Chapter 609: Chapter 391: Reward

When Xu Yang arrived at the cafeteria, he found that the incident at the Jade Cold Pool had already spread. Everyone was discussing it.

Word had it that An Yuan, Sun Hao, and the others had chased them all night but failed to catch Ma Daxing’s group. Now, the Celestial Strategy Academy had issued a bounty of two thousand credits for their capture. If anyone could provide relevant information, they would also be rewarded based on its value. Two thousand credits was no small sum for any student at the Celestial Strategy Academy. Many lacked not Cultivation Resources, but credits.

"Xu Yang, can you tell me in detail what happened?"

"Aside from Ma Daxing, do you know any of the others?"

"All of you, back off. Xu Yang, whatever inside information you can provide me, the reward is negotiable."

"Brother Xu, may I ask if you truly saw the Profound Water Spirit Loach King?"

As soon as he stepped into the cafeteria, a large crowd swarmed him. Without exception, all of them wanted to squeeze useful information out of him, the primary witness. Clearly, they were all tempted by the two thousand credits.

Yang Ao, originally ranked ninth on the Lingyun List, even offered a reward to buy useful information from him. Instantly, those hoping to get something for nothing fell silent.

"Well? As long as you provide me with useful information, you can name your price for the reward," Yang Ao said with a smile.

Xu Yang hadn’t expected to be able to monetize yesterday’s events. He was just about to speak when a hand pressed onto his shoulder from the side. It was Gu Qingfeng, with whom he was on fairly good terms.

"Brother Xu, selling the information to anyone is still selling it. Why not sell it to me?" Gu Qingfeng said with a smile. "Given our relationship, the reward is easily negotiable."

Yang Ao’s expression darkened. After the bounty was announced, many people wanted to ask Xu Yang for information. He had offered a reward to get exclusive intel from Xu Yang, only to have Gu Qingfeng unexpectedly intervene. He didn’t usually interact much with Xu Yang. Under equal conditions, he didn’t think Xu Yang would choose him over Gu Qingfeng.

"Brother Gu also wants to take the mission to capture Ma Daxing? That Ma Daxing has Celestial Essence Fourth Layer cultivation; he won’t be easy to provoke." Xu Yang looked at Gu Qingfeng in confusion. If Ma Daxing were that easy to catch, Xu Yang would have slaughtered him right then and there.

Gu Qingfeng shook his head. "It seems you haven’t looked at the specific details of the mission. The task to capture Ma Daxing doesn’t restrict students to completing it independently; family members can also help. Aside from the two thousand credits, any recovered Profound Water Spirit Loaches can be split fifty-fifty with the Celestial Strategy Academy."

Xu Yang was moved. Recovered Profound Water Spirit Loaches would be split in half? No wonder these people were so riled up, ready to mobilize the factions behind them to help find Ma Daxing. Not to mention the two thousand credits, half of the Profound Water Spirit Loaches was absolutely something money couldn’t buy.

"Brother Xu, considering our friendship, please help me out. The reward is highly negotiable. If the Qin family can find Ma Daxing, I can even help you ask for a few more things," Gu Qingfeng said.

"Gu Qingfeng, there’s a first come, first served rule. Xu Yang and I haven’t finished negotiating yet, so why are you interrupting?" Yang Ao said coldly.

Xu Yang chuckled. "Brother Yang, don’t be angry. I actually don’t have any useful information here. In truth, I’ve already told Mr. Jin Yu everything there is to say.

"However, I killed a person at the time and took his Spiritual Soldier. This Spiritual Soldier might be of some use. If you’re interested, you can buy it. Of course, I will also tell you everything I know regarding other information."

At those words, both Gu Qingfeng and Yang Ao’s eyes lit up. The Spiritual Soldier might be a clue.

"One hundred Spirit Coins. I’ll take this Spiritual Soldier." Huo Xiaochen walked over with Du Ziming and the others. The Xiao family was also very interested in the two thousand credits and the hundreds of Profound Water Spirit Loaches.

"If you can’t afford it, you don’t have to speak," Xu Yang said unhurriedly. To think of buying a clue related to hundreds of Profound Water Spirit Loaches and two thousand credits for a mere one hundred Spirit Coins was simply a pipe dream. For one hundred Spirit Coins, he would rather not sell it at all than sell it to Huo Xiaochen.

"You..." Huo Xiaochen was so angry he nearly spat blood. An ordinary Spiritual Soldier was only worth fifty or sixty Spirit Coins. Offering one hundred was already considered a high price. Of course, his main reason was that he didn’t want to give Xu Yang too much of an advantage.

"Three hundred Spirit Coins!" Yang Ao said in a deep voice.

The onlookers watched, dumbfounded. An unimportant Spiritual Soldier had actually sold for the high price of three hundred Spirit Coins just because it was taken from Ma Daxing’s gang.

"You beast! You’ll die a horrible death sooner or later!" Not far away, Huang Yi watched this scene with red eyes. Her husband was dead, yet Xu Yang was here selling intelligence and profiting off the deceased.

"Brother Yang is so generous. I admire that." Gu Qingfeng cupped his hands. Surprisingly, he didn’t match the bid and yielded the item to Yang Ao.

Yang Ao was taken aback. Had he been set up by Xu Yang and Gu Qingfeng teaming up?

Xu Yang was also somewhat surprised. He then smiled and looked at Huo Xiaochen. "Can you offer a higher price?"

"As long as the item doesn’t fall into Gu Qingfeng’s hands, it’s fine," Huo Xiaochen said with a smile. Since Gu Qingfeng didn’t bid, he also suspected that Xu Yang and Gu Qingfeng were putting on an act together. He simply found an excuse to withdraw.

"Brother Yang, come with me to get the item." As Xu Yang spoke, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria, planning to hand the item over to Yang Ao first.

Yang Ao was suspicious, but since it had come to this, he couldn’t back out of paying the three hundred Spirit Coins. He stepped forward and followed Xu Yang.

Soon, Xu Yang retrieved the saber and gave it to Yang Ao. "The owner of this blade was called ’Old Fifth’ by Ma Daxing and the others. Whatever else Brother Yang wants to know, feel free to ask. I will definitely tell you everything I know."

Yang Ao asked a few questions and hurriedly left with the saber. Not long after he left, Gu Qingfeng came looking for him and explained why he hadn’t bought that Spiritual Soldier earlier. Although the Spiritual Soldier was a clue, asking around about it would be too slow. He wanted to directly invite Xu Yang to team up with him to find Ma Daxing’s gang. After all, Xu Yang had fought against Ma Daxing and those people. If anyone could find them, Xu Yang had the highest probability of doing so.

"If you’re willing to team up, Brother Xu, you won’t need to worry about safety. The Qin family will send experts. After it’s done, we’ll split the credits fifty-fifty, and you can have a tenth of the Profound Water Spirit Loaches," Gu Qingfeng said with a smile. His offer could be said to be very sincere.

Xu Yang shook his head. "Please forgive me, Brother Gu, but I don’t want to take this mission. Also, I advise you not to waste your time; these people can’t be found." He didn’t think anyone could find Ma Daxing and his group. If it were that simple, he would have already taken the teachers of the Celestial Strategy Academy to capture them.

"Brother Xu believes no one can find them?" Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. He had assumed Xu Yang sold the stolen Spiritual Soldier because he lacked the strength to do the mission. He hadn’t expected it was because he was pessimistic about finding Ma Daxing’s group.

Xu Yang nodded. "If they were truly that easy to find, I would have just given that saber to you, Brother Gu. Those people act with meticulous precision and have plotted for years. Right now, they’re probably hiding in some deserted place. Unless you dig three feet into the ground, no one will be able to find them."

He roughly understood Gu Qingfeng’s intentions. Xu Yang had ruined Ma Daxing’s scheme, causing their attempt to capture the Profound Water Spirit Loach King to fail on the verge of success. Gu Qingfeng wanted him to leave the Celestial Strategy Academy and act as bait to lure out Ma Daxing or the faction behind him. However, even if he had the guts for it, it was impossible for those people to show up now. Neither side was stupid. Attacking him at this time would clearly tell the Celestial Strategy Academy that they were the ones who schemed for the Profound Water Spirit Loach King. Even those holding a grudge against him would hold back right now, for fear of being mistakenly linked to the Jade Cold Pool incident by the Celestial Strategy Academy.

Whether Gu Qingfeng took his words to heart, Xu Yang didn’t know. Soon, Gu Qingfeng took his leave.

Having gained three hundred Spirit Coins, he returned to the cafeteria in a great mood. But after eating for only a short while, he saw Zuo Mu rushing over. "Mr. Jin Yu wants to see you."

Xu Yang paused, wondering if the rewards had been distributed. "Thank you for letting me know, Brother Zuo."

After hastily finishing his meal, Xu Yang soon met Jin Yu in the lecture hall. "This disciple greets you, sir."

"Luo Zhao’s widow, Huang Yi, has accused you. She claims that you deliberately slandered Luo Zhao because of a grudge. What do you have to say for yourself?" Jin Yu said calmly, his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Luo Zhao’s widow, Huang Yi? Judging by her name, she was probably a woman from the Huang family of Yellow Maple Valley.

Xu Yang cupped his hands and said, "Because of my feud with Lin Jingyu, the Yellow Maple Valley lineage bears hostility toward me. I also had a dispute with Luo Zhao at the Jade Cold Pool. However, regarding my account of the incident there, I did not speak a single word out of revenge. I beg you to judge clearly, sir."

He genuinely hadn’t thought about slandering Luo Zhao in any way. Since he didn’t know what methods these unfathomably cultivated teachers of the Celestial Strategy Academy possessed, he hadn’t dared to harbor any crooked thoughts. Furthermore, he hadn’t expected Luo Zhao to have a widow. The thought simply hadn’t crossed his mind.

Jin Yu nodded. He did indeed have ways to distinguish whether Xu Yang was lying.

"Mm. I called you over mainly to tell you that the Dean has approved your reward. There are two options; you may choose one.

"Considering you failed to cultivate both the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture and the Azure Dragon Dominating Body, the Dean’s first reward option is that you can choose any Cultivation Technique from the Hidden Skills Hall.

"The second option is a direct reward of five hundred credits."

Between the two options, the first held greater value for someone lacking a Cultivation Technique. For someone lacking resources, the second was more cost-effective.

"I choose the first option." After a moment of thought, Xu Yang decided to choose the Cultivation Technique.

Chu Nanguai had offered two options, and Jin Yu had deliberately mentioned it was because he failed to cultivate the Azure Dragon Dominating Body and the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture. This clearly meant they hoped he would choose the Cultivation Technique. He couldn’t go against their wishes, and he truly did lack one.

Five hundred credits could be exchanged for quite a few Cultivation Resources. But if used to redeem a Cultivation Technique, it would only be enough for half of a Spirit Bone Martial Technique. Although he also lacked Cultivation Resources, he was short on Cultivation Techniques as well. Most importantly, choosing the former maximized his benefits.

"This is the Dean’s warrant. Take it, and you can go directly to the Hidden Skills Hall to choose a Cultivation Technique," Jin Yu said, smiling as he handed over Chu Nanguai’s warrant.

Xu Yang’s choice matched his expectations. He had also hoped Xu Yang would choose the Cultivation Technique. Xu Yang’s ranking on the Celestial Strategy Wind and Cloud List was second only to Sun Tao’s. If he had another top-tier Cultivation Technique, he might actually have a chance to compete with geniuses at the level of Sun Tao and Li Yunfei.

"Thank you, sir, and thank you, Dean." Xu Yang took the warrant and carefully tucked it away. All in all, he was quite satisfied with this reward. Offending Ma Daxing and his group for it hadn’t been in vain.

Jin Yu waved his hand. "Go on. I’ll help you explain Huang Yi’s situation."

"This disciple will take his leave!" Xu Yang cupped his hands, turned, and left.

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