Chapter 261: Generous Trial Completed Back-to-Back, High-Level Talent! (6000)

Yaskin's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

Then, he shook his head and said, "Reporting to the Lord, I haven't heard of this."

Cao Xing nodded slightly, though he didn't hold too high expectations either.

The hint on this puppet only said that clues could be found in the village.

However, the search range was simply too large.

"Let's go, let's continue walking around the village."

With that, Cao Xing took Liu Muxue, Assam, Renice, and Yaskin to stroll around the village together.

Soon, they passed through the street at the village entrance and came inside Anuo River Village.

Much like what they saw outside, every household here had some decorations hanging at their doorways, and wisps of smoke rose from chimneys, full of the atmosphere of life.

The ground in Hoge Village was quite slippery, or rather, muddy.

Every step made a squelching sound of water.

There was no help for this either.

After all, unlike Cao Xing's territory, which was entirely paved with a layer of bluestone floor that was both dirt-resistant and aesthetically pleasing.

The streets of Anuo River Village were just ordinary dirt paths, and after it snowed, stepping on them made it even muddier.

Not long after they moved forward,

Cao Xing suddenly noticed a ragged old woman cowering in the corner of a nearby house.

She seemed to have been squatting here for a long time, and her body was trembling slightly.

Noticing Cao Xing's gaze,

Yaskin explained from the side, "Lord, these are some beggars."

"They usually come from other places, either because their villages suffered drastic changes or because something happened at home, making it impossible to survive."

"So they can only go to other villages and beg along the streets."

Cao Xing nodded slightly.

He originally intended to ignore it.

But he suddenly thought of his [Generous Trial] quest, which required helping people who genuinely needed help.

So, he stepped forward and asked, "Elder, do you need any help?"

The old person slowly raised her head, revealing a wrinkled face.

"This… kind young person… can you give me something to eat…"

"I haven't eaten for a long time…"

Cao Xing pondered for a moment, and directly took out a few pieces of white bread and drinking water from his backpack, placing them in front of her.

"Elder, please go ahead."

Looking at the bread in her hands, the old woman instantly looked like a starved beast seeing raw meat, a terrifying brilliant light flashing in her eyes!

However, she didn't eat it immediately; instead, she bowed and solemnly thanked Cao Xing.

"Thank you… kind young person… May you have a good dream…"

Just as Cao Xing wanted to say you're welcome, a system prompt appeared.

[Attention Survivor! Because you have helped someone who genuinely needed help, the Generous Trial quest has been completed.]

[Knight's Five Virtues Trial: Generous Trial progress has been updated.]

[Current progress: 2/5]

…

Cao Xing was stunned, "Uh, it's that simple?"

"You only need to give some food and water to complete a quest?"

The next moment, surprise appeared in his eyes!

Cao Xing quickly glanced down the street and found that there were quite a few other beggars just like this old woman.

"Great, great, great! In this way, wouldn't I be able to easily complete this trial?"

However, when he used the same method to find the second beggar and delivered food and drinking water,

the system prompt did not appear again.

Cao Xing frowned, and when he found a third beggar to give food and water to, the quest still wasn't completed.

Not only that.

The other beggars in the village also stared at Cao Xing with greedy gazes, as if they were about to rush over in the next second.

However, when they noticed the tall Assam and Renice carrying a longbow next to him,

these beggars ultimately didn't come over, fearing the terrifying aura faintly emanating from the two of them.

At this moment, Cao Xing pondered for a moment, "Can quests of the same type only be completed once?"

"In other words, helping these beggars again is no longer effective."

He shook his head.

"It seems I can only look for clues in other aspects."

Thus, he began to continue wandering around the village.

After advancing for about a few hundred meters, the group came to a lively area where someone seemed to be performing acrobatics ahead.

One person was holding a bamboo pole, while another person was doing all sorts of high-difficulty movements at the top of the pole.

"Good!"

"So brilliant!"

Cheers erupted all around.

Just as he was also planning to go over and join the fun, he suddenly felt a hand touch his waist.

It seemed someone wanted to steal his backpack.

As a Tier 4 Frost Mage, Cao Xing's reaction speed was extremely fast.

He quickly turned around and grabbed casually!

A young, dirty little boy was lifted into his hands.

"Let… let go of me… you bastard!"

With his collar grabbed by Cao Xing, the little fellow thrashed his limbs wildly in mid-air, seemingly still wanting to struggle.

The villagers nearby also saw the commotion here and cast their gazes over.

However, when they saw the little fellow grabbed in Cao Xing's hands, not only was there no sympathy in their eyes,

instead, one by one, they clapped and cheered.

"Haha, Safite this brat wants to pull this trick again, caught red-handed this time, huh!"

"That's right, this stinky brat does this every day, not even sparing people in the village, truly utterly devoid of conscience!"

"Fellow villagers, come look, Safite has been caught by this lord!"

Listening to everyone's discussion, Cao Xing understood something.

It seemed this little boy who wanted to steal his backpack often pulled such stunts and was already notorious.

Pinched by the neck by Cao Xing, he still maintained an arrogant expression, "Let go of me! You bastard!"

"I am a member of the Ice Toad Gang! If you don't let me go, I'll have Boss Vela come over and teach you a lesson!"

"He'll beat you until your teeth are scattered all over the ground!"

Yet Cao Xing looked at this little fellow with amused interest, then turned to ask the other villagers, "Is this little fellow usually this arrogant?"

Hearing this, the villagers expressed righteous indignation, "Lord, Safite isn't just arrogant, he commits all sorts of crimes!"

"Many of the elders and folks in Anuo River Village have been tormented by him!"

"That's right, this kid is simply too bad!"

Amidst everyone's discussions, one evil deed after another committed by this kid was exposed.

This child named Safite was a habitual offender.

Aside from robbing backpacks of passing pedestrians, he also stole chickens and dogs in the village, and even snatched clothes right off the backs of those beggars.

In this bitter cold world, having one's clothes snatched meant self-evident consequences; he had also indirectly caused the deaths of several elderly people.

Not only that, he also peeked at young wives taking baths in the middle of the night, and crawled under widows' beds at night to scare people.

You could say he was rotten to the core since childhood!

Facing everyone's accusations, not only did he feel no remorse, but he also justified himself righteously there.

"So what if I rob you guys? What can you possibly do to me?"

"And you, hurry up and let me go, otherwise our boss won't let you off!"

He began to struggle continuously, but because Cao Xing's strength was too great, he simply couldn't break free.

The kid opened his mouth, seeming to want to bite down hard on Cao Xing's arm.

But who was Cao Xing?

He didn't pamper such an unruly brat at all, directly delivering a heavy slap across his face.

"Slap!!!"

After a crisp sound, it echoed more than a dozen meters away.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Then, a wave of cheers immediately erupted.

"Good! Well hit!"

"Haha, this kid deserved a severe lesson!"

The watching villagers felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

At this moment, this little wild-wolf-like boy's left cheek instantly swelled up.

Cao Xing was a Tier 4 Frost Mage after all, and his strength numbered in the hundreds.

Without using magic, he could easily trounce the villagers of the entire village barehanded.

That slap of his was actually a light one; if he used his full strength, he could have directly blown his head off!

After taking a slap, the little boy reacted after his initial daze.

He said viciously, "Bastard! You dare hit me!"

"I'm telling you, you're done for!"

"Our Ice Toad Gang won't let you off, all of you will be carried out of Anuo River Village horizontally!"

Hearing this, a smile curved up the corners of Cao Xing's mouth again.

"Slap!"

Another slap went across.

This time, the unruly brat's other cheek swelled up too.

Yet he remained defiant, spitting out foul language from his mouth.

Cao Xing remained unmoved; for every curse he uttered, he gave him a slap.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Crisp slapping sounds rang out one after another.

Moreover, the force grew heavier and heavier, directly landing blows that swelled both of the unruly brat's cheeks.

The unruly brat finally fell silent.

He realized that he seemed to have provoked a ruthless person.

Yet this kid still seemed unconvinced, his eyes still carrying the look of a ferocious wolf.

Sensing his gaze, Cao Xing casually tossed him onto the ground.

After landing, the kid darted up like an eel, about to flee immediately.

Liu Muxue lunged forward, then followed up with [Shield Bash], violently slamming into his body.

The immense force carried by the shield made him feel as if he had been struck by a massive mountain!

Even several of his bones were fractured!

He was directly sent flying heavily more than ten meters away with a heavy impact.

"Thud!"

The unruly brat fell heavily to the ground, wailing continuously in pain and screaming miserably.

Seeing this scene, the audience burst into cheers once more.

"Good!"

"This female knight's skills are truly magnificent!"

This goes to show how deeply hated this kid was in daily life.

After sending the guy flying, Liu Muxue stuck out her tongue sheepishly.

"Sorry… I think I hit a bit too hard…"

Cao Xing chuckled and said, "It's fine, Muxue, this kid won't die."

Hearing this, Liu Muxue felt relieved as well.

Dealing with unruly brats was something everyone could partake in.

Cao Xing slowly walked up to him, a subtle smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

And as he walked, an extremely terrifying aura erupted from his body!

This aura already surpassed the most ferocious monsters and knights the unruly brat had ever seen!

It felt as though Cao Xing only needed to flick a finger to easily crush him to death!

Cao Xing's gloomy voice rang out.

"I'll give you a chance: go call all the members of your Ice Toad Gang over, and I can deal with all of you together."

Meanwhile, Safite right before him was scared limp and collapsed onto the ground on the spot.

Only now did he clearly realize just how terrifying this person was!

Even if everyone in their so-called Ice Toad Gang were added together, they would be easily torn to shreds by this person!

He was completely too terrified to make a sound, and even the pain on his body was suppressed.

At this moment, a group of militiamen pushed aside the onlookers and walked over.

The one leading them was none other than the militia captain who had received Cao Xing at the village entrance earlier.

He looked at Safite on the ground, then at Cao Xing, and instantly understood something.

The militia captain respectfully came to Cao Xing's side and then said, "My Lord, I am very sorry to have disturbed you."

"That brat Safite doesn't know what's good for him and actually dared to offend you. According to the village rules, we will arrest him on charges of theft and robbery, and then lock him in the dungeon for six months to discipline him properly!"

He heavily emphasized the last four words "discipline him properly".

After finishing, he sought Cao Xing's opinion.

"My Lord, what do you think of this?"

A look of horror instantly appeared in the eyes of Safite on the ground, "You can't take me away, I am a member of the Ice Toad Gang!"

Hearing this, those militiamen said, "So what if you're from the Ice Toad Gang? When you come to our Annuo River Village, you must obey our rules!"

"We didn't catch you earlier because you ran too fast. Now that you've been caught red-handed by this lord, no one can save you this time!"

After hearing this, Safite on the ground also realized that he was truly done for today.

He immediately knelt on the ground before Cao Xing and began to beg for mercy.

"My Lord! I was wrong, please forgive me and don't let these militiamen take me away!"

"My Lord, please spare me!"

At this moment, everyone present looked at Cao Xing, seemingly seeking his opinion.

Just as mentioned before, this was a world where strength was supreme.

And although Cao Xing hadn't displayed his strength, these militiamen knew that he was the lord of Yaskin.

Furthermore, Yaskin's strength was far greater than these militiamen.

And Cao Xing smiled and said, "Alright, you guys take him away and discipline him properly."

"No!!!"

Safite on the ground instantly despaired.

Without waiting for him to say more, the group of militiamen walked over and hauled him up.

After bidding farewell to Cao Xing, Safite was dragged away by the crowd.

Seeing this scene, the surrounding villagers felt even more gratified.

A scourge had finally been dealt with.

At this time, a system prompt appeared.

[Attention, Survivor! You have helped someone who genuinely needed help and completed a trial.]

[Five Virtues of Knighthood Trial: Generosity Trial progress has been updated.]

[Current progress: 3/5]

…

Cao Xing was stunned for a moment, and then a look of wild joy appeared on his face.

"Haha, so beating people up works too? That makes things much simpler!"

Sorting out this brat was just because he was blind enough to come and steal his backpack.

He didn't expect there to be an unexpected pleasant surprise as a result.

Now, only the last 2 of the [Generosity Trial] remained uncompleted.

The goal was right in front of him!

Cao Xing couldn't help but become somewhat excited, and even his footsteps subconsciously sped up.

While walking, Cao Xing swung his palms, practicing his face-slapping technique.

To see if any fellow would walk right into the firing line.

However, walking all the way, there wasn't a single fellow as blind as that little boy.

Just at this time, they walked to another street where there were many small vendors and shops on both sides.

The street was very lively, with people coming and going just as well.

Cao Xing had just walked in front of a grocery store.

Suddenly, he saw two tall figures carrying a disheveled young man and walking out from inside the grocery store.

After reaching the front door, they directly threw this young man out.

With a thud, the young man was slammed onto the ground.

At this time, several ink paintings were also thrown out along with him.

A middle-aged man with a black mole on his mouth walked out cursing.

"Bastard, you dare to bring this kind of painting over to mock me? I'd consider it bad luck just having it in my shop, and you still want to ask me for money!"

"Get lost, get lost! If you dare to come again, I'll break your legs!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing glanced at those paintings on the ground.

He instantly understood the reason why this middle-aged man was cursing.

The technique on the paintings looked very seasoned.

However, the content was extremely bizarre.

On them were monsters with ugly appearances and abnormally twisted limbs.

Some were women covered in eyes all over their bodies holding a dead infant.

Another painting was a deformed monster with a swollen head that occupied half of its body.

There were also infants crawling on the ground, dragging a pile of human heads behind them…

Coupled with his black ink painting style, it made one's spine chill even more!

Cao Xing was surprised and said, "Good fellow! Taking paintings like this into someone else's shop, no wonder others kicked him out."

At this time, after being driven out, this unkempt young man didn't say much else.

He patted the dirt off his body, silently picked up the paintings on the ground, and prepared to leave.

Watching his desolate back,

Cao Xing glanced at his attributes.

[Wandering Painter: Edward Degas]

[Level: Level 7 (Tier 1 Ordinary Creature)]

[Health Points: 560/560]

[Attack Power: 32~37]

[Life Skill: Advanced Painting Mastery, Primary Cooking Mastery]

[Talent: None]

[Status: Insane, Cold, Starving]

…

"Oh? He's actually a talent with [Advanced Painting Mastery]?"

By now, Cao Xing already knew.

In this world, any life skill was divided into: Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Advanced was already a level difficult for ordinary people to reach; it required a massive amount of practice and day-in, day-out effort to achieve.

Going further up were Expert and Master.

And existences of this level had taken a certain field to the extreme, were renowned figures, and received widespread attention wherever they went.

Therefore, someone with an advanced life skill was already a rare talent.

Thus, Cao Xing called out to this young man.

"Wait a moment."

Hearing the voice, the gloomy-looking young man in front of him slowly turned around and looked at Cao Xing in confusion.

"Is there something…?"

Cao Xing directly asked, "How much are these paintings of yours?"

"You want to… buy my paintings?"

His eyes carried a look of doubt.

Cao Xing nodded, "That's right, name your price."

The young man carefully scrutinized Cao Xing, seeming to confirm whether he was making fun of him.

Pondering for a moment, he then said, "If you really want to buy my paintings, 15 crowns per painting…"

Cao Xing thought for a moment.

This price could only be described as very cheap.

After all, a piece of black bread cost 1 crown, and a piece of white bread cost 3 crowns.

From some details on the paintings, it could be seen that every single piece had taken a massive amount of time.

In other words, a single painting barely covered his meal money for the day.

Cao Xing looked at the large handful of paintings in his hand and said, "300 crowns, give all these paintings to me."

Hearing this number, the young man wore an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

He said in shock and uncertainty,

"Are you sure… you're willing to spend so many crowns to buy my paintings?"

Cao Xing nodded.

Yet the young man was still incomparably surprised; he even wondered if Cao Xing's brain had been fried.

At this time, Cao Xing's next sentence made him fall silent.

"Others might not know, but I can tell that although the content on these portraits is terrifying…"

"…every single stroke and detail is filled with precision and the painter's painstaking effort."

"I believe that someone who can draw works like this must possess superb painting skills and talent."

Hearing these words, the strangeness in the young man's eyes vanished, gradually replaced by a flash of brilliance.

That was the uncontrollable excitement when someone who had been treated as a mentally ill person all year round suddenly met someone who could understand them!

He immediately said with excitement, "You're right! I used to be a famous painter, and I've painted portraits for many nobles!"

"I just had a little problem recently, my painting skills are very good!"

"I also…"

Saying this, he seemed to recall something, and immediately said dejectedly, "Forget it, that's all in the past…"

"Now no one is willing to believe that a mentally ill person can paint for nobles…"

But Cao Xing said, "It doesn't matter, I believe you."

After speaking, he took out 300 crowns from his backpack and then said, "Now, take this money and sell your paintings to me."

The young man looked at that pile of crowns, and a hesitant look appeared in his eyes once more.

Hesitating for a moment, he finally handed the paintings in his hand to Cao Xing and took the crowns.

[Transaction successful, you lost [Coins] * 300, you obtained [Eerie Painting] * 12…]

…

Looking at the coins in his hand, the young man solemnly bowed to Cao Xing!

"Thank you… Thank you, esteemed lord…"

In his eyes, there seemed to be a suppressed excitement for a long time.

Money wasn't the most important thing; the most important thing was that he had finally met someone who could understand and recognize him!

In front of Cao Xing, a system prompt also appeared.

[Attention, Survivor! You have helped someone who genuinely needed help and completed a trial.]

[Five Virtues of Knighthood Trial: Generosity Trial progress has been updated.]

[Current progress: 4/5]

…

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Sure enough, just as he expected, another piece of the Generosity Trial was completed.

Now, he just needed to help the last person who genuinely needed help, and it would be completely finished!

However, before that, Cao Xing also wanted to recruit the young man before him into his territory.

After all, a talent with an advanced life skill was still quite rare.

He asked directly, "I wonder if you have any interest in joining my territory?"

"Territory… Are you a lord?" the young man asked in confusion.

Cao Xing slightly nodded, "That's right. You possess superb painting talent, and this talent shouldn't be buried."

…