Scum Of The Demonic Sect

Chapter Five: Becoming a Manager

The two watched as Li Haiying was directly beheaded, looking at the person who did it, their eyes filled with helplessness.

The one who made the move was Situ Ping. Everyone knew he was killing to silence witnesses, but the two were merely outer disciples. The man was already dead; there was no way to prove anything, and no amount of explanation would be useful. Moreover, even if it were proven that he was the mastermind, for inner disciples, the accident involving a mountain armor beast was hardly a big deal.

"Feng Ping greets Senior Brother Situ!"

"Jian Wei greets Senior Brother Situ!"

Although the two had guessed that Situ Ping had Li Haiying deliberately sabotage things, mostly to bring misfortune upon them, they had no choice but to submit now.

Situ Ping looked at the dead Li Haiying and said, "What kind of person did Hai Futong recommend? He'd even do something like this to frame a subordinate. But you're quite good; you managed to capture this mountain beast. You also have a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation level, so you're barely qualified. Would you like to be the manager?"

Lin Haoming hadn't expected Situ Ping to suddenly ask him if he wanted to be the manager. Just a day ago, he was worried about how to deal with Li Haiying's troubles, but now the tables had turned. However, this Situ Ping was definitely not a good person; just look at how he dealt with Li Haiying. But if he didn't agree, he'd likely face dire consequences.

However, Lin Haoming thought about it. Did he have any conflict with Situ Ping? As for Zhou Zhiye, whom he had originally wanted to join, he had only heard his name. Who knew what kind of person he was? It would be truly foolish not to seize this opportunity to climb the ranks.

Having figured this out, Lin Haoming immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother Situ. If you help me eliminate Li Haiying, who tried to frame me, I will certainly fulfill my duty as steward and repay you."

"Good, very good. I hope you're a smart man!" Situ Ping nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this statement.

After Li Haiying was dealt with, Situ Ping asked expressionlessly, "What's your name?"

"Lin Haoming!" Lin Haoming answered truthfully.

Situ Ping seemed to have no memory of this descendant of the ancestor and directly ordered, "You have fifteen minutes. Pack your things and come with me!"

Lin Haoming knew that becoming a steward required registration. Since Situ Ping had agreed to this, he naturally had to get it done properly. Moreover, the steward would be staying in another cave chamber.

Back in the stone chamber where he'd lived for years, Lin Haoming immediately packed all his belongings into a large bundle and carried it on his back. When he was about to retrieve the spirit stone that served as the core of the magic array, he was surprised to find that it still seemed to contain a considerable amount of spiritual energy.

Looking at the spirit stone, Lin Haoming realized that he hadn't replaced it since activating the array this month. The array in his stone chamber was almost always active whenever he returned, so it should have been exhausted long ago. What was going on? Could it be related to his Spirit Gathering Pearl?

Lin Haoming thought about it and realized that this was the only possible explanation. But could his Spirit Gathering Pearl not only recharge his own energy but also other spirit stones?

If that were the case, Lin Haoming suddenly saw a thriving path to wealth.

Of course, Lin Haoming didn't have time to investigate further. He couldn't keep Situ Ping waiting too long. After putting the spirit stone away, he immediately ran out.

Situ Ping was already waiting for him outside. Seeing him emerge, he didn't speak, but walked directly into a passageway in the cave.

Soon after they entered the passageway, Lin Haoming suddenly heard Situ Ping say, "Junior Brother Lin, I think you're a smart man. I don't care what your past relationship with that Li Haiying was. Now that I've made you the manager, you're one of my men. Do you understand that?"

"Senior Brother Situ, you gave me this managerial position, so naturally I will repay you!" Lin Haoming replied with a smile.

"Hmm!" Situ Ping seemed satisfied with Lin Haoming's response and nodded slightly.

Lin Haoming, however, already had a plan in mind. Indeed, this managerial position was given to him by Situ Ping, and he would reciprocate any favors others might offer. But if Situ Ping wanted him to be a scapegoat, he wouldn't hesitate to turn his back on him.

After passing through the passageway, they entered another, larger cave.

There were also many stone chambers carved into the cliff walls of the cave, but these chambers were significantly larger than the previous dwellings, and the spiritual energy was much denser. Although the difference in spiritual energy was not absolute, it would accumulate over time.

Several passages connected the cave to the outside, but the most eye-catching was a large grotto, currently filled with several cultivators—all of whom were managers of the Floating Pagoda Cave.

"Senior Brother Situ!" Upon seeing Situ Ping arrive, these managers, whose cultivation levels were all at the eighth or ninth stage of Qi Refining, immediately bowed to him.

Situ Ping nodded slightly, then said to the white-haired old man, "Manager Ma, Li Haiying, who succeeded Haifutong, committed a crime and was dealt with by me. This is the new manager; register him!"

Manager Ma's name was Ma Gaofeng, and he possessed the cultivation of the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage. "I heard he's already over a hundred years old. Qi Refining stage cultivators generally only live to be a little over a hundred, so even as a cultivator, Ma Gaofeng is nearing the end of his life."

Many cultivators, after the age of sixty, realize... Unable to achieve anything significant, he would try every means to leave the Blood Refining Sect to enjoy wealth and luxury among mortals, or find a Daoist partner to raise offspring. But Manager Ma didn't leave; he remained here as a manager. However, he was different from ordinary managers because he oversaw more than twenty managers.

Manager Ma glanced at Lin Haoming with his somewhat cloudy eyes and said indifferently, "Your cultivation is a little low, but reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining at this age is not easy. Even inner disciples are only at this level. What's your name?"

"Lin Haoming!" Lin Haoming replied.

"Hmm?" Hearing Lin Haoming's name, Manager Ma seemed to remember something, and a slight smile appeared on his aged face. "No wonder, no wonder!" Lin Haoming knew that this Steward Ma probably knew his identity, but he didn't say much. He simply took out a jade token from his storage bag, infused it with spiritual energy, and then tossed it to Lin Haoming, saying, "Alright, no matter what you were like before, from now on you are the Steward of the Mountain Armor Beast in the Floating Pagoda Cave. Do a good job, and you might still have a chance. This jade token is your identity token. After activating it, you can enter your cave here!" Lin Haoming was somewhat surprised by the manager's encouragement, but he simply took it as kind words from someone nearing the end of their lifespan and offered a perfunctory thank you.

Situ Ping didn't pay much attention to Lin Haoming, only instructing him to handle things well in the future and to find him at the other cave where he lived if anything came up.

Lin Haoming understood that finding him was probably just to get him to deliver benefits on time, not to actually ask him to help him with troubles, so he didn't take it too seriously.

As soon as Situ Ping left, a man who looked like a pale-faced scholar sneered, "A mere seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator has become a manager? Quite capable!"

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