Blackmail Fails, Robbed Instead

"I hear you're a registered disciple, yet you enjoy the treatment 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, speaking in a slow, unhurried tone: "How about this? I won't ask for much. Just hand over half of the spirit stones and spirit pills you have on you, and from now on, you must provide me with twenty spirit stones and ten spirit pills every month. Do you understand?"

His tone was steady but arrogant, leaving no room for negotiation; he seemed certain he had Chen Lin cornered.

Chen Lin's eyes flashed, and he finally realized what was happening—this was a shakedown.

"Oh? Aren't you afraid of violating the sect's rules by doing this?!"

Once he understood the other party's intent, Chen Lin actually felt relieved and found the situation somewhat amusing. However, he deliberately put on a flustered expression and shouted at the horse-faced man with a feigned, sharp-tongued bravado.

"Rules? Hah! You're talking to me about rules inside the Myriad Demon Sect?"

To his surprise, the horse-faced man froze for a moment after hearing this, then burst into laughter as if he had heard a hilarious joke. The two men behind him exchanged glances, their eyes filled with mockery as they looked at Chen Lin as if he were a fool.

"What are rules? In the Myriad Demon Sect, strength is the rule! Did you not read the jade slip distributed by the sect?"

After laughing, the horse-faced man looked at Chen Lin with a strange expression.

Chen Lin was taken aback by the question, only then remembering that every new disciple had been given a jade slip containing the sect's rules and common knowledge of the cultivation world. However, he had been too busy breaking through to the Xiantian realm to look at it.

"The Myriad Demon Sect respects strength and follows the law of the jungle. Aside from personal disciples, outer sect disciples and registered disciples can plunder cultivation resources from one another at will. Even if you report it to the 'Law Enforcement Hall', it will be of no use. What are rules? This is the rule of the Myriad Demon Sect."

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

"Oh? Can you plunder at will? I didn't expect such a rule..."

Chen Lin realized the truth and rubbed his chin, his eyes flickering with a thoughtful look. The flustered expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a grin as he said with interest: "Since that's the case, I won't hold it against you for destroying my courtyard gate. The three of you, leave your Storage Bags behind and get lost."

"What did you say?!"

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

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

Chen Lin crossed his arms over his chest, tilted his head, and repeated himself earnestly, as if stating a simple fact.

"You're courting death!"

Hearing this, the horse-faced man laughed out of pure rage, his expression darkening. He stared at Chen Lin with a sinister smile and said: "Little bastard, I originally only intended to take twenty spirit stones and ten spirit pills from you, but since you dare to offend me with your words, I've changed my mind..."

"Not only will I leave you with nothing, but I'm also going to break one of your dog legs! I'll give you a lesson you'll never forget!"

With that, the horse-faced man let out a savage grin, reached out a hand, and hooked his five fingers like claws, striking toward the top of Chen Lin's head!

"Chi chi chi!"

A faint sound of air being torn apart rang out. Black hair instantly sprouted from the horse-faced man's arm, and it was faintly covered with a cold, iron-scale-like sheen.

"Senior Brother Jiang's 'Nether Finger Technique' is becoming increasingly sharp. It seems this ignorant new disciple is in for a world of hurt; I fear he'll be crippled if not killed."

"It's for the best. Give him a lesson so he knows that in this Myriad Demon Sect, it's best to keep a low profile and be obedient if you lack the strength."

The two men behind him looked on with cold indifference, clearly having great confidence in Senior Brother Jiang. In their eyes, Senior Brother Jiang teaching a lesson to an entry-level disciple who had just reached the early Xiantian stage was a matter of course.

Chen Lin laughed, paying no mind to the sharp finger-wind above his head. Instead, he flipped his palm and struck out at the five fingers in a casual, understated motion, intending to meet force with force.

"Courting death!"

Senior Brother Jiang sneered, thinking Chen Lin was undoubtedly seeking his own destruction.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Lin's palm wind whistled, carrying the faint sound of a dragon and elephant roaring; the very air seemed to explode.

Dragon-Elephant Nirvana Art! 200 tons of brute force! Even a casual strike from Chen Lin was not something an ordinary person could withstand!

"Not good!"

Senior Brother Jiang's face, previously twisted in a savage grin, changed instantly. Before the palm even reached him, the air-tearing wind whistled toward him, causing his cheeks to sting with pain.

But before he could think any further, a "Crack!" sound echoed.

Chen Lin smiled coldly. The moment his palm made contact with Senior Brother Jiang's Nether Finger Technique, he squeezed with force.

"Ah!"

A shrill scream rang out as Senior Brother Jiang's right palm was crushed in Chen Lin's grip.

"Slap!"

Following that, Chen Lin raised his hand and slapped him away.

"Bang!"

Dust flew into the air. Senior Brother Jiang's entire body flew backward, his face swollen. He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air and collapsed on the ground, unable to get back up.

This had all happened in an instant. The cold, mocking smiles on the faces of the two men behind Senior Brother Jiang had not yet faded, but now, they froze in place.

"Audacious!"

The two were both shocked and furious, intending to strike without a second thought. But before they could react, a palm whistled through the air, growing infinitely large in their vision.

"Slap!"

"Slap!"

The two men quickly followed in Senior Brother Jiang's footsteps, sent flying through the air by a single slap from Chen Lin, coughing up blood as they went.

With Chen Lin's current terrifying strength, even among the absolute peak experts of the Xiantian realm, few could rival him, let alone these three.

The trio lay overturned on the ground, unable to believe what had just happened.

"Audacious!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"You little bastard! How dare you fight back?!"

Senior Brother Jiang and the other two struggled to lift their heads, their eyes spitting fire. Driven by a fit of rage, they spat out another mouthful of blood and struggled to stand up.

"It seems you are quite dissatisfied with me. To think you still dare to curse me—I see you haven't grasped the situation yet."

In his past life as a special agent, Chen Lin had no concept of mercy; his heart had long since been tempered into something cold and unyielding. Seeing the venomous looks on their faces, he let out a cold laugh and walked toward them.

"Snap! Snap!"

Chen Lin crushed their wrists one by one under his boots. The Demon Race possessed unique constitutions; as long as they had sufficient time to recuperate, these injuries would naturally recover, albeit slowly. Since it would merely be time-consuming, Chen Lin didn't care in the slightest.

"Ah!!"

A shrill, miserable scream echoed throughout the small courtyard.

Now, the three of them finally dared not look at Chen Lin with venomous eyes. They lowered their heads, trembling with fear, finally realizing that the person before them was clearly a ruthless character.

"That's more like it."

Chen Lin bent down to remove the Storage Bags from their waists, emptied every single item inside, swept them clean into his own Storage Bag, and then clapped his hands in satisfaction. He tossed the empty bags back to the three on the ground and waved his hand. "Get lost. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold you accountable for destroying my courtyard gate."

Senior Brother Jiang and his companions felt like they were vomiting blood. They hadn't expected that their attempt to rob someone would end with them being robbed instead. As senior disciples from the previous cohort, their accumulated wealth over the years was naturally substantial, and they hadn't expected Chen Lin to be so ruthless as to clean them out completely.

"Kid, it is better to forgive than to push too far. Do you know that by doing this, you are burying the seeds of your own disaster? Offending us is equivalent to offending Senior Brother Situ! Return our belongings, and we shall let this matter pass!"

Senior Brother Jiang's heart bled, and he finally couldn't help but shout at Chen Lin.

"Who is Senior Brother Situ?"

Chen Lin naturally wouldn't return what he had already obtained, but he was in a noticeably good mood. The trio's wealth was quite generous, giving him a significant harvest. Hearing Senior Brother Jiang's bluster, he wasn't annoyed, but asked with curiosity.

"Senior Brother Situ is a registered disciple whose cultivation has already reached the peak of the Xiantian realm! He is about to step into the Sea-Opening realm! Once he enters the Sea-Opening realm, he will become a direct disciple! Seventy percent of the spirit stones and spirit pills we plunder in our daily activities are tributes meant for Senior Brother Situ. I advise you to return them to us, lest you bring disaster upon yourself!"

A flash of hidden venom crossed Senior Brother Jiang's eyes as he shouted loudly.

"Oh, I see. You may get lost now. If you don't leave, I will proceed to crush your ankles!"

Chen Lin's eyes flashed as he finally understood, yet he had no intention of returning anything.

Upon meeting Chen Lin's cold gaze, the three felt a jolt of fear. Knowing their wealth could no longer be recovered, they could only cast one last venomous look at Chen Lin before struggling to their feet and fleeing quickly.

In truth, what Senior Brother Jiang said earlier was correct. The Myriad Demon Sect respected strength above all else. Even if their family fortunes had been plundered by Chen Lin, reporting it to the Law Enforcement Hall would be of no use. Unless Chen Lin had committed an act that harmed the Myriad Demon Sect, the higher-ups would not bother with such trivial matters.