Hemp-Clad Society

"Junior Brother, there's no need to be modest. I can't speak for others, but if you keep up this momentum, you'll definitely enter the Blood Martial Realm within a year. In three years at most, the True Martial Realm will be within reach."

Wang Feng was not talking nonsense. Over the past month or so, fewer than the number of fingers on two hands among the new disciples had maintained the same purchasing frequency as Yang Chen. And one of them was already showing signs of running out of steam.

Yang Chen shook his head at this and did not pursue the topic further. He had not called Wang Feng over today just to hear a few flattering words.

He sorted out his wording in his mind before asking, "Senior Brother, you've seen much and know much. I have a question I'd like to ask. I hope Senior Brother will not begrudge me an answer."

"Speak quickly. I'll tell you everything I know."

"It's like this..."

Yang Chen described the matter, then said with a worried face, "To be honest, Senior Brother, after discovering this problem today, I was so troubled that I couldn't even eat."

Wang Feng raised his brows and put away his smile. "It seems the disciple who handed things over to you failed to tell you many things."

Yang Chen was slightly startled. What did this have to do with Luo Wang?

"Junior Brother Yang, I only know a little about this matter, but I'll tell you what I can. Before that, you need to know that our Nineteenth Servant Peak has a faction made up of many disciples. This faction is called the Hemp-Clad Society."

When speaking of the Hemp-Clad Society, Wang Feng seemed somewhat wary. He lowered his voice. "Whenever the Spirit Rice is about to be harvested, people from the Hemp-Clad Society will appear around the spirit fields of Nineteen Peaks. They usually appear at night, and their purpose is to siphon off the excess spiritual energy within the fields."

"How they siphon it off and what use it has, I know nothing about. This has been going on at our Labor Peak for more than ten years."

As Yang Chen listened, his heart sank slightly. "Does no one step forward to stop them?"

Clearly, by doing this, the Hemp-Clad Society was roasting the other disciples over the fire. Even if the spiritual energy in the fields was abundant, it could not simply be handed over for others to take advantage of.

Taking without telling was theft. The Hemp-Clad Society had not informed him beforehand, yet they were making him shoulder enormous risks without receiving any benefit. No one could accept that.

Wang Feng curled his lip. "Since Junior Brother thinks this harms your interests, how could others fail to think of it? It's just that this matter is too complicated. Not to mention me—even my little sister finds it hard to interfere."

After saying that, he looked at Yang Chen, whose face was as dark as water, and carefully said, "Senior Brother has a suggestion for you. Endure it in this matter. The people of the Hemp-Clad Society will follow the rules. At the very least, they won't dare ruin the major matter of harvesting the Spirit Rice."

Yang Chen remained silent for a long time, filled with both anger and apprehension.

Only after quite a while did he force out a faint smile. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for clearing up my doubts."

Wang Feng offered a few more words of comfort before taking his leave. After seeing him out, Yang Chen lay on his bed, unable to calm his thoughts.

Every word Wang Feng had spoken, both openly and between the lines, proved one thing: the Hemp-Clad Society was far from simple.

There was one point he could not understand. How much profit could the Hemp-Clad Society's actions possibly bring? In his view, even if they siphoned energy from all one hundred thousand mu of spirit fields across Nineteen Peaks twice a year, the gains should not be unimaginably great.

How many people did the Hemp-Clad Society have? Could the gains from siphoning spiritual energy ensure that those beneath them had no complaints? Could they also plug the mouths of the stewards of each district, even the deacons of Nineteen Peaks?

This matter concerned whether he could cultivate rapidly. Wang Feng had said the Hemp-Clad Society would follow the rules, but who would willingly hand someone else a weapon to use against them?

If they lost their sense of proportion and damaged the grand formation or harmed the Spirit Rice, that would be a crime reaching the heavens. Being expelled from the sect would be the lightest punishment. If the losses were too great, execution was not impossible.

What had he done wrong?

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.

After turning it over and over in his mind, his thoughts became a tangled mess. With a soft sigh, he summoned the panel:

[Host: Yang Chen]

[Realm: Qi Martial Third Level, Punching Force: 3586 kilograms]

[Daily Spirit Crystal: 1]

As he stared at the panel, Yang Chen's irritated emotions inexplicably eased considerably. After calming down somewhat, he suppressed the tangled mess in his heart, moved to the center of the room, and sank into cultivation.

The night passed quickly. Yang Chen rose early and hurried to the second floor of the dining hall while it was still empty. He bought rice and meat, gathered the large and small bundles onto his shoulder, and rushed toward the spirit fields.

He had tossed and turned all night. Even after finally falling asleep, he woke repeatedly in alarm, so he decided to stay by the spirit fields for the next few days. That way, he could keep an eye on the people from the Hemp-Clad Society and prevent them from acting without knowing their limits.

He had weighed the pros and cons and understood his current situation. Before the Hemp-Clad Society, he was powerless to resist—at least for now.

Since that was the case, he could only stand guard himself. With him watching from the side, the other party would at least have some scruples.

After rushing frantically to Spirit Field Number Eight, he entered the wooden hut. Once he confirmed that no one was around, he stored everything in the system space. Then, with some unease, he went to the edge of the field, took out the token, and lifted a corner of the formation.

As expected, almost none of the spiritual energy accumulated in the spirit field remained. His expression darkened slightly as he carefully inspected the Spirit Rice in the field. Only after repeatedly confirming that it had not been damaged did he relax a little.

Night soon arrived. Yang Chen hastily ate dinner, then kept circling around the spirit fields.

There were no illumination stones here, so once night fell, it was truly so dark that one could not see one's hand before one's face. However, cultivation did not merely strengthen a martial artist's body; every aspect of the body improved, including eyesight.

Though darkness still affected him greatly, he could vaguely make out things two or three zhang ahead.

He continued pacing like this. When the time reached three quarters into the Hour of the Dog, five people came straight toward him out of the darkness.

All five were seventeen or eighteen years old, both men and women. They wore Labor Disciple uniforms and had not covered their faces. Each held an object in hand, though it was impossible to see clearly what it was in the night.

The six pairs of eyes met. Yang Chen's heart trembled slightly, and he had the urge to back down. In this pitch-black darkness, if a conflict broke out, the consequences would be hard to predict.

But he truly did not want to remain uneasy day after day, so he hardened himself and stared at the five. Neither hurried nor slow, he said, "Spirit Field Number Eight is under my charge."

By taking the initiative to reveal his identity, his calm tone and composed expression told them that he knew of the Hemp-Clad Society's existence. At the same time, it carried a hint of warning.

The five looked at Yang Chen, but none showed the surprise he had expected. Four of them only let their gazes rest on him for a moment before continuing toward the other spirit fields, leaving behind one disciple with dark skin and a sturdy build.

The disciple who remained was equally calm. He did not speak to Yang Chen. Instead, he directly took something from his robes. He made no attempt to conceal it, allowing Yang Chen to see what it was.

"He actually has a formation token?"

Many guesses arose in Yang Chen's heart. He watched as the disciple lightly poked the token against the formation, then immediately aimed the object in his hand at the opening in the formation.

Although Yang Chen did not know what the object in the other party's hand was, he understood that the man was collecting spiritual energy.

He likewise said nothing, merely staring at the other party with a strongly warning gaze.

As though sensing Yang Chen's stare, the dark-skinned disciple's lips curled slightly, as if mocking something.