“What’s your keyword?” Du Ge asked again.

“Wenhua.” Feng Jiu replied without hesitation, then countered, “What about you?”

“Management.” Du Ge glanced at him, unconcerned with Feng Jiu’s attempt to flip their master-servant dynamic, and revealed his own keyword. Cooperation is predicated on sincerity; only with sincerity can one earn genuine trust.

“Impossible, how could ‘management’ possibly destroy my writing? How could it steal someone else’s spiritual power?” Feng Jiu frowned, “Wang Chong, cooperation is based on honesty. It’s pointless if you play games like this.”

“Old Feng, you seem to have forgotten that there’s also cooperation within a master-servant relationship,” Du Ge said with a smile. “Besides, I think you misunderstand ‘management.’ Higher-level trade and management inherently mean disrupting the existing order, shaking the stability of society. If it can disrupt a stable social order, then destabilizing the structure of your writing is only natural.”

“What’s your skill?” Feng Jiu asked.

“Fair’s fair, you tell one, I tell one,” Du Ge said. “You’re at a disadvantage, so you go first.”

“Flowers Bloom at the Tip of the Pen.” Feng Jiu said, “Anything I write, poems or essays, is considered excellent by everyone.”

“Illegal Management.” Du Ge glanced at him and said, “My illicit business activities can disrupt social stability.”

“…” Feng Jiu frowned, “Is this your idea of being honest?”

“You trust me, but not the other way around?” Du Ge laughed, “Old Feng, you probably don’t know that I’ve issued stocks in this world, self-issued and self-regulated, and have already shattered the existing social order.”

He looked at Feng Jiu and volunteered, “My second skill is Coercive Trade. Anything I set my eyes on can be forcibly traded. When I took your arms and harvested your organs, that was the effect of my second skill.”

“You didn’t trade, you just took the arms!” Feng Jiu said.

“Ever heard of zero-cost purchase?” Du Ge surveyed his body with pride, “When I buy things, I generally don’t need the other party’s consent.”

“…” Feng Jiu suddenly fell silent. After a long while, he said, “My second skill is One Word Shapes the Universe. A single word I write has a certain chance of triggering a special effect.”

The first skill was for fame and boosting attributes; the second for offense and defense; the two skills were a dream combo.

Especially the second skill, it was incredibly powerful.

Du Ge looked at Feng Jiu: “Can others use the words you write?”

Feng Jiu shook his head: “Only I can use them. You had people take away those solidified bricks because the effect of the words is still active, and it’s still me who endows those bricks with attributes.”

“So, I can’t use those so-called ‘control’ and ‘forbid’ words you wrote,” Du Ge asked.

“Wang Chong, there’s no need for me to deceive you,” Feng Jiu chuckled, “After all, it’s easy to verify, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.” Du Ge gestured, took Feng Jiu’s right hand, and attached it back on neatly. He then reached out and grabbed the writing brush and inkstone, smiling at Feng Jiu, “Come on, write a few words and let’s see.”

Feng Jiu moved his right hand and tentatively asked, “What about the other hand?”

“Isn’t the right hand enough for writing? You’re such a hassle.” Du Ge muttered, and then reattached his left hand as well.

After being dismembered for a day, Feng Jiu was whole again. He moved his limbs, feeling an inexplicable gratitude towards Du Ge, and a stroke of luck. He really did want to cooperate, right?

“Old Feng, I’ve shown my sincerity, now it’s your turn,” Du Ge said with a gentle smile, pointing to the paper and brush. A stream of spiritual power lifted the inkstick, helping Feng Jiu grind the ink.

“Can I put on some clothes?”

Feng Jiu looked down at his naked body and asked tentatively.

Having his limbs severed and lying down, he didn’t feel much, but now restored and sharing a room with Du Ge, a big man, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Old Feng, you’re asking too much! Who asks for such concessions?” Du Ge frowned, “In Medicine Immortal Valley, we’re all men; what’s the use of clothes? Even if there were women, clothes would be a hindrance. Writing with an uncluttered mind, free from constraints, allows your mind to calm down faster.”

Feng Jiu knew he hadn’t fully earned Du Ge’s trust yet. He sighed, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, “What should I write?”

Without a second thought, Du Ge said, “Firm, Agile, Water, Fire, Sharp, Keen… all the words that can enhance the human body or enchant weapons.”

His hand rested on Feng Jiu’s neck, “Old Feng, I’ve reattached your limbs and shown my sincerity. But you haven’t yet earned my trust. If I see anything wrong with your brushstrokes, if you write words like ‘Seal,’ ‘Forbid,’ ‘Trap’ that could harm me, your head will be mine.”

Benevolent Healer only increases others’ goodwill towards oneself, it doesn’t change their thoughts.

In theory, those who are friendly to you won’t harm you, but Du Ge is cautious; he would never leave his life in someone else’s hands.

“I’m doing this for your own good” can sometimes be harmful too.

Better safe than sorry.

Feng Jiu sighed helplessly and wrote the character “Firm” on the paper.

Then, he frowned, discarded the paper, took a fresh sheet, and continued to write “Firm,” explaining, “Words with special effects emit a golden glow when written. The success rate is very low, and the paper you’ve prepared is not enough. One Word Shapes the Universe, only when there’s a single character on the paper, will it have an effect.”

Hearing this, Du Ge waved his hand and cut the paper in front of him into four pieces, signaling him to continue.

Then he called in the disciples serving outside the cave and instructed them to bring all the paper from the Medicine Immortal Sect.

With his hand on his neck, Feng Jiu didn’t dare to act rashly. He earnestly wrote the word “Firm” until, after more than three hundred failed attempts, one “Firm” character finally burst into dazzling golden light on the paper, then quickly faded away.

Feng Jiu picked up the “Firm” character and breathed a sigh of relief, “Finally succeeded. The chance of writing a word with a special effect is very low. Previously, it took me over a thousand tries to complete one ‘Firm.’

The more powerful the ‘word,’ the lower the probability.

That ‘Dragon’ character, I wrote for three days and nights to succeed. If it weren’t for ‘Dragon,’ I could have written many more powerful characters, and wouldn’t have been so limited when you guys attacked.

I thought that ‘Dragon’ character was a trump card that would save my life, but you broke it so easily. You have no idea how desperate I felt…”

“Have you ever considered writing ‘God’ or ‘Immortal’?” Du Ge took the “Firm” character from his hand and tried to toss it onto the table in front. The paper floated gently down onto the table without triggering any effect.

“To write one ‘Dragon’ took me three days and nights. To write an ‘Immortal,’ who knows how many years it would take!” Feng Jiu said with a wry smile, “If my ranking were lower, maybe I’d spend years on a single sword, writing ‘Immortal’ to dominate the universe in one fell swoop.

But with a top ten ranking, I can’t take such a big risk on one word. And I don’t know what effect a completed ‘Immortal’ would have. If it turns out to be a trash ‘Immortal,’ months or years of effort could be wasted. Just like that dragon you easily killed…”

Du Ge picked up the “Firm” character again: “Can it be used on people?”

“I’ve experimented with a dog,” Feng Jiu said, “and then I easily killed it. It didn’t become very hard, but it kept barking furiously at me until it died, without blinking. I think if applied to a living creature, it should take on the effects of toughness or strength…”

“What about clothes?” Du Ge asked.

“Yes,” Feng Jiu understood Du Ge’s meaning and patiently explained, “but the clothes would become extremely hard, restricting movement like armor. After all, you can’t wrap yourself entirely in clothes and still need to move. Enchanting clothes with ‘Firm’ is not as good as ‘Shield,’ but ‘Shield’ can only be used by me, not you.”

Du Ge handed over his flying sword.

Feng Jiu took the “Firm” character from Du Ge’s hand and slapped it onto the sword, and a small ink-colored “Firm” appeared on the blade.

Du Ge controlled spiritual power to make two similar flying swords clash.

With a crisp clang, the flying sword inscribed with “Firm” remained unscathed, while the other sword’s blade chipped.

One Word Shapes the Universe.

It really was One Word Shapes the Universe. This luck and probability-based skill, if used well, could turn the tide even for those ranked lower, just like Feng Jiu’s Glutton…

Lucky I caught him early!

Those qualified for the Alien Star Battlefield are indeed different from the simple students in the Simulation Field.

Just one Feng Jiu was already so.

What about the others?

Du Ge felt a strong sense of crisis and asked, “Old Feng, can ‘Agile’ be used by others?”

Feng Jiu was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Yes.”

“Next, write ‘Agile,’” Du Ge smiled, his palm isolating spiritual power, and patted Feng Jiu’s shoulder, “Old Feng, if we cooperate, I’ll ensure you second place. We’ll sweep out anyone who doesn’t want to cooperate with us. Let the pan-universe see that cooperation is possible on the Alien Star Battlefield.”

Feng Jiu picked up the brush again and wrote silently, pondering how to escape. Du Ge had reattached his limbs and wanted to use his skills; he might not harm him, but that didn’t mean Feng Jiu was willing to be trapped here.

Fate still had to be in his own hands…

I need to take a trip, attending a three-day author training at Qidian. There won’t be any additional updates in the next few days, but I’ll write in the evenings to maintain a rhythm of two chapters a day, ^_^!