Han Lie was stunned, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

He seriously suspected that Zhou Ze’s head had been slammed in a door before he left home today. This wasn’t right! Even though Zhou Ze spoke with apparent sincerity and backed it up with concrete action, Han Lie still couldn’t believe that Zhou Ze would lower himself to reconcile.

No particular reason. It was simply because this was the Heavenly Void Sect, a demonic sect that devoured people without spitting out the bones!

If this were an orthodox immortal cultivation sect, Han Lie might have believed him.

Han Lie placed the three hundred Spirit Stones Zhou Ze had subsequently pushed toward him back on the table and looked him straight in the eye. “Manager Zhou, neither of us are newcomers here. We can’t fool each other. Better to speak plainly. What do you want?”

“Haha, what I want is quite simple, Brother Han Lie,” Zhou Ze said with great seriousness. “I bear you no ill will and have no intention of targeting you. I only ask that you, Brother Han Lie, refrain from reporting me in the future.”

“Furthermore, you will remain in charge of the servant disciples for the Violet Heaven Palace from now on. As long as you live, no one can take your position.”

“Brother Han Lie, what do you think…?”

Han Lie slowly stroked his beard, falling into deep thought.

If Zhou Ze was worried about being reported, then his behavior today could somewhat be explained. People were, after all, selfish creatures. How many Spirit Stones was loyalty worth in the Heavenly Void Sect?

However, Han Lie still hadn’t let down his guard against Zhou Ze. It was entirely possible that Zhou Ze had simply sensed that Han Lie’s cultivation was now stronger than his own and had thus chosen to reconcile. If Han Lie were still the same Qi Refining Stage second-layer waste from before, it would be a simple matter of seeing whether Zhou Ze would mess with him or not.

When all was said and done, strength was the only truth in this world.

“If it can bring some peace and quiet, This Senior has no desire to stir up trouble in the Servant Disciple Department either,” Han Lie said, accepting the compensation of three hundred Spirit Stones.

He continued, “As for the female servant disciples, there’s no need to send them over to This Senior. Convert their value into Spirit Stones for me instead. Calculating based on the Qi Refining Stage rates at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion… This Senior will generously consider it one thousand Spirit Stones.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ze’s face instantly darkened.

With one thousand Spirit Stones, he could buy over a hundred female servant disciples!

What kind of goods were the female servant disciples in the Servant Disciple Department? Han Lie knew, and Zhou Ze knew too.

The female servant disciples who ended up in the Servant Disciple Department were not only cultivation trash but also utterly ordinary in looks and figure. Even those without cultivation talent—if they possessed outstanding looks or temperament—were taken back by the higher-ups of the Heavenly Void Sect to serve as maidservants.

Seeing Zhou Ze’s face so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it, Han Lie chuckled. “Manager Zhou, it’s only one thousand Spirit Stones. Other servant disciples might not be able to come up with it, but for you, it shouldn’t be considered much, right?”

Zhou Ze’s eyelid twitched violently.

One thousand Spirit Stones wasn’t much? With one thousand Spirit Stones, he could hire a Golden Core Stage assassin! Why don’t you just rob me?

But considering that Han Lie spent most of his time holed up in this little wooden hut, Zhou Ze could only let it go. Although Han Lie was merely a servant disciple… at least within the entire Heavenly Void Sect, no one dared to cause trouble at the Violet Heaven Palace.

“N-not much,” Zhou Ze gritted his teeth and had no choice but to take out another one thousand Spirit Stones and hand them over to Han Lie.

His heart was bleeding!

He could accept spending eight hundred Spirit Stones to reconcile with Han Lie. But one thousand eight hundred… that was undoubtedly cutting flesh from his body!

Yet aside from this, Zhou Ze had no other options. If he wanted to stay securely in his position as manager of the Servant Disciple Department, Han Lie was an unstable element he could not ignore. Otherwise, Zhou Ze wouldn’t even be able to sleep soundly at night.

Satisfied, Han Lie accepted the Spirit Stones and said with a smile, “Manager Zhou, you truly live up to being my elder brother. I’ve had high hopes for you since you were young.”

“With your vast, all-encompassing tolerance and magnanimity, it’s no wonder you deserve to be the manager of the Servant Disciple Department!”

Listening to this flattery from Han Lie, far from feeling pleased, Zhou Ze felt as miserable as if he’d eaten shit!

This insincere flattery—was it meant to fool a three-year-old child?

But he couldn’t show his true feelings. He could only force a smile and say, “Brother Han is too kind. Well then, I won’t disturb you any further.”

“There are still many matters awaiting my attention back in the Servant Disciple Department.”

Having said that, Zhou Ze didn’t wait for Han Lie’s reply. He immediately stood up and left. If he stayed any longer, he feared Han Lie would strip him down to his underpants before letting him go!

“Brother Zhou, take care. This Senior won’t see you out,” Han Lie’s cheerful farewell voice came from behind.

Zhou Ze, who hadn’t gone far yet, stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face in a fit of rage. Fortunately, an accompanying servant disciple quickly steadied him; otherwise, he would have surely ended up eating dirt.

You’re all smiles and laughter; I’m certainly not!

Inside the wooden hut.

“This Zhou Ze is quite a character too,” Han Lie chuckled to himself.

He had originally thought it would take some effort to deal with Zhou Ze. Unexpectedly, things had gone more smoothly than anticipated.

This way, at least for a short while, he wouldn’t need to worry about Zhou Ze coming after him again. And by the time Zhou Ze did think about dealing with him… In Han Lie’s eyes by then, Zhou Ze would truly be no different from an ant.

The key point was that Zhou Ze had also delivered one thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones.

Han Lie almost felt like bestowing upon him the title ‘Timely Rain’.

“With this settled,” Han Lie mused aloud after putting away all eighteen hundred Spirit Stones into his storage ring. “Now that matters in the Servant Disciple Department are more or less resolved… I can go find that female demon to collect my Spirit Stones.”

“But before that…”

Recalling what Ye Qingxuan had said during their last meeting when she summoned him… Han Lie thought it would be better to first make a trip to the Jade Clear Pool for a wash before heading to the Violet Heaven Palace.

He certainly couldn’t smell any odor on himself. But just to be safe—to avoid Ye Qingxuan throwing some kind of fit later—it was more prudent to follow her instructions and wash up at the Jade Clear Pool. It wouldn’t cost many Spirit Stones anyway.

Violet Heaven Palace.

The ethereal artificial lake.

Ye Qingxuan sat by the wooden bridge leading to the pavilion at the lake’s center. Her jade-white feet were immersed in the water as she gently stirred the crystal-clear surface with her toes—a picture of utter contentment.

Bai Ling approached with obedient and elegant steps before respectfully saying, “Master! I have good news for you! Your disciple has broken through to Foundation Establishment Perfection!”

“Hmm.” Ye Qingxuan merely gave a slight nod; her mood didn’t seem particularly stirred.

Bai Ling’s eyes darted thoughtfully before she continued, “Master… don’t you think it’s time for me to learn more advanced techniques? If I wait until after breaking through to the Golden Core Stage before switching techniques… it might delay my cultivation progress.”

“That is reasonable.” Ye Qingxuan asked, “The sect possesses many advanced techniques; do you have any particular one in mind?”

“Reporting Master! Your disciple does indeed have a technique in mind… but…” Bai Ling hesitated as if finding it difficult to voice her thoughts.

“But what? Speak plainly.” Ye Qingxuan didn’t want to guess Bai Ling’s thoughts; she preferred direct answers.