Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 168: Meeting An Old Friend

Despite Han Yu’s new talent rank, not a single elder offered to take him in as a personal disciple as they had done for other recruits. No invitations to private training halls, no spiritual guidance, no access to restricted manuals.

"Oh, him?" Elder Xiang said when asked. "Promising, yes. But... history."

They remembered the sock incident with the disciples. The laughing smoke bomb fiasco. The insulting and humiliation of disciples. Not to mention the mysterious chaos still plaguing the sect.

"We’ll let him grow on his own for now," another elder said diplomatically. "If he proves himself more... stable... then perhaps in the future."

In other words: We’ll wait and see if he explodes anything else first. frёeωebɳovel.com

Han Yu, of course, noticed the restraint.

"Blue Grade talent and still no master?" he muttered as he swept a training yard. "What do I have to do, explode a mountain?"

He paused.

"...Actually, no, bad idea. That might work."

Still, he wasn’t discouraged.

His newfound talent gave him breathing room. His cultivation speed had increased. He had access to better resources. And perhaps most importantly—he could now get close to chaos without anyone questioning it.

That meant more emotional energy to harvest.

That meant progress.

All he needed was time... and to not get caught.

After a month of relative peace—well, peace for Han Yu—the sect was finally beginning to calm.

The chaos from the vault discovery had settled into hushed speculation. The elders were still watching, but their attention had drifted elsewhere, particularly toward outer sect assessments and inner sect tournaments. Han Yu, for once, had managed to avoid both pranks and suspicion for four entire weeks.

He even began wondering if a quiet life of cultivation might not be so bad.

Naturally, fate didn’t agree.

"Han Yu! It’s me!"

The peace was shattered one morning when a voice boomed across the courtyard like a spiritual trumpet.

"Han Yu! Brother Han!"

Han Yu paused mid-stretch and turned around—only for his eyes to nearly pop out of his head.

Barreling toward him like a meatball on legs was a short, round figure wrapped in brand-new sect robes that looked two sizes too small. His cheeks bounced with every step, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Fatty Kui?" Han Yu blinked. "What in the name of Spirit Pigs are you doing here!?"

"Eheheh, it’s really you! I thought I heard your name around here but I wasn’t sure if it was that Han Yu or just a coincidence!"

The plump boy skidded to a halt in front of him, huffing and puffing like a steam-powered gourd. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"I just got out of seclusion yesterday and asked around—turns out it was you!"

Han Yu gave him a once-over. The same dumb hair. Same jiggly cheeks. Same scent of roasted dumplings lingering around him like an aura.

Yup. It was definitely Fatty Kui Number One.

It was a Reunion!

"What do you mean you got recruited?" Han Yu asked, half-disbelieving. "I left the town to get away from all that! You’re supposed to be rolling around the market, not cultivating!"

"Hey!" Fatty Kui puffed his cheeks. "I was doing that. But Senior Brother Wei said I had talent. Next thing I knew, I was on a flying sword and signing sect entry papers."

Han Yu looked to the sky for answers that never came. "Senior Brother Wei... Who, why?" he couldn’t remmeber who the man was.

"He came with that Senior Sister who kidnapped... Ehem, recruited you.," Fatty Kui said proudly, sticking out his chubby chest. "He said I gave off a... ’dumbly loyal but spiritually interesting’ vibe."

"That... does sound like something someone would say seeing you," Han Yu muttered.

"Anyway, one of the elders took me in right after my entrance test," Fatty Kui continued. "Said he wanted to ’mold me while I was still soft.’ Not sure what that meant, but he gave me pills and locked me in a room for a few months!"

"You were in seclusion this whole time?" Han Yu asked incredulously.

Fatty Kui nodded. "Didn’t even know what happened in the sect until I broke through to the Qi Refining Realm last week and they let me out."

Han Yu’s mouth twitched. "You’re at Qi Refining?"

"Yup! Early stage!" Fatty Kui raised a pudgy fist in celebration. "Also—guess what? My talent is Blue Grade!"

Han Yu nearly staggered backward. "WHAT?"

Fatty Kui giggled. "Yeah, shocked me too! I thought the test crystal was broken. But the elder confirmed it. Said I’ve got some kind of spiritual gluttony physique or something."

"... I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not."

"It is if it means I get free meals and cultivation pills," Kui replied proudly.

Han Yu stared at him.

This was the boy who once ate four street vendors out of stock in one afternoon and then claimed spiritual enlightenment after burping.

Now he was a Blue Grade cultivator, recruited by an elder, and advancing faster than most outer sect disciples.

"The heavens really do have a sense of humor..." Han Yu thought darkly.

Still, a slow grin crept up Han Yu’s face. He thumped Fatty Kui on the shoulder.

"Well, since you’re here, you better stick close. The sect’s gotten a little crazier since last year."

Fatty Kui beamed. "As long as you’re around, Brother Han, I’m sure it’ll be fine!"

Han Yu looked into the sky again. "That’s what I’m afraid of..."

He had no idea just what kind of idea the fate had to make the meet like this. But it was something he could accept for once, considering the curve balls he had been thrown by fate all this time.

At least it was an old friend whom he could somewhat trust. They had gone through thick and thin after all.

But while thinking of this Han Yu remembered something.

’Didn’t Senior Sister Xu Qing say she had a bet of some kind and kidnapped me to win it?" Han Yu recalled her mentioning about it. ’If it wasn’t me that was talented, then... SHE KIDNAPPED THE WRONG PERSON?’