The Extortion Backfires

"I heard you're a nominal disciple, yet you enjoy the privileges of a personal disciple?"

The horse-faced man stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Chen Lin like a cat watching a mouse. He spoke unhurriedly. "How about this? I won't ask for much. Hand over half the Spirit Stones and spirit pills on you. And from now on, every month, you'll pay me twenty Spirit Stones and ten spirit pills as tribute. Understood?"

His tone was calm, but his manner was arrogant, leaving no room for negotiation. He seemed certain Chen Lin would comply.

A glint crossed Chen Lin's eyes. At last, he understood. So this was extortion.

"Oh? If you do this, aren't you afraid of breaking the sect's rules?"

Now that he understood the other man's intentions, Chen Lin relaxed. He even found it a little amusing, but deliberately put on a panicked expression and shouted at the horse-faced man, his voice trembling with feigned bravado.

"Rules? Hahaha! You're lecturing me about rules in the Myriad Demon Sect?"

The horse-faced man froze for a moment at those words, then burst into laughter as if he'd heard the funniest joke. The two men behind him exchanged glances, their mocking eyes fixed on Chen Lin as though he were an idiot.

"What are rules? In the Myriad Demon Sect, strength is the rule! Didn't you read the jade slip the sect handed out?"

After laughing, the horse-faced man gave Chen Lin a strange look.

Chen Lin was taken aback by the question. Only then did he remember that every new disciple had received a jade slip containing some of the sect's rules and general knowledge about the cultivation world. But he'd been busy breaking through to the Xiantian Realm and hadn't had time to read it.

"In the Myriad Demon Sect, might makes right. We follow the law of the jungle. Except for personal disciples, outer sect disciples and nominal disciples can seize each other's cultivation resources at will. Even if you report it to the Law Enforcement Hall, it'll do you no good. What are rules? These are the Myriad Demon Sect's rules."

The horse-faced man looked at Chen Lin with a sneer.

"Oh? So we can take whatever we want? I didn't know there was a rule like that..."

Chen Lin rubbed his chin in sudden realization, his eyes glinting with thought. Then the panic vanished from his face, and he grinned. "In that case, I won't hold it against you for wrecking my courtyard gate. You three can leave your Storage Bags behind and get lost."

"What did you say?!"

The smiles on the horse-faced man and the two men behind him instantly froze.

"I said, leave your Storage Bags behind and get lost."

Chen Lin folded his arms across his chest, tilted his head, and repeated himself earnestly, as though stating a simple fact.

"You're asking for death!"

The horse-faced man laughed in fury, his expression darkening. He stared at Chen Lin with a sinister smile. "You little bastard, I was only going to take twenty Spirit Stones and ten spirit pills from you. But you dared insult me, so I've changed my mind..."

"Not only will I leave you with nothing, I'll break one of your legs too! That'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

With that, the horse-faced man gave a savage grin and thrust out one hand, his fingers hooked like claws as he snatched at the crown of Chen Lin's head!

Sss! Sss! Sss!

A faint whistling sound split the air. Black fur sprouted across the horse-faced man's arm, gleaming faintly like iron scales.

"Senior Brother Jiang's Nether Finger Technique is getting fiercer by the day. Looks like this arrogant new disciple is in for a world of pain. He'll be lucky if he isn't crippled or killed."

"Good. He needs to learn that in the Myriad Demon Sect, if you lack strength, you'd better keep your head down and do as you're told."

The two men behind him watched with cold expressions, clearly confident in Senior Brother Jiang. In their eyes, Senior Brother Jiang would easily handle a new disciple who had only just reached the early Xiantian stage.

Chen Lin laughed heartily. He paid no attention to the fierce wind of the fingers above his head. Instead, he flipped his hand and casually thrust his palm forward, intending to meet the attack head-on.

"You're courting death!"

Senior Brother Jiang sneered. As far as he was concerned, Chen Lin was practically asking to die.

Whoosh!

Chen Lin's palm roared through the air, accompanied by the faint cries of dragons and elephants. The air itself burst beneath its force.

The Dragon-Elephant Nirvana Art! Two hundred tons of force! Even a casual strike from Chen Lin was more than an ordinary person could withstand!

"Not good!"

A savage smile still lingered on Senior Brother Jiang's lips, but his expression changed in an instant. Chen Lin's hand hadn't even reached him, yet the palm wind tearing through the air was already roaring toward him, stinging his cheeks.

Before he could think any further, there came a sharp crack!

Chen Lin gave a cold smile. The instant his palm met Senior Brother Jiang's Nether Finger Technique, he clenched down hard.

"Ah!"

A shrill scream rang out. Chen Lin had seized Senior Brother Jiang's right hand and crushed it in his grip.

Smack!

Then Chen Lin swung his palm and sent him flying with a single blow.

Thud!

Dust billowed as Senior Brother Jiang's entire body sailed through the air. His cheek was swollen, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before crashing to the ground, unable to get back up.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The two men behind Senior Brother Jiang still wore their cold smiles, but now those smiles had frozen in place.

"Impudent!"

Both men were shocked and furious. They moved to attack without a second thought, but before they could react, a palm came whistling toward them, swelling rapidly in their eyes.

Smack!

Smack!

They quickly followed in Senior Brother Jiang's footsteps. Chen Lin sent them flying with a single slap each, blood spraying from their mouths.

With Chen Lin's terrifying strength, few among the greatest experts of the Xiantian Realm could match him, let alone these three.

The three men lay sprawled on the ground, hardly able to believe what had happened.

"Impudent!"

"I'll kill you!"

"You little bastard! You actually dared to fight back?!"

Senior Brother Jiang and the other two struggled to lift their heads. Their eyes blazed with fury, and their anger made them spit up another mouthful of blood. They tried to struggle to their feet.

"You seem pretty unhappy with me. You even dare curse me. Looks like you still haven't understood the situation."

In his previous life, Chen Lin had been a secret agent. Mercy had no place in his heart; he'd long since forged himself into a man of ice. Seeing the venom in their expressions, he gave a cold laugh and walked over.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Chen Lin stepped on their wrists one after another, crushing them all. The Demon Race had unusual constitutions, and given enough time to heal, these injuries would slowly mend on their own. It would simply take a long while, so Chen Lin didn't give it a second thought.

"Ahhh!"

Their shrill screams rang throughout the courtyard.

At last, the three men no longer dared to look at Chen Lin with venom in their eyes. They each lowered their heads, trembling with fear. Only now did they understand that the man before them was ruthless.

"That's more like it."

Chen Lin bent down and took the Storage Bags from their waists. He emptied every last thing from them, swept it all up, and packed it into his own Storage Bag. Then, satisfied, he dusted off his hands, tossed the empty Storage Bags to the three men on the ground, and waved them away. "Get lost. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off for wrecking my courtyard gate."

Senior Brother Jiang and the other two felt as if blood were welling up in their hearts. They hadn't expected their attempted robbery to end with them getting robbed instead. They were from the previous generation of disciples and had amassed quite a fortune over the years. They hadn't expected Chen Lin to be so ruthless as to strip them of every last thing they owned.

"Kid, learn when to let a matter go! Do you realize you're inviting trouble for yourself? By offending us, you've offended Senior Brother Situ! Give our things back, and we'll call it even!"

Senior Brother Jiang's heart bled. He could no longer hold back and shouted at Chen Lin.

"Who's Senior Brother Situ?"

Chen Lin had no intention of returning what he'd taken, but he was clearly in a good mood. The three men had been fairly well off, and he'd made quite a haul. Hearing Senior Brother Jiang's bluster, he wasn't annoyed; he simply asked out of curiosity.

"Senior Brother Situ is a nominal disciple whose cultivation has already reached the Peak Xiantian Realm. He's about to enter the Sea Opening Realm! Once he does, he'll become a personal disciple! Of the Spirit Stones and spirit pills we seize, seventy percent goes to Senior Brother Situ as tribute. I advise you to return our things, or you'll bring trouble down on yourself!"

A flicker of concealed hatred passed through Senior Brother Jiang's eyes as he shouted.

"Oh, I see. You can get lost now. If you don't leave, I'll keep breaking your ankles!"

A glint passed through Chen Lin's eyes. At last, he understood. But he had no intention of giving anything back.

Senior Brother Jiang and the others met Chen Lin's cold gaze and shuddered. They knew there was no getting their possessions back. They could only shoot Chen Lin a deeply resentful look, struggle to their feet, and hurry away.

In truth, what Senior Brother Jiang had said was right. The Myriad Demon Sect valued strength above all else. Even if Chen Lin had stripped them of everything, reporting him to the Law Enforcement Hall would do no good. Unless Chen Lin did something that threatened the Myriad Demon Sect, the higher-ups wouldn't bother with such trivial matters.