A Loan of Fifty, Sixteen in Hand

[They had broken through before you, but had remained here all this time.]

[When they saw you come out, they froze. Then someone spoke in a low voice.]

["He only broke through in the fifth month?"]

["Someone like that can succeed too?"]

[Liu Cheng gave the crowd an indifferent glance, and everyone immediately fell silent.]

[Liu Cheng led you all to a stone platform.]

[Three wooden signs hung behind the platform.]

[Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.]

[Mining Hall.]

[Alchemy Hall.]

[A recruiting disciple stood beneath each sign.]

[Liu Cheng stood before the platform, glanced over you all, and said indifferently,]

["Now, choose where you want to go."]

[A disciple in a green robe stepped forward and said confidently, "I choose the Alchemy Hall."]

[An inscrutable smile appeared on the Alchemy Hall recruiting disciple's face.]

["Congratulations on choosing the Alchemy Hall, junior brother. Now, first pay the entry deposit: ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones."]

[The green-robed disciple froze.]

["I just joined the sect. Where would I get ten?"]

[The Alchemy Hall recruiting disciple's smile never faded. With practiced ease, he drew a sheet of yellow paper from his sleeve.]

["The sect has already prepared something for you: an Alchemy Student Loan."]

["Two percent monthly interest. Sign, and you can enter."]

[The green-robed disciple fell silent.]

[Seeing this, the other disciples all took a step back.]

[Options appeared.]

[A: Choose the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. It was free, and you could slowly build seniority in a low-risk position.]

[B: Choose the Mining Hall. The cost was low, and the mortality rate was unknown.]

[C: Choose the Alchemy Hall. Take out a loan to start work and gamble on turning your fortunes around through technical skills.]

[D: Step forward and suggest that the Greenwood Sect establish a Slacking Hall, dedicated to optimizing the sect's development of spiritual civilization.]

Lu Ping's attention passed over the three normal options one by one.

The Miscellaneous Affairs Hall looked safest, and it was also suitable for lying low.

The Mining Hall? He had just crawled out of the Black Tiger Gang's mine, and now he was going back into one?

Wouldn't that just be a failed transfer between companies?

The Alchemy Hall? A technical position, close to resources, with good prospects.

A deposit of ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones, at two percent monthly interest, came to 24% annual interest.

Wasn't this the very moment he had been waiting for when he switched to artisan spirit and cost reduction and efficiency improvement?!!!

Lu Ping chose C.

[You chose C.]

[The Alchemy Hall recruiting disciple's smile grew noticeably warmer. In his eyes, you instantly changed from a "newcomer" into a "customer."]

[He pushed a sheet of yellow paper in front of you.]

["The Alchemy Hall deposit is ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones."]

["If you don't have Spirit Stones, you can sign up for an Alchemy Student Loan."]

[You proposed borrowing only ten.]

[The recruiting disciple chuckled and pushed the yellow paper another half inch toward you.]

["Junior brother, you're too young. Ten will only cover the entry deposit."]

["Once you're in, a cave abode, medicinal ingredients, Pill Furnace rental, training courses—everything costs money."]

["Even registering for the Alchemist exam costs money."]

["If you only borrow ten today, you'll have to come back tomorrow for another loan."]

[He tapped the lower right corner of the yellow paper.]

["Take your senior brother's advice. Get this special fifty-stone credit limit for newcomers. This is the sect's support for you."]

Lu Ping's back teeth touched lightly as he looked at the word "support."

In his previous life, when a boss said he was giving young people room to grow, he meant holding down their wages while they got on with the work.

When the Greenwood Sect said "support," it meant putting a rope around your neck first, then telling you it was a safety belt.

[Options appeared.]

[A: Borrow only ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones to keep the risk as low as possible.]

[B: Borrow fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones to maximize your starting funds.]

[C: Snatch the yellow paper and tear it to shreds, kick the recruiting disciple over, and roar at the heavens: "My fate is mine, not my loan's! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—don't bully a pauper for having no Spirit Stones!" Then take off your shoes on the spot and force the stench of your long-standing athlete's foot into his nostrils. While his eyes roll back, snatch his recruiting token and hang it from your own waist, point at him, and shout, "I'm the recruiting disciple now. You, pay me a ten-Spirit-Stone deposit!"]

Little C...

Your esteemed host has already given up on you.

After paying the deposit with ten Spirit Stones, he wouldn't have a single one left, and he wouldn't even get to touch a Pill Furnace.

Lu Ping chose B.

[You chose B.]

[Alchemy Student Loan agreement signed.]

[You received a credit limit of fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.]

[Ten were automatically deducted for the hall entry deposit.]

[Twelve were automatically deducted for six months' advance rental of a cave abode.]

[Eight were automatically deducted for Alchemist training fees.]

[Four were automatically deducted for the advance registration fee for the Level One registered Alchemist exam.]

[Amount actually received: sixteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones.]

[You hadn't even started cultivating immortality, and the Greenwood Sect had already sliced away two-thirds with precision.]

[You hadn't even started making money, yet you had already started making money for the sect.]

Lu Ping felt a tightness in his chest as he read.

A loan of fifty Spirit Stones.

Sixteen Spirit Stones in hand.

The Greenwood Sect wasn't lending money. It was stripping the bones with precision.

Defecting for sixteen Spirit Stones wasn't worth it.

Using sixteen Spirit Stones to force a breakthrough wasn't enough.

Yet those sixteen Spirit Stones were enough to pin someone down in the Alchemy Hall's workflow.

[Once the Alchemy Student Loan was successfully linked, a payment thirty days overdue would automatically enter the Law Enforcement Hall's collection process.]

[Seeing that you really had signed the contract, the recruiting disciple's smile grew a little broader, and he raised a hand to beckon you over.]

["Come with me, junior brother. I'll take you to your cave abode."]

[You followed the recruiting disciple into the Alchemy Hall area.]

[The fragrance of medicinal herbs was rich here, and the buildings stood in neat rows.]

[But every place had a price list hanging up.]

[Pill Furnace rental fee.]

[Earthfire usage fee.]

[Waste pill disposal fee.]

[Medicinal dregs environmental protection fee.]

[Instructor consultation fee.]

[After a moment's thought, you discovered a new world: breathing in the medicinal fragrance here was free, for now.]

[But you suspected that in a few years, the Greenwood Sect would introduce a value-added medicinal fragrance service.]

[An Alchemy Hall deacon led you to a low-grade alchemy cave abode.]

[A low-grade alchemy cave abode cost two Low-Grade Spirit Stones per month and came with a battered old Pill Furnace.]

[There were three cracks in the Pill Furnace's outer wall, the edge of its lid was blackened, and a layer of medicinal dregs that couldn't be scraped clean still clung to the bottom.]

[You asked whether you could exchange the Pill Furnace.]

[The deacon's expression didn't change. It seemed this wasn't the first time he had heard a new disciple ask such a question. He raised a hand and pointed to the price list on the wall.]

["Standard Pill Furnace, five stones a month."]

["High-quality Pill Furnace, fifteen stones a month."]

["Pill Furnaces reserved for personal disciples aren't available for rent."]

[You looked down at your loan contract.]

[You decided to respect the junk.]

[The deacon pressed his identity token against the wall, and the cave abode's restriction lit up briefly.]

["You've only paid six months' rent. In six months, either renew the lease or move out."]

[Before turning away, he tossed a copy of the "Official Level One Alchemist Textbook" onto the stone table.]

["The Heavenly Certification Alliance's last Level One registered Alchemist examination was last year."]

["The next one will be in five years."]

["Pills refined without a license may be used by the refiner, but not sold."]

["Dare to sell them privately, and the pills will be confiscated, with a fine of ten times their value."]

["If you can't pay the fine, the Law Enforcement Hall will arrange for you to go somewhere you can pay off the debt."]