Chương 16: Wishing For A Chaotic World
Biên tập viên: celllll, Nou
The abusive banter between Fang Xing and the feeble disciple grabbed the attention of those around them, and everyone in the hall soon burst out into laughter.
Unable to defend himself from Fang Xing’s words, the feeble disciple broke into tears. A friend of his—a tall, beefy man—was finally unable to hold in his anger and pointed his finger towards Fang Xing. "Watch it, you brat! You need some soap to wash out that mouth of yours!"
"What has this got to do with you, you hairy cow! Are you defending him because you’re his lover or something?" Fang Xing cursed at the other man without holding back, his hands moving to rest on his hips.
The feeble disciple took out his handkerchief to wipe away his tears, "See…." With this, the two men looked even more like a loving couple.
"Hahahaha! Thought so!" Fang Xing pointed at the two men, laughing hysterically.
The beefy man walked out of his queue towards Fang Xing, his eyebrows knitted together and his face beet red.
Showing no signs of fear, Fang Xing simply turned to the rest of the onlookers. "Shixiongs, these two lovebirds are looking down on us D-Rank disciples! I heard them muttering something about how giving us Spirit Stones was a waste of resources and that we should hand them all to the C-Ranks instead! How could I possibly stay quiet about this?"
This remark immediately caused a few of the D-Rank disciples to grow angry. Although they couldn’t say for certain the feeble man had actually said such words, the looks of ridicule and disdain on the faces of the C-Rank disciples towards the D-Rank disciples were as clear as day. The sight of the beefy man walking towards their queue without any good intentions—coupled with Fang Xing’s provocation—began to trigger the D-Rank disciples’ rage.
"Why didn’t you get into B-Rank, huh? What’s so good about your C-Rank, anyway?"
"Us D-Rank disciples belong to the sect as well! Why would we fake anything?"
"It’s not like you C-Ranks are any better when it comes to the number of people who qualify for the inner court every ten years!"
Several D-Rank disciples began to noisily argue in that moment. With so many hostile reactions of the opposing queue, the beefy man stopped in his path, pale as though drained of blood.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Fang Xing wasted no time in throwing out even more provocations, "Hey, you hairy cow! Do you really think we’re easy targets? Beat him!"
Just as Fang Xing was about to start a group brawl, Yu Sanliang—who’d been trying to stop Fang Xing the entire time—finally managed to grab him by the arms. Yu Sanliang was astonished throughout the entire event and couldn’t understand how simply lining up could almost lead to a large brawl. Fang Xing seemed to want to cause chaos wherever he went….
For the new D-Rank disciples in particular, this was effectively a fight for pride and honor. Without having a solid grasp of the sect rules, they didn’t have any second thoughts about picking a fight with these C-Rank disciples. Furthermore, the number of people in the D-Rank was much higher than any other ranks, anyway; if a genuine brawl were to break out, they would be the ones with an advantage.
As for the C-Rank disciples, their faces paled as they felt a deep sense of threat.
They believed that one day they would be far ahead in the world of cultivation, but that was all a matter of the future. Right now, the differences in cultivation levels between the two ranks were minimal, and if a large brawl was to truly break out, the difference in numbers would make the outcome hard to predict. The beefy C-Rank man returned to his queue with the other C-Rank disciples, frightened and covered in cold sweat.
As the conflict between the two parties began to reach its climax, an elder at the front of the lines coldly exclaimed, "Silence, all of you! Do you not want your Spirit Stones anymore?" His voice was coated with a dense Qi that sent cold shivers down the legs of the hot-headed disciples. In the same moment, Fang Xing hastily straightened his back and immediately pretended he was nothing more than an innocent bystander.
It was fortunate the elder had no intention of finding out who the main culprit was; instead, as soon as the pavilion returned to its originally tranquil state, he simply continued his job of handing out Spirit Stones.
In fact, the elders had all seen arguments and fights of the same topic numerous times in the past, and there had even been far worse cases where the disciples got quite physical with each other. The sect would always strive to sit and watch, remaining indifferent unless actual violence broke out.
Any elder could easily stop such a low-level brawl, after all, and being competitive and hot-blooded in youth wasn’t always a bad thing. If these kids were unable to satisfy their thirst for winning with physical fights, they would likely turn towards their cultivation practice with more diligence in the hopes of one day overpowering the people who looked down upon them.
After all, no matter their talent or rank, a disciple would still obtain instant success and admiration once their cultivation rose above everyone else!
After waiting for a bit and seeing that the elder didn’t want to chase the matter further, Fang Xing once again took the initiative and squinted his eyes towards the feeble man in provocation. The feeble man, on the other hand, was already intimidated by what Fang Xing had done; he only lowered his head and pretended not to notice what was happening.
It didn’t take long for Yu Sanliang to notice what Fang Xing was up to behind him, either. Without any other options, he dragged Fang Xing in front of him and started into a lecture him on reining in his temper—there was no reason to be picking fights with people instead of focusing on cultivation.
The moment after the feeble disciple received his Spirit Stone and was just about to leave, he gave a fierce glance towards Fang Xing.
"Sissy!" Fang Xing muttered under his breath without a second thought.
The beefy man pulled at the feeble disciple and said in a low voice, "We’ll show him who he’s dealing with in a moment."
Once it was Fang Xing’s turn to collect his Spirit Stone, the elder gave him a meaningful look just as he was about to receive it. "Young man, instead of wasting your time arguing with others, wouldn’t it be better to use all of that energy practicing Qi and cultivation? Someone will improve your aptitude if you can make it into the inner court!"
These words startled Fang Xing—it turned out the elder knew what had happened all too well. Fang Xing nodded, putting on his most sincere smile before responding, "Yes, of course! I shall work extra hard and make the entire Qing-Yun Sect proud!"
"Such a smooth talker you are," the elder smiled back, checking Fang Xing’s wooden token before passing a small Spirit Stone over.
Once both of them had received their Spirit Stones, Yu Sanliang once more cautioned Fang Xing about the usual procedures. "Shidi Fang Xing, now that we’ve got our stones, we’ll need to head back to our cottages as soon as possible. Do not look anyone in the eye, and even if someone tries to pick a fight with you, pretend not to notice…."
Fang Xing simply rolled his eyes at the warnings. "What do you mean?"
"Just do as I say. I would never mislead you about such things." A hint of helplessness flashed across Yu Sanliang’s gaze as he placed his precious Spirit Stone surreptitiously into his robe, as though afraid someone would take it from him.
Fang Xing himself wasn’t too worried; he still had over twenty stones remaining inside his storage ring, after all!
Disciples returned to their cottages in small groups. Some chatted and walked at a leisurely pace, others seemed to be in a rush, and a few were arrogantly bossing others around. One person even deliberately showed off his Flying Sword by gliding over a crowd, causing a scene and drawing envious gazes.
Fang Xing scoffed at such grandstanding. In theory, the lowest requirement to use a sword as a flying tool was to have an aptly-named Flying Sword, which only needed to have Qi poured into it from its cultivator. In practice, however, this method was extremely wasteful of Qi; especially for the level of an outer court disciple, the sword wouldn’t fly more than thirty feet before the user’s Qi was completely used up. It was important to note that even among the core disciples with cultivation levels like Xiao Jianming and Shijie Linyun, the preferred method of transportation was respectively an iron falcon and the white crane.
Even Fang Xing had a Flying Sword of his own... although it wasn’t exactly appropriate to be revealed just yet, of course.
Rather alarmingly, there were groups to either side of the path staring coldly at the passersby, appearing more like members of a gang than disciples from a respectable sect. Yu Sanliang lowered his head to avoid any eye contact with these people before grabbing Fang Xing’s sleeves, urging him to go faster.
"What the hell are these bastards staring at?" Fang Xing couldn’t help but mutter after seeing so many malicious glances on the way towards their cottages.
Yu Sanliang lowered his voice, "My good shidi Fang Xing... I know you don’t like it when someone offends you, but this is not the time to show off your temper. You have to know your place in this world, and with our cultivation level, there is no way we would be able to get away unhurt. If you don’t hold your temper, what if they come up to us and give us a beating before taking all of our Spirit Stones? What will you do then?"
"Does the sect not care?" Fang Xing questioned, his voice quivering.
Chương 17: Bluffing
Biên tập viên: celllll, Nou
When Yu Sanliang heard the quiver in Fang Xing’s voice, he believed the boy was finally showing some fear and felt a bit relieved. As far as Yu Sanliang was concerned, Fang Xing’s reckless behaviors would have gotten the two of them into much more trouble if it wasn’t for his interference up to now.
"Of course it’s not allowed according to sect rules... but those are just the rules. If a talented A-Rank disciple is robbed of their belongings, someone from the sect will intervene. Now, if we as D-Rank disciples were to be robbed, who do you think would actually care?
"Even if we’re robbed, the elders would only think it’s some small grudge we have towards each other—nothing important enough for them to actually care. There was even a time when a newly-recruited shidi was beaten to death, only for the elders to declare it to be an accident. Do you know what happened to the murderer? He was sentenced to only one year of confinement…."
Fang Xing’s eyes lit up even more. Contrary to Yu Sanliang’s impression, Fang Xing wasn’t afraid at all—he was excited. ‘This sect is just… so understanding!’
However, Fang Xing wasn’t stupid enough to act rashly. He knew his mastery of only tier one didn't leave him in a strong enough position to prey on the other disciples; he'd need to utilize careful evaluation as well to make up the difference in strength.
Yu Sanliang wanted to get back to their cottages as soon as possible. There was an unwritten rule that a disciple would be safe once they were back at their own districts, and that such robberies would only happen outside of them. It was fortunate they’d gotten there quite early and not many disciples had received their Spirit Stones, as there weren’t too many people loitering about searching for easy targets.
Just as Yu Sanliang and Fang Xing walked past a mountain stream to the side of a bamboo forest and were only a few blocks away the safety of their living quarters, three men came into view. The group included the feeble disciple and the beefy man Fang Xing had verbally abused just moments ago, and all three seemed to be waiting for someone.
Fang Xing immediately understood the situation. "These bastards want to get their asses kicked for real this time, huh?" Fang Xing muttered to himself while cracking his knuckles.
Just as Yu Sanliang was about to stop Fang Xing from such impulsive actions, a fourth man raised his cold voice, "It seems Shidi Yu is up early today!"
Yu Sanliang turned around with a bitter expression after hearing those words, his face at odds with his polite greeting, "Good morning, Shixiong Liu. I wish Shixiong a good fortune...."
A man in his twenties—who Fang Xing could see was within the second tier—walked out from the shadows of the bamboo forest, his lips curled up in the shape of a false smile and his eyes filled with disdain and ridicule. His gaze swept past Fang Xing for a moment before landing on Yu Sanliang instead. "Where’s your tribute this time?"
The feeble man and his friends had come to cause trouble, but they stopped once they saw someone else blocking Fang Xing and Yu Sanliang’s path. At first they thought the newcomer was a friend of the duo, but when they noticed the terrified look on the plump Daoist’s face, they were filled with the satisfaction of seeing a show.
"Haha, Shidi Tzu, looks like we don’t even need to get our hands dirty. They’ve already gotten themselves in trouble with someone else," the beefy man laughed as he patted the feeble disciple’s shoulder.
"Now this is what I call karma!" All three of them laughed and prepared to watch the scene unfold….
—
Yu Sanliang's face was full of despair as he faced Shixiong Liu, and he bent down directly while practically begging, "Please, Esteemed Shixiong Liu. I have given you every Spirit Stone I earned from working at the Miscellaneous Department for the past three months, so can I please keep the one from the sect distributions? I gave you one just a few days ago…."
Shixiong Liu’s eyes narrowed with dissatisfaction. "You dare to bargain with me?"
Startled, Yu Sanliang quickly began to plead once more, "I would not dare to…. Please, have mercy…."
Shxiong Liu slowly looked over Yu Sanliang. "Yes, those were the rules before, but rules can always be changed." He then looked towards Fang Xing next to Yu Sanliang and cleared his throat before continuing, "It was just you before, but now I see you’ve gotten yourself a little monkey tag-along. Since there are two of you now, it’s only natural the Spirit Stone contributions must also double. I expect two stones every three months from you from now on."
Startled, Yu Sanliang began to beg even more desperately, "Shixiong Liu, please don’t do this. Shidi Fang joined the outer court only a few days ago. Please, don’t do this to him…."
"Why? Why would I listen to the request of someone like you?" Shixiong Liu’s expression grew cold before he landed a harsh slap against Yu Sanliang’s fat face. "I think I’m already quite reasonable to allow you to keep one stone between the two of you! If you continue on like this, you’ll be left with none!"
Yu Sanliang’s face immediately swelled up after receiving the blow. He wanted to say more, but after seeing Shixiong Liu’s expression, he handed over his Spirit Stone and guiltily looked towards Fang Xing, motioning for him to do the same without causing any trouble….
"Shixiong Zhu, why didn’t you tell me you were friends with such a good man like Shixiong Liu? You should have introduced me earlier!"
Fang Xing had acted like a bystander the entire time until the moment Shixiong Liu’s gaze crossed with his. Fang Xing was all smiles, and he took out his Spirit Stone without a hint of hesitation. "Shxiong Liu, I only needed one look to tell you’re not only extremely powerful, but also a very good man with a righteous spirit. I’m new to the outer court and would like to meet my shixiongs, so it would actually be my utmost pleasure to gift you with this Spirit Stone as a sign of my admiration. Please do kindly take this."
Seeing the bright red Spirit Stone handed over so easily left Shixiong Liu surprised.
Fang Xing’s behavior before now had been closer to that of a mountain bandit’s than a disciple of a well-respected sect, but Shixiong Liu couldn’t help but to be happy with the offering and felt this little monkey was quite entertaining. Perhaps Fang Xing mistook him for a big name within the sect and wanted to get on his good side for protection?
Seeing this turn of events, the feeble disciple and his friends were filled with disdain; this kid had talked the talk, yet he’d immediately bowed his head when faced with someone stronger. A kid like this was truly despicable, and they decided they’d have a go as well once Shixiong Liu was finished.
Fang Xing’s smile was very sincere, and his young appearance made it seem even more innocent than usual—it was hard for anyone to question his sincerity.
Shixiong Liu immediately showed a smile and laughed. "This little shidi here understands a lot more than you, Shidi Yu. You should have introduced us earlier! Haha, don’t worry, little shidi; with my protection, no one will be able to bully you here…." He smiled wider and moved to pick up the stone without standing on politeness.
However, just as Shixiong Liu’s fingertips were within reach of the stone, Fang Xing suddenly shivered and dropped it to the ground. "Ahh— don’t break…." the boy said in shock while hurriedly bending to pick up the Stone.
‘Sure enough, he must be really new. Never heard of a Spirit Stone breaking…’ Shixiong Liu thought to himself while smiling and waiting for Fang Xing to pick up the Stone for him.
The contempt of the three men looking from afar grew even more after such a display, but this was only because they didn’t notice Yu Sanliang’s expression at what he saw.
"Shixiong Liu, please kindly accept my offering to you…." Fang Xing stood back up with a small smile right before his wrist abruptly thrusted forward.
Just as Shixiong Liu was about to reply, he felt something cold on his abdomen. His Spirit Shield subconsciously tried to deflect something to no avail, and before he even knew what it was, Fang Xing pulled a shiny dagger out of Shixiong Liu’s stomach. With some peculiar footwork, Fang Xing then moved forward and landed a small yet fierce fist to Shixiong Liu’s torso.
"Eht…." Shixiong Liu’s body suddenly folded at the waist as he broke out in a cold sweat. Fang Xing’s second blow hadn’t only shattered his Spirit Shield, but had also landed right against the dagger wound. The pain he felt was beyond description.
The three onlookers slowly began to realize what had happened, and their expressions twisted into shock and fear. The feeble disciple was so frightened by the display that he nearly dropped to the ground himself, as though he was the one being stabbed instead.
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