"You don't recognize me?"
'Oh, that's right. It seems everyone from my batch in the Demon Disciple Dormitory is dead, except for Zhao Youliang and Zhou Kai.'
Qin Xuan chuckled and said, "It's nothing. Don't be alarmed, Junior Brothers. I live here too. I was just away on a mission and have only now returned."
"I just heard you all mention a Senior Brother Xiao Ran. Might I ask who he is?"
Seeing Qin Xuan's approachable demeanor, the new Demon Disciples, who had yet to suffer the cruelties of the Demon Sect, breathed a sigh of relief. They quickly warmed up to him.
They only knew Qin Xuan's cultivation was high, but they had no idea just how high.
"Reporting to Senior Brother, Senior Brother Xiao Ran is one of Elder Sun's Disciples! He's incredibly powerful, already at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer!"
'Still at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer?'
A look of confusion crossed Qin Xuan's face. He felt that Xiao Ran's cultivation progress was a bit slow.
'I was held up by the Fierce Soldier trial and still managed to reach the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer. What's the deal with this little brother Xiao Ran? He's an Elder's Disciple, yet he's not even keeping up with me.'
Just then, a familiar voice reached his ears, laced with surprise and joy.
"Younger Brother Xuan, am I dreaming... You're not dead?"
Qin Xuan turned to see it was Zhao Youliang.
The moment they saw Zhao Youliang, the Demon Disciples who had been chatting and laughing with Qin Xuan just a second ago recoiled as if they had seen a ghost.
They scrambled to their knees and kowtowed furiously, not caring that their foreheads were becoming bloody and raw.
It had only been a few days, but Zhao Youliang's cultivation had also risen from the Qi Cultivation Third Layer to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. However, his complexion was terrible, and he looked as though he'd lost too much blood, his steps unsteady.
"Haha, of course I'm not dead. Brother Zhao, long time no see."
"Long time no see!" A flush of color appeared on Zhao Youliang's pale face.
"Wait, your cultivation..." Zhao Youliang's eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"Younger Brother Xuan, you've broken through to the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer?"
"No, that's not it. You came back alive, which means you passed the [Fierce Soldier] trial!" Zhao Youliang said excitedly.
Qin Xuan smiled faintly. "It was just a fluke. I owe it all to Steward Wang's support."
Zhao Youliang cupped his hands. "Congratulations, Younger Brother Xuan... No, I should call you Senior Brother. Congratulations, Senior Brother Xuan."
The Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer! That was a level high enough to compete for a Steward position!
The Demon Disciples to the side overheard their conversation, their eyes wide with disbelief.
'Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer... Doesn't that make him even stronger than Senior Brother Xiao Ran!'
The Demon Disciple who had just been boasting about Xiao Ran looked mortified, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole.
Another Demon Disciple, pale and trembling, stammered, "May I ask, Senior Brother, are you..."
"I'm that 'big idiot' you were talking about, the 'Xuan whose grave grass must be twenty feet high by now'." Qin Xuan bared his teeth in a grin.
The man froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
"Senior Brother, I..." The Demon Disciple stammered, wanting to explain but unable to find the words, his body trembling with fear.
Zhao Youliang snorted coldly, Demonic Essence surging in his palm.
A blood-curdling scream immediately echoed through the room, followed by silence.
...
Time flowed by like a river.
Ever since Qin Xuan became a [Fierce Soldier], his status in the Demon Disciple Dormitory had skyrocketed. He was now recognized as the number one figure among the twenty-odd "Yichou" Demon Disciple Dormitories.
However, Qin Xuan kept a low profile. Besides those in his own Yichou Dormitory 1, the Demon Disciples from Yichou Dormitory 2 and 3 had only vaguely heard his name.
Late one night, Zhou Kai, Chen He, and the others returned, their faces pale as they stumbled along.
Upon seeing Qin Xuan, Zhou Kai and his group immediately became reserved.
As for the other Low-Level Qi Cultivation Demon Disciples nearby, they shivered and shrank back, too afraid to approach.
One look at their unsteady steps and Qin Xuan knew they had gone to have their blood drawn.
The sallow and gaunt Zhou Kai looked at Qin Xuan, whose body was brimming with vigorous qi and blood, and the envy in his eyes was beyond words.
'It's still better to be a [Fierce Soldier].'
Regret gnawed at Zhou Kai's heart as he cursed furiously in his mind: 'Damned Demon Sect, damned Li Cang! They're worse than animals.'
He had listened to Instructor Li back then and chosen the path of a [Blood Disciple]. He originally thought he could pay off his Cultivation Technique Loan and Floating Capital Loan. Who knew that after becoming a [Blood Disciple], his debt not only didn't decrease, but it actually grew larger and larger.
There was a simple reason. To pass the [Blood Pool Leech Sea] trial, he had purchased 37 units of Blue Blood Potion alone. On top of his Cultivation Technique Loan and Floating Capital Loan, he now owed another 732.6 Contribution Points to the Furnace Altar for a potion loan.
'Every seven days, I have to give one liter of my Spiritual Blood to a Senior Brother at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer in the Ten Thousand Laws Altar, and all I get in return is 1.5 Contribution Points...'
Zhou Kai's eyes were vacant, on the verge of tears but unable to cry.
The Cultivation Technique Loan, the Floating Capital Loan, and the potion loan were like three great mountains crushing him. At this rate, without some extraordinary opportunity, he would never be able to pay off his debts in his lifetime.
...
Of course, Qin Xuan knew nothing of Zhou Kai's inner turmoil.
But he had his own troubles.
After his cultivation had fully stabilized at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, Qin Xuan had already located nine of the twelve Mystic Gates. As long as he could find the remaining three, he could step into the late-stage of Qi Cultivation.
However, as more and more Demonic Essence accumulated in his body and the Spiritual Mist in his meridians grew thicker, his cultivation showed no signs of growth.
Closing his eyes and looking inward, he saw that his Dantian, aside from the nine brilliant stars, was filled with a dense fog of Spiritual Qi, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
'Introducing Qi into the Body, Fog-Locked Mystic Gate... where on earth are these last three Mystic Gates?'
Qin Xuan's brow furrowed in deep thought.
According to the doctrines of the Righteous Dao, Qin Xuan had hit a bottleneck at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.
'But Demon Cultivators don't have bottlenecks!'
'Whatever. I'll just find a few more Demon Disciples to drain their blood another day. I'll break through one way or another.'
The moment the murderous thought arose, the world suddenly seemed vast and open.
Qin Xuan instantly cheered up. This was the good thing about Demon Cultivation—there was no psychological burden.
Although his cultivation hadn't increased much, Qin Xuan's actual strength was on a completely different level than before.
He silently visualized the illusory blue Nether Lotus Dharma Aspect in his sea of consciousness. His Demonic Essence was incredibly condensed, like a vast ocean; an ordinary cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer was no match for him.
His Lifebound Iron Sword, which represented his combat power, was slowly changing from a steely blue to an ancient bronze color. The transformation was already seventy percent complete!
...
One day, as Qin Xuan was immersed in his cultivation, the urgent ringing of a bell suddenly sounded in his ears.
BOOM!
A grand, indifferent Demonic Sound suddenly resounded throughout Qin Xuan's Demon Disciple Dormitory.
"Holy Sect's [Fierce Soldiers] Qin Xuan, Yin Tu, Tang Tianhe, and Hou Longtao, hear my command! The Blazing Fire Sect, a vassal sect under the Cyan Cloud Sect, has foolishly sent spies to infiltrate our Holy Sect's mountain gate!"
"They have already been slain by the Sect Array. You are to assemble immediately before the mountain gate, lead a party to search the mountain for the spies' treacherous corpses, and display the might of our Demon Sect!"
"Upon completion, you will be rewarded with one hundred Contribution Points!"
As soon as the voice fell, a silver-white stream of light flew into Qin Xuan's Yichou Dormitory 1.
'A job's come up!'
The silver-white light floated silently before Qin Xuan, transforming into a small Jade Tube.
Qin Xuan took the Jade Tube and swept it with his Divine Sense. Information about the spies' appearances, builds, and cultivation levels flooded into his mind.
"One Foundation Establishment Ascendant, several High-level Qi Refining cultivators..."
'What a strong lineup!'
Qin Xuan recalled the last words of that Black-robed Demon Cultivator.
'If I'm not mistaken, these people must be the cannon fodder the Cyan Cloud Sect sent in advance to gather intelligence in preparation for their attack on the Blood Demon Sword Sect!'