The moment Chen Xiaoming approached Crimson Sun Sect's gate.
The gatekeeper, who'd been yawning like he was bored, reacted alertly. He pointed his spear-shaped magic artifact and used Spirit Eye Technique.
After looking him up and down, he clicked his tongue.
"Hmph, just Qi Refining Level 1. What are you doing here?"
His vigilant air vanished like it had been washed away. His looking-down gaze flashed with unconcealed contempt.
"...I'm the rogue cultivator Chen Xiaoming. I heard Crimson Sun Sect is recruiting disciples, so I came."
"Chen Xiaoming? ...Ahhh!"
His annoyed expression suddenly brightened. The gatekeeper acted like a friendly merchant and smiled brightly.
"Yeah! You came to the right place! Crimson Sun Sect always welcomes rogue cultivators. You look young—how old are you?"
"I'm fifteen this year."
Mm-hmm. The gatekeeper nodded with a satisfied look.
"Fifteen! Perfect age! Here's the entrance contract, so sign it. If you drop essence blood in that blank space, the contract's complete. You can immediately become a Crimson Sun Sect disciple."
Swoosh!
The gatekeeper held out a large piece of paper like he'd been waiting.
The contract had densely written characters, and mysterious patterns drawn around the edges reminded him of a magic scroll.
It radiated faint spirit qi—clearly not ordinary paper.
'...Something's weird.'
The other party's attitude was too eager. He stepped back instinctively.
"Please wait a moment. I'll read it first."
"Huh? No need! There's nothing special, so just trust me and sign!"
At some point it had turned into a commanding tone. The domineering attitude made his suspicion grow.
He had to be careful with contracts.
Signing carelessly was very dangerous. Especially contracts using essence blood had tremendous binding force.
If you broke the contract terms, you could suffer backlash and become crippled or even die!
Chen Xiaoming sneered inwardly and acted like a clueless kid.
"I can't do that! If it's an entrance contract, it should have the conditions I need to follow. To be a diligent disciple, I can't break the rules, right? I can't cause trouble for Crimson Sun Sect, so I'll read and memorize it."
Indeed.
When he acted dignified like a loyal disciple, the gatekeeper couldn't say anything.
He hesitated like a mute and then said.
"...Hurry up. I'm about to change shifts, so I don't have much time. If you join Crimson Sun Sect through someone else without my recommendation, it'll be hard to adjust."
He kept rushing him like someone desperate for the bathroom, but Chen Xiaoming ignored it. He just moved urgently on the surface while carefully reading the contract.
Character by character, meticulously.
How much time passed? Chen Xiaoming barely held back his face from twisting.
'Menial disciple?'
Something felt suspicious, and as expected.
The contract the gatekeeper had handed him had problems. Lots of them!
'Damn it.'
Menial disciples were the lowest tier in Crimson Sun Sect. They were called disciples, but they were no different from laborers.
They had no time to cultivate because of work. They just worked hard labor all day and collapsed exhausted.
They were no different from slaves, working so core disciples could cultivate comfortably!
'The monthly wage is only 30 spirit stone fragments?'
There wasn't even a condition to provide a dwelling for cultivation.
That meant you had to handle basic food, clothing, and shelter yourself.
'Terrible treatment. It's ridiculous.'
Even in the outer city with poor security, rent for the cheapest shack was 5 spirit stone fragments per month.
That meant the actual income was 25 spirit stone fragments.
If he were still an ordinary person, he'd be moved to tears by this income, but not now.
After becoming a Qi Refining cultivator, everything from his senses to stamina and strength had become superior.
He was confident he could earn more than this without dangerously climbing Crimson Sun Mountain.
'The monthly wage aside. That'll gradually increase as my realm rises anyway. But...'
The truly horrible condition existed separately.
He forcibly suppressed his bubbling emotions. He clasped his hands and asked the gatekeeper.
"Senior. It says here that once I join Crimson Sun Sect, I can't leave for at least 30 years. Is there any way to shorten this period?"
The gatekeeper, who'd been acting like a friendly merchant, spat. He stood with one leg cocked and spoke in a cold voice.
"Hmph! Like that would be possible. Rogue cultivators like you are all the same. Your plan is to join Crimson Sun Sect, learn basic spells, and run away, right? There's no such sweet deal in this world!"
The gatekeeper, mocking Chen Xiaoming, continued.
"If you join as a menial disciple, you'll grow spirit crops in the fields. You need at least 3 spells to grow spirit rice. That's not cheap! Of course you'll need to work for 30 years for it not to be a loss."
It was punk-like bullshit that made him want to curse.
Simply put, he meant to work him like a serf and not let him go until middle age.
If he worked as a slave at Crimson Sun Sect for 30 years, he'd be 45. Even if he devoted himself to cultivation then, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be impossible.
His cultivation path would be cut off!
'Absolutely not!'
His intention to join Crimson Sun Sect completely disappeared.
He absolutely couldn't agree. Rather than living as a slave his whole life, it was better to climb Crimson Sun Mountain and risk his life.
Now what mattered was how to safely get out of this situation.
Just as he was racking his brain.
"Junior. From what I can see, your spirit root aptitude doesn't look good. It's the lowest grade, right?"
A suddenly gentle voice reached him.
"...That's right. I have a trash spirit root, so I won't be much help to Crimson Sun Sect."
"Huh! At least you know your place... ahem! No. Don't worry. Our Crimson Sun Sect welcomes everyone. You just need to join Crimson Sun Sect and work diligently."
"..."
"Anyway! What I'm trying to say is that our Crimson Sun Sect is the only sect where someone with a trash spirit root like you can join. Rather than wasting time, you'd better decide quickly! Wouldn't it be beneficial to learn spells and start cultivating even one day sooner?"
His smooth coaxing showed this wasn't his first or second time making slave contracts.
Chen Xiaoming, who'd been silent, sighed.