Rain Listening Pavilion

"Add points!"

When the time came, Fang Yuan returned to his own courtyard and began cultivating.

Today, he would open all his acupoints!

[You cultivated diligently for a year and broke through two consecutive barriers. Your body has grown stronger in every way, but you have yet to condense Divine Sense, so your cultivation has not made any substantial breakthrough.]

After the Attribute Panel displayed a line of text,

a surge of warmth rushed through Fang Yuan's calves and the soles of his feet, then spread throughout his body. It seemed the final two barriers had broken through.

The acupoints throughout his body seemed to form invisible bridges, resonating with one another. In an instant, he felt himself brimming with power.

"My physical strength has surpassed five thousand jin!"

Even without true qi to bolster him, his pure physical strength alone was enough to easily crush someone in the middle stage of the Xiantian Realm.

"Looks like the talent of the Heavenly Origin Earth Realm can't directly help temper my mind or condense Divine Sense."

This talent seemed to directly increase his cultivation. His mind and body only benefited as a result, as an added bonus.

"My mental strength has improved a little, but not by much."

The only barrier standing between Fang Yuan and a breakthrough to the Foundation Building Realm was condensing Divine Sense.

"I remember there's a pill that can increase mental strength. With the Soul Art to go with it, I should be able to make rapid progress."

"You didn't provoke Fang Yuan at the Drunken Dream Pavilion last night, did you?"

After his Dantian was crippled, Fang Qian returned to the Fang Family residence that very night. He had gone back both to recover from his injuries and to complain to his father.

"I didn't."

Fang Qian explained the whole story truthfully, but from the look on Fang Yiming's face, it didn't seem like he would stand up for him.

"Fang Yuan went too far."

Fang Yiming was silent for a long while before slowly voicing those words.

Fang Qian might have been useless, but he had still worked hard for the family. Crippling his Dantian over such a small matter had gone too far.

After all, Fang Yiming was an elder of the family. Surely Fang Yuan could spare him some face.

He probably didn't realize that by not killing Fang Qian, Fang Yuan had already shown him more than enough respect.

"You didn't talk back to Fang Yuan. I'll go speak to the family head in a little while and see if I can get you the medicinal ingredients needed to repair your Dantian."

In the Fang Family, it was a grave offense for a junior to defy their superior!

"Thank you, Father!"

Seeing his father so confident, Fang Qian's expression immediately brightened, and a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

As an elder, Fang Yiming was entitled to meet with the family head. Soon, he arrived at Fang Zhongwu's study.

But he came back out almost immediately, his face dark as thunder.

Fang Qian waited at home, full of hope. When he saw his father's expression, he didn't dare say a word and hurried back to his own quarters to recuperate.

Meanwhile,

Fang Yuan arrived at Fang Zhongwu's study almost at the same time.

His father was as busy as ever. After all, he had to manage the affairs of the entire family, and there was no end to the trivial matters.

Fang Yuan explained why he had come.

"The Spirit Gathering Pill works very well for condensing Divine Sense."

Fang Zhongwu waved his hand, and several more jade bottles appeared on the desk, as if he had prepared them in advance.

"Father, does your Space Ring have everything in it?" Fang Yuan asked, looking at him oddly.

Fang Zhongwu shot Fang Yuan a sidelong glance and didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Fang Yiming came to see me today."

There were only a few dozen elders in the family, so Fang Yuan knew exactly who Fang Yiming was.

"Did he come to apologize?"

Fang Yuan thought his father meant to use the incident to give him a warning.

Who would have guessed—

"Next time, don't hold back. You could kill someone like Fang Qian and save him from bringing shame on the family."

How overbearing!

Wasn't a person in his father's position supposed to consider the bigger picture and maintain a balance of power?

"His father isn't even a Council Elder. Don't pay him much attention," Fang Zhongwu said indifferently.

The Fang Family elders were all in the Foundation Building Realm, but their authority varied greatly.

Only the Council Elders could truly take their place in the family's inner circle. They were entitled to sit in the Council Hall and discuss major family affairs.

As the Young Master, Fang Yuan held an honored position and was likewise entitled to sit in the Council Hall.

So Fang Zhongwu had brushed Fang Yiming off with just one sentence.

"Should we hand this over to the Discipline Hall?"

Some things might weigh only four ounces until you put them on the scale—then they could weigh a thousand jin.

Behind an elder, there was often an entire branch of the family.

That was why Fang Yiming had first asked whether Fang Qian had provoked Fang Yuan, only bringing up the matter of his crippled Dantian afterward.

"The matter with Green Ridge Stronghold should be drawing to a close. It's a perfect opportunity to get some practice."

Fang Zhongwu's words made it clear that he was sentencing Green Ridge Stronghold to death.

"I'll raise my strength a little more over the next couple of days."

Fang Zhongwu nodded slightly. The one hundred and eight acupoints of the Xiantian Realm were indeed a major hurdle, one that stopped many talented cultivators.

Back at his courtyard,

Fang Yuan summoned Xiao Zi and asked her to invite White Face Hand to the family residence to make disguises of the Fifth Chief of Qinggang Stockade and the others.

Xiao Zi was puzzled, but didn't ask questions. She simply carried out the Young Master's orders.

"I should ask one of the family's martial masters to visit the girls we took in from time to time and give them pointers."

Fang Yuan insisted that he absolutely didn't want to see Miao Yunshang. He was only thinking about building up his own forces.

After thinking it over, Fang Yuan went to the Martial Arts Arena and sought out a tall martial master named Fang Rong, who was at the seventh level of the Xiantian Realm.

As it happened, he was the younger brother of Steward Fang Zheng, born of the same parents.

"Greetings, Young Master. Give the word, and I'll do whatever you ask."

Fang Rong had never expected the Young Master to take an interest in him. Now that he had this connection, his future looked bright!

Teaching a few people who hadn't even set foot on the path of martial arts would be a piece of cake.

With Fang Yuan's support, Miao Yunshang had already arranged a residence in the Inner City that morning, not far from the girls.

The house had two rooms and a courtyard. It wasn't large, but it was neat and charming, and the surroundings were very peaceful.

"Your Highness, the disciples should have somewhere they can call home."

Miao Yunshang served Fang Yuan attentively and had thought everything through.

"Why not call it Rain Listening Pavilion? You'll be its master. If it grows larger later, you can set up other positions. I'll leave everything in your hands for now."

Fang Yuan made his promise. "For the cultivation resources you need, or for cultivation techniques and martial skills, you can contact Xiao Zi."

"But there's one thing: you must never come into conflict with the Fang Family. Not a single bit of what you've learned can be allowed to leak out."

Miao Yunshang came from the Murong Family of the Royal City and knew these rules by heart. She nodded slightly.

Before long, Fang Yuan arrived at Rain Listening Pavilion. All the disciples came out to welcome him, their hearts filled with gratitude and their faces respectful.

Born into troubled times, they had finally found a place where they could live out their lives in peace.

To have food when hungry and clothes when cold was already the lifelong dream of most ordinary people.

And these people had been at the very bottom of society.

Now they had heard they could read and study, and cultivate the arts of immortals. How could they not be excited? How could they not be filled with hope?

The Dao could not be passed on lightly.

Even ancient books read by scholars were monopolized by the great aristocratic clans and noble houses. To cross the class divide was nothing but a fool's dream.

Becoming a martial artist, let alone a cultivator, was something they had never dared to imagine.

But now, Fang Yuan had given them a home. They were ready to serve him with their very lives, even to die for him.

"From now on, there will be regular assessments. If you slack off in your cultivation, you'll be expelled from Rain Listening Pavilion."