A Good Deed Given for Free!

Deep night, silence reigned.

At the Azure Dragon Gang headquarters in the East District, a middle-aged man tilted his head to look at Feng Yue, who was performing a respectful disciple's salute.

"You mean to say that after meeting Lu Xiuyuan, Ye Li went to the gang's money shop to borrow a large sum?"

"Reporting to Elder Yang, that is exactly the case!" Feng Yue replied honestly, his tone deferential.

The middle-aged man before him was Yang Shichang, who had joined the gang thirty years ago.

Not yet forty, he had relied on his martial arts talent to ascend to the mid-stage of the Post-Heaven Realm.

While he had no hope of reaching the Innate Realm, such talent meant he had a chance in his lifetime to reach the Post-Heaven perfection like the gang leader!

Surrounding Feng Yue were not just Yang Shichang, but eight elders gathered together, all staring at him with piercing, focused gazes.

They were currently deliberating how to handle the two geniuses within the gang, Ye Li and Lu Xiuyuan.

Under the scrutiny of so many Post-Heaven experts, Feng Yue felt his breathing grow heavy.

Upon hearing the report, an elder wrapped in black robes chuckled:

"This young man is quite clever, actually resorting to loans. But does he really think he can break through to the Post-Heaven Realm just by having enough resources?"

The black-robed elder's words met with the approval of all the elders present.

Having climbed the ranks from ordinary disciples, they understood all too well how agonizing the barriers between realms could be.

While the early to perfect stages of the Body Tempering Realm could be achieved through sheer grinding, every minor breakthrough was hindered by one's natural talent for a period of time.

Advancing from Body Tempering perfection to the Post-Heaven Realm was an entirely new level of difficulty.

It required insights into martial arts, the mastery of power, and an understanding of one's own musculature; it was not something that could be achieved by simply following a step-by-step routine.

A blind reliance on money would only leave him stuck at Body Tempering perfection, unable to advance an inch, and the frustration of being trapped in a minor realm would be agonizing.

"This isn't just 'cleverness'."

Hearing the black-robed elder, Yang Shichang frowned and said, "Elder Wang, this is already a sign of him becoming alienated from the gang."

"Clearly, Ye Li feels that the gang is pouring all its resources into cultivating Lu Xiuyuan, so he wants to break through using his own strength rather than relying on the gang's support."

"That can't be right, isn't he borrowing through the gang's own channels?" an elder questioned.

Yang Shichang shook his head:

"I ask you, if this gets out, what will people think when they hear that a genius who broke through the Body Tempering Realm in just two months has been reduced to borrowing money from his own faction just to sustain his daily cultivation?"

Silence.

Hearing Yang Shichang's words, the elders present imagined the scene he described.

If this happened to any other faction, they would be the first to mock them before decisively offering a fortune to poach the talent.

A genius was the future of a faction; the more, the better!

"Another problem," Yang Shichang continued:

"Once Ye Li receives that loan, what will he think when he looks at the thousand taels in his hand?"

No one answered, so Yang Shichang explained directly: "He will feel that the gang isn't short on money, but simply unwilling to give it to him."

"He will think the gang already has Lu Xiuyuan with his blue-tier trait, so they don't value him."

"And what if, at that moment, other factions are willing to offer two thousand, or even ten thousand taels to recruit him?"

"For a genius like him, is ten thousand taels really that much? It might not even cover the cultivation resources for a few of us Post-Heaven experts for a year."

No one answered. After a brief silence, Elder Wang, draped in black robes, laughed sinisterly:

"Young people today are truly ungrateful. I think Old Yang is being too alarmist. When we were fighting our way up with the gang leader, we didn't have conditions as good as his."

"Having two Body Tempering Pills is already good enough. Can't he endure some hardship, grind it out, and settle down for a while? Once he proves his loyalty, we will naturally cultivate him properly."

"At most, his cultivation speed will slow down for a year or two. He's so young, what's the harm in waiting?"

Yang Shichang frowned:

"Don't talk about waiting a year. Given the threat from the Li Family, Ye Li might have to face their retaliation as early as next month."

"Are you expecting Ye Li to face those Post-Heaven experts from the Li Family with only his early-stage Body Tempering cultivation and the status of a core disciple?"

Silence...

The various elders present contemplated Ye Li's current situation and realized, upon reflection, that it was indeed dire.

As for Feng Yue, he was merely a small-time instructor at the Body Tempering Realm; he kept his eyes lowered and his heart still, not daring to overstep in the slightest amidst the elders' dispute.

Yang Shichang said calmly, "Times are not what they used to be; the gang's younger generation is failing to bridge the gap."

"Those with good talent were wiped out in the fighting against the Poison Wolf Gang over the past few years, and Xiuyuan is the only core disciple with a blue-tier trait."

"Although we have barely managed to keep our territory in the East District from being eroded thanks to the gang leader's cultivation, we have no successors to take over."

"It's fine for these few years, but what happens when our generation grows old? Who will provide for us in our twilight years? The Poison Wolf Gang?"

"Cultivating disciples is also for our own sake. You all know the nature of those animals from the West District in the Poison Wolf Gang. If we lose in the struggle, we won't even have to worry about what happens after we retire."

"Elder Yang makes sense," one elder echoed. "Forcing a promising newcomer to take out a loan to practice martial arts is far too petty."

"How about we waive the loan and have an elder take him as a disciple, cultivating him with the same benefits as Lu Xiuyuan?"

Seeing the others chime in one after another, the black-robed elder hurriedly interjected: "The Li Family's issue can be resolved by the gang, but granting a core disciple such preferential treatment goes against the rules."

Yang Shichang frowned, glaring at the black-robed elder: "Wang Luhe, you weren't so concerned with the rules when it came to Lu Xiuyuan. You cannot be this biased just because Lu Xiuyuan is your disciple."

Exposed, Wang Luhe's mouth twitched:

"Everything I do is for the sake of the gang; do not bring up irrelevant matters."

"You had better mean that!"

Yang Shichang's calm reply left Wang Luhe at a loss for how to respond.

"I propose that the one thousand taels be issued to Ye Li as planned for him to manage as he sees fit, interest-free!"

"However, a trial must be set. If he succeeds, he need not repay it; if he fails, he only needs to return the principal!"

Yang Shichang paused before saying: "As for the requirement..."

"I must reach the middle stage of Body Tempering within five months!!!"

The next day, at Wantong Textile.

Rising early, Ye Li did not head to Spring Return Alley first, but came here to collect the money instead.

Staring at Ji Yu and Feng Yue before him, he could not suppress the shock on his face upon hearing this so-called requirement.

"That's right!" Feng Yue said with a solemn expression, relaying the order on behalf of the Council of Elders:

"I know this requirement is extremely difficult, but this is the high expectation the Council of Elders has for you. I hope you can overcome it."

"If you meet the requirement, you won't have to repay this one thousand taels!"

Ye Li: There's such a thing as a free lunch?