Before long, Ming Hao returned to the cultivation chamber in his residence, sat upright on the meditation cushion, and began cultivating.
With his current strength at the third level of the Nascent Soul Realm, he would have to fend off at least five disciples at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm and protect more than fifty disciples from being robbed. It was hard to predict whether any exceptionally powerful opponents would appear.
Even if he successfully repelled those five disciples, more would surely come to reinforce them afterward.
Whether to complete the mission or safeguard his own monthly stipend, he would never let anyone snatch it away. That would be far too humiliating.
Ming Hao immediately took out several pills. It was time to break through.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Ming Hao awoke from meditation, the aura around him abruptly drawing inward. He had reached the fifth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
He muttered to himself, "Today is the day to collect the monthly stipend. Let me see just how strong these Inner Disciples are, and whether any of them can give me a fight."
With that, he rose and headed outside to meet up with Lin Hao, Lin Yong, and the others first.
A short while later, in the same courtyard.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, senior brothers and sisters."
Ming Hao looked at Lin Hao and the others, who had already assembled neatly in the courtyard, ready to depart.
"You're right on time, junior brother. Let's set off."
Not far behind the Hall of Missions lay the place where disciples collected their monthly stipends. It was a relatively independent area, separated from the other locations.
Dozens of long queues had already formed outside the Finance Department. They wound back and forth, seemingly without end. People crowded together, anxiously waiting to collect their monthly stipends.
Today was stipend collection day. Anyone unable to come for whatever reason would have to wait until next month to collect both payments together.
Thus, disciples with lower cultivation generally came on time every month, while those with higher cultivation might collect theirs only once a year, or even once every few years.
Ming Hao stood in line, observing the people around him as he waited.
Before long, it was their turn.
Ming Hao stepped forward and handed his token to the staff member responsible for distributing the stipends.
The staff member scanned the token with a special device, then handed Ming Hao a small bag.
Ming Hao opened the bag and checked its contents. There were one hundred lower-grade spirit stones, two Eighth-Rank Soul-Concentrating Pills, and one hundred sect contribution points.
These two pills could help cultivators quickly enter meditation, steady their minds, and temporarily improve their comprehension.
However, Ming Hao was not satisfied with his stipend.
He cursed inwardly, What a bunch of cheapskates. This measly amount-who's supposed to get by on it?!
He casually tossed everything into his Spatial Ring, then turned and left the Finance Department.
Before long, Lin Hao, Lin Yong, and the others came out after collecting their stipends.
Ming Hao saw that most of them looked nervous. Clearly, they had been robbed so often before that they were terrified it would happen again shortly.
By contrast, the other newly admitted disciples, like himself, mostly wore delighted expressions tinged with anticipation. Clearly, they had yet to suffer society's brutal beating.
The contrast between the new and old disciples was stark.
"Lead the way, Senior Brother Lin."
Ming Hao spoke with a hint of anticipation.
"Junior Brother Ming Hao, we'll be relying heavily on you in a moment."
Lin Hao gave a wry smile, then led the disciples toward the residences.
After a while, Ming Hao saw that everything inside the formation ahead was battered and broken, while everything outside remained perfectly intact. He knew they were almost there.
"Circulate your magical power and form protective barriers now. Watch out for ambushes!"
Lin Yong gave a low shout, then took the lead at the very front of the group.
The moment they stepped into the chaotic area within the formation, dozens of attacks flew at them, clearly intended to catch them off guard with an ambush.
Ming Hao swiftly surveyed his surroundings. Many inexperienced new disciples nearby had already been hit because they had failed to prepare defenses, and were struggling to resist the disciples trying to snatch their stipends.
"Well, who do we have here? Lin Yong and Lin Hao! Have you come to deliver more resources?!"
"Hahahahahaha..."
A burst of laughter followed.
A young disciple with a dagger hidden behind his smile approached with sixty or seventy people. Dozens more were surrounding and attacking other new disciples farther out, clearly part of the same gang.
"Xu Shu, don't get cocky! You're only relying on numbers! Come fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts."
Lin Yong shot straight back.
"Lin Yong, are you an idiot? Why fight one-on-one when we can gang up on you? Get them! Take everything!"
Xu Shu did not take the bait at all, simply ordering his people to mob them.
More than a dozen opponents surrounded Lin Yong, while the remaining sixty or so charged straight at the others. Lin Hao held off seven or eight by himself, and an exceptionally beautiful senior sister also stopped nearly ten single-handedly.
Most of the others could not even win one-on-one. Some struggled despite fighting three or four against one, and only a handful could barely hold off several opponents alone.
Their opponents were clearly stronger overall. By stealing other people's resources every month, they naturally widened the gap in cultivation.
A shifty-eyed young man charged straight at Ming Hao, openly displaying his eighth-level Nascent Soul Realm cultivation. Clearly thinking Ming Hao would be easy prey, he let out a series of nasty chuckles while still some distance away.
As he drew close, he attacked with Chicken Claw Hand. Ming Hao almost laughed, then kicked him dozens of meters away, sending several others flying along with him.
Using the Ethereal Movement Technique, Ming Hao followed him like a shadow. Before the young man could land, bam, bam-another two punches left him vomiting blood and unable to fight.
Ming Hao swiftly dispatched the disciples around him, then charged straight toward Lin Yong's battle.
With a crack, Ming Hao appeared unnoticed behind two opponents and crushed their necks, one in each hand, instantly taking them out of the fight.
Everyone was startled. Several disciples at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm immediately broke off to surround him, yet none quite dared approach.
Those two had also been at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, yet their necks had been crushed as easily as eggs. Although they would not die, the sight still left the others quaking!
"Well done, Junior Brother Ming Hao! Let's join forces and tear through them!"
Lin Yong roared, seizing the opportunity to finish off two opponents with a few punches.
Lin Hao and the others brightened at the sight. It looked as though they might actually keep their stipends this time.
Seeing Ming Hao fight so fiercely had already shaken Xu Shu. They had needed more than a dozen people to surround Lin Yong alone to be safe. Now another formidable opponent had appeared-how could he not be afraid?
He immediately shouted for his nearby teammates, who were robbing other disciples, to come reinforce them, while he quietly backed away.
They did not dare advance, but Ming Hao had no time to waste on a standoff. With Ethereal Steps, he appeared behind them and sent one flying with a kick.
The remaining opponents no longer dared spread out. They all closed in for a melee. Since weapons and wide-area spells were forbidden, close-quarters fighting was the most common approach.
Even working together, they were no match for Ming Hao. A Frost Palm caught them off guard and instantly froze two of them. The other two lost all desire to fight at the sight and immediately turned to flee!
But how could Ming Hao let them escape so easily? He immediately pursued them with Ethereal Steps, swiftly closed the distance, and rendered both unable to fight with a Tathagata Divine Palm!
He turned back to free Lin Yong from his opponents. By the time Ming Hao arrived, Lin Yong had already taken down several, leaving only three struggling to hold on.
Seeing Ming Hao return after dispatching his opponents so quickly, they instantly broke down and begged for mercy. But it was too late now. The two attacked from front and rear, ending the battle in an instant.
By then, the reinforcements Xu Shu had summoned were nearly there.
"Senior Brother Lin Yong, go help Senior Brother Lin Hao and the others. I'll stop their reinforcements!"
Ming Hao spoke as he glanced at the enemies rushing over to help.
"Junior Brother Ming Hao, there are so many reinforcements coming. Can you hold them off? How about I hold them back for a while, and you help the others finish their fights first?"
Lin Yong spoke with some hesitation.
"Just go and come back quickly, senior brother. I can hold them off for now."
"Then I'll be right back."
With that, Lin Yong hurried off to support Lin Hao.
Ming Hao looked at Xu Shu, who had been hiding somewhere until just now and was now approaching with an imposing air at the head of sixty or seventy reinforcements.
He felt a little anticipation. His earlier opponents had all been too weak, going down before he could get his fill. Hopefully, some of these sixty or seventy disciples could take a beating.