In cruel competitions, many outer disciples had lost hope for further development; their status in the sect were neither higher nor lower so that they felt slightly embarrassed. Therefore, they formed various small groups and did not give much consideration of practicing Buddhism or Taoism to improve themselves. Instead, they used various means to make tricks, attempted to take shortcuts on the road of practising martial arts, or covet power and money, often taking pleasure in oppressing registered disciples.
These people became moths in the sect.
Many people speculated that the senior masters in the sect knew that there was such a small group of moths, but they still let them have their way. It was very likely they intended to test registered disciples’ abilities, which were also one of many examinations.
It should be noted that where there are people, there are conflicts of interest.
Disciples in the sect faced not only fighting and killing and practicing martial arts but also learning how to deal with the dark side in society such as cheating or outwitting the other. Only the victors in the fights deserved the painstaking cultivation by the whole sect!
Outer disciples set up various small business groups to obtain benefits within the scope permitted by the sect’s regulations.
Generally speaking, most of those small groups of this nature had a fixed place and stronghold, and most of these places were in the business district.
The Tianli Attic was such a stronghold.
The Tianli Attic was known by all in the business district of the third stage area in the whole Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. This was the stronghold for the Tianli Attic, a group of outer disciples with unyielding strength. It was located in a prosperous area in the center of the business district. With a four-story red ironwood high rise building occupying a large land was extremely conspicuous.
Even in all business streets in the third ladder area, the Tianli Attic could rank the top three.
In this group there were too many members with several masters. It was said that a few outer elders were also involved in the group secretly.
Zhang Yi was one of heads in the Tianli Attic.
He had been an outer disciple for four years, but he had never been able to join the inner core. Therefore, he abandoned himself and joined the ‘Tianli Alliance’. Zhang Yi was good at securing his personal gain with a flexible mind; he was also extremely cruel and merciless, and so he became one of the heads in the group, who was responsible for forced-purchasing what registered disciples got in the trial tests. Namely it was the purchase, but actually it was more like an open robbery.
Since the price offered by Zhang Yi was really ridiculously low.
Time passed in a flash and afternoon came.
After having wined and dined to satiety, Zhang Yi, burping, moved an armchair to sit lazily at the gate of the Tianli Attic.
Below the steps, dozens of Tianli Attic’s disciples set up several tens of square tables and spread red cloths on them to form a temporary seat stall. They carried out the so-called purchase wickedly.
“Tattered black-backed bear’s six teeth. They are worth half liang of broken silver. Take them and get out of here!”
“Just half a liang silver? They are the grade-three ominous beast’s complete teeth. Just now they were priced at as much as 300 liang in the Rare Goods Store. You are robbing openly… You are going too far. I won’t sell the teeth!”
“Hey, boy, you have strong courage. You feel itchy in your skin, don’t you? Have you not been beaten enough? Open robbery, Yes! What can you do about it? Giving you half a liang silver is to give you face. Don’t you want the money? Leave the teeth and get out of here!”
“You…”
Under the strong insolence of Tianli Attic, the exploited registered disciple could only beat down his teeth and swallow blood. He did not dare to resist the thin monkey-like guy. He had to leave the goods he got by going through fire and water, and reluctantly left with the measly half a liang of silver.
Zhang Yi saw what had happened.
“Hey hey, rookies, don’t complain. Get used to the law of the jungle, haha!”
Looking at how registered disciples were beaten black-and-blue one after another, Zhang Yi was unwilling but helpless to sell all his ominous beasts’ body parts and spiritual herbs obtained during the last trial at a very low price to the Tianli Attic. Sitting in the armchair, Zhang Yi couldn’t help taking pleasure in others’ misfortune.
“Haha, this time, I can make a fortune again. We owe it all to Brother Zhang. You are brilliant!” A thin monkey-like outer disciple stood beside Zhang Yi, fanning him with a cattail leaf fan and smiling obsequiously.
“This may not sound like much? This is the first trial for the newbies. Haha, as the trials go on, they gain more and more when they become skilled in the trials, and we the Tianli Attic will get more and more cheap materials!”
Zhang Yi said with a satisfied smile.
“Yes, yes, Brother Zhang is clever, ha ha, look at these poor wretches. Just like silly sheep, we cut wool one layer after another, but there is nothing they can do about it. It’s really enjoyable haha!” The thin monkey-like guy said while he gloated.
Other members of the Tianli Attic, all bluff and bluster, laughed triumphantly.
Zhang Yi picked fine meat between his teeth, drank a mouthful of wine, and said with a sneer: “When we talk about this, we should also thank those tough guys in the Eastern Academy of green shirts. They can get rich or die tryin’ and dared to take the lead in the fight against the Tianli Alliance. Haha, we just had to kill the chicken to frighten the monkey. We beat him to death in public. Now no one dares to resist us!”
“The last fight was really enjoyable, hey hey!”
“What I want to say is that you beat that guy really hard. The guy named Zhang Fan was almost killed on the spot. Although he is not dead now, he will become disabled in the future. He won’t be able to practice martial arts in the future. Next time we should be careful and have a sense of propriety when we beat some people. Don’t go all the way and kill people. When the time comes, the sect will blame us and everyone of us will be in trouble!”
“Haha, what are you afraid of? It’s Brother Duan Tianli who beat the boy. Besides, that good-for-nothing person called Zhang Fan with poor strength, will absolutely never be promising. Even if he is killed, it will not be a big trouble, hey hey!”
This group of people was really arrogant.
At this moment, in the crowd came a low voice—
“A group of bandits, you are too arrogant. When Brother Ding Hao comes back, he will make you bastards unable to cry out even if you want to!”
Although the voice was low, it was heard by everyone.
Zhang Yi and other’s faces immediately changed.
“Who? Who said that just now, get out of here!” The thin monkey-like guy shouted on the stage.
No one answered.
The skinny guy glanced across those registered disciples in the queue.
He suddenly seemed to have found something. Jumping down the steps, he grabbed the collar of a disciple from the Eastern Academy of green shirts and pulled him out of the queue. He smiled gloomily: “You son of a bitch, did you say that just now?”
The boy at the age of around 13 years old was pulled out. He was in a green shirt and he should be a disciple from the Eastern Academy of green shirts. With thick eyebrows and big eyes, but slim physique, the boy blushed, hummed, lowered his head. He dared be angry but he dared not speak.
“Fuck you! You had guts just now? Now you are like a turtle hiding your head in your shell?” Slapping the boy on the face, the thin monkey-like guy caught the boy’s collar and lifted him in the sky. He said, sneering: “You son of a bitch! You are not convinced, are you? If you have guts, speak out what you said just now. Bullshit Ding Hao. We wonder in which desolate place he died in. Hehe, even if he comes back, he has to kneel down my feet and lick them obediently.”
