NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17.1 - Is Extortion Also Considered an Investment? (1/2)
Chapter 17: Is Extortion Also Considered an Investment? (1/2)
— At Divine Weapon Peak —
In the Forging Hall, heat and cold coexisted as the rhythmic clanging of metal echoed continuously.
He Hongfeng rushed in, flustered and out of breath, blurting out:
“Deacon Fu Tu, you must go quickly! Elder Shang Wu said if she doesn’t see you within a quarter of an hour, she’ll storm Divine Weapon Peak herself.”
As his words fell, the group of bare-chested, muscular men in the Forging Hall broke out in a cold sweat, seemingly recalling unpleasant memories.
They all turned their heads in unison, looking at the massive iron tower of a man not far away.
“Hmm?”
Fu Tu’s face twitched violently.
With a sigh, he loosened his grip, and the forging hammer fell to the ground.
“What on earth happened?”
Elder Han He slammed the table as he stood up, fuming:
“Summoning and dismissing our Divine Weapon Peak’s deacon at will, even threatening to come here herself – does she think our Divine Weapon Peak has no one to defend it?”
The group of burly men lowered their heads, pretending to be engrossed in their tasks.
“Well, Fu Tu, you’d better go first.”
“Yes, Elder.”
Fu Tu’s expression shifted as he walked out of the Forging Hall.
Only then did Han He ask sternly:
“Deacon He, what exactly is going on?”
“Deacon Fu Tu’s disciple was sparring with a newly promoted true disciple…”
He Hongfeng recounted everything that had just transpired.
As Elder Han He listened, he became furious.
An older disciple challenging a newly promoted one to a duel – how shameless!
And not only did they try, they actually lost.
This is bad.
That troublemaker Shang Wu could stir up trouble even without reason. Now that she had a legitimate reason, there was no stopping her!
“By the way, you mentioned that Li Mo forced Wang Hao to use his internal energy?”
“That’s right. Actually, Wang Hao had been secretly using a bit before, but only a trace. He suffered at the hands of the Six Harmonies Fist at major accomplishment level, so he lost his composure.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Han He stroked his graying beard, his eyes flickering with thought.
Major accomplishment in Six Harmonies Fist!
Meridians opened in a single day!
Based on these two points alone, this Li Mo kid, even if not as good as Ying Bing, wasn’t far behind.
The Stairway to heaven never makes mistakes.
That kid’s physique might indeed be reflected in his martial arts accomplishments, which is why his progress was so rapid.
Such a good seedling, and he ended up under Shang Wu’s tutelage.
If he only learned martial arts, it would be fine, but if he picked up that mad woman’s bad habits…
Han He’s head ached at the thought.
…
— In the Martial Arts Hall —
As Fu Tu stepped in, he saw his disciple embedded in the wall, his fate unknown, while Shang Wu sat comfortably in the seat of honor, sipping tea.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger:
“Elder Shang, may I ask why you’ve injured my disciple so severely?”
Shang Wu raised an eyebrow, her voice even louder than his:
“It was him who attacked first!”
Saying this, she lifted Li Mo’s arm, pointing at the bruise on his palm:
“If I hadn’t arrived in time, my exceptionally talented disciple would have been killed by your disciple!”
Li Mo coughed lightly, wanting to withdraw his hand.
But he couldn’t move it.
No, Master, this bruise on my hand is from hitting him.
Given a bit more time, it would have probably disappeared on its own.
Fu Tu used his internal energy to extract Wang Hao from the wall.
After feeding him a healing pill, he turned back:
“It was just sparring between fellow disciples, Elder Shang Wu. You’ve gone too far. Wang Hao has the responsibility to guide new disciples in martial arts, perhaps he was merely teaching him some techniques.”
“Sparring? Using internal energy is just teaching?”
Shang Wu said, slamming down her teacup, indignantly:
“Xiao Mo, what do our Qingyuan Sect’s rules say?”
“Those who harm fellow disciples shall be executed on the spot,” Li Mo chimed in at the right moment.
“Useless! What good are you!”
Fu Tu glared angrily at the unconscious Wang Hao.
Bullying a newly admitted disciple and still needing to use internal energy?
Now that the accusation of harming a fellow disciple had been made, he could only swallow this bitter pill, even if it broke his teeth!
Amidst his anger, he discreetly glanced at the young man beside Shang Wu.
He knew exactly how strong Wang Hao was, and without internal energy, he couldn’t even defeat this boy?
“Well then… thank you, Elder Shang, for helping me discipline my disciple. I’ll take my leave.”
Fu Tu hoisted Wang Hao onto his shoulder, preparing to leave.
But before he could take two steps, he was locked in place by an oppressive aura, the hair on his neck standing on end.
“Your Divine Weapon Peak still owes me an explanation.”
Shang Wu spat out the tea leaves into her cup, her face full of disgust:
“Give me ten thousand pounds of cold iron, a thousand pounds of Red gold, and ten pounds of iron essence. If you’re short by even an ounce, don’t think about leaving this hall.”
Everyone present gasped in shock.
This was equivalent to ten years of Divine Weapon Peak’s production.
Even Elder Han He might not be able to produce this much.
Visibly, the veins on Fu Tu’s forehead bulged:
“That’s extortion! Shang Wu, don’t push your luck too far!”
“And what if I do?!”
A scorching aura spread out, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Whether it was an illusion or not, for a fleeting moment, Li Mo seemed to see a lotus flower blooming in flames on his beautiful master’s body, burning brightly, as if eternally inextinguishable.
Fu Tu’s momentum faltered.
If it were anyone else, he could be certain they wouldn’t dare to raise a hand within the sect.
But when this madwoman Shang Wu flew into a rage, even the Sect Master had to give way.
Li Mo sensed an opportunity and quickly interjected:
“Elder Fu Tu is just a Deacon at Divine Weapon Peak, he truly can’t produce that much.”
“I wasn’t injured either, so perhaps… we could ask for less compensation?”
Shang Wu snorted coldly:
“That’s reasonable. Disciple, what compensation do you think would be satisfactory?”
Li Mo coughed lightly and said: “Ink, brush and paper, please!”
He took the brush and wrote swiftly.
In no time, he had written out a list.
Fu Tu glanced at it.
Most of the items listed were fine wines that Shang Wu loved to drink, along with various precious items.
Although it would still be a significant loss, it wasn’t as outrageous as before.
“Come to Divine Weapon Peak to collect them.”
Seeing the master and disciple play off each other so well, Fu Tu’s expression fluctuated between light and dark, ultimately swallowing this bitter pill.
“Ah, that’s more like it. How much better if you had been so cooperative from the start.”
Shang Wu’s oppressive aura dissipated instantly.
After Fu Tu left with a cold snort, she beamed with joy, suddenly giving her precious disciple a big hug, happily burying his head in her chest.
If Li Mo were to describe Shang Wu’s figure at this moment, he would say it was breathtaking.
If you were to ask what Li Mo was thinking right now…
He was wondering why his girlfriends in his previous life would suddenly slap his thigh hard…
“As expected of my disciple, you’ve already learned three of my skills.”
“Master, can I have a cut?”
Li Mo shyly asked for a share of the loot.
…