Chapter 7: Establishing Authority

The next morning, when the group of young men saw the severed head and body of Li San, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Chen Ze and Yang Hong pretended to be just as surprised, but Hu Zi, who couldn’t fake it, didn’t show much of a reaction. However, with everyone’s attention on the severed head, no one really noticed these small details.

“If there are any more runaway attempts, this will be your fate.” Qin Shan said coldly, his expression emotionless as he looked at the terrified youths.

The boys immediately lowered their heads, not daring to meet Qin Shan's gaze, suppressing the emotions churning in their hearts. Although they had only been at the Magic Extremity Sect for ten days, their fear of death had gradually dulled from the initial terror to a growing numbness. As long as it wasn’t their own death, it didn’t seem like a big deal anymore.

The usual morning training began. As always, after distributing the dark green pills, Qin Shan sat cross-legged, leaving them to their own devices. The only difference today was that after the training, Qin Shan left behind a basket of steamed buns and specifically pointed out Chen Ze and Yang Hong.

“From now on, you two are in charge of distributing the food. One half each.”

Chen Ze and Yang Hong exchanged a glance before nodding, steeling themselves for the task.

“Yes.”

Qin Shan’s action was almost a clear declaration that these two were the ones responsible for exposing the escapee. Li San had lived with them, so even an idiot could figure out the friction between them. They didn’t need to look back to know that the others’ eyes were filled with hostility.

Yang Hong was undoubtedly guilty, but Chen Ze had genuinely been dragged down by Yang Hong.

“You two better do a good job. I’m watching you.” Qin Shan patted their shoulders lightly, a cryptic smile curling at the corners of his lips before he flew off.

Chen Ze sighed inwardly, slowly turning around to meet the gazes of the others. Their eyes were fixed on him, full of contempt. He lifted his head high, meeting their stares with an indifferent gaze. At this point, no explanation would help—no one liked a traitor. If he showed any weakness, his life here would become miserable.

“What are you all staring at? Come on, get your food.” Yang Hong stepped toward another basket of buns, waving his hand with a forced grin.

But the others weren’t buying it. They simply looked at Chen Ze and Yang Hong with disdain.

“Pah, traitors!” A rugged youth spat directly at Yang Hong.

“You little brat, you want to die?” Yang Hong took a big step forward, fists clenched, charging straight at the youth.

The youth sneered and dodged nimbly, grabbing Yang Hong’s wrist and twisting it, throwing him to the ground before planting a foot on his chest.

“You dare embarrass yourself like this with those skills? When I went hunting in the mountains, you were still at home playing in the mud!”

A stunned silence fell over the group. No one had expected the tall, muscular Yang Hong to be so easily subdued.

Instantly, all the other youths clenched their fists, slowly inching forward.

If Yang Hong could defeat the youth, that would still make sense, but the way he was so easily knocked down made the others start to have second thoughts.

Yang Hong, realizing the situation was turning bad, quickly turned to Chen Ze.

“Chen Ze, come over here and help, Hu Zi, you too!”

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Even though he was reluctant to cooperate with Chen Ze, at this moment, he had no choice but to call for help.

There were over three thousand boys here, and once a fight broke out, even if he was killed, Qin Shan wouldn’t make everyone pay for it, right?

Chen Ze quickly walked over to the youth, pulling out the talisman he had hidden in his robes.

“This is a talisman given to me by an immortal. He has one too. If we call for help, the immortal will come immediately. The immortal said that anyone who dies in private combat will be punished, so calm down.”

“You’re showing off, aren’t you? Pah, bootlicker!” The youth spat at Chen Ze, the spit landing on his face.

“No, I just want you to calm down.” Chen Ze calmly wiped the spit from his face without any change in expression. He pointed to Li San’s severed head in the distance. “He knew he couldn’t escape, but he pushed us to run with him. We didn’t dare run, so we stood behind the red line to watch. The moment he crossed it, his head was chopped off. Whether you believe it or not, we didn’t sell him out. He was looking for death.”

“You think I’ll believe you just because you say so?” The youth sneered.

“I’m not trying to make you believe me, nor do I care to explain. I just want to tell you that our lives don’t matter here. We’re all worthless. Who’s afraid of who? If you insist on doing this, come on, kill me, let’s trade lives. If you have nothing left to lose, I’ll die with you.” Chen Ze said calmly.

The youth hesitated, clearly shaken.

The youth was passionate, but if he really had no attachments, he wouldn’t be standing here. Chen Ze’s words hit a nerve.

If he still had even a small hope of going home, he wouldn’t be risking his life like this.

“Not scared anymore?” Chen Ze taunted. “Then stay obedient. You can call me a bootlicker or whatever, but if you won’t kill me, then stay quiet and endure! I’m not afraid of death. If anyone doesn’t obey, I’ll ask the immortal to deal with them!” Chen Ze’s voice rang out fiercely as he raised his talisman, scanning the crowd. “Anyone else not satisfied?”

Although not truly fearless, Chen Ze knew he had no choice. If he didn’t take this chance, the youths would only grow bolder.

The boys avoided his cold gaze, quickly lowering their heads and stepping back.

“Scatter!” Chen Ze shouted.

The youths immediately dispersed.

Chen Ze turned to the youth, who hesitated before stepping back, releasing his foot from Yang Hong’s chest. He then moved a few steps back, wary of Yang Hong retaliating.

“You’re asking for trouble!” Yang Hong quickly got up, pulling out his own talisman and raising his fist to strike the youth in the face. “Try another move, I dare you!”

The youth glared, but when he saw the talisman in Yang Hong’s hand, he immediately lost his momentum and let himself be punched and kicked by Yang Hong.

Chen Ze stood by, not intervening immediately.

Qin Shan had made it clear—he wanted Chen Ze and Yang Hong to manage the others. While Chen Ze had just subdued the group, Yang Hong was now violently beating the youth. This would make the others respect Chen Ze more.

After Yang Hong had punched the youth ten or so times, Chen Ze finally stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

“Enough, let him go.”

“If it weren’t for you, Chen Ze, I would’ve killed him today!” Yang Hong pushed the youth away forcefully, then turned to Chen Ze, his face full of gratitude. “Brother, thanks, I won’t forget this.”

Despite knowing Chen Ze didn’t like him, Yang Hong had no choice but to cooperate now. Only by working together could they force the others into submission.

Chen Ze lightly acknowledged him with a grunt, walking over to the baskets. “Line up. Four buns each. No more. There’s enough for 1,500, so if you’re late, you won’t get any.”

After the earlier intimidation, the youths were much more obedient and quickly formed a long line.

“Don’t all crowd over there! I have some too, come to me if you’re late!” Yang Hong called out.

However, his words had little effect. The others had seen him beat the youth, and only those at the back came to him for buns. The rest eagerly lined up in front of Chen Ze.

This was exactly what Chen Ze wanted. Over the past ten days, he had been secretly observing and calculating the amount of food. On average, each person could only get three buns. By having those who lined up in front of him get four, Yang Hong would run out of food, and the hungry ones would vent their anger on him.

In this way, Chen Ze would establish enough authority.

From his unique experiences, Chen Ze had always been a quiet and reserved person. He kept his thoughts to himself and rarely shared anything with others. This made him more perceptive and aware of what to do and when.

As for his ruthless side, it had only emerged after coming to the Magic Extremity Sect. He knew when to be patient and when to strike hard.

What did it matter if others didn’t get food? What did it matter if Yang Hong was angered?

After the buns were distributed, Yang Hong realized many people on his side hadn’t received any food and was immediately stunned.

He had always relied on his physical strength to bully others and never paid attention to these small details. Only when the buns were all gone did he realize that he’d been outplayed by Chen Ze.

But at this point, he had no time to dwell on it. Faced with the hungry youths’ complaints, he could only keep apologizing and promising that there would be buns tomorrow.

Chen Ze watched from the sidelines, a cold smile crossing his face. He then turned to the youths who had received their buns from him.

“From now on, you eat with me. I’ll have four, and so will you. After eating, go back and rest