Ch 111

Chapter 111: Funding

Fu Yuan.

"How come it's only 20 million yuan stones this year?!" Song Cheng shouted furiously. In previous years, Fu Yuan had always received 30 million.

Huang An wiped cold sweat from his forehead, his voice awkward and nervous.

"Dean… the new students this year… their overall quality wasn't that high. There weren't many second-level talisman masters, so... so..."

"What did you say?" Song Cheng snapped, hands on his hips, voice laced with sarcasm. "Are you saying this year's students are low quality?"

Huang An gave a forced smile.

The truth? This year's batch was top-tier—three students with eighth-level aptitude, two with seventh-level—far better than before.

The real issue was… none of them joined Fu Yuan.

Worse, the promising students they had initially recruited had chosen other academies instead.

"Damn it!" Song Cheng cursed, pacing angrily. He suddenly paused and asked,

"How much funding did the Inscription Academy receive?"

Huang An's heart thudded. He replied carefully,

"Fifty million."

In the past, Fu Yuan always received more funding than the Inscription Academy. But now? The tables had turned.

"And Dan Yuan?" Song Cheng asked again.

"Forty million."

That figure stung. The Alchemy Academy had always been the best among all the arts divisions. But thanks to Mu Chen, they had been overtaken.

Song Cheng's frown deepened.

"Even with Lan Ruofeng, they lost to Inscription Yuan…"

Lan Ruofeng wasn't as dazzling as Mu Chen, but he was still a third-level alchemist. Dan Yuan's foundation was much stronger than Fu Yuan's.

---

Dan Yuan.

Lu Han looked at the yuan stone card in his hand, his smile tinged with helplessness.

The Alchemy Academy had always stood at the top—until now. They had been pushed into second place.

After the funding results were announced, Xia Qingyan had even come over to gloat. That made Lu Han feel even worse.

"The dean is too biased toward Xia Qingyan," Yan Wu grumbled.

"Exactly! We have Lan Ruofeng, they have Mu Chen—both are third-level masters! It should have been a tie! We're clearly stronger overall," Uncle Ming said, frustrated.

"It's fine," Lu Han said. "Even if both are third-level, Mu Chen's strength is far above Lan Ruofeng's. Of course the dean favors him—he's a monster-level genius."

Lan Ruofeng's expression turned ugly, but he said nothing—because it was true.

"Alchemy, talismans, inscriptions—all level three! And he's the strongest cultivator among the new students, too!" Lu Han added. "Mu Chen is truly heaven-defying."

Uncle Ming frowned.

"I wonder… how long can someone like him defy the heavens?"

Reaching level three in three disciplines was rare but not impossible. But if he wanted to reach level four, that would be a different story. One small mistake, and the entire path could collapse.

---

"Speaking of monsters," Uncle Ming added, "Ye Shi is out of seclusion. He's now an eight-star martial artist."

"Eight stars already? That fast?" Yan Wu was stunned.

"As expected of someone with eighth-level aptitude. Just one retreat and he shot up three levels!"

---

Inscription Academy.

"Big Sister! The dean was so generous this year!" Xia Qingli beamed, holding the funding card.

Xia Qingyan let out a satisfied sigh.

"If I'd known he was going to be this generous, I'd have asked for more."

That wasn't surprising. Dean Lian Chengkong had lived hundreds of years—bargaining didn't bother him one bit.

"If you'd asked for more, he might've gotten suspicious," Xia Qingli joked.

"Mu Chen is a treasure," Xia Qingyan said sincerely.

Xia Qingli nodded.

"I heard he's even studying formations now."

"Formations?" Xia Qingyan raised her brows. "How many brains does that kid have? And he still wants to add more?"

"Mu Chen doesn't follow logic," Xia Qingli said. "I heard that when he transferred in, his first choice wasn't even Inscription Yuan—it was the Formation Court."

"Where did you hear that?" Xia Qingyan asked, narrowing her eyes.

"A student who helped Ye Shi once told me. Mu Chen originally wanted to join the Formation Court but changed his mind because the dean there had a reputation for being unreliable. He worried that old man would bend to pressure from Fu Yuan or Dan Yuan, so he backed off."

Xia Qingyan smirked.

"He really underestimated that sly old fox."

That man might look harmless on the surface, but he was sharp and cunning.

"Mu Chen gave up too easily. He'll regret it later," she said with amusement.

---

After over half a month in seclusion, Ye Shi finally came out.

He hadn't seen Mu Chen in days—and he missed him badly.

Ye Shi headed toward the Inscription Academy, full of energy. But halfway there, Ye Rong suddenly jumped out.

She had been keeping an eye out ever since he emerged from seclusion.

As soon as Ye Shi saw her, his expression turned cold.

"What do you want now?" he asked bluntly.

"Father is here," Ye Rong said.

Ye Shi rolled his eyes. "Oh. So?"

"You're not going to see him?"

Ye Shi replied flatly, "Why would I?"

"He's your father!"

Ye Shi sneered,

"He said I'm not his son."

He used to believe Ye Xun simply didn't like him, but now he knew the truth: he wasn't Ye Xun's biological child.

No matter how well he performed, Ye Xun would never approve of him.

He remembered training relentlessly as a child—hoping for praise—but the better he got, the more Ye Xun hated him. Now he understood: he was a threat to Ye Xun's real children.

"How can you be like this?" Ye Rong cried. She had waited so long, and now Ye Shi didn't even want to meet their father.

In the past, he was obedient and respectful. But now? He was a completely different person.

Ye Shi crossed his arms and smirked, "This is who I am."

"If you won't visit him, at least send a million yuan stones to his card," Ye Rong said.

Ye Shi's expression turned mocking.

Was she serious?

Mu Chen had earned every one of those stones through hard work—and even he didn't spend recklessly. Why would Ye Shi hand it over to Ye Xun?

"No."

"Father has no money left! He's about to get kicked out! Don't you care?!" Ye Rong shouted.

Ye Shi shrugged. "Not even a little. If he ends up on the streets, he deserves it."

"Ye Shi! You spend money like water but let your father starve?! Don't you feel any shame?!"

Ye Shi snorted, "Not one bit."

Back when Ye Xun kicked him out, did he feel ashamed? Did he care if Ye Shi lived or died?

Now that the tables had turned, Ye Xun wanted his help? Dream on.

And Ye Xun was a nine-star martial artist—he could earn spirit stones if he wanted. When Ye Shi was thrown out, he had been weak and helpless.

---

Zhuang Yu suddenly arrived with a group of followers.

"Ye Shi, you've gone too far!" he said, voice sharp.

Ye Shi rolled his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you. Get lost."

"If the path is unjust, I will speak up," Zhuang Yu replied self-righteously.

"There's something wrong with your brain," Ye Shi growled.

"I heard everything!" Zhuang Yu declared.

Ye Shi narrowed his eyes. "Heard what?"

"That you're rich but refuse to give a single stone to your own father! Aren't you ashamed?"

Ye Shi's voice was flat. "No. Not at all."

"Ye Shi! A father and son should never hold grudges. He raised you—whatever he did, you should forgive him!"

"Exactly! Even Senior Jing would be disappointed if he heard this."

"Ye Shi, be grateful! Don't forget where you came from!"

Zhuang Yu's protectors jumped in, scolding Ye Shi like they were his moral superiors.

Ye Rong gave Zhuang Yu a teary look and said,

"Master Zhuang, you're so kind. I'm sorry about what happened before."

Zhuang Yu smiled gallantly. "No need to dwell on the past. I've already let it go."

Ye Rong smiled, relieved.

Zhuang Yu and his group looked at Ye Shi like he was some kind of criminal.

Ye Shi narrowed his eyes and said coldly,

"If you're done talking—get out of my way."

Zhuang Yu frowned. "You still haven't explained yourself."

Ye Shi's patience snapped. He pulled out his whip and smashed it into a nearby stone pillar.

BOOM! The thick pillar exploded into pieces.

Zhuang Yu jumped in shock. "Ye Shi! What are you doing?! This is the academy! Fighting is prohibited!"

"I know," Ye Shi said coldly. "I'm not fighting."

He didn't want to end up in the quarry again because of scumbags like Zhuang Yu and Ye Rong.

"But the academy allows duels. If anyone blocks my path again… don't blame me for issuing a challenge!"

Zhuang Yu scowled. "You're abusing your power to bully others!"

Ye Shi sneered. "Oh, but you blocking my path is justice, right? Hypocrite."

"You—!" Zhuang Yu turned red with fury.

But facing Ye Shi's cold eyes and growing bloodlust, his followers fell silent.

Ye Shi scoffed, turned, and walked away without looking back.

---

Just then, an academy staff member ran up and said loudly,

"Student Ye Shi! You just destroyed school property. That's 100,000 yuan stones in damages!"

Ye Shi: "…"

---