Open Extortion

The youths were instantly shocked and furious.

"What? Did I hear that right?"

"Fang Yuan, has your brain been fried? You actually dared to stand at the Academy's entrance and extort us?!"

"Have you gone mad from poverty? Who gave you the nerve to set your sights on us?"

"Get lost! You, a mere C-grade, dare block my path? If you don't scram, I'll kick you flying with one foot... urgh!"

Fang Yuan suddenly made a move.

His right hand formed a palm, slashing down viciously. The movement was precise and swift, the edge of his palm striking the left side of someone's neck.

How could this unlucky youth have expected Fang Yuan to attack without warning? He had been cursing only a moment ago when he was suddenly dealt a heavy blow. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.

"Damn it! You really dared act?!" The crowd erupted, and the youths instinctively took a step back.

"Gu Yue Bei Ju has fainted! What do we do?" someone cried out in panic, both shocked and frightened.

"What else can we do? There are so many of us, and Fang Yuan is alone. Rush him together and beat him senseless!" someone shouted, rage bursting forth.

"That's right! He doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, daring to provoke us all by himself. He must have swallowed a leopard's gall! Everyone, get him!!"

Yet before they could act, Fang Yuan had already acted.

He took several rapid strides, charging into the crowd ahead of them.

His palm chopped diagonally, striking a youth's neck. The youth's eyes rolled white, and he fell.

"Ah—!" A youth shouted as he swung his fist in a sweeping blow at Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan ducked beneath it, then raised a foot and kicked the man in the crotch.

Awoo—!

The youth's shout had originally been lofty and impassioned, but after that blow, its pitch abruptly soared, becoming shrill and piercing, filled with misery and pain.

Thud.

Clutching his crotch with both hands, his knees went weak and he dropped to the ground. Then he rolled all over the floor, screaming again and again, cold sweat covering his whole body from the pain.

Fang Yuan swung both palms, like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep!

He had five hundred years of combat experience, while these youths were merely tender sprouts who had only just begun cultivating. How could they possibly be his opponents?

In the blink of an eye, this group of youths had all been knocked down by Fang Yuan. Each was either unconscious or lying on the ground, gasping sharply from pain, hurting as though they would rather be dead.

"What is going on?!" Gu Yue Mo Bei arrived a step later and cried out in alarm. He saw Fang Yuan standing at the Academy entrance, surrounded by five or six fallen students.

"Fang Yuan, he—he wants to extort our Primeval Stones!" A youth lying on the ground and clutching his stomach shouted angrily.

"You've still got plenty of breath in you." Fang Yuan's expression remained calm as he viciously kicked the shouting youth in the abdomen.

Oww!

The youth immediately let out a miserable scream of pain, his body curling up like a shrimp. Fear appeared on his face, tears and snot streaming down together. He no longer dared speak recklessly.

Seeing this, the youths who had rushed over all sensed Fang Yuan's brutality, and their hearts jolted.

"All right, obediently hand over one Primeval Stone each. I'll let you leave. Otherwise, the people on the ground will be your fate." Fang Yuan took a large step forward, his voice cold.

"Bullshit! You, a mere C-grade, think you can defeat me, a dignified B-grade?" Gu Yue Mo Bei flew into a rage, swinging his fist as he charged at Fang Yuan at once.

Fang Yuan turned his ankle slightly and lightly shifted to one side, letting the punch Pass.

Then he extended his left hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and accurately jabbed the spot in the center of Mo Bei's Lock Bone, below his throat.

Mo Bei's vision instantly went black. With a thud, he fell to the ground and fainted.

Seeing this, the youths who had still wanted to rush forward all sucked in a breath of cold air, their charge coming to an abrupt halt.

Fang Yuan's methods of attack suddenly became unfathomably profound in these young people's eyes.

They did not value basic punches and kicks, though such things had in fact been vaguely mentioned in class. The human body had many vulnerable areas, and the places Fang Yuan had attacked were among them. If these areas were struck, the lightest consequence was immediate unconsciousness; the worst could be a crisis of life and death.

However, Fang Yuan was highly measured in his attacks.

Those he knocked down were either unconscious or wracked by intense pain, losing their combat power for a short time. Not one was truly seriously injured.

This was the terror of five hundred years of combat experience!

"Will you hand them over or not?" Fang Yuan stepped forward, pressuring the other youths.

The youths exchanged looks, then gritted their teeth or roared in fury as they surged toward Fang Yuan together.

Fang Yuan shifted and dodged while making his moves. His cultivation was low, but his realm remained; in his heart, he was calm as ice, and his movements were swift and precise.

Thud, thud...

After several breaths, another group lay sprawled across the ground.

"Too brutal! Too terrifying!"

"They aren't dead, are they?"

Several girls had not rushed forward. Their eyes were wide as they watched this unfold, their bodies trembling more and more violently.

Fang Yuan's gaze swept toward them. Their faces went pale with fright, and they hurriedly waved their hands as they retreated. "Don't—don't come over. We'll pay, we'll pay!"

Fang Yuan collected several Primeval Stones and let them go.

They stumbled out through the Academy entrance. One after another, more students arrived.

To leave the Academy, this entrance was the only route. Fang Yuan blocked it here, so he could block every student.

"Damn, what happened?!" The youths' eyes widened in astonishment.

"Isn't that Gu Yue Mo Bei?" Gu Yue Chi Cheng stared dumbfoundedly at the unconscious Mo Bei on the ground.

Fang Yuan spoke. The youths instantly grew angry, attacked, and then fell.

"Academy Elder, are we just going to keep watching without stopping him? What if lives are lost? How will we clean up the mess then?" The guards wore faces full of worry.

Some guards, however, were indignant. "This Fang Yuan is far too bold. He actually dares extort his fellow students right under our noses, at the Academy entrance itself. He has no regard for law or discipline! As long as you give the order, sir, this subordinate will seize the boy."

Fang Yuan's violent act of blocking the Academy entrance and openly extorting his fellow students had drawn attention from the very beginning.

But the mortal guards had no authority to punish students, so they could only first report the matter to the Academy Elder.

Upon hearing the news, the Academy Elder did not immediately order Fang Yuan stopped. Instead, he climbed a pavilion and observed from afar.

"It seems this boy possesses talent for combat." The Academy Elder grew more interested the longer he watched.

Fang Yuan's performance with the moonblade today had already aroused the elder's doubts. Now, seeing him face all the students with the strength of one man, carrying the bearing of one who roamed freely across the battlefield, the doubt in his heart was resolved.

In this world, some people were especially keenly sensitive to combat. It was a hidden talent. They were skilled at fighting and loved fighting; in battle, inspiration often burst forth from them. They frequently created achievements that were astonishing, even unimaginable.

"This boy is a born combat Gu Master. What a pity that his aptitude is only C-grade; in the end, he falls short by a step." The Academy Elder sighed deeply.

"My lord, do you not intend to stop this farce? If he is allowed to continue making such a mess, I fear the impact will not be good." The guards beside him all carried anxious expressions on their faces.