The day’s profit left Fang Xing satisfied, but Yu Sanliang still needed to wrap his head around what had just happened.

　　“Stop it! With your weak spine, you practically deserve to be bullied!”

　　Fang Xing went to wash his face after returning to the cottage, while Yu Sanliang remained ashen-faced and inattentive. Seeing this, Fang Xing picked up his water basin and poured it right over the plump Daoist, drenching him to the point he looked like a drowned rat. Shocked by the cold, Yu Sanliang snapped free from his earlier thoughts and released a heavy sigh. “Shidi Fang, after what happened today, I think I’ve started to admire you!”

　　“What? You mean you didn’t admire me before?”

　　“No no no, ever since that day at the herb fields, I knew someone like you wouldn’t be ordinary….” The plump Daoist smiled. It was only natural he didn’t dare to reveal what his true thoughts had been at the time.

　　The truth was Yu Sanliang had been left with no other choice but to befriend Fang Xing. Although he may have been much older in comparison, he was no match for such a child who was extremely daring, vicious, and merciless towards enemies. It had been with these thoughts that Yu Sanliang decided to gamble a chance to get on his good side instead. As long as the child didn’t die too early, it was unlikely he would be content with an ordinary life, and perhaps Fang Xing would remember Yu Sanliang as the one who’d helped him out in the beginning when it mattered the most.

　　Put another way, Yu Sanliang had befriended Fang Xing with ulterior motives, not unlike making a long-term investment. It was understandable, however; for a small fry like him, this was a method of survival.

　　As Yu Sanliang came to understand more about Fang Xing, he began to realize that—even though Fang Xing’s words made him appear rude and unrestrained—he was not as self-centered and snobby as most of the other disciples at the sect. Besides, after all of the wine and gossip sessions they’d shared together, they actually did get along rather well, even if he still viewed their relationship as an investment first and foremost.

　　That being said, Fang Xing’s performance had left him very disappointed. After Fang Xing joined the outer court, it seemed as though all of that imposing strength from before was replaced with laziness instead. Such unmotivated people would typically be sent back down to the villages upon their third year, but even though Yu Sanliang felt helpless and regretful, he hadn’t dared to mention it directly because of the boy’s temper.

　　It wasn’t until today—after Fang Xing had easily taken down Liu Feng and went on to rob three C-Rank disciples—that he began to realize what Fang Xing was capable of. To the plump Daoist, bullying someone weaker was only natural, but how could a person pick on someone stronger than them?

　　The splash of cold water had finally brought him to his senses. What was he afraid of? Hadn’t he befriended Fang Xing precisely because this boy dared to do what he wanted? If Fang Xing didn’t have such guts, there would have been no reason for any of this in the first place.

　　Yu Sanliang sighed deep in his heart. ‘What a slumbering dragon; he doesn’t strike often, but when he does, he’s absolutely ruthless….’ With a temperament like this, there was no way Fang Xing wouldn’t become someone influential one day. Since Yu Sanliang had invested in him, perhaps that “one day” for Fang Xing might also become the “one day” for him as well.

　　Without a doubt, not even in Yu’s wildest dreams would he ever imagine this so-called slumbering dragon was not nearly as placid as he imagined. In fact, within just weeks of joining the outer court, Fang Xing had already caused a rather large event. Small fries like the plump Daoist thought a slumbering dragon was always waiting for the right moment, but the reality was far simpler: even a dragon needed a nap after a satisfying meal….

　　If the plump Daoist knew about what had happened at the Black Market, he would’ve actually been afraid rather than excited.

　　After thinking things through, Yu Sanliang decided to try to be flexible and carefully asked about Fang Xing’s future plans, “By the way, Shidi Fang, aren’t you afraid of retaliation from those you rob?” As far as he knew, Shixiong Liu was definitely not a new recruit—including his time as a daotong, he was already in his fourth year within the sect. Without someone like Shixiong Liu involved, it was unlikely things would be so simple.

　　“If I was afraid of retaliation, I would have deserved his bullying anyway. Why wouldn’t I have just handed over the Spirit Stone right then?” Fang Xing lightheartedly replied. “Remember Wang Zhi? If I was afraid of retaliation, wouldn’t I have obediently accepted his orders and worked for him in the herb fields without any complaints? And if I was afraid of retaliation, wouldn’t I have dropped to my knees and begged for forgiveness when you caused trouble in my herb field?”

　　Hearing Fang Xing’s tone grow heavier and heavier, Yu Sanliang stood up in panic and hastily waved his hands. “Shidi Fang… I… I didn’t mean it that way….”

　　“Sit down! I just said what I said, I wasn’t implying anything!” Fang Xing threw the empty water basin aside and gestured for the plump Daoist to sit back down. “I’m just saying, I won’t accept living like that. You know, Shixiong Zhu, the only shortcoming you have is that you’re such a coward… ugly and gluttonous… and your aptitude is terrible…. Oh, you’re lazy, too…. Aii , I was going to compliment you for something but, well, you have nothing for me to compliment!”

　　“My name is Yu…” the plump Daoist quietly muttered with a pained expression.

　　Fang Xing dug around in his pockets before pulling out two Spirit Stones and tossing them to the plump Daoist. “Make good use of these. You might be stupid, ugly, and lazy, but you’re still kind of my friend; I can’t treat you unfairly….”

　　Yu Sanliang anxiously waved his hands. “No no no no, you use them….”

　　“Take it. Just this much is nothing to me.” Fang Xing glared at the plump Daoist and forced him to accept. Fang Xing was extremely good at courting favors and winning people’s hearts, but his methods still had a bandit’s tyranny to them….

　　The plump Daoist looked down at the two Spirit Stones in his hand and nearly cried. He’d considered moments ago that he’d have his own day once Fang Xing was successful, but he hadn’t thought it’d happen so quickly. In the seven years he’d been a disciple of the sect, all he’d experienced was getting extorted and robbed by others—this was the first time he saw someone else’s things become his own. In that moment, the feeling of fear began to fade, and the possibility of Shixiong Liu’s revenge suddenly didn’t seem so scary anymore.

　　—

　　“Stupid fatty, everyone would want a piece of you for being such a coward like this all the time.” After finally managing to send Yu Sanliang away amidst many thanks, Fang Xing helplessly shook his head and pulled out his storage ring. After instilling the ring with Qi, a small Flying Sword appeared in Fang Xing’s palms. Its handle was a vibrant red, and nine golden snakes were inlaid over its fiery texture—the Nine Snakes’ Sword.

　　“It’s probably about time I familiarize myself with Flying Swords and the like. An ordinary dagger won’t last for long in a sect!” Fang Xing mused aloud. Although the things he’d done today had looked easy, it had actually been quite dangerous. Not only was Liu Feng in a higher cultivation tier than him, but he was also an adult with a much larger stature; in a head-on confrontation, Fang Xing wouldn’t have stood a chance. Furthermore, even after Liu Feng had been clearly struck down, he’d quietly pulled out that short sword….

　　From beginning to end, Fang Xing had felt a strong sense of danger, as though he was being watched by a venomous snake. His innate awareness made him keenly aware of how dangerous that sword was, and if Yu Sanliang hadn’t reminded him he wasn’t allowed to kill, Liu Feng would’ve been dead by now just to ease that discomfort!

　　Regardless, even though he’d left Liu Feng alive, Fang Xing hadn’t shown mercy and had split several of his major tendons. This was a wound that would have rendered a normal person either useless or heavily handicapped for the rest of their life, but cultivators had methods to heal it.

　　Bones are harder to heal than muscles, and tendons are harder to heal than bones. With Liu Feng’s tendons severed, even the best medication would still require months before he was back to normal. During this time, Fang Xing would have the opportunity to surpass him in cultivation level so he wouldn’t be afraid of Liu Feng even in an upfront confrontation!

　　Another thing Fang Xing realized was the importance of having a few decent spirit weapons for self-defense, and the Nine Snakes’ Sword was a natural consideration for this topic. It was an extremely powerful mid-tier Flying Sword, after all; it was just a matter of seeing whether he could control it!

　　Swffft …

　　A low howl settled into the air as Fang Xing began to pour his Qi into the Nine Snakes’ Sword. Suddenly, the body of the sword lit up in dazzling gold and even began to suspend itself in midair.

　　Fang Xing felt an instant connection between him and the sword, that any indication or command from his mind would send the sword flying forward to cut any enemies standing in his path. At the same time, one of the snake heads began to gently move, as though it was nodding with full approval of such murderous intent.

　　Fang Xing relentlessly poured Qi into the sword until there wasn’t much left in his body. Before long, the nine snakes actually transformed into nine misty golden rays that danced around the sword in an impressive sight. Just as the snakes all flew up, however, Fang Xing felt a sudden emptiness within him and his mind grew dizzy as his body desperately tried to hold on to his last remnants of Qi. He hurriedly cut the connection between himself and the sword, causing the snakes to return to their original position and the Flying Sword to drop to the ground.

　　“Still not good enough. My tier is still too low!” Fang Xing muttered. Although he’d reached the peak of tier one, it was still not enough to handle this Flying Sword. “Looks like I’ll need to improve my cultivation tier first!”

　　Fang Xing placed the Nine Snakes’ Sword back into the storage ring, returned to his bed, and pulled out a Spirit Stone to resume his cultivation.

　　‘This sect is just another bandit lair. Those who have power get to bully others, and those without can only be bullied.’