radicalducati Chapter 164 I understand
Chapter 164 I understand
Chapter 164 I understand
While Xiao Bai was refining medicine.
On the first floor of the attic, Xun'er was sitting alone at the table, resting her chin on her hand, idly fiddling with a strand of hair hanging down her shoulder.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Xu Su walked in with three people, one of whom was Tu Shan.
"Xun'er, they said they need to see Xiao Bai. I can't make the decision myself, so I brought them in. It's up to you to decide!" Xu Su walked to Xun'er's side and said with a soft smile.
"Looking for Brother Xiao Bai?" Xun'er looked at Tu Shan with curious eyes. "What is it?"
Tu Shan shook his head with a wry smile, then turned to a young man beside him and said, "Mu Chuan, you tell him!"
"It's like this, Miss Xun'er, this morning, a group of senior students came to our freshman area, collecting some kind of tribute fee from the freshmen, demanding two days' worth of fire energy from each person. They said this is done every year when freshmen enter the inner academy!"
"Since we were new here, and considering it was an established rule, we didn't say anything and simply handed over the fire energy to them!"
"But not long after the first group of senior students left, one after another, more senior students rushed in and blocked the passageway, demanding that we pay again. Including the first group, there have already been five groups. If this continues, all the fire energy we've gained by following Boss Xiao will be eaten up by these senior students!"
The freshman named Mu Chuan had red eyes, clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth as he spoke angrily.
"Oh?" Xun'er's expression remained calm, but her eyes narrowed slightly as she asked, "So you came to see Brother Xiao Bai hoping he would stand up for you?"
A bitter smile appeared on Mu Chuan's lips as he sighed, "I asked around through friends, and while previous freshmen also paid this so-called 'freshman tribute fee,' they only had to pay it once. Unlike us, they didn't come in waves, like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey!"
"According to my friend, this year's situation is because Boss Xiao single-handedly wiped out all the senior students, leaving us freshmen with a lot of fire energy. Many senior students feel resentful but dare not cause trouble for Boss Xiao, so they take their anger out on us freshmen, which is why this situation has occurred!"
"Are you implying that you're criticizing my brother Xiao Bai?" Xun'er's eyes turned cold, golden light flashing within them, as she spoke in a chilling voice.
Inside the room, everyone felt the temperature rise sharply, and an inexplicable aura pressed down on their hearts, making it hard to breathe. They stared in horror at the girl, who was as pure as a lotus flower.
Xiao Bai's brilliance at Canaan Academy has always been so dazzling that they have somewhat overlooked the two girls beside him, and even thought that their entry into the inner academy was only due to Xiao Bai's strength and the academy's consideration for him!
Unexpectedly, this pretty girl who hovered around Xiao Bai, seemingly unassuming, was also so powerful!
Everyone then realized that a girl who could win the heart of a prodigy like Xiao Bai could not be simple.
"No...no!" Mu Chuan hurriedly waved his hands and said, "We didn't mean to blame Boss Xiao!"
Seeing the suppressed aura slowly dissipate, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Brother Xiao single-handedly dispelled the arrogance of the senior students, enabling all the freshmen to hold their heads high in the hunting competition. We all admire him greatly, how could we criticize him?"
"We understand that in the inner courtyard, it's inevitable that those who are weaker will be bullied by the senior students. Our purpose in coming here isn't to ask Boss Xiao to stand up for us and prevent future harassment!"
"They want to use Boss Xiao's prestige to spare us from this layers of exploitation. We just want the same treatment as previous freshmen. If we continue to be exploited like this, we probably won't even have the fire energy to enter the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, let alone cultivate in the inner courtyard!"
After Mu Chuan finished speaking, he cautiously glanced at the girl in blue at the table. Seeing that she remained unmoved, he gritted his teeth and said, "If all else fails, we'd rather hand over that 'new student tribute fee' to Boss Xiao than let those bastards get it!"
Xun'er tapped her delicate fingers lightly on the table, pondering, "Keep the fire energy you have! If Brother Xiao Bai takes it, wouldn't you be no different from those senior students?"
"As for your request, I will make a decision after I have consulted him!"
Just as Xun'er finished speaking, a clear voice rang out in the room: "I understand!"
"Boss Xiao!" Mu Chuan recognized the voice instantly and was about to plead when the voice rang out again: "No need for further words, go back!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Chuan swallowed back the words he was about to say. He was shocked by this method and extremely uneasy, wondering what it meant and whether to agree or not.
He couldn't help but look at Tu Shan, who shrugged and gave him a helpless look. He didn't know either!
"Alright! No need to guess anymore. Brother Xiao Bai has agreed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid any attention. Let's go back!" Xun'er said with a smile when she saw the two of them making a move.
"Okay," Mu Chuan said excitedly, but also a little hesitant. "If you agree, how do you plan to resolve this?"
"Let's go! Since the boss has already agreed, he'll naturally take care of it!" Tu Shan tugged at the hesitant Mu Chuan and said in a low voice.
"Alright!" Mu Chuan smiled wryly, shook his head, stopped Tu Shan from pulling him back, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Boss Xiao. If anything happens in the future, we freshmen will obey Boss Xiao's orders!"
Not knowing where Xiao Bai was, he and another freshman who had come with him bowed to the center of the hall. After they heard no more sounds, they left with Tu Shan.
Watching the group's departing figures, Xu Su sighed softly, "I never imagined the inner courtyard would be so cruel. These senior students are going too far!"
"This world is just like this, a jungle where the strong prey on the weak. The academy is just to let students get used to it in advance!" Xun'er glanced at her, puzzled, and asked, "Didn't your brother tell you any of this?"
"I did say that, but I always thought this was still an academy, and we were all classmates, so it shouldn't be too much. I didn't expect this," Xu Su said, blushing and embarrassed at Xun'er's strange look.
"!" Xun'er.
Outside the pavilion, Tu Shan and his two companions came out and stared at each other for a moment.
"Brother Tu, Brother Mu, what do we do? Those upperclassmen are still blocking our way!" The freshman who came along said, on the verge of tears, "Although Boss Xiao agreed, without his intervention, we can't intimidate those bastards with just our words!"
"Sigh," Mu Chuan sighed, his face full of worry, "Never mind! Let's go back and check on Gangzi and the others. He's stubborn; we mustn't let him get into a conflict with those senior students!"
"Let's go!" Tu Shan patted the two on the shoulders. "Maybe the boss is already at Gangzi's place by now!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Chuan and his companion were invigorated. They exchanged a glance, and thinking of Xiao Bai's amazing abilities, they realized that such a possibility was indeed true. A sense of anticipation rose in their hearts, and they rushed towards the entrance of the new student area.
A few minutes later, the three arrived at the passageway, where a large crowd had gathered, but it was completely silent.
At this moment, the entrance to the passage was blocked by a dozen senior students wearing tower-shaped badges on their chests, and behind them was a large group of senior students watching the commotion.
The older students watching the spectacle wore mocking smiles. Clearly, they were pleased with this scene, as they had gone through the same thing before, though not to this extent!
No one spoke; they were simply waiting for a result that would determine the attitudes of these senior students.
Suddenly, among the dozen or so senior students, one of them noticed Tu Shan and his group returning. He glanced warily around them, and seeing that it was still the same three as before, and not the black-clad, white-haired figure, a smile spread across his face as he sneered:
"It seems your previous claim that he was your boss was just wishful thinking; he doesn't acknowledge it at all! You didn't manage to invite him, and instead, you slunk back!"
Upon hearing this, the group followed his gaze and spotted Tu Shan and his group. After finding no one else, the senior students laughed even more unrestrainedly, while the freshmen showed expressions of disappointment.
"Alright! You said you wanted to hire people, and we agreed. Now you're out of options, aren't you? Two days of fire energy per person, and you'll be safe and sound in the inner courtyard. This is a very good deal!"
A young man, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old, looked at Tu Shan and Mu Chuan, whose faces were grim, and said in a low voice.
"Hmph! Don't think we freshmen don't know the rules. There is indeed a tribute fee, but in previous years, freshmen only paid to two factions at most. Any other factions that wanted to collect it had to go to those two factions; it had nothing to do with the freshmen!" Mu Chuan sneered, his face flushed, and said angrily.
"But what about you? Five waves have come since this morning. Where are we going to get that much fire for you?"
"I don't care who you've given to before!" A young man with a hooked nose stepped forward, ignoring the fiery stares of the surrounding new students, and said slowly, "But you must pay the tribute to my Mo Sect!"
"The Mo Sect!!" Tu Shan exclaimed in surprise, his face filled with apprehension. "You're from the Mo Sect?"
"Oh ho!" The hook-nosed youth's lips curled into a slight smile as he chuckled, "Not bad, you actually know about our Mo Clan!"
"The Mo Sect is currently the strongest force in the inner academy!" Seeing the puzzled looks on Mu Chuan's and the others' faces, Tu Shan explained with a grim expression, "Their sect leader is ranked second on the strength list, and is a nine-star Dou Ling!"
"Nine-Star Battle Spirit!!" A group of freshmen looked at each other, suddenly stunned by the news and speechless.
I'm currently reading the error-free version! This is the first time I've published this novel.
"With his cultivation level, does he really need this little bit of fire energy? Why would he come and steal two days' worth of our fire energy?" a freshman said indignantly.
"Maybe it was his idea, or maybe it was just his subordinates' idea, who knows?" Tu Shan shook his head bitterly.
"What should we do? Should we give it to them?" a freshman swallowed hard and asked weakly.
"Give what?!" Mu Chuan said fiercely, "Whether it's the number one power or the number one power, does it make any difference to us?"
"Since we can't afford to offend them anyway, we might as well be tough!" He glanced around and said, "Don't give any more. If you give any more, this won't stop. They won't rest until they've squeezed every last drop of fire energy out of us! You don't want to be left with no fire energy when the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower opens, do you?"
"Then what should we do? Just let them block us here, they can't get out!" a freshman asked.
"Wait!" Tu Shan and Mu Chuan exchanged a glance and said in a deep voice.
On the other side, seeing the new students' considerable fear of the Mo Clan, the hook-nosed youth was initially quite smug. However, after hearing the new students' decision, his expression gradually darkened: "Boys, this isn't the outer courtyard. In the inner courtyard, apart from the arena, while you can't kill anyone, you can still spar!"
"If it weren't for our protection, I can't guarantee you wouldn't have suffered some physical pain. Young people, why act rashly just to start a fire!"
"You!" The group of freshmen roared in fury, their eyes blazing with anger. To hell with the safety measures! Without you, I'm truly safe!
Just then, a mysterious and ethereal aura gradually enveloped the area. Some senior students with keen spiritual senses looked up as if they had sensed something, but they could only see white clouds floating in the blue sky. Apart from that, they couldn't see anything and scratched their heads in confusion.
"Protect them to safety? I doubt you can even protect yourself!" A detached and lofty voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Who?" The hook-nosed youth looked around in surprise and doubt, while the group of senior students behind him all had the same expression.
"Boss"
"Boss Xiao!"
Tu Shan and Mu Chuan's eyes lit up with surprise. Although this voice was different from the warm and clear one in the pavilion before, sounding indifferent, ruthless, lofty and ethereal, they were certain that it was Xiao Bai's.
"It really is Boss Xiao!" Upon hearing their exclamation, the freshmen also showed their joy. Originally, the two of them had not been able to invite anyone, but they did not expect such a twist.
"The Demon Lord, Xiao Bai!"
Hearing the cheers of the new students around him, the hook-nosed youth's pupils shrank sharply, revealing a strong sense of fear. He knew the strength of Liu Qing and Lin Yan. He could handle them one by one, but together they were no match for each other!
Looking around but finding no source of the sound, the hook-nosed youth's apprehension deepened, and he shouted:
"Xiao Bai! We didn't go to your pavilion to collect tribute fees. This matter is none of your concern. You'd better not interfere, otherwise, my Mo Sect isn't without its strongmen!"
After waiting a moment with no response, as if Xiao Bai had been frightened by his words, the hook-nosed youth breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly thinking with disdain: "Pah! This is it? He doesn't even have the backbone of these freshmen!"
The group of senior students behind him had the same idea. They were eager to see the demeanor of this so-called "devil" who was considered the top freshman, but they didn't expect him to be such a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong!
The joyful smiles on the new students' faces gradually froze, and their eyes became filled with surprise and uncertainty!
Just as the hook-nosed youth was about to continue, suddenly, the hairs on his body stood on end, and his senses began to pound, as if some great terror was about to descend, and he felt an extremely strong sense of crisis.
This feeling is somewhat familiar. I vividly remember when I first entered the Douling realm and was on a mission in the inner courtyard's back mountain, I was targeted by a fifth-tier magical beast, and the feeling of escaping for my life was exactly the same.
"I'll die!!"
Without time to think, his internal fighting spirit circulated instinctively, and a piece of earth-yellow armor appeared, covering his entire body.
The older students behind him looked at the hook-nosed youth's sudden actions with a puzzled expression, while the new students looked grim, thinking he was about to make a move, and became secretly on guard!
Just as everyone's expressions were in different states, a series of faint rumbling sounds, like muffled thunder, came from all around, echoing throughout the surrounding space.
Suddenly, a blinding golden light appeared out of nowhere, and everyone couldn't help but squint to look at it.
A golden light flashed like lightning... it was lightning, a golden bolt as thick as a bowl suddenly appeared in the sky above everyone's heads, accompanied by increasingly clear thunder, like a divine punishment, striking straight down in the horrified eyes of everyone.
And the target was none other than the hook-nosed young man!
(End of this chapter)