In the Douluo Continent, there was a small town just a few dozen miles away from Shrek City.
Chen Ping carried a pile of books in the bamboo basket on his back. Two long flags were inserted on either side of the basket, bearing eye-catching advertising slogans.
"For Sale: An integrated information package of the soul skills of top Shrek students across generations. Training plans to help your child win at the starting line."
"For Sale: Soul Master Career Plans, Undiluted Soul Skill Matching, College Admission Resumes. 100% positive reviews since launch. Consulting fees start at one gold coin."
Removing the kettle from his waist, Chen Ping found a shady corner, sat down without caring about appearances, took a few big gulps, and wiped his sweat-covered face with the towel around his neck.
"Oh, I never thought that I, a promising young man of the new era, would fall to the point of selling courses and anxiety for a living," he muttered.
Chen Ping panted heavily, took off his backpack, set it aside, and leaned against a large tree to rest.
In his mind, a weak female voice hesitantly spoke:
"But, Boss... didn't you do this even before you came here?"
Chen Ping's face froze. He replied in his heart,
"Waste system, don't interrupt so casually. If you were even slightly more useful, I wouldn't be out here selling courses."
"You're a system that can't even add stat points. Don't you feel ashamed?"
"Oh..."
An aggrieved voice echoed in Chen Ping's spiritual sea. Then the system quickly tried to sell itself again.
"Boss, need a striptease? I can cosplay like the musical notes—you can choose whatever outfit you like!"
"Besides, only you can see me, so it's totally fine if I wear something really revealing. Isn't that exciting to think about?"
Chen Ping rolled his eyes silently.
"But my current physical age is only eleven."
"Even though kids here in the Douluo Continent are tall and mature early, only a few gifted individuals like Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun are already playboys before turning twelve."
"So, sorry, but I can still resist temptation—for now."
The voice in his mind went silent, clearly deflated.
Suddenly, she warned,
"Boss, look out—someone's coming, and there's quite a few of them!"
Chen Ping froze, quickly tossed the water bag into his basket, and tried to sling it onto his back to flee.
"Hey, kid! Where do you think you're going?"
Before Chen Ping could escape, he found himself surrounded by a group of muscular laborers, all wearing identical shorts.
Startled, he clasped his fists and bowed respectfully:
"Apologies, heroes. I'm just trying to make a living. I was resting in this cool spot. I'll leave now."
It wasn't that Chen Ping was a coward—it was just smart to keep his head down.
Although he was technically a Soul Master, he had only just reached level ten. His physical strength wasn't much better than an average person's. Picking a fight with a bunch of hardworking laborers wasn't a wise move.
Besides, laborers who did physical work in this city were essentially one of its many local gangs.
Cool and breezy resting spots in the city basically belonged to these local snakes. Chen Ping had used one without asking permission. If things escalated, he might really be in the wrong.
After all, he was neither a local nor a proper outsider—just part of the lower nine classes, a street beggar like the rest. He had no business occupying someone else's territory.
Of course, what really convinced him to back down was the leader's arms—each one thicker than Chen Ping's legs. His biceps looked like iron blocks. Chen Ping didn't want to find out if those elbows could crush skulls.
And the aura of soul power radiating from the leader? That was scary. At least level 30.
In this situation, politeness was his best bet.
"Xiao Chen, you've studied. Come check if this guy's the scammer selling education plans."
Ignoring Chen Ping's respectful tone, the leader called over a teenage boy, around 17 or 18, and pointed to Chen Ping's bamboo basket.
The boy glanced at the basket, then nervously pointed,
"Shrek Planning... 100% positive reviews... Consulting fee one gold. Uncle, it's him! He's the scammer!"
At that moment, Chen Ping started to panic.
Oh no. It was the angry parents.
In his mind, he quickly reviewed the recent customers and wondered which project had gone wrong.
"System, the damage calculation formula you gave me—is it really accurate?"
He looked at the group of burly men and swallowed hard.
Thanks to the system's claims, all his earnings had gone into buying medicinal herbs. He had no money to offer refunds. If he couldn't talk his way out of this, he'd be in serious trouble.
"It's right... right?"
The system sounded nervous too, its voice lacking confidence.
"What do you mean, 'right'?"
"When I asked what you were good for, you swore that even if you couldn't provide resources directly, your data and analysis would always be accurate!"
Chen Ping was nearly hysterical.
It had already been bad enough getting hit by a giant truck with four wheels in front and eight in back.
If he got beaten to death by angry parents now, that would really be the end.
"I-I-I didn't study advanced math... You came up with the formula yourself, right?"
"I just plugged in some numbers. It seemed to work... It should be fine."
The system responded tearfully and displayed a bunch of formulas.
Soul Master Damage Panel = Basic Soul Skill Damage * [1 + Soul Skill Attribute Reference Value * (Soul Master's Strength Correction + Martial Soul Quality Correction)] * ∏(1 + % Amplification) + ∑(Fixed Value Amplification)
Final Damage = (Damage Panel * Action Skill Correction + Fixed Panel) * Bonus Damage
One by one, the variables filled in. The results matched what Chen Ping had personally tested.
"Wait a minute..."
As the angry laborers closed in, Chen Ping suddenly realized something.
Those weird, formula-heavy calculations? Most customers and parents couldn't even understand them.
He had never actually sold any soul ring matching packages with undiluted damage data!
He'd been cautious about those.
So he was 100% sure of all the other packages he'd sold.
"You're the guy who convinced my son to give up control-type Blue Silver Grass and switch to an auxiliary soul master?"
Suddenly, the burly middle-aged man stepped forward, glaring, his voice low and threatening.
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(End of Chapter)