C15 Layers of Depravity

Zhang Hao brushed off the words of the Black Hou Beast, pushing the door open and stepping outside.

As soon as the door swung open, he was met with the sight of Liao Ming and Ding Gui, fellow disciples from outside the family, their faces twisted in anger as they glared at him.

Zhang Hao was about to speak when a scornful laugh interrupted the tense moment.

"Liao Ming, Ding Gui, what's with the yelling so early in the morning? Are you asking for trouble?"

The sound of that voice sent a wave of fear through Liao Ming and Ding Gui.

They turned to see Bao Guang smirking at them from a short distance away.

Upon seeing Bao Guang, neither Ding Gui nor Liao Ming dared to delay, quickly bowing deeply in respect.

"Liao Ming, Ding Gui, we pay our respects to Mr. Bao."

Bao Guang approached them, his tone dismissive.

"Zhang Hao is under my wing. If you dare to mess with him, you'll answer to me."

Liao Ming and Ding Gui had not anticipated such a turn of events.

But in Bao Guang's presence, they didn't dare to act out, nodding their heads in earnest respect.

"Liao Ming and Ding Gui, we wouldn't dream of troubling Zhang Hao again. You have our word, Mr. Bao."

With those words, Ding Gui and Liao Ming wasted no time in making a swift exit.

"Brother Liao, what now? With Mr. Bao's protection, we can't touch Zhang Hao."

Ding Gui's question was met with Liao Ming's dark scowl, his teeth clenched in frustration.

"Patience. There's plenty of time to settle scores."

"He's just a country bumpkin; his smugness won't last."

Bao Guang told Zhang Hao to freshen up, promising to show him around later.

Dressed in the Kong family's grey robe, Zhang Hao joined the other external disciples following Bao Guang to the Central Cafeteria.

Bao Guang had explained that all disciples of the Kong family dined there, whether they were from within the family or not.

Stepping into the cafeteria, Bao Guang's voice took on a gravely serious tone.

"Zhang Hao, always remember, within the Kong family's domain, at any time and place, you must never cross those in blue robes."

"Those clad in blue are blood members of the Kong family, and they are certainly not to be trifled with by outer disciples."

Zhang Hao quickly observed that the cafeteria was essentially split into two sections.

To the left sat the young men and women in blue robes, the inner disciples Bao Guang had referred to.

To the right were the outer disciples, all donning grey robes.

Bao Guang also made it clear to Zhang Hao that whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the inner disciples always ate first, followed by the outer disciples.

Crossing an inner disciple could spell disaster, and even Bao Guang wouldn't dare provoke one.

The inner disciples were formidable, predominantly strong practitioners in the Middle Period of the Foundation Stage.

Just then, an outer disciple in a grey robe quickly approached Bao Guang.

"Mr. Bao, the inner disciples have finished getting their food."

Upon receiving the update, Mr. Bao headed towards the food distribution area.

The dozen or so outer disciples in line, seeing Mr. Bao approach, stood their ground without a word.

Ignoring the crowd, Bao Guang led Zhang Hao straight to the front of the line.

The other outer disciples watched silently, not daring to protest.

Given Bao Guang's superior strength among them, who would dare speak up?

As Bao Guang was about to get his meal, a blue-robed inner disciple stood up and strode over to him.

He brazenly grabbed the food right out of Bao Guang's hands. Witnessing this, the outer disciples in grey remained silent.

Even Bao Guang froze, a mix of frustration and resignation in his eyes, yet he, like the others, remained mute.

The nearby inner disciples in blue watched the scene unfold with smirks of amusement.

"Zhang Hao, see for yourself. Bao Guang had his meal taken and couldn't utter a word against it because of the power gap."

"Step up and give that blue-robed kid a thrashing, and the rest will surely begin to fear you."

Zhang Hao disregarded the telepathic message from the Black Hou Beast and remained standing in place.

It wasn't that Zhang Hao was afraid to stir up trouble; he simply preferred to avoid it, not wanting to cause concern among the people of Hillfar Village.

When Bao Guang's meal was taken, he unhesitatingly snatched the meal of another disciple nearby.

The disciple whose meal was taken didn't dare to protest and stood there meekly.

Zhang Hao followed Bao Guang to a seat on the right and started his meal.

Before long, Zhang Hao noticed the pecking order among the disciples, with meals being seized one after another.

The disciples with the family surname took from Bao Guang, who in turn took from other disciples, perpetuating the cycle of theft.

At the back of the line, Liao Ming had just received his meal when it was snatched away by a disciple ahead of him.

Without daring to object, Liao Ming had no choice but to share a meal with Ding Gui.

In that moment, Zhang Hao began to understand that Liao Ming and Ding Gui were considered the unfortunate ones within the Kong family.

Nearly all the disciples, both family and non-family, picked on them.

For this reason, when Zhang Hao arrived, Liao Ming and Ding Gui thought they might be able to bully him.

But to their surprise, Bao Guang defended Zhang Hao, leaving Liao Ming and Ding Gui still at the bottom of the food chain.

The blue-robed disciple who had taken Bao Guang's meal moved to a seat on the left, drawing the attention of the other family disciples.

"Kong Peng, what interesting events unfolded in Conriston today?"

Upon hearing the question, Kong Peng's face beamed with immense pride.

"The whole of Conriston City is abuzz with talk of our Kong family's Blessed Demonic Beast corpse from the late period."

"Besides that, there's nothing else. Oh, there is one more intriguing tidbit. Apparently, not far from Conriston, there's a small village that was wiped out by nearby bandits. I believe it's called Hillfar Village."

As soon as Kong Peng mentioned this, Zhang Hao abruptly stood up, his face contorted with rage.