As the first, Lin Chang'an was directly and generously rewarded by Elder Lu with a Low-grade Magic Artifact. Such a lavish reward made the other boys, who had no idea what was going on, green with envy.
Even entering the Heavenly Sword Sect and becoming an outer disciple might not offer treatment this good.
"I'm willing to join."
"I am too..."
At last, one boy after another in the crowd failed to resist the temptation. Seeing this, Lin Chang'an secretly scorned them.
This so-called reward, the pill furnace, was merely a tool to squeeze him dry. He would not take it seriously.
"Elder Lu is setting an example."
Lin Chang'an saw it as clearly as a polished mirror. If he had a choice, he would never have volunteered to be the first bird to stick its head out. As for lying low? If one was too ordinary, one would never gain access to many resources.
Even lying low depended on the situation. In this godforsaken place, lying low meant having the least value, and the consequences would be beyond imagination.
"Good. Very good."
Sure enough, just as Lin Chang'an had expected, how could a chaotic place like Miaowa Kingdom be so generous? Those who came after received only verbal praise, not a shred of tangible reward.
"Of course, our Great Sword Sect is not some third-rate sect from Miaowa Kingdom. If your families are willing to pay a ransom, this old man will certainly raise no objection to letting you leave."
Elder Lu looked at them with an easy smile. "You should all know what kind of place Miaowa Kingdom is. Leaving the Great Sword Sect is easy, but whether you can leave Miaowa Kingdom will depend on your luck. You are all clever people. This old man does not wish to see anyone attempting escape."
One moment, Elder Lu wore a kind and amiable smile; the next, that smile was filled with icy menace.
"I... I can learn. Pill refining, talisman drawing—I can learn anything..."
"Wuwu, my parents will pay the ransom."
"Senior... Senior, I understand the rules. I still have many friends in Great Jin. I can trick them into coming..."
Quite a few people in the crowd began clamoring at once. Elder Lu still wore a smile, but his indifferent eyes were somewhat terrifying.
"Good. You follow the rules, and our Great Sword Sect follows the rules as well. Take them down first and let them familiarize themselves with the place."
"Yes."
With a wave of his hand, the cultivators around them revealed cruel smiles one after another. "Come along, fellow genius cultivators."
As they passed the encampment of stone houses, screams and wails sounded without cease. Everywhere were figures who had been brutalized and tortured. Yet these people were the fortunate ones—at the very least, if they endured it, they could continue struggling to live the next day.
The cultivators hanging outside in iron cages had it far worse. These were either people who had tried to escape or cultivators whose bodies had reached their limit. They would pay an even crueler price.
Female cultivators could still be sold to cultivation Lineages as breeding tools.
Male cultivators? Heh. They were naturally valuable materials as well. A cultivator's flesh and blood could be used to draw talismans, refine artifacts, feed spirit pets, and even make human puppets, among many other uses.
In short, once one came here, they would squeeze two taels of oil even from one's bone dregs.
"Spare me, please! I was wrong..."
"I have a younger cousin too. I can definitely trick him into coming here... Stop hitting me... Ah..."
The blackened stone houses had been dyed that way by blood. As the group of boys passed by, none could hide the terror in their hearts. They had only heard of such things before; seeing it with their own eyes was truly terrifying.
"Brother Chang'an, can we still go back?"
Qi Feng's pale face wore a smile uglier than weeping. His bloodless lips trembled as he spoke nervously.
Though the boys in the crowd were all birds of a feather fallen into the same pit, Lin Chang'an had clearly been set apart from them. After all, as the first to cast aside his pride, he had wounded what little self-respect they had left, making many ashamed to associate with him.
"Go back?"
Lin Chang'an gave Qi Feng a meaningful glance. As expected of someone born into a noble household; it was precisely his status as a concubine-born son that had given him this kind of disposition.
As though Qi Feng had realized that Lin Chang'an had seen through his thoughts, he showed no embarrassment. Instead, he lowered his eyes and revealed a humble smile.
"Brother Chang'an, from this day forward, I will obey your every command."
Qi Feng was clever, deliberately using conversation to draw closer to him. Lin Chang'an did not dislike it. Instead, he sighed mournfully, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
"From now on, we should huddle together for warmth."
In a place like this, huddling together for warmth was the wise choice for survival. Of course, there would be no morality here.
"Brother Chang'an, what exactly is going on with Miaowa Kingdom?"
The girl following behind Qi Feng suddenly spoke. Before Lin Chang'an could say anything, Qi Feng quietly introduced her, "Brother Chang'an, this is Murong Yue..."
Murong Yue, fifteen years old, High-grade Spirit Root, Grade B. She came from a martial arts family in the mortal world.
Lin Chang'an had naturally learned this during the spirit root testing. Yet now, he secretly sized up the girl.
At fifteen, Murong Yue had already grown graceful and slender. Her eyes were bright with spirit, her lips red as cinnabar—she was unmistakably the makings of a beauty.
Though she came from a martial arts family, Murong Yue carried the air of a scholarly household. Only the heroic gleam that flashed in her dark, shining eyes revealed that she was no simple girl.
"The Cultivation World of Miaowa Kingdom!"
At the thought of the descriptions of this place, Lin Chang'an could not help but sigh softly. "This is a paradise of bliss, and it is also a hell on earth."
Li Han, who had remained silent and almost without any presence until now, wore a bitter smile. "What does that make me?"
He had exhausted every scheme and emptied his entire household to buy this opportunity, only to sell himself and help the buyer count the money.
Lin Chang'an also sighed. They were fellow wanderers at the end of the world. He himself had been tricked here by his uncle and cousin.
Among them were some with Low-grade Spirit Roots. There was no need to say more: selling one was selling, and selling two was selling. That old bastard who had sold them had likely collected quite a few benefits through this opportunity before accepting this group. Then he sold them off at once, eating from both ends.
"If you want to survive, then display your value with everything you have."
As Lin Chang'an said this, he swept his gaze over the crowd without leaving a trace. He did not hide his meaning, and everyone was startled after hearing it.
Among the boys who took part in sect assessments, relatively few came from the bottom of society. Most were from powerful or wealthy backgrounds and knew of cultivation, or were children of Rogue Cultivators. Some were even disciples of cultivation Lineages.
A purely novice teenage Rogue Cultivator like Li Han was also a rare sight.
Lin Chang'an narrowed his eyes. At sixteen or seventeen, one would already have established a family and career in the mortal world, let alone in the Cultivation World. Their minds were naturally mature.
It was only that the matter had happened too suddenly, and many had not yet reacted. With Lin Chang'an's reminder, quite a few people came to their senses, their faces turning pale as despair filled them for the future.
"We're here."
With a cold shout from the cultivator leading them, they were brought into a magnificent restaurant.
As the group entered the restaurant one after another, they were greeted by countless pairs of eyes filled with despair and dead silence.
"This... this place!"
One boy looked at the scene in fear, while the Great Sword Sect cultivator leading them gave a cold laugh. "It is getting late. It is time to let you familiarize yourselves with the sect's surroundings. After all, you will be coming here often in the future."
His casual, teasing words echoed in their ears, while the faces of these boys held nothing but disbelief and shock.
Even Lin Chang'an, who had lived two lives and considered himself to have seen plenty of grand scenes, turned pale at what he saw, staring at the sight before him in shock.
"This is practically cultivation in Miaowa!"
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