Drive the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

"Brother Yang! Brother Xun!" Su Bai cupped his hands in greeting. His father was the Minister of Revenue, controlling Yue Kingdom's finances, so his family was naturally very wealthy.

When he first boarded the boat, he was still a chubby kid. Only eleven days had passed, and he hadn't changed—still a chubby kid.

The chubby kid frowned and whispered, "Guess what I heard?"

"What?" Xun Hu asked. "With that look on your face, it can't be good news, right?"

"Mm!" Su Bai nodded. "I found out that Zhao Bu has an older brother named Zhao Yang, an Outer Disciple of Taiheng Sect, and a name on the Dragon Gate Ranking. These past few days, Zhao Bu has been using his brother's reputation to recruit followers, promising that anyone willing to follow him can get Outer Sect resources. By now, over thirty people have chosen to side with him!"

"Outer Disciple, Dragon Gate Ranking?" Xun Hu blinked. "What's that?"

"Every year, Taiheng Sect's Outer Sect holds the Dragon Gate Competition. The top ten can have their names carved on the Dragon Gate Ranking!" Yang Ning said. "It's said to symbolize a fish leaping over the dragon gate, and it's also the sect's hope that they'll enter the Inner Sect."

Taiheng Sect's Outer Sect had hundreds of thousands of disciples. What did being in the top ten mean?

And it wasn't just ten per year—it was a ranking accumulated over several years, even decades, of disciples. How exalted was that status?

These people didn't need to do tasks or compete for resources. Countless others would grovel and offer them up just to curry favor. All they had to do was cultivate with full effort, aiming to enter the Inner Sect.

With a brother like that, even the tiniest scraps of resources leaking through his fingers would be an unimaginable number for these Ascension Academy students.

Yang Ning didn't feel particularly bothered by this. He'd gotten used to it in his past life—some people were born in Rome, others were just oxen and horses.

"So, we can't deal with Zhao Bu anymore?" Xun Hu asked.

"Then we'll just have to avoid him from now on?" Ning Rong, dressed in purple robes with a sword at her waist, came from a martial noble lineage on the queen's side. She had trained in martial arts since childhood and had a straight-tempered personality. How could she swallow this anger? She immediately looked at Yang Ning. "Brother Yang, you're the smartest. Think of a way for us!"

Yang Ning didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing. He just wanted to cultivate in peace.

But who could blame him for not figuring out the situation before starting his cultivation? He'd taken on the role of Minister of Works and exposed his abilities. He couldn't escape this kind of trouble now; he'd have to find a way to lie low later.

Yang Ning thought for a moment, then asked softly, "On this Ascension Boat, can you kill people?"

Ning Rong was startled and shook her head. "Probably not. Taiheng Sect forbids disciples from killing each other!!"

In truth, there were plenty of cases of Taiheng Sect disciples killing each other, but there was a prerequisite: don't get caught with solid evidence.

But on the Ascension Boat, there were only two hundred plus six hundred disciples, with another two hundred Taiheng Sect Outer Disciples watching over them, roughly one person overseeing four. If someone killed, how could they not be caught?

"Then it's settled!" Yang Ning shrugged. "Since we can't kill him and he has the numbers, we'll just have to train hard and defeat him fair and square with our cultivation!"

"This..." Xun Hu was stunned, then helplessly nodded. "Seems like that's the way it is. But it still feels pretty frustrating!"

"When your skill isn't up to par, that's how it goes."

"Then, what if he comes after us on purpose?" Ning Rong asked. "He's not the type to hold back. He used to bully us with his numbers before, and now with even more people, won't he bully us even worse?"

That was indeed a problem.

Anyone who'd been through middle school knew how terrifying kids that age could be with school violence—no pity, no sense of restraint. These people were only eleven or twelve, but most had trained in martial arts since childhood and had strong hands!

He wouldn't kill, but he could seriously injure you, wasting three or four days of your cultivation time without issue. And with Yang Ning and Ning Rong's identities—one a book boy, the other a servant—no one would even take their complaints.

So if this problem wasn't solved, peaceful cultivation was impossible!

Yang Ning thought again and looked around.

It was break time. Students gathered in twos and threes, forming small groups based on who they got along with.

Zhao Bu was among them, surrounded by over twenty youths, walking in a crowd that looked quite imposing.

Zhao Bu's voice was loud and sharp—that piercing, changing tone of adolescence—audible from far away.

But Zhao Bu's group wasn't the biggest. The largest was centered around a youth in dark brocade robes embroidered with golden dragons. He had sharp brows, bright eyes, and deep pupils, with an air of looking down on the world. To Yang Ning, he almost resembled the young First Emperor.

Around this youth were over forty people, their eyes full of reverence. This kind of spontaneous admiration was far stronger than Zhao Bu's recruitment through his brother's reputation.

"Who's that?" Yang Ning asked.

Su Bai turned to look, then said, "His name is Lin Jingyun, a prince of the Great Sheng Dynasty in the Southern Forest."

"Great Sheng, huh. No wonder."

East Victory, West Hua, Southern Forest, Northern Plains—these were the four major regions of Taiheng Sect's territory. Each region had many kingdoms and sects relying on Taiheng Sect, and Great Sheng was one of them.

But the Southern Forest's overall strength surpassed the Northern Plains, and Great Sheng was the strongest kingdom in the Southern Forest—several times more powerful than Zhao Kingdom and Yue Kingdom combined. Lin Jingyun's attitude made sense.

"Brother Yang, don't underestimate him. He didn't earn so many followers just because of his birth. It's said that when Lin Jingyun was three, the Princess of the Man Family took a liking to him, adopted him as her godson, and gifted him an Exquisite Pill. As a result, Lin Jingyun is not only talented in both literature and martial arts but also has astonishing cultivation talent. He already entered the Breathing Technique three days ago!"

"The Man Family in Southern Prefecture is a super clan in southern Taiheng, skilled in raising Gu and alchemy. Their family heirloom, the Thousand Illusions Hundred Refinements Scripture, is a top-tier immortal scripture." Deep Blue quickly retrieved the Man Family's information.

Yang Ning wasn't interested in the Man Family. What caught his attention was the Exquisite Pill.

The Vast Universe Records recorded that there were many pills usable in the Body Refinement Realm, but only three were top-tier: the Heavenly Heart Pill, the Exquisite Pill, and the Nine Apertures Spirit Connecting Pill.

The Heavenly Heart Pill was a breakthrough pill for the Body Refinement Tenth Layer, said to greatly increase the chance of a Body Refinement cultivator breaking through to the Qi Refining Realm. This "great chance" was almost one hundred percent, as no failures had been reported yet.

As the first major barrier in cultivation, the leap from Body Refinement to Qi Refining was the difference between mortal and immortal. Countless people were stuck at this gate. A pill that could help break through—the Heavenly Heart Pill was unquestionably the number one pill in the Body Refinement Realm.

The Exquisite Pill was a different type. After consumption, it would generate a Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart within the body, maxing out both learning talent and martial talent, allowing one to reach the peak of Body Refinement faster.

And many couldn't break through the Body Refinement Realm simply because of insufficient accumulation. Reaching the peak faster gave more time to accumulate, making it a good way to increase breakthrough chances.

The rarest part was that the Exquisite Heart from the pill had a life-replacing function. As long as a fatal wound was to the heart, the Exquisite Pill would transform into a Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart, completing a resurrection.

Though cultivators had a habit of grinding enemies to dust, if someone was careless, this was an extra life!

The Nine Apertures Spirit Connecting Pill was a divine pill in the Demon Beast world.

Bodhi Patriarch once said that any being with nine apertures can become an immortal, but some demon beasts—like stones that have gained sentience—lack these nine apertures. In such cases, consuming a single Nine Apertures Spirit Connecting Pill can generate the nine apertures and set them on the path of cultivation.

Humans can also take the Nine Apertures Spirit Connecting Pill. After consuming it, their nine apertures are greatly enhanced, nearly reaching the divine, granting sharp ears and keen eyes, a sensitive nose—comparable to the divine abilities of clairvoyance and clairaudience—and proving highly beneficial in battle.

Some immortal sects refer to the constitution formed by taking the Nine Apertures Spirit Connecting Pill as the Nine Apertures Spirit Connecting Body, which is another manifestation of the pill's miraculous nature.

The three great divine pills each have their own wonders. Lin Jingyun took the Exquisite Pill and only needed eight days to get started on the Breathing Technique. No wonder he's so arrogant.

But...

It took him eight days just to get started with the Exquisite Pill? I only needed four days, so the Exquisite Pill's effect doesn't seem all that impressive, does it?

"By the way, why did we suddenly start talking about Lin Jingyun?" Xun Hu asked. "Weren't we discussing Zhao Bu?"

"As the saying goes, brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against outsiders. Our conflict with Zhao Bu is an internal matter of the Northern Plains. But if someone from the Southern Forest comes to bully us, what would Zhao Bu do?" Yang Ning said softly.

"This..." Xun Hu was stunned at first, then his eyes lit up immediately.

"But will Zhao Bu stand up for us?" Ning Rong wasn't so optimistic. "If he finds out we've offended Lin Jingyun, he might even help Lin Jingyun step on us!"

"So it can't be us offending Lin Jingyun—it has to be Zhao Bu's underling who does it!" Yang Ning spread his hands. "He can't just refuse to back his own man, can he!"

"His underling isn't stupid," Su Bai said. "Why would he offend Lin Jingyun for no reason?"

"That's where you come in!" Yang Ning looked at Su Bai. "I know you hold a grudge against me, and you like Ning Rong, but Ning Rong likes me..."

Su Bai's face turned pale. "You're talking nonsense. How could I hold a grudge against you? And I wouldn't dare like Ning Rong."

Ning Rong clenched her fists on the side. "What do you mean by that? Am I not worthy of being liked by you?"

Su Bai quickly waved his hands. "It's not that you're unworthy—I just don't dare!"

Ning Rong grew even more indignant. Though she was spirited and bold, considering herself no less than any prince or noble, she still had a bit of a maiden's heart.

"Stop messing around," Yang Ning said. "I'm setting up the scenario here. My status is too low—it really doesn't fit. Let's change it to Xun Hu. Su Bai, you like Ning Rong, but Ning Rong likes Xun Hu, so you hate Xun Hu out of jealousy and decide to go after him!"

Ning Rong pouted. Xun Hu? That fool. Who would ever like him?

But Yang Ning ignored her look and continued, "Got it?"

Su Bai blinked. "You want me to go undercover?"

"Yes!" Yang Ning nodded. "Then you'll be Zhao Bu's underling, won't you?"

Su Bai's eyes lit up. "That... sounds interesting?"

"This plan isn't bad!" Xun Hu turned his head. "Su Bai, are you willing to go?"

"I'm definitely willing to go. As long as I can screw him over, I'd even die for it! But will Zhao Bu believe it?" Su Bai was full of youthful bravado, fueled by national grievances and personal grudges, plus the humiliation of being bullied these past few days. Of course he'd be willing to get revenge!

Besides, this seemed like a lot of fun. After all, he was a hot-blooded youth who loved the feeling of doing something big.

But Zhao Bu wasn't stupid either!

"Then just tell him directly that I sent you to be a mole, but you genuinely want to defect to him. After all, he has an older brother who's an Outer Disciple. What are we? A mere child prodigy is worthless in front of the Dragon Gate Ranking. Xun Hu is just a poor prince with barely a few coins on him. Following us has no future!"

This would definitely draw some hatred onto himself, but Yang Ning was already seen as an enemy by Zhao Bu, so he didn't care.

And with the Exquisite Pill as an example, he believed his cheat was stronger than the three great divine pills. As long as he had a stable cultivation environment, he could catch up to not just Zhao Bu, but even his brother.

By the time the hatred shifted back to him, he'd long be unafraid!

Hearing Yang Ning's words, Su Bai was left speechless. Xun Hu also looked dazed. That reasoning was way too convincing!

If I were Zhao Bu, I'd believe it too!

After all, everything he said was the truth! Following Zhao Bu really did seem more promising than following Xun Hu!

"Besides, it's not a loss for you to follow him. Ask for a high salary. Make him understand a principle: if he's willing to take in even his enemy's subordinate and give him such good treatment, then how much more would he do for someone without enmity?" Yang Ning continued his lesson.

Xun Hu was also speechless. No wonder he's a child prodigy—his heart is pitch black!

Ning Rong's bright eyes widened. No wonder he's a prodigy renowned across a hundred nations. He could come up with something like this? Good thing he's on our side.

If he were an opponent, wouldn't you be doomed to be outmaneuvered?

"... " Su Bai was silent for a long time, unable to refute, before finally saying, "Then... should I go find him tonight?"

"Forget tonight—do it now!" Yang Ning said. "I'll write down the lines for you to memorize. Then we'll start the act!"

"... "

After a moment, Xun Hu suddenly slammed the table. "Su Bai, you're asking for trouble, aren't you!"

"So what if I am!" Su Bai shot up. "And you, Yang Ning—you're nothing but a stinking farmer!"