Just as Sect Master Han was wondering if it was a trap...
Whoosh...
A flash of light caught his eye.
Then, he saw a massive pile of spirit stones sitting right there in the room.
“Oh, check these spirit stones and see if any are damaged,” came a young man's voice from inside.
Sect Master Han’s mouth twitched. They really had spirit stones to burn! A simple sweep of divine sense would suffice.
And yet they were manually checking them...
Forget it, I’ll check them for you!
With a flash of his silhouette, he appeared inside the room.
Whoosh...
The moment he appeared, a long sword was already pressed against his forehead!
The icy chill of the sword's edge instantly extinguished the greed in Sect Master Han’s heart.
At the same time, he realized—this was a damn trap!
Looking at the somewhat familiar sword, Sect Master Han was on the verge of tears. “...”
You can't do this!
How can the Saint of the Guiyi Sword Sect do something like this?
You're supposed to be a gentleman, a paragon of the righteous path!
“Saint Ji, spare me!”
Sect Master Han didn't hesitate for a second, immediately admitting defeat and begging for mercy.
After removing Sect Master Han’s mask, Ji Chen saw it was an acquaintance.
“Suppress your cultivation and pretend to count spirit stones...”
Sect Master Han didn't dare resist. He immediately suppressed his cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage and began helping them count the spirit stones.
This time, he was actually helping them count!
At the same time, he silently swore in his heart that if he survived this, he would definitely master a high-level technique that could see through cultivation suppression!
Soon, the stone-counting Sect Master Han saw one cultivator after another, just like him, being caught by Ji Chen and the others.
However, they didn't have Sect Master Han’s luck.
Their cultivation was directly sealed, and they were tied up and tossed to the side!
Lu Ming, sleeping in a daze, heard the commotion next door.
What are they doing? Throwing a bonfire party?
Just then, Wang Defa’s sound transmission arrived:
“Great Sect Master, Saint Ji next door wants to borrow some long poles!”
Lu Ming was a bit confused. Why borrow long poles in the middle of the night?
He stepped out of his room and handed a storage bag to Ji Chen.
“What do you need long poles for?”
Ji Chen took the storage bag. “Oh... some people tried to steal our spirit stones and we caught them. I’m planning to ask for some ransom!”
“By the way, I’m planning to buy these long poles. How many spirit stones do you want for them?”
Stunned, Lu Ming simply waved his hand. “Forget the spirit stones. They’re yours!”
Good heavens.
Who was so blind as to try and rob the Guiyi Sword Sect?
Then, a scene that left Lu Ming even more speechless unfolded.
In the courtyard next door, Ji Chen and his brothers had hung an entire courtyard full of cultivators.
They ranged from the Golden Core stage to the Soul Transformation stage!
“Wait, it’s not like these people are blind, right?”
Wang Defa glanced at Lu Ming.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“They said they learned how to do business from you!”
Lu Ming: “...”
I didn't teach them that, did I?
Wang Defa stroked his beard and recounted the information he had gathered from the sword cultivators of the Guiyi Sword Sect.
After hearing Wang Defa’s explanation, Lu Ming’s eyes widened even further.
“Holy cow! This... Fellow Daoist Ji is actually pretty good at this!”
“Big Yellow! Time for a midnight snack!” Lu Ming shouted toward his room.
“Coming!”
Big Yellow responded, and then he and Xue Wuchang began setting up a grill in the courtyard.
While eating barbecue, they watched Ji Chen and the others collect ransoms.
“Saint Ji, there really is no one left to pay my ransom. I’m the sect master; I’m the wealthiest person in our sect! Even if I sell the sect to raise the money, I have to go back to handle it first!” Sect Master Han pleaded pitifully.
“If there’s no money, then you’ll just have to be sold to the black spirit stone mines like them...” Ji Chen pointed expressionlessly at those who couldn't afford the ransom.
“Saint Ji, I’m a sect master. It wouldn't be right to sell me to a black spirit stone mine, would it?”
“What’s wrong with it? See that? There’s even a sect ancestor over there.”
Hearing Ji Chen’s words, an old man in the crowd quickly covered his face with his sleeve. He couldn't afford to lose this much face!
Seeing this, Sect Master Han instantly felt like life wasn't worth living.
How did he, a dignified sect master, end up in such a state?
“Can... can I write an IOU?”
“This is a small business; no credit allowed!”
“Move it, move it... hurry up. We need to sell you so we don't hold up our business!”
Hearing Ji Chen’s urging, Sect Master Han wanted to cry but had no tears.
Who was the one who taught this blockhead to be like this!
He preferred the old Saint Ji, who was just poor and arrogant!
“Wait a moment!”
Just as Ji Chen was about to pilot the spirit boat and take off, Lu Ming’s voice rang out.
Ji Chen looked at Lu Ming with some confusion, wondering what he wanted.
“Saint Ji, wait! I want to take this opportunity to do a bit of business too, if that's okay?”
Ji Chen’s eyes lit up. “Sure!”
They could learn something again.
Then, under Sect Master Han’s bewildered gaze, they saw Ji Chen and the others pull out little notebooks and begin recording.
So Ji Chen becoming like this really was because he learned from you?
Is it really okay for you to mislead people like this?
Lu Ming’s mouth also twitched at the sight.
He then looked at Sect Master Han and the others.
“Ahem... hello everyone. I am Lu Ming, the Saint of the Qingshan Sect. I have decided to show great mercy and be a good person.”
Sect Master Han and the others didn't understand what Lu Ming meant.
Could it be that he was willing to save them? But such good deeds didn't exist in the cultivation world!
Just then, Lu Ming’s voice continued:
“I am willing to lend you spirit stones!”
Hearing Lu Ming’s words, Sect Master Han and the group’s eyes widened in shock.
“Really?” someone couldn't help but exclaim.
There were actually good people in the cultivation world?
Ji Chen and his brothers didn't care what Lu Ming said; they just kept their heads down and scribbled furiously in their notebooks.
“Really! However, I will charge a certain amount of interest. You can choose not to borrow and wait to be sold to the black spirit stone mines!”
“That’s only fair, only fair!”
Hearing that Lu Ming would charge interest, the cultivators didn't hesitate for a second before agreeing!
They were thinking of getting through this crisis first.
When Lu Ming came to collect the spirit stones later, they could just play dumb.
Worst case scenario, the world was a big place; they could just find somewhere to hide. It wasn't like he could search the entire world for them to collect a debt, right?
Lu Ming smiled and said to Wang Defa and Xue Wuchang, “Count the spirit stones for them. Have them sign an IOU and take a Heavenly Dao Oath—if they don't pay back on time, they’ll be struck dead by Punishment Lightning...”
Subsequently, the group began borrowing spirit stones for their own ransom.
Because Lu Ming had set it so that the earlier they repaid, the lower the interest, some people’s repayment dates were even set for after dawn.
...
After dawn!
The repayment time for the first person arrived.
That fellow was the Young Master of the Lin family, a cultivation clan.
The reason the Lin family ancestor hadn't paid the ransom was to teach his descendant a lesson.
He had originally planned to let him suffer in the black spirit stone mine for a couple of days before bailing him out.
Who would have thought Lu Ming would offer loans!
Upon hearing that Lu Ming was only at the Soul Transformation stage, the Lin Ancestor planned to wait until Lu Ming came to collect before deciding what to do.
“Ancestor, if you ask me, we should just default. Even if he’s the Saint of the Qingshan Sect, so what? You’re a Unity-stage powerhouse!”
The Lin Ancestor glanced at his descendant.
Why doesn't a bolt of lightning just strike this worthless brat dead!
The Qingshan Sect was a power that even the Tiansheng Sect had to show some respect to.
He was just a family head; what right did he have to not show respect!
Boom...
Rate on N.U.
