Identification

The fat cultivator seated behind the desk took a palm-sized Jade Slip from his Storage Bag. He glanced up at Lu Ye and asked, "Name, background, cultivation level?"

Lu Ye answered each question.

The fat cultivator pondered. "Lu Ye of Mystic Heaven Sect... Hmm, found it. There really is such a person!"

Only then did Lu Ye realize that the Jade Slip in the fat cultivator's hand likely contained records from the mine, including the origins and identities of the Mine Slaves. Through such verification, they could ensure that no remnants of Evil Moon Valley had infiltrated them.

"But... something's not right!" The fat cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly. "The Jade Disk records Lu Ye as an ordinary mortal with no Apertures Opened, yet you have already opened one Spiritual Aperture. That doesn't match the records, which makes this rather troublesome."

As he spoke, his eyes kept drifting toward the Storage Bag at Lu Ye's waist.

Lu Ye laughed inwardly. His earlier concerns had indeed been right. A Mine Slave carrying a Storage Bag was bound to attract some unwanted covetous eyes.

According to his original plan, it would not have mattered if he handed over the Storage Bag—spending wealth to avert disaster. Now that he had regained his freedom, the sky was vast enough for birds to soar. Was he afraid he would not find better things later?

But with Old Man Tang's casual remark as backing, Lu Ye had nothing to fear. The old man's goodwill could not be allowed to go to waste.

Facing the fat cultivator's questioning, Lu Ye said, "I encountered an injured Evil Moon Valley cultivator in the Mine Tunnel. I killed him, and in that hair's-breadth gap between life and death, I opened a Spiritual Aperture."

The fat cultivator raised a brow. If Lu Ye was telling the truth, that was quite extraordinary. A tiger was still a tiger; even wounded, it was not something a goat could provoke, let alone kill.

He somewhat understood where the Storage Bag at Lu Ye's waist had come from...

At that moment, the Young Cultivator who had led Lu Ye over leaned close and whispered something into the fat cultivator's ear. The fat cultivator looked astonished. "Which Old Man Tang?"

The Young Cultivator said nothing, merely looked at him.

The fat cultivator understood. He gave a light cough, and his expression toward Lu Ye became much friendlier. "So that's how it is. You do have some nerve! Well, although your identity has basically been confirmed, we still need to follow the proper procedure. Come with me."

With that, he rose to his feet.

"Senior Brother Pang, I'll get back to work first," the Young Cultivator said with cupped fists.

"Go on, go on." Senior Brother Pang waved a hand.

Following the fat cultivator, Lu Ye headed toward where the many Mine Slaves had gathered.

Once they arrived, the fat cultivator planted his hands on his hips and panted a few times before speaking. "Any members of Mystic Heaven Sect here? Step forward and let me see."

No one answered.

Lu Ye swept his gaze across the crowd but did not see any faces from Mystic Heaven Sect.

Mystic Heaven Sect had been a small sect to begin with, with few disciples. When Evil Moon Valley captured it a year ago, many had died. Only a little over twenty young people had survived.

Over the past year, many more had died. Yet in Lu Ye's memory, three to five should still have been alive.

But he saw no sign of those three to five people now. They had likely met with misfortune as well.

A bleak sadness rose in his heart. Though he had never felt much sense of belonging toward Mystic Heaven Sect, the fact that he was the sect's sole surviving shoot made him feel the cruelty of this world all the more keenly.

The fat cultivator spoke again. "Then does anyone know him?"

Still no one replied. Lu Ye was not particularly well-liked among the Mine Slaves. Everyone was sallow and emaciated, struggling for survival every day, yet Lu Ye had lived quite comfortably and even had surplus contributions to exchange for Qi and Blood Pills. Naturally, the other Mine Slaves held no favorable impression of him.

Sharing the same misfortune did not necessarily make people unite against a common enemy; instead, it more easily bred estrangement and exclusion.

Lu Ye spotted the Liu Brothers in the crowd. Those two had actually not died—they were lucky indeed. But the Liu Brothers showed no intention of stepping forward to prove Lu Ye's identity. They merely watched him with undisguised glee at his misfortune.

The fat cultivator could not help glancing at Lu Ye, beginning to doubt whether this fellow truly was Lu Ye of Mystic Heaven Sect. Since he had been a Mine Slave, someone ought to have been able to prove his identity.

Many people had been verified this way earlier, identifying one another to confirm their identities.

"I know him. He is Lu Ye of Mystic Heaven Sect." Just as the fat cultivator was growing suspicious, a timid voice rang out.

"Who said that?" The fat cultivator turned his gaze back, looking toward the source of the voice.

The crowd parted of its own accord, revealing the speaker.

When Lu Ye saw her face clearly, he was slightly surprised. He had met this person only once, and it had been a long time since he had last seen her.

The speaker was a woman. Compared to the ash-faced Mine Slaves around her, her clothes were not bright, but at least they were neat and clean.

The fat cultivator looked at the woman and asked in a deep voice, "Are you certain he is Lu Ye of Mystic Heaven Sect? Think carefully before you speak. Lying before me will not end well for you."

The woman shrank back slightly, but still said firmly, "I am certain."

The fat cultivator nodded and waved at Lu Ye. "All right, your identity is clean. Go wait over there, and don't run around." After speaking, he winked at Lu Ye. "There will be an Opportunity waiting for you tomorrow."

With that, he turned and left.

Only after he had gone did the oppressive atmosphere ease. It was clear that these slaves living at the very bottom still feared the fat cultivator greatly.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ye walked toward the woman who had spoken for him. When he reached her, he said, "Miss, thank you for speaking up for me."

The woman shook her head. "No need. You saved me before, and I never had the chance to thank you."

She was referring to something that had happened nearly half a year ago. Lu Ye had encountered her deep within the Mine Tunnel, where another Mine Slave had been chasing her. Unable to stand by and watch, Lu Ye had taught the assailant a lesson.

But after that incident, he had never seen this woman again.

Lu Ye smiled. "Then are we even?"

The woman smiled as well, and some life returned to her deathly listless face. "We're even."

"Let's properly introduce ourselves again. Lu Ye of Mystic Heaven Sect!"

The woman gave a graceful curtsy, every inch the bearing of a lady from a distinguished family. "Yu Xiaodie of the Yu Clan."

Lu Ye asked curiously, "Miss Yu, do you know why we've gathered here? And what is the Opportunity that fat man mentioned?"

Yu Xiaodie lifted a strand of hair by her ear and explained, "All of us here have clear backgrounds and clean identities. Basically, none of us have opened an aperture, and even those who have are at very low cultivation levels. Evil Moon Valley never treated us as people, much less nurtured us, but there must be some among us who are suited for cultivation. Now that the Vast Sky Alliance has taken this place, they will naturally make some arrangements. Some who are suited to cultivation and possess cultivation talent will be taken in by sects of the Vast Sky Alliance."

"So that's the Opportunity the fat man meant?" Lu Ye suddenly understood.