A few hours ago, during the time Yin Na and Tian Ji Han were fighting, the battle was shifting towards Tian Ji Han’s defeat, while at the same time at the Heavenly Sword Sect, Xiao Feng and Ying Er were trying to think of a plan to gather people to help them on their mission to rescue Tian Ji Han.

Ying Er, Liu Kang and Sun Lu accompanied Xiao Feng as they implored nearby cultivators or other friends, but they were all met with rejection at varying degrees of politeness. Finally, they found themselves wandering back to the Sect “bath house,” where they kept the names of all of its Sect members out on current missions.

They checked that the jade slip bearing the name “Tian Ji Han” was still glowing brightly, while the six hooks beside it that used to hold the names of his team members were empty. The moment Tian Ji Han’s jade slip fades in its glow and subsequently shatters, it indicates his death.

“Okay, master Ji Han is still alive, but we’re not doing any good just waiting for him to die,” said Ying Er.

Xiao Feng let out a defeated sigh as he announced: “I’ve been ruminating over our actions and have come to a decision…”

The Heavenly Sword was a righteous sect, and yet it evidently contained no one willing to help them in the name of righteousness alone. They tried appealing to their sense of honor or reminding them of the many deeds Ji Han had done for them, only to be met with rude harrumphs and derisive glares. This was incredibly abnormal, as most Foundation stage cultivators would leap at the opportunity to appeal to and gain the debt of a cultivator at a higher stage, but even the lower-leveled cultivators failed to express a shred of interest, even when offered spirit stones as incentive.

It was with sad reluctance that Xiao Feng accepted the fact that Master Ji Han really wasn’t that popular in the sect, despite his official title rewarded by the Elders as a “pillar disciple of virtue.” More cultivators seemed to know Tian Ji Han, along with his loyal apprentice as the “orphan cultivators.” Also, for reasons unknown to him but could still be inferred, Tian Ji Han’s strict adherence to virtue evidently had created a web of misunderstandings which have offended many people in the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Since Xiao Feng always stuck to his master like white on rice, he had up until now a distorted, even blind view (or denial?) of his master’s standing among his peers’ eyes. In fact, this was the first time in his entire stay in the Heavenly Sword Sect that he was separate from his master.

Nevertheless, he hated every second of being “free.” Xiao Feng loved his master like his own father, having been an orphan until he was rescued by him. Currently he felt lonely and afraid, like a bird that was prematurely kicked out of the nest. He was not ready yet to face the world.

If master died…no, he did not even want to think of the possibility!

“We’ve banded together our funds to hire the service of another Golden Core cultivator,” said Xiao Feng finally. “Our current combined offer of 15,000 spirit stones somehow fails to attract even experienced squads from lower levels. Clearly, our incentive isn’t…enough.”

“What do you propose instead?” Sun Lu asked.

Xiao Feng felt a little guilty as earlier he had criticized Sun Lu for sounding like Yin Na when he warned about requesting help from cultivators without offering incentives. Now he sounded like he was backpedaling on his principles.

“I will make a post in the Sect mission hall for 100,000 spirit stones.”

Everyone gasped.

“100,000 spirit stones!” Ying Er cried. “This will put Xiao Feng’s request on the top of the list, it will definitely attract the attention of the Golden Core cultivators.”

“But it’s nearly ten times more expensive than the usual Sect rescue mission for its caliber. Do you even have that many spirit stones? Where will you get the funds?” said Liu Kang.

Xiao Feng gulped nervously. He knew he couldn’t expect to ask Brother Liu Kang and Brother Sun Lu for any more money, even if they were loyal friends of Tian Ji Han.

“We don’t have the luxury of time. Tian Ji Han is my master, so on top of the 15,000 you all generously offer to save him, I will borrow directly using the Sect mission house.”

Brother Liu Kang and Sun Lu’s faces turned solemn, understanding that the fastest way to get a loan for a request in the Sect was to directly make a loan from the Sect mission house. Since they all had limited connections, they couldn’t waste any more time looking for separate individuals or entities to borrow spirit stones for cheaper.

The Sect “bath house” was connected to the Sect mission house. They followed Xiao Feng as he stood before the door curtains of the Mission Request room. Just as Xiao Feng was about to push aside the beaded curtains of the room where requests were posted, Tian Sun Lu spoke.

“The interest will be debilitating. The higher the price, the more ridiculous the rate. You will spend decades paying off that amount of spirit stones. Being in such debt is crippling to a cultivator’s progress and development.”

Ying Er asked worriedly: “Brother Sun Lu, how much would you estimate 100,000 spirit stones would cost him?”

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“When putting the recent seasonal Sect harvests and provincial events into consideration, as well as Xiao Feng’s lack of a backing family and other revenues of income, along with his current earning rate as a Qi Condensation cultivator, I estimate that with a price of 100,000 spirit stones, Xiao Feng can be expected to pay off the debt of 300,000 spirit stones within 40 years.”

“Forty years!” Ying Er’s mouth dropped in shock. “300% interest rate! Why is that number so high?! Xiao Feng, you’ll be an old man if you don’t reach Foundation Establishment within 40 years!”

“The interest rate scales dramatically to discourage people from making such high loans, so that only the most desperate requests (such as ours) make the top of the list. But don’t worry. 40 years is only if he remains at Qi Condensation and does the bare minimum for those decades.”

Brother Liu Kang shook his head as he looked at Xiao Feng’s back with pitying eyes.

“If he works hard, improves his relationships with the right people, makes a name and reputation for himself, the debt will eventually be paid off.”

For Xiao Feng, Ying Er felt moved. If she were really his older sister, she’d be shedding tears of sympathy and concern.

Xiao Feng sighed, and answered back:

“Those years will pass. As long as I spend them cultivating patiently and steadily, forty years will pass in the blink of an eye. But every second I spend in hesitation is a second wasted in saving master.”

With these words, Xiao Feng stepped into the mission hall.

The mission hall was an oversized room, in that it was almost always empty besides having the capacity for about fifty other people. The room was cold, the candles on the lamps dim and flickering. This was because it was only busy during times of war.

Xiao Feng’s footsteps reverberated in the room as if he were trodding in a cave. There was only one Sect member at the back of the room, currently tasked with overlooking the Mission hall, who also looked half-asleep. Perhaps the uninviting atmosphere was designed to discourage the average soul from putting in a mission request.

A single tall, obsidian monolith stood in the back of the room like a massive tombstone. When Xiao Feng stepped closer, thousands of tiny letters seemed to glow alive from the surface of the monument.

These were the individual mission requests, posted and updated in real time upon completion or failure.

The lowest-leveled missions were on the lowest base of the monument.

“Sect mission: gather 50 jin each worth of Stalker’s Weed, Hermit Grass, and Purple Pepper Roots. 10 Sect Contribution points plus 100 Spirit stone reward.”

The newest posted missions held priority over the lower-leveled missions, but the reward offered was still more prioritized. The middle of the monument was full of these mid-level requests.

“Sect mission: oversee the collection of taxes in the nearby mortal city Qiang An. 50 Sect Contribution points, plus 400 Spirit stone reward.”

“Personal request: Lost spirit pet, blue bunny with red-orange eye markings. Her name is Xiao Tun. 500 Spirit stones!”

“Sect mission: kill the Yao Guai hiding within Double Leap Falls. 100 Sect Contribution points, plus 700 Spirit stone reward.

Xiao Feng’s heart leaped when his eyes scrolled to the top of the monument, where the much deadlier and higher-priced missions were posted, including the most recent one which Tian Ji Han had posted a few days ago.

“Sect mission: locate and kill the demonic cultivator Yin Na. 1500 Sect Contribution points, plus 15,000 Spirit stones.”

In the days after its posting, Master Ji Han’s request had been bumped down from the top by more recent, higher-leveled missions.

“Well?” asked the Sect member working the Mission Hall position. “Are you going to take or put in a request?”

“R-request,” said Xiao Feng.

“Okay,” said the Sect member lazily. He took out a clipboard that had a single sheet of Jade film over it, and handed it to Xiao Feng.

The Jade clipboard in his hands trembled, as he wrote his request out in brush upon the surface of the Jade film. He decided to avoid mentioning Tian Ji Han’s name, choosing to simply settle on “Heavenly Sword Sect member needing rescue.” Because he was not a Golden Core like his master, he could only put the mission as a “Personal Request.” When he was done writing, the ink faded on the Jade clipboard. At the same time, new words were forming on the top of the Mission monument.

The Sect member lazily looked up to see the words on the monument, when his eyes bugged nearly out of his skull upon reading.

“100,000 spirit stones!” He cried. “Just for a rescue mission! You’ve got guts, kid. Now you’ll attract all the top Golden Cores in the Sect.”

The Sect member was impressed that this young Qi Condensation cultivator made his first request and forced it to be on the top of the Sect mission board with such an extravagant offer. This was a request that would definitely stay on top for the next few days, unless, sans completion, someone else or the Sect tops it otherwise.

“Alright, how will you pay?” said the cultivator.

“I’ll take out a loan,” said Xiao Feng. The moment he said this, the cultivator frowned.

This cultivator was visibly nervous. He took this easy job to pay off a loan he made years ago when he put in his own request. He didn’t expect any special requests today, especially not from a kid, and actually conducted his job poorly in that the proper procedure was to first verbally confirm the requester’s budget before handing them the jade clipboard.

Now that the words of the request were on the top of the monument, they attracted immediate attention in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Taking them back was enormously difficult and would cause him to lose his job.

“Such a cost, yet you were planning to pay it all with a loan?”

“Yes.” Xiao Feng placed the 15,000 spirit stones that he, Ying Er, Tian Liu Kang and Tian Sun Lu gathered as down payment. The cultivator let out a turbid air of relief, as he took out more jade slips.

“Man, I recognize you now, you’re the little orphan cultivator, haha! I hope you gain the backing or wherewithal to pay off such a debt, you could let me know in a few decades if it was worth putting your mission on the top of the queue for a few days!”

Xiao Feng waived the opportunity to listen to how the interest rate worked for the Sect, as he bit his finger to sign his name on the loan…

“Wait!” Ying Er’s voice rang in the near-empty Mission Hall, as she ran up to Xiao Feng. “Don’t sign it yet!”