Translator: AnubisTL
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists met flesh with brutal force!
A Fei's feet left the ground, his massive body seemingly weightless, flipping and swaying amidst the storm of Gu Feng's punches—
The onlookers couldn't help but wince, their teeth aching and bodies trembling uncontrollably, gasps of shock echoing one after another!
Gu Feng was simply too violent. Only A Fei's astonishing physique could withstand his relentless, powerful attacks. Anyone else would have been reduced to mincemeat, ready to be kneaded into dough and sold at a bun shop.
"What is Gu Feng doing? Is he trying to kill A Fei? I've never heard of any feud between them."
"Killing isn't allowed on Carp Mountain. Gu Feng is probably just venting, especially after being humiliated by A Fei's mysterious black whip earlier."
"Who would have thought that Carp Mountain's undisputed number one would fall to Gu Feng today?"
"It's truly astonishing. He's only at the Qi Refining Realm, perhaps not even at its peak, yet he managed to defeat A Fei, who's at the second level of the Postnatal Realm."
"The Myriad Tribulations Physique is too powerful, but the Thunder Tribulation remains an insurmountable hurdle. I wonder how far Gu Feng will go in the future."
"..."
As they watched Gu Feng's relentless assault, the crowd whispered among themselves.
By now, the cultivators who had their possessions stolen earlier no longer harbored any resentment, just as they hadn't when A Fei had robbed them. In fact, they even felt a sense of relief, grateful that Gu Feng had held back at the start. Otherwise, they wouldn't have just lost their belongings and suffered injuries—many of them might have been permanently crippled.
Small differences between people breed jealousy and hatred deep within human nature, but when the gap becomes too vast, only awe remains.
For a long time after the outcome was decided, Gu Feng continued to pummel A Fei one-sidedly, even as he grew breathless and drenched in sweat, never stopping his attacks.
The crowd thought he was venting, but in reality, Gu Feng was acting on Zhu Qingyan's instructions. As for why Zhu Qingyan had ordered this, she hadn't explained in detail at first.
"Use the Soul-Shattering Whip to strike his head!"
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, when Gu Feng was too exhausted to continue, Zhu Qingyan's voice echoed in his mind once more.
The Soul-Shattering Whip?
Gu Feng understood immediately. He pulled out the rusty black whip and lashed it down on A Fei's forehead with a sharp crack!
Sss—
The moment the whip struck, A Fei, who had only been groaning under Gu Feng's relentless beating, let out a piercing, blood-curdling scream.
Ah~~~~
The sound was long and drawn-out, chilling to the bone!
Even with A Fei's thick skin and resilience, the pain was so intense that he wailed miserably, a testament to the whip's terrifying power.
Crack————
Gu Feng quickly closed in on A Fei, who was now clutching his head and scrambling to escape. With each powerful lash of the whip, A Fei's screams grew more desperate. Gu Feng, too, felt his head buzzing and his teeth aching down to his neck, as if he could feel the soul-rending pain himself.
"Senior Zhu, do you have a grudge against A Fei's ancestors?" Gu Feng couldn't help but ask, watching A Fei's tear-streaked face.
"Beating him is for his own good. He's missed the optimal period for whipping, so now we have to use drastic measures to fully awaken his potential," Zhu Qingyan's calm voice echoed in Gu Feng's mind, leaving him utterly bewildered.
This method of unlocking potential was truly something else. Gu Feng was glad he wasn't born into A Fei's family—otherwise, he might have tried to end it all at birth.
"Keep an eye on his eyes. When there's not a trace of red left, you can stop.
After you're done, come to the Alchemy Hall. Telepathy is tiring." With that, Zhu Qingyan fell silent.
Crack—
Crack—
The scene was gruesome. A Fei clutched his head, screaming as he fled wildly at the foot of Carp Mountain.
Before long, he couldn't run anymore. He dug a large hole and buried himself in the dirt, but Gu Feng yanked him out with brute force, holding him up and whipping him mercilessly.
The moment the last trace of red vanished from A Fei's eyes, Gu Feng stopped.
"No... no more, I... I can't take it."
A Fei's voice came in broken gasps, carrying a hint of his usual simple, honest tone, as if he hadn't transformed at all.
"Do you know why I'm beating you?" Gu Feng crouched down, leaning close to A Fei's head, and asked in a low voice.
"N... no," A Fei shook his head honestly.
Gu Feng noticed that A Fei's eyes were now clear, with a touch of foolishness, making him look like a simple, honest child.
"You just used this to destroy a lot of my valuable treasures..." Gu Feng waved the Soul-Shattering Whip in his hand, squinting as he spoke.
"W... what should I do?"
"Pay up!" Gu Feng roared.
"I don't have any money!" A Fei shrunk back, his face bitter as he took off the storage ring from his finger. Gu Feng nearly lost it when he saw that, aside from some dried demon beast meat, there wasn't a single Spirit Stone in the ring.
Crack—
Gu Feng, furious, lashed the whip again, making A Fei grimace and howl in pain. "You're this extravagant without any money?"
"Stop... stop hitting me! I can write an IOU!" A Fei clutched his head, his survival instincts kicking in as he stammered a response. Seeing Gu Feng's disbelief, he added, "I... I can go rob someone!"
Gu Feng couldn't help but laugh. He pulled A Fei up from the ground, slinging an arm around his neck, and said cheerfully, "Haha, I like your ambition."
A Fei bent over, letting Gu Feng drape an arm around his neck, and gave a simple, honest smile, his eyes occasionally darting to the Soul-Shattering Whip in Gu Feng's hand. He nodded repeatedly, "Of course, of course."
The look on his face was the epitome of humility.
"Alright, let's calculate your compensation."
"Mm-hmm—"
Seeing Gu Feng sit down on the ground, A Fei quickly followed suit.
Gu Feng, beaming, pulled out a palm-sized golden abacus and began tapping away.
"The Battle Halberd from earlier was crafted by a renowned blacksmith. Just gathering the materials took over three years..."
"That hairpin, though not of high grade, was coated with a rare metal, one that's nearly impossible to find..."
"..."
Gu Feng recounted the origins, materials, and crafting methods of each item with great detail, finally quoting an astronomical price. A Fei, like a fool, nodded repeatedly, agreeing to compensate for everything.
The original owners of these items twitched at the corners of their mouths, their eyes rolling: "Since when was my weapon so amazing?"
The surrounding crowd was equally dumbfounded. Gu Feng was clearly taking advantage of A Fei's simplicity, blatantly robbing him.
"No wonder he's so rich. This is how he does it!"
"With that many Spirit Stones, selling A Fei wouldn't cover it, would it?"
"Didn't he say it? He'll go rob someone!"
"Where's he going to rob?"
"That's a stupid question. He's on Carp Mountain, so he'll rob us, of course!"
"Uh—we're doomed. A Fei used to be easy to fool—just give him some food and he'd let you off. That won't work anymore."
"I won't be upgrading my gear until the end-of-year competition."
"Without upgrading, my combat power will drop significantly. Not only will I get beaten up, but I'll also lose the monthly resources from the Sunset Glow Sect."
"I'll still upgrade my gear. If A Fei comes to rob me, I'll just give him some items to get rid of him. After all, he's simple-minded."
"Let's just consider it a tribute to A Fei. He'll be entering the inner sect in a few months anyway. As for where the tribute comes from, hehehe!"
"Makes sense. I'm not the weakest on Carp Mountain, so it's the big fish eating the small fish. Let's all rob each other!"
"..."
Everyone could see that Gu Feng wouldn't stay on Carp Mountain for long, but the aftermath of his actions would have a profound impact on the entire mountain.
A Fei was invincible here. If he wanted to rob someone, only a few Postnatal Realm prodigies would dare resist. In this situation, the only solution everyone could think of was to rob each other.
Before Gu Feng defeated A Fei, they had also robbed, but generally only targeted those of similar strength, looting cave abodes and occasionally robbing on the side, never crossing levels.
But from now on, hehehe!
They'd directly target the weak—that was the fastest way to make money. Whoever was easiest to rob, they'd rob!
Over a dozen Postnatal Realm disciples eyed the Qi Refining Realm disciples with a predatory gleam, while the latter looked miserable, their heads hanging low.
Only Wu Qi and a few others remained calm. With Gu Feng as their shield, no one on Carp Mountain, not even A Fei, dared to rob them.
It's good to have a big tree to shelter under!
Thinking this, they puffed out their chests, brimming with pride.
"Total compensation: 189 million. Rounded up, 200 million! Monthly interest: 5%!" Gu Feng declared loudly to A Fei.
"Mm-hmm!"
The moment the staggering figure of "200 million" was announced, everyone, including Elder Liu, was dumbfounded.
They had never seen someone so ruthless. Not only did Gu Feng demand an outrageous compensation of 200 million, but he also added a 5% monthly interest, far exceeding even the most exorbitant loan rates.
Could A Fei ever repay this in his lifetime?
The kicker was that the items corresponding to this 200 million compensation were all things Gu Feng had stolen in the first place, and only a portion had been damaged in the fight.
From now on, anyone thinking of challenging Gu Feng would have to weigh whether they could afford the astronomical compensation after losing.
The Outer Sect didn't recognize IOUs, and Elder Shi, watching from the pavilion, was tempted to declare Gu Feng's compensation terms invalid. But seeing A Fei's clear yet foolish eyes, he decided it wasn't worth it. Even if he said something, it wouldn't matter—A Fei would probably still go to Gu Feng to pay up.
There was no helping it. The transformed A Fei gave off the impression of someone who would never lie or scheme.
After settling the compensation, Gu Feng was satisfied. He patted A Fei's shoulder, offering some encouraging words about working hard to earn money, which left A Fei feeling both flattered and overwhelmed.
Then, Gu Feng turned his gaze to the dozens of Postnatal Realm disciples. The male disciples, understanding the situation, began stripping down to their underwear, handing over everything, including their storage rings, to Gu Feng.
They didn't stick to the original agreement of giving half their possessions—they handed over everything. As they put it: "A Fei owes so much money, he's bound to rob us later. Why suffer an extra beating for the remaining half?"
The female disciples followed suit, though they didn't strip. A few might have wanted to, but the time and place weren't right, so they just kept shooting Gu Feng meaningful glances, subtly expressing their excitement.
For Gu Feng, however, his eyes were only on the money. Women would only slow down his money-making, so he ignored them.
Finally, Gu Feng didn't forget to secure ideal cave abodes for his friends like Tuoba Lei, warning others not to rob them.
After all this, under the crowd's awed gazes, Gu Feng left contentedly, heading straight to the Outer Sect Trading Hall to exchange everything except the Soul-Shattering Whip for Spirit Stones.
Carp Mountain originally had over ten thousand disciples, but since it wasn't the end of the month, most were out seeking opportunities. Of the remaining three thousand or so, a large portion were dirt-poor, so Gu Feng didn't get much from them.
Even so, Gu Feng still managed to amass nearly 100 million Spirit Stones' worth of goods, plus A Fei's 200 million IOU, totaling a profit of 300 million.
"Haha, compared to doing business, robbing is much faster."
Gu Feng's heart raced. Earning 300 million in a single day was hundreds of times easier and more enjoyable than doing business—something he wouldn't have dared to dream of before.
In his excitement, he didn't forget Zhu Qingyan's instructions and headed straight to the Alchemy Hall.
Arriving at the alchemy room where they often met, Gu Feng was surprised to find Zhu Qingyan already in her true form.
Today, the flames were dimmer, not as intense as before. She stood there, her back slightly hunched, exuding a sense of loneliness.
"Hit me!"
Gu Feng: ????
"Use the Soul-Shattering Whip, strike me!"
Gu Feng was utterly baffled. He had never heard such an absurd request in his life!
(End of the Chapter)
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