A full half-incense stick passed after the Inspection Envoy's departure before Li Cang slowly rose to his feet.
He ran a hand over his deeply wrinkled face, his expression grim.
"Wang Hai's suicide forced me to pay a hefty sum of Spirit Stones to Inspection Envoy Geng Qi. This amount will be deducted from your loans!"
The Demon Disciples' pupils contracted violently. Their mouths fell open in silence, and their bodies went as rigid as puppets. An unparalleled despair washed over them.
Even the usually calm Qin Xuan couldn't help but feel his throat tighten.
'What the hell is this damn Holy Sect trying to do?'
'Pushing us this hard... Do they not even consider Demon Disciples human?!'
"In our Holy Sect, everyone below Foundation Establishment is nothing but fodder. Forget you—even I am just a slightly sturdier ant in the eyes of the great figures of the Inner Sect."
"That's because we're all Mud Seeds, cultivating for the first time in this life. If you want to be treated as a real person, you have to be a Past-Life Demon from the Inner Sect, someone who has undergone Reincarnation at least three times."
"You should be thankful that your Spiritual Blood and flesh still have value. If one more person commits suicide, don't blame me for being merciless!"
Li Cang snorted coldly before dropping another bombshell.
"The good news is, most of you have a Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer or higher, so you can participate in the Saint Cultivator promotion ceremony."
"In this year's Saint Cultivator promotion ceremony, the top ten practitioners in each of the four major professions will receive a handsome sum of Contribution Points."
"First place will receive 100 Contribution Points, second place will receive 90, and so on, down to 10 for tenth place."
"Oh, right. There's an exception for Fierce Soldiers. The top ten Fierce Soldiers will *each* receive 100 Contribution Points!"
"If any of you are interested, you can come to me to sign up."
The Demon Disciples exchanged glances, beginning to suspect Li Cang's true intentions.
They may have been in the Demon Sect for less than two months, but all the Demon Disciples were now cautious to a horrifying degree. After all, one wrong step could get you killed.
The Golden Finger gave no reaction.
Qin Xuan remained expressionless.
He didn't need any prompts. Qin Xuan already knew he had to sign up for this promotion ceremony; he had learned the gist of it from Steward Wang long ago.
Zhou Kai asked, "Instructor Li, may I ask, what is this Saint Cultivator promotion ceremony?"
Li Cang replied, "The Saint Cultivator promotion is the critical step before all of you become Demon Cultivators."
"In the Holy Sect's Outer Sect, there are five major ranks: Demon Disciple, Demon Cultivator, Instructor, Steward, and Elder's Direct Inheritance. The Saint Cultivator promotion is how you specialize as a Demon Cultivator. There are four main types: Blood Disciple, Fierce Soldier, Bone Slave, and Soul Cultivator."
"I recommend you become Blood Disciples. That's the path I took back in the day."
A Blood Disciple's role was to provide Spiritual Blood for the reincarnated Past-Life Demons of the Inner Sect.
One liter of Spiritual Blood could be exchanged for 1.5 Contribution Points.
"In addition to Contribution Points, the senior disciples of the Inner Sect will also gift you a Qi and Blood Transporting Technique and Pills to replenish your qi and blood."
"Even the Demon Disciple among you who has the largest loan could probably pay it off in about two years as a Blood Disciple."
Hearing this, the eyes of the Demon Disciples instantly brightened.
'There was a way out after all!'
Li Cang chuckled to himself.
'They could pay it off in two years, sure, but only on the condition that they took out no new loans from this day forward.'
'Before becoming an Instructor, he himself had been a Blood Disciple for a full thirty years. 'Go on, you little Demon Pups,' he thought. 'Just obediently become Blood Disciples. The more of you that go, the bigger my kickback.''
Zhao Youliang asked, "Instructor Li, what about being a Fierce Soldier?"
Li Cang said, "If being a Blood Disciple is the Demon Cultivator path with the highest return and lowest risk, then being a Fierce Soldier is the most dangerous in the entire Outer Sect, with the lowest return, yet the highest requirements!"
"They have another name: Corpse Gatherer. These Demon Cultivators specialize in collecting the corpses of our fallen sect members and Righteous Cultivators from the Righteous Demon Battlefield for... recycling. They are called Fierce Soldiers because they are utterly fearless in the face of death."
"Of course, being a Fierce Soldier isn't without its perks. Dead Cultivators, especially our own Holy Sect disciples, often carry a great deal of treasure. You can take it all for yourselves—provided you make it back alive."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youliang, who had been considering becoming a Fierce Soldier, immediately abandoned the thought.
The Demon Sect was a treacherous place; it made sense that disciples would carry their most valuable possessions with them.
But having witnessed the cunning of Wang Jian and Li Cang, they didn't believe for a second that their dead sect-mates would have left their treasures without setting some kind of trap.
The slightest misstep would be fatal.
Another Demon Disciple spoke up. "Instructor Li, what about Bone Slaves and Soul Cultivators?"
Li Cang replied, "Bone Slaves must practice the *White Bone Yin Talisman*, and Soul Cultivators must possess the *Celestial Demon Soul-Catching Strategy*. Both of these Demon Cultivator types have extremely high Cultivation Technique requirements, so don't get any funny ideas."
When they pressed for more details, Li Cang refused to utter another word.
Just then, the giant sphere of light in Qin Xuan's mind flashed, and four bamboo slips flew out from it.
[Top-Top Lottery: Choose Fierce Soldier. A great war is near. You can enter the battlefield to scavenge corpses and search for treasure. You will be protected by a benefactor and obtain a Fifth-Grade Opportunity. Great fortune.]
[Middle-Upper Draw: Choose Bone Slave. Undertake exhausting and filthy hard labor. Though undignified, it is compatible with your Cultivation Technique. You will obtain a Seventh-Grade Opportunity. Good fortune.]
[Middle-Lower Draw: Choose Soul Cultivator. Abandon your Flesh Body and lose all freedom. Ill fortune.]
[The Worst Draw: Choose Blood Disciple. Utterly without benefit. You will fall into an endless sea of suffering, buried under Holy Loans with no hope of ever recovering. Dire misfortune!]
After reading the Divinations, Qin Xuan couldn't help but curse that old dog Li Cang in his mind. 'That fucking piece of shit.'
'That animal! He's trying to screw people over again!'
...
「A few days later, at the Outer Sect plaza」
Zheng Qi and a pretty Female Cultivator, her face hidden by a light purple veil, sat high up in the judges' seats.
The Zheng Qi of today was already a Foundation Establishment Great Demon!
The Demon Disciples stood silently below, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Xiao Ran, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, was also in the Outer Sect plaza.
Qin Xuan could feel that Zheng Qi's aura was far more powerful than Elder Sun's. They were worlds apart, completely beyond comparison.
"The Demon Disciple promotion ceremony now officially begins."
"Please choose the Demon Cultivator path to which you wish to be promoted."
Blood Disciple, Fierce Soldier, Bone Slave, Soul Cultivator.
The four paths of promotion were laid out before them.
Qin Xuan glanced around, noticing that while the vast majority of Demon Disciples present were at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, there were also a fair few elites at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.
However, that was not what surprised him the most.
To Qin Xuan's surprise, Xiao Ran had also reached the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer.
Xiao Ran was currently holding his Lifebound Longsword, standing quietly behind the short, stout Elder Sun. With sharp brows and bright eyes, he cut a dashing, heroic figure.
The pretty Female Cultivator beside Zheng Qi had a peculiar gleam in her eyes, which were fixed on Xiao Ran behind Elder Sun. She seemed to favor him greatly.
"The Saint Cultivator assessment: either you live or you die, go mad or grow strong. This assessment, organized by the Inner Sect, is designed to screen for seeds who best fit the characteristics of our Dao, who possess extreme will or talent. The process is cruel, the outcome is merciless. Failures become fodder."
Elder Sun announced, "This Outer Sect Saint Cultivator promotion ceremony is divided into four trials. They are the Blood Pool Leech Sea, which tests your Spirit Blood Control Ability;
the Thousand Bone Corridor, which tests your Spirit Bone Strength;
the Blood Boiling Arena, which tests your Physical Strength and Cultivation;
and the Soul Abyss's Hanging Thread, which tests your Divine Sense control."
"Each promotion trial holds its own secrets. Everyone, please proceed!"