Immortals were not immune to appetite, and the Drunken Wind Restaurant had always enjoyed a fair reputation among lower rank disciples. Wei Yuan had heard of the restaurant before, though he never imagined he would be eating here one day.

As soon as Wei Yuan stepped inside the Drunken Wind Restaurant, a waiter led him to a small, tranquil house. It was where Bao Yun’s celebration feast would take place.

Three large tables were arranged inside the house, and Wei Yuan was led straight to the main table. However, he was currently sitting at the bottom of the class in terms of cultivation progress, and so didn’t feel like he deserved to sit at the main table at all. He turned around and tried to head over to a side table, but Bao Yun’s eyes lit up the moment she saw him. She ran up to him, grabbed his arm, and forcefully pressed him into the seat next to hers. This was significant as even Cui Yu was sitting one seat away from her.

A total of ten people were seated at the main table. Five of them had received the Founder’s boon, whereas the other five possessed either outstanding talent in cultivation or prominent backgrounds.

By now, Wei Yuan was acutely aware that possessing a prominent background also meant possessing a first-rate talent in cultivation.

When everyone had arrived, Bao Yun rose to her feet and said, “Greetings, dear senior brothers and sisters. I’m very glad that you could grace me with your presence. I’ll drink first to honor you all!”

Everyone hurriedly rose to their feet and gulped down their wine as well. Bao Yun’s image was Heaven-tier at the minimum, with a chance at forming an immortal foundation. No further explanation was needed regarding her talent for cultivation. On top of that, the Bao Clan was a first-rate aristocratic family, and everyone present was precocious from an early age. If they didn’t seize this opportunity to curry favor with her now, then when? A couple more years after today, and they wouldn’t even get the chance to touch the hem of her dress.

Wei Yuan also drank his wine. He felt like a line of fire was slipping down into his stomach before exploding into an immense cloud of spirit energy. Inside his sea of consciousness, a drizzle was falling in his image once more and growing the ground at a visible rate.

He was stunned. This single cup of wine was equal to thirty days of cultivation! If he drank the whole bottle, then he could probably save himself a whole year!

Disbelief thrumming in his veins, Wei Yuan slowly scanned the dishes on the table. He basically recognized none of them. All he knew was that they looked gorgeous and were steaming with spirit qi. Forget eating, even sniffing the food would be beneficial for his cultivation.

After the toast, Bao Yun continued, “The main reason I gathered you all tonight is mainly for the minor exam three years later. I had already received word that this minor exam is the contest between the disciples of the Traditional Party and us. Everyone here is aware that they outnumber us several times to one, which is why I also heard that they think that victory is already in the bag. Not only are they already discussing how the rewards should be split, I even heard that they are planning to post the exam results publicly within the sect.”

Right now, everyone was at an age where fearlessness was their middle name. The Traditional Party’s arrogance was such that countless people were irritated.

While observing their expressions, Bao Yun added, “One more thing. They sent someone to bring me a message not long ago. They said that they wouldn’t shame us too much or post the exam results down the line if we surrender now.”

Her words pissed off Cui Yu instantly. He slapped the table hard and swore, “The audacity!”

Xiao Yu kept his cool and asked, “Who said that?”

Bao Yun let out a sigh and replied, “Xu Yin’an.”

A hint of killing intent suddenly broke through the young man’s self-restraint.

This got Cui Yu curious, and he asked, “Who is this Xu whatever?”

Xiao Yu was still looking frigid and didn’t answer his question. Bao Yun replied, “He is one of the candidates who attended the Feng Yuan exam. However, he did not choose the centralized learning method. Also, his family has been trying to propose a marriage between him and me for the longest time.”

Cui Yu understood everything from her answer. He exclaimed angrily, “He overestimates himself! I was wondering why he purposely sought you out and made such remarks. It’s because he wants to use us as stepping stones! He thinks he can climb to the top on our backs? He can keep dreaming!”

Xiao Yu still didn’t say a word, but he nodded firmly at Cui Yu’s words.

Bao Yun let out another small sigh. “My dad had already rejected their proposal once, but Big Brother Xu’s is pretty talented, and the Xu Clan isn’t too bad. If the Traditional Party really achieved a major victory in this minor exam, then perhaps my dad would view him in a better light.”

“He will not win!” Xiao Yu declared.

Cui Yu also said, “I remember him now! The Xu Clan is one of the Seven Surnames, but they have almost always sat at the bottom and could be replaced by another aristocratic family at any moment. They cannot possibly compare to our families! It’s one thing if your Big Brother Xu is astoundingly talented, but he’s average at best and far inferior even compared to me. Someone like him dares to propose marriage to the Bao Clan? If I, Cui Yu, fail to crush him in this minor exam, then I will swear off this jianghu altogether!”

It was at this moment someone reminded him, “There are four Cui clansmen in the Traditional Party.”

Cui Yu replied indifferently, “Not a problem! Only one of them is descended from the main branch, and he’s the son of a concubine. His talent is inferior to mine as well. If you happen to go up against him, don’t hesitate to go all out. Whatever happens, I’ll be there to take it!”

Bao Yun allowed the group to talk among themselves for a bit before letting out a quiet cough. Once they had quieted down, she said, “This is my personal affair. There is no way I would have agreed to his proposal even if we lost in this exam. At worst, I would have to endure some backbiting. It is nothing big.”

Cui Yu said seriously, “You and I are classmates. To humiliate you is to humiliate all of us! Besides, they were going to announce the exam results publicly, weren’t they? Since they’re planning to use us as stepping stones, this is not something we can stay out of!

“So what if our numbers are fewer? This is not something anyone should have to endure. We’ll just fight them to the death!”

“Fight!” Xiao Yu echoed succinctly.

Children at this age were easily impassioned. They would rather stand and die than kneel and live. There was simply no way they were going to submit without a fight.

A smile finally appeared on Bao Yun’s face, and she said, “Since everyone is determined to fight, then let us come up with a proper procedure and all. We’ll need to begin preparations from this point onward. This is a faction war, and our numbers are fewer, so every member is important. However, some of our classmates do not enjoy as much cultivation resources as they should have, and their progress may be hampered as a result. That is why I would like to set up a public account. Those who are capable can deposit their immortal silver in this public account, and those who need cultivation resources but are lacking in immortal silver may borrow from it.

“Of course, the immortal silver is meant to be borrowed, not given away for free. Just borrow as much as you need and pay off your debt in ten years.”

Bao Yun’s idea was ludicrous, but many students including Wei Yuan were sorely tempted by it. Descendents from aristocratic families were ultimately the minority, and most of them hailed from ordinary noble clans. It was very taxing for an ordinary, minor family to provide for the basic cultivation needs of a single Palace of Absolute Beginning disciple. Thus, most people could never have enough immortal silver, and their cultivation inevitably slowed down as a result.

Ten years was enough time for most disciples of the Palace of Absolute Beginning to cultivate a Dao Foundation, and even a Human-tier Dao Foundation cultivator was capable of receiving and carrying out a basic sect mission. A Dao Foundation cultivator’s ability to make money was night and day compared to that of a Body-tempering cultivator’s as a matter of course. Thus, Bao Yun’s terms were generous to say the least.

Seeing the fervent look in everyone’s eyes, Bao Yun declared, “Since I’m the one who’s bringing forth this proposal, it’s only natural that I should make the first deposit. I’ll place thirty thousand immortal silver in the public account!”

Thirty thousand?! Wei Yuan nearly slipped off his chair there and then. Miss Bao had essentially given up over two hundred years of his monthly allowance or sixty times the pocket money Trueman Fen Hai gave him.

Cui Yu didn’t hesitate to make the same offer, “I’ll deposit thirty thousand as well!”

Xiao Yu echoed in agreement, “Same.”

A couple more disciples with aristocratic family backgrounds donated ten thousand taels each, bringing the total to one hundred thousand taels.

Wei Yuan was feeling a little numb at this point. It felt like they were talking about rice, not immortal silver. Heck, one hundred thousand grains of rice was still a lot of rice.

Delighted, Bao Yun suggested, “I’ll leave the public funds with you, Senior Brother Cui. Senior Brother Cui, Junior Brother Xiao Yu, and I will be managing it together. What do you all say?”

Xiao Yu waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t care.”

Cui Yu smiled at his reaction. “Your whole life is devoted to cultivation, huh? No problem. I’ll handle the menial affairs.”

Bao Yun added, “Our enemy has twenty one people who received a boon from the Founder. Naturally, those of us who also received a boon from the Founder should handle them. The rest will be handled by our senior brothers and sisters.”

Cui Yu nodded. “There’s twenty-one of them and five of us. We simply need to handle four per person.”

“Simple,” Xiao Yu said.

Wei Yuan hadn’t said a single word throughout this conversation, so Bao Yun asked him, “Is there a problem, Junior Brother Wei?”

Wei Yuan hesitated a little before replying, “My cultivation speed is... slow. I’m worried that I might drag everyone’s feet.”

Cui Yu wasn’t born in Fengyuan, nor had he participated in a martial test before. When he heard this, he immediately declared, “There’s nothing to be worried about, Junior Brother! If you cannot handle it, then I’ll take out two more for you!”