'He's certainly playing his cards right, but I won't let him get his way.'
On the way back, Qin Xuan clutched the warm Demon Pill in his robes, lost in thought.
The so-called Saint promotion ceremony... Qin Xuan could see that Steward Wang had ulterior motives. He simply wanted to use him to deal with Xiao Ran.
In the Demon Sect, you shouldn't be afraid of being used. In essence, it's just an exchange of benefits. It proves you have value worth exploiting.
'The most important thing right now is to reach the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer...'
However, before he even entered the Demon Disciple Dormitory, he heard a Demon Disciple's miserable cry.
"Oh, heavens! My Contribution Points!"
Qin Xuan's heart skipped a beat. The Golden Finger's prediction had come true!
He pushed open the dormitory's main door, only to see a group of Demon Cultivators, led by Zhou Kai, lying scattered about in disarray. Their auras were faint, their faces deathly pale, as if they had been completely drained of their essence.
Qin Xuan asked, "What happened here?"
Zhao Youliang's lips were pale. "Younger Brother Xuan, we were tricked."
"That girl in the green skirt wasn't a new Demon Disciple at all! She's Senior Sister Wu Mengmeng from the Inner Sect, who cultivates the Great Yin-Yang Union Poem!"
"Senior Sister Wu is a direct disciple of an Inner Sect Elder with a Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer cultivation base! She went through all dozen of us in the dorm and drained us multiple times over. And not only that, we had to pay her for it! She charges by the session."
Huh?
Qin Xuan noticed that Zhao Youliang also looked drained and dispirited.
"Old Zhao, you fell for it too?"
Zhao Youliang nodded sheepishly. "Senior Sister Wu Mengmeng was just too tempting. I couldn't resist."
Qin Xuan shook his head in resignation.
'I told you not to, but you went ahead anyway. You just can't save someone who's determined to dig their own grave.'
"But I'm still better off than that kid Jiang Feng."
Zhao Youliang laughed mockingly. "I only did it once. Jiang Feng, that guy with no self-control, owes the most. He went sixteen times! At 100 Contribution Points a pop, he has to pay Senior Sister 1,600 Contribution Points!"
"How much?"
Qin Xuan's eyes widened in shock. Only then did he notice Jiang Feng lying in the very back.
He was stark naked, looking like a consumptive ghost that had been sucked dry. His thighs were covered in dark bruises, and his legs were as limp as cooked noodles. His eyes were vacant and lifeless, the very picture of someone with no will to live.
Qin Xuan couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.
'Sixteen times. Impressive!'
Jiang Feng wanted to cry but had no tears left. He felt like dying. Of those sixteen times, Senior Sister Wu had initiated fourteen of them. Not only had he not enjoyed it in the slightest, but he had also been almost completely sucked dry.
On top of that, he was now 1,600 Contribution Points in debt.
Senior Sister Wu had planted a Gu poison in his body.
Until Jiang Feng paid off the debt, the Gu poison would not disappear.
He was now incredibly jealous of Qin Xuan. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have participated even if it killed him. And now? He'd be repaying this debt for the rest of his life!
Qin Xuan, however, was thinking about something else.
'The Divination mentioned a Ninth-Grade Opportunity... but where is it?'
Just as he was thinking this, Instructor Li's aged voice sounded from outside the door.
"Is Qin Xuan here?"
Qin Xuan bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Instructor."
"Junior Sister Wu asked me to give this to you."
Li Cang continued, "You're quite young, kid, but your willpower is impressive. Junior Sister Wu said she tested one thousand three hundred and eighty-seven Demon Disciples, and you were the only one who resisted the temptation. She admires you for it and would like you to visit her Cave Mansion to form a good connection when you have the chance."
Instructor Li casually tossed a Jade Tube to Qin Xuan.
Qin Xuan quickly caught it.
A flash of insight struck him.
He understood at once. This was the Ninth-Grade Opportunity!
He probed it with his Divine Sense.
To his pleasant surprise, Qin Xuan discovered that the Jade Tube contained a summary of Senior Sister Wu's cultivation experiences from the Qi Cultivation First Layer to the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer!
The other Demon Disciples watched Qin Xuan with envy, hating themselves for not passing the Senior Sister's test as he had.
Of course, some silently speculated that Senior Sister Wu was just planning to lure Qin Xuan to her Cave Mansion to suck him dry. After all, the Demon Disciple Dormitory was at least a public space under the Sect's protection.
If he really went to her Cave Mansion, whatever happened would be his own fault!
Thinking this, the Demon Disciples felt much better about their own situation.
Li Cang threw out several black Tokens.
"Most of you have reached the Qi Cultivation Third Layer. These are special Identity Tokens from the Sect. They contain your personal information. Once you inject your True Essence, you will be able to move freely within the Outer Sect."
"Thank you, Instructor Li!"
The Demon Disciples helped one another to their feet and bowed.
Qin Xuan bowed again as well, carefully examining his own Identity Token. The material was very unusual, not quite metal and not quite jade.
The front was engraved with a Slaughter Blood Sword and a Dark Gold Soul Banner, symbolizing the Blood Demon Sword Sect. The back was imprinted with the two words "Qin Xuan".
He tried injecting a sliver of True Essence, and a crude information panel appeared in his mind's eye.
[Name: Qin Xuan]
[Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer]
[Cultivation Technique: Netherworld White Bone Yin Talisman]
[Remaining Contribution Points: 10]
Unlike the crude panel above, the very last line was an exquisitely detailed loan countdown, complete with a throbbing red exclamation mark!
[Demon Disciple Qin Xuan owes Instructor Li Cang 11.55 Contribution Points. Countdown: 75 days. Interest is currently accruing.]
The corner of Qin Xuan's mouth twitched.
'Damn it all. The Holy Sect really puts all its advanced technology to the most nefarious uses!'
'The identity information is so crude, yet the loan information is so sophisticated.'
'It's even accurate to the decimal point.'
'No wonder Instructor Li was in such a hurry to hand out the Identity Tokens.'
The other Demon Disciples had clearly discovered this as well, and their expressions soured.
As for Jiang Feng, his was even more outrageous.
The moment his Divine Sense probed the Identity Token, a series of red exclamation marks, like a string of death warrants, began beeping in his mind.
[Demon Disciple Jiang Feng owes Instructor Li Cang 18.65 Contribution Points. Countdown: 75 days. Interest is currently accruing.]
[Demon Disciple Jiang Feng owes Incense Master Zheng Qi 411.56 Contribution Points. Countdown: 11 months and 3 days. Interest is currently accruing.]
[Demon Disciple Jiang Feng owes Elder's Direct Disciple Wu Mengmeng 1605.27 Contribution Points. Countdown: 99 years and 364 days. Interest is currently accruing.]
[Contribution Hall Friendly Reminder: Loan repayment carries risks. Borrow with caution. Your credit has been overdrawn into your ninth lifetime. The Contribution Hall has this on record. Please be prepared for overdue reincarnation.]
A whole string of debt notifications appeared.
When he saw the last line, Jiang Feng's face went deathly pale, and he fainted from sheer terror.
'So that's how it is. Elder Sun does keep his word after all.'
Seeing the 10-point balance in his Contribution Points, Qin Xuan understood immediately that this was the mission reward from Elder Sun.
He had intended to repay his debt early.
But as soon as he submitted the request, a large, bright red X appeared on the panel.
It informed Qin Xuan that because the three-month loan period was not yet over, his request had been rejected by the Sect's Contribution Hall!
"Instructor Li, I..."
"No need to say anything. Were you trying to use the 10 Contribution Points bestowed by Elder Sun to repay your debt early, only to find it didn't work?"
"Your insight is sharp, Instructor."
An I-told-you-so expression appeared on Li Cang's face, and he beamed. "The Sect's Identity Tokens operate using a Qi Cultivation Sub-array of a Tier Five Nascent Soul Array. You can't repay your loan before the term is up. Just obediently pay the interest for now."
Qin Xuan: "..."
He really wanted to know which "genius" in the Holy Sect had come up with this so-called loan system.
'What a fucking animal!'
'To think they'd set up an entire Tier Five Nascent Soul Array just to control the Demon Disciples!'
...