Protection fee?

Yuan Jin's voice came from beside Zeng Fan. Zeng Fan turned his head to see Yuan Jin looking at the two people opposite him with a cold sneer.

Is this like collecting protection money? Zeng Fan couldn't help but chuckle internally. Some things really happen everywhere, but he wasn't too worried. The Five Mountains Sect allowed disciples to have minor conflicts, but strictly forbade them from fighting to the death. Yuan Jin was right; some things, once started, become troublesome.

"Two senior brothers, we also really need these Spirit Stones. Please borrow them from someone else." Zeng Fan's expression also turned cold.

The skinny man's smile slowly faded upon hearing their words. "Are you two junior brothers not going to reconsider? Although the sect prohibits killing, getting injured in a small scuffle can negatively impact your cultivation."

"Why so much nonsense? If you want them, fight us for them first," Yuan Jin sneered.

"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" The fatty saw this and directly channeled his spiritual energy, throwing a punch at Yuan Jin. Yuan Jin let out a cold laugh, his own spiritual energy surging.

"Five Kill Force!"

With a bang, Yuan Jin's elbow directly collided with the fatty's fist. At the moment of impact, both their expressions changed. The opponent's strength exceeded their expectations. They each staggered backward.

Stomp, stomp, stomp. Dust kicked up from the ground. Yuan Jin retreated three steps, while the fatty took one step back. "Yellow Vein Body Tempering Bone? No wonder you dared to demand Spirit Stones from us," Yuan Jin's face hardened. Although the opponent was at the Body Tempering Bone realm, the Yellow Vein naturally absorbed less spiritual energy than higher-grade spiritual veins. This meant that even though the fatty was a realm higher than Yuan Jin, the difference in strength wasn't as significant as expected.

"Heh heh, kid, there are two of us." The skinny man's cultivation began to churn, and the fluctuations of Body Tempering Bone emanated from him, though slightly weaker than the fatty next to him.

The skinny man looked at Zeng Fan. "Do you want to try too?" Although the skinny man also had Yellow Vein Body Tempering Bone, he was two minor realms higher than Zeng Fan. A Profound Grade Spiritual Vein couldn't erase such a gap.

Yuan Jin frowned deeply. He wasn't afraid of one opponent. With Zeng Fan assisting, defeating them might not be impossible. However, facing two Body Tempering Bone cultivators simultaneously was beyond his current ability, especially when they were at a higher minor realm.

"Give them the stones for now. We'll get it back once our cultivation improves." Zeng Fan understood the current situation. If conflict erupted, he would quickly be defeated by the skinny man, and Yuan Jin would be at a disadvantage fighting two alone. With this in mind, Zeng Fan whispered to Yuan Jin.

Yuan Jin gritted his teeth, took out the Spirit Stones, and threw them over. The skinny man caught them. "It would have been easier if you'd just done this from the start. You wasted our time," the skinny man sneered.

Zeng Fan took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his anger. He stopped talking and pulled Yuan Jin towards their lodging. The two others didn't stop them, watching them leave with mocking expressions before exchanging a smile.

Back in their lodging, "They've gone too far! Bastards! Once my cultivation improves, I'll definitely teach these two a lesson!" Yuan Jin slammed the table, his face full of indignation.

Zeng Fan was also thinking. With his current cultivation plus the pill, he likely wouldn't break through to Body Tempering Bone in a short time. Yuan Jin, however, might. Fighting two people alone was too strenuous and not stable enough. Could they really not vent their anger in the short term?

Zeng Fan frowned, and a sudden idea flashed through his mind. Zeng Fan spoke to Yuan Jin, "Tell me, do you think those two bastards only targeted us for Spirit Stones?"

Yuan Jin was stunned, then his eyes lit up. "You mean, these two bastards might have robbed all the disciples in our batch? It's not just us who are upset; there are dozens of us in this batch. We can't beat them two-on-two, but with dozens of us, if we swarm them, we'll beat the shit out of them!" Yuan Jin immediately understood Zeng Fan's meaning upon hearing his words.

"Exactly. Then let's split up and contact the others. If others were also robbed, we'll cooperate directly and make them cough up those Spirit Stones!" Zeng Fan said with a smile to Yuan Jin.

No sooner said than done. Yuan Jin and Zeng Fan went their separate ways to contact other nearby disciples. As they had expected, the nearby disciples had all been threatened by these two. Upon hearing their plan, some were eager to try, while others were afraid of retaliation and decided to endure.

After contacting everyone, Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin sat together again, counting the numbers. There were sixteen people in total.

"That's enough! We'll try to break through these two days, and once our realms improve, we'll go find them." Zeng Fan's face also showed a cold expression. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but they weren't gentlemen; they couldn't even wait until the next day.

Yuan Jin's face was also excited. "With this pill, I should be able to break through to Body Tempering Bone. I'll keep that fatso busy, and you dozen-plus people can beat up that skinny monkey and vent your anger!"

Zeng Fan nodded. Yuan Jin couldn't wait to return to his lodging to prepare for his breakthrough. Zeng Fan also calmed down, realizing that a peaceful state of mind was crucial during cultivation; otherwise, one could easily fall into qi deviation.

He closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, feeling his mind stabilize. Zeng Fan took out the pill and swallowed it. The pill had a faint fragrance as it entered his mouth, and a warm current slowly spread through his abdomen. Zeng Fan quickly circulated his spiritual energy, wrapping this medicinal power and circulating it within his body. As the medicinal power was continuously absorbed, threads of gentle potency permeated his sinews. The fluctuations outside Zeng Fan's body also steadily increased. Just as the medicinal power was about to be depleted, his body trembled slightly. Zeng Fan opened his eyes – he had broken through to Body Tempering Sinew!

Body Tempering Sinew primarily enhances speed. The higher the realm, the faster the speed. Zeng Fan closed his eyes, taking advantage of the remaining medicinal power from the pill to diligently temper his sinews, maximizing the pill's effects.

After the medicinal power of the pill was completely absorbed, Zeng Fan opened his eyes. With the absorption of this pill, his realm at Body Tempering Sinew was thoroughly stabilized. Once Yuan Jin breaks through, it'll be time to settle the score, Zeng Fan thought of the two individuals, let out a cold laugh, and closed his eyes to continue cultivating, waiting for Yuan Jin's breakthrough.

A day passed. "Hahahaha," a burst of laughter echoed. Zeng Fan opened his eyes, a smile appearing in them, knowing Yuan Jin had successfully broken through. However, after the laughter subsided, the commotion in Yuan Jin's room gradually lessened. Zeng Fan knew Yuan Jin needed to familiarize himself with his newfound strength. He could begin his actions. He walked out of his lodging and started contacting everyone.

The dozen or so people who had previously agreed to act gathered one after another at their lodging at Zeng Fan's summons.

"When do we make our move?" a slender young man asked. Although this young man was thin, his body subtly revealed muscular lines. If anyone overlooked these muscles, they would suffer. This person was named Xu Yun, and he was currently the highest-cultivated among them, at the peak of Body Tempering Sinew.

"Brother Xu, we'll make our move tomorrow! This many people is enough," Zeng Fan said to Xu Yun.

"Although we have these dozen-plus people, my cultivation hasn't reached the peak of Body Tempering Sinew yet. Should we wait a few more days?" Xu Yun hesitated slightly. After all, their opponents were both at the Body Tempering Bone realm. Even if they were Yellow Vein, there was still a certain chance of failure.

Zeng Fan also understood Xu Yun's thoughts. If they failed this time, not only would they face retaliation from those two, but everyone might lose confidence, and it would be difficult to organize again in the future. They could only wait until his own cultivation improved before seeking revenge.

Zeng Fan knew that everyone was still hesitant. It was time to give them some reassurance!

"Yuan Jin has already broken through to Body Tempering Bone," Zeng Fan slowly said to everyone.

"What? Yuan Jin broke through?"

"That's great! With one person at Body Tempering Bone, we can definitely handle one of them each!"

Everyone's faces lit up with joy, and they eagerly flexed their fists. With someone at the same realm as their opponents to hold the line, everyone's courage immediately grew.

"Everyone, then it's settled. We'll gather here tomorrow and go teach those two a lesson!" Zeng Fan cupped his fists towards everyone.

Xu Yun also smiled. "So Brother Yuan broke through. Then we have nothing to worry about. We'll go back and prepare. We'll definitely give those two bastards a good taste of their own medicine." He then bid farewell to Zeng Fan and hurried back.

Everyone bid farewell and left, preparing for tomorrow's plan. Zeng Fan looked towards Yuan Jin's room and murmured, "Now I'm just waiting for you, kid, to come out."

As if hearing Zeng Fan's words, with a creak, the door to Yuan Jin's room was forcefully opened. The sturdy young man strode out, his face filled with ferocity.

"I'm here! When are we going to settle the score with those two bastards!"