It was nine o’clock, and Qi Jiuming was feeling tired as he looked at the five youngsters that stood before him. “Can’t you guys respect your elders and let us have our rest? Why are you here this late.”

Xiang Ning and his squad tried to suppress their laughter.

“Headmaster, we didn’t have a choice. The students from the other academies had been barricading the entrance to our school every day for a duel. If we don’t improve ourselves, then how can we chase them away?” Xiang Ning mischievously chuckled.

“Fine, fine. I’ll just give it to you all now. Do you really think the school would want to embezzle your rewards?” Qi Jiuming sulked. Youngsters these days!

“Thank you, headmaster!” The five youths saluted in unison.

Qi Jiuming rolled his eyes. “Though truth be told, your prize money might be delayed. Many people complained about your behavior, so now the higher-ups are withholding it temporarily.”

“What? Wasn’t it all because of me? Why were they affected by this?” Xiang Ning was displeased. 

Li Zimo was also upset after hearing that. “Xiang Ning, this isn’t just about you. We stole their beasts together, so how is it not related to us too?”

The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement. They were a squad, so they would win and lose together.

“But don’t worry, the rewards that the school had promised will be given. It’s just that thirty million dollars isn’t a small amount and will require some time to be approved. The only thing I can give you right now are some skills.” Qi Jiuming waved his hands and a large screen appeared in front of everyone.

He smiled as he stood up. “These are the techniques that Qiling Academy has gathered over the years. You’re all free to choose one single technique, be it martial techniques, breathing techniques, or martial styles... as long as they’re tier four or below.”

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen. They actually wanted to learn everything.

Soon, thirty minutes had passed and everyone had chosen a technique that they wanted. Xiang Ning finally chose something that he needed the most—a martial style.

 He already had two martial techniques at the Peak Mastery level, and that was more than enough. On the other hand, there wasn’t a breathing technique that suited him there. Thus, he would naturally choose a martial style. Martial styles were slightly more expensive, and even the lowest tier would cost him a few million dollars, so he wouldn’t be able to afford it if it wasn’t awarded to him for free. 

He had chosen the tier three martial style Shadowmist Ghost Step.

“This is a martial style based on the Lost Mist Step, and has a steep learning curve. It was originally a tier five martial style, but because it was too hard to cultivate they lowered it to tier three instead. To properly utilize the martial style, it requires the cultivator to raise it to the Assimilation level. Since its creation, only a few hundred people have been able to raise it to the Assimilation level. Are you sure you want this martial style?” Qi Jiuming warned Xiang Ning.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Xiang Ning solemnly answered. He didn’t even need to train like crazy. Looking at the fifty thousand Fury Points that he had saved up, he was sure he would be able to easily raise it.

“Fine, it’s an excellent martial style. Even the Beginner level is more than enough to rival a normal tier two martial style.” Qi Jiuming could only smile.

After everyone received their rewards, all of them bowed toward Qi Jiuming.

The headmaster merely sipped his tea and said, “Alright, alright. You’ve earned the rewards. Now that it's over, let’s talk about something else.”

“Hmm? Was there anything else? We’re all good students who just came back from the wilderness. I don’t think we did anything wrong?” Li Zimo tried to weasel his way out.

Qi Jiuming scoffed at their wit. He pointed at Xiang Ning. “It was exactly what I was trying to say just now. You already know what kind of situation you’re in right now, and many students from the other academies keep blocking the gate. What do you think you should do?”

Xiang Ning replied with all his chest, “Fight them at their own academies!”

Everyone else almost fainted at his declaration and Qi Jiuming suddenly slammed the table hard. Fang Rou and the rest were scared that the headmaster was angry. Because the entire incident was due to Xiang Ning, the reputation of their academy had been tarnished. It was natural that the headmaster would be upset.

Just as they were getting ready to be lectured, the headmaster suddenly laughed and agreed, “That’s right! How dare they come and mess around in our academy. Who do they think they are?”

“That’s right. They’re the ones tarnishing our reputations. We should also organize some of our students to challenge them. Let them know that our Qiling Academy isn’t something they can mess around with,” Xiang Ning replied.

Qi Jiuming looked at him with satisfaction, but a sly smile soon appeared on his face. “Good, I’ll let the five of you handle this. As for your reward… that depends on your performance.” Xiang Ning had now become the largest scapegoat for him.

Li Zimo suddenly realized that they had been tricked. “Are you telling us to go to their academies and cause a ruckus?”

Qi Jiuming excitedly nodded. “That’s exactly right! Go ahead and cause a ruckus. With Xiang Ning’s ability, I want to see who can rival him!”

Looking at how excited he was, the five youths felt like they had been tricked.

“Alright! I accept!” Xiang Ning immediately agreed. This was an opportunity to gather a massive amount of Fury Points, only an idiot would turn it down.

Both the headmaster and Xiang Ning were talking like old pals while the rest were bitterly smiling. They were causing trouble, not giving out charity! But it was a good opportunity to test their new techniques….

It was already late at night when they left. After saying goodbye, Xiang Ning and Fang Rou were walking alone in an awkward silence. 

After some time, Fang Rou finally said, “Are you sure you want to go challenge them?” Fang Rou was nervous. They had just gotten back from training and their performance would more or less be impacted due to it.

“Yeah. If not us, then who?” Xiang Ning laughed. Fang Rou knew what he meant. No one else in Qiling Academy dared to retaliate, and all of them were so powerless that they could only blame it on Xiang Ning.

“Sigh.” She wanted to say more, but merely sighed.

“It will be alright. Since the cause of everything was me, I naturally have to end it by my hands. I’ll just be using a different method.”

Before they parted ways, Fang Rou asked one final question. “Where will you start?”

“Let’s start with the ones closest to us, Third School!” Xiang Ning was grinning like a madman. He could never forget how they had hurt Fatty Wang and bullied his sister.