According to the Sun Sect's rule, every grunt disciple would get 3 vital energy crystals per month for living expenses. This was dispensed by the supervisor.
But Austin hadn't received a penny during the past three years, because all of his living expenses were pocketed by his supervisor, Farry.
In other words, Farry could get 3 extra vital energy crystals per month if Austin was still under his charge.
For this reason, Farry was quite worried when he heard that Austin received a brutal beating from Matias several days ago. If Austin died, the Sun Sect would stop providing his living expenses, which would be a crushing loss for Farry.
One vital energy crystal was equal to 100 silver coins. For an ordinary family in the towns near the Sun Mountain, 300 silver coins were enough to afford a comfortable life for nearly a year.
Farry had several mistresses in a nearby town, so he naturally needed more money.
'But it can't be helped. That idiot was hurt so badly that he's in a coma. He probably won't live, ' Farry thought to himself.
In fact, Austin's fight with Bates was already legend among the grunt disciples. Farry still didn't know about it because he had been away for several days after Austin fell into a coma.
The official reason he gave was that he was out on business, but he was actually dating one of his mistresses.
Farry was angry with Matias as he pondered this. He thought, 'Why did you have to beat him to death when you were just bullying him? That's my income you messed with, dammit!'
Despite his complaints, Farry had received many bribes from Matias in the past which tempered his resentment, not to mention that Matias had a powerful cousin who was also in the Sun Sect.
What was more, Matias practiced all the time, and was steady in his martial refinement. His ability would undoubtedly guarantee he'd become an outer disciple in the near future.
For those reasons, Farry didn't dare get in Matias' face.
'So I'll have to squeeze other disciples for their living expenses to make up for that, ' he thought sullenly.
After reflecting on this, Farry turned his attention to the female disciple who was making tea for him.
The girl bent forward over Farry's desk as she dealt with the tea set.
Recalling the night they'd spent together in a loving embrace, Farry's eager eyes looked her up and down, stirring his desire.
Noticing the lustful glint in his eyes, the girl replied him with an obsequious smile. She ogled the supervisor and said in a sweet voice, "I know what you're thinking..."
At that moment, an embarrassed cough came from the door, interrupting the passionate interaction between them.
"Who's that? Oh, it's you, the idiot!" Farry blurted out as he looked towards the door.
Austin was just coming into the room.
"So, idiot, are you alright?" asked Farry, surprised.
He couldn't help beaming with pleasure when he saw Austin because he didn't have to worry about losing 3 vital energy crystals a month, now that Austin was still alive.
"Yes. Thanks for your concern," Austin replied flatly.
He quickly figured out the reason why Farry wore such a surprised look.
He might be an idiot, but he still remembered the fact that he had never got any living expenses from his supervisor.
"Wait..." The expression on Farry's face changed into an arrogant, humorless look as if showing his authority as a supervisor.
Simultaneously, he was suspicious about Austin's calm and normal attitude. It was quite different from his usual behavior.
"You've neglected your duties for quite a few days now. That's against the rules of our sect."
Farry picked up his cup of tea the female disciple had prepared for him and sipped at it as he rebuked Austin. He looked stern as a master blaming a servant.
In fact, the disciples of Sun Sect were forbidden to fight each other for personal reasons, and Matias had broken the rules by beating Austin unconscious. As their supervisor, Farry should have investigated the issue and punished Matias after he knew about it.
However, he decided to leave it alone since Austin was just an idiot.
There was no need for him to step in for the sake of an idiot and to accuse Matias of his violent crime. What good would that do anyway? And besides, if Matias challenged him to a fight, Farry wasn't sure he'd fare well.
And if Austin died of his injuries, Farry would only take advantage of the occasion and ask Matias for more hush money.
Actually, Farry was among the worst ones who
had bullied and teased Austin. But he was like that, callow and self-interested. And he took advantage of weakness wherever he found it.
He used to be an outer disciple of the Sun Sect in the past.
Due to his mediocre talent, Farry was an obscure member among the outer disciples and was usually ordered to do menial tasks.
Back then, Austin was still a rising new star among the outer disciples, well-known to everyone in the Sun Sect.
As a matter of course, Farry envied Austin. Because Farry was a nobody compared to him. Strong men would always be the target of jealous fools who couldn't measure up on their own merits.
Farry eventually gave up on his martial refinement, so he applied for the position of governing the grunt disciples and thus started his new carefree life.
After that, Austin lost his marbles after being framed and was put under Farry's charge.
For Farry, it was a dramatic development that the promising talent beyond his level would become a retarded grunt disciple. He couldn't be jealous of him then!
So Farry took out his frustrations on Austin. He wasn't a nobody anymore, and Austin had to pay for being awesome. Gradually, Farry became cruel, and his morals weakened.
He harassed Austin every way he could and arranged for him to do the most tiresome dirty work.
"Cut the crap. I came here to apply for the mission to Beast Mountain." Austin said impatiently.
Austin had known Farry since he was still an outer disciple, although he never paid any attention to him due to his contemptible character and ability.
But for Farry to become a supervisor, there was no way he would have thought he'd get there. He ruled over the grunt disciples, himself included, but Austin decided not to show any respect to this man now that he had regained his sanity.
"How dare you talk to me like that!"
Farry spat angrily, irritated by Austin's indifferent tone. He had never imagined that an idiot would talk to him so rudely.
At the same time, he wondered why Austin could carry on a normal conversation. He didn't look like an idiot at all.
"As a grunt disciple, you should at least have 10 contribution credits or pay 20 vital energy crystals if you want to apply for the mission to Beast Mountain. You also have to be level three in the Energy Gathering Realm.
Do you have any credits or crystals? Besides, you're just an idiot now. Do you think you are still the most promising talent among the outer disciples? If you bump into a beast at Beast Mountain, you'll almost certainly end up as its meal. Do you want to commit suicide?"
Farry replied furiously with a chain of questions, annoyed by Austin's rudeness.
He added, "Stop daydreaming now. We need someone to clean the toilets and I think that's a good job for you. You only need to clean the toilet and bring the manure to the garden every day. That way, you'll get to cut the crap." He sniggered, amused by his lame joke.
Instead of saying anything in reply, Austin waved his hand at the desk, and 20 vital energy crystals appeared there out of the blue.
He looked at Farry with cold eyes. The sharp glint in his eyes shocked Farry. The supervisor now knew that he was facing a very different Austin.
He also wondered how Austin had acquired so many vital energy crystals.
Austin then stretched out his right hand and tightened his grip. An invisible wave of his vital energy vibrated the air around him.
"Level three of Energy Gathering Realm!" Farry blurted out in shock, his eyes widening.
"Think I'm good enough now?" Austin asked flatly.
'Well, looks like he has his sanity back. He never did anything like this before, no matter how hard he got blamed or beaten. I thought he'd lost all of his vital energy.
Still, he's only a disciple, sane or not! I'm the supervisor, and I make the rules here!'
Farry thought to himself.
"Your level is high enough, but mission to Beast Mountain is a privilege. You'll have to wait till I say yes. But now, you need to clean the toilets!" Farry said in a scornful tone.
He was level four in the Energy Gathering Realm, so he wasn't afraid of Austin at all.
The look on Austin's face became cold but then recovered quickly. He was a grunt disciple, and he needed to get Farry's approval anyway if he wanted to apply for the mission. Getting angry wouldn't get him anywhere.
Even though he knew Farry was still screwing with him, he decided not to push it, because he was still too weak to act out against the sect's rules openly.