Chapter 4: The Spectacular Show-Off
"Master Chu Tian is mighty!"
In the crowd, shouts immediately arose as everyone stared at Chu Hao with stars in their eyes, filled with absolute admiration.
"Master Chu Tian is mighty!"
The crowd kept shouting out loud; everyone was extremely excited.
Usually, such scenes could only be seen in movies. Now that they were witnessing it live, they couldn't contain their excitement.
Mu Yuxun's complexion had improved a lot, and when she saw her sister come out, she cried and flung herself at her.
"Sister, BOO HOO..."
Mu Yufei comforted her, saying, "It's alright now."
Then, Mu Yufei curiously asked, "By the way, do you know Master Chu Tian?"
Mu Yuxun, wiping her tears, nodded and said, "Yes, he's in my class. I didn't expect he actually had real skills. I misjudged him before."
Mu Yufei nodded and said, "Later, you should go and apologize to Master Chu Tian. If he hadn't been here today, whether we could have survived is highly doubtful."
Mu Yuxun nodded.
Chu Hao was basking in the pride of his success. He had never been this popular before, and the feeling was downright exhilarating.
"Master Chu Tian, you must save my son."
At that moment, Mu Yuxun's uncle came crying to Chu Hao, while several people carried over a young man who had been previously possessed by a ghost.
This guy has been possessed by a ghost, and I don't know what to do. I'm still a newbie with the Ghost-catching Pretentious System.
Chu Hao said, "Let me have a look."
Chu Hao approached the unconscious man, pretending to take his pulse while simultaneously opening up the System's shop.
Chu Hao immediately burst into joy. The System's shop was full of items: a variety of magic artifacts, physiognomy, exorcism techniques, and so on—countless items.
Chu Hao saw Xuan Yuan's Sword, legendary and magical, which actually required 100,000 Pretentiousness Points.
Damn!
100,000 Pretentiousness Points, and I currently only have 6!
He continued to browse.
The Nine Character Mantra: "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing." Each character with its own true explanation, various Taoist techniques with different abilities.
Golden-eye Drought Fiend: Devours the essence of the sun and moon, possesses endless strength, golden eyes can bewitch people, anyone bitten will turn into a Drought Fiend in ten seconds.
Divine Calculation: Calculates everything under the sky, the future, and past and future lives.
Ksitigarbha Gourd: Call out the name of a fierce creature. If it responds, it will be sucked into the Ksitigarbha Gourd.
Upon seeing the treasures in the System, Chu Hao was completely stunned.
This… this is too awesome!
The ghost-catching divine artifacts inside... if I just had one, wouldn't I be awe-inspiringly powerful, enough to shatter the heavens?
It's just that the Pretentiousness Points requirement is a bit high, eh.
Chu Hao did not mind.
Well… I'll make an effort to show off.
"Holy shit! Isn't this the Dragon Seeking Technique? It only requires 100 Pretentiousness Points."
Chu Hao saw the Dragon Seeking Technique from "Ghost Blows Out the Light," the core Feng Shui technique of the Touching Gold Captain, a treasure.
"Damn! Zhang Qiling's Black Gold Ancient Knife from 'Grave Robbers' Chronicles.'"
"Ghost Blows Out the Light" and "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" were too famous. The things that appeared in the books were all available in the shop.
Chu Hao's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Suddenly, Chu Hao saw another item, and he became completely agitated.
"Ghost Lady Diaochan: The number one beauty of the Three Kingdoms period, a single song on the guqin that shocked the world, requires 500 Pretentiousness Points."
"Ghost Lady Xiaoqiao: An exceptional beauty from the Three Kingdoms period, who can slay ghosts with her folding fan, requires 500 Pretentiousness Points."
"Ghost Lady Yuji: The number one beauty from the Qin Dynasty, possesses dual sword abilities, requires 500 Pretentiousness Points."
Holy moly!
Diaochan, Xiaoqiao, Yuji—all top-tier ancient beauties—are actually items in the shop! I'm salivating already. I really want to see one. I wish I could show off right now and buy one to check it out!
"Huh?"
Chu Hao let out a small sound of surprise. He saw that there weren't only female ghosts but also many 'general' ghosts.
For instance... Zhao Yun!
For instance... Guan Yu!
For instance... Lǚ Bù!
For instance... Zhuge Liang!
"What the heck!"
Chu Hao's heartfelt exclamation slipped out unintentionally, startling everyone present.
Some of the more timid ones, startled by his exclamation, plopped down on the ground, thinking a ghost had appeared.
"Master Chu... Master Chu Tian, is my son beyond help?"
Mu Yuxun's uncle, his eyes red with tears, was despondent. His son had always been sickly and was now possessed by a ghost. Most people familiar with movies knew that being possessed by a ghost could lead to a lifetime of serious illness or, in the worst case, death.
Chu Hao felt awkward. He didn't speak and quickly started searching in the System's shop.
Exorcism Talisman: Removes the negative energy inside the body, available for 1 Pretentiousness Point.
Chu Hao decided, This is it! That man who was possessed must have a heavy amount of negative energy inside him.
"Ding... Host purchases the Exorcism Talisman, remaining Pretentiousness Points: 5."
With the Exorcism Talisman in his inventory, Chu Hao also learned how to use it. The System provided a tutorial, making it very easy to learn.
Chu Hao stepped back and said solemnly, "Stand back, all of you."
Everyone hurriedly made room, especially the younger ones who stared at Chu Hao with wide eyes, not even daring to blink.
Chu Hao took out the Exorcism Talisman, a yellow talisman paper with curved runes drawn on it.
Chu Hao clasped his hands together, interlocking his fingers in a cross shape, and chanted, "Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, Emergency Wish-Granting Command."
With a POOF, the Exorcism Talisman ignited.
"Ding... Host has successfully shown off, gaining 1 Pretentiousness Point."
The crowd watched, mouths agape. To their amazement, they saw the talisman paper ignite seemingly out of nowhere, without a lighter in sight. It was just like scenes from movies, and they were utterly astounded.
As he brought the burning talisman paper close to the man's body, a shrill, piercing scream was heard before it vanished instantly.
The shrill scream was from the remnant negative energy of Li Meiqing.
What was truly shocking, however, was that everyone present heard this piercing scream, sending shivers down their spines.
"What... what was that scream just now?" Someone said, their face pale with terror.
"I heard it too."
"Ding... Congratulations to the Host for achieving a shockingly pretentious feat, earning 2 Pretentiousness Points."
The rewards for a 'Shocking Show-off' are indeed high!
The man awoke and said, "Dad, what happened to me?"
Mu Yuxun's uncle, overjoyed to see his son awaken, repeatedly thanked Chu Hao for saving his life.
Finally, everything was over.
Chu Hao received compliments from everyone. They all called him 'Master Chu Tian' to his left and right.
Chu Hao adopted the air of a lofty hermit, basking in their admiration, feeling very pleased with himself.
At that moment, a middle-aged man accompanied by Mu Yufei and Mu Yuxun walked up to Chu Hao.
The middle-aged man was grateful and said, "Thank you for saving my daughter. I can't thank you enough."
Chu Hao had heard about Mu Yuxun's father, a man of significant status, the chairman of Mu Long Group, owning a family fortune of over ten billion.
Previously, when his daughter was being strangled, he had tried to intervene. However, he was slapped away and knocked unconscious, only having regained consciousness now.
"No trouble at all. Mu Yuxun and I are classmates. I had to help," Chu Hao said righteously.
Mu Yuxun was moved. She realized she had misunderstood Chu Hao before.
Mu Yuxun's father laughed and said, "Yu Xun, come thank Master Chu Tian."
Mu Yuxun couldn't look Chu Hao in the eye; she had, after all, tried to 'expose' his identity earlier.
Mu Yuxun felt that Chu Hao had become a stranger. She had always thought he was a fraud, yet he had saved her from a ghost. His skills were absolutely real.
"I'm sorry, Master Chu Tian. I... I shouldn't have doubted you," she said.
See that!
Even the school beauty, in the end, had to apologize humbly before my majestic presence as a Taoist Master!
Chu Hao couldn't have felt more pleased; he was thrilled from head to toe.