24: Don't try to renege on your debt.

"It's like this. Yesterday, I carefully reviewed the sect rules and found that almost everything can be settled with Spirit Stones. So, if someone violates multiple sect rules and then quietly slips away, wouldn't that just cause our Xuan Yun Residence a pure loss? If too many people did this, would the sect rules have any authority left?"

"Junior Brother, you really don't need to worry about that." Sun Yang shook his head with a smile. "The reason the sect rules are the sect rules is that they've been this way for thousands of years. Older Disciples who've been here a while all know that if you break the rules, it's best not to get caught by the Mansion. But once the Mansion convicts you and you owe Spirit Stones, it's best to honestly figure out a way to repay them. Never even think about welshing."

"What do you mean by that?" Hong Yu asked, puzzled.

"Did you light a Soul Lamp when you entered the sect?" Wu Tie, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"Naturally, I did."

"Lighting a Soul Lamp means the Mansion can use it to locate your position and know your life or death status at any time." Wu Tie continued, "Someone tried this before. They owed the Mansion a few hundred Spirit Stones and couldn't repay, so they used a mission as a pretext to flee the Residence. Guess what happened?"

"What happened?" Hearing this, Hong Yu's heart couldn't help but sink.

Wu Tie said with a sinister tone, "The Mansion naturally dispatched five Cultivators, each a whole major Realm higher than him, to hunt him down day and night. In less than a month, they captured him alive and brought him back. Then, under the gaze of ten thousand people, they subjected him to the most brutal punishment. Do you remember the lanterns at the Xifan Platform square? Those are all lit with the Souls of people who committed major crimes within the Mansion."

After hearing this, Hong Yu lost all desire for conversation and fell silent, pondering deeply.

Zhao Yuntao looked at Hong Yu and casually asked, "Why are you asking about this, Junior Brother? Don't tell me you've also broken the rules and are planning to escape?"

"Hey, what nonsense are you spouting?" Sun Yang said unhappily. "Junior Brother only entered the Mansion yesterday, what could he possibly have done? He's just curious, that's all. We all asked similar questions more or less after we entered, didn't we?"

A strained smile appeared on Hong Yu's face as he nodded in agreement.

At this moment, his heart was extremely troubled, and a feeling of anxiety and unease was gradually growing stronger within him.

Although he didn't know the cultivation level of that Disciple Wu Tie mentioned, they only owed a few hundred Spirit Stones, yet the Mansion went to such great lengths.

As for someone like him, who owed ninety thousand Spirit Stones, he dared not even imagine what methods Xuan Yun Residence would use to deal with him!

Moreover, it was only a matter of time before he was discovered; there was simply no way to avoid the Mansion finding out.

He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could hide from Xuan Yun Residence's detection with the Soul Lamp in place.

Was the only path left to honestly repay the Spirit Stones?

But with so many Spirit Stones, when would he ever manage to earn enough to clear the debt?

Maybe he could swallow his pride and go beg Saintess Xu Jing?

Perhaps she might temporarily lend him a sum of money to get through this crisis.

However, he quickly dismissed that idea. What kind of friendship did he have with Xu Jing? Not only had he ruined her chastity, but he had even taken a precious healing Medicinal Pill from her afterward.

He strongly suspected that the moment he brought this matter up with Xu Jing, she would use 'cleaning up the sect' as a reason to kill him on the spot.

So, he quickly gathered his thoughts and began chatting idly with the others around him.

His main goal was to inquire if there were any ways to earn Spirit Stones quickly.

Soon, through his indirect probing, he learned about several relatively reliable methods.

Within Xuan Yun Residence, besides taking on missions, the fastest ways to earn Spirit Stones were through other cultivation arts like Alchemy, Artifact Refining, talisman drawing...

Especially since the higher your skill level, the faster you could earn Spirit Stones.

After silently noting down these methods, Hong Yu lost all interest in doing the mission for now. He just wanted to hurry back and see if he had any talent in those other cultivation arts. If he had notable talent in another area, there might still be a path forward.

Seeing that Hong Yu had lost his enthusiasm for chatting, Sun Yang gave Wu Tie a meaningful look and then said with a smile, "Junior Brother Hong, the journey is quite dull right now. How about you and Junior Brother Wu Tie spar a bit? He's at the same Realm as you. Since we're going to carry out this mission together, it's necessary for us to get familiar with each other's strength. What do you think?"

After a moment's thought, Hong Yu agreed. His current plan was to first complete the mission with Sun Yang and the others. Firstly, he could use the opportunity to gather more information. Secondly, he truly didn't have a single Spirit Stone to his name right now. Even if he wanted to learn other arts, he couldn't do so without any initial investment.

Seeing Hong Yu agree, Sun Yang led the others to clear some space. Wu Tie stretched his limbs, then cupped his fists in salute and said coldly, "Junior Brother Hong, I seek your guidance."

"Senior Brother Wu, then I must offend."

Hong Yu returned the salute, then dropped his shoulders, lowered his center of gravity, and threw a powerful punch.

"Well struck."

Seeing that this punch was steady, balanced, and contained hidden power—clearly a standard probing straight punch used in sparring—Wu Tie neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he clenched his own fist and struck out in response.

*Thud!*

The two fists collided with a dull thud.

Hong Yu retreated half a step, his face expressionless.

In contrast, Wu Tie staggered back three steps, a flicker of pain appearing on his face. The winner of this exchange was immediately clear.

Seeing this, Wu Tie's face couldn't hide his embarrassment. He sank his stance, twisted his hips, and his right leg shot out like an iron whip, aiming swiftly for Hong Yu's head.

Seeing the fierce attack, clearly executed with full force, Hong Yu decided not to meet it head-on and hastily retreated half a step to avoid it.

But just as he was halfway through his dodge, Wu Tie's whip kick slowed down. This move was actually a feint!

Wu Tie's right leg remained suspended in the air in a kicking posture. Then, his left leg suddenly exerted force, propelling his entire body forward into the air. His legs alternated in a rapid series of kicks—this was the real attack.

By now, it was too late for Hong Yu to dodge. He could only cross his arms in front of his chest, bracing himself to block Wu Tie's Chain kicks with all his strength.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

In an instant, Hong Yu's arms were struck countless times. A tremendous force transmitted through his arms, shaking them until they trembled. He stumbled back several steps before finally stopping.

Seeing his kicks were effective, Wu Tie pressed the attack the moment his feet touched the ground again, thrusting a palm directly at Hong Yu's chest.

Hong Yu caught this movement out of the corner of his eye, but he hadn't yet regained his footing and found it difficult to counter. He could only lower his arms, intending to block this strike as well.

Unexpectedly, when Wu Tie's palm struck, Hong Yu felt no force at all. It was clearly another feint.

Hong Yu's vision blurred as Wu Tie's figure vanished from sight.

"Not good!"

By the time Hong Yu sensed the danger, it was too late to turn around. A fist struck him squarely in the back. Instantly, a wave of nausea washed over him; it felt as if his internal organs had been displaced by the impact. Excruciating pain surged forth, almost making him want to open his mouth and vomit blood.