Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

In those five days, Yu Changsheng had accumulated another 675 Essence points from feeding the chickens. Combined with the 300 points left over from his last upgrade, he now had a total of 975 points.

This was enough for him to upgrade his Wind Travel Skill to the Mastery level.

However, Yu Changsheng decided to save them for now. ’After all, this Essence is hard-earned, and I’ll need it in the future for evolving and fusing Spirit Beasts.’

’Besides, my Refining God Technique requires a huge amount of Essence. It’s not worth spending it all to prepare for an uncertain danger.’

’My current abilities are enough to protect myself. If I ever truly need the Wind Travel Skill, I can just upgrade it on the spot!’

At the end of the year, the day to collect rent arrived.

Twenty servant disciples gathered in the courtyard. Led by an Outer Disciple, they headed for the Miscellaneous Hall in the Fish Market.

At the Fish Market’s Miscellaneous Hall, besides the servants from Yu Changsheng’s group, there were many other servant disciples from other Outer Peaks. They all sized each other up curiously, whispering amongst themselves from time to time.

The various Outer Peaks rarely interacted on a normal day, so it was a rare and somewhat lively occasion for so many servants to be gathered in one place.

"Hey, isn’t that Zhuang Yan? Haha, it’s been five years since we joined the sect together."

Hearing his name, Zhuang Yan turned to see a rugged-looking man approaching. "Wu Shang?" he called out, a little uncertain.

"It’s me. You can barely recognize me after five years, huh?" Wu Shang said with a loud laugh as he walked up to Zhuang Yan’s side.

"It is a little hard. I remember you used to be rail-thin. I never expected you to get so brawny. It looks like you’re doing well for yourself on your Outer Peak."

Zhuang Yan hadn’t expected to run into an old acquaintance, and a smile touched his face.

Wu Shang’s eyes swept over the servant disciples behind him. He lowered his voice and said, "It was pure luck. A couple of years ago, a benefactor took a liking to me and brought me to the Fish Market to work. I’ve been doing great on the streets, like a fish in water, earning a lot in tips."

"Otherwise, how could I have possibly reached my current Realm?"

Hearing this, Zhuang Yan finally noticed that the other man’s Realm was already the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. He couldn’t help but be astonished.

When they had joined the Wanxiang Sect together, he had been a minor Realm ahead of Wu Shang. To think that he would be surpassed five years later.

A bitter feeling welled up inside him.

Just then, Wu Shang seemed to notice his dispirited mood. A smirk played on his lips as he said, "This rent collection is actually an opportunity, you know."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Zhuang Yan asked, looking up in surprise.

Yu Changsheng and the others couldn’t help but prick up their ears.

Wu Shang saw a few other servants gathering around, but instead of shooing them away, his smile widened. "Think about it," he said. "The sect sent us to collect rent. It’s ten Spirit Stones a year per house. Not every one of those Loose Cultivators in the shantytown can afford that."

"For the ones with higher Realms, we can be cautious and report them to the sect, let the Outer Disciples evict them. But the weaker ones who can’t pay? Aren’t they ours for the taking?"

"Outside the shantytown is a dense forest. I don’t need to spell out the rest, do I?"

Wu Shang narrowed his eyes and gave a slight smile.

Everyone understood the chilling intent behind his smile. They looked at one another; some of the servant disciples were tempted, others remained silent, and a few, like Yu Changsheng, frowned.

"If they can’t pay the rent, the sect only ordered us to evict them. If we do this, won’t it tarnish the sect’s reputation and go against its orders?"

Zhuang Yan’s eyes widened as he stared at the other man, who now seemed like a stranger.

’Is this really the same friend I knew five years ago?’

Wu Shang was unconcerned. "Who’s going to know if they die?" he said. "Besides, Cultivation is already harder for us servant disciples than for ordinary disciples. If we don’t fight and seize every chance, when will we ever enter the Outer Sect, let alone the Inner Sect?"

"But, to kill innocent Loose Cultivators just for some resources..."

Zhuang Yan felt his heart sink. He gritted his teeth. "That’s a twisted and evil path!"

Wu Shang studied him for a moment, saw the serious look on his face, and gave up trying to persuade him. He laughed. "They’ll die at someone else’s hands sooner or later anyway. Fine, since you don’t want to do this with me, just stick to collecting the rent honestly."

"I’ve got some pull around here. I’ll help you get an easier assignment."

With that, he patted Zhuang Yan’s shoulder. It was hard to tell if there was a threat hidden in his words, but any sane person knew not to report something like this.

After all, such things were all too common in this cruel world. Reporting it would be a thankless task, and the perpetrator would, at most, receive a light punishment.

Zhuang Yan had no intention of making an enemy of Wu Shang, so he nodded and said, "Then I’m in your debt, Brother Wu."

Wu Shang’s smile didn’t falter. "Wait for me here," he said with a wave.

After he left, Zhuang Yan turned to the others and said gravely, "You all heard what he just said."

"I don’t know if any of you were tempted, but you all call me Senior Brother Zhuang, so there are some things I must say. Do not get involved in this. You can’t tell who’s truly weak and who’s just pretending among the Loose Cultivators in the shantytown. You’re all at the Qi Refining Third Layer; how could you possibly see through them? So, any of you who were tempted, put those thoughts away. I don’t want to be the one collecting your bodies."

Hearing this, the expressions of several servant disciples shifted slightly. One of them forced a laugh. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother Zhuang. We understand. Honest Cultivation is the proper way."

"Yeah, that’s right. Any of those Loose Cultivators who can survive here... how many of them are actually pushovers? We’re not stupid enough to mess with them."

"Hahaha, Junior Yu, what do you say?"

Yu Changsheng nodded. "Lying low and focusing on your own growth is the key to a long life."

Soon, Wu Shang returned with several assignments and sets of keys.

"Here, this one’s for you."

He handed out the items one by one, explaining, "Follow the house numbers on these lists. Each person is responsible for about a hundred houses. You need to finish collecting and turn everything in here by tomorrow morning."

"If you run into danger, you can call for help from the other servant disciples nearby. We won’t be stationed too far from one another."

Yu Changsheng accepted a list and a string of keys from him.

The list read: Shantytown, West Dragon Street, Numbers 550 to 650. It was followed by the tenants’ names, their registered Realms, and the rent they owed.

Some of them were two or three months behind on rent. If they wished to continue living in the shantytown, they had to pay a full year’s rent of ten Lower Grade Spirit Stones and clear their outstanding debt. If they did not wish to continue living there, they still had to clear the debt and would be ordered to move out tonight.

Yu Changsheng gave it a quick look and got the gist of it.

"Time is wasting. Let’s get started."

Wu Shang clapped his hands. "Everyone for West Dragon Street, follow me," he shouted.

From the Miscellaneous Hall, hundreds of servant disciples moved out under the command of their respective leaders.

BANG BANG BANG!!!

"Rent collection! Rent collection!"

The sound of rough pounding on doors echoed one after another throughout the shantytown.

Yu Changsheng had never collected rent, not even in his past life. He followed Zhuang Yan and the others onto West Dragon Street, holding his list and matching it to the house numbers. Just as he was wondering how to begin...

a Cultivator inside, having heard the commotion, opened the door. His face was pale as he dropped to his knees before Yu Changsheng.

"Sir, sir!"

"A few days ago, I was severely injured while hunting Demon Beasts! I spent all my Spirit Stones on medicine, I really have nothing left! Please, grant me just a few more days!"