Blood Shadow's Finance Hall stood within Blood Shadow City, west of the council hall.
It was usually a bustling place, since Blood Shadow disciples obtained most of their cultivation resources here.
At this moment, fifty or sixty people stood in a long queue inside the Finance Hall, waiting to collect their stipends.
At the front of the line stood a Violet Mansion Mid Stage disciple in a white robe, facing a counter.
Behind the counter sat a white-haired Violet Mansion Late Stage elder.
An abacus and fifteen Mid-grade Spirit Stones lay atop the counter.
The white-robed cultivator wore a fawning expression. "Steward Li, give me a little more.
My monthly stipend should be ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones, but I also went on a mission last month.
The reward should have been twenty Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Adding that to my stipend, it should be thirty in total, yet you've only given me fifteen.
My stipend for last month has been cut in half for nothing."
The elder looked displeased. "Is that something I can control? I give you whatever is recorded in the accounts.
Neither the accounts nor the Spirit Stones are for me to decide.
Whatever the higher-ups arrange is what I distribute.
If you have objections, go find the Finance Elder. Why are you telling a mere steward?"
The Violet Mansion Mid Stage cultivator flew into a rage. "Who doesn't know what kind of person the Finance Elder is? If he went out and failed to pick up Spirit Stones, he'd count it as a loss.
If I ask him for them, he won't even squeeze out half a Low-grade Spirit Stone."
Steward Li's expression changed. "Watch your mouth! You're an ordinary disciple without even a position, yet you dare slander an elder with real authority.
If this is