My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 316: Chapter 161: Overt Plot

That single sentence made the color drain from Fu Chen’s face!

Right. They were at the Post House, where the situation was already causing a huge stir.

Of course, Qin Fang’s challenge wasn’t the issue. They had plenty of ways to handle that.

But what then?

...They hadn’t come here to play around!

They were here for the Martial Arts Examination!

In fact, they were aiming for one of the twelve seats!

And what was the result? The heirs of the Divine Families, vying for one of the twelve annual seats, were being cornered and challenged every day in the Post House by some commoner?

And losing every single time!

...You didn’t need a brain to figure out the kind of impression this would create if the news spread!

Face?

They cared about it, but not *that* much.

...Especially when they weren’t the only ones suffering this misfortune.

But...

...the opinions of the higher-ups in the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect who might be paying attention...

...that was something they had to care about!

When Qian Ruhai’s words finally broke through to Fu Chen, a flicker of shock appeared in his eyes.

’This is about the impression I make on the higher-ups of the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect.’

’This is no small matter!’

But as Qian Ruhai’s words sank in, his face still flushed red and pale. Finally, gritting his teeth in frustration, he asked in a low voice, "Is... there really no other way?"

Qian Ruhai sighed. "You’ve seen it yourself. That Qin Fang is a madman, and he’s clearly latched onto you all. If you don’t want this to blow up completely—by which I mean, you don’t want to kill him... then this is probably the only way."

At this, he shook his head, turned, and sighed, "He who can yield when necessary is destined for greatness. Brother Fu, think it over..."

Qian Ruhai left, leaving Fu Chen standing there, his face alternating between pale and flushed...

A short while later, there was a knock at Qin Fang’s door.

Qin Fang opened it to see a maid.

He stared at the maid, his face an emotionless mask.

The maid glared at him with pure resentment, but ultimately, she pulled a stack of Silver Notes from her sleeve. Gritting her teeth, she spat, "This is from my young master!"

Qin Fang took the Silver Notes, and the cold mask on his face instantly melted away. He beamed and asked, "And who might your esteemed young master be, miss?"

"Fu Chen!"

She practically spat the name out, as if about to shatter her teeth, then turned and hurried away, terrified of being seen.

Qin Fang clutched the Silver Notes, a satisfied smile spreading across his face...

...Ten thousand silver, just like that.

And so, following Xue Yi, the challenge against Fu Chen was also canceled.

The other three soon got the message as well...

And soon, a series of knocks began to sound at Qin Fang’s door.

"This is from my young miss! Hmph!"

"From my master, Young Master Han..."

"From my young master!"

They came in secret and left in silence, terrified of being discovered.

But soon, word spread... Qin Fang had canceled all of his challenges.

This left many of those not in the know completely baffled...

...’What was going on?’

’Just when they thought there was a good show to watch.’

The day had been a whirlwind of events, but weren’t things changing a little too quickly?!

...

"Brother Qin, you have some impressive methods..."

Building B, Room 17, was Qin Fang’s current residence.

Qian Ruhai watched Qin Fang with a sigh, overcome with emotion. ’And to think, I’m a Steward of the Wan Tong Commerce Association!’ he mused.

But after learning what Qin Fang had been up to, he was filled with admiration...

...This scheme to pull in forty-eight thousand silver from thin air... he had to admit, it was beyond his own abilities!

Qin Fang chuckled. "It wouldn’t have gone so smoothly without your help, Brother Qian... Thank you."

"Bah, it was nothing. I just passed on a message, that’s all. Not worth mentioning," Qian Ruhai said, waving his hand dismissively.

After they finished joking, his expression turned serious. "But... Brother Qin, by doing this, aren’t you afraid of completely and utterly offending these five families? What if they resort to desperate measures...?"

"Before the Martial Arts Examination, I can’t be one hundred percent certain... but there’s at least an eighty percent chance they won’t do anything rash."

Qin Fang, however, was perfectly calm.

Qian Ruhai nodded with a sigh. "That’s true... At the end of the day, they’re still Heirs of the Divine Families. They wouldn’t be so foolish..."

Then he gave Qin Fang a strange look. "Still, you perfectly exploited their fear of letting things get out of hand and attracting the attention of the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect’s higher-ups to earn such a fortune... Your business acumen is even more astonishing than mine, and I’m a legitimate Steward of a Commerce Association..."

He looked utterly amazed.

Qin Fang shrugged. "What can I say? You all come from wealthy, powerful families. If you need silver, there’s always someone to give it to you. I’m just a commoner. If I don’t find ways to make my own money, what else am I supposed to do?"

From the very beginning, Qin Fang’s plan wasn’t just about ’Seeking Alms’ by making them lose face.

Yes, these Noble Family’s Heirs value their reputation highly.

But you couldn’t treat them like complete idiots...

Was their reputation so important that they’d just hand over a huge sum of money to an enemy?

...Even a complete moron wouldn’t do something like that.

What Qin Fang used was an open gambit.

...The Post House was the designated residence specifically for candidates of the Martial Arts Examination.

Anything that happened within the Post House was very likely to reach the ears of the higher-ups in charge of the examination.

Under these circumstances, with Qin Fang challenging the five of them daily... if word of this truly reached the higher-ups... how would they view those five?

Of course, they had ways to avoid the challenges... for instance, they could have their subordinates issue counter-challenges first... but what kind of image would that create in the eyes of the higher-ups?

If nothing else, they would surely leave the impression of being cowards who were afraid to fight, wouldn’t they?

...After all, the challenges weren’t to the death. If they didn’t even dare to participate in those, wasn’t that the very definition of cowardice?

So what if they humored Qin Fang and accepted his challenges every day?

That was even better... Getting beaten down by Qin Fang day after day would damage the cultivation hearts of people who cared so much about their reputation!

The result would be even worse than just being seen as a coward!

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