Yellowed sheepskin scrolls fell from the sky.
Once the Demon Disciples got a clear look at the standard-form contracts in their hands, they were all dumbfounded.
Qian Kai asked, "Instructor Li, why is the interest on Qin Xuan's loan thirty percent, while ours is forty percent?"
It wasn't just the loan interest. Even the price of a bowl of the draught had increased from the original 10 Contribution Points to 15.
Li Cang gave him a cold, sidelong glance. "What? You have a problem with that?"
"If you don't want it, then forget it."
As he spoke, Li Cang's large, calloused hand reached out to take back the loan contract.
"No, I'll take it. I'll take the loan." Qian Kai immediately pulled his hand back, clutching the Sheepskin Scroll tightly, not daring to meet Li Cang's gaze.
All the Demon Disciples had witnessed Li Cang's power. With his guidance, their speed in practicing their Cultivation Techniques would surely advance by leaps and bounds!
A bitter taste filled his mouth, and he was sick with regret.
If only he had taken the loan with Zhao Youliang. Now, just a short time later, he was stuck with so much extra debt for no reason.
It dawned on Zhao Youliang as well.
'Instructor Li is using the two of them as an advertisement. The real price of the Bone-Scraping Yin Moss Soup must have been 15 Contribution Points a bowl all along. I just got lucky buying it early!'
Once he figured this out, Zhao Youliang felt even more grateful to Qin Xuan.
'If it weren't for Qin Xuan, I'd be just like Qian Kai right now, kicking myself in regret.'
...
「Late that night」
Qin Xuan suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the neighboring bunk in the dormitory.
He was instantly on alert.
"Hey, Zhao. That skeleton Instructor Li gave you... have you still not managed to control it?" A Demon Disciple poked Zhao Youliang and whispered.
Startled awake, Zhao Youliang thought the other disciple was trying to steal his Bone Shadow Soldier.
"Cao Da, what do you mean by that...? Are you looking for a fight? Let me tell you, my Lifebound Longsword is plenty sharp!"
"Zhao, you've misunderstood."
Cao Da lowered his voice. "I think the reason you can't control it is that its cultivation was too high when it was alive. Plus, you don't have Qin Xuan's talent."
"Li Fan buried a few Demon Disciples who just died a couple of days ago, right? They were only at the Qi Cultivation First Layer."
"Let's go dig them up. Their cultivation was low, so they'll be easy to control. Then everyone can have their own Bone Shadow Soldiers..."
Hearing this, Zhao Youliang's eyes went wide. He swallowed hard, staring at Cao Da in disbelief.
It was as if he were looking at a stranger. A chill ran down his spine.
"I'm not going! Those were our fellow disciples!"
The last shred of conscience in Zhao Youliang's heart compelled him to refuse Cao Da's invitation.
"Fine. If you won't go, we will. Just don't regret it later," Cao Da said, waving a hand dismissively.
Qin Xuan silently watched their retreating figures.
In the dead of night, his pupils were as dark as ink.
...
Ever since Qin Xuan had revealed his talent, the other nine residents of the Demon Disciple Dormitory had begun to subtly treat him as their leader.
Qin Xuan's cultivation was also steadily increasing. Although he was still a ways off from the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, forty percent of his Lifebound Iron Sword had already turned a coppery-bronze color.
However, Qin Xuan felt extremely uncomfortable with the attention from the other Demon Disciples.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Especially in the Demon Sect, keeping a low profile was the number one priority.
Due to the reduction in their numbers, the ten Demon Disciples from the adjacent Dormitory Yi-Chou Two had been merged into their own.
Their leader was a brawny, dark-faced man built like an iron pagoda—Chen He. He had had his eye on Qin Xuan for a while.
Chen He came from a common village and used to be a blacksmith; he had a violent temper.
Since he also cultivated the *Netherworld White Bone Yin Talisman*, Chen He was incredibly envious of the Bone Shadow Soldier in Qin Xuan's possession, the one with the blue Nether Ghost Fire sigil.
'One day, I'll get my hands on it!'
Chen He plotted to himself.
Fortunately, Li Cang still came around from time to time to hawk his potions, medicinal powders, and so on.
Qin Xuan took advantage of his Golden Finger's ability to steer him toward fortune and away from disaster. As long as the Golden Finger didn't warn him of any danger, he would deliberately refuse to buy Li Cang's Pills.
For instance, the morning before last, Li Cang came by as usual to peddle his new Yin Evil Powder. It was said to help guide Yin Evil Qi into the body when consumed, making one's cultivation more efficient than ordinary meditative breathing.
Sensing no reaction from the enormous ball of light in his mind,
Qin Xuan chose not to buy it.
When the other Demon Disciples saw that Qin Xuan wasn't buying, they didn't buy either.
This infuriated Li Cang to no end.
True Essence surged in his palm. He casually grabbed Qian Kai and gave him a vicious beating to vent his frustration.
Qian Kai: "???"
After this happened a few more times, the attention on Qin Xuan began to fade again. Instead, the others started to hold Xiao Ran in extremely high regard.
Xiao Ran was also highly talented, but he was also righteous and would often help the other Demon Disciples talk back to Instructor Li and his unfair treatment.
As a result, Li Cang found himself liking Qin Xuan more and more, while his loathing for Xiao Ran deepened.
'My qi and blood are failing, and my time is nearly up. My next life is approaching. That brat Qin Xuan understands how things work, knows when to advance and when to retreat. Most importantly, he has considerable talent for cultivating the White Bone Yin Talisman. He's a fine vessel for possession.'
'As for Xiao Ran... he's too arrogant, always stubbornly contradicting me. If that brat hadn't been willing to take on a massive loan, I'd have been the first to make an example of him!'
At the thought, Li Cang's large, sallow hand shot out and grabbed Qian Kai. Only after giving him a thorough beating did his anger finally subside.
Beaten black and blue, Qian Kai didn't dare show his anger toward Li Cang. Instead, he directed all his resentment at Qin Xuan.
'It's all your fault, Qin Xuan! Why else would Instructor Li target me all the time!'
...
On this day, Instructor Li, dressed in a green robe, seemed unusually hale and hearty. Even his stooped frame was held a little straighter as he walked into the Demon Disciple Dormitory with a broad smile.
He seemed to be glowing with health.
"Elder Sun is about to complete a batch of Blood Burning Violent Yuan Pills. He needs sixteen Demon Disciples to serve as Alchemy Apprentices and stoke the furnace fires. Everyone who goes will receive 10 Contribution Points."
Instructor Li continued, "Our Yi-Chou One dormitory has a total of nineteen Demon Disciples. Who is willing to go, and who will stay behind?"
The Blood Demon Sword Sect is divided into the Inner Sword Sect and the Outer Demon Sect.
Elder Sun was one of the Outer Sect's Foundation Establishment Elders.
As soon as the words were spoken, the massive ball of light in Qin Xuan's mind flashed, and four bamboo slips shot out.
[Middle-Upper Draw: Remain silent and be chosen to go to the Alchemy Room. Act as an Alchemy Apprentice. When adding fuel to the fire, stay in the middle of the line and keep a low profile. Result: Obtain an Eighth-Grade Opportunity. Safe and stable. Auspicious.]
[Middle-Lower Draw: Volunteer to go to the Alchemy Room. Act as an Alchemy Apprentice. When adding fuel, stand at the very front of the line. Result: Obtain a Ninth-Grade Opportunity, but suffer the scorching of fierce flames and excruciating pain. Inauspicious.]
[Middle-Lower Draw: Volunteer to stay behind and not go to the Alchemy Room. Result: Instructor Li will plant a Heart Demon Soul Net in you, causing you to lose control of your body. Risk of possession. Inauspicious!]
[The Worst Draw: Remain silent and be chosen to go to the Alchemy Room. Act as an Alchemy Apprentice. When adding fuel, stand at the very back of the line. Result: Be scorched by fierce flames and turned to ash. Gain nothing. Greatly Inauspicious.]
'Lose control of my body... risk of possession...'
Qin Xuan read the Divination slips carefully. He looked up at the old, decrepit Instructor Li, and a chill washed over him.
'I absolutely cannot stay behind!'
According to the Golden Finger's warning, if he stayed behind this time, he would very likely become Li Cang's target for possession in the future!
'But I can't be too eager, and I have to watch my position... It's best to be in the middle of the line. The front and the back are both dangerous!'
Qin Xuan remained silent.
In contrast, Xiao Ran stepped forward, his demeanor neither servile nor arrogant.
"Instructor Li, I am willing to go."
The sight of Xiao Ran's proud demeanor made Li Cang feel as disgusted as if he'd swallowed a fly, but he put on a look of appreciation.
"Good. You're a sensible one."
Instructor Li clapped Xiao Ran on the shoulder, pulled him to the front of the line, and scanned the surroundings.
"This is a great opportunity to make an impression on an Elder. Besides Xiao Ran, does anyone else want to volunteer?"
WHOOSH!
With Xiao Ran leading the way, the other Demon Disciples all raised their hands.
In the end, only Chen He, Zhou Kai, and Jiang Feng stayed behind.
When he saw Qin Xuan was also in the queue, Li Cang frowned slightly.
'That brat is so cautious. How did he end up going too?'
'Too bad this is a task personally assigned by Elder Sun. It's not easy to pull any tricks. Otherwise, I would have made sure Qin Xuan stayed behind, no matter what.'
...
It didn't take long for the group to arrive at their destination.
Standing before the Alchemy Room, Instructor Li began to give his instructions:
"Elder Sun is inside the Alchemy Room right now. He is a Foundation Establishment Great Demon and prefers quiet when he performs Alchemy."
"As Alchemy Apprentices, your sole task is to add fuel to Elder Sun's Pill Furnace. Do nothing else."
"All of you, behave yourselves. Enter in the order I've set and stand properly. If you get yourselves killed because you don't know the rules, you'll only have yourselves to blame!"
"Understood?"
The Demon Disciples replied in unison, "Understood..."
"Mm," Instructor Li nodded in satisfaction. "Of course, if you perform well, Elder Sun might also reward you with something that can greatly advance your cultivation!"
"Whether you get anything is up to you."
At the mention of advancing their cultivation, everyone's eyes lit up, and they grew restless with anticipation.
After their interactions with Instructor Li over the past few days, the Demon Disciples had a pretty good impression of him. He wasn't a monster like Wang Jian or Zheng Qi.
Some even began to trust Li Cang, believing he was a rare, decent man in the Demon Sect, and that he had been demoted to an Instructor precisely because he couldn't bring himself to torture the disciples.
Qin Xuan wasn't so naive. His mind was filled with suspicion.
'A Foundation Establishment Great Demon... needs help from Qi Cultivation Third Layer disciples for Alchemy?'
Seeing the malicious look Li Cang was giving him, Qin Xuan was even more certain that something was amiss.
'There's definitely something shady about the Pills this Elder Sun is refining.'
'Most likely, they're some kind of wicked Human Pills!'
'Monsters. They're all monsters...'
'Thank goodness my Golden Finger is always warning me. Otherwise, in this treacherous Demon Sect, I probably wouldn't even know what killed me.'
Under Instructor Li's supervision, the group began to line up.
Qin Xuan stood at the back of the line, his head bowed, doing his best to minimize his presence.
He tried to figure out how to slip into the middle of the line.
...