22: Who is the fool?

“Boss, one serving of Spineback Dragon meat—no, two servings!”

Someone at the special serving window Fu Mingyu had just mentioned, while still eating, shouted loudly.

The voice had no trace of concealment, immediately attracting many people’s attention.

Chen Qing looked over; the person was wearing blood-stained plain clothes, seemingly having just returned from outside.

“Li Qingshan! You scoundrel, how dare you show your face here!”

Beside him, a female student with a prominent figure walked towards him aggressively, her ample chest heaving, looking as if she wanted to devour him.

“What do you want? Why can’t I come back? Did I dig up your ancestral grave?”

Li Qingshan frowned, looking at this inexplicable woman.

The girl, Liu Yun, grew even angrier hearing him speak like that and fumed, “Hmph! You’ve disgraced yourself out there! That Feng Quan from Moneng Martial Arts University called the president several times this afternoon, saying that you, that scoundrel, lured a Tier 4 Yao Beast to him on the Qi Ling Star Battlefield! What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Luring external enemies and framing your own people, and you still think you’re in the right?”

Is that so? He had indeed been on the Qi Ling Star Battlefield these past two days and had indeed provoked a Tier 4 Yao Beast, but who the hell was Feng Quan? Had they ever met?

He grumbled, “Nonsense! What Feng Quan, Li Quan, I don’t even know who they are. I framed him? Big sister, be reasonable! Am I, Li Qingshan, that kind of person?”

“Besides, I’m a member of the Yaoguang Society, how can you side with outsiders?”

Liu Yun sneered, “Heh, you don’t know Feng Quan, and he doesn’t know you, so why would he specifically slander you? When have you ever admitted to the rotten things you’ve done? Haven’t they all been covered up by the president?”

“Let me tell you, many people in the society have grievances against you. If you continue like this, the president won’t be able to protect you! The Yaoguang Society’s accumulated reputation has all been ruined by you!”

Li Qingshan waved his hand, “That’s just perfect! I wasn’t planning on staying anyway! I came back this time to establish my own force. Hmph! I just can’t stand your ways. You establish a force, but it’s all used to exploit members, and you even have to pay monthly membership fees! Bullshit!”

Liu Yun was furious, “Which force doesn’t require fees? Do you think a force is that easy to maintain? Doesn’t it need funds to maintain the stability of its internal facilities? Heh, go ahead, I’d like to see who dares to join your Li Qingshan’s force.”

With that, Liu Yun snorted coldly and turned to leave.

————

“Li Qingshan? I think I’ve heard that name somewhere.” Chen Qing scratched his head, a little unclear who had mentioned the name.

“Hey, it’s not surprising you’ve heard of him, this guy is a complete scoundrel, always causing trouble, one of Jinling’s new thorns, specializing in swindling just for the sake of Cultivating. Uh, but, his strength is indeed strong. He just finished his second year and already advanced to Tier 3, and he seems to have a C-grade special ability. If I could advance to Tier 3 in my second year, my old man would wake up laughing from his dreams! He’d sell everything to continue supporting my Cultivation.”

Fu Mingyu sighed.

Although Li Qingshan was unreliable, he indeed had some skill in Cultivation, otherwise, he wouldn’t be so widely known.

Oh, I remember now, he was the one Lao Yang beat up.

Hmm, if what that girl just said was true, then this guy really deserves a beating!

Lao Yang seemed to be up to something big last time, I wonder what Tier he is now.

“By the way, what is this Yaoguang Society they were talking about?” Chen Qing asked.

“Oh, it’s a force established by students, specifically to recruit talented individuals, ostensibly to provide better Cultivation facilities and cheaper resources for students to Cultivate. But most forces operate at a deficit and have to rely on membership fees to maintain themselves.”

Fu Mingyu said this with some disdain, but when he mentioned the Yaoguang Society, his tone softened considerably: “However, for a somewhat reputable force like the Yaoguang Society, there are usually some teachers or former graduates among them. Their strength is relatively powerful, and they can provide many conveniences to relatively weaker members.”

“Hehe, I’m also planning to join a force. Recently, many forces have approached me, and I’m still considering.”

“How about it? Do you have any plans to join a force?”

Chen Qing asked in confusion, “Why hasn’t anyone approached me?”

Fu Mingyu rolled his eyes.

“What do you mean no one has? You’re so focused on Cultivating, trying to open your door is harder than picking a bank’s anti-theft lock! I’ve seen many people go to your dorm building, wait for a long time without seeing you, and then leave.”

“Hehe, how about it? Are you interested in joining the same force as me?”

Chen Qing thought for a moment and asked, “Are these forces in the school maintained by their founders themselves? Or does the school provide some subsidies?”

“Subsidies naturally exist, but compared to the expenses, they are clearly insufficient.”

“Then if I establish a force, and I just recruit a few people, can I get subsidies?”

“Are you stupid or is the school stupid? To get subsidies, you have to complete some indicators set by the school on time. You also need a teacher to vouch for you, confirming that you’re not trying to exploit it for money. Once something goes wrong, neither the vouching teacher nor you will have an easy time!”

Chen Qing nodded, finding it reasonable.

“Then, for the founder, are there no benefits?”

Fu Mingyu now understood his implied meaning and his eyes darted around: “Chen Qing, you’re not thinking of establishing your own force, are you?”

“Let me tell you, establishing a force is no child’s play. The school records who you recruit. Once these people cause any trouble, the school won’t let you off.”

“Moreover, you’ve only just had a Breakthrough to Martial Artist. If you establish a force, who would join you? What benefits can you offer them?”

Chen Qing waved his hand, interrupting him: “First, tell me about the benefits for the founder.”

“Uh, there are quite a few benefits. First, founders receive a certain academic credit bonus for completing school tasks. Second, when buying things like Medicinal Pills, weapons, Cultivation Techniques, and Martial Skills, they can also enjoy a certain degree of discount. However, you cannot resell these discounted items, or at least not be discovered by the school if you do. These are conveniences provided by the school. Besides these, if your force is well-managed, your members will also be respectful to you. Some things you don’t have to do yourself; you can totally find people to do them for you.”

“That Liu Yun from the Yaoguang Society just now, it’s clear she’s running errands for their president. That’s free labor.”

So, running a force isn’t all bad. Chen Qing ate his meal, weighing the pros and cons.

Since joining a force isn’t much different from working for someone else, why not gather a group of people and have them work for him?

This matter seemed to require careful consideration.

Throughout the rest of the meal, Chen Qing was distracted, thinking about things.

And Fu Mingyu, across from him, was also thinking. He felt that Chen Qing really had an idea.

Should he join him?

He was stronger than Chen Qing, after all! Having him as a henchman shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Fu Mingyu smiled, looking at Chen Qing across the table, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

And across from him, Chen Qing also smiled.

Beside them, Li Qingshan, who had just received his freshly cooked Spineback Dragon meat from the chef, passed by. Seeing their smiles, he suddenly let out a scoff.

“Two idiots!”