Chapter 4: A Windfall of Evil-Punishing

Almost the entire class had gathered around Luo Zhou.

“Senior Brother Luo, you’re too strong!”

“Hero Luo, congratulations! Congratulations on your promotion. Don’t you think we should celebrate?”

They rarely called Luo Zhou by his name, preferring titles like Senior Brother Luo or Hero Luo...

Even Cui Jian, the head senior brother of Class Three in the Immortal Sprout Hall, ran over to butter him up.

“Hero Luo, congratulations on your promotion. Don’t you think we should celebrate? How about treating everyone to a bowl of porridge?”

So, it wasn’t that he was popular at all; they just wanted Luo Zhou to treat them to porridge!

Luo Zhou smiled and said

“Since the head senior brother has spoken, we must celebrate! Head Senior Brother!”

Cui Jian immediately shouted, “Present!”

Luo Zhou gave him fourteen spirit shards.

One thousand spirit shards were worth one spirit stone. One spirit shard was worth about five hundred copper coins, or half a tael of silver.

“One bowl of spirit grain porridge for everyone in the class! It’s all on me!”

“Many thanks!”

“You’re a generous one!”

Suddenly, praises rang out incessantly. Cui Jian called over Zuo Sanguang, Wang Heyu, and Meng Junzheng to help carry the porridge.

Spirit grain porridge, made from spirit grains, offered infinite benefits to cultivators in the Body Tempering stage. Drinking one bowl was equivalent to three days of hard training. It was sold in the academy’s cafeteria. One spirit shard bought two bowls. When converted into common currency, it wasn’t cheap; ordinary families would only let their children eat it three or five times a month to improve their constitution.

Cui Jian and the others arrived at the academy cafeteria and saw a large copper cauldron as tall as a person from afar, with charcoal burning fiercely underneath. Spirit grain porridge had to be boiled with charcoal to bring out the "fire" energy, and it had to be simmered for three days for the grains to break down into porridge.

Everyone was familiar with the process. Cui Jian took out the spirit shards to buy the porridge. The cafeteria’s managing immortal personally handled the sale of spirit grain porridge, fearing that intermediaries might embezzle. He carefully ladled the porridge into large bowls and sealed the lids.

As they watched and waited, they began to chat.

“This smell is so fragrant.”

“A bowl of spirit grain porridge—I wouldn’t trade it for anything, not even for a god’s life.”

“Thank you, Hero Luo!”

“Hahaha, are you really calling him a hero? Luo Zhou is a total idiot. Fourteen spirit shards! How much family wealth can withstand such reckless spending every few days?”

“You’re not a decent person. You drink his porridge and then mock him. The three rich brats in our class have never treated us to porridge even once!”

Someone retorted, refusing to let it slide. The two began to bicker back and forth.

Head Senior Brother Cui Jian said slowly

“Two months ago, Luo Zhou hadn’t awakened his spirituality. He was so poor he couldn’t afford to eat; he had it harder than any of us. Back then, whenever any of us had leftovers, we’d save a bite for him. He’s lived through the hard times. After awakening his spirituality and inheriting his parents’ estate, he might look silly and a bit dim, but at his core, he’s just repaying the kindness everyone showed him back then. To be so sentimental and righteous, willing to spend spirit shards to treat us to porridge without forgetting his classmates—he deserves for us to call him a hero!”

Hearing this, everyone nodded repeatedly.

“Sigh, there’s just one thing—he’s like a poor man who suddenly got rich. He always forces us to act with him, making us play the villains so he can ‘uphold justice’ when he sees an injustice. It’s really annoying.”

“I remember he used to say that if his parents had met a hero back then, they wouldn’t have died. He wouldn’t have become an orphan, and his family wouldn’t have been torn apart. It’s a form of self-comforting fantasy, I suppose.”

“Sigh, a lot of people died that year. Among our childhood playmates, he seems to be the only one who made it this far.”

“Just bear with it and play along. It doesn’t cost us anything. He’s paying with real money, after all. Isn’t this spirit grain porridge delicious?”

By then, the porridge was ready. They transported it back, twenty-eight bowls for fourteen spirit shards. Cui Jian distributed them, one bowl per person. Including Luo Zhou, there were twenty-seven people, so he gave Luo Zhou two bowls. The head senior brother was reliable!

Every student who received the porridge called out

“Thanks, Brother Zhou!”

“Thank you, Hero Luo!”

The female students’ voices were soft and sweet, incredibly pleasant to hear.

In truth, of the thirty-three students in Class Three, five—including Yuan Zhen and Liu Yueqing—came from wealthy families and ate spirit grain porridge every meal. They didn’t care for this bowl of porridge and wouldn’t call him "Hero Luo" just for a bowl.

As the thanks poured in, Luo Zhou laughed heartily, enjoying the feeling of being surrounded and protected. He began to drink his porridge as well. The delicious spirit grain porridge warmed his entire body, feeling incredibly comfortable.

Looking at his many classmates, Luo Zhou was truly laughing on the inside.

They had drunk his porridge and taken advantage of his spirit shards. But this porridge wasn’t so easy to drink!

What Luo Zhou was after wasn’t being surrounded and protected; he wanted their various spiritualities!

His innate ability was "Reward Good, Punish Evil; Save Life, Reward Dao!" Whenever Luo Zhou heard a living being cry for help, saved them, and punished the evil-doer, he would be rewarded with "Good," which could grant him the evil-doer’s techniques!

Take the school bully, Zhang Quan, who had awakened the "Savage Bull Strength" talent and loved bullying classmates. Every time Luo Zhou stopped him and punished him, he gained his Savage Bull Strength. He had already accumulated the strength of four bulls! This was one of the core keys to Luo Zhou’s divine ability, the "Dragon-Slaying Thorn." Otherwise, how could he have killed the Wood Demon above his rank?

But such opportunities to punish evil were rare in the academy. With the immortals present, rules in place, and the students being simple-minded youths, there were basically no villains. Even the school bully, Zhang Quan, avoided him and wouldn’t even drink his porridge, so he couldn’t farm any more Savage Bull Strength.

Luo Zhou had to find another way: scattering money, playing the fool. Once they ate his porridge, they felt embarrassed and would play along with his "hero" games. Since he couldn’t truly reward good and punish evil, he would manufacture fake ones—he could still get rewards! A living person shouldn’t be stifled by a lack of options! If heaven didn’t give it, he would take it himself!

Through this, Luo Zhou obtained his classmates’ spiritualities. Like Zuo Sanguang, who carried the porridge, he had awakened the "Flash of Inspiration" ability. Luo Zhou obtained it through his hero games! However, the copied spirituality had quietly mutated. Unlike Zuo Sanguang’s "Flash of Inspiration," which provided epiphanies during cultivation, Luo Zhou’s "Flash of Inspiration" could foresee future events. That was how he knew that in a hundred days, he would encounter the most terrifying Wood Demon in the city and would surely die!

Wang Heyu’s spirituality was "Full Power Burst." After Luo Zhou obtained it, it transformed into the divine ability "Dragon-Slaying Thorn," completely changing his fate. The "Sharp Insight" spirituality he got from Meng Junzheng was also a core key to the Dragon-Slaying Thorn!

However, most of his classmates’ spiritualities were quite ordinary. After all, they were in Class Three of the Immortal Sprout Hall; the students with truly powerful spiritualities were all in Class One. Furthermore, Luo Zhou didn’t fully understand the nuances of "Reward Good, Punish Evil" and had to feel his way across the river.

After finishing the two bowls of porridge, Luo Zhou felt his blood and energy boiling. Combining this with the spiritual energy transmitted by Master Wang, he let out a long breath and began his hard training.

Everyone was practicing on their own. Everyone knew this was the key to changing their fate and having a good life in the future; not a single person slacked off.

The White Sun Body Tempering Technique was performed move by move.

Opening Mountain Stance, Kneeling Bone-Folding, Vajra Pounding Mortar, Six Sealing Four Closing, Wild Horse Parting Mane, Forward Treading Step...

They were in the prime of their youth, the best time. Only by suffering and training hard now could they enjoy the good life in the future!

When the day’s training ended and the academy dismissed, everyone went home. Luo Zhou also headed home, looking at the wandering spirits along the way, but there was nothing he could do.

“Tomorrow or the day after, Zuo Sanguang’s telepathy should recover, and I can get another spirituality. I wonder if I should get Zhang Quan’s Savage Bull Strength or Meng Junzheng’s Sharp Insight? It would be great if I could get the spiritualities of Yuan Zhen, Liu Yueqing, and the others, but unfortunately, they don’t pay any attention to me...”

Lost in thought, Luo Zhou arrived at Ping’an Ward, where he lived. Suddenly, he seemed to hear the crying of a young child.

“Save me, someone save me, Dad, don’t hit me, help...”

This wasn’t a shout; it was telepathy!

Luo Zhou was ecstatic. He had been searching for this, and it had come to him on its own. He immediately rushed toward the direction of the telepathic signal.

In a house in Ping’an Ward, the child’s cries kept coming. Outside, several gossiping women were already gathered, whispering.

“Old Wang is beating his child again.”

“Ever since he married that new wife and had a son, he’s been beating the child every few days.”

“Little Ya is only eight. He finds any excuse to beat her for half a day. If he keeps this up, he’ll beat her to death sooner or later...”

“Her birth mother is dead, so the child is like a blade of grass. The stepmother is too cruel.”

“Why bother? If you don’t want to raise her, just sell her. Why beat her to death?”

“They say the stepmother’s brother is with the Sanjiang Gang, a bunch of thugs.”

“Ah, those bastards from the Sanjiang Gang, you can’t afford to provoke them!”

Luo Zhou knew this Old Wang family; he was the barber at the east street corner. The head of the family, Wang Dong, had no spirituality and had never cultivated—a common mortal.

Luo Zhou was overjoyed. Without stopping, he slammed his foot into the gate.

*Boom!* With one kick, the strength of four bulls erupted. The gate was instantly kicked open.

Luo Zhou rushed in and shouted

“Hey, you old bastard, you vicious stepmother! How can you be so heartless? The child is about to be beaten to death by you!”

In the courtyard, a bald old man holding a stick was beating a small child. Beside him, a young, gaudy woman was holding an infant, cracking melon seeds and watching the spectacle with glee. The child was curled up on the ground, hands protecting her head, wailing incessantly.

Seeing Luo Zhou barge in, the bald Old Wang was furious and cursed

“Where did this little brat come from? How dare you trespass on private property? Aren’t you afraid of the law...”

Luo Zhou delivered a kick—the "Wild Horse Parting Mane" from the White Sun Body Tempering Technique. The kick landed on the bald Old Wang’s wooden stick, shattering it. The force sent the bald Old Wang flying through the air before he crashed to the side.

Luo Zhou stepped forward, planted a foot on the old man’s chest, and barked

“Old bastard, are you still going to hit people?”

The bald Old Wang was instantly gasping for air. The vicious young stepmother dropped her melon seeds and turned to run. Luo Zhou let go of the old man, took a step, and slapped the young woman across the face, sending her wailing to the ground.

Punish the evil—all of them had to be punished; he couldn’t let a single one go.

Old Wang struggled to get up, wanting to go into the house to grab a kitchen knife, but Luo Zhou kicked him down again.

“Speak, old bastard, are you still going to hit the child?”

This was the difference between a cultivator and a mortal. Even though Luo Zhou was only fifteen, he was already at the sixth level of Body Tempering, completely crushing an ordinary mortal.

The bald Old Wang struggled a few times, unable to resist. He immediately begged for mercy: “I won’t hit her, I won’t hit her ever again!”

“Are you wrong?”

“I’m wrong, I’m wrong!”

“Are you convinced in your heart? Are you convinced in your words?”

“I’m convinced, I’m convinced!”

Luo Zhou laughed heartily and said

“Remember, the one who beat you is Hero Luo Zhou from Class Three of the Immortal Sprout Hall!”

Announcing his name? It looked pretty silly...

But they were all in the same ward; his identity couldn’t be hidden anyway, so he might as well be open about it.

He then turned, picked up the child, and sent her to the medical hall for treatment.

The onlookers in the street cheered!

“Satisfying, truly satisfying!”

“Old Luo’s second son has been righteous since he was a child!”

“What a hero!”

Luo Zhou smiled. This counted as a "Reward Good, Punish Evil" he’d picked up for free. He wondered what the reward would be?