Hu Tao Is Monetizing My Existence. [55]

The man spread his arms wide, as if embracing the heavens, his face full of fervor. When he reached the word "trembling," he even curled his arms inward and let his body shudder dramatically.

Jiang Bai and Hu Tao exchanged looks.

"You feel anything?"

"Nope."

"Me neither."

They both turned to Wu Cong.

Wu Cong looked just as bewildered, but when he saw how exaggerated A'Ling's expression and gestures were, he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. The might of the True Lord is beyond mortal comprehension."

"Uh…" Jiang Bai was starting to feel like this legendary martial art was a bit of a joke.

Did it actually exist, or was this just a scam? He wasn't sure. He hadn't been in this world long enough to say for certain. If he dismissed it outright and later got proven wrong, it'd be embarrassing.

"So, how exactly does one learn the True Lord's techniques?"

"True Lord is merciful! For only 7,000 Mora a month, one can study his secret martial arts manuals!"

A'Ling's voice trembled with emotion, and actual tears welled up in his eyes. "Just 7,000 Mora for such divine techniques… Truly, the True Lord is far too generous!"

His name was A'Ling, born into a wealthy merchant family in Liyue Harbor.

He hated hardship and loathed effort.

For years, he sought a way to ascend without sweating or suffering. The moment he heard rumors of an adeptus teaching in Jueyun Karst, he ordered his servants to carry him here and promptly became a disciple.

At the True Lord's command, he dismissed his servants and committed himself fully to training. It had been over two months since then.

And, to his delight, the True Lord's teachings were just as he had hoped—no grueling practice, no exhausting drills.

All he had to do was spend some time meditating, then imagine himself punching at extreme speeds.

That was all it took to begin his journey into the art.

Through this process, he had deeply felt the unfathomable power of the True Lord.

The techniques were so profound that even in his imagination, he still punched far too slowly to meet the True Lord's standards.

He had a long way to go before he could truly grasp the master's teachings!

Jiang Bai had no idea how much 7,000 Mora was worth, so he glanced at Hu Tao.

Leaning in close, he whispered, "Director Hu, is 7,000 Mora a lot?"

"Not really. You could buy 77 jin of rice with that—enough to feed Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for about ten days."

Jiang Bai spent a long moment counting on his fingers, before coming to a shocking realization.

That meant one jin of rice cost roughly 90 Mora.

The single Mora in his pocket was worthless.

His eyes filled with despair.

He had at least hoped it would be enough to buy a piece of candy, but now he wasn't even sure if it could do that.

Director Hu is way too stingy…

Then another thought struck him.

Given how heavy a single Mora was, if he wanted to buy enough rice for half a month, wouldn't he need a cart just to carry all those coins?

Wouldn't that make transactions way too inconvenient?

"You idiot! Mora comes in different denominations!"

Still maintaining her duty to educate clueless subordinates, Hu Tao pulled out a few different Mora coins and displayed them on her palm.

Each coin had the same engraved pattern on the front—but their colors varied.

…Wait a second!

That pattern looked exactly like the ones he saw on the ruins at Guyun Stone Forest!

Jiang Bai fished out the single Mora Hu Tao had given him.

Its design was identical—a triangle formed from a single continuous line.

However, compared to the intricate carvings on the ruins, the design on the Mora was much simpler.

For a moment, Jiang Bai was completely confused.

Mora was forged by the Geo Archon, Morax.

But the ruins at Guyun were most likely built by the people of another god…

So why were their patterns so similar?

Could it be that the symbol was just widely used?

Or did it have a deeper meaning?

Or perhaps, the ruin markings were a variation of the design on Mora—ancient builders had simply modified and expanded upon it over time.

…Actually, that explanation kind of made sense.

Self-satisfied with his own reasoning, Jiang Bai pushed the thought aside and returned to Hu Tao's currency lesson.

All Mora coins were the same size, but their colors differed based on their value.

"When Lord Geo first created Mora, there was only one denomination—1 Mora."

"But as the population grew, and people needed more money for trade, having only one type of coin became too inconvenient. So, new values were introduced."

"This bronze-colored one? That's the smallest—1 Mora."

She flipped it over, revealing the number 1 engraved on the back.

"This brass-colored one? 10 Mora."

"This silver one? 100 Mora."

"And this gold one? 1,000 Mora."

She turned each coin over as she spoke, showing that their backs all bore their respective values.

Jiang Bai, feigning curiosity, picked up the 1,000 Mora coin and rolled it between his fingers.

"Is there anything bigger?"

"Nope. 1,000 is the highest."

Hu Tao immediately saw through his sneaky attempt to pocket the coin.

She stuck out a hand. "Hand it back!"

Reluctantly, Jiang Bai returned the precious coin.

He clutched his own miserable little 1-Mora coin, feeling utterly poor.

That single, useless coin was literally his entire fortune.

That said…

7,000 Mora to learn from an adeptus was a ridiculously low price.

This True Lord seemed surprisingly honest for a so-called immortal.

Seeing them count their money, A'Ling assumed they were debating whether they could afford the fee and eagerly asked,

"So? Will you be joining me in learning from the True Lord?"

With only the three of them here, things got a little boring. He wouldn't mind some new disciples to liven things up.

"We're, uh… a bit short on funds," Jiang Bai scratched his head, smiling sheepishly. "We'd like to see the True Lord's teachings in action before making a decision."

As he grinned, the red mark on his face shifted along with his expression, making him look somewhat ridiculous.

Wu Cong struggled to keep a straight face.

"Ahem, little brother, uh… do you want some medicine for that?"

Jiang Bai blinked and turned to Hu Tao with puppy-dog eyes.

This was her doing. Shouldn't she be the one to fix it?

Hu Tao, utterly unmoved, shoved his face to the side.

"It's just a scratch! No need for medicine!"

There wasn't even blood, and with their Vision-wielding physiques, this level of injury was nothing.

"Alright, alright…"

Jiang Bai honestly didn't care. It didn't even hurt—and since he couldn't see his own face, the fact that it looked dumb didn't bother him either.

Whatever.

A few bruises were way better than the "cremation package" alternative.

That said…

He really needed to think before speaking next time.

Otherwise, Hu Tao might not go so easy on him the next time around.