Chapter 44: Extortion

Jiang Luofu finished speaking and threw a small pouch over. "Get back to class," she said.

Zu'an caught it and opened it, finding some herbs and a finger-sized ruby inside. He couldn't help but ask, "What's this?"

Jiang Luofu replied, "Resources for cultivation. The herbs are for soaking your body, and the Yuan Stone is for absorption and refinement."

Seeming to worry he might misunderstand, she paused before quickly adding, "Every student receives a portion, and this is all the Yellow Class gets."

"This is a Yuan Stone?" Zu'an picked up the small stone and examined it. It looked almost identical to a ruby from his previous life.

"You've never seen one? Then how did you cultivate to your current level?" Jiang Luofu asked, surprised.

Zu'an didn't want the keyboard incident exposed, so he quickly changed the subject. "Didn't you say my aptitude is super-grade? That's more than enough for the Heavenly Class. Even if you don't let me enroll there, I should at least get the cultivation resources of a Heavenly Class student."

Jiang Luofu snorted. "Do you think it's that simple? The allocation of cultivation resources for every student in the academy is fixed, not decided by our school, but by the Imperial Court's Department of Ceremonial Affairs. Every distribution is recorded and reported to the court. If you're not afraid of your aptitude being discovered, then by all means, take more."

"Forget it then," Zu'an chuckled wryly. He had the keyboard as a cheat, so there was no need to risk so much for a few spirit stones.

"Get out," Jiang Luofu said, worried that seeing his lazy demeanor much longer would make her want to hit him.

As Zu'an left the principal's office, he recalled Jiang Luofu's long legs— *ahem*, rather, her words. He thought to himself that it was truly one wave after another. Becoming like Tang Monk was turning out to be quite troublesome; he just wondered if any female demons would come pouncing on him.

He returned to the classroom where he had parted ways with Wei Suo, finding it already packed with students. Hearing the commotion at the door, they all looked at him with curious gazes.

They seemed to think he was a new freshman, but it turned out he was a transfer student.

The teacher at the podium was an ordinary middle-aged man, so unremarkable that you wouldn't remember his face even if you saw him in a crowd.

He had clearly been notified in advance, so he paused his lecture and said, "This is our new classmate who joined us today. Everyone, please welcome him!"

"Welcome, new classmate!"

Scattered applause, listless and drawn out, echoed from the students.

For a moment, Zu'an felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had returned to his middle school days. The atmosphere was incredibly familiar.

"New classmate, please come up and introduce yourself," the middle-aged teacher beckoned to him.

Zu'an mumbled "Oh," walked onto the stage, and declared, "Zu'an, male, enjoys females." He then started walking off the stage.

The middle-aged teacher was speechless.

Is that all?

Some girls below began to whisper:

"Wow, he's so stylish, I like him."

"He's really handsome!"

"But what he said makes him sound like a playboy."

"Can handsome guys not be playboys? Girls don't love good boys anyway."

In contrast to the girls' reactions, the boys stared at him with unfriendly eyes:

"This guy is so arrogant. I just want to punch him."

"He's not handsome at all. He's far worse than me."

"Why another guy? We already have too many boys and not enough girls."

Zu'an saw the hundreds of rage points collected in his backend and thought, "These new classmates are actually quite cute."

"Over here! Over here!"

From a distance, he saw Wei Suo waving enthusiastically. Zu'an hesitated. He had hoped to find a pretty desk-mate, but after a quick glance from the podium, he hadn't spotted anyone particularly attractive. Resigned, he walked over and sat down beside Wei Suo.

*Rap, rap, rap!*

The middle-aged teacher tapped the podium. "All right, let's continue class. Hmm, where were we?"

He flipped through his book for a moment before exclaiming, "Oh, here it is. Let's continue..."

"Govern with punishment, fight with rewards, offer generous salaries, and employ tactics. When cities are corrected, there will be no deceitful markets. If goods are abundant but farmers are idle and deceit thrives, the nation will surely weaken. When people have surplus food, they must use their strength to earn rank, then they will not be lazy. A three-inch pipe cannot be filled if it has no bottom. Granting official positions and benefits without merit is like having no bottom. A nation that grants official positions and titles based on merit, this is called achieving wisdom and courageously fighting, and such a nation will be invincible. A nation that grants official positions and titles based on merit, then governance will be concise, and words will be decisive. This is called using governance to achieve governance, using words to achieve words, and using merit to grant positions and more. Therefore, if a nation has great strength, nothing under heaven can invade it. Troops sent out will surely conquer, and what is conquered will surely be held."

Zu'an's eyes glazed over. He understood every word the teacher said, but put together, he had no idea what it meant.

"What on earth is he talking about?" Zu'an asked, utterly bewildered, looking at Wei Suo next to him.

"I don't understand either," Wei Suo shook his head.

"Then what class is this?" Zu'an wondered, thinking, *I was a university student back home; how did I become so lost here?*

"It seems like a class on penal laws and regulations," Wei Suo explained. "This teacher is named Zhang San, nicknamed 'Lawless Maniac.' He's an expert in legal loopholes, serving as the Law Registrar under the County Captain, and he's here teaching some of the penal law courses. As you know, with our aptitude, cultivation is a dead end. We mainly study these practical subjects to secure a future career."

Zu'an had already somewhat grasped the correlation between official ranks and power in this world. The City Lord of Brightmoon City possessed a seventh-rank cultivation. Under the City Lord were the County Administrator and the County Captain, considered the city's second and third most powerful figures, both with fifth-rank cultivation. The County Captain, in turn, oversaw six bureaus—Military, Law, Scholars, Merit, Household, and Granary—each responsible for different areas of administration, and all six registrars held third-rank cultivation.

Of course, this was because Brightmoon City was a large city, so the cultivation levels of officials at all levels were generally higher. In medium-sized cities, for example, the City Lord might only have fifth-rank cultivation, and the County Administrator and County Captain only third-rank. In smaller towns, even the City Lord might only be fourth-rank.

The "Lawless Maniac" Zhang San at the podium was the Law Registrar under Brightmoon City's County Captain. He handled official duties during the week and taught at Brightmoon Academy in his spare time.

This wasn't new to Zu'an; in his previous life, many university professors were part-time, with teaching often being their secondary occupation.

"So, what do you think of Principal Jiang? Quite a stunner, isn't she?" Wei Suo asked, winking, his smugness as if he were showing off his own girlfriend.

Zu'an recalled the soft, warm, jade-like feeling on his fingers and subconsciously replied, "Indeed, a stunner."

"What kind of stockings was she wearing today?" Wei Suo's eyes were filled with fervent excitement.

Zu'an instinctively leaned away from him. "Black stockings, I think."

"As expected of my goddess, ohh..." Wei Suo let out a deeply embarrassing moan, as if merely hearing about it had brought him immense satisfaction.

Zu'an looked disgusted. This guy was truly a pervert.

Just then, a whooshing sound cut through the air, and Wei Suo cried out in pain as a large bump immediately appeared on his forehead.

Zu'an noticed the piece of chalk on the floor. He hadn't expected teachers in any world to be masters of this flicking technique. In his previous life, it would just sting a bit, but in this world, teachers were powerful cultivators; a slight misstep could be deadly.

Teacher Zhang San on the podium had a grim expression. "This student, you answer this question."

Wei Suo looked bewildered. "What question?"

Under the desk, Zu'an secretly gave him a thumbs-up. *Only a true warrior dares to face a bleak life.*

Teacher Zhang San snapped, "If you don't know, then go stand at the back and listen carefully!"

Wei Suo quickly scurried to the back, looking as obedient as possible.

Zu'an immediately sat up straight, but inwardly he cursed. In his past life, when teachers asked questions, it was the most nerve-wracking moment for students. *What sin did I commit to have to endure this torment again in another world?*

Finally, the class ended. Zu'an slumped onto his desk, feeling utterly drained, wondering when these days would ever end.

Suddenly, the light seemed to dim. He opened his eyes to find a large, burly fat man standing by his seat, looking down at him.

"Can I help you?" Zu'an asked, unenthusiastically. If it had been a beautiful girl, he wouldn't have minded chatting longer, but a deadbeat fatty? No thanks.

"I'll be waiting for you in the small grove," the large fat man said coldly before turning and walking out, followed by a few companions who looked like his lackeys.

"Who was that guy? Is he crazy?" Zu'an had no interest in dealing with him.

Wei Suo, who had just returned from the back, quickly whispered, "Shh, keep your voice down. That guy is Man Yu, the class boss. He's really fierce."

"He beat you up?" Zu'an chuckled in amusement, seeing the look of apprehension on Wei Suo's face.

Wei Suo gave an awkward laugh. "I advise you to go. At most, you'll just hand over your cultivation Yuan Stone to him. Otherwise, you'll be in for a rough time."

Zu'an's spirits lifted immediately. "That guy steals Yuan Stones?"

Wei Suo nodded. "Yeah, they extorted the Yuan Stones I just received. Don't worry too much about it. Anyway, with our aptitude, cultivation isn't really our path, so Yuan Stones aren't that useful. Why bother offending that guy?"

"But I heard Yuan Stones are quite valuable," Zu'an asked.

"That's true. I heard one Yuan Stone is worth at least ten taels of gold on the black market. But it's a 'has a price but no market' kind of thing; who would be willing to sell it?" Wei Suo replied.

Zu'an's eyes lit up instantly. *Now you're talking!* Ten taels of gold—that was 180,000 RMB. He had been in this world for a while, but he still preferred converting amounts to familiar units to grasp their value better.

He was currently struggling with a lack of money. If he could get a few more Yuan Stones, wouldn't his problem be solved?

Thinking this, he could barely contain his excitement. He leaped up and chased out of the classroom.

Arriving at the small grove the other party had designated, he noticed it was secluded with very few people around. Clearly, they had chosen this spot after careful consideration.

"Quite sensible of you," the large fat man named Man Yu said when he saw Zu'an approach, extending a fleshy hand. "Hand over the resources you received today, and I'll look out for you from now on."