Free Web NovelChapter 1243: Chapter 954: Sweeping Them All Up
"Gulp! Gulp! Ah~"
The brothers Tian Cheng and Tian Kuo each received a cup of water from the old master, and couldn’t wait to drink it down, then let out heartfelt sighs like those of men who’d finally had water after being parched for days and nights.
This scene made the new Weirds, who were tormented by hunger and thirst, drool with envy. They watched that wonderful liquid flow into the others’ mouths, their own mouths twitching along, as if they too could taste the moisture and sweetness of the water.
"Master, I want to go open up wasteland and earn Merit!"
"Me! I want to go too, I’m young and strong, I can definitely work fast and well!"
"Pick me, I definitely won’t let you down, sir..."
...
Two fawning Weirds, in order to get a chance to open up wasteland and earn food and water, even took the initiative to step forward and pound the old master’s back, laying it on thick with flattery and rainbow-fart praise.
Jiang Yuan watched the beaming old master and felt very satisfied.
The other new Weirds, who were still hesitating, saw this and their original inner struggle was given a push; they all came forward to salute, hoping to get a slot for opening up wasteland.
The situation changed dramatically in just a moment.
If it had been before, the Evil Cultivators would still have thought that in the end they could always seek death. At worst they’d throw away a lousy life, grit their teeth and ignore everything, which also counted as being invincible in a way.
But now, seeing that even being chopped into pieces wouldn’t kill them, they had to reassess their situation. With their bellies gnawed by hunger and thirst, their only way out was to wait for the old master to distribute food and water.
They couldn’t kill the other side, nor could they rob him. Even if they were upset, they didn’t dare anger that old geezer at a time like this.
"Anyone else still not convinced, still thinking of offing yourself?" The old master’s face was wreathed in smiles. He waved his hand, signaling the two Weirds who’d taken the initiative to curry favor to stand aside. "You two have good eyes. In a bit I’ll assign you some light work first.
As for the rest of you, if you want to put on a show for everyone, by all means come. I’ve got plenty of time, I’ll wait for you to figure out what ’undying immortality’ really means."
All the new Weirds subconsciously looked at the unlucky bastard from just now. On the surface it had already recovered to normal, but clearly the pain in its body hadn’t passed; it was baring its teeth, groaning nonstop.
With that cautionary example right there—chopped by an axe, shaved by a scythe into that kind of mess and still not getting the death it wanted—who would be willing to suffer for nothing again?
Seeing all the new Weirds scrambling to get a chance to open up wasteland, the old master pondered and said, "This is our first time meeting. Other than the brothers Tian Cheng and Tian Kuo, I’m not familiar with the rest of you. I can’t tell yet who’s steady and hardworking, and who’s lazy and slippery.
So today we’ll make an exception: everyone comes with me. I hope all of you can perform well. Making Jiang satisfied is the final goal. When the time comes, you won’t lack good food and drink!
But if you’re still harboring thoughts you shouldn’t have, I advise you to save your strength. Falling into this world, no matter how you struggle, you’re only adding to the joke."
Jiang Yuan clicked to teleport the Weirds into the Flame Sea instance. A suffocating heat wave slammed into them!
The Weirds muttered under their breath, bitter and miserable, but there was nothing else they could do. They could only receive tools from the old master and split up the work.
After they went to chop trees, dig stone, and cut grass, officially投入开荒, he said to the old master, "Later I’ll send over some more Evil Cultivators; I’ll leave them all to you."
"Don’t worry!" The old master slapped his chest, full of confidence, and lowered his voice. "They can’t run, and they can’t rob the supplies in the Storage Bag. All I need is for Jiang to come check in a bit more often, so they don’t get any funny ideas and make me suffer for it."
Jiang Yuan agreed. Seeing the Weirds obediently piling up the trees and wild grass as required, so that he could easily put them into the Storage Bag later, he finally clicked to exit the instance and return to Qihan Mountain, satisfied.
"What took you so long? You alright?" Mist Dragon let out a sigh of relief when he saw him return, then asked nervously, "Did you run into trouble dealing with the corpse? Need any help?"
Jiang Yuan hadn’t expected him to be so worried about his safety, and couldn’t help but laugh. "I’m fine, I’m fine. The interrogation just took a bit longer, and then I watched a little show."
As he spoke, he clicked to open the newly obtained item and checked the Leisure Sect Merit leaderboard.
It looked pretty much the same as the leaderboards you usually see in games. The name field at the top was replaced with "Incense Master," so his name couldn’t be seen, and his Realm, Merit, and so on were also blocked and couldn’t be viewed.
Below that was the Incense Master’s Deputy Director. His Realm couldn’t be viewed, and his accumulated Merit was over a hundred thousand.
In third place was Peng Dahai. This line was highlighted in orange, so that the Merit Token holder could see his own position at a glance. Name: Peng Dahai; Realm: Bone Refining Realm, Second Layer; Race: Demon Race, Mist Wolf; Time in Leisure Sect: four months and eleven days; Merit: 100,455.
Further down, the members’ names, Realms, and races were likewise blocked due to insufficient permissions, but their joining time and Merit values could still be seen.
In the upper-right corner it showed that there were a total of one hundred and forty-six members on the leaderboard. Those who had died and their Dao vanished were automatically kicked off the list and were no longer included.
"So he’s really just a few thousand Merit short of being promoted to Incense Master’s Deputy Director. No wonder, after losing his main force for grinding Merit and going offline, Peng Dahai got so desperate." Jiang Yuan looked at the hundred-plus Leisure Sect members and was in an excellent mood—he’d go find Lady Yu, the owner of the One Blossom shop, right away, follow the vine to the source, and from her drag out the identities and movements of quite a few Evil Cultivators in Qihan Mountain!
One Blossom wasn’t hard to find. In the den of dissipation, the shop with a huge flowering tree planted at its entrance was the one. The tree was maintained with Spiritual Power; even though winter was about to arrive, it was still in full bloom, very eye-catching.
"Lady Yu, another jar of Thousand-Day Drunk!"
