Chapter 406 - 387: What Kind of Dregs Are These?

Chapter 406: Chapter 387: What Kind of Dregs Are These?

A long while passed before the earthquake-like tremors finally subsided.

Li Chunfeng, shaken, had planned to return the way he came. But when he turned back, he saw that the secret passage had... collapsed from the tremors!

"..."

Li Chunfeng’s face went pale as he stared at the completely blocked entrance.

’If I try to go back this way, how long will it take me to dig through? And what if it collapses again halfway? I’ll be buried alive!’

"Forget it." He shook his head, abandoning the unrealistic idea. "I’ll just take the main road back. At worst, I’ll have to make do with a few meals in the wilderness."

He rubbed his empty stomach, and a shiver ran down his spine as he recalled the "delicacies" he had "enjoyed" in the wild with Wang Xiedi.

’Without him around, I shouldn’t get food poisoning again this time, right?!’

He gave himself a small pep talk, figured out his bearings, and set off on the long walk toward the distant Anhe City.

He had to get back as soon as possible to report the clue about the demon race to Miss Su.

...

「Meanwhile, inside the Guixi Sect.」

Lin Qingfeng returned to the sect as a streak of light, his spirits soaring.

After dealing with six Nascent Soul cultivators, his sect had secured the first player-controlled city in the Daqian Dynasty region, causing its reputation to skyrocket. He was in an excellent mood and had returned to inspect the sect’s fresh blood, eager to see what future pillars of talent the players had recruited for him.

Then, he saw a sight that left him utterly stunned.

In the sect gate plaza, a dense, dark mass of people was squatting neatly in rows, all with their hands on their heads. A rough count revealed there were already about three hundred of them!

Surrounding the plaza, four identical copies of Qian Buyu patrolled like jailers, pacing back and forth with wooden staves. Their eyes were vacant, and occasionally, one would bug out and get stuck in front of a new disciple, staring at them with a bizarre, unblinking gaze.

’Not bad. Such high efficiency?’ At first, Lin Qingfeng was quite pleased, assuming everyone was hard at work.

He eagerly scanned the crowd, hoping to find a few SSR-level talents among the three hundred-odd recruits.

Then, his smile gradually vanished, replaced by a twitching eye and steadily rising blood pressure.

[Spirit Root: None. Trait: [Gluttonous and Lazy]: Work Efficiency -20%, Food Consumption +30%]

[Spirit Root: Pseudo Spirit Root. Trait: [Shady Shirker]: 25% chance to slack off during missions, halving the rewards.]

[Spirit Root: None. Trait: [Gossipmonger]: Has a chance to randomly spread rumors.]

[Spirit Root: Pseudo Spirit Root. Trait: None]

Lin Qingfeng rubbed his eyes and, refusing to give up, continued to scan the crowd.

’Good god,’ he thought. ’This isn’t a recruitment drive, this is a book signing for the *Encyclopedia of Negative Traits*! [Idle Loafer], [Cowardly as a Mouse], [Pathologically Sleepy], [Opportunistic]...’

’There were even people with no traits, pure mortals without a single Spirit Root... And why were there vagrants and beggars in the mix?!’

’Seriously, what kind of ’geniuses’ have you all been recruiting?!’

Forcing himself to be patient, he finally spotted a few halfway-decent prospects in a corner of the crowd, people who at least had Triple or Dual Spirit Roots.

Although Lin Qingfeng normally wouldn’t think much of such qualifications, everything is relative. Compared to the ones with Pseudo Spirit Roots and the massive group of people who were clearly just there to fill the ranks, these few were practically the chosen ones!

’Well, it makes sense,’ he mused. ’Anyone with good aptitude would have been snatched up by other sects long ago. All that’s left are the dregs. Maybe later I can find a decent sect, plant a mole to rise through their ranks, and then poach their entire membership?’

’Nah, forget it. It’s not like I’m in a rush to upgrade the sect to a third-tier one, and... this pile of rejects shouldn’t be my headache anyway.’

’Isn’t this a problem for my Junior Sister, the so-called ’Guide,’ to worry about? What the hell does it have to do with a hands-off boss like me? Right, that’s it!’

Having come to this conclusion, Lin Qingfeng’s conscience was instantly cleared. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned, transformed back into a streak of light, and flew toward his cave-abode. Out of sight, out of mind.

...

However, the figures squatting with their heads in their hands had long since grown numb to watching yet another "big shot" streak past them without so much as a glance.

One young man’s heart was filled with grief and indignation. He had been on his way to join a newly established immortal sect in the mountains outside the city, the [Wind Sword Sect].

But at the foot of the mountain, a person had stopped him. "Young man, I see you have a remarkable frame. Are you heading up the mountain to become a disciple? Well, what a coincidence! I’m from the Wind Sword Sect too! The sect recently relocated. How about... I show you the way?"

After being "asked" questions the entire way, he was dizzily "led" to this new sect gate. ’The gate looked impressive enough,’ he thought, ’but once inside, I found out you can enter but not leave? And all you can do is squat with your hands on your head and wait to be received?’

’It’s been days, and so many disciples have passed by, but no one has come to receive us? What the hell kind of immortal sect is this? Other than the food being decent, he had no idea what purpose there was in making them squat here with their hands on their heads.’

Sharing his fate were a young woman who had been planning to study Alchemy at the [Hundred Herbs Hall] and a burly man who wanted to practice Body Refining at the [Iron Bone Sect]. They had all been intercepted on their respective paths to discipleship and poached by the Guixi Sect players using all sorts of absurd excuses, such as "asking for directions," "we’re heading the same way," or "our sects are holding a joint social event."

The moment they entered the sect gate, they were forced to the ground and made to squat with their hands on their heads.

’Do immortal sects really use such dirty tricks to recruit people? Is this even an immortal sect anymore? Don’t tell me we’ll have to pay a huge fee just to leave?’

But among all the people in their defensive squats, the one in the most agony was the "veteran squatter" from the Celestial Furnace Sect—Lu Ping.

He, a distinguished undercover agent sent by the Celestial Furnace Sect, a Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, had come here on a life-or-death infiltration mission.

And the result?

’How many days has this so-called "obedience test" been going on?!’ he wondered. He couldn’t even remember anymore!

He only knew that when he first arrived, there were only three or four other poor souls beside him. Now, the ranks of the defensive squatters had swelled to over three hundred!

He had watched helplessly as the plaza went from empty to crowded, as batch after batch of newcomers were escorted over by the four poker-faced "Mr. Qians" to join the silent, desperate ranks.

’And all this endless squatting with my hands on my head, without even being allowed to speak... my legs... even my Dao Heart is starting to crack under the strain!’

Although, to be fair, he didn’t have much of a Dao Heart to begin with.

During these past few days, where each day felt like a year, his hopes had been kindled time and time again.

Every time a figure who looked like an official sect disciple flew by overhead using Sword Control, he would desperately lift his head, trying to make eye contact in the hope of finally being "received."

But in the end, the Guixi Sect disciples would either curiously circle the "performance art" piece formed by the three hundred-odd people, pointing and laughing inscrutably.

Or they would take out "Memory Stones" and film them nonstop, some even striking strange poses to take pictures with them.

And then... then they would fly away, completely satisfied.

’We’re like monkeys in a zoo,’ he thought, ’and the kind that can only hold one pose at that.’

’Is... is this normal for this sect? Treating new disciples like some kind of peculiar tourist attraction for the older disciples to gawk at for entertainment?’

’Could it be... that we were brought here to be used as some kind of unspeakable material?!’