Not Handing Them Over!

"Smells so good! What is that scent?"

The moment Zhou Feng stepped into the Hall of Receiving Merit, a fragrant smell rushed straight at him.

It seemed to be a scent produced by countless things mixed together.

In that instant, the Bloodthirsty Gu inside him stirred slightly as well.

But only for a moment. The Bloodthirsty Gu soon quieted down.

It was as though it had gone completely still, not daring to move at all.

Sensing that the Bloodthirsty Gu seemed to be playing dead, he realized there appeared to be an expert here.

Come to think of it, ever since he had crossed into this world, he had never seen a cultivator fight.

Could the cultivators of this world Move Mountains and Fill Seas, burn the heavens and boil the seas?

And how, exactly, did one cultivate?

Come to think of it, he truly knew nothing at all about cultivation.

What counted as cultivation? How should these Gu insects be dealt with? How did cultivators even fight?

He knew none of it.

To be honest, he desperately needed this knowledge.

He was eager to understand everything.

But reason told him that he had to remain calm and could not act rashly.

So even though Zhou Feng's heart had long been churning like stormy seas, his face still wore a dull, wooden expression.

If this went on much longer, he suspected he would turn into someone with a frozen face.

"Token!"

"Ten Blood Pills! Next!"

At the counter, Zhou Feng presented the sect token he had received earlier.

Ten Blood Pills were now in his hands!

The entire process was extremely brief—only two sentences long.

Under such circumstances, even if he wanted to keep observing the interior of the Hall of Receiving Merit, he had no choice but to leave quickly.

Because he sensed two gazes settling upon him.

Those two stares set every alarm in his body blaring, as though he had been targeted by prehistoric beasts.

Under such pressure, Zhou Feng did not dare linger at all.

But when he reached the entrance, he heard Lin Ming's scream.

Because Zhou Feng had deliberately downplayed his presence, he had naturally been the last to receive his Blood Pills.

He was also the last person to leave the Hall of Receiving Merit.

This is... robbery?

Looking at the mess before him, his eyes narrowed.

Lin Ming lay directly in a pool of blood, yet he still clutched the Blood Pills in his hand.

Several others from Zhou Feng's courtyard had also fallen to the ground nearby.

Old disciples were robbing new disciples of their Blood Pills.

This was probably a regular event within the Three Gu Sect.

Because the higher-ups raised disciples like Gu insects, old disciples robbing newly inducted disciples of their resources had naturally arisen.

Some higher-ups even openly acquiesced to this practice.

After all, it was also a quick way to select promising seedlings.

How could one draw out potential if the environment was not harsh?

However, there were rules to robbing Blood Pills.

To guard against certain special situations—for example, an old disciple using their strength to rob every new disciple of all their resources—certain unspoken rules had emerged.

That was, each old disciple could rob at most ten new disciples of their Blood Pills.

At the same time, the new disciples had to hand them over personally.

If a new disciple was unwilling, then they could not be forcibly robbed.

How was that? It sounded as if the higher-ups still possessed a sliver of humanity, didn't it?

Yet in truth, there was far too much room to manipulate the rules.

Just like now: Lin Ming had been beaten severely. If he refused to hand them over, they would cripple him.

That was right! As long as no one died, no one would care if someone was crippled.

Everyone else from Zhou Feng's courtyard had already handed over half their Blood Pills. Only Lin Ming had not.

Yin Ling, who had been the first to come out, was covering her swollen red face. She could only watch the stubborn-looking Lin Ming in anxious helplessness.

"Are you handing them over or not?"

Xiong Dan's foot repeatedly ground against the fingers of Lin Ming's left hand, his tone gradually turning impatient.

Yet Lin Ming made his attitude clear through his actions.

His right hand gripped the Blood Pills he had just received tightly.

This scene greatly surprised Zhou Feng.

He had not expected Lin Ming to be so stubborn. In his eyes, Lin Ming had merely been a young nobleman with unrealistic ideas.

Born in a large stockade, Lin Ming's usual behavior was somewhat childish.

He looked like someone who had never undergone the baptism of the world.

"Tsk, tsk... Why is this guy so stubborn? And his luck is so bad too—he ran into Xiong Dan!"

"Exactly! Xiong Dan seems to be on the verge of breaking through. He urgently needs resources now, so he has even lowered himself to robbing new disciples of their Blood Pills!"

"It's not worth it! They're only a few Blood Pills. If he ends up crippled, he'll be finished!"

"..."

Some old disciples nearby discussed the matter with great interest.

It had been a long time since such a stubborn new disciple had appeared.

In the past, new disciples would basically submit obediently after a little intimidation.

Who would have thought they would encounter a tough nut this time? He would rather be crippled than hand them over.

In truth, Xiong Dan could have robbed someone else's Blood Pills. There was no need to waste time here.

After all, Xiong Dan's strength was already close to breaking through the Body Tempering Realm. No new disciple could possibly resist him.

But Xiong Dan simply found Lin Ming unpleasant to look at.

Everyone obediently handed them over. Even Xiong Dan himself had done the same when he first entered the sect.

Why should you be the lone thorn, trying to stand apart from the crowd? Then he would grant you your wish!

"Someone came out!"

At that moment, someone noticed Zhou Feng leaving the Hall of Receiving Merit.

Xiong Dan seemed to hear something and slowly turned his head.

"Hand over half your Blood Pills!"

Beneath Xiong Dan's calm tone lay extreme impatience.

Lin Ming had already wasted quite a bit of his time. He could not keep wasting more.

The Bloodthirsty Gu in his heart was devouring his blood and qi every moment.

In another month, the three-year deadline would arrive.

He could no longer afford to delay.

Within the Three Gu Sect, every disciple who entered the sect had only three years to cultivate.

Within those three years, they had to break through the Body Tempering Realm and reach the Qi Induction Realm to become Inner Sect disciples.

Otherwise, they could only be recycled.

The sect would not waste the resources it had invested in them for nothing.

Those who could not break through the Body Tempering Realm after three years would be directly recycled as waste by the sect.

That was precisely why Xiong Dan was so irritable.

At this very moment, a choice was placed before Zhou Feng.

Hand them over, or not?

Xiong Dan believed that after seeing the miserable scene before him, Zhou Feng would obediently know what was good for him.

After all, it was already rare enough for someone like Lin Ming, a thorn in the flesh, to appear.

Could there possibly be a second idiot like him?

That was simply impossible!

Hand them over? Not hand them over? Only an idiot would hand them over!

The question of whether to hand them over or not circled in Zhou Feng's mind for only half a second.

Then he had his answer.

Make him hand over half his Blood Pills? Impossible!