The Buttock's Bounty

"You little punk, are you trying to infuriate me to death?" Roland roared, furiously chugging rum straight from the jug. In the blink of an eye, the massive jar of rum was empty.

Damn it, how could such a foolish descendant spring from a lifelong hero like his friend?

Truth be told, Roland was simply loitering on the docks today, passing the time by bantering with sailors as usual. But when a burly, seasick man was suddenly carried off a ship, Roland's discerning eye immediately recognized the unique racial traits of the seasick giant. That's why he brought Aliza back for closer inspection, never imagining the lad would turn out to be such an idiot!

Du Chen meticulously re-evaluated the entire situation, concluding that Roland likely harbored no ulterior motives. After all, both he and Aliza were penniless nobodies, possessing nothing that would warrant such elaborate schemes or malicious intent from a powerful individual.

Pondering this, Du Chen smiled, "Sir Roland, there's no need to rush. The Holy Church's scriptures forbid slaves from cultivating battle qi, a decree none of us can defy. However, as Aliza's master, I can grant him his freedom and allow him to become my warrior attendant. In truth, Aliza has always served me in such a capacity."

Roland glared at Du Chen, then bellowed, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up!"

"Alright, I shall grant him his freedom now!" Du Chen, following noble etiquette, had just placed his hand on Aliza's shoulder when, unexpectedly, Aliza panicked, collapsing onto the ground in a flood of tears. "Young Master doesn't want me anymore! Young Master doesn't want me anymore!"

Roland and Du Chen exchanged bewildered glances. Roland was exasperated, while Du Chen secretly snickered.

Though simple-minded, Aliza possessed deep affections. Having grown up together and spent every waking moment side-by-side for the past decade, the bond of kinship they forged was something Roland's mere words could never sever.

However, with a Crystal-tier Battle God proactively offering to take Aliza under his wing, Du Chen saw no reason to refuse, did he?

"Aliza, it's not that Young Master doesn't want you; I want you to learn from this gentleman!" Du Chen tugged Aliza's hand, pointing towards Roland. "Look, this gentleman can not only teach you battle qi, but he also makes absolutely delicious Roasted Suckling Calf!"

"Aliza doesn't want Roasted Suckling Calf, Aliza just wants to stay with Young Master!"

Roland suddenly broke into a peculiar smile. "Damn it, I've run out of patience! You punk, get out of my sight!"

With that, he snatched Du Chen by the collar with lightning speed, spun twice in place with a deceptive step, and hurled Du Chen away as if he were tossing a practice ball in his previous life. "This brat's staying with me now!"

Du Chen felt the world spin. Before he could even react, his body was soaring into the sky. By the time his mind cleared, he was already dozens of meters above the ground. "Sir Roland, may I come visit Aliza in the future?"

"Don't bother me unless it's important!"

So, that meant he wouldn't refuse Du Chen's visits.

In the next moment, Du Chen began to worry about how he would land.

Fortunately, just as he arced through the sky in a graceful trajectory and reached the apex of his flight, a flash of emerald green light appeared beside him. Mina soared up, catching Du Chen with a vine. It seemed Roland knew Mina was in this direction and had deliberately thrown him here.

"Handsome young man, what did that madman tell you? It seems you failed to rescue your strong servant!" After catching Du Chen, Mina didn't descend, but flew directly towards the center of Battle God Isle.

Du Chen pouted, remarking sarcastically, "Professor Mina, I doubt you have the authority to inquire about everything related to that madman, do you? Heh heh, your speed just now was incredible – is that a specialty of the elven race?"

Mina playfully stuck out her tongue and chuckled. Indeed, abandoning Du Chen and fleeing earlier hadn't been very kind, but she defended herself, "What can I do? That's just how our profession is! If one day you abandon this big sister and run off alone, I won't blame you either, alright?"

Following the Battle God Isle docks inland, a wide plaza lay a few miles ahead. Rows of statues lined the plaza's perimeter, including one of Zigurd — these were statues of all the past deans.

When Mina and Du Chen landed in the plaza, it was teeming with people: students awaiting registration and teachers maintaining order.

An elven beauty descending from the sky, hand-in-hand with a golden-haired youth, immediately captured everyone's attention. Under the scorching gazes, Du Chen felt acutely uncomfortable, but Mina, with an air of utter nonchalance, dragged him here and there, and in short order, all the registration formalities were settled.

Steve and Charles, both fire-elemental warriors, were assigned to study in the Fiery Gorge, while Du Chen, an anomaly from the Saint Sigurd Cain family, was placed in the Water Pavilion. The three brothers separated, and Du Chen, accompanied by his servant Harry, made his way to the small courtyard he had rented.

Once Harry had settled everything, Du Chen glanced at the simple bedroom and instructed, "You may leave now; find a room for yourself and settle in!"

"Very well, Master. Your concern for me truly touches this Shieb. Please allow me to praise your—"

"Out!" Du Chen waved off the garrulous Shieb, then secured the doors and windows. He inspected his luggage, relieved to find all the hidden marks intact – no one had touched the box!

The Ramhorn Warhammer, the necklace, and Zigurd's Cloud Mist Chains were all safely inside! If the contents of this box were ever discovered, Du Chen would likely face eternal damnation. He absolutely had to find a more secure place to hide these treasures!

Du Chen took out three precious items from the box. The Ramhorn Warhammer and the necklace were manageable enough to conceal on his person. But the Cloud Mist Chains, even in their metal sphere form, were still too large. If he tried to hide that between his legs... Du Chen had no doubt he'd develop certain "unspeakable" ailments!

"If only these things could transform into tattoos too!" Du Chen thought, recalling the lotus on his buttocks.

Wait, it seems... it should...

*Slap!* Du Chen smacked his forehead. "Damn it, I should have thought of this sooner! How stupid of me!"

He summoned a lotus and, using his inner strength, expanded it to its maximum form. The shimmering golden lotus pedicel and leaves merged, resembling a small basin.

Du Chen first placed a copper coin on the lotus pedicel, then willed it with his thoughts.

Suddenly, the lotus retracted back onto Du Chen's buttocks. He twisted his head to look.

Haha! Within the lotus tattoo on his buttocks, a new tattoo of a copper coin had appeared, and the coin's volume had shrunk accordingly!

"Master Grape, I praise you!" Du Chen exclaimed, overjoyed. This method truly worked!

Next, the egg-sized Ramhorn Warhammer, the cantaloupe-sized Cloud Mist Chains, the necklace, and a few personal lock-picking tools were all 'tossed' onto Du Chen's buttocks.

However, the current capacity of the lotus, even for shrunk items, was not vast, so Du Chen could only store these particular items for now.

Looking at Du Chen's buttocks again, on the first blossom of the Triple Qian Trigram, there now appeared two metal spheres, a necklace, and a packet of lock-picking tools. These items, shrunken accordingly, overlapped with the lotus tattoo, creating a truly bizarre sight.

"Damn it, now I've got a perfect place to stash my loot!" Du Chen cackled sinisterly.

Du Chen believed that as his Lotus Internal Force continuously strengthened, the storage capacity of his sacred artifact would expand, allowing him to conceal more and more items. Perhaps, one day, he could even stash a few living people on his buttocks!

While he was excitedly experimenting, a knock sounded at the door. It was the Shieb, Harry. "Illustrious Master, several guests wish to see you!"