After he returned to Labor Peak from Cool Breeze Gorge, Yang Ye arrived at the canteen. As soon as he entered it, Yang Ye noticed that the gazes of half the people here had descended onto him. Some of these Labor Disciples revealed kind smiles while the others seemed to be laughing at his misfortune.
Yang Ye nodded to those Labor Disciples that revealed kind smiles, and he was just about to get some food when a cold shout resounded from behind him.
"Yang Ye, stop right there!"
Yang Ye frowned when he heard this. This voice was extremely familiar to him, and it was the voice of Manager Xu. He knew that his troubles had arrived.
Yang Ye turned around to look at Manager Xu. Manager Xu was around 40 plus years old, had a fat figure, and an extremely chubby face. If one was slightly far away from Manager Xu, then one would probably even be unable to see his eyes. Manager Xu wore broad clothes from Labor Peak, yet it was still tight against his flesh, and both his shoulders and back were rosy.
In the Sword Sect, Manager Xu had another nickname, and it was the Skinner Xu. Because once any disciple offended him, then he would at least skin a layer of that disciple's skin.
Moreover, Du Xiu's group of three that had cold smiles on the corners of their mouths stood by Manager Xu's side.
When they saw Manager Xu's group of four, some of the Labor Disciples in the canteen revealed deep fear and resentment in their eyes because these four people before them had constantly exploited them, yet they only dared to feel angry in their hearts and didn't dare speak a word of it!
"I knew it. Yang Ye bashed Du Xiu up, so how could Skinner Xu let him off? Now, Yang Ye's dead…."
"Yeah, a long time ago, someone made a stand against Skinner Xu, and he was bashed to death on the spot by all four of them. Alas, why didn't Yang Ye just exercise some forbearance on that day? Young people really are impulsive. This sort of impulsiveness isn't good…."
"Shhh, keep quiet. Otherwise, if Skinner Xu hears you, then you'll definitely get a good whipping."
Manager Xu's group of four walked over towards Yang Ye, and when he arrived before Yang Ye, a whip had suddenly appeared in Manager Xu's hand. As he gazed at Yang Ye who had a calm expression, Manager Xu revealed a savage smile and said, "Yang Ye, a person has to be able to come to terms with reality. You were once an Outer Court Disciple, yet you aren't one any longer. Since you've arrived at my territory, then you have to obey my rules. Since you hit my nephew, then tell me, how should we resolve this matter?"
"Uncle, why waste your breath on him? Kill him!" Meanwhile, Du Xiu looked at Yang Ye from the side and spoke in a ruthless tone. He could be said to have completely lost all face that day, and he was unable to swallow that humiliation.
Yang Ye glanced coldly at Du Xiu, and then he gazed at Manager Xu before he said, "Tell me, how should it be resolved?"
Manager Xu suddenly started laughing when he heard this, and then he withdrew an envelope from behind his clothes at his chest, and the opening of the envelope had already been torn. Obviously, it had already been read. Manager Xu withdrew the letter within it, and then he said with a smile, "Yang Ye, I heard you have a younger sister that's only a little over ten years old? She seems to not be married yet. So, what do you think of me? I love young girls like this. Ask your younger sister to be my concubine, and then kneel down and admit your mistakes to Du Xiu…."
Suddenly, Manager Xu's voice stopped abruptly because an enormous fist was already smashing down towards him.
When he heard Manager Xu disrespect and humiliate his younger sister, Yang Ye's expression suddenly became savage, and then he directly smashed his fist over. His younger sister and mother were his reverse scales, and he wouldn't tolerate any offense against them. [1]
Bang!
Manager Xu had never expected that Yang Ye would suddenly make a move against him, and he was immediately caught off guard. Thus, his face had an intimate encounter with Yang Ye's fist.
A shrill cry resounded as his figure fell to the ground, and then fresh blood flowed from both his mouth and nose.
Yang Ye didn't stop, and his figure charged swiftly to instantly arrive before Manager Xu. He avoided the whip in Manager Xu's hand before he swung his fist fiercely at Manager Xu's body.
"You piece of trash! Are you even worthy of my younger sister? I'll fucking kill you!!" Yang Ye had a savage expression as he took Manager Xu's whip and started whipping Manager Xu in a frenzied manner.
"AH!!! Yang Ye, you're dead! How dare you hit me! AH!! Stop!! AH!!! Lord Yang!! Don't hit me anymore, don't hit me anymore. I was wrong…."
When they heard Manager Xu's shrill cries, everyone within the canteen was stunned. They'd never imagined that Yang Ye would actually dare to hit Skinner Xu. After all, Skinner Xu was a manager appointed by the Sword Sect! But in next to no time, all the Labor Disciples stopped thinking about this because Yang Ye was doing something they usually didn't dare to do.
Numerous Labor Disciples in the canteen had clenched their fists tightly, and they didn't conceal the excitement in their eyes at all.
"Yang Ye, quickly, quickly let go of my Uncle. Otherwise, you're dead…." Meanwhile, Du Xiu had recovered from his shock, and he intended to stop Yang Ye, yet he was also afraid of Yang Ye's strength, so he could only shout furiously from the side.
Yang Ye paid no attention to Du Xiu, and he exerted even more strength instead while whipping Manager Xu's body over and over again. In just a short while, Manager Xu had at least suffered no less than 100 strikes of the whip, and his fat body was covered in bloodstains. It was a rather terrifying sight.
In Yang Ye's opinion, if one bullied him, then perhaps he would exercise forbearance. However, if someone dared to touch his family, then he wouldn't hesitate to transform into a demon. Manager Xu who lay before him had actually dared to try to obtain Yang Ye's younger sister, and this was absolutely not something he could tolerate!
AH!!! AH!!!
Manager Xu's shrill cries resounded in the canteen, and besides Du Xiu's group, all the other Labor Disciples grew even more excited as they heard these cries. At this moment, all of them felt great satisfaction.
Manager Xu had frequently exploited them. Not only did he hold back their wages, but he'd even frequently whipped any Labor Disciple that disobeyed him in the slightest. Amongst the few thousands of Labor Disciples on Labor Peak, at least over 90% of them had been cruelly beaten by Skinner Xu!
"Stay your hand!" Right at this moment, an old man that wore clear white robe appeared within the canteen, and his voice contained a trace of Profound Energy that shook the ears of everyone here to the point of droning.
When he heard this cold grunt, Yang Ye's heart shook, and when he turned around and saw the old man, a wisp of a complicated expression flashed past Yang Ye's eyes. He took a deep breath and tossed the whip aside, and then he paid no attention to Manager Xu that was on the verge of death as he walked over to stand before the old man. He bowed deeply to the old man and said, "Elder Qian!"
This old man before him was that elder that took him as an Outer Court Disciple in Southpeace City that day, and it was this old man that had changed his fate. If it wasn't for the warning this old man had given the Liu Clan that day in Southpeace City, then it was very likely that his younger sister and mother would have fallen into the Liu Clan's hands.
Even though he was reduced to a Labor Disciple by this old man as well, he didn't hold even a bit of resentment towards the old man. Conversely, feelings of gratefulness towards this old man had always existed in his heart. This old man before him was one of the reasons he worked so hard as well. Because when he was unable to absorb any Profound Energy after a year, this old man before him was ridiculed by the other Outer Court Elders as well.
He wanted to prove to everyone within the Sword Sect that he, Yang Ye, wasn't a piece of trash!
When he saw Yang Ye, a wisp of a complicated expression flashed past Elder Qian's eyes. He was extremely clearly aware of Yang Ye's natural talent. However, for some unknown reason, Yang Ye was actually unable to absorb any Profound Energy after a year, and he hadn't been able to become a Profounder even after a year. So, Elder Qian had no choice but to reduce Yang Ye to a Labor Disciple. Now, when he met Yang Ye again, he had slightly complicated feelings in his heart as well.
Meanwhile, Du Qiu knelt before Elder Qian with a thump, and then he pointed at Yang Ye and said, "Elder Qian, you have to uphold justice for us. First, Yang Ye heavily injured me, then asked me to do his work for him. My Uncle came to speak reasonably with him, yet who would have expected that my Uncle would be heavily injured as well. Elder Qian, you have to uphold justice for my Uncle and me!"
Yang Ye frowned when he heard Du Xiu turn the truth upside down, but he didn't speak.
On the other hand, the faces of those Labor Disciples' at the side were covered in rage, and they felt that Du Qiu was simply shameless to the extreme for turning the truth upside down.
Elder Qian glanced at Manager Xu who lay on the ground while seeming to be on his last breath. Suddenly, a wisp of surprise appeared in Elder Qian's eyes, and then he looked at Yang Ye. A strand of Divine Sense enveloped down towards Yang Ye, and then after a while, Elder Qian's eyes lit up as he said, "You, you're already at the fourth rank of the Mortal Realm?"
Yang Ye nodded when he heard this, and then the Profound Energy within his body surged. With a flip of his palm, a light golden color flickered into appearance on his palm. "Elder Qian, I'm already able to absorb Profound Energy!"
When he spoke these words, Yang Ye's heart suddenly relaxed. In the past, for the sake of not disappointing this old man who stood before him, he'd cultivated desperately. However, he'd still disappointed the old man in the end. Now, he was able to absorb Profound Energy, and the person he wanted to tell this to the most was this old man.
When he saw the light golden color emanated from Yang Ye's palm, Elder Qian's eyes opened wide as if he'd seen something extraordinary, and then his figure flashed to arrive before Yang Ye. He stared at Yang Ye as he said, "Your, your Profound Energy is gold in color?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Elder Qian's hands couldn't help but clench together tightly.
When he noticed Elder Qian's solemn expression, Yang Ye hesitated for a moment before he nodded. Perhaps his Profound Energy wasn't of the gold element, but it ought to not be inferior to gold element Profound Energy.
"HAHA!!!" Elder Qian suddenly started roaring with laughter when he saw Yang Ye nod, and he laughed for a moment before he felt that it was inappropriate. He suppressed the excitement in his heart and patted Yang Ye on the shoulder with his right hand before he said, "Good, very good. Extremely good."
Only a single genius with Profound Energy of the five elements would appear amongst a few million of people, yet Yang Ye didn't just possess Profound Energy of the five elements, it was even the strongest amongst the Profound Energy of the five elements, gold element Profound Energy. So, how could he not be excited?
When he heard Elder Qian, the nearby Du Xiu suddenly had a bad premonition. However, when he saw Manager Xu who lay on the ground while seeming to be on his last breath, Du Xiu took a deep breath, and then he summoned the courage to go before Elder Qian and kneel down before he said, "Elder Qian, please uphold justice for us!"
Elder Qian frowned when he heard this. He glanced coldly at Du Xiu before he turned around to look at the others in the surroundings, and then he said, "Tell me the sequence of events. Don't worry, no one can threaten all of you with me here. However, if you conceal anything, then don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Du Xiu's heart jerked when he heard this, and his countenance turned ghastly pale. He knew that this elder before him intended to stand on Yang Ye's side.
How could all the Labor Disciples dare conceal anything? They immediately described everything that occurred before this. Moreover, some Labor Disciples recalled Elder Qian's attitude towards Yang Ye just now, and they knew that it might be a chance to topple Manager Xu. So, they immediately spoke of everything Manager Xu had done in the past, and it was even to the extent that some exaggerated a little bit.
When they heard all of these Labor Disciples, the countenance of Du Xiu's group of three turned terrifyingly deathly pale while their bodies shivered. They knew that they were finished this time.
Yang Ye glanced indifferently at the three of them before walking to Manager Xu's side, and he took the envelope and letter in Manager Xu's possession before placing it behind his clothes near his chest.
After he listened to everyone, Elder Qian's expression turned gloomy, and he looked at Du Xiu that had already collapsed to the ground before he said coldly, "I never expected this, I truly never expected this. All the Outer Court Elders and disciples were busy cultivating, so no one paid any attention to the Labor Peak. Yet I never expected that the Labor Peak would have actually fallen to this pair of uncle and nephew. Both of you're really extremely audacious!"
"Please spare our lives, Elder, please spare our lives, Elder…." Du Xiu's group of three immediately knelt before Elder Qian and begged for mercy. "Please spare our lives Elder. We don't dare to do it again, we won't dare to do it again…."
At this moment, Du Xiu's group of three were filled with regret, and they regretted offending Yang Ye. If they knew that Yang Ye was already a Profounder, then no matter how bold they were, they wouldn't dare offend Yang Ye.
Elder Qian grunted coldly, and he said in a cold voice, "From now onwards, Manager Xu isn't the manager of the Labor Peak any longer. All four of you will head to Star Ore Mountain to mine for 10 years, and everything obtained from this mining will be handed over to the sect. After those 10 years, you'll be expelled from the Sword Sect and prohibited from entering the Sword Sect again." As soon as he finished speaking, he nodded to Yang Ye that had been silent all this time, and then he stretched out his hand to grab Yang Ye's shoulder. After that, Elder Qian's figure flashed, and the two of them had vanished from the canteen.
When they heard Elder Qian, all the nearby Labor Disciples instantly started cheering, whereas, Du Xiu's group of three directly fainted because the four of them would have to work like slaves for the Sword Sect for 10 years.
1. In Chinese culture, the reverse scale refers to the single scale growing in the reverse direction near a Dragon's throat, and it's said to enrage the Dragon before it immediately kills one that touches that scale.