Yu Yan (Please Follow!)

The next day at noon, it was time for the Gu Family's monthly assessment once again.

The three practitioners from Changhong Martial Hall had already arrived at the pavilion to wait.

"Brother Yu, I'm sorry to trouble you with Chen Yuan's matter," Gao Mingchang said, his face wreathed in smiles.

Yu Yan smiled indifferently. "Rest assured. With me stepping in, Chen Yuan will give me this face."

Gao Mingchang chimed in with a laugh, "That's true, provided Chen Yuan hasn't lost his mind."

"I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother Yu," Cao Yan added softly.

Yu Yan gave a slight nod.

As Chen Yuan and his group walked into the courtyard, he rose from his seat, brushed off his sleeves, and headed over.

Gao Mingchang watched Yu Yan's retreating back, a sharp glint in his eyes, before shifting his gaze to Chen Yuan, the leader of the group, with a trace of malice.

That collision a month ago had left him in discomfort for days; not only did it hinder his cultivation, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

During that time, he had certainly considered tripping Chen Yuan up to hinder his progress, as the combat prowess and intelligence Chen Yuan displayed made him feel somewhat threatened.

However, after careful deliberation, he abandoned the idea of targeting Chen Yuan directly, fearing that any underhanded tactics discovered by the Gu Family would do more harm than good.

More importantly, he had thought of a better way.

Naturally, it was to leverage his friendship with Yu Yan, a fellow student at Changhong Martial Hall, and consult him.

In the end, he spent one tael of silver to move Yu Yan to step in, pressure Chen Yuan, and force him to voluntarily withdraw from the competition.

He had even dragged Cao Yan into it, having her contribute five mace of silver to Yu Yan as well; after all, Chen Yuan withdrawing from the competition was beneficial to her, too.

If Chen Yuan's impressive strength allowed him to win against her, her funding would be slashed to four taels of silver.

Spending five mace to avoid the risk of losing one tael was a bargain.

As for Gao Mingchang, he was confident in taking first place; even after giving the one-tael reward to Yu Yan, he would still walk away with five taels.

Moreover, securing first place and leaving a good impression on the Gu Family held intangible value.

Suppressing Chen Yuan in the process was truly killing three birds with one stone.

Both of them felt they had come out on top.

But what about Yu Yan?

Yu Yan, who was walking toward Chen Yuan's group, stopped in front of them and said indifferently, "Chen Yuan, I have a private matter I'd like to discuss with you."

A private matter?

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Alright."

The two walked to the side, leaving Xue Anping and the others to exchange confused glances, wondering what business Yu Yan, who had no prior connection to Chen Yuan, could possibly have.

Beside the swings in the outer courtyard, there was no one else around.

"Brother Yu, what can I do for you?" Chen Yuan asked calmly.

Yu Yan stopped, turned to look at Chen Yuan, and said coolly:

"Chen Yuan, I'll be blunt. In the upcoming sparring match against Gao Mingchang and Cao Yan, I hope you can hold back a little. Consider it giving me some face."

To him, this was an easy way to make money. A total of one tael and five mace of silver, while not a fortune, was enough to buy fifteen bowls of Body Strengthening Soup.

It was a trivial request, and besides, being able to suppress Chen Yuan and establish his own prestige—why wouldn't he do it?

As for Chen Yuan's thoughts, he didn't care, nor did he need to.

The world is inherently unfair; just take it.

Chen Yuan's expression turned colder. "Does Brother Yu mean that I should intentionally lose to them in the match?"

Yu Yan frowned slightly. "Chen Yuan, do you really think someone with your 'Ding' grade aptitude can compare to the two of them? I'm saying this for your own good. Fists and feet have no eyes; if you get hurt in a real fight, that's not something a few taels of silver can fix."

"Whether I can compare or not, we'll only know after we fight," Chen Yuan replied, neither servile nor overbearing.

He finally understood why Gao Mingchang hadn't used any underhanded tricks—he had been waiting for him here.

Trying to use Yu Yan to pressure him into backing down?

He wasn't qualified.

Yu Yan's brow furrowed deeper, and he said in a low voice:

"Chen Yuan, are you saying you won't give me this face? You should know that even if you successfully pass the trial, you'll be working under me in the future. Why make an enemy of me? I advise you to just honestly take your four taels of silver a month; it's better for both of us."

Chen Yuan's refusal to play along had already begun to irritate him.

Chen Yuan remained unmoved. "Brother Yu, this isn't just about a few taels of silver. If I lose, wouldn't I appear inferior to Gao and Cao in the eyes of Steward Gu Ye?"

Yu Yan's face darkened. "Are you saying that if you hold back and put on a show, you want me to give you something in return?"

Chen Yuan shook his head and smiled faintly. "I didn't ask for any benefits, but the loss I'd suffer is simply too great for me to accept."

Yu Yan was so angry he laughed. To think he could make such a high-sounding demand for benefits.

But to avoid blowing things out of proportion and affecting his own standing within the Gu Family, he made a final concession, holding up five fingers.

Chen Yuan's eyes lit up. Five taels of silver? That wasn't impossible!

Then he heard Yu Yan say:

"I'll give you five mace of silver, and we'll both take a step back. You're already getting four taels and five mace a month, which is quite good. I can tell you that Gao Mingchang and Cao Yan will be getting that same amount next month."

Chen Yuan almost laughed. Who was he trying to dismiss with five mace of silver?

He immediately replied, "Brother Yu, you don't respect me. Let's just settle this with our skills."

Although his principle was to lay low whenever possible, and he knew this would inevitably offend Yu Yan and bring trouble, the comparison between one tael and five mace of silver—along with the series of potential benefits from being valued by the Gu Family—made it clear which was more important.

Yu Yan's expression turned completely grim. He said coldly, "Chen Yuan, very well! You have backbone! You've defied me time and again; I want to see if you can still survive in the Gu Family after offending me!"

He had been thoroughly provoked by Chen Yuan.

How could someone with Grade-A bone structure dare to oppose him? Did that last sparring session give him too much confidence?

Did he think that because he fought Gao Mingchang to a draw, he could challenge him?

He had to remember that he was already a Skin Realm martial artist, and comprehending Ming Jin was just around the corner.

If the Gu Family had to choose between the two of them, the result was self-evident.

Chen Yuan and Yu Yan returned to the pavilion one after the other.

Chen Yuan's expression was as calm as usual, while Yu Yan's face was visibly gloomy; it was clear that the two had had an unpleasant encounter.

Gao Mingchang pulled Yu Yan aside to whisper a few words.

Upon learning that Chen Yuan had refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, openly going against Yu Yan, he was not disappointed that the plan had fallen through; on the contrary, he was even more delighted.

Chen Yuan's actions had completely offended Yu Yan, who was the most valued by the Gu Family and had the best talent and fastest progress. He would definitely suffer Yu Yan's retaliation from here on out.

This was far more serious than Chen Yuan being targeted during sparring; being at the bottom at most meant less funding.

But in this situation, as long as Yu Yan was ruthless, there was a possibility that Chen Yuan could be expelled from the Gu Family.

Gao Mingchang offered a few token words of comfort, fanned the flames while he was at it, and then looked at the calm-faced Chen Yuan, his heart blooming with joy.

Yu Yan was even willing to compensate you with five mace of silver, yet you didn't know when to quit? Do you really think you, Chen Yuan, can secure first place? He isn't just sitting around doing nothing!

If he could beat Chen Yuan down, he would have no chance of ever making a comeback.

Sun Chengjie noticed the clues and looked at Chen Yuan with some concern, asking in a low voice:

"Brother Chen, did you provoke Yu Yan? This is not good; it's best not to sour the relationship."

"Don't worry," Chen Yuan said calmly.

It's already soured, he added in his heart.

Before long, Gu Ye and Huang Yan arrived at the pavilion. After a few polite exchanges and reiterating the assessment arrangements from the previous month, they began the drawing of lots immediately!