Peach Blossom Divine Medical God Chapter 2185 - 2141: Qi-Raising Tower

But at this time, a chubby guy noticed Chen Yang and immediately detached from his group, holding a chicken leg. He was gnawing on it while walking towards Chen Yang.

"You, you’re that recent school celebrity, Chen Yang, right?"

The chubby guy had meat in his mouth.

His speech was not clear.

"Yeah." Chen Yang glanced at the chubby guy, feeling a bit disdainful internally.

Not only was he too fat, but his mouth was greasy from the food, making him look slightly unseemly.

"Hello, I’m Tu Qi, also from the third zone. Want to be friends with me?" Tu Qi grinned, looking harmless.

Chen Yang felt a bit disdainful, but since the guy was sincerely extending kindness, he couldn’t act aloof.

So he also smiled and reached out his hand to shake his: "Hello."

"Hehe, since you shook hands with me, we’re friends now. If you need anything, just give me a holler. If there’s something you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I may not be as strong in combat as you, but I’ve been in the third zone for a long time, so I can help you deal with some troublesome matters." Tu Qi said happily.

Just with the handshake, Tu Qi was already acting as if they had a good camaraderie.

Chen Yang smiled and nodded again: "Alright, if I need anything, I’ll let you know."

"Hehe." Tu Qi chuckled again, but then he neither spoke further nor moved away.

He just stood next to Chen Yang, chewing on his chicken leg.

After eating for a while, he seemed to be talking to himself or asking Chen Yang.

"Chen Yang bro, honestly, I really admire you. I heard you’ve only been in the academy for a month and already moved into our zone."

"You’re truly a genius and an oddity. When I heard about it, I thought you might have three heads and six arms. Now it seems, you’re just like me, two arms, two legs." Tu Qi chuckled.

Chen Yang understood that Tu Qi meant no harm, so he just smiled and didn’t say much.

Looking around, Chen Yang noticed a small group roaming around the whole venue.

Everywhere they went, someone would take out a Jade Token and hand over contribution coins to them.

Judging by their clothing, they didn’t seem like people from the registration hall. They were just regular purple-robed disciples.

Why were they collecting contribution coins?

Feeling curious, Chen Yang instinctively asked Tu Qi, who was next to him: "What are those people doing?"

"Where?" Tu Qi immediately followed Chen Yang’s gaze upon hearing him.

Seeing the group Chen Yang mentioned, Tu Qi instinctively shivered a bit.

"Ah, them? Chen Yang bro, it’s best if you don’t mess with them, they are the leaders of our third zone."

"Leaders?" Chen Yang was puzzled.

Previously, he had never heard of this term.

"Yes, leaders." Tu Qi nodded and, noticing Chen Yang’s lack of understanding, started explaining.

"Did you see the one leading them?"

"That’s the number one in our third zone."

"You might not understand because you just arrived at our academy and just advanced to the third zone."

"As the zones go higher, the cultivation resources increase too."

"But this kind of condition also creates a bigger power disparity and is hard to change."

"When someone stays in a zone long enough, a fixed power structure naturally forms."

"Their group is such a case. Every middle of the month, they collect quota fees from students in the third zone without background or strength."

"If you hand it over obediently, it’s fine. If not, they’ll find a way to boot you out of the third zone quickly..." Tu Qi said tactfully.

However, Chen Yang discerned the meaning behind his words.

The higher the zone, the darker it becomes.

Because after reaching the Condensation Realm, improving strength becomes immensely difficult.

So many people hold fixed positions, making it extremely difficult to shift.

This results in higher positions oppressing the lower ones.

And those at lower positions, without backing, can only choose to bow down to maintain their access to the good resources of the third zone.

Paying the so-called quota fee.

To put it bluntly, it’s protection money.

"The academy doesn’t manage this? And hasn’t anyone organized a resistance?" Chen Yang found this unbelievable.

In his impression, shouldn’t the people in this zone be outstanding talents, climbing the realms themselves?

How could it be this kind of environment?

"Hehe, the academy’s intention is to encourage students to strive hard to improve their realms, why would they care about this? As long as nobody dies privately, everything’s fine."

"As for resistance, there have been attempts, but without exception, all were hauled off, and a few were even crippled." When mentioning these, Tu Qi shivered as if recalling it was terrifying.

Hearing this, Chen Yang couldn’t help but sigh: "This really is dark."

"Indeed, it’s dark, but there’s nothing to do about it. Those people are strong and have a background. We should just focus on cultivating hard and ignore it. Anyway, they don’t ask for much, just ten thousand contribution coins per month per person." Tu Qi spread his hands, sounding very helpless.

Hearing this, Chen Yang couldn’t help but be shocked.

Ten thousand per month is not much?

That’s impressive.

While Chen Yang was marveling, suddenly the group collecting "quota fees" noticed the two of them.

And in groups of six or seven, they started walking over.

Seeing this, Tu Qi promptly got nervous.

"Oh my, why are they coming at us so quickly? Chen Yang bro, keep a good attitude later, these guys are real tough, not like Zou Tianming." Tu Qi, while nervous, quietly warned Chen Yang.

Fearing that Chen Yang might offend them.

Chen Yang frowned.

Feeling very annoyed.

He thought that coming to the third zone would allow him a bit of quiet, but now, right after arriving, he might get into trouble again?

Soon, those people arrived nearby.

The leader wasn’t the number one in the third zone but one of his lackeys.

Zhou Tiannan, ranked three hundred and fiftieth in the third zone.

This guy was merely mid to lower strength in the third zone, but by clinging to the top name, he acted arrogantly and bullied others.

Many could only swallow their anger against him.

Since no one dared to offend the first-ranked.

"Yo, Fat Tu, you tied up with the newcomer so quickly, huh? You’re really the social butterfly of the third zone." Zhou Tiannan said with a laugh, arriving closer with his group to mock Tu Qi.

The group behind him burst into laughter.

And Tu Qi awkwardly smiled: "Hehe, Brother Nan, you’re joking. You’re here to collect the quota fee, right? I’ve prepared it for you long ago."

Tu Qi smiled and took out the Jade Token, and decisively transferred ten thousand contribution coins to Zhou Tiannan.

"Brother Nan, next time, no need to come personally, I’ll deliver it on time."

Tu Qi was not only decisive in giving the contribution coins but also very tactful in his words.

He called him Brother Nan enthusiastically, greatly satisfying Zhou Tiannan’s vanity.

"Hehe, not bad, Fat Tu. You’re the most sensible one. I’ll mention you to Brother Tian next time, give you a little chance to rise up." Zhou Tiannan said while "flatteringly" patting Tu Qi’s shoulder, looking very pleased with himself.

"Hehe, thank you so much, Brother Nan."

Tu Qi quickly smiled along, not daring to offend.