Chapter 30 – Cop Called on Florida Man for Practicing Long Throw Using Cat
The next day, Leo got up at 5 AM. After getting his coriander coffee and doing his morning routine, Leo resumed working on his farm project. He pulled more trees and debarked them, collecting the metal catalyst and nuts.
As Leo expanded the area, he came across more bushes, dead plants, and mutated grasses. As usual, Leo collected everything that he could mutate. He even got two more thorn whips to play.
Looking at the thorn whips, Leo wondered if they could sell. Unfortunately, Wu Buyi was not here to give him advice. Since he couldn't come up with the right price, he brought it to the cauldron to try researching it. He tossed one of the thorn whips into the pot.
DING
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[Metal Thorn Whip]
Extracted from a dead iron thorn bush. It can be refined into Firmament Thorn Whip.
[Alchemy Recipe – Firmament Thorn Whip]
One Metal Thorn Whip
One Metal Element Catalyst
One Wood Element Catalyst
Metal Essence
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Leo was surprised that the workshop could refine a weapon. He collected the thorn vines and hid them in the workshop's storehouse for the time being.
'Weapons are no good. It can fetch a lot of money or lifespan, but it's too dangerous. I played around with it, and it can easily destroy mutated trees. If it hits people, it's instant death.'
Despite the mental note, Leo put all the ingredients in the pot and refined it anyway.
DING
<Refining Firmament Thorn Whip…>
<Time Remaining: 59 Minutes, 59 Seconds…>
It didn't take long to completely refine a weapon, which surprised Leo.
'Oh, this is nice. I have another one extra. I'll refine this one, too.'
He resumed working on clearing the land while he watched over the timer.
Two hours later, Leo finished refining two whips. He wielded the two weapons and played with them for a while. However, he encountered an issue.
'Speaking of weapons, what's the point of having a weapon that can't even cut the trees in half when my bare hands can do so? If I need to fight, I can just punch my enemy in the face, no? Why the complications?'
Not satisfied with the whip's firepower, he tossed it to the side, planning to get rid of them later.
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"Meow?"
While Leo was busy with the alchemy workshop, Cat had been watching him from the store's rooftop. It noticed the pair of thorn whips.
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[Low-Graded Firmament Thorn Whip]
This low-graded artifact is made from Metal Thorn Whip. Applying metal or wood element Qi into it can boost its destructive power, capable of breaking any nascent soul cultivator's protective barrier.
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Although Cat couldn't see the item's status or detail, it sensed that the thorns were similar to its branches and vines.
"Meow-Meow?"
Noticing that Leo seemed uninterested in the whips, Cat secretly grabbed them and ran deeper into the forest. It giggled and tried to mimic Leo's action by cracking the whips.
BOOM
BOOM
A hundred regular pine trees in front of Cat exploded upon impact, sending dust and small tree pieces everywhere in the air.
Cat widened its eyes and brightly smiled, having fun with them.
"Meow!"
BOOM
BOOM
It destroyed more trees, causing several local beasts to panic.
As soon as Cat noticed movements, it salivated. With its chubby roots, it sprinted like a spider charging at its prey.
"Nom-Nom Meow!"
It caught five rabbits and a weird-looking pheasant. As they were small, Cat ate them raw. After finishing its meal, it looked at the toys.
"Meow <3"
It loved them so much. It started thinking, wondering if it could use its branches and vines like the whips.
As soon as Cat thought about using its arms like whips, the two whip artifacts resonated with Cat's wood Qi.
The whips merged with its branches.
"MEOW?!"
Cat was shocked. However, it was also delighted. Cat cracked the newly merged arms around, getting used to the new sensation. It could feel the energy in the metal whips as if it was part of its branches.
"Meow <3"
It coiled the whip around its small trunk, protecting the most delicate part of its body. Then, it uncoiled the trunk, trying to get used to the movements and commands.
Starting to have fun, Cat returned to the shop's rooftop, leaving the carnage behind it. Without Leo noticing, it practiced moving the whips around without causing any damage to the store.
However, while practicing, Cat noticed a group of incoming visitors, who were traveling toward Leo's store. There were 11 humans. 10 were 2nd-stage cultivators while the middle-aged man was a 4th-stage, aka the golden core stage.
Confident in its abilities and the whips, Cat decided to approach them.
"Nom-Nom Meow?"
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At noon, Leo took a short break after he finished making the second batch of grain pills of the day.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"MONSTER!"
Someone made a loud noise in front of the store. Leo stopped what he was doing and listened to the voices. He then heard the noises of people and Cat's meowing.
In the front yard, a sect's deacon and 10 outer disciples in white robes stood before the chomper plant, which was smiling at the crowd. The disciples pulled their weapons out, but the deacon stood in front of everybody, crossing his arms.
Meanwhile, Cat was as naughty as usual. Upon seeing a weak crowd, it extorted them for a toll fee by opening its mouth, asking to be fed.
"Nom-Nom Meow?"
"S-Senior. What is it saying?" Asked the disciple behind the deacon.
"I don't know. Ask the store owner."
"Nom-Nom Meow? Nom-Nom?"
"I-It points at its mouth. Maybe, it wants us to feed it? Senior, should we feed it?"
"I don't know. The last time I came here, Grand Elder Han gave it a precious carcass of a monster beast. I don't have a monster beast's corpse in my spatial ring."
"No-Nom, Meow?!"
"S-Senior. It looks angry."
"… It probably asks us if we have any food for it. I don't think we can feed it."
"NOM-NOM MEOW!?"
"S-Senior. I think it's angry."
"… I think it wants to eat us now."
"NO-NOM?! NOM-NOM MEOW?!"
"PREPARE TO FIGHT!"
Leo heard enough. He walked out of the shade and approached the visitors in front of the store.
A deacon, who visited Leo yesterday, seemed to have escorted a group of 10 disciples here. They were gawking at Cat in the front yard. As for Cat, it widely smiled at the guests while it salivated.
No matter how Leo looked at Cat, it was about to attack the group to eat them.
"Cat," Leo lightly poked the back of its head. However, for Cat, it was a smack to the back of the head.
"Meow?!"
Cat was stunned for a moment. However, when it realized that Leo hit it, Cat turned around and brightly smiled. Catching Leo off guard, it licked his face, spreading its bad breath and changing his scent.
Leo stood there, giving Cat a blank look. He got used to it.
After Cat had enough licking, Leo picked up a wet towel in a water bucket near the BBQ set and wiped his face. Then, he tossed the contaminated towel into the water bucket.
Seeing the contaminated water, Cat rushed toward the water bucket and slurped the content. It even sucked the towel's juice in glee.
Leo gently lifted the chomper plant and gently yeeted it toward the backyard, throwing the massive monster plant like it was a javelin.
"MYAAA!!"
Everybody could hear the plant's scream and a loud thud, which came from the back of the workshop.
After getting rid of the troublemaker, Leo greeted the visitors.
"Hello."
The ten outer disciples of the Life Sword Sect gazed at Leo in astonishment. When the deacon coughed, everybody bowed 90 degrees toward Leo.
"GREETINGS, SENIOR!"
"JUNIOR GREETS SENIOR!"
The deacon embarrassingly coughed. He cupped his fist and stated his purpose, "As promised, I've brought you more customers. Could you sell grain pills to these disciples?"
Leo brightly smiled. He opened the door and allowed them to go inside.
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Ten minutes later, the first group of disciples each purchased two grain pills of their choice. Most of them picked the metal element grain pills as they synergized with their sword techniques. Only a couple of weirdoes picked earth pills.
After the transaction, Leo got a total of 180 years of lifespan as profit. The deacon got to live 20 years longer as he got his commission. Everybody bid farewell to Leo and left.
After the first group had left, the next group of disciples and a deacon arrived. They didn't interact with Cat this time.
The deacon was also a follower of Han Hao that had visited the store yesterday. Like the previous guy, he brought the disciples under his care here.
"Senior Florida Man, I've guided these talented disciples here to purchase your pills. Could you sell them to us?"
Leo shrugged and repeated the process. The disciples entered the store and admired the rare herbs and fruits in the showcases. However, each disciple only bought two metal element pills.
After the second group, the third, fourth, and fifth came in order. The deacons kept bringing a new team here.
Unfortunately, only seven groups of disciples visited the store. Leo managed to sell 140 pills, earning him 1,260 years of lifespan!
The hectic hour was over. Leo got room to breathe and restock the grain pills.
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While Leo attended the guests and disciples, an inner disciple and 20 black-robed men watched them from afar. They stood on top of regular pine trees, observing Leo's actions.
They were Ouyang Ting and the Hound Squad of the Ouyang Clan.
