Five Years

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, the disciples in the Skinning Room changed several times over.

Some died by accident, some used connections to transfer to other Skinning Rooms, and others, after advancing in cultivation, found new ways to earn contribution points.

Only Fang Huai remained, living a life of two points and one line.

Daytime in the Skinning Room, nighttime in the Outer Sect residence—he looked completely like someone who bore hardship without complaint.

His speed at processing demon beasts had gone from needing three hours to skin a First Layer of Qi Refining beast, down to two hours, and finally, even a Second Layer beast took him less than two hours.

In just five years, after deducting expenses, he had saved up sixty thousand contribution points.

Now, Fang Huai stared at his panel, brows tightly furrowed.

[Hundred Sha Technique (Remnant Scroll) Layer 1: 27/100]
[Body Forging Technique Layer 3: 100/100]
[Skinning Technique Mastery: 100/100]

The Body Forging Technique had reached Layer 3, and the Skinning Technique had gone from Beginner to Proficient, finally getting stuck at Mastery.

The stagnation of the Skinning Technique didn't bother him much, but the Body Forging Technique hitting a wall gave him a real headache.

This meant the only reason left for him to stay in the Skinning Room was to earn contribution points.

But no matter how many contribution points he had, if his cultivation couldn't advance, he was nothing more than Wu Liu's printing machine for spirit stones.

As for Jin Xiaoxiao, who lived with him, thanks to diligent cultivation and decent talent, she had already reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining half a year ago.

That day, Fang Huai pushed open the door to find Jin Xiaoxiao sitting on his bed.

"Junior Sister Jin, you shouldn't be sitting there."

Jin Xiaoxiao said nothing, her gaze complicated. "Senior Brother Fang, I've already applied to the Outer Sect Hall to leave the sect and shed the Mortal Skin."

Cultivating the Hundred Sha Technique required three thresholds of mortal shedding during the Qi Refining stage, corresponding to the three transformations when breaking through to mid-stage, late-stage, and peak Qi Refining.

The first threshold was the shackle that needed to be broken when breaking through from early Qi Refining into mid-stage—the Mortal Skin.

To shed the Mortal Skin, one had to peel off their original hide, then go into seclusion in a place dense with Sha Qi, force the Qi Sea to condense a Sha Spirit Root, and finally, using Sha Qi as a foundation, reshape a new skin.

The new skin was naturally attuned to Sha Qi, enhancing the ability to purify Sha Qi and also increasing the power of Sha Arts.

But this act of mortal shedding, once begun, absolutely could not be interrupted midway.

For disciples with backing, under the protection of their sect or clan, shedding the mortal skin was merely a matter of spending some time.

But for rootless bottom-tier cultivators, this was a perilous affair where nine out of ten would die.

Success or failure was entirely up to heaven's will.

Fang Huai said nothing, took out a Poison Heart Grass from his bosom, pinched the leaf between his fingers, and chewed it slowly.

Jin Xiaoxiao broke the silence. "Senior Brother Fang, since I'm leaving the sect this time, do you have any words of advice?"

"No," Fang Huai's expression revealed neither joy nor sorrow. "When it comes to cultivation, you have more experience than I do."

"Senior Brother Fang, there's something troubling me, and I want to ask you about it."

"Speak."

"If, to achieve a goal, one stops at nothing, even sacrificing what's most precious... does that count as despicable?"

The bitter numbness of the Poison Heart Grass had spread across his tongue. Fang Huai paused, then spoke slowly:

"A cultivator's life is like a morning that ends at dusk—merely contending with heaven for a chance to live. There's no right or wrong to begin with, let alone despicable."

Jin Xiaoxiao smiled in relief. "Senior Brother speaks truly. This journey to shed the mortal skin is nine parts death to one part life. Though I've prepared thoroughly, there's one knot in my heart that only Senior Brother can untie."

"Speak freely."

Ever since Jin Xiaoxiao had advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining, the help he could give her had become very little.

On the contrary, she had stood up for him several times, helping him secure his footing in the Skinning Room.

As long as it didn't put him in danger, he was willing to do what he could to help her.

Jin Xiaoxiao's face suddenly flushed bright red, and she lowered her head.

"I've been competitive since I was young. Even when I lose, I lose spectacularly. The only time I lost miserably in my life was that clash with you five years ago.

Senior Brother, could you let me win just once?"

Fang Huai didn't catch the meaning in her words at first, but when he did, he let out a silent laugh. His gaze fell on Jin Xiaoxiao's face, red as a monkey's backside, and he smiled.

"And if I say no?"

Jin Xiaoxiao lunged at Fang Huai, pinning him beneath her.

Her fingertips deftly flicked open the button at his chest, her jade teeth closed lightly, and she bit hard into Fang Huai's neck.

"I'm at the Third Layer of Qi Refining now, far above your cultivation. You don't have a choice!"

After Jin Xiaoxiao left, Fang Huai continued his old work in the Skinning Room.

But the workload in the Skinning Room only grew heavier, and the rumors kept multiplying.

"A kind of Curse Gu has appeared on the northern battlefield. It seems to be targeting our Corpse Sha Sect. When it activates, tiny bugs burrow out from all over the body, just like a Gu Human."

"This doesn't seem like Mystic Sword Sect's style. Maybe they've allied with other sects."

"Within Chen Kingdom, I've never heard of any sect possessing such means."

"..."

As the disciples buzzed with discussion, Wu Liu pushed open the door and announced the sect's new decree:

All outer disciples who had completed one year of service must be prepared to be summoned at any time for sect missions.

Anyone who refused the summons would be charged with treason against the sect.

"Treason against the sect?"

The crowd was stunned. Treason was a grave crime—at the lightest, soul extraction and bodily dismemberment; at worst, the entire family would be implicated.

Most of them couldn't even perform the simplest spells. Sending them out on sect missions like this was nothing short of sending them to their deaths.

The disciples couldn't understand the sect's decision, but Fang Huai knew exactly why the sect was doing this.

When even those who should have stayed in logistics were being pushed to the front lines, it meant the front lines were critically short of hands.

Over the past five years, the Corpse Sha Sect had launched a massive offensive against the Mystic Sword Sect. Though they had seized large swaths of enemy territory, they had paid a terrible price.

Mid-to-late-stage Qi Refining cultivators had suffered heavy losses. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators had fallen. The sect's backbone had been severely weakened.

The tasks these people used to handle were now being pushed down to the low-level disciples.

Thinking this over, Fang Huai got up and left the Skinning Room.

He had saved up enough contribution points. It was time to put them to use.

Fang Huai sat in the reception hall of the cultivation rooms, carefully observing the disciples coming and going.

Almost every disciple could display [Spirit Absorption], but it came in three colors: gray, white, and red.

Those at the same level as him, the First Layer of Qi Refining, had gray tags. Those from the Second to the Sixth Layer had white tags. Those above the Sixth Layer had red tags.

After summing up the pattern, Fang Huai focused his mind, swapped tags with a Sixth Layer Qi Refining disciple, then stopped a hurried cultivation room attendant.

Because of the war, the number of disciples coming and going from the cultivation rooms had multiplied several times over, leaving the attendants overwhelmed.

Seeing that the one stopping him was a junior brother at the First Layer of Qi Refining, the attendant immediately flared up:

"If you just want to rent the lowest-grade cultivation room, go to Servant Valley. This place is full."

Fang Huai shook his head and said, "Find me a Grade A Cultivation Room. I want to rent it for two months."

"Grade A? Two months?"

The attendant's eyes nearly popped out.

He knew that Grade A Cultivation Rooms were almost on par with Inner Sect Cultivation Rooms, but they were also exorbitantly expensive—five hundred contribution points per day.

For Fang Huai to rent one for two months, that would be thirty thousand contribution points.

The attendant's first thought was that Fang Huai must be the child of some Foundation Establishment uncle, but looking at his plain clothes, he didn't seem like someone from a wealthy background.

He thought Fang Huai was messing with him, but seeing the firm certainty in Fang Huai's eyes, it didn't seem like a joke.

"This junior brother... senior brother, the cultivation rooms don't allow credit."

Fang Huai said nothing. He pulled out his identity token and infused it with spiritual power.

A line of information appeared on the token:

[Contribution Points: 60751]