Chapter 500: The Gongshu School

Early in the morning, Lin Chao woke up and finished washing up.

He left the room.

Hua Popo had a smile on her face: "Xia Yang, come quickly and drink your porridge."

The breakfast Hua Popo made was a thick porridge with some medicinal herbs added to it.

It tasted like Laba porridge.

Lin Chao drank the porridge quickly, while Hua Popo kept a smile on her face, as if she were looking at one of her own juniors.

"Xia Yang, the Fifth Elder recently lost his daughter and is prone to anger; I fear he might hurt someone.

Would you like to apply to go work in the county?" A look of worry appeared on Hua Popo's face.

If he went to work in the county, Lin Chao would no longer be able to stay at the Qingxu Sect.

The Fifth Elder would then be unable to take revenge on him.

However, this would also mean that Lin Chao could not enter the Academy.

Of course, to Hua Popo, this actually counted as a good fallback option.

"It's alright, Popo." Lin Chao smiled, "I will handle it well."

"Do not be overly competitive; peace and health are a blessing," Hua Popo murmured.

Watching her leave, Lin Chao sat in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Being schemed against by Zhuge Qingxia this time was entirely an unprovoked disaster for Lin Chao.

However, he was not without gains.

That was the three hundred taels of silver banknotes on Zhu Xiang.

But during this time, Lin Chao had not gone to the county town, so he had money but nowhere to spend it.

What Lin Chao wanted to do most right now was to nurse his body back to health.

After all, having been in a coma for over a decade, his current physique was on the smaller side, and his body was relatively weak.

This was quite disadvantageous for martial arts practice.

"I must resolve the matter of the Fifth Elder as soon as possible."

Lin Chao had formulated a short-term plan for himself.

In the days that followed, the few disciples who were originally closer to Lin Chao all intentionally or unintentionally kept their distance from him.

Except for Zhao Tai.

These past few days, Zhao Tai seemed to be in a very bad mood and felt down.

And the final spot for the Academy was finally decided: it was Ye Yan, a disciple of the Second Elder.

Lin Chao had already guessed the Second Elder's attitude.

Informing the Second Elder at the very first moment was the optimal choice for Lin Chao.

Only by leveraging the Second Elder could he define the nature of that incident and subsequently distance himself from it.

As for the Second Elder not looking after Lin Chao later, that was also within Lin Chao's expectations.

In the afternoon, as dusk approached, Lin Chao carried the books that had been drying in the backyard back into the house.

Lin Chao stretched his sore and numb arms, his expression calm.

"Zhuge Liu..."

If it were any other disciple, doing so much heavy labor every day would leave them with no energy to practice at night.

The Fifth Elder was intentionally slowing down Lin Chao's progress.

But Lin Chao would not let Zhuge Liu have his way; he had attribute points.

The last rays of the sunset no longer lingered on the world, and the entire world seemed to become a bit dimmer.

The Seventh Elder lay half-reclined in a chair, holding a pipe in his hand, puffing away.

At this moment, a Handyman walked in, a look of awe on his face.

"Reporting to the Seventh Elder, Senior Brother Xia Yang requests an audience."

Hearing this, the Seventh Elder's expression remained unchanged: "He's here again?"

For the past few days, Xia Yang had come to the Seventh Elder's courtyard every day to request an audience, but he had never been able to see the Seventh Elder.

This had caused some small ripples within the Qingxu Sect.

After all, Xia Yang was nominally a disciple of the Fifth Elder, but he kept requesting an audience with the Seventh Elder and was turned away; the implications were obvious.

This meant Lin Chao had broken ties with the Fifth Elder.

This matter had also gained some heat within the Qingxu Sect.

The Seventh Elder took a deep puff of his pipe, and the little old man finally stood up: "Let him in."

Not long after, Lin Chao entered the courtyard, a look of respect in his eyes.

"Greetings, Seventh Elder."

The Seventh Elder glanced at Lin Chao, his expression calm: "Why do you seek me?"

"This disciple wishes to take the Seventh Elder as his master!" Lin Chao did not hide it and said it directly.

"Give me a reason." The Seventh Elder squinted his eyes, looking like an examiner.

And at this moment, Lin Chao was the candidate being interviewed.

"This disciple has the confidence to enter the Academy!" Lin Chao said.

To move the Seventh Elder, one had to demonstrate one's value.

The Seventh Elder's greatest wish now was to cultivate a disciple to enter the Academy.

Hua Wuxing, from before, had been his hope.

However, his hope was extinguished by Zhuge Qingxia.

And because the Seventh Elder had offended a certain big shot at the Academy, no geniuses in the Qingxu Sect were willing to apprentice under the Seventh Elder.

After all, for those geniuses, the difficulty of joining the Academy by apprenticing under other Elders was certainly lower than it was on the Seventh Elder's side.

The Seventh Elder looked at Lin Chao, his expression unchanging: "Anyone can say anything. Your talent, among the many disciples, can only be considered middle-to-low. How could you possibly step into the Golden Core realm before the age of twenty?

What value do you have? And how could you win against other geniuses?"

The Seventh Elder was speaking the truth.

Lin Chao's current talent, if placed among the myriad worlds, could actually be considered genius-level.

But in the small Qingxu Sect, it belonged to the middle-to-low tier.

Lin Chao remained very calm, and he said with a sincere attitude: "This disciple's talent is not high, but this disciple's goal is the same as the Elder's."

The Seventh Elder looked at Lin Chao, a sharp look flashing in his eyes, and finally he nodded and said: "Good, for now, you shall be this old man's disciple."

Lin Chao's competitiveness was not strong in the eyes of the Seventh Elder.

However, after Hua Wuxing died, there were simply no suitable seedlings around the Seventh Elder.

Taking in one more Lin Chao was, for the Seventh Elder, just a matter of convenience.

Moreover, because of the matter with Hua Wuxing, the Seventh Elder already had a grudge against the Fifth Elder.

Snatching away the Fifth Elder's Registered Disciple and taking him as his own disciple could also disgust the Fifth Elder.

Added to the fact that Lin Chao had been persistently requesting an audience, there was no way back.

For various reasons, the Seventh Elder was willing to accept Lin Chao.

These were also Lin Chao's considerations, but they could not be spoken aloud.

A look of excitement appeared on Lin Chao's face: "Xia Yang pays respects to Master!"

The Seventh Elder nodded and said: "I am going to see the Sect Master. In the future, if that old fellow Zhuge Liu orders you to do things, you don't need to pay him any mind."

"Understood." Lin Chao nodded.

Watching the Seventh Elder leave, Lin Chao let out a sigh of relief.

At least the short-term plan was completed.

He had broken away from the Fifth Elder.

However, the threat had not completely disappeared.

The next day, Lin Chao was eating in the cafeteria.

Zhao Tai sat beside Lin Chao, and he lowered his voice and said: "You took the Seventh Elder as your master?"

Lin Chao nodded: "Yes."

"Sigh, the Seventh Elder... is a bit troublesome," Zhao Tai said.

"Why do you say that?" Lin Chao asked.

"The Seventh Elder has a reclusive temperament. In the entire Qingxu Sect, only the Sect Master is willing to stand on the Seventh Elder's side.

If you want to hold a high position in the Qingxu Sect in the future, don't even think about it," Zhao Tai said.

"Is that so?"

"Do you know why the Seventh Elder is so unwelcome in the Qingxu Sect?" Zhao Tai asked.

"Because he offended a big shot at the Academy?" Lin Chao said.

"Right, but more importantly, the Seventh Elder is... a person of the Gongshu School." Zhao Tai mentioned this with a sigh in his eyes.

Lin Chao showed a puzzled expression; he had never heard the term Gongshu School before.

"In the current Zhenyuan Kingdom, the Northerners are powerful, and the Southerners are weak.

The promotion channels for the upper echelons are almost entirely controlled by the Northerners.

The Gongshu School, founded by Gongshu Ji, aimed to change the situation where Northerners control the political landscape.

Unfortunately, Gongshu Ji was trying to oppose the high-level officials of the Zhenyuan Kingdom with a tiny school, and in the end, he could only fail.

And the Seventh Elder is a loyal supporter of the Gongshu School.

By taking him as your master, you are effectively a person of the Gongshu School as well."

Zhao Tai said while eating his meal.

"Don't look at us Southern disciples, who often mock the Northerners in secret.

But... anyone who has ambitions of becoming an official, when they see a Northerner, which one of them doesn't turn into a bootlicker?

We are all people of the Zhenyuan Kingdom, but Northerners are just a cut above Southerners." Zhao Tai said this with a sigh.

Lin Chao pondered, and he looked at Zhao Tai: "You know a lot."

"Haha." Zhao Tai laughed and did not continue.

Just then, several men wearing green robes walked by.

Among them was Lin Chao's acquaintance, Wang Zhi.

That Wang Zhi saw Lin Chao, stopped his steps, and couldn't help but spit: "A two-faced servant."

The other green-robed men nearby also let out laughs, their eyes filled with mockery toward Lin Chao.

The fair-skinned man, however, had an awkward smile on his face, and he whispered to Wang Zhi: "We were colleagues after all, why humiliate him like this?"

Hearing this, Wang Zhi immediately said with disdain: "I am ashamed to be acquainted with a person of such character."

Wang Zhi's current behavior was because he was afraid that his previous acquaintance with Lin Chao would cause the Fifth Elder to hold a grudge against him.

Therefore, he had been trying hard to draw a line with Lin Chao.

He even kept humiliating Lin Chao.

Lin Chao glanced at Wang Zhi, his gaze calm.

Wang Zhi felt a pang of guilt and cursed loudly: "What are you looking at?"

Lin Chao smiled: "It's the rainy season recently, the steps are slippery, Junior Brother, walk carefully."

Hearing this, Wang Zhi looked at Lin Chao with even more disdain: "You're the one who needs to be careful."

As for that small frame of Xia Yang's, Wang Zhi didn't take him seriously at all.

Moreover, he was already an Eighth Grade martial artist and weighed nearly two hundred jin; he reckoned he could beat up two Xia Yangs by himself.

Wang Zhi finished his harsh words and left.

Zhao Tai said softly: "You have offended Zhuge Liu deeply; you must be careful these days and don't let anyone trip you up in the dark."

The Qingxu Sect is not entirely peaceful and harmonious; struggles happen all the time, and as long as no one dies, those above turn a blind eye.

"You be careful too; walking so close to me, watch out for retaliation," Lin Chao said.

Zhao Tai laughed, a look of confidence appearing on his face: "There's such a good thing?"

"I've been very poor lately and happen to be short on money; let's see who bumps into me."

The Zhao Tai and Zhao Ting that Lin Chao knew were two extremes in personality.

Night.

Wang Zhi finished drinking with a man in a green robe and walked back unsteadily.

Wang Zhi's mouth reeked of alcohol, and he patted his chest and said: "Senior Brother, don't worry, I will teach that Xia Yang a good lesson."

"I have already investigated, and the person closest to him is a Handyman, Hua Popo."

"I will go and find trouble with that old Handyman woman tomorrow."

The man in the green robe beside him had clearly also drunk a lot: "I'll leave this matter to you; if you handle it well, Master will certainly take you in as an Inner Disciple."

The gap between a Registered Disciple and an Inner Disciple is huge.

Lin Chao had switched to the Seventh Elder and offended Zhuge Liu deeply.

This man in the green robe had seen Zhuge Liu angry for several days.

Therefore, he thought of retaliating against Xia Yang to vent his master's anger.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother, once I deal with that old woman, I'll go deal with that Xia Yang," Wang Zhi said.

He put his arms around the man in the green robe, walking shoulder to shoulder as the two stepped down the stairs.

Just then, a gust of wind suddenly flashed by, and a pebble struck Wang Zhi's calf.

Wang Zhi felt pain, lost his footing, and fell directly.

"Ah!"

Due to human instinct, after he fell, he kept holding onto the man in the green robe, causing the man in the green robe to fall as well.

The two rolled down the stairs together, looking extremely miserable.

Lin Chao, on the mountain, saw this scene and threw a few more pebbles to add fuel to the fire.

The next day, the Qingxu Sect added a rule: one must not drink too much at night.

It turned out that two disciples had been drunk the night before and slipped while walking on the steps.

The two fell down dozens of steps, looking extremely miserable; more importantly, one person's leg was broken, and the other person's head was severely injured, leaving him in a coma.

The Qingxu Sect does not keep useless people.

Before these two could wake up, they were expelled from the Qingxu Sect.

It could be said that the futures of those two people were ruined.

That man in the green robe with the severe head injury, even if he woke up later, his life was ruined.

After all, the Qingxu Sect is a branch of the Holy Sect.

Being expelled from the Qingxu Sect meant there was almost no possibility of becoming an official.

On the third day, people from the Law Enforcement Hall came to find Lin Chao to ask questions as a matter of routine.

However, after asking a few simple questions, they didn't ask any more.

In this society, even if someone died, it wasn't a big deal, let alone two cripples.

Spring went and autumn came.

Thick white snow covered the mountains, and the whole night felt exceptionally cold.

Zhao Tai tucked his hands into his sleeves, unable to stop shivering: "With such heavy snow, I wonder how many people in the county will freeze to death."

It rarely snows in the south.

Snow like this is very rare.

Unlike the urban south in his previous life that chased after snow.

In this social environment, ordinary people felt more fear than love for snow.

A timely snow promises a good harvest, but heavy snow collapses houses and creates refugees.

Moreover, Lin Chao had been to Luo Ma County a few times a few months ago.

In that dilapidated county town, there were many homeless refugees on the streets.

After such a heavy snowfall, who knows how many of those refugees will freeze to death.

It is estimated that tomorrow, if one goes to Luo Ma County, one will see corpses being carried out of alleys and thrown into the mass grave.

Lin Chao also looked at the white snow, his eyes filled with emotion: "Heaven is never kind."

"Xia Yang, you must be careful."

"Recently, a rebel army has arrived near the county town."

"The Fifth Elder, Zhuge Liu, will take some disciples and join forces with the County Commandant to wipe out the rebels," Zhao Tai said.

The rebel army in Zhao Tai's mouth was actually just a group of refugees.

Lin Chao frowned: "Going to suppress rebels on a snowy day?"

This is quite unwise.

"The new Prefect has just taken office and wants to achieve some merit so he can leave quickly," Zhao Tai said helplessly. "This Prefect belongs to the Northern faction and has always viewed our Southern lands as barbaric."

He only cares about merit; as for the lives of those below him, why would he ever bother to care?

Anyway, if we die, there will always be others to fill our spots and continue serving as expendable material.

In this world, the channels for Ordinary people at the bottom to rise are too few.

Everyone strives to be a lackey for the imperial court.

Hearing this, Lin Chao felt a bitter taste in his heart.

"You must be careful; I am afraid Zhuge Liu will draft you," Zhao Tai added.

"Your information is truly True Spirit," Lin Chao said, looking at Zhao Tai with a sigh.

(End of this chapter)