The light curtain above the courtyard suddenly rippled. Ghost Guest slowly opened his eyes, stretched lazily, and walked out of the courtyard unhurriedly.
He had slept soundly and wouldn't need to rest for a long ti.
Outside the light curtain stood a burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, his face full of fierce lines, clearly not soone easy to deal with.
"May I ask who you are, Senior Brother?" Ghost Guest inquired.
"My na is John Wei. By the order of the Mountain Lord, I've co to collect the monthly tribute," the burly man's voice was rough, carrying an undeniable tone.
Thanks to Kenneth Yi's prior introduction, Ghost Guest was already sowhat familiar with the rules here.
In the area governed by their Master, each mountain had a Mountain Lord, and all the cultivators on the mountain had to pay tribute to the Mountain Lord once a month, known as the monthly tribute.
Cultivators provided the tribute, and the Mountain Lord offered them protection in return, much like a small gang. Their Master never interfered with these matters, allowing them to develop freely.
Their Master had only one rule: no killing among fellow disciples. Other than that, anything was permissible.
The mountain Ghost Guest was on was called Dusk Mountain. As for the Mountain Lord's cultivation level, Kenneth Yi hadn't ntioned it.
"How much is the monthly tribute?" Ghost Guest asked.
"You are at Qi Refinent Level One, so ten Spirit Stones a month," John Wei crossed his arms, looking down on him, "I know you. You beca a personal disciple by sheer luck. Since you were just accepted as a personal disciple, you must have Spirit Stones. Hand them over quickly, don't make use force."
"Rest assured, Senior Brother, I'm not one to shirk my duties." Ghost Guest seed unfazed by John Wei's overbearing attitude. He took out ten Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and handed them to John Wei.
"That's it?" John Wei frowned.
"Isn't it ten a month?" Ghost Guest asked, puzzled.
"I'm collecting Spirit Stones for the Mountain Lord, and you want to make a trip for nothing?" John Wei looked displeased.
Ghost Guest took out another Spirit Stone from his Storage Bag and handed it to John Wei, "Senior Brother, you've worked hard. This is a little token of my appreciation, please accept it."
"Are you trying to brush off like a beggar?" John Wei sneered, "I've never seen soone as clueless as you. If it weren't for the fact that you're a personal disciple, I'd teach you a lesson."
"How much does Senior Brother think is appropriate?" Ghost Guest asked calmly.
John Wei extended his hand, spreading his fingers.
Ghost Guest took out four more Spirit Stones and handed them to John Wei.
"Smart move." John Wei sneered, taking the Spirit Stones and turning to leave, "The Mountain Lord is in seclusion recently. If you have more Spirit Stones in the future, pay for a few months at once so I don't have to keep making trips."
Ghost Guest watched John Wei disappear down the mountain path, his hand clenched tightly in his sleeve.
He had only fifty Spirit Stones in total, and before he even started cultivating, he had given away fifteen!
On his first day as a cultivator, he had already experienced the law of the jungle among cultivators.
John Wei's cultivation was stronger than his, so he could brazenly demand benefits, and he could only comply.
The principle of the strong ruling the weak applied everywhere, even though he was a personal disciple. With only Qi Refinent Level One, any cultivator on Dusk Mountain was stronger than him. The title of personal disciple was just for show and offered him no real help.
As a fellow personal disciple, Mark Ye had a protective Magical Tool, but he had nothing.
Their Master had accepted him as a personal disciple likely only because of that white fragnt, without any real expectations for him.
Ghost Guest suddenly laughed at himself. It seed his state of mind was still not stable enough.
From being a Spirit Slave to becoming a cultivator, he had already taken the most difficult step. What he needed to do next was simply to transform from a weak cultivator into a strong one, by diligently cultivating.
Just as Ghost Guest was about to enter the courtyard, a figure in green suddenly appeared outside the light curtain.
"Junior Brother, please wait."
Ghost Guest turned to see soone he wasn't unfamiliar with, Robert Zhou, who had once co looking for Brian Qin.
Robert Zhou was accompanied by three young n and two young won, likely here to deliver Spirit Slaves to him.
Robert Zhou looked at Ghost Guest with a smile, clicking his tongue in wonder, "Junior Brother Ghost Guest, I heard you were accepted as a personal disciple by our Master. Congratulations. I always thought you had the right temperant for cultivation, and you've really made it. Truly impressive. We should keep in touch more often in the future."
Ghost Guest smiled, "Of course, I will definitely seek your guidance in the future."
Robert Zhou turned and pointed at the five people behind him, "These are the Spirit Slaves I carefully selected for you. I'm sure you'll be satisfied. It's just a pity that Mark Ye isn't among them, otherwise, you could have made a good connection."
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Ghost Guest's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard the sarcasm in Robert Zhou's words. He cupped his hands in salute and led the five into the courtyard.
Robert Zhou stood quietly outside, not seeming in a hurry to leave.
Inside the courtyard, Ghost Guest turned and carefully examined the five.
The three young n all looked robust, clearly skilled in combat.
As for the two young won, they were twins with identical faces but completely different temperants. One wore purple, exuding elegance and grace, while the other wore blue, looking delicate and charming.
"Little Tiger, you go upstairs first." Ghost Guest waved his hand, calmly looking at the five.
"Okay."
After Little Tiger went upstairs, Ghost Guest suddenly released his spiritual sense, causing the two young won to collapse in pain, while the three young n remained unhard.
Ghost Guest imdiately took out a dagger from his Storage Bag and stabbed it into the neck of the nearest young man, slashing deeply.
Blood spurted from the young man's throat as he clutched his neck and fell to the ground.
"Ah!" The two young won scread in terror.
The girl in purple imdiately shielded the girl in blue, slowly retreating to distance themselves from Ghost Guest.
They couldn't believe that the calm-looking Ghost Guest had suddenly erupted in violence.
The other two young n hesitated, their expressions turning fierce as they charged at Ghost Guest with a roar.
But soon, they too lay dead on the ground.
The ease with which the three young n died reminded Ghost Guest of the scene when they had surrounded Mark Ye. If Mark Ye hadn't taken the poison pill, he could have easily crushed them with his own cultivation.
Today, Ghost Guest realized the vast difference between Spirit Slaves and cultivators, even at the sa Qi Refinent Level One.
Now that his Qi Sea had recovered, he was a true cultivator!
Ghost Guest bent down, tore a piece of cloth to clean the dagger, and put the three bodies into his Storage Bag. Without looking at the two young won, he opened the light curtain and walked out of the courtyard.
Outside, Robert Zhou's eyes flashed with a glint as he saw Ghost Guest unhard.
"Junior Brother, you really are impressive, solving it so quickly."
"Thanks to your reminder, Senior Brother. Thank you." Ghost Guest cupped his hands in salute and took out the three bodies from his Storage Bag, laying them on the ground.
In his impression, Robert Zhou always wore a smile. Knowing that he and Mark Ye didn't get along, why would he deliberately ntion Mark Ye in front of him?
So when Robert Zhou ntioned Mark Ye, Ghost Guest understood it as a hint.
If he hadn't understood, he might have ended up like Mark Ye, betrayed by his own Spirit Slaves.
Robert Zhou put the bodies into his own Storage Bag, smiling apologetically, "Junior Brother, I'm really sorry. Mark Ye paid a lot to help him, and I couldn't refuse. But you're also a personal disciple. If you died, Master would definitely trace it back to , and I couldn't bear that. I didn't want to offend either of you, so I had to take this approach. I know it wasn't right, so how about this: I'll give you thirty-five Spirit Stones, and we can call it even. What do you say?"
Ghost Guest shook his head.
"It seems..." Robert Zhou squinted his eyes, "Junior Brother doesn't intend to give any face."
Ghost Guest suddenly laughed, "Senior Brother's reminder was already a great favor. Once these Spirit Slaves were handed to , your task was complete. Even if they rebelled, it would be my own fault for not managing them well. How could I ask Senior Brother for more Spirit Stones?"
"Isn't that inappropriate?" Robert Zhou rubbed his hands, pretending to be hesitant.
Ghost Guest smiled, "I felt guilty for making you lose five Spirit Stones in a bet before. Please don't refuse."
"Alright, since Junior Brother insists, I won't refuse. After all, I'm really poor." Robert Zhou couldn't help but smile brightly.
In fact, he was profiting no matter what. Mark Ye's offer far exceeded the value of the three Spirit Slaves.
Although he had agreed to help Mark Ye, he couldn't really let Ghost Guest die, so he had to hint at it. If Mark Ye wanted to bla soone, he could only bla the three dead Spirit Slaves for being incompetent.
Ghost Guest lost out, Mark Ye lost out, but Robert Zhou profited from both sides. He gained both favor and Spirit Stones.
"Those two girls were carefully selected by . They're quite beautiful, consider them a gift to you as compensation. Enjoy them slowly." Robert Zhou patted Ghost Guest's shoulder, a aningful smile on his face.
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