Is It Wrong to Bully the Novice Village for System Rewards?

The next day.

Led by a stoic maidservant, Chen Huai arrived at a spacious, opulent hall. He was trembling like a leaf in a storm.

“Reporting to the Master. This is the Outer Sect Disciple you requested, Chen Huai. As per your instructions, this servant brought him here the moment he returned to the Sect.”

The maidservant bowed with deep reverence toward the figure seated at the head of the hall—a woman in a flowing purple dress.

Chen Huai forcibly suppressed the terror clawing at his throat. He dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead against the cold floor.

“This humble one, Chen Huai, pays respects to Legacy Disciple Ji,” he stammered, his voice quivering. “I… I do not know why you have summoned me. What are your orders?”

He didn’t dare lift his head. Offending a high-and-mighty Legacy Disciple of The Saint Sect was a one-way ticket to a shallow grave.

Ji Chan’er sat on her throne, idly flipping through a jade booklet. Hearing his voice, she glanced down with an expressionless face.

“Do you know a person named Big Qi?”

Although his head was bowed low, Chen Huai felt a crushing pressure descend upon him. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped onto the floor tiles.

“The name Big Qi does sound quite familiar…” He racked his brain, panic rising. “Oh! This humble one remembers now. I once captured a Rogue Cultivator by that name.”

Ji Chan’er’s delicate eyebrow raised slightly.

“And then?” she asked, her voice calm but piercing.

Chen Huai started, then hurriedly replied, “Later, this humble one did not kill him. Instead, I sold him to a mine under The Saint Sect’s jurisdiction to serve as a laborer. He should still be there digging ore right now.”

After receiving the bounty for selling the slave, Chen Huai had taken the Spirit Stones and gone on a debauched bender outside the sect. He had only just returned.

He had no idea the mine had been wiped out. Nor did he know about a certain someone’s legendary exploits in the Outer Sect. If he did, he wouldn’t be kneeling here; he would be fleeing for his life.

So what that bastard said before was actually true!

Ji Chan’er’s expression shifted, a flicker of curiosity entering her eyes.

“Exactly how did you capture him? Tell This Seat the entire process. From beginning to end. Don’t leave out a single detail.”

Chen Huai didn’t dare hide anything. He immediately tried to recall the event.

But strangely, his memory was a blur. It was like trying to grasp smoke. No matter how hard he focused, he could only recall the outcome—that he had captured the man. The specific details of the battle were completely gone.

After a few moments of agonizing mental struggle, Chen Huai realized he couldn’t remember a thing.

But Legacy Disciple Ji was waiting. He couldn’t just say I forgot. To survive this interrogation, he had to improvise.

“Uh… actually, it was very simple,” Chen Huai began, his voice gaining a shaky confidence. “I saw a lone Rogue Cultivator in the wilderness. I subdued him in three moves. Five seconds, tops.”

“That guy was scared out of his wits! He kept begging for mercy, claiming he was just passing by and didn’t mean to offend The Saint Sect. He pleaded with me not to kill him.”

“I saw that he looked honest and had a sturdy build. Knowing the Crimson Gold Ore mine was short-handed, I decided to show leniency. I sent him to the mine to contribute to the sect…”

Chen Huai rambled on, weaving a tapestry of lies. He acted the part of a loyal, discerning disciple perfectly, subtly highlighting his dedication to the sect.

He was quite proud of his impromptu performance.

He didn’t notice Ji Chan’er’s face darkening with every word. She felt her intelligence was being actively insulted.

“Enough!”

She slammed the jade booklet onto the table. The sharp crack echoed through the hall like a gunshot.

“Master, please calm your anger!”

The maidservants lining the room froze, silent as cicadas in winter. They dropped to their knees, terrified to even breathe loudly.

Chen Huai shuddered violently, looking up in shock. “Legacy Disciple, you…”

“You are lying!”

Ji Chan’er stared at him, her gaze cold as glacial ice. Her tone dripped with disgust.

“If that man didn’t have ulterior motives, how could he possibly be captured by trash like you?”

Chen Huai’s blood ran cold. Sweat poured down his face like rain.

“Legacy Disciple Ji, please! Every word is true! I swear it!”

Admitting to lying now would be suicide. He had to double down. He had to ride this lie to the bitter end.

“Fine.”

Ji Chan’er’s eyes narrowed.

“This Seat will give you a chance. You are at the late Foundation Building stage. Defeat my maidservant, Xiao He—who is also at the late Foundation Building stage—and I will believe your story.”

She turned her head slightly.

“Xiao He. Test his mettle.”

“This servant obeys.”

A maidservant bowed gracefully, then leaped to the center of the hall. She landed silently, her eyes locking onto Chen Huai like a hawk spotting a mouse.

Chen Huai swallowed hard. He had no choice. He stood up, forcing himself to assume a combat stance despite his trembling legs.

“Please… advise!”

Seconds later.

Thud!

With a dull, meaty impact, Chen Huai was smashed into the floor. He curled into a ball, groaning in wretched agony.

Xiao He drifted back to Ji Chan’er’s side, not a hair out of place. She bowed calmly.

“This thief dared to lie to the Master. His crime deserves death ten thousand times over. Shall I tear him to pieces on the spot as a warning to others?”

Hearing this, Chen Huai ignored the pain in his broken ribs. He scrambled into a kneeling position, slamming his head against the floor repeatedly.

“Legacy Disciple Ji, spare my life! I’ll never do it again! Please, just spare me this once!”

Ji Chan’er ignored his pleas. A strange, beautiful smile curved her lips—a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“How many Spirit Stones did you get for selling Big Qi to the mine?”

Why is she asking that? Does she want a cut?

Chen Huai was stunned. After confirming he hadn’t misheard, he stammered, “Replying to Legacy Disciple Ji… that Big Qi was young and strong, with mid-Foundation Building cultivation. I sold him for five hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones. I… I am willing to offer it all as tribute! Just please let me go!”

Ji Chan’er didn’t even look at him. She turned to her maidservants.

“Among the mines under The Saint Sect’s jurisdiction, which is the hardest to work?”

Hearing this disjointed question, a sense of impending doom settled over Chen Huai.

An older maidservant stepped forward. “Reporting to Master. The hardest is the Geng Gold Mine. The ore is incredibly hard, and the metallic killing energy in the veins is ten times stronger than in the Crimson Gold mines. The mortality rate for laborers is… extreme.”

“Good.”

Ji Chan’er nodded, her tone playful yet cruel.

“Take him to the Geng Gold Mine. Tell the overseer that he is not allowed to return to the Sect until he has mined five thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones’ worth of Geng Gold.”

“As for the money he made from the sale? Deliver it directly to Big Qi at Blood Refining Peak.”

Chen Huai’s brain short-circuited. He stared wide-eyed, jaw hanging open.

“Legacy Disciple Ji… this… this isn’t appropriate! I…”

Before he could finish, the Golden Core realm maidservant stepped forward. She sealed his acupoints with a casual tap and dragged him out of the hall like a sack of garbage.

After Chen Huai was hauled away, a thoughtful light flickered in Ji Chan’er’s beautiful eyes.

My guess was correct.

He let himself be captured. He used the mine as a springboard to infiltrate the Saint Sect.

Even if the “Righteous Path” hadn’t raided the mine, he would have found another way to shed his laborer status and enter the Outer Sect.

And yesterday, that bastard asked me about the Moluo God-Slaughtering Tower.

He clearly intended to participate.

Based on her understanding of him, he never did anything without absolute confidence. If he was joining, he had a plan to win.

If he passes the trial, he will immediately be promoted to Legacy Disciple.

As she pondered, a memory surfaced in her mind—a sentence he had spoken with arrogant casualness back when they first met.

“…This Qi heard that the Demon Sect’s Saint Son position is currently vacant. If one is to be, then one should be the Demon Sect’s Saint Son!”

Ji Chan’er froze. Shock flashed through her eyes.

Could it be… that bastard’s ultimate goal is actually the position of the Saint Son?!

He had dared to covet the throne of the Saint Son while merely in the Qi Refining realm. And he had the audacity to say it out loud.

His guts truly know no bounds.

But there was a problem. The Inheritance Hall would open in half a year. The current competitors for the Saint Son position were all, at minimum, in the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

Qi Yuan was currently only at the mid-Foundation Building stage.

No matter how she calculated it, catching up in six months seemed mathematically impossible.

Ji Chan’er tapped her finger against the jade booklet, a contemplative look on her face.

She suddenly felt that perhaps she should do something to help…