Chapter 129: Unstoppable Business

Wang Tai stared out the dormitory window, watching the proctors pass by in wave after wave. His heart nearly leapt from his chest. "Good heavens! Thank goodness I didn’t go today!"

"So the old man came up with a method like this?" Nalan Mingxue and Lanyun shared a private little courtyard within the Lingyun Academy. Seeing several proctors make a quick lap before hurrying away, Nalan Mingxue grew thoughtful.

"Phew... That was close!" Lanyun patted her chest, watching the departing proctors with lingering dread. "Thank goodness we didn't go out today."

"What should we do... If the academy conducts checks like this every day, wouldn't it mean we can never play games again?" Lanyun spoke with a trace of worry. "Since this is happening inside the Lingyun Academy, Owner Fang can't possibly interfere here."

"The academy cannot possibly conduct such checks every day," Nalan Mingxue said. "This instance was already enough to mobilize the masses, and it only achieved such an effect because it caught all the disciples completely off guard."

"If it happens again, one could easily find people to align testimonies with beforehand," Nalan Mingxue said calmly. "Therefore, Qin Bing made such a grand display this time precisely to put pressure on all the disciples, delivering a harsh warning to deter anyone from offending again in the future!"

"There is no need to worry about the next time... It is just that the disciples caught this time will likely face immense trouble..."

At the same time, Song Qingfeng sat cross-legged within a quiet chamber. The energy throughout his body surged forcefully, blowing his garments upward in erratic waves!

His complexion turned pale one moment and flushed bright red the next, as though the vital energy within his body had gathered but remained trapped at a certain checkpoint, unable to break through.

Evidently, his breakthrough had reached a critical juncture!

"Calm the mind... Concentrate the spirit... My Song family's martial technique is far too fierce..." His brow furrowed tightly. "Oh no, could the progress have been too rapid?"

"No... This will not do..." His face gradually grew increasingly flushed, as if all the vital energy in his body was bottled up inside, converging in one place only to be completely blocked, accumulating more and more. "This is bad! If this continues and fails, it will certainly cause severe damage to my meridians!"

"If I back out now, failing on the verge of success will definitely affect my cultivation. I absolutely cannot fail at this critical moment!"

"To ensure a massive leap in cultivation after this breakthrough, I even consumed a Dragon-Tiger Foundation Pill. I cannot fail..."

"I recall in the Legend of Sword and Fairy... there seemed to be a mental mnemonic for concentrating the spirit and calming the energy...? My Song family's martial technique does not accommodate external arts, so I do not know if it can..."

...

"Miss Nalan!" Lanyun hurriedly followed Nalan Mingxue out the door.

At the rear of the courtyard lay a rather spacious martial arts field. As the candles upon the walls were lit, various types of weaponry could be seen arranged in neat rows along both sides of the field.

"How is your practice of the Sword Control Technique coming along?"

"I can use it now..." Lanyun said with some hesitation. "But I have not tested it in actual combat yet."

Nalan Mingxue retrieved a long sword and tossed it to Lanyun. "Try it."

...

The following day, the disciplinary measures of the Lingyun Academy were finally released. In the first class of the Earth Tier, Xi Qi obviously possessed a heavy heart at this moment.

Not just him, but many disciples throughout the entire Lingyun Academy possessed heavy hearts at this moment.

"Removed from the Lingyun List?" Mu Hongzhu's brow furrowed tightly as she stared at the disciples of the first class, nearly more than half of whom held their heads low before her.

Her own heart felt exceptionally heavy.

Among them, easily close to half of the disciples were included on the removal list of the Lingyun List!

For a long time, the Lingyun List hosted by the Lingyun Academy had served as the standard to measure the strength and talent of disciples across the entire Jiangnan region, including all academies great and small.

It likewise related to the amount of resources a disciple could obtain within the academy and their clan. After all, no one was willing to spend resources meant for cultivating geniuses on a useless piece of wood who could not even make it onto the Lingyun List!

It would be fine if they were ordinary disciples who naturally could not enter the Lingyun List to begin with, but it just so happened that more than half of these individuals possessed talent and strength that were by no means poor.

Being removed from the Lingyun List also meant that for at least more than half of these youths, the cultivation resources they desperately needed would be drastically restricted!

Similarly, this was equivalent to nearly all the efforts these disciples had made in their cultivation over this period vanishing like shadows!

One could well imagine the feelings of working painstakingly hard for an entire term or even several terms to achieve a good rank, only to have the school announce that the results were invalidated.

Though this punishment did not match direct expulsion from the academy, it possessed far greater deterrence!

Sure enough, by the second day, only Ye Xiaoye and others from the outer city, along with high-ranking nobles like An Huwei, remained before Fang Qi's shop.

On this day, it seemed that even independent warriors like Liang Shi did not dare to come!

"It should be exactly so!" Pang Rulie sat within his estate at this moment, holding a wine cup and drinking to his heart's content. "Now that most of the merchants in the city have issued bans refusing to receive customers associated with the Origin Internet Club, everyone in the city fears this shop like snakes and scorpions. I shall see how you continue to operate!"

"Father! Look at these people, they are nearly riding over your head!" An Cheng stood in the front hall of the City Lord's estate at this moment, clearly in an extremely foul mood.

At this time, An Huwei was also beset by a splitting headache. When merchants did business, whom they chose to receive or refuse was something he could hardly control. These people still behaved respectfully toward him, a classic example of bullying the weak while fearing the strong.

But under such circumstances, suppressing a small shop was already more than enough.

"That fellow Huo Chong!" Within the City Lord's estate, An Huwei wore a cold expression, clearly possessed of a rage he did not know where to vent. "To actually stir up trouble in my city!"

Yet no matter how dissatisfied he was, the forces involved were intricate and complex, making it difficult for him to openly break relations.

"Father, do you think this time... that senior in Owner Fang's shop will take action?"

...

"Yawn..." Jiang Xiaoyue sat at the counter, letting out a heavy yawn. It had been an entire morning without many people. The shop had never been this deserted, and Jiang Xiaoyue was clearly unaccustomed to it.

As for Fang Qi at this moment, he had only just come downstairs, his eyes carrying a hint of weariness, evidently having just emerged from the game cultivation room.

"Boss, did you sleep until now before getting out of bed?" Jiang Xiaoyue pouted her small lips, her face full of resentment. "Look, there is hardly anyone in the shop today!"

"Is it because everyone finally discovered that the things in your shop are too exorbitant, so they all stopped coming?" Jiang Xiaoyue kept her hands on her small waist as she eyed the shop.

"Is that so?" Fang Qi glanced around the shop. Today was indeed cold and quiet with few people. Fang Qi waved his hand at Jiang Xiaoyue. "Watch the shop well, I am going out for a bit."

"Going out?" Jiang Xiaoyue stared at Fang Qi strangely, then said pettishly, "At a time like this, how do you still have the mind to run outside!"

"Mm," Fang Qi responded, stepping directly out the door.

The official novel for Diablo had come out, and he was heading out to take a look along the way.

"How can this wretched boss be so heartless?" Jiang Xiaoyue crossed her arms angrily and returned to her seat.

"Oh...?" At this moment, Yun Lian looked at the nearly empty shop floor, his face instantly filling with great joy. "Hasn't the Sect Master always planned to hold an elite disciple training session at the Origin Internet Club?"

Previously, there were not so many seats, and the internet cafe did not accept reservations, but now...

He hurriedly retrieved his communication jade in immense excitement. "Quick, transmit this wonderful news back to the sect!"