A Fair Exchange

While Fang Jishen witnessed Ye Mo distancing himself with the gold in hand, he looked at the gem laying on his chest.

When he received it from the Liu clan, he was very happy, not only was he getting rid of his enemy, but he was also being rewarded for it.

With this small advantage to support his cultivation, maybe he won't be deemed as lacking and useless anymore, slowly changing his image in the hearts of the instructors.

However, after Ye Mo's return and their exchange, he thought much about what transpired and understood.

The Liu clan was no less than using the stick and carrot to manipulate him.

If he obey them and do his job well, he will receive plenty of these little gifts to help surpass his peers and attract the attention of the institute, but if he doesn't, they will arrange themselves to reveal everything to Ye Mo.

"A madman like him, if he knew, he might directly bypass the institute's rules and kill me." Fang Jishen trembled just thinking about it.

Actually, this would really be the greatest scenario for the Liu clan.

If they fought each other, of course, no one would bet on Fang Jishen's victory, but then the institute would expel Ye Mo, in fact, there were great chances for him to have his cultivation crippled before being thrown out as a punishment.

In this case he would be no more than an offering for the Liu clan to pick up, an ant they could poke with a stick until death.

They would want nothing more than to see that happen, but the human's mind was complex and the variables plenty, who knew if this case would truly ensues in this situation.

It was better to play safe and use Fang Jishen as a pawn for the time being and discard him when he lose his value.

However, although he now knew about it, he couldn't do anything to change that.

This wouldn't have mattered if Ye Mo died during his journey, both parties could go back to their own life satisfied with the outcome, but since he came back, Fang Jishen had to appease the clan and become their spy if he wanted to keep his part in the ambush hidden.

Ultimately, as he wanted to escape from Ye Mo's clutches, the young man just ended in the hands of the Liu clan instead.

"If that's the case, I will use them to the utmost myself, making sure I have the greatest gains, seeing only my own interests as a priority. Then when the time come, I shall abandon them and use everything to soar higher, establishing my superiority in the institute." Fang Jishen smiled coldly, affirming his position in his mind.

In the meantime, Ye Mo quickly arrived in the hall of the Ironheart Weaponsmiths.

This time, the waiter didn't waste his time and immediately left his post to guide him to a guest room on the second floor.

It could be seen he received instructions from Hei Qiong.

Ye Mo was left waiting in the grand room, sitting on the couch while the forgemaster was called.

Hei Qiong quickly arrived in the room and perfunctorily saluted Ye Mo before sitting down.

"I wasn't sure you would really return the next day, have you gathered the gold yet?" He said getting down to business.

Ye Mo didn't speak a word as he transfered the gold to Hei Qiong's spatial pouch.

Silence invaded the room as the latter quietly verified the amount was right.

He was very skillful recounting the sum and after only a short time, he declared "This is truly ten thousand gold coins, with this the payment is completed. You said you will return in one month? Both your spiritual weapon and the hibernating bug will be ready by this time, that, i guarantee."

Ye Mo nodded and gave the blood tracking fly, still tied to the thread, to Hei Qiong; After all, the fly had to be by his side or else how was he supposed to put it in a fossilized crystal.

The blood tracking fly tried to bite him when it landed on his arm, but the old cultivator immediately released his spirit sense and unleashed a fierce aura, intimidating the bug who stopped in its tracks.

In an instant, the fly stood rooted on the spot, not daring to make a single movement in panic and didn't carry its action to the end.

When the beast was calmed down, Hei Qiong retracted his spirit sense and returned his attention to Ye Mo as he raised his voice again, "I must say, I am really surprised, this amount of gold is no trivial sum. Several clans and families don't have this amount to spend and many even if they do, would be unable to use it so decisively. With this sum, you could even fund your own small clan, you know? I am acquainted with many students and people of your age which at your place, would rather buy a mansion and marry several beautiful women, living the life of a king far from the struggles of cultivators than to still fight bitterly for the smallest benefit."

Ye Mo laughed lightly then stood up, "If there's nothing else, we will see each other in a month."

This way, the young man left the room, barely saying anything the whole time.

How could a peasent understand a warrior's ambition?

For him, gold was just another form of resources to support his cultivation, a tool which only good use was to make him grow stronger.

However, for many, wealth was what they fought for, pursuing the illusion of a comfortable life, closed behind four walls where their every wishes would be met.

Yet, how many of these people can enjoy their time like this to the end? Two powerful cultivators battling in the vicinity was enough for the aftermath of their fight to raze their houses and reap their life like weeds.

A beast tide invading the city was all it required for them to be the first to die.

Every lifeforms tried their best to survive in this harsh and violent land, there was no safe place where you could hide, you can only count on your own two fists to get through.

Even then, throughout humanity, this kind of people who prefered to chase a peaceful residence where they could close their eyes from the exterior and escape reality have always been the most numerous.

Not everyone had the will to endure a life of hardships to surpass themselves and realize their dreams.

The truth was that no amount of gold would protect you against the attack of an enraged opponent.

Ye Mo didn't linger around and after leaving the building, he quickly returned to the Tiger Martial Institute.

Without the Liu clan members monitoring the gates, he could now leave and return easily without having to worry about an ambush.

As for Fang Jishen, he will let him be for now.

In the institutes, scheming and attempting to assassinate another member was obviously forbidden and one would be severely punished for this, but Ye Mo didn't even consider telling anyone.

Without any evidence, but just his belief alone, this would look like nothing more than baseless accusations towards another fellow student, nothing good could result from it.

Fang Jishen wasn't much of a threat anyway and now that he retrieved the pure iridescent iron, Ye Mo didn't need to leave the city anymore so he and the Liu clan won't be able to do much against him.

Moreover, he didn't trust anyone to support him, Ye Mo counted only on himself to deal with any obstacle that would stand on his way.

Back to the institute, Ye Mo didn't go home, but went to the disciple hall to retrieve the five hundred gold he won by defeating Liu Zhi.

Since it was an official challenge with a bet, the tiger martial institute made sure he would receive the end of the deal and maintain their reputation.

In fact, Liu Zhi didn't have the five hundred gold coins, after he was crippled, the Liu clan that was pressured from instructors in charge of this affair sold all his belongings.

Pills, furnitures, a low-tier spiritual tool and even his clothes, yet, even after trading everything he had, they only obtained three hundred gold coins.

To complete the sum, the Liu clan had to pay the two hundred gold remaining themselves, taking the rest from their reserves. It might not seem like much, but in their current state, separating from a single gold coin was like rubbing salt over fresh wounds and they gritted their teeths over each one of them lost.

After acquiring the gold, Ye Mo left towards the black pagoda.

He entered inside and climbed the stairs going to the second floor.

When he attained his destination, he took another flight of stairs and went to the third floor!

"Barely over a month remains, I can't relax." Ye Mo looked around.

Most students present were 8th layer Qi Gathering cultivators battling while the number of doors decreased again.

However, Ye Mo was confident that with his peak 7th layer cultivation and his new battle skill, Endless Vitality, he could get a room for himself.

"You!" At this moment, a Li clan member recognized him and charged ahead sword in hand and immediately attacked.

When he was close enough he threw a straightforward thrust.

Ye Mo didn't move and let the sword pierce his flank. The Li clan member was surprised and befuddled, seeing him take the strike so easily, but Ye Mo moved his hand near the same instant, using two fingers like claws as he perforated the swordsman's eyes.

A loud cry resounded as the man fell on the ground, holding his face, while Ye Mo took the sword out of his flesh, breathing heavily as he used Endless Vitality to quickly close the wound.

A flank for the eyes, a fair exchange of blows.

The Li clan member desperately used his healing battle skill, but although his wound could heal, it couldn't restore his ruined eyes and his vision remained engulfed in darkness.