Extorting Again

"Honorary father and mother, that was pretty much how things went." Di Lang stood straight, his tone respectful and cautious.

In the hall, Di Lan's uncle Mu Bai Dan as well as his aunt sat in their wide-back huge chairs frowning. Aunt gnawed her teeth. While feeling injustice for Di Lang and at the same time gloating over the matter, she said, "Di Lan that bastard son, him extorting others is one thing, but to think he would not even spare his own younger sister. How heartless and unfeeling! However, this time with such a huge crime, I expect he will be expelled from the academy soon after this."

"That's enough, you should talk less." Uncle heaved in a deep sigh and told Di Lang, "You only lost a piece of spirit stone, don't worry. Go to the treasury and pick up a stone, there is no business for you here now. You must go and work hard in cultivating. With your gold grade talent, becoming the first Middle stage Spirit Master is a huge possibility. Do not waste the talent that heaven blessed you with, for your mother and I look forward to seeing you become number one."

"Yes, father and mother. Your daughter takes her leave." Di Lang left with a heart full of trepidation.

She secretly thought, "Big brother robbed all the students when he blocked the academy gates today. He created such a terrible aftermath, I'm afraid he might really be expelled. If that happens, should I plead on his case for him?"

Two voices appeared in his head.

A voice said, "No need to plead for him, he even robbed your spirit stone away although you were his own young brother. Even if he was expelled, that was his own fault. If Heaven commits a sin, it can be forgiven, but if one commits a sin himself, he deserves to die!"

Another voice said, "But he is your very own older brother, he even shares a similar face, his blood i thicker than water. Alright, even if you do not acknowledge him, you still must plead his case. If you do not do so, how will the outsiders look at you? I'm afraid they might think of you as a heartless and ungrateful person."

Seeing Di Lang leave the hall, Aunt could not help but exclaim happily, "Husband, we cut off Di Lan's living expenses. This little bastard finally couldn't stand it and went off committing a huge error! To actually dare to block the academy gates and fight in public, not to mention extortion, this is the equivalent of provoking the academy elder. I daresay the time for him getting expelled is very near."

However Uncle shook his head. "You think too simply of things. Di Lan will not be expelled, in fact there may not be any punishment."

"Why?" Aunt was puzzled.

Uncle snorted. "Brawls and fights are encouraged as long as there are no heavy consequences. Did any students die in this fight? No."

Aunt refused to comply. "Husband, how would you know there weren't any casualties? There are always accidents happening from fighting."

Uncle closed his eyes, leaning against the back of his chair. "Woman, you are really naïve. Do you really think the academy elder is just for show? When did the guards start acting? They came out at the last moment, this means that the entire scene was under control. If someone was heavily injured, they would have rushed over a long time ago, not at the last moments."

"You are not a Spirit Master, so you won't understand. The academy does not forbid brawls among the students, but in fact they maintain an encouraging attitude towards it. The more brawls there are, the more helpful it would be for battles. Some students can even create strong bonds through fighting. The elders will not pursue this. It is already a routine. If anyone wants to take action on behalf of their offspring, it would break the rules."

Aunt was dumbfounded as she heard this, and she replied in an unsatisfied manner, "Then nothing's going to happen to Di Lan who robbed away such a huge amount of primeval stones? He's just going to be let go like that? With such a big number of primeval stones, it will bring a lot of help to his cultivation."

Uncle opened his eyes, his face cloudy. "What else can we do? Are you expecting me to go over by myself and snatch away all his primeval stones? However this matter is not something that we cannot exploit. Di Lan to rob and extort even his own brother Di Lang, this is the key to his fall. Di Lang is a gold grade talent, he will definitely be stronger than Di Lan one day. We will use this matter to divide and sow discord in Di Lang. We'll lead Di Lang away from Di Lan for our own use!"

And with that, three days passed.

The disturbance that Di Lan caused from his robbery and extortion did not spread nor grow bigger, but instead it gradually died down.

No elders broke the rules and came to find trouble for Di Lan, and the academy elder naturally closed one eye and opened one eye, acting like nothing happened. Although in this period of time, there were two to three youngsters who refused to accept the truth of having their spirit stones taken, and they challenged Di Lan. But after Di Lan knocked them down easily, everyone became aware that if they did not train hard in martial arts, they would never beat Di Lan.

Among these teenagers, a burst of mass fervor towards training hard in martial arts erupted.

The martial arts instructor was overjoyed, he had never seen a batch of students so enthusiastic and dedicated towards martial arts. Before this when he was teaching, the students were all lacking in interest, yawning all day. But right now they would constantly seek advice with eyes brimming with radiating vigour.

The academy elder specially came over to inquire about his situation.

The martial arts instructor had an excited tone as he reported, "The students have been showing unexpected enthusiasm, and this change is too great. Only one student among them called Di Lan remains as lazy as ever."

The academy elder laughed and patted his shoulders. He said, "This student that you speak of is the cause of the other student's transformation."

The martial arts instructor was puzzled. But of course the changes were more than this.

After the incident, Di Lan had undoubtedly become the public enemy of the entire student batch. Everyone was hostile towards him and he was isolated. No longer did anyone speak to him, and no one greeted him.

The youths exerted full force, training their basic techniques privately. With their parents' and elders' encouragement and inspirations, they had decided that they must reclaim their honor by their own hands.

Under the calm surface, the undercurrent was surging.

Another week passed.

The academy elder passed out the spirit stone allowance once more, and the time for Di Lan to act came again.

"Di Lan, once wasn't enough for you, you still want to rob away our primeval stones again?!" The students were shocked and angry as Di Lan blocked them at the gates once more.

Di Lan stood in the middle of the entrance, his hands behind his back, his expression was carefree and ever smiling. "A piece of spirit stone per person if you'll battle with me, or two pieces if not."

"Di Lan, your bullying is excessive. I want to challenge you!" Mu Mo Chen roared angrily, coming out first.

"Now that'swhat I like." Di Lan raised his eyebrows slightly.

Mo Chen raised his fists and rushed forward. After a few rounds, he fainted onto the ground.

"Mo Chen, you're too useless! Watch me!" Mu Shi Cheng yelled loudly and dashed towards Di Lan. After a transition of attack and defence, he joined after Mo Chen's footsteps.

Di Lan's battle experience was getting honed; although he only started cultivating, every force inflicted was being refined. Meanwhile, this bunch of students had only started their journey. If they came at him together, they might still be able to bring him a trouble. But with them coming up to challenge him one by one, it was more relaxing than the first time of extortion.

After thirty minutes, Di Lan leisurely walked away with a bulging money bag, leaving behind a floor full of youths. Some of them were lying motionless, and some were holding their bellies or clutching their crotch as they moaned and howled.

"Brothers, time to come up and sweep the field fast!" The guards shouted and all rushed over.

"I've trained hard in basic martial arts for seven consecutive days, but to think I only managed to endure 5 strikes from Di Lan and lost consciousness afterwards. Shame, unforgivable shame!" Mu Mo Chen exclaimed, full of anguish and regret.

In the family garden, he faced the wooden puppet, unleashing punches and kicks that were resulting in resounding echoes.

Suddenly, he heard a laughing voice. "Little brother, do you have deep hatred for the puppet? Why the great resentment?"

Upon hearing this familiar voice, Mu Mo Chen relaxed and stopped his attacks. He turned his head. "Sister, you're back!"

"Uh-huh, the family council sent me out for an investigation mission which lasted more than ten days…" Mu Mo Ying'er laughingly replied. She was Mo Chen's blood-related sister, a Rank two middle stage Spirit Master.

But soon, her face turned grim, her eyes sharply gazing at Mo Bei. "Brother, what's the matter with those bruises on your face? Who bullied you?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I accidentally tripped and fell." A hint of panic flashed across Mo Chen's face as he came up with an excuse. He did not wish for his sister to know of such an embarrassing event. The truth of the Mo family's future heir and the family head, Mu Mo Shen's beloved grandson, consecutively knocked out twice in combat. But the fortunate thing was that he wasn't the only unlucky one. The others had suffered as well.

"Oh, you have to be more careful in that case. As for your combat training, this won't do. You do not have a Spirit that enhances your defense right now, so use thick towels to cover yourself. This will protect your limbs from getting hurt." Mu Mo Ying'er instructed before leaving.

"Hello, young Miss!"

"Good morning, young Miss!"

"Young Miss is back! Your servant greets you, Miss!"

Mu Mo Ying'er hastily walked with a cold demeanor, and the servants she met on the way bowed and paid respects to her without fail.

She walked to the study room. Without any warning, Mo Ying'er pushed the door and entered through. Inside the room, Mu Mo Ying'er was practicing his calligraphy art with his back facing her.

"You're back?" Mu Mo Shen asked directly without turning his body. "After investigating for half a month, what is the situation with the beasts' den?"

"How did you know it's me, grandfather?" Mo Ying'er gasped, slightly taken aback.

"Hmph, in the entire family, you're the only person that dares to enter my room without even knocking the door once. Who else can it be besides you, my beloved granddaughter," Mu Mo Shen reprimanded, although his face showed traces of concern and warmth, and he looked at Mo Ying'er with a smile.

Mo Ying'er pouted. "When it comes to doting, you actually adore little brother more. However since he's the future family head, you are more strict on him so others cannot sense your concern for him."

After a while, she asked: "Grandfather, little brother was beaten up! I asked him and he lied about the situation, so I had no choice but to ask you."

Mu Mo Shen's face turned serious. "You have not answered my question." He put down his brush and sat down.

Mo Ying'er reluctantly reported, "The beasts' den is almost full, so according to the current rate of breeding speed, although there won't be an outbreak this year, there will definitely be a wolf tide next year at our mountain village."

Mu Mo Shen enquired again, "Generally there's an outbreak every 3 years, so this is no surprise. However, within that hoard, how many Monkey Kings are there?"

"Around three."

Mu Mo Shen nodded, feeling assured. The Monkey Kings were the head of the pack, and were the most troublesome to deal with during an outbreak.

Three wasn't a large number since Bao Mao Mountain had three clan villages. Each village could handle one Monkey King, and the pressure of the outbreak would be greatly reduced.

"Grandfather, you have not told me about my little brother's matter yet!" Mo Ying'er pursued again.

"I suppose there's no matter telling you, but he was beaten up. The first time was seven days ago, and the second time happened today. It happened in front of the school gates, and he was beaten until he sprawled on the ground and fainted on both occasions." Mu Mo Shen laughingly replied.

"Who has the guts to knock out my little brother?" Mo Ying'er stared, wide-eyed.

"He's a batch mate of Mo Chen called Di Lan. He fights really well…" Mu Mo Shen sniggered.

Mu Mo Ying'er's eyes grew larger, and she was perplexed as she replied, "Grandfather, what are you saying? He is your own blood-related grandson!"

Mu Mo Shen stared deeply at his granddaughter and spoke meaningfully, "Mo Ying'er my dear, you are a girl like you may not understand. Defeat and humiliation only serve as fuel for improvement. Without failure one can never develop and grow into a true, mature man."

"Mo Chen was defeated, and that is his own failure. Once he wakes up, he will ask fighting techniques from the teachers. This is a sort of improvement, and this improvement comes from Di Lan, who beat him into realization. As his sister, if you really care and want to protect your brother, you should not interfere with his growth. Di Lan is just a boy with mortal grade talent while Mo Chen has silver grade talent. With us supporting him, he will step over Di Lan and drive him into the ground eventually."

"Leave this opponent to Mo Chen. In a woman's life, she needs a family and a lover. But for a man, a family is not a necessity, yet what he cannot lack is a rival. Do not find trouble with Di Lan, do you hear me? This is a matter between the youths. If you get involved, this will be perceived as bullying. Breaking the rules like that will cause our Mo family to be looked down upon."

Mo Ying'er gasped wordlessly, but under Mu Mo Shen's gaze, she finally lowered her head. "Yes grandfather, your granddaughter understands."