Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

When Huangfu Xinyue and her group saw what was happening, they saw Lin Zhou and his cronies fighting with a girl and couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. The strongest among them shouted, "Lin Zhou, stop what you’re doing! How dare you attack a woman and openly violate Federation law? You’ve got some nerve." Although these girls’ family backgrounds couldn’t compare to Lin Zhou’s, they were all talented women, so they weren’t afraid of his group.

Lin Zhou’s face was a mess of black and blue, like an overturned dye palette. No matter how brazen he was, he wouldn’t dare attack a woman in broad daylight. At most, upon seeing a new face, he’d thought, ’She’s probably from a Low-class Star,’ and decided to make some crass remarks to test if the newcomer was a pushover. But who could have known that before he even finished speaking, Ning Xuan would smash a fist into his face? It landed right on the bridge of his nose, and the pain instantly brought tears to his eyes.

At the same time, the man beside Ning Xuan rushed in to fight as well. Lin Zhou and his group were dragged into the battle against their will. Even so, most of them targeted Chen Nan, doing their best to avoid Ning Xuan. To any outsider, however, it just looked like Lin Zhou and his dozen or so cronies were ganging up on the pair.

After all, it wasn’t the first time they had done something like this.

"Everyone, stop! Stop fighting!" Lin Zhou clutched his face and took a step back. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze toward Ning Xuan held a trace of fear. ’This woman is ruthless, and her aura is so powerful. Judging by her demeanor, she doesn’t seem like she’s from a Low-class Star.’ Lin Zhou regretted his reckless behavior. Thankfully, he hadn’t said anything too out of line.

Lin Zhou’s group was the first to stop. Ning Xuan was uninjured, but when she saw the awkward angle of Chen Nan’s arm and his swollen lip, her gaze toward Lin Zhou turned bone-chillingly cold.

"Sister Ning! Brother Ah Nan!" Huangfu Xinyue recognized Ning Xuan and cried out in delight.

She was only two or three months younger than Ning Xuan, but the fact that she was later able to practice Cultivation and had her life saved was all thanks to Ning Xuan. She called her "Sister" with great enthusiasm.

Ning Xuan looked at Huangfu Xinyue with some surprise. Thanks to her powerful memory, she quickly recalled the little girl whom she had only met once.

"Xinyue, you seem to have grown quite a bit taller. At first glance, I almost didn’t recognize you." Ning Xuan could tell just by looking at her that she had been practicing the Seven Star Lock Vein Cultivation Technique well. Huangfu Xinyue was much taller than she had been a few months ago.

"It’s all thanks to you, Sister Ning. You’re my savior. Oh, right! Sister Ning, Lin Zhou and his cronies dared to disrespect you. They definitely don’t know that you’re..." Huangfu Xinyue knew that the champion of the unrestricted division of the Alchemy competition was Ning Xuan. Although the appearances of the contestants in the official video had been altered, and she had initially wondered if it was just someone with the same name, after reading the various rumors circulating on the Star Network, she became certain that this was the very same Sister Ning who had cured her.

"There’s no need for others to know," Ning Xuan said, cutting Huangfu Xinyue off.

"Right, right, Sister! We all saw it—Lin Zhou dared to attack a woman. We’re going to report them to the school’s disciplinary office." Huangfu Xinyue looked at the battered Lin Zhou and his cronies with righteous indignation.

"She’s the one who started it! Look at what she did to me! I swear, I didn’t lay a single finger on her. I was dodging the whole time," Lin Zhou whined, clutching his face. Seeing how respectful Huangfu Xinyue was toward Ning Xuan, he became even more certain that Ning Xuan was not just a nobody.

"I did start it. Here, let’s have a listen to what these fine gentlemen were saying." Ning Xuan reached a hand toward the boy next to Lin Zhou and, from a distance, pulled a button-shaped listening device out of his pocket.

Everyone stared, extremely curious, as Ning Xuan retrieved the object from afar, assuming it was some unique secret art. In reality, she had accomplished it using an extremely fine strand of Vine Silk. The moment she had sensed their hidden, prying eyes, she had used the Vine Silk to plant the listening device on Lin Zhou’s friend from a great distance.

The button-shaped listening device also had a recording function.

As soon as Ning Xuan pressed the play button, a conversation between several people emerged from the device. "Look over there. That young lady is pretty, and even better, she’s a new face. She’s probably from a Low-class Star."

"I heard women from the Low-class Stars actually bear children for men. Why don’t we go ask her? Ask if she’ll bear children for a man. Ask if she was born from a mother or a father." The man’s voice was utterly sleazy; you could practically picture his expression just from the sound.

"Maybe we shouldn’t," someone advised. "There’s a man with her, probably her Contractor. It’s too rude to ask that kind of thing."

"What’s there to be afraid of? I know that guy. He’s from the Chen Family on Star A110. His mother, Chen Jingyu, came from a Low-class Star. The Chen Family has no real foundation, and he just hangs around low-level battlefields scraping together some merits. The guy has no future. In terms of family power or personal ability, which one of us isn’t stronger than him? Let’s go test the waters. If she’s a pushover, we’ll have a new source of entertainment."

What followed were the words they spoke after stopping Ning Xuan.

Ning Xuan pocketed the listening device, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I’ve already sent this audio file to the Controller Protection Association. There’s no need for the school’s disciplinary team to get involved. Someone from the Association will be here soon."

When Lin Zhou and his group heard their private conversation had been recorded, they were stunned. They exchanged nervous glances. This recording was hard evidence—evidence of them daring to disrespect a Controller.

Who could have possibly thought their private conversation would be recorded?!

Under the pressing stares of his cronies, Lin Zhou stammered, "M-Miss Ning, we... we were just joking around in private. We didn’t dare say any of that nonsense to your face. It’s such a small matter, there’s no need to get the Controller Protection Association involved, is there? We’re willing to apologize. If you don’t want to see us, we’ll make sure we never appear in front of you again. Please, just forgive us this one time, alright?"

While Lin Zhou began to beg for mercy, the others were not idle. They furtively sent out distress calls on their Star Network communicators, calling for backup.

’This Miss Ning actually sent a report to the Controller Protection Association!’ Given the Association’s reputation for making mountains out of molehills, it was entirely possible they would be arrested and sent for re-education over this recording. The Association’s underground Training Institute was not a place for humans. The mere thought of the rumors surrounding that place sent a wave of panic through them.

And so, the others began chiming in, all begging for mercy while desperately hoping the backup they had summoned could intercept the people from the Controller Protection Association.

"Lin Zhou, what are you doing here?" Having finished his business, Lin Mo had come to find Ning Xuan, only to see his younger cousin, Lin Zhou, sporting a technicolor face as he hovered around her.