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After seeing off the warmhearted, guileless Senior Disciple Brother Shi Long, Wang Yuan returned to the low, dilapidated house.

Under the dim yellow oil lamp, his parents and sister were still immersed in their earlier shock and daze. Their eyes all fell on him, filled with disbelief.

Wang Yuan knew it was time to tell his family part of the truth.

He walked to the middle of the room, looked at his three closest relatives, and spoke in a calm voice that carried a reassuring strength:

"Father, Mother, Sister, there's something I need to tell you."

"Today, I went to Panshi Fist Academy and was fortunate enough to pass the bone structure test."

"Head Zheng Shan... accepted me as his True Disciple."

"P-Panshi Fist Academy?"

Wang Gui abruptly rose to his feet. His voice changed pitch from excitement, and his eyes went round as saucers.

"Y-you mean that Panshi Fist Academy in South City? Head Zheng Shan?"

The rag in Madam Zhou's hand fell to the floor without her noticing. Her lips trembled as she said:

"A-A True Disciple? Yuan'er, y-you aren't lying to Mother, are you? That's Head Zheng!"

In her understanding, and in the understanding of all ordinary people in the Outer City,

Panshi Fist Academy was the undisputed local emperor of the Outer City.

And Head Zheng Shan was an existence high in the clouds, someone they would need to look up to for their entire lives.

Yet now, her own son had become the disciple of such a great figure?

And a True Disciple at that?

Wang Yu covered her mouth as well. Her delicate eyes were filled with shock and delight as she looked at her younger brother, as though she were truly seeing him for the first time.

"It's true."

Wang Yuan nodded firmly, taking out the warm, lustrous Pure Heart Pendant at his waist and the bottle of Qi and Blood Pills from his robes to show his family.

"These are gifts from Senior Disciple Brother and Second Senior Sister."

"The Brother Shi Long who came earlier is Head Zheng's eldest disciple, my Senior Disciple Brother."

Seeing the jade pendant and medicine bottle that were clearly no ordinary items, then recalling Shi Long's terrifying strength and how he had protected their family earlier,

Wang Gui, Madam Zhou, and Wang Yu finally believed this fantastical truth completely.

The overwhelming joy and impact left them speechless for a time.

Wang Gui slapped his thigh hard. His eyes instantly reddened, and his voice choked up. "Good! Good! My son has made something of himself! Heaven has opened its eyes!"

He gripped Wang Yuan's hand, so excited that he did not know what to do.

Madam Zhou was even more overcome with joy, weeping as she wiped away her tears and muttered, "Wonderful... wonderful... From now on, we'll never have to fear those bastards bullying us again..."

Wang Yu looked at her younger brother, tears glimmering in her eyes. There was comfort in them, and the light of hope as well.

Becoming Zheng Shan's True Disciple meant their family had completely escaped the fate of the lowest class, where they could be bullied by anyone. They truly had someone to rely on now, and something to hope for.

Meanwhile, in the chaotic narrow alley of the Outer City, inside the Interest Upon Interest moneylending house.

Scarface was drinking and boasting around a table with several underlings.

One of the lackeys responsible for gathering information outside came crawling and scrambling in, shouting breathlessly:

"Sc-Scarface, b-big trouble!"

Scarface frowned and cursed:

"What are you panicking for? Has the sky fallen?"

The lackey swallowed, his face still full of lingering terror.

"It's... it's about that kid who borrowed money yesterday, Wang Yuan from Bluestone Alley!"

"Wang Yuan?"

Scarface froze for a moment.

"What happened to that poor brat? Did he lose a gamble and get his legs broken?"

He instinctively assumed the man had come bearing bad news.

After all, wasn't that how most poor Outer City boys ended up once they got hooked on gambling?

They squandered their family fortunes, had their legs broken, then waited to die.

"N-no!"

The lackey waved his hands frantically, his voice rising several pitches.

"H-he went to Panshi Fist Academy today."

"H-Head Zheng Shan personally accepted him as a True Disciple!"

Clang!

The wine bowl in Scarface's hand dropped straight onto the table, splashing wine all over him.

Yet he paid it no mind. He sprang up, seized the lackey by the collar, and glared with eyes as round as bronze bells.

"What the fuck did you say? Say that again!"

"It's absolutely true, Scarface! The news has spread everywhere outside."

"Panshi Fist Academy has accepted a new True Disciple named Wang Yuan. It's that one from Bluestone Alley."

"They say his bone structure is exceptionally good, and Head Zheng personally took him as a disciple!"

The lackey's face turned white with fright, and he hurriedly spilled every bit of information he had gathered.

Scarface released him, staggered back a step, then dropped onto a stool. The color drained from his face as he muttered:

"High Grade Bone Structure... Zheng Shan's True Disciple... It's over... We're finished..."

He understood in an instant.

Wang Yuan had not borrowed the money to gamble at all. He had borrowed it to scrape together the two taels of silver needed for the apprenticeship fee.

This bunch of idiots had thought they had caught a fat sheep they could squeeze until the marrow ran dry.

But what happened?

The man had been a dragon lurking in the abyss, and with one flight, he had soared into the heavens.

A thickheaded fellow beside him still had not caught on. He leaned over and asked, "Scarface, then... then how are we supposed to collect the five taels we lent him, along with the interest?"

"It's nearly doubled already..."

"Collect your mother's head!"

Scarface was already consumed by rage and fear. At those words, he flew into a fury and backhanded the man across the back of the head, sending him stumbling.

"Do you have shit for brains? You're still thinking about collecting money?"

"Right now, we should be begging him not to come settle accounts with us!"

Panting heavily, he pointed outside and roared at all his underlings, "Listen carefully, every last one of you. Hurry up and find the loan note Wang Yuan signed yesterday."

"Immediately! Take it to the Wang Family in Bluestone Alley and return it to them respectfully."

"Tell them... tell them it was all a misunderstanding. We don't want the money anymore, and we'll add ten taels of silver as a gift for Young Master Wang..."

"No, a congratulatory gift for Senior Brother Wang!"

The beaten man clutched the back of his head, his face full of heartache.

"Sc-Scarface, that's five taels of silver... With Interest Upon Interest, it's almost ten taels already... We're just... giving it up?"

"Idiot! You shallow-sighted fool!"

Scarface was so furious he nearly passed out. He pointed at the man's nose and cursed.

"Five taels of silver? Even five hundred taels would be worth it to get connected to Zheng Shan's True Disciple!"

"We were blind and nearly offended someone we absolutely cannot afford to offend! Hurry and return the loan note, and make sure your attitude is respectful."

"If Senior Brother Wang can calm down and not hold a grudge against us, then it'll be smoke rising from our ancestral graves! Go, now!"

Seeing Scarface so panicked and serious, the underlings finally realized the gravity of the situation. They did not dare say another word and hurriedly rummaged through boxes and cabinets until they found the loan note, whose ink had barely dried.

In the end, one of the sharper ones took it and ran all the way toward Bluestone Alley.

Scarface watched his underling leave, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and felt lingering fear.

He had spent years scraping around at the bottom, and he knew well that once certain people rose to power, crushing people like them was no harder than crushing ants.

He could only hope it was not yet too late to make amends.