Submit to Judgment

"My lord!"

Zhu Xi's face turned pale. Without resources, how could one even speak of cultivation? This was a whole year's worth of cultivation resources! Including the Qi Strength Pills, it amounted to a full seventy-two spirit crystals. Even if Yang Chen appeared not to lack resources, that did not mean seventy-two spirit crystals were unimportant!

Perhaps because of these seventy-two spirit crystals, the time it took him to break through to the Blood Martial Realm would be delayed by a long while. It would also affect his ranking on the Rankings Board, and if his ranking became unstable, the resources he should have received would be further reduced.

With gains and losses flowing in and out like this, how could the loss be limited to just seventy-two spirit crystals?

This punishment was far too severe!

Wu Menglan's heart trembled as well. Having lost so many resources for no reason at all, would Yang Chen not hate them to the bone?

Senior Brother Lei and the others, however, felt immense satisfaction. Although Yang Chen had not been expelled from the sect, he had at least suffered a tremendous fall.

"My lord sees through everything. Ji Ran has no objections!"

Yang Chen gritted his teeth. "I... submit to the judgment."

No matter how unwilling he was, since Lin Chuan had announced the result, there was naturally no room for rebuttal.

Fortunately, this was not enough to damage his foundations. The loss of six spirit crystals per month was still within the range he could bear.

After announcing the result, Lin Chuan rose and left. Senior Brother Lei and the others departed as well, taking Ji Ran with them.

"Yang Chen, I..."

Zhu Xi was overwhelmed with shame. He had never imagined things would turn out this way, while Wu Menglan beside him was equally full of apology.

"This isn't your fault."

Yang Chen stiffly tossed out those words and headed down the mountain alone.

Zhu Xi glanced at Wu Menglan, wanting to vent his anger on her but unable to say anything. After all, she too had been kept in the dark.

After returning to his residence, Yang Chen reviewed the entire incident. There was no doubt that this had been Zhou Han's handiwork. The other party's first move had been a thunderous one, making him suffer a heavy loss.

This matter taught him another lesson: one had to act cautiously, keep the proper distance, and never hand others a handle to seize.

"Ji Ran! Zhou Han!" A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. "Just you wait!"

He had no way to deal with them now, but that did not mean he would have no way in the future. A gentleman's revenge could wait ten years.

That night, he unusually did not cultivate. He slept all the way until dawn before hurrying toward the spirit fields.

He became even more cautious than before, completely cutting off all meaningless socializing. Every day, he did only three things: eat, cultivate, and sleep.

Time flew by, and another month-end arrived in the blink of an eye. By then, Yang Chen had been in the sect for a full half year.

The Rankings Board was a sea of shifting winds and clouds. The disciples in the top five had all stepped into the Qi Martial Ninth Level, while the top twenty were uniformly at the Qi Martial Eighth Level.

Among the people Yang Chen knew, Huang Tianyu still ranked third, Wei Xiao had charged into fifteenth place, while Xue Cang had failed to advance and instead fallen back, squeezed down to tenth place.

Xu Qingqing's rate of improvement had gradually slowed as well. She was now ranked twenty-second, still at the Qi Martial Seventh Level. As for Meng Shijun, he hovered around eightieth place on the board.

Besides that, Zhu Xi had also made his way onto the Rankings Board and now stood at ninety-seventh.

Yang Chen's strength continued to improve at a rapid pace. From his previous rank of forty-third, he leaped in one stroke to thirty-second.

[Realm: Qi Martial Seventh Level, Punching Force: 10,963 kilograms]

He was no longer far from the Qi Martial Eighth Level. Since the cultivation rankings began, fewer and fewer people had been able to maintain rapid improvement. Although Yang Chen was now ranked thirty-second, the gap between him and twenty-first place was not very large.

His progress once again sparked heated discussion. Anyone with eyes could see that Yang Chen's monthly rate of improvement was astonishing. From his initial obscurity to repeatedly raising his rank now, he had used only a few short months.

The speculation surrounding him was not even weaker than that surrounding the disciples in the top ten. Discussions about him could be heard even in other areas.

As usual, Lin Chuan praised everyone who had made the Rankings Board. Unfortunately, Area 8 still ranked third. Although quite a few disciples from Area 8 were on the board, their weight among the top ten was ultimately insufficient.

This time, Yang Chen did not receive next month's resources. Wang Kui already knew the reason and could only sigh helplessly.

Although he was responsible for distributing resources, every spirit crystal had to be recorded. He did not dare engage in any under-the-table dealings. If word got out, expulsion from the sect would be the lightest punishment; he would most likely be executed outright.

Yang Chen put on a pained expression on the surface, but in truth, he did not care too much.

With his current ranking, he could receive a reward of ten spirit crystals. Compared to last month, the overall difference was only one spirit crystal less.

"What a fine thirty-second place!"

At the mines, Zhou Han's expression darkened upon hearing the news. "I refuse to believe your resources are endless!"

In the days that followed, Yang Chen turned a deaf ear to all matters beyond his window and continued cultivating diligently. In the blink of an eye, eight days passed.

[Realm: Qi Martial Eighth Level, Punching Force: 11,523 kilograms]

After eight days, his cultivation broke through once again, and he successfully advanced to the Qi Martial Eighth Level.

His cultivation breakthrough was merely a minor interlude. Yang Chen did not go raise his ranking. To him, he only needed to verify his strength before the month-end assessment.

After finishing his cultivation, Yang Chen walked out of the wooden hut and came to the ridge between the fields.

To prevent any accidents, he now made an extra inspection of the spirit fields every day.

After more than four months, the spirit fields had become a glittering expanse of gold. There were less than two months left before the Spirit Rice ripened again.

"The Hemp-Clad Society will definitely appear again next month. Another troublesome matter."

Walking along the field ridges, Yang Chen inspected the surroundings while thinking about the Hemp-Clad Society.

The Hemp-Clad Society was very mysterious. It seemed to appear only when the Spirit Rice ripened. He had always paid attention to news concerning it, yet he knew very little.

He only knew that the existence of the Hemp-Clad Society was tacitly accepted by the managers of every area and even Steward Han.

This was because the Hemp-Clad Society did not normally cause trouble. Even when the Spirit Rice ripened, it knew its limits and would not go too far.

Therefore, most disciples assigned to patrol the spirit fields simply pinched their noses and endured it.

Yang Chen secretly guessed that for Steward Han to tacitly permit the Hemp-Clad Society's existence, there was likely the shadow of Inner Sect Uncle-Masters or even true disciples behind it.

"You broke through?"

As Yang Chen inspected the spirit fields, Xu Qingqing's uniquely cool voice rang out.

"Mm, I just broke through."

Yang Chen looked toward the beauty in the upper-left corner. Compared to half a year ago, Xu Qingqing had grown ever more graceful and slender. The air of aloof independence around her had become more pronounced, and paired with her youthful charm tinged with a trace of maturity, it was enough to make countless people fall beneath her skirt.

Xu Qingqing had been beautiful when she first entered the sect, but compared to now, she had lacked a certain flavor. Yang Chen felt as though he were witnessing the girl next door grow into a young woman.

"Congratulations."

She had sensed the subtle aura leaking from Yang Chen's body just now, which was why she asked. Thinking back on everything over the past half year, Yang Chen had become increasingly mysterious to her.

She still remembered when Yang Chen first climbed to the second floor of the dining hall—he had not even been a martial artist then. Yet in just half a year, he had soared upward like a roc riding the wind, reaching the same height as her.

She herself had only broken through to the Qi Martial Eighth Level five days ago. This meant the gap between them was rapidly shrinking. The feeling brought an indescribable sense of urgency, but hidden behind that urgency was deep helplessness.

"Thank you. You're outstanding too."

Yang Chen gave a brief reply. After what had happened with Ji Ran, he maintained an attitude of respectful distance toward women. Even though Xu Qingqing possessed beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms, he regarded her as though she were a flood or savage beast.

He walked into the distance. Xu Qingqing watched his departing back and, for a moment, fell into a daze.