A Plan Sprang to Mind

Night fell. Outside the Five Elements Academy, everyone arrived one after another to gather.

By the time Qin Jishi and Ye Han arrived, the others had already been waiting for a while.

Hmph~

A'si and A'wu glanced at Qin Jishi, a sharp glint flashing through their eyes.

Their change in expression naturally did not escape Qin Jishi's notice. The corners of his lips curled up slightly as he shook his head with a soft laugh.

There was no need to think about it!

They had certainly told Wang Meng about the Round-faced Youth's death. Judging from the contempt and killing intent buried deep in their eyes, they must have decided that Wang Meng would make a move against him.

To be honest, Qin Jishi's impression of Wang Meng was fairly good. The man knew how to assess the situation, and his father, Wang Mang, had always been obedient. So long as nothing too outrageous happened, Qin Jishi could consider giving Wang Mang some face.

But if they crossed his bottom line?

Qin Jishi still wore a gentle smile. He would not mind having Wang Mang personally deal with his own son.

"You... and you..." At that moment, Zhou Wen's displeased voice rang out. "Why are you dawdling? Everyone is waiting for you. Have you forgotten what I told you earlier?"

Qin Jishi said nothing and stood to one side.

Ye Han, however, smiled ingratiatingly. "Senior Brother Zhou, please do not be angry. We will join the line right away."

Seeing Ye Han bowing and scraping, Zhou Wen did not continue to bother with him and instead turned his gaze toward the crowd.

"Junior Brother Liang, is everyone here?" Zhou Wen asked with his hands behind his back, though he already knew the answer.

"Senior Brother Zhou, everyone is present," Liang Kai replied with a smile.

"Very good!" Zhou Wen nodded, then looked at them with a lofty expression. "Everyone, from this moment on, we are fellow disciples. But before that, this senior brother has something to say to you."

"Once you enter the gates of the Five Elements Academy, it means you officially become part of the Menial Labor Quarters. In our Menial Labor Quarters, hierarchy is valued above all else. As your senior brothers, we have accompanied you all day today. I believe you know what you should do, right?"

As Zhou Wen spoke, he rubbed and flexed his fingers.

Uh!

No matter how foolish they were, everyone understood what that meant.

Extortion!

Exploitation!

Coercion!

Threats!

Yet no one made a move. After all, who would willingly hand over their cultivation resources to someone else?

"Hm?" Seeing that no one moved, Liang Kai lowered his voice. "Was Senior Brother Zhou not clear enough? Or did you not hear him properly?"

No one answered.

Though they were all menial laborers now, they had once been respected by others and naturally possessed their own pride. Now they were being told to take out their belongings to pay tribute to others? Even knowing that the other side was stronger than them, they still felt indignant.

"Have you all gone mute?"

"Fine~"

Liang Kai smiled and pointed at a short young man standing before him.

"You... come out..."

The short young man was visibly startled. "Me?"

Liang Kai smiled. "That's right, you."

Still confused, the short young man had only just lifted his foot to step out when—

Liang Kai suddenly lashed out with his leg, delivering a heavy kick to the short young man.

Bang~

The terrifying force sent the short young man flying, and the powerful impact knocked down a whole group of menial laborers.

"Cough, cough~"

The excruciating pain twisted the short young man's face.

"Come here~"

Liang Kai beckoned again.

This time, the short young man hesitated.

"I told you to come here."

Liang Kai's eye twitched, and the unspoken viciousness in his gaze locked firmly onto the other man.

Gulp~

After swallowing hard, the short young man staggered toward him beneath his tyrannical intimidation.

Bang~

Without another word, he kicked him again.

Mmph~

After taking two attacks in a row, a trickle of blood seeped from the short youth's mouth.

"Come here..."

"Senior Brother Liang... Senior Brother Liang, please spare me." The short youth began begging for mercy.

What a joke. With Liang Kai acting like that, if he did not beg now, he would probably die right here on the spot.

Even so, Liang Kai had no intention of letting him off. He walked up to him and, before everyone's eyes, grabbed his hair and dragged him out.

"Senior Brother Liang... Senior Brother Liang... spare me... spare me..."

Liang Kai remained unmoved. Just as he was about to continue tormenting him—

"Senior Brother Liang... I heard you clearly... clearly..."

As he spoke, the short youth fumbled about in panic, then held five Low-grade Profound Stones in both hands and tremblingly offered them to Liang Kai.

"Senior Brothers... it is this junior brother's great honor to have the two Senior Brothers accompany us today. This is merely a small token of my regard... I hope... I hope Senior Brothers will kindly accept it."

The short youth was truly terrified. If this continued, even if he did not die, he would be crippled.

More importantly, even if he could keep his backbone straight today, what about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? Would he ever have an easy time in the Menial Labor Quarters afterward?

Better to lose wealth and avert disaster!

Liang Kai accepted the five Profound Stones. The corners of his lips curled upward as he lightly patted the short youth's face. "That's more like it. If you'd done this from the start, would any of that just now have happened?"

"You lot—"

Liang Kai stood and swept his gaze over the crowd. "Who still hasn't heard clearly?"

"We heard clearly... heard clearly..."

"..."

With the short youth's example before them, how could they still dare play dumb? One after another, they took out Profound Stones as tribute.

Before long, only four people remained in the area.

At that moment, A'si and A'wu exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.

"Senior Brother Zhou!"

"Senior Brother Liang!"

A'si and A'wu walked up before them. "Could we speak somewhere privately?"

"Hm?" Though the two were puzzled, seeing the respectful looks in their eyes, they stepped a couple of paces aside.

"What is it? Speak," Zhou Wen asked.

"Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Liang." A'si lowered his voice. "Our young master is Wang Meng, a formal disciple of Profound Machine Academy."

"Senior Brother Wang Meng?" Zhou Wen and Liang Kai looked at each other. Clearly, they had never heard that name.

"Senior Brothers," A'wu continued, "surely you know of the Wang Family in Wuji City? Our young master is their Young Clan Leader."

So he was the Young Clan Leader of the Wang Family in Wuji City.

Upon hearing this, the two came to a sudden realization. Though they had never heard Wang Meng's name, they had heard a little about the Wang Family of Wuji City. After all, for the Wang Family to monopolize the entire weapons trade in Wuji City, they certainly held some standing.

"Alright!" After pondering for a moment, Zhou Wen raised a hand. "I understand what you mean. Since you are Senior Brother Wang's attendants, you may forgo the tribute."

Zhou Wen and Liang Kai might have been throwing their weight around, but they were ultimately still menial laborers. Wang Meng, on the other hand, was a formal disciple of Profound Machine Academy. They would never dare offend him.

"No, no, no!" A'si hurriedly said. "Senior Brothers, that isn't what we mean."

"Hm?" This made them frown slightly. "Let me tell you, even if Senior Brother Wang is backing you, Steward Jiao behind us is no pushover either."

Zhou Wen and Liang Kai had mistaken A'si and A'wu for wanting a share of the spoils.

"A misunderstanding... a misunderstanding..." How could A'si fail to catch the implication? As he spoke, he hurriedly took twenty Low-grade Profound Stones from his robes.

"Senior Brothers, please accept them."

A'si left Zhou Wen and Liang Kai thoroughly confused. Looking at the Profound Stones in their hands, they asked in puzzlement, "What does this mean?"

"Senior Brothers," A'si said in a low voice, "please do not misunderstand. We merely have a small matter that requires your assistance."

So they were asking us for a favor. The two immediately relaxed and chuckled softly. "Why be so polite? With the connection to Senior Brother Wang, just tell us if you need anything."

As they spoke, they put away the Profound Stones.

Seeing that they had accepted the Profound Stones, A'si and A'wu exchanged knowing smiles. Then they looked toward Qin Jishi and began speaking in lowered voices.

"Senior Brothers, that fellow named Qin Jishi offended our young master earlier, so..."

After Zhou Wen and Liang Kai heard them out, the corners of their lips rose in faint smiles.

"So it's such a trivial matter... easy enough... He dared offend Senior Brother Wang? Just watch how we deal with him."