Seven Taels of Funding (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

With two straight victories, Chen Yuan had already locked in first place for his group. According to last month's rules, he would receive six taels of silver in funding this month.

As for the remaining two, there was no need to spar further.

Gao Mingchang had taken the force of Chen Yuan's Drill Fist into his body and already suffered internal injuries; even if he forced himself to continue, defeat was inevitable, and he would only worsen his condition.

Under Huang Yan's reminder, he realized this as well and conceded directly.

However, his complexion grew increasingly unsightly, and his gaze toward Chen Yuan turned ever more venomous.

Gao Mingchang had thought today would be his lucky day; he had taken pleasure in Chen Yuan's misfortune when Chen Yuan offended Yu Yan.

His draw had been good, too; if everything went smoothly, taking second place in the group would have been no problem.

Yet, he had ended up in last place! And he would have to spend quite some time nursing his injuries!

Never mind Chen Yuan, even Cao Yan would likely be able to catch up to him during this downtime.

It was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the bait—a total loss!

As Chen Yuan stepped off the stage, Sun Chengjie was still full of smiles: "Brother Chen, look at Gao Mingchang's face, it's as black as coal. He truly deserves it!"

Chen Yuan's expression remained as calm as ever.

Gao Mingchang had tried to gouge his eyes with malicious intent, so he naturally wouldn't indulge him.

He could go nurse his injuries alongside that wretch Chen Kai.

Glancing over, he noticed Yu Yan staring at him with a deep, unreadable gaze, wondering what he was thinking.

Chen Yuan withdrew his gaze indifferently.

This Yu Yan appeared steady on the surface, but in reality, he was petty; he would need to be more guarded against him in the future.

With that, the sparring for their group concluded.

The remaining two matches proceeded without any surprises.

Sun Chengjie defeated He Qing and then lost to Xue Anping, finalizing the rankings.

The entire sparring session lasted barely half an hour.

Gu Ye consulted briefly with Huang Yan in a low voice before announcing the results of this month's assessment with a solemn expression:

"Yu Yan has practiced diligently without pause and made rapid progress. He successfully broke through the barrier a few days ago, becoming a Skin Realm martial artist. This is a joyous occasion, and he is awarded five taels of silver. At the same time, his monthly funding will be increased to ten taels!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone cast their eyes toward Yu Yan. That was fifteen taels of silver! A massive sum they dared not even imagine.

Chen Yuan also clicked his tongue slightly; the Gu Family was truly willing to spend money.

Gu Ye cleared his throat and continued: "Do not be envious. If you can successfully break through the barrier within three months, my Gu Family will also award you three taels of silver!"

Clearly, this statement was directed at Chen Yuan and the other two, as they were the only ones with any hope of breaking through within three months.

However, Gao Mingchang, who had originally been the most promising, now had the slimmest hope, and his face grew even darker.

Chen Yuan remained composed.

A five-tael reward for breaking through in two months and three taels for three months was reasonable enough.

Xue Anping and the others had flickering gazes, waiting for what came next, wanting to know the reward for breaking through in four months.

But Gu Ye had nothing more to say. He swept his gaze over Chen Yuan and the others and continued:

"In this sparring session, Chen Yuan ranked first with significant progress; his funding is increased to six taels. Cao Yan ranked second; her funding remains unchanged at five taels. Gao Mingchang ranked third; his funding is reduced to four taels."

Having said this, he looked at Chen Yuan with appreciation.

He had thought that Chen Yuan, the strongest Grade D-Upper, would only be slightly better than the likes of Xue Anping, but he hadn't expected that in just two short months, he would have left the two Grade C-Lower talents behind.

Although there was still a gap between him and Yu Yan, he would be capable enough once cultivated.

As for Gao Mingchang, Gu Ye felt no pity, nor would he show leniency just because he was injured.

Chen Yuan's strikes were indeed heavy, but Gao Mingchang had been the one to provoke him first; he had brought this upon himself.

Cao Yan took a deep look at Chen Yuan, her expression complex.

Her original goal had been to secure second place, which was why she had been willing to spend five mace of silver to hold that position.

She hadn't expected that, through a twist of fate, she wouldn't need to spend the money and would still secure second place so easily.

She was even more grateful that Chen Yuan hadn't dealt her any heavy blows.

Gu Ye turned his gaze toward Xue Anping and the others.

He Qing instantly grew tense, his heart leaping into his throat. The scene of Liu Jin being eliminated a month ago was still fresh in his mind.

He had ranked at the bottom this week and was the most likely to be eliminated!

Then, he heard Gu Ye announce:

"Of you three, Xue Anping ranks first, with his funding increased to three taels; Sun Chengjie ranks second, with his funding remaining unchanged at two taels; He Qing ranks third, with his funding reduced to one tael."

He Qing first let out a sigh of relief, but then realized something was wrong.

One tael of funding a month? That would barely cover the tuition fees! What was he supposed to eat?

His face collapsed instantly; how was this any different from being eliminated?

After announcing the basic results, Gu Ye continued:

"Nurturing your blood and qi is like rowing a boat against the current; if you do not advance, you retreat. You must forge ahead with courage and break through the Skin Realm in one go. The longer you drag it out, the more silver you will spend, yet your blood and qi may not necessarily increase."

"Therefore, to assist you in breaking through the Skin Realm, the funding for all six of you will be increased by another tael of silver on top of what was just announced."

Gu Ye's tone shifted, and he added in a deep voice:

"However, the requirement is that everyone must break through the Skin Realm within four months. Those who fail to do so will be directly eliminated."

As soon as the new rule was announced, some were happy while others were worried.

Chen Yuan was naturally happy; for him, this was simply an additional increase in funding.

Four months was more than enough time; his goal was to secure that three-tael reward.

Xue Anping, however, had a heavy expression on his face.

He had been wondering why there was no reward for breaking through within four months; it turned out that four months was the cutoff line.

Clearly, the Gu Family did not want to spend any more time or money, and they were forcing them to push hard over these next two months.

If you can make it, you stay; if you can't, you get out.

Four months—could he do it?

Sun Chengjie and He Qing felt even more immense pressure. Master Huo had said that they might have a chance to succeed in six months of hard training, yet the Gu Family was only giving them four.

He Qing, in particular, felt the weight; even though his beef supply had been restored after the deduction and subsequent increase, he only had two taels of silver, and his probability of successfully breaking through was less than ten percent.

Sun Chengjie at least still had three taels of silver.

Unless he could get some silver from elsewhere.

For instance, heading into the mountains to hunt, He Qing thought, clenching his fists with a fierce resolve.

After the assessment ended, everyone went their separate ways.

The few at Huo Academy continued their arduous training.

Chen Yuan was training to break through the Skin Realm as quickly as possible to claim the reward, while Xue Anping and the others were forced to push forward under the pressure of the four-month deadline.

Fallen leaves piled up, time passing all too quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was dawn again.

Chen Yuan straightened his back as he rose from the bed and looked at his panel.

He discovered that his Dao of Survival points were still at 9, with no change.

He looked at the settlement remarks:

[Host, your act of openly falling out with Yu Yan has created an enemy and buried hidden dangers for your subsequent cultivation, which does not conform to the principles of the Dao of Survival. Dao of Survival points +0.]

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he had received zero.

However, the system made a valid point; it had indeed buried hidden dangers.

Was there a better way, though?

Accept the silver and play along, taking last place? Both money and reputation would be lost.

Pay more to bribe Yu Yan? He didn't have the money! All he had on hand was the two taels his aunt had given him last time, and he had already spent quite a bit of that.

Kneel on the ground and beg him to let him off? Forget it; the softer he acted, the more Yu Yan would likely push his luck.

Chen Yuan stopped overthinking it; since it had already happened, there was no need for internal friction.

It was only 3 Dao of Survival points, after all.

If he had chosen to swallow his pride, the losses would have been far greater than that.

In other words, there are some troubles in this world that are simply unavoidable.

He stopped dwelling on it, dressed neatly, and headed toward Huo Academy.

He wondered where the seven-tael funding would manifest; earning back those 3 Dao of Survival points shouldn't be a problem!