Protection Money?

Yuan Jin's voice came from beside Zeng Fan. Zeng Fan turned around and saw Yuan Jin staring at the two people opposite them with a mocking sneer.

So this counts as extorting protection money? Zeng Fan felt both amused and exasperated. Some things truly happened everywhere. Still, he was not too worried. Five Mountains Sect allowed disciples to have conflicts, but forbade them from fighting to the death. What Yuan Jin said was not wrong, either. Once certain things got started, they would become troublesome.

"Two Senior Brothers, we need these Spirit Stones too. You should borrow them from someone else." Zeng Fan's expression turned cold as well.

Upon hearing their words, the skinny man's smile slowly faded. "You two Junior Brothers, are you sure you don't want to think it over? Although the sect forbids killing, even a minor scuffle that leaves you injured could affect your cultivation. That wouldn't be good."

"Why waste so much breath? If you want them, beat us first." Yuan Jin sneered.

"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!" Seeing this, the fat man immediately circulated his Spiritual Energy and punched toward Yuan Jin. Yuan Jin let out a cold laugh, and the Spiritual Energy around his body surged as well.

"Five Kill Force!"

With a bang, Yuan Jin's elbow collided directly with the fat man's fist. At the instant of impact, both their expressions changed. Their opponent's strength had exceeded their expectations, and both sides retreated.

Thud, thud, thud—the dust on the ground billowed up. Yuan Jin retreated three steps, while the fat man took one step back. "Yellow Vein Body Tempering Bone? No wonder you dared to demand our Spirit Stones." Yuan Jin's expression grew solemn. Although his opponent was at the Body Tempering Bone stage, Yellow Vein could naturally absorb less Spiritual Energy than higher-grade Spirit Veins. Thus, despite the fat man being a realm above Yuan Jin, the gap in strength was not as great as one might imagine.

"Heh heh, kid. There are two of us." The skinny man circulated the cultivation inside his body, and the fluctuations of Body Tempering Bone spread out. However, he was slightly weaker than the fat man beside him.

The skinny man looked at Zeng Fan. "You want to try as well?" Although the skinny man also had a Yellow Vein and was at Body Tempering Bone, he was two minor realms above Zeng Fan. The Profound Grade Spiritual Vein could not erase that gap.

Yuan Jin's brows furrowed tightly. He was not afraid of one person. With Zeng Fan assisting him from the side, defeating one opponent would not be impossible. But with his current strength, he could not deal with two Body Tempering Bone cultivators across minor realms.

"Give them the Spirit Stones first. Once our cultivation improves, we'll get our revenge." Zeng Fan understood the situation as well. If a conflict broke out, the skinny man would defeat him very quickly. Yuan Jin would certainly suffer if he faced two people alone. Thinking this, Zeng Fan whispered to Yuan Jin.

Yuan Jin gritted his teeth, took out the Spirit Stones, and tossed them over. The skinny man reached out and caught them. "Wouldn't it have been better to do this from the start? You wasted our time." The skinny man sneered.

Zeng Fan took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger. He said nothing more, simply pulling Yuan Jin toward their residence. The two men did not stop them either. They watched the pair leave with mocking expressions, then exchanged a smile.

Back inside their residence, Yuan Jin slapped the table. "This is going too far! Bastards! Once my cultivation improves, I'll definitely teach those two a harsh lesson." His face was full of indignation.

Zeng Fan was thinking as well. Even with his current cultivation and the pill, he probably could not break through to Body Tempering Bone in a short time. Yuan Jin, on the other hand, might be able to break through. But fighting two people alone would be too difficult and not sufficiently safe. Could he really be unable to vent this anger anytime soon?

Zeng Fan frowned. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. He turned to Yuan Jin and said, "Do you think those two bastards only demanded Spirit Stones from us?"

Yuan Jin froze, then his eyes lit up. "You mean those two bastards may have extorted every disciple in our batch? We're not the only ones who can't stand them. There are dozens of people in our batch! We may not be able to beat them two-on-two, but we have dozens of people. If we swarm them, we'll beat the crap out of them!" Yuan Jin immediately understood what Zeng Fan meant.

"Exactly. Let's split up and contact the others. If anyone else was robbed, we'll work together and make them spit out all those Spirit Stones!" Zeng Fan smiled at Yuan Jin.

They acted immediately. Yuan Jin and Zeng Fan separately contacted the other nearby disciples. Sure enough, just as they had expected, the two men had extorted the nearby disciples as well. After hearing their plan, some were eager to try, while others feared retaliation and decided to endure it.

After making the rounds, Zeng Fan and Yuan Jin sat together again and counted their numbers. There were actually sixteen people.

"That's enough! We'll try to break through over the next two days. Once our realms improve, we'll go cause trouble for them." Zeng Fan's face was cold as well. A gentleman could wait ten years to take revenge, but the two of them were no gentlemen—they could not even stomach a grudge overnight.

Yuan Jin was also excited. "With this pill, I should be able to break through to Body Tempering Bone. I'll keep that dead fatso occupied. The dozen or so of you can beat that skinny monkey senseless. Let's vent this anger properly!"

Zeng Fan nodded. Yuan Jin impatiently returned to his residence to prepare for his breakthrough. Zeng Fan calmed himself as well. One's state of mind had to remain peaceful during a breakthrough, or one could easily suffer cultivation deviation.

After closing his eyes and meditating for a moment, Zeng Fan felt that his mind had settled. He took out the pill and swallowed it. The moment it entered his mouth, it carried a faint fragrance, and a warm current slowly spread through his abdomen. Zeng Fan hurriedly circulated his Spiritual Energy, wrapping up the medicinal power and circulating it through his body. As he continuously absorbed the medicinal power, threads of gentle energy seeped into his muscles and meridians. The fluctuations around Zeng Fan's body grew stronger and stronger. Just as the medicinal power was about to be exhausted, his body suddenly trembled slightly. Zeng Fan opened his eyes—he had broken through to Body Tempering Muscle!

Body Tempering Muscle mainly strengthened speed. The higher the realm, the faster one became. Zeng Fan closed his eyes and, while the pill still retained some medicinal power, hurriedly tempered his muscles and meridians, trying his best to draw out the pill's effects.

After the pill's medicinal power had been completely absorbed, Zeng Fan opened his eyes. With the absorption of the pill, his Body Tempering Muscle cultivation had become completely stable. Once Yuan Jin breaks through, it'll be time to get our revenge. Thinking of those two men, Zeng Fan let out a cold laugh, closed his eyes, and continued cultivating as he waited for Yuan Jin's breakthrough.

A day passed. "Hahahaha!" A burst of laughter rang out. Zeng Fan opened his eyes, a smile appearing in them. He knew Yuan Jin had succeeded in breaking through. However, after the laughter rang out, the sounds from inside Yuan Jin's room gradually grew quieter instead. Zeng Fan knew Yuan Jin needed to familiarize himself with his strength, so he could begin acting. He left the residence and began contacting everyone.

The dozen or so people who had previously agreed to act gathered one after another at the residence shared by the two of them under Zeng Fan's summons.

"When are we going to make our move?" a thinly built youth asked. Although the youth's body was slender, faint lines of muscle could still be seen on him. Anyone who overlooked those muscles would certainly suffer for it. This person was Xu Yun, currently the strongest among them. He had reached Body Tempering Muscle Mastery.

"Brother Xu, we'll make our move tomorrow! With this many people, it'll be enough." Zeng Fan spoke to Xu Yun.

"Although we have more than a dozen people, I haven't yet broken through to Body Tempering Muscle Perfection. Should we wait a few more days?" Xu Yun hesitated slightly. After all, their opponents were also at Body Tempering Bone. Although they had Yellow Veins, there was still a certain chance of failure.

Zeng Fan understood Xu Yun's thoughts as well. If they failed this time, they would not only have to face retaliation from those two men, but everyone might also lose confidence. Organizing them again in the future would probably be impossible. They could only wait until their own cultivation improved before taking revenge.

Zeng Fan knew everyone was still hesitating. It was time to give them a pill to settle their nerves!

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

"What? Yuan Jin broke through?"

"Wonderful! With a Body Tempering Bone cultivator among us, our combined strength is more than enough to deal with one of them!"

Everyone's faces lit up. They rubbed their fists and palms, and with someone at the same realm as their opponents holding the line, their courage immediately swelled.

"Everyone, then it's settled. We'll gather here tomorrow and go give those two a taste of trouble!" Zeng Fan cupped his fists toward the group.

Xu Yun smiled as well. "So Brother Yuan broke through. Then there's nothing to worry about. We'll go back and prepare. We'll definitely make those two bastards drink a full cup." He bid Zeng Fan farewell and hurried home.

Everyone said their farewells and left to prepare for the next day's plan. Zeng Fan, meanwhile, looked toward Yuan Jin's room and murmured, "Now we're just waiting for you to come out, kid."

As if he had heard Zeng Fan's words, the door to Yuan Jin's room suddenly flew open with a creak. The burly youth strode out, a vicious look on his face.

"I'm here. When are we going to settle accounts with those two bastards?"