Translator: Anubis Translations
After leaving Elder Liu, Gu Feng couldn't stop pondering a question: since most of the cultivation methods of the Sunset Glow Sect were more suitable for female disciples, why were the prodigies of Cloud Prefecture so eager to join it? Although the Sunset Glow Sect was the top sect in Cloud Prefecture, it wasn't the only one. Moreover, there were powerful sects in other prefectures outside Cloud Prefecture. Why didn't they go there instead? Could there be some secret here?
Unfortunately, Elder Liu remained tight-lipped and refused to reveal even a single word about it, which made Gu Feng even more suspicious that there was something fishy going on.
"Forget it, I need to figure out how to solve the Spirit Stone problem first. I'll worry about the rest later."
Before crossing over, he had struggled with money, and after crossing over, he still couldn't escape it. Running around for a few taels of silver—what a hardworking fate!
"Former Brother? The end of the month is approaching. This is a token of my respect for you. I hope you can be lenient on the day the sect distributes resources. I'm also quite poor!"
A female disciple, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, stood in front of Gu Feng, her head lowered, looking somewhat shy.
Glancing at the storage pouch she handed over, Gu Feng smirked and said, "Forget it, take it back. I don't need these."
Gu Feng had principles. Although the sect encouraged competition, he had, after all, gone through nine years of compulsory education in the mysterious ancient Eastern country. How could he rob others for no reason?
Everyone was struggling in this world. Just because one was stronger didn't mean they could bully others!
There was always someone stronger, and mountains beyond mountains. The cycle of karma was inevitable. If you rob others today, someone else might rob you in a few days. What's the point?
Unexpectedly, as soon as Gu Feng finished speaking, the female disciple's lips quivered. "Former Brother, please don't think the Spirit Stones are too few. This is all I can offer right now. Please accept it."
This—
Gu Feng gave her a surprised look and quickly realized that they were accustomed to robbing each other and using Spirit Stones to buy immunity from being robbed.
Seeing that Gu Feng didn't accept the bribe, she thought he was determined to rob her.
Standing speechless, "Does my face look like that of a villain?" Gu Feng muttered to himself.
Then, he reached into her storage pouch and grabbed a handful of Spirit Stones: "This is enough. I guarantee I won't rob you at the end of the month, and I'll also make sure no one else robs you!"
Although Carp Mountain belonged to the Outer Sect, it was a different world there. The monthly resources for the disciples there were delivered by someone, so they wouldn't appear in this place.
Gu Feng had the confidence and the strength to make such a promise.
"R-Really?" The female disciple was so excited she was about to cry.
She was weak, and every time resources were distributed, she had to spend money to hire experts to help her bring them back to her residence to avoid being robbed.
With Gu Feng around, the experts she relied on were no longer reliable. Helpless, she had to muster the courage to bribe Gu Feng, hoping he would go easy on her.
Little did she expect that Gu Feng not only didn't take all her Spirit Stones but also gave her a protective talisman. How could she not be thrilled?
"Thank you, Former Brother, thank you, Former Brother!" After receiving his assurance, the female disciple repeatedly expressed her gratitude.
As she left, the worry on her face vanished, replaced by excitement. She told everyone she met, "Former Brother only took 500 Spirit Stones from me and guaranteed that I won't be robbed at the end of the month!"
She looked so proud, feeling like her life had hope again.
This news spread like a whirlwind throughout the Outer Sect.
"Hurry and send Spirit Stones to Former Brother. Only 500 is such a bargain. If you're late, you might miss the chance!"
"Former Brother is so strong. He's definitely going to rob a few people at the end of the month. It's better to get the immunity early and feel at ease!"
"..."
Everyone had similar thoughts. Gu Feng loved Spirit Stones so much that he even dared to extort Inner Sect disciple Qiu Tian. Who would believe that he wouldn't rob anyone at the end of the month?
Thus, a large group of people headed toward Gu Feng's courtyard together.
At first, Gu Feng tried to explain himself, but it was no use.
The more he explained, the more uneasy the disciples became!
Helpless, he simply accepted all of them.
There were so many people that he couldn't keep track. So, he asked Wu Qi and others to help record the names.
Guo Renkai and the others were completely stunned. They had never seen such a scene before!
Outer Sect disciples were scrambling to send Spirit Stones. Wasn't this too exaggerated?
From what they knew of Gu Feng, he wasn't the type to act unreasonably. On the road to the Sunset Glow Sect, he had robbed bandits; in the sect, he had only robbed Qiu Ze and his group after they provoked him. All signs indicated that Gu Feng was a man with principles.
They couldn't understand why these disciples were doing this. Was this the world of the strong, something they, the weak, couldn't comprehend?
Yan Xixi acted as the chief accountant. Like a protective mother hen, she kept a close eye on Wu Qi and the others, afraid they might embezzle even a single Spirit Stone.
"Former Brother, you only charged them 500 Spirit Stones? I gave you 2,000! Refund me!" Tuoba Lei, upon hearing that Gu Feng only charged each disciple 500 Spirit Stones, immediately felt like he had been cheated and demanded a refund.
"Do you believe I'll rob you clean at the end of the month?" Gu Feng glared at him.
Tuoba Lei shuddered and smiled, "Big Brother, don't misunderstand. I admit I spoke a bit loudly just now.
I'm not here to ask for money back. I'm here to help you keep accounts."
Gu Feng directly tossed him a Spirit Brush, and the latter happily sat down next to Wu Qi and the others: "Everyone, maintain order, line up, don't push, one at a time!"
This behavior earned him a big look of disdain from Wu Qi and the others.
"Xixi, why haven't I seen you these past few days? Is it because I have the Myriad Tribulations Physique that you don't want to be around me?" Gu Feng walked up to Yan Xixi and joked.
"No, no, I've been working hard on studying the art of alchemy these past few days," Yan Xixi hurriedly explained.
"Working so hard? You're a genius; you can afford to relax a bit," Gu Feng said with a smile, noticing that Yan Xixi had a hint of fatigue between her brows recently.
"I have to work hard; I haven't made any progress at all," Yan Xixi said with a bitter face.
"What kind of heaven-defying pill are you trying to concoct?" Gu Feng asked, puzzled. He had heard from Wu Qi and the others that Yan Xixi's talent in alchemy was extraordinary, and ordinary pills couldn't stump her.
"It's indeed heaven-defying. I'll tell you after I successfully concoct it..." Yan Xixi smiled mysteriously.
"By the way, when are you taking me to the Alchemy Hall? I want to learn alchemy!"
Gu Feng had always kept this matter in mind. Before finding a suitable way to earn money, learning alchemy was a must, and he had to master it.
"The chief elder of the Alchemy Hall should be going out in the next couple of days. I'll come and get you then."
"Alright—"
The entire day, Spirit Stones kept coming, filling one storage pouch after another.
Gu Feng grinned all day, not closing his mouth once, like a fool.
Among the many Outer Sect disciples, except for those who truly had no Spirit Stones, the arrogant, and the powerful, almost all came to pay the immunity fee.
In the end, it was tallied that he had collected around 6 million Spirit Stones.
In other words, over 12,000 disciples in the Outer Sect had come to pay their respects.
"6 million a month, 72 million a year. Even if I just lay around, I could push my cultivation to the peak of Qi Refinement!"
Gu Feng thought happily, but Yan Xixi's words brought him back to reality.
"With over 12,000 disciples seeking protection, how are you going to manage that?"
Yes, this was a serious problem.
The distribution of resources wasn't at the same time, and the directions they left in were different. Not to mention one Gu Feng, even a hundred Gu Fengs might not be able to handle it.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Feng's eyes lit up, "Wu Qi, help me compile the list into a registry. At the price of 5 Spirit Stones, copy 50,000 copies overnight!"
"Are you crazy? Spending 250,000 Spirit Stones to copy a list? This is heaven-defying!" Upon hearing this, Wu Qi exclaimed, and the others also looked at Gu Feng in confusion.
"I'll pay 1 Spirit Stone per copy to have it copied, then sell it for 20 Spirit Stones each. As long as I sell over 10,000 copies, the rest is profit. It's a sure win!" Gu Feng explained excitedly, seeing that the others still didn't understand.
"There are over 100,000 Outer Sect disciples. Only 12,000 have bought immunity from me. Among the remaining nearly 90,000 Outer Sect disciples, 20,000 might want to rob on that day. That's not too many, right?"
"At least half of them would probably try to rob," Guo Renkai said solemnly.
"Do you think they'd dare to rob the people I protect?"
Everyone shook their heads. Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to rob the disciples Gu Feng protected.
"Then isn't it obvious? They'd be afraid of robbing the wrong person and angering me, right? So they'd have to be careful, wouldn't they?"
"I get it. With this list, those disciples wouldn't be afraid of robbing the wrong person.
Even the disciples who bought immunity would have a copy. If they encountered robbers, they could just take out the list, flip to their names, and it would act as a protective talisman!
These 5 Spirit Stones are well spent. Even I would be willing to buy it," Tuoba Lei said excitedly.
"Exactly. With this robbery guide, they'd never have to worry about robbing the wrong person. This is killing two birds with one stone!" Gu Feng said proudly.
Everyone was stunned, looking at Gu Feng as if he were a monster.
How could his brain work so well when they were all Outer Sect disciples? Not to mention his strength was unparalleled.
To earn two types of Spirit Stones from one thing—only he could think of that.
Former Brother might be a bit stingy, but his ability to earn money was truly unmatched.
Over 6 million Spirit Stones—many families' annual income couldn't compare to what Gu Feng earned in a single day.
Of course, they were just envious. After all, they didn't have Gu Feng's strength. Even if they wanted to protect others, they couldn't!
"Former Brother, I want to discuss something with you," Tuoba Lei pulled Gu Feng aside, wearing a flattering smile.
"What is it?"
"I'll take care of copying 10,000 of them. You give me 50,000 Spirit Stones."
"You brat, you're trying to earn a processing fee!" Gu Feng immediately understood his intention.
"Hehe, I'll find some people, pay them 2 Spirit Stones per copy, and earn half myself," Tuoba Lei chuckled.
"Fine, let's all earn money together. As long as you can guarantee to copy 10,000 copies by tomorrow noon, I'll leave it to you!"
"Deal!"
Tuoba Lei would earn 30,000 Spirit Stones in one go, equivalent to a top-tier Mortal Grade cultivation method. This made Wu Qi and the others envious, but unfortunately, they didn't have the manpower and could only watch.
"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities to earn money in the future.
For the remaining 40,000 copies, I plan to have the Jade Maiden Sect copy them. They have many people and can work quickly!"
Thinking of this, Gu Feng immediately headed toward the Jade Maiden Sect.
(End of the Chapter)
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