Chapter 70: YOU WILL SWEEP THE APOTHECARY DEPARTMENT FOR THREE DAYS

Elder Shen’s expression remained cold as he looked between Fu Hanzheng and Li Yan, and instead of apologising, he folded his arms across his chest as though the matter had already been settled.

"I have already told this brat that I never agreed to compensate him. Fu Hanzheng, you are an elder of this sect, so you should stop embarrassing yourselves over something that does not exist. I have nothing in writing and no recording of such an agreement, so what if the two of you are trying to scam me?"

The disciples surrounding the training ground exchanged uneasy glances, but none of them dared to involve themselves in the dispute because they could not afford to offend either elder. Elder Shen held considerable authority within the Battle Arts Department, while Fu Hanzheng was notorious throughout the sect as the madman of the Apothecary Department, and neither reputation was one an ordinary disciple would willingly challenge.

Elder Shen seemed satisfied by their silence and continued explaining himself, apparently believing that his reasoning had already settled the matter.

"High-grade mana stones are not cheap, especially in this economy, and I am not going to hand over valuable cultivation resources simply because someone claims that I promised them. If there is no proof, then there is nothing for me to compensate for."

Li Yan listened without interrupting, although Elder Shen’s repeated insistence that there was no evidence had unexpectedly made the situation much easier for him. Before he could decide how to respond, Xiaoxiao’s voice suddenly sounded inside his mind.

"I have several recordings stored in a special stone."

Li Yan’s attention immediately shifted toward her, although he kept his expression neutral so that Elder Shen would not notice anything unusual.

"What kind of recordings?"

"I have a special stone that can preserve conversations for a certain period of time. I saved several recordings since I wanted to give them to you as a gift, one you could use to your advantage, and this might be the best time to use it."

Li Yan carefully listened to her explanation before asking, "How do I make it play?"

"You only need to pour some spiritual Qi into it, and the preserved voices will begin coming out. If you imbue more Qi into the stone, the voices will become even louder."

A wicked grin threatened to spread across Li Yan’s face before he suppressed it, his luck was beginning to feel almost unreasonable. Every time he encountered an obstacle, something seemed to appear at precisely the right moment to help him overcome it, and this recording stone had arrived when Elder Shen was most confident that no evidence existed.

Since Xiaoxiao had offered him lemons, there was no reason not to make some juice. He usually would have preferred to squeeze those lemons directly into his enemies’ eyes, but he was trying to maintain the image of a respectable disciple, so he would settle for making Elder Shen regret his confidence and take his words back.

Li Yan turned his attention back to the elder and asked calmly, "If I can prove that you agreed to this compensation, will you compensate my master and me for wasting our time?"

Elder Shen scoffed at the question because he remained completely certain that Li Yan had nothing capable of proving his claim.

"I have no issues with that."

His confidence came from knowing that the people who had been present during the examination were no longer available to testify. The invigilator and the disciples who had witnessed the exchange had already been sent on a journey, while Elder Mo had entered isolation, leaving Li Yan without anyone who could confirm his account.

Elder Shen therefore saw no reason to take the challenge seriously when he added, "If you cannot prove that I consented to any compensation, then I want you and your master out of this sect. Since you are so confident that I made such a promise, you should have no objection to accepting the consequences if you fail."

Li Yan’s smile widened, although the anger in his eyes became more pronounced. He could tolerate Elder Shen refusing to acknowledge the compensation, and he could even endure being insulted himself, but demanding that Fu Hanzheng leave the sect had crossed a line.

Xiaoxiao’s voice entered his mind again, carrying a faint sigh as though she already knew what he intended to do.

"If you imbue more Qi into the stone, the voice will become even louder."

After giving him that final piece of advice, Xiaoxiao fell silent and left the matter entirely in his hands.

Fu Hanzheng had been watching his disciple throughout the exchange, and the moment he noticed the confidence returning to Li Yan’s expression, he understood that the young man had thought of something. Rather than asking questions or stepping forward to resolve the dispute himself, he moved aside and gave Li Yan the opportunity to handle the situation, clearly interested in seeing how his disciple intended to turn Elder Shen’s confidence against him.

Li Yan tightened his fingers around the recording stone before looking directly at Elder Shen.

"If I have sufficient evidence, I have three conditions."

"What conditions?"

Li Yan answered without hesitation, "First, you will apologize to my master. Second, you will give me twice the number of high-grade mana stones I originally asked for. Third, you will sweep the Apothecary Department for three days."

The training ground erupted into shocked voices as soon as he finished speaking, nobody had expected a newly accepted disciple to make such outrageous demands of an elder.

Several disciples stared at Li Yan in disbelief while others began whispering among themselves, unable to understand how he had found the courage to order Elder Shen to personally sweep the Apothecary Department.

"He wants Elder Shen to sweep the Apothecary Department?"

"How dare he make such a demand to an elder?"

"He has only just entered the sect, yet he is already ordering an elder around."

"Does he really think Elder Shen will agree to that?"

The uproar continued until Elder Shen’s expression darkened completely, and his anger became obvious as he stared at Li Yan with narrowed eyes.

"You insolent brat, know your place."