficiency increased to 72.
That meant...
His manufacturing success rate had also reached 72%.
Combined with his incredible production speed...
Material waste dropped dramatically.
Manufacturing costs fell as well.
Now...
Each Low-Grade Ember Remains generated approximately 6 million Xuanfeng Coins in profit.
Zhao Mu couldn't help smiling.
"So..."
"The arms business really is the fastest way to make money."
---
Meng Qiuqiu happily locked the finished Ember Remains inside a secure safe before heading to the Military Commerce Department to complete the transaction.
Half a day later...
He returned looking unusually excited.
The four partners gathered inside Tiangong Hall's modest workshop.
Meng Qiuqiu opened the company's public account.
Everyone stared.
More than 300 million Xuanfeng Coins sat inside.
The long string of zeros was dazzling.
Zhuo Yun looked confused.
"Wait..."
"Why doesn't it look like we've earned much profit?"
Their original investment had been 200 million Xuanfeng Coins.
Later...
Meng Fugui contributed another 100 million.
After nearly a month of work...
The balance had only increased by a little over 3 million.
Meng Qiuqiu rolled his eyes.
"Building connections and opening business channels costs money."
"Those were all startup expenses."
"Maintaining them later will be much cheaper."
He grinned excitedly.
"The Military Commerce Department is extremely satisfied with our Ember Remains."
"They told us they'll buy every single one we can produce."
"Our very first order earned us..."
"A net profit of 32 million Xuanfeng Coins!"
Hearing that...
Zhao Mu quickly calculated the numbers.
"Thirty-two million..."
"If we use it to buy high-quality Private-Class spirit sources..."
"It would only be enough for around ten."
"As our Combat Levels continue increasing..."
"We'll need more and more spirit sources."
"So although thirty-two million sounds like a fortune..."
"It'll disappear much faster than we think."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)