Chapter 29: Horror Again

Upon sensing the aura of intense jealousy emanating from Ye Dafu and his clique, Xiao Nanfeng's face spasmed.

"I'll stop with these five scriptures and continue tomorrow—I have to practice my fist technique in the afternoon. There's no need to hover around watching, everyone." Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the disciples marveling at him.

The group of disciples scattered.

"Boss, some people are only good at memorization—but what good will that do them? They're bookworms, nothing more!"

"Right, Boss, strength is what matters. Why get angry at a poor bastard like him?"

Ye Dafu's clique was simultaneously consoling their leader and themselves.

"Senior Brother Ye? Your golden eel has arrived. The cost is two hundred taels of gold." A nominal disciple came over with a lunchbox in hand.

Ye Dafu's eyes brightened. He immediately stopped grousing, then generously handed over two hundred taels of gold.

"Boss, you're really willing to spend two hundred taels for this golden eel? Ah, look, it's basically like the one that bastard fished up on the ship!" one lackey cried out.

Ye Dafu's jealousy had been wiped away. He smiled with satisfaction. "I specifically requested it from the kitchen. None of you got to try it on the ship, so let me treat you all this time."

When Ye Dafu and his clique were informed of their punishment, Ye Dafu had anticipated finding Nanfeng here. That was why he deliberately sought out a golden eel from the kitchen in order to regain the reputation he had lost on the ship. Two hundred taels of gold for a meal was somewhat extravagant, but his pride was worth it!

"Thank you, Boss!"

"Haha, of course! It's a pity that it's only a medium-sized one. I saw an even larger golden eel in the kitchen, with a tiny pair of horns sprouting from its forehead, worth five hundred taels of gold. I can't afford it at the moment, but let's try it together once I get more money!" Ye Dafu offered, with a hint of braggadocio.

Just then, two more nominal disciples came by bearing a huge platter.

"Senior Brother Nanfeng, this is the horned golden eel you ordered. After discounting the price of the golden eel Senior Sister Yu'er gifted to you, you need only pay three hundred taels of gold," one of them reported.

"Thank you." Xiao Nanfeng handed them three banknotes.

"Of course, Senior Brother!" the disciples bowed.

They put down the platter, and Xiao Nanfeng dug in with gusto.

Cultivators were known for their huge appetites. Xiao Nanfeng rapidly finished the eel's head, then set aside the horned skull.

Not far away, Ye Dafu and his clique fell silent as they looked at the horned eel skull that Xiao Nanfeng had just put aside.

"Boss, that horned golden eel you were mentioning... it can't be the one he's eating now, can it?!"

Everyone looked toward Xiao Nanfeng's huge platter of golden eel, then at the small box that Ye Dafu and his ten lackeys were sharing. Suddenly, their meal didn't look quite so appetizing anymore.

Ye Dafu's face spasmed, then stung—as though he'd been slapped.

The clique fell silent. The conversation at their table halted as they lowered their heads and ate quietly.

They finished their meal in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar silence. Not far beside them, Xiao Nanfeng did the same, burping as he did so.

"I bet the horned golden eel meat tastes less fresh and tender. Ours definitely has the better texture!"

"Does he really think that eating a large eel will allow him to break through faster? That's laughable!"

Ye Dafu and his lackeys were muttering away in jealousy.

Just then, Xiao Nanfeng suddenly got up and began practicing a fist technique. His punches sounded like miniature explosions. Suddenly, a palpable aura emanated from his body, causing a cloud of dust to form over the ground.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Nanfeng! You've broken through again!"

"Senior Brother Nanfeng, are you in the seventh stage of Acquisition now?"

"You broke through immediately after consuming this horned golden eel? Truly, you get what you pay for!"

A group of nominal disciples in the vicinity congratulated Xiao Nanfeng.

Ye Dafu and his clique, not far away: ...

That whole afternoon, Ye Dafu and the others were out of sorts. They failed to memorize even parts of the scriptures they had been assigned, so upset and disgusted were they by Xiao Nanfeng's behavior.

"We only get a stipend of a thousand taels each year! How does he have so much money? He must be doing it to spite us deliberately!" Ye Dafu cried out, clenching his fist.

"Boss, we'll take turns ordering a golden eel daily. Let's eat it in front of him day after day!"

"He's a poor and small-minded bastard!"

Xiao Nanfeng continued to release a flurry of punches, giving rise to miniature explosions in the air.

After eating a whole month's worth of food of pure yang, he had accumulated enough qi to break through with this final meal. However, he thought himself still far too weak—he had to eat even more nourishing food! As for money? He still had 10,200 taels of gold left.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled in anticipation. He was in a pleasant mood, and even his training with Hegemon's Fist seemed to be proceeding more smoothly.

The next day, with dark circles under their eyes, Ye Dafu and his clique wasted another morning as Xiao Nanfeng comprehended five new scriptures. At lunch, they had a brief moment of satisfaction as they enjoyed a meal of an ordinary golden eel in sight of Xiao Nanfeng. In order to make sure he saw and heard them, they even raised their voices high.

Xiao Nanfeng ignored them, but a senior disciple seated nearby couldn't watch on.

"Eleven of you sharing an ordinary demon—why are all of you so excited? You must have had hard lives in the past," he commented.

Ye Dafu and the others: ...

The third day, after Xiao Nanfeng finished digesting the horned golden eel he had had two days ago, he ordered another one. The sight was so shocking that Ye Dafu and the others sucked in a deep breath.

"Spending a thousand taels, just like that? Is he trying to compete with us for wealth? What will he eat for the next year, mud?!" Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"Good! He can watch us eat golden eels instead!" his lackeys cheered excitedly.

The fourth and fifth days, after witnessing Ye Dafu and his clique brag about their extravagant wealth, the disciples reciting scriptures at the Cliff of Meditation began to look at them with disdain. They had hardly ever seen a group of people so cocky—and for no reason at all!

The sixth day, Xiao Nanfeng handed over the last of his scrolls to the overseeing disciple. "I've finished all thirty scriptures. Thank you for your assistance, Junior Brother."

The overseeing disciple was looking at Xiao Nanfeng with awe. "Senior Brother Nanfeng, your ability to absorb these scriptures is truly unparalleled!"

"You overpraise me," Xiao Nanfeng replied, shaking his head with a smile. "Surely many disciples in the sect can boast of something similar."

"No, they're different! I've never seen anyone with such an ability, Senior Brother! Senior Sister Yu'er can boast something similar, but it still takes her several reads in order to be able to recite a scripture smoothly. As for you, one try is all you need! You might be unaware of how difficult it is for other disciples to memorize these scriptures—look at Senior Brother Ye and the others. It's been six days, and they haven't even managed a single scripture among them. They're far worse!" the overseeing disciple remarked.

Not far in the distance, Ye Dafu raised his head. "What?! Praise him if you want, but why denigrate us? On what grounds? Are you crazy?!"

His clique all gave the overseeing disciple a murderous glare.

The disciple stiffened. "I apologize, Senior Brothers! I have something to take care of at the moment, so I'll be taking my leave now!"

Ye Dafu and the others continued glaring until the overseeing disciple had disappeared from sight.

"Boss, it's alright! We might not be able to memorize scriptures as well as that bookworm, but we're rich! Our golden eel is about to arrive, so let's eat it right in front of that bastard and vex him!" one lackey consoled.

Ye Dafu relaxed a little, his anger abating. He had to flaunt his wealth to Xiao Nanfeng daily to feel comfortable.

Just then, a nominal disciple brought Xiao Nanfeng a platter of horned golden eel once again, and he dug in with gusto.

"Eh? Hasn't he already eaten two such horned eels and spent a thousand taels of gold? Where did he get the money to buy the third?" Ye Dafu cried out in surprise.

"I, I don't know either..." His lackeys seemed to be as perplexed as he was.

"How does he have more money? Has he been laughing at us this entire time?!" Ye Dafu suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility.

"Isn't he a poor bastard? Or has he been pretending to be poor, waiting for us to make a fool of ourselves?!" one lackey cried out.

At this point, everyone had now come to the understanding that he had been richer than they were all along, that all their flaunting had only served to highlight them as fools, nothing more.

The clique flushed red with shame and anger. Even when a nominal disciple brought more demon meat over, they found it hard to focus on their food.

"Boss, he tricked us all! I can't take this!" one lackey murmured.

"Me neither—what should we do?" Ye Dafu was suppressing his anger himself.

"We'd better show him that he shouldn't mess with us!" one lackey gritted out.

The clique all looked toward Ye Dafu, waiting for their boss to come up with a plan.

Ye Dafu gnashed his teeth. "Alright, let's finish memorizing our scriptures in the next two days, then, before we leave, teach that bastard a lesson!"

"Yes, Boss!" his lackeys shouted.

The eleven of them focused madly on their recitation.

Not far away, Xiao Nanfeng, who was still happily enjoying his meal, was startled by the sudden sound of chanting.

"Eh? Why are they all so motivated now?" Xiao Nanfeng eyed them with suspicion.

A moment later, he shook his head, ignored them, and continued practicing Hegemon's Fist at his own pace.

Hegemon's Fist was unparalleled in strength and infinitely flexible. Only after he had gotten past the basics did he truly understand the potency of the technique. He didn't find the practice at all boring, and neither did he notice a pair of eyes staring straight at him, unblinking.

In a dark, hidden corner covered with a thin film of black smoke, there was a bleached skeleton, the cursed effigy whom Elder Ku had been tirelessly searching for. It had somehow made its way into reality, walked out of Elder Ku's hall, and now seemed to be planning something while eyeing Xiao Nanfeng.