Li Ping swept his gaze over the other six.
Under his gaze, Zhang Tie looked slightly dazed, Gu Musheng forced himself to remain composed, Cheng Yao seemed bewildered, Qi Hanmo looked thoughtful, Teng Feng appeared somewhat surprised, and Bai Qing stared in astonishment.
Their six different expressions reflected their reactions to Gu Musheng contributing 100 spirit stones.
Zhang Tie had yet to work out why Gu Musheng was doing this, while Gu Musheng worried that Li Ping would favor Zhang Tie and stop him outright.
Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and the other two understood Gu Musheng's intention, but his approach left them surprised and puzzled.
To be honest, among the other six sworn siblings, Zhang Tie was indeed the closest to Li Ping.
Zhang Tie was honest and kindhearted, trusted his eldest brother completely, and had quietly contributed for nearly twenty years toward his eldest brother's Foundation Establishment.
Gu Musheng, on the other hand, had always had little schemes of his own. Li Ping could tell that he did not place complete faith in him.
If he could choose only one of the two, Li Ping would undoubtedly choose Zhang Tie.
But in dealing with Gu Musheng's actions, he could not simply favor Zhang Tie at every turn.
For one thing, Gu Musheng's contribution of 100 spirit stones would speed up the accumulation of the Foundation Establishment Fund, allowing the Shared Boat Association to achieve its goal of "Foundation Establishment for all" sooner and freeing Li Ping from his oath.
Stopping him would instead dampen everyone's enthusiasm for contributing, pushing the Shared Boat Association's goal of "Foundation Establishment for all" even further out of reach.
That would undoubtedly hurt Li Ping himself the most.
Besides, Gu Musheng's action did not violate the rules Li Ping had originally set, so Li Ping had no reason to forbid him from contributing more spirit stones.
After all, the Shared Boat Association did not belong solely to him and Zhang Tie. It belonged to all seven people present. If he insisted on disregarding the rules to favor Zhang Tie, that would actually count as breaking his oath!
At that thought, Li Ping could not help drawing a deep breath.
Although he had plenty of reasons to convince himself, he could not simply turn a blind eye to Gu Musheng's actions.
His approach complied with the rules, but not with reason or sentiment, and it also damaged the bonds between the association's sworn siblings!
If Gu Musheng could use his household's wealth in spirit stones to jump the queue for Foundation Establishment, what would the others think?
Qi Hanmo possessed the skills of a First-Tier Upper-Grade Musician and would surely earn spirit stones faster than Cheng Yao in the future. Would he follow suit and try to jump the queue?
Bai Qing came from the Bai Family, a Cultivation Family. Would he drop hints to obtain the Bai Family's support and seize a chance at Foundation Establishment?
What worried Li Ping even more was whether those who could not compete with them would take desperate risks, turning down the wicked path of robber cultivators to earn more spirit stones.
Might they even fight over the chance to establish their foundations first until the fish died and the net broke, slaughtering one another and splattering the streets with blood?
That was entirely possible. In mortal dynasties, for example, people vying for the throne killed their fathers, brothers, sons... slaughtering until blood flowed in rivers was commonplace.
And a Foundation Establishment cultivator's status was more exalted than a mortal dynasty's emperor by who knew how many times.
When Foundation Establishment was at stake, what did a little bond of sworn kinship amount to? Who would care?
They might not care, but Li Ping did.
After all, if things ended up like that, could his oath still count as fulfilled?
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Li Ping reached a decision.
First, he would not stop Gu Musheng.
But if Gu Musheng insisted on doing this, Li Ping would make him pay a certain price, patching a hole in the association's rules in the process.
Because Li Ping remained silent, the gathering fell quiet for a moment.
When Li Ping swept his gaze over everyone again, he saw that they had all regained their composure. Only Zhang Tie seemed to have finally understood Gu Musheng's intention just then.
A hint of aggrievement showed on his face, and his lips trembled slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.
Seeing this, Li Ping sighed inwardly, though his expression did not change in the slightest. He looked at Gu Musheng and said with a smile, "Personally, I fully support Musheng's willingness to contribute more to the Foundation Establishment Fund."
At Li Ping's words, Zhang Tie's expression dimmed, yet Gu Musheng's face showed little joy either.
He could clearly sense that Li Ping had not finished speaking and likely had something else to add.
"I understand how urgently everyone wishes to establish their foundations, but..."
As he spoke, Li Ping looked at Gu Musheng again, making his heart tighten. Here it comes, he thought.
Li Ping continued, "Considering that you're all Qi Refining cultivators, your own cultivation already consumes plenty of resources, while your income may not remain stable. Take you, Musheng. You can earn over a hundred spirit stones this year, but the cultivation world's winds and clouds are ever shifting, and nothing in life is certain. If the overall situation in the Immortal City changes next year, your income might fall sharply. Am I right?"
Faced with Li Ping's question, Gu Musheng hastily nodded, indicating that his eldest brother was right.
"Under those circumstances, if you still have to contribute more spirit stones, I worry it will affect your own cultivation."
Li Ping swept his gaze over everyone. Seeing their varied expressions, he finally voiced his idea. "My previous consideration of contributions to the Foundation Establishment Fund was somewhat lacking. I now propose adding a rule: once you contribute spirit stones, you may no longer lower that amount. All future contributions must match it!"
He said with a smile, "The main purpose of this proposal is to remind everyone to act within their means, rather than chase quick results out of eagerness to attempt Foundation Establishment!"
"That's all I have to say. Who's in favor, and who's opposed? If anyone has objections, you can raise them now."
Li Ping's meaning was simple. If Gu Musheng insisted on contributing 100 spirit stones, he would not object. But Gu Musheng's annual contribution could never fall below that amount afterward.
In other words, an individual's contribution to the Foundation Establishment Fund could only rise, never fall.
Even if he received his opportunity at Foundation Establishment but failed to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he would still have to contribute 100 spirit stones every year!
Taking the benefits and then running away was something Li Ping would absolutely not allow!
The same applied to everyone else. If they wanted to raise their contributions to jump the queue, they would first have to weigh whether they could keep shouldering that amount!
After Li Ping finished speaking, the other six all fell into thought.
A moment later, to Li Ping's surprise, Gu Musheng was the first to speak. After all, the rule Li Ping had just proposed was actually aimed indirectly at him.
Gu Musheng said, "I fully agree with eldest brother's proposal. However, I'm confident in my future income, so I still intend to contribute 100 spirit stones."
For Gu Musheng, his greatest worry was that Li Ping would disregard the rules and forcibly shield Zhang Tie. In that case, he would have no recourse at all.
Now, although Li Ping's new rule seemed somewhat targeted at him, it still fell within his expectations.
He was confident he could earn 100 spirit stones every year.
Hearing Gu Musheng agree, Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and Bai Qing also voiced their agreement in turn. After hesitating for a moment, Teng Feng agreed as well.
Only Zhang Tie, though he likewise agreed, showed little enthusiasm.
He understood that he could not blame his eldest brother for this. He could only blame himself for falling short, for being less capable than his third brother and earning fewer spirit stones.
Next, after they swore an oath together to establish the rule, Gu Musheng moved to hand over his contribution of spirit stones.
Li Ping reached out to stop him. "Since the contribution rules have changed, everyone should go home and think things through first. We'll gather again in ten days, and you can decide how much to contribute then."
Naturally, no one objected.