Chapter 9

Zhang Xuan stood in the apartment lobby, victorious over the silly young master. In one fell swoop, he had stolen his pride, and his money! The land lord looked at Zhang Xuan relieved, thankful that he would not be threatened any longer by the young master.

 

The young master had left the building, but the body guards that worked for him remained inside. Even the one who had suffered the slapping of the face! They approached Zhang Xuan, humbly bowing to him.

 

"Respected Senior, we were blind to even challenge you. Will you give us the chance to serve you?"

 

Zhang Xuan heaved a nonchalant sigh, rolling his eyes at the body guards.

 

"Why should I need any of you to serve me? Leave now, and never bother me again!"

 

Ignoring their pleas and haggling, Zhang Xuan turned away, walking back into his apartment with a dismissive wave of his hand.

 

But the body guards would not be stopped so easily. They continued to follow him closely, desperate for the chance to win over their new master's favour.

 

Zhang Xuan finally lost his patience and snapped at them, "I said leave me alone! Can't you idiots take a hint? I don't need any of you to serve me, so just go away and leave me in peace!"

 

The bodyguards hesitated for a moment before explaining sheepishly, "But it's our duty to serve and protect you, my lord. We can't just leave you alone without protection."

 

Zhang Xuan sighed in frustration. "Fine, if you're going to be so insistent about it, then I'll give you a chance. Come back in three days time and if I'm still alive and well, then you can serve me all you want. But if I'm dead or gone by then, that means I don't need your help and you can just return to whatever hole you crawled out from. Now get lost!"

 

The bodyguards hesitated for a moment before reluctantly leaving.

 

And with that, Zhang Xuan was finally left in peace.

 

He turned to the Land Lord, "Don't worry. You can keep the apartment, Just let me live here for free. I don't want it." The Landlord was touched immediately, this man had defended him and saved him from the cruel young master!

 

And now he had gotten him a free several millions of dollars!

 

"Thank you kind sir, I will use the money I have gotten to renevate the apartment!" Zhang Xuan nodded to him with a smile, before taking the key to the antique apartment he had stumbled upon.

 

"Is this what power feels like? I'm already so much stronger, my True Blade Emperor Cultivation is unlike anything on this earth!"

 

Zhang Xuan was shocked to find a fortunate encounter in the world before the apocalypse had even begun. His body was much stronger than he had believed it could become, and he had the powers of a cultivator so quickly!

 

A thought came to Zhang Xuan.

 

Could there be other cultivators in this world before the apocalypse? Was it possible they existed all this time, and he simply never knew?

 

The thought made Zhang Xuan shiver, he needed to get stronger constantly. In order to ensure nobody could catch him off guard.

 

"I musn't waste this second chance I have been gifted!"

 

He clenched his fists tightly, determination burning in his eyes. He knew that he had to walk a true path of cultivation, using every moment of every day to get stronger and stronger. The world of cultivation was always ruthless, you could lose your life at any moment.

 

With an unquenchable desire to grow coursing through him, Zhang Xuan set off towards his apartment room.

 

There, he would meditate and cultivate in absolute solitude and silence, focusing on harnessing the incredible powers within himself. He needed to understand the True Blade Emperor Cultivation even more, and just what was the real potential of the art he had learned.

 

As he walked up the stairs to his apartment room, Zhang Xuan was deeply immersed in his thoughts about the future and what he needed to do in order to thrive and become a strong cultivator.

 

But would that be enough?

 

No.

 

With all these sudden elevations in power, Zhang Xuan knew little of what he desired outside of survival.

 

He focused too deeply on this, accidentally bumping into the door of his apartment without taking out the key. He inserted the key into the slot, opening the door once again to the spiritual qi filled apartment.

 

"I can think about all of that later, for now. I need to cultivate!"

 

Besides the spiritual qi resonating within the room, another thick aroma began to fill the air around Zhang Xuan.

 

It was a mystical smell, an unknown smell that he soon began to slowly recognize.

 

It was the smell of a dirty room!

 

A magical urge filled Zhang Xuan deep inside his very soul, an urge that could not be quelled. He knew that he had to channel the power inside of him...

 

To clean this dirty ass apartment!!!

 

Frantically whipping out his cleaning cloth, Zhang Xuan began to run around the room, wiping and dashing into every single nook and cranny. There was not one spot that could be left uncleaned.

 

He did not know of what potential dangers lurked inside of the apartment. Mold or asbestos could easily best him in his sleep! He made sure to take care of every speck of dust that dared to stand in his way, polishing each and every surface until it gleamed like a diamond.

 

"This room is going to become a cultivation space, how can I cultivate with all this freaking dust!"

 

Zhang Xuan's mind was in a state of panic as he thought about the possible implications of leaving the room uncleaned. He knew that he had to clean it up as soon as possible, or else he would never be able to focus on his cultivation.

 

With gritted teeth, Zhang Xuan continued to work, starting with the windows. One by one, he removed each of the grimy curtains and began wiping away the dust and dirt that had accumulated on the windows over time.

 

As he worked his way across the room, he noticed patch after patch of dirty footprints on the floor, evidence of how many people had walked in and out over the years. The corners were also filled with cobwebs, which Zhang Xuan meticulously brushed away.

 

Grimacing at how filthy the entire apartment was, Zhang Xuan took out a bottle of cleaning solution from his storage ring and sprayed it all over the floors and walls. Within minutes, he could already see streaks of cleanliness shining through all the layers of grime that had built up over time.

 

Despite his best efforts though, there was still plenty of work left to be done. With a sigh, Zhang Xuan got down on his hands and knees and started scrubbing at all of the dirty patches that remained on the floor. As sweat dripped down his brow and mixture splashed onto his face in response to his vigorous scrubbing efforts, he continued to tirelessly chip away at all traces of dust and dirt.

 

"Oh god it's so nasty!!!"

 

No matter how high ones cultivation was, it could not protect them from the Dao of the Dirt!

 

With each passing minute, the spiritual qi inside his body grew thicker and more potent as well. It felt like he was one with the room itself, his heart resonating in perfect harmony with the mystical energy that filled the air.

 

"What is this feeling, am I absorbing the spiritual qi through cleaning!?" Zhang Xuan proclaimed, feeling his meridians charge themselves with energy.

 

As he cleaned, Zhang Xuan felt a deep sense of satisfaction building up within him. He could feel himself growing steadily stronger as he cleared away all traces of filth from this sacred space.

 

It was as if he was on the verge of a breakthrough.