After seeing Ying Yue's hostile actions the previous day his treatment got worst. Even those who were neutral with him before started to find trouble with him. He wasn't sure if it was peer pressure or in a bid to earn some brownie points with the Yue family, but the result was the same. Honestly, if they weren't interrupting his reading time and damaging his books then he might've found their actions a bit cute trying to hurt his feelings by insulting him. He borrowed those and it wouldn't look good if he kept returning them in poor condition.

"Hey, stupid, what are you doing on the training field? Stop loitering and taking up space," said Side Character A.

"Yeah, just go back to your boring books, can you even read or do you just like the pictures?" commented Side Character B.

Their insults were so boring and their backgrounds nothing impressive. He couldn't even be bothered to waste the mental space to remember their names. He ignored the two brats and went to the weapon rack and retrieved a short bow and a quiver filled with 5 arrows.

"Why are you wasting your time? A dumbass like you wouldn't be able to hit the broad side of a barn. I bet you won't even hit a single target!"

"Why don't you just go home, nobody likes you here!"

They were getting red in the face, add on the fact that they still had baby fat all over them and it was like two talking tomatoes. It was pretty cute if he ignored the words they were saying.

"Oh? How much are you willing to bet?"

They were taken aback, the insult on the tip of their tongue stilled in surprise. It was the first time he ever replied since they started harassing him.

The two kid contemplated for a moment and discussed with each other before shouting out an answer.

"10 Gold!"

This was no small amount, the currency in this world was simple. 100 coppers were equal to one silver and 100 silvers were equal to one gold. There was of course higher form of currencies, but he did not know much about them as they were only used in truly enormous trades and usually involved countries or major cities, not something individuals like him were in the know of. They say Cultivators also had their own system. To put into perspective. A four silvers were enough for a family to live off of for a month.

These rich brats just bet what would take the average family 45 years to earn on a whim. If these were his kids he would spank their asses until they looked like baboons! His stipend was only 1 Gold a month. Coming from a Noble family he was even poorer than these no name smucks. His clothing had obvious patches in them and was constantly dirty with wear and tear. He spent all his money on research.

"Oh? I'm sorry I didn't realize you guys were so poor. If I knew I wouldn't have said anything, sorry."

"W-What? What do you mean poor?!" Indignation was written all over their faces, they stomped their feet and looked close to a tantrum.

"A measly 10 Gold? You poor fellows, are your family businesses not doing well? Do you need this young master to loan you some pocket money? To be letting their children attend such a prestigious school even with all the financial difficulty, your parents are truly admirable" Qing Shan gave a mock cry of respect for the two parents, goading them on. He needed more money to realize his plans, and if these kids had money to burn well why not relieve them of it and teach them a lesson in their parent's place? Truly, it was the duty of the elderly to teach youngsters life lessons.

Young and naive as they were they didn't notice they were playing into Qing Shan's hand. With a growl, one of the duo upped the stakes.

"Fine! I bet 30 Gold you can't hit a target from 40 meters away!"

"What if I hit it twice? Would I get 60 Gold?"

"60 gold?!" The pair went wide-eyed. Qing Shan didn't know this, but they were siblings. They had decided to pick on him together today because they knew Ying Yue was nearby and wanted to make a good impression. This was supposed to be their ticket into the circles of higher society. They didn't expect such a challenge from and with such high stakes! 60 Gold, that was their combined allowance for three months!

A quick glance to the side confirmed that Ying Yue was watching and not only that, a crowd had gathered to watch the show their commotion had caused. Their pride wouldn't allow them to back out now, but the calm tone used by Qing Shan made them nervous.

The class had barely started on weapons training, so far they had mostly done exercises to build up the body's foundation and basic hand to hand combat. It was why they were so confident he was useless with the bow, but now they weren't so sure.

"What do we get it you can't?"

"Yeah, 60 Gold isn't a small sum you know!"

With a smirk, he stared them in the eye and spoke loudly for everyone to hear

"Double"

everyone stared at him with wide eyes. Did they hear him properly? Did he truly just say that?

"What?"

"If I can't land two arrows, I'll count it as a lost and pay you back quadruple the amount of the bet, if I only land one then I'll pay you double. I'll let you decide on how much to start off, but if I land two it only makes sense if I get double the initial amount, no?"

Even for rich kids like them, such an amount was a heavy burden. If going by the amount first mentioned, that was 120 gold if he failed! You could open start a business with that amount and still have enough to open a second branch!

"You think we're a pair of idiots? Where would you get the money for it?" Although it was unspoken everyone in the clearing could hear it clear as day.

You're just an unloved child of a big family, don't act like you're all that

"What, are the words of someone from the Long family not good enough for you two, do I need to write a contract for such spare change?" The insinuation was like a slap to the face. He was still a member of the Long family regardless. Does he need to lie to you two to scam your money? Was the pride and honor of a Noble family so cheap?!

A starving tiger is still more than a match for a stupid mutt

"No, no, of course not,"

"Since Young master Long wants to play, we'll happily oblige. We wouldn't dream of being able to match your wealth, all we can wager is a lowly 50 Gold." Although his words were polite everyone could hear the mocking tone beneath. 50 Gold was only the starting amount. If he won they wouldn't it be an easy 100 or 200 Gold? Since Qing Shan wanted to be arrogant they didn't mind bleeding him dry of money.

"Sure, let us start" Before anyone knew it he spun around and let loose an arrow. It was an ugly shot, landing near the edge and slanted, but it was still a hit.

"Oh, look, I got one in!" with a false cheer of excitement he woke everyone from their shock. That was 40 meters! Most of their age group were only practicing on 18 meters. Was this a lucky shot or did these two clowns get scammed by the resident retard?

"You still got to make another one!"

"Yeah, beginners luck doesn't mean anything!"

Qing shan slowly aimed his next shot and took an exaggerated look of concentration. The arrow flew above the target and disappeared into the woods. The two let out sighs of relief, it seems like Qing Shan was bullshitting after all.

He took another shot which was even worse than his previous. The second one at least was in the general direction of the target, this one went diagonally!

"Alright! I think I'm getting the hang of this!" nobody could believe the words coming out of his mouth. Was this guy blind? Did he not see what crappy shots he made?

"Hey, about the bet-" Before Qing Shan could finish he was interrupted

"Ah Young master Long wouldn't happen to be seeking to renege on a bet now would he?"

"Impossible, brother what words are you saying? The majestic Long family surely wouldn't go back on their promises!"

He did his best to put on an embarrassed and angry look on his face as he stared them down.

"Of course not! Just the opposite! I was thinking how the bet was too boring, how about we up the stakes?"

Hubris and pride filled his words as he put on a show, nobody saw laughter gleaming in his eyes. The bait has been cast.

"Oh, yes, surely such a small sum wasn't enough for Young master Long, how about we increase it to 100 Gold?" Now that he was confident that Qing Shan couldn't aim to save his life he casually offered a ridiculous amount. So what if he didn't actually have the money? There was no way he would lose to this imbecile.

"Great! Now I'm pumped up!"

Hook, line, and sinker.

He shot his fourth arrow without even looking at the target. It went soaring into the sky as if he was trying to shoot down a hawk.

This guy...Does he even know how to use a bow? What the hell is he doing? Did the blood rush to his head?

He was on his final arrow. Everyone stared with bated breath to see if he would pull some tricks or perhaps try to weasel his way out of the deal. He had a look of intense concentration, his stance was solid and strong, his arm didn't waver the slightest. The arrow flew through the air with a graceful arc its path straight and true.

Thud. It embedded itself into a tree on the side. There was a moment of silence before everyone started laughing like hyenas. All that suspense and tension and the kid didn't even come close, what a letdown!

Thud. Hearing another one everyone gave a confused glance to Qing Shan, what was he playing at? Was he trying to cheat? A glance at him revealed that he had his back turned and was returning the bow to the weapon rack. Everyone was confused except for a select few that were facing the targets.

The arrow that flew towards the sky had returned. It had buried itself deep within the target.

"Huh, would you look at that? I guess the heavens favor me after all!" He finally let loose a loud laugh after seeing the result and everyone's dumbfounded expressions. How lucky could someone be for this kind of bullshit to happen?! They didn't know that they just been fucking hustled.

"I'll expect the payment by the end of the week, so long for now" He couldn't keep the smile off his face for the rest of the day. He just acquired the funds he desperately needed and advanced his schedule by years! Man if only these kids could bully him some more, how great would that be?

After school was over a janitor went to clean up the grounds. His job was to gather the weapons and trash the students haphazardly left lying around. He went around to do another sweep of the area when he noticed something odd. There were three arrows piercing the bullseye of a target 100 meters in the back, but he recalled that the advanced class didn't go to the fields today. How strange.