Under Fang Yuan's tyrannical presence, the others had no choice but to lower their heads. They began sifting through the money pouches of each young teen scattered on the ground, retrieving a piece of primeval stone from each one. They then gathered them together and handed them over to Fang Yuan.
The class consisted of fifty-seven individuals in total. By extorting a single primeval stone from each of them, Fang Yuan ended up with fifty-six pieces.
"This sort of capital free business that consists of extortion and plundering is really the most profitable business." Fang Yuan pocketed his money pouch that had suddenly expanded greatly into his bosom and strutted away, leaving behind a floor full of teenagers, lying like corpses on the ground.
And a few teenagers, Fang Zheng among them, blankly stared after Fang Yuan's gradually disappearing shadow.
"Get out there fast."
"All of you, faster! Arrange the little masters properly."
"The treatment Gu Master, where is he, ask him to come over fast!"
The guards were yelling as they all rushed forward, falling over each other in their eagerness to present themselves. They willingly gave their all for the small position of being the chief guard.
Right after Fang Yuan successfully extorted his peers, he went to the inn and bought twenty jars in one go.
Each jar cost two pieces of primeval stones, and Fang Yuan pumped in forty primeval stones for the sake of the Liquor worm.
The money pouch that had bulged out not long ago inflated by half in an instant. However it was worth the money –these wine would be able to support the Liquor worm for a long time.
"Now with this the Liquor worm food can be consider done for the moment, next will be the White Boar Gu, although I do not have to venture to the secret cave anymore for the time being, I will still have to go out to seek wild boar for its meat." Ponder Fang Yuan, as he ventures out of the village.
The clouds floated over, covering the moonlight. A shadow enveloped over the Gu Yue village.
The watchman banged on his clappers, prompting people to know that it was already deep in the night – Be careful of fires, be on guard of beast assaults, as well as the possibility of foreign Gu Masters sneaking into the village.
There were still a lot of lights in the village.
In the Chi family branch home, Gu Yue Chi Lian stayed in his study, the lights radiantly bright. This high authority old man spoke with a gentle tone, expressing sympathy as he asked his own grandson Gu Yue Chi Cheng, "I heard you were beaten up by that Fang Yuan today?"
Gu Yue Chi Cheng had a black right eye, and he angrily said, "Yes, grandpa. That Fang Yuan was just a petty C-grade, yet he dared to act so arrogant. He blocked us all at the entrance, not caring about the friendly sentiments of his classmates, and he robbed us of our primeval stones. What's more, the academy just opened one eye and closed one eye over the incident. It was only when Fang Yuan strode away that the guards hurried over. Grandpa, this time you have to help me expel this angry resentment of mine!"
Instead Gu Yue Chi Lian shook his head. "This is between you and your juniors. You were blackmailed to lose a piece of primeval stone, and you did not suffer heavy injuries – Grandpa cannot act without any justifiable excuse. Even if you were heavily wounded, I will not stand up for you, do you understand why?"
Gu Yue Chi Cheng was stunned. He struggled to think, and after a long while he hesitatingly said, "Grandpa, I think I understand your meaning. You are hoping that I will rely on my own strength to find my way, right?"
"You only understood one aspect." Gu Yue Chi Lian nodded his head and added, "You must remember, you are not just an individual representative, but you are the image on behalf of our Chi family branch. For many years we have confronted the Mo family branch, and your every move will represent the hope of the future of the Chi family branch. Grandpa may help you in the shadows, but you must stand up and erect a self-reliant and strong image. Otherwise the elders who are supporting our family will not see the hope for our future, and they will abandon the Chi family."
As he said this, Gu Yue Chi Lian heaved a sigh. "This is also why grandpa helped you to cheat and let you impersonate a B-grade talent. Our Chi family needs a strong successor to hold on to those who are supporting us."
Gu Yue Chi Cheng was then enlightened. "Grandpa, I understand now."
Gu Yue Chi Lian shook his head. "Just understanding won't do any good. You must work hard. Fang Yuan is just small trouble; next up you must study hard and train diligently on your basic martial arts and get your dignity back. At the same time do not forget to work hard on cultivating, promoting to middle stage as soon as possible. The best you can do is to win the position of class monitor, this will be great honor and a kind of help to our Chi family."
"Alright, grandpa!" Gu Yue Chi Cheng replied loudly.
"Heh heh heh, this spirit is how the heir to our Chi branch should be like. Grandson, you must work hard, I will do my best to help you."
Almost at the same moment, in another place.
"Honorary father and mother, that was pretty much how things went." Fang Zheng stood straight, his tone respectful and cautious.
In the hall, Fang Yuan's uncle Gu Yue Dong Tu as well as his aunt sat in their wide-back huge chairs frowning. Aunt gnawed her teeth. While feeling injustice for Fang Zheng and at the same time gloating over the matter, she said, "Fang Yuan that bastard son, him extorting others is one thing, but to think he would not even spare his own younger brother. How heartless and unfeeling! However this time with such a huge crime, I expect he will be expelled from the academy soon after this."
"That's enough, you should talk less." Uncle heaved in a deep sigh and told Fang Zheng, "You only lost a piece of primeval stone, don't worry. Go to the treasury and pick up a stone, there is no business for you here now. You must go and work hard in cultivating. With your A grade talent, becoming the first Middle stage Gu Master is a huge possibility. Do not waste the talent that heaven blessed you with, for your mother and I look forward to seeing you become number one."
"Yes, father and mother. Your son takes his leave." Fang Zheng left with a heart full of trepidation.
Seeing Fang Zheng leave the hall, Aunt could not help but exclaim happily, "Husband, we cut off Fang Yuan's living expenses. This little bastard finally couldn't stand it and went off committing a huge error! To actually dare to block the academy gates and fight in public, not to mention extortion, this is the equivalent of provoking the academy elder. I daresay the time for him getting expelled is very near."
However Uncle shook his head. "You think too simply of things. Fang Yuan will not be expelled, in fact there may not be any punishment."
"Why?" Aunt was puzzled.
Uncle snorted. "Brawls and fights are encouraged as long as there are no heavy consequences. Did any students die in this fight? No."
Aunt refused to comply. "Husband, how would you know there weren't any casualties? There are always accidents happening from fighting."
Uncle closed his eyes, leaning against the back of his chair. "Woman, you are really naïve. Do you really think the academy elder is just for show? When did the guards start acting? They came out at the last moment, this means that the entire scene was under control. If someone was heavily injured, they would have rushed over a long time ago, not at the last moments."
"You are not a Gu Master, so you won't understand. The academy does not forbid brawls among the students, but in fact they maintain an encouraging attitude towards it. The more brawls there are, the more helpful it would be for battles. Some students can even create strong bonds through fighting. The elders will not pursue this. It is already a routine. If anyone wants to take action on behalf of their offspring, it would break the rules."
Aunt was dumbfounded as she heard this, and she replied in an unsatisfied manner, "Then nothing's going to happen to Fang Yuan who robbed away such a huge amount of primeval stones? He's just going to be let go like that? With such a big number of primeval stones, it will bring a lot of help to his cultivation."
Uncle opened his eyes, his face cloudy. "What else can we do? Are you expecting me to go over by myself and snatch away all his primeval stones? However this matter is not something that we cannot exploit. For Fang Yuan to rob and extort even his own brother Fang Zheng, this is the key to his fall. Fang Zheng is an A-grade talent, he will definitely be stronger than Fang Yuan one day. We will use this matter to divide and sow discord in Fang Zheng. We'll lead Fang Zheng away from Fang Yuan for our own use!"
Outside of the village
"Huff… huff… huff…" After a few rounds of kiting the wild boar, Fang Yuan manages to kill it.
"White Boar Gu, go." Fang Yuan sent the White Boar Gu toward the dead wild boar.
The entire boar had shrunk to half its original size, leaving behind only its black-gray fur and the intestines beneath its skin. As for the meat, all of it had been eaten by the White Boar Gu.
"Thanks to the beast map, I can pinpoint where most of the boars are gathered and where few hunters dare to traverse." Fang Yuan already knew most of the village outskirts, having obtained the beast map in his previous life.
"This might have an impact, whether on the outcome of the mid-year examination or not. But I have no choice—if I don't, the White Boar Gu will starve to death. And if I were to follow my previous actions, the outcome would be slightly better, but my progress would be too slow." Fang Yuan finished feeding the White Boar Gu and was now heading back to the village.