"Cao Zhen!" Chen Shizhi slammed the table and stood up abruptly. He knew that he had to scare the other party with stern words if he wanted to extort a hundred spirit stones, "I came to you out of consideration for our old days as classmates! Yet you treat me like a fool, with only four types of pill prescriptions in the question, but you claim there are seven! Do you want me to report you to the Sect Leader saying you deliberately misguide the youth? You dare to teach me about the Alchemy Dao?"
Cao Zhen couldn't help but sigh again! This was the camaraderie of old classmates! Only those with a very close relationship could speak to each other so directly. Otherwise, if someone saw an opportunity, they would just go straight to the Sect Leader! He must preserve this rare bond with the old Cao Zhen.
"What makes you qualified to discuss Alchemy Dao with the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak?"
Suddenly, a voice filled with disdain and mockery came from the sky. Cao Zhen and Chen Shizhi, along with the others, instinctively looked up to see a fat old man flying on his sword, his wide robes fluttering loudly in the wind.
Beichen Ying didn't wait for the people of Four Treasures Peak present to react. He waved his sleeve, collected his flying sword, and descended from the high sky into the courtyard.
Sword Control? He must be someone with a background! Chen Shizhi knew that anyone who could control a sword within the sect was of high status. He hastily looked at Cao Zhen beside him and noticed his classmate was looking back at him with an expression that read 'I don't know this person either.'
Seeing Cao Zhen's expression made Chen Shizhi's temples throb with anger. This was clearly a show put on in front of him! Showing off his backers!
"Senior?" Cao Zhen was uncertain how to address the man before him, so he saluted and said, "This is my classmate and good friend. Perhaps the words earlier were too harsh?"
Beichen Ying, due to his poor sense of direction, took a while to find his way to Four Treasures Peak and had already been there for a little while, overhearing much of the previous conversation.
Before speaking, Beichen Ying had already decided that Chen Shizhi was obviously looking for trouble, and yet the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak was so weak, always polite to his adversary. So, Beichen Ying thought as long as he made an impressive entrance and spoke up, the Peak Master would immediately draw closer to him.
Beichen Ying had planned it this way and acted accordingly. However, the reaction he got had not followed the original script; instead of aligning with himself, the Peak Master sided with the person who had come to cause trouble.
Beichen Ying, who was worldly and experienced, was momentarily stunned and even more puzzled inside. Could it be that the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak was that afraid of the minor Assistant Teacher from the Taoist Institution? If that were the case, he had to assert his dominance! To increase his importance in the eyes of the Peak Master!
"Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak, rest assured! With me here, this little Assistant Teacher won't be able to stir up any trouble," Beichen Ying stood with his hands clasped behind his back, striding forward, and, using his tall and plump stature, he looked down at Chen Shizhi, "Kid, are you trying to extort us?"
At this moment, Chen Shizhi finally understood it all! No wonder Cao Zhen wasn't home just now! He must have known that I was coming to make trouble, so he left beforehand to find reinforcements!
Correct! The reinforcements had arrived! Cao Zhen was still pretending to be in opposition to them, just to do me a favor and show off how deep his roots were in the Hundred Peaks Sect!
It was not until this moment that Chen Shizhi realized why Cao Zhen had never mentioned the hush money. It turned out he had called for backup. If I asked for hush money now, that would truly confirm the crime of extortion!
In the Hundred Peaks Sect, extorting one's fellow disciples is no small crime. And if the one being extorted is a Peak Master, then the offense is even greater!
Chen Shizhi hated himself! Why didn't I mention the hush money earlier? Now, due to their acting dumb, I can no longer bring it up!
"What are you talking about, senior?" Cao Zhen decisively stood by Chen Shizhi's side, draping an arm over Chen Shizhi's shoulder and said, "How could old Chen extort me? How can you think so low and dirty of my classmate?"
Chen Shizhi felt like his lungs were about to explode with anger. The attempt to extort had backfired and now Cao Zhen, feigning sincerity, was pointing at his nose and mocking him! Lowly, despicable, filthy! In all his years at the Immortal Cultivation Taoist Institution, hadn't every day been lived in respect? And now, to be disgusted like this to his face! The humiliation! The extreme humiliation!
BeiChen Ying was stunned for a second, and upon seeing the change in Chen Shizhi's gaze, he immediately became suspicious. The rumor was that the Peak Master of Four Treasures Peak was a stickler for rules and quite straight-laced, so how could he be so malicious? Pretending to support the blackmailer when in fact disgustingly mocking the other party!
Chen Shizhi regretted it! He should've gone straight to Four Treasures Peak and extorted him the moment he arrived. Now that everything was laid bare, if he were to extort now, the nature of it would change! It would truly become extortion!
But just to leave like this? Chen Shizhi couldn't stand it! All these years, every time he remembered how during the assessment, it was a blockhead like Cao Zhen who was admitted, while he could only be an Assistant Teacher in the Taoist Institution, slowly working his way up to Master's position, he couldn't suppress the jealousy in his heart.
"Old Chen, don't take the senior's words to heart too much. I believe you are not that kind of person," Cao Zhen said, patting Chen Shizhi's back, "We haven't seen each other in a long time. How about you eat with me tonight, and we have a good chat?"
Eat my ass! Chen Shizhi, looking at Cao Zhen's face which no matter what seemed feigned, became even more furious. Was the way he'd been made sick not enough? He had to stay for a meal and continue to see how well Cao Zhen was living?
"Cao Zhen, I came here this time just hoping you would stop misleading the young," Chen Shizhi said, looking for an excuse. "Tell me the truth about your teaching. Exactly how many Pill Prescriptions is it? As a Master, I can't let you mislead the future generation."
Cao Zhen looked at Chen Shizhi's earnest expression and couldn't help but feel a strong urge to laugh, thinking to himself that these days, truly anyone could become friends with anyone. The old Cao Zhen was stubborn and inflexible, and this was his only classmate he could speak with. Even when there was someone at the Sword Control Level supporting him, he still insisted on being serious.
"Old Chen, it's really seven…" Cao Zhen began, "You might be better than me in other areas, but in the way of Alchemy Dao, I'm truly stronger…"
"Good! Your words are enough!" Chen Shizhi interrupted Cao Zhen, feeling a rush of joy inside, "I just wanted you to stubbornly claim it was seven. Now, with this Sword Control expert as a witness, I can go back to the Taoist Institution and report this to the Sect Leader!"
"I said it," Cao Zhen nodded, glancing at his earnest classmate. "Tonight, while we eat, I can teach you…"
"No need, the Taoist Institution is pretty busy." Chen Shizhi, while dragging a few students out, hurried towards the exit, his heart filled with some anticipation. Although he couldn't extort, he was going to make Cao Zhen pay for the insult at the very least! He couldn't let today's humiliation go for nothing!
Cao Zhen, watching Chen Shizhi's retreating figure, just shook his head and chuckled lightly. The man had really not changed at all from the one he remembered. Back when they were classmates, the old Cao Zhen didn't have the money to treat him to meals until he was admitted to Four Treasures Peak and finally obtained some allowance, which the other party, fearing it might hinder his cultivation and waste the subsidy, always declined.
"Old Chen, remember to bet on me winning," Cao Zhen called out from the courtyard as he watched Chen Shizhi walk away. "Take out all your savings and bet on me winning! Then we'll both have money! Whoever wins can treat the other to a big meal. Bet everything, even if it leads to your ruin, bet on me winning!"
Chen Shizhi waved his arm irritably, sneering inside, Bet on you winning? Have I gone mad? Wasn't it enough that you humiliated me today? Do you also want to bankrupt me? But you did remind me of something! I could pull out all my assets and bet on your loss! Even if the odds are low, it's still a way to make some profit, isn't it?
Cao Zhen, seeing Chen Shizhi's arm raised high and waving, sighed to himself that the old Cao Zhen had not left behind many good points with his friends, and he had to maintain this relationship with his classmate at all cost.
BeiChen Ying watched all of Cao Zhen's actions in a daze, wondering if the man before him genuinely didn't know the other was there to extort. Were all of Cao Zhen's actions sincere? He was even more of a stickler for rules than the rumors said!