303: Chapter 303 Financial Suppression! I'll Make the Traitor Owe Debt for Three Lifetimes

After the Nascent Soul Cultivator was dragged away, a list of all participants in the uprising within the Spiritual Energy Star Domain floated before Lin Chen.

Densely packed, there were three hundred and seventy-two names.

Behind each name, the loan amount, days overdue, and level of participation in the uprising were marked.

Lin Chen looked at the list and smiled.

That smile sent a chill down Arrogant Dragon's spine—though he didn't know what the boss was going to do, he knew the people on the list were in for a bad time.

"Zhang Hao," Lin Chen spoke.

"Present!"

"Teleport all of these people to the foot of the tree of heavenly dao. Not a single one missing."

Zhang Hao was stunned for a moment: "All of them? Over three hundred people?"

"All of them."

Three minutes later, three hundred and seventy-two Cultivators were kneeling under the tree of heavenly dao.

Leading them was that very Nascent Soul Cultivator, currently trembling all over with Arrogant Dragon's sword pointed at his neck. The others weren't doing any better; some were crying, some begging for mercy, some shivering, and a few were trying to communicate with their eyes, which Zhang Hao noted down one by one.

Lin Chen sat before them, leisurely sipping tea.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

No one dared to answer.

Lin Chen set down his teacup, opened the system, and projected a massive debt list.

"This is the debt of each and every one of you. Before the uprising, your repayment terms ranged from three hundred to five hundred years. After the uprising, according to my rules, the interest doubles and the term is halved."

He paused and smiled:

"But I've changed my mind."

The Cultivators' eyes lit up—could there be a reduction or exemption?

"Doubling it is too light," Lin Chen said. "Since you wanted to default, I'll let you know the price of defaulting."

He raised his hand and entered a command into the system.

Instantly, everyone's loan contracts updated simultaneously.

The new terms were as follows:

「Loan Term: Uniformly adjusted to three hundred years.」

「Interest Calculation: Calculated as compound interest, with an annual interest rate of 50%.」

「Special Clause: If the debtor is unable to repay the debt within the term, their direct descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren) will automatically inherit the debt until it is fully repaid. Inheritance is not limited by the number of generations.」

The three hundred and seventy-two Cultivators looked at the new contract, their faces turning green.

Three hundred years, with a 50% annual compound interest rate, meant that the 1 million they currently owed would, after three hundred years, become...

Someone began to calculate on their fingers.

Zhang Hao kindly calculated it for them: "A 1 million loan, after three hundred years, the total principal and interest will be approximately 2.7 Jing."

That person fainted instantly.

The Nascent Soul Cultivator struggled to look up, his voice trembling: "Lin Chen... you... you want us to be slaves for generations!"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes."

"You... you can't do this! We are Cultivators! We have dignity!"

"Dignity?" Lin Chen laughed. "When you rebelled, did you think about my dignity?"

The Nascent Soul Cultivator was speechless.

Lin Chen stood up, walked over to him, and looked down at him from above.

"Do you know what I hate most?"

The Nascent Soul Cultivator didn't dare answer.

"I hate people who owe money and don't pay it back the most," Lin Chen said. "You owed me money, and I gave you time to pay it back. But not only did you not pay, you even wanted to rebel. Since you don't want to pay, I'll make it so you can never afford to pay—and then let your sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons keep paying."

He turned and looked at the other Cultivators:

"From now on, all of your debts are 'inheritable debts'. If you can't finish paying before you die, pass it to the next generation. If the next generation can't finish, pass it to the one after that. Until someone pays it off."

"As for the possibility of paying it off—"

He brought up a set of calculated data:

"With your current cultivation and income, a normal loan repayment would take five hundred years. Now the term is only three hundred years with a 50% interest rate; you would need to earn 30% of the principal every year just to pay it off. But your cultivation will only get weaker, and your income will only get lower. So—"

He paused and smiled:

"You won't finish paying in this lifetime. You won't finish in your next lifetime either. In the lifetime after that, there might be a sliver of hope."

The Cultivators completely broke down.

Someone crawled over on their knees and hugged Lin Chen's leg: "Lord Lin Chen! I was wrong! I shouldn't have rebelled! Please have mercy! I'm willing to work like an ox or a horse!"

Lin Chen looked down at him.

"Work like an ox or a horse? How much are you worth?"

The man was stunned.

Lin Chen pulled his leg back and said to Arrogant Dragon, "Take these people away and arrange for them to work in the harshest mines of the Spiritual Energy Star Domain. Their daily wages will be calculated at the minimum standard, all of which will be used to repay their loans."

Arrogant Dragon nodded and began directing the ghost soldiers to take the people away.

The Cultivators were dragged away, wailing and crying.

Only one person was not taken away—the whistleblower, the Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

He stood where he was, looking at Lin Chen with a face full of expectation.

Lin Chen walked up to him.

"Your report was meritorious. As I said, I will waive your loan."

The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator was so excited he almost knelt down.

"However—"

Lin Chen's tone shifted, and the Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator's smile froze.

"Your loan is waived, and your crime of uprising is pardoned. But the loan you took out before was secured with your cultivation as collateral. Now that the loan is waived, the collateral cultivation should be returned to you."

The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator nodded repeatedly.

"But your cultivation was significantly consumed during the uprising," Lin Chen pulled up the data. "Originally you were at the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage, but now you are only at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage. The missing portion is what you consumed while helping them sabotage the exchange during the uprising."

The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator's face turned pale.

Lin Chen looked at him and said slowly:

"I can help you restore your cultivation. For free."

The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator's eyes lit up.

"However—"

Lin Chen came with another 'however'.

"You have to do one more thing for me."

"What is it?"

Lin Chen pointed at those Cultivators who were being dragged away.

"Keep an eye on them. If anyone wants to rebel again, if anyone slacks off and doesn't work, if anyone secretly communicates—tell me everything."

The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator was stunned for a moment.

"This is... making me an undercover agent?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"After it's done, I will not only help you restore your cultivation but also help you break through to the Golden Core Stage."

The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator hesitated for three seconds.

Then he knelt down and kowtowed three times.

"Lord Lin Chen, this lowly one is willing to serve you with the loyalty of a dog or a horse!"

Lin Chen waved his hand, dismissing him.

Arrogant Dragon leaned in and whispered, "Boss, this is too wicked. Making him an undercover agent to watch those people... those people will never have a chance to turn things around."

Lin Chen smiled.

"Turn things around? They won't be able to turn things around for the rest of their lives."

He looked up at the Cultivators being escorted away in the distance, his eyes devoid of pity.

"Betrayal has a cost. This is that cost."

Three hours later, all the rebels were escorted to the most remote mine in the Spiritual Energy Star Domain.

That place produced a rare type of spirit stone; mining it was extremely difficult, and the mortality rate was very high. Usually, only criminals who had committed capital crimes were sent there.

Now, three hundred and seventy-two Cultivators had become the new miners there.

Each person worked eighteen hours a day for a wage of 100 spirit stones. Meanwhile, the daily interest on the loans they owed amounted to millions of spirit stones.

This meant they would never finish paying, and they would never get out.

Furthermore, their descendants would have to continue paying.

At the entrance of the mine stood a stone tablet.

A line of words was carved on the stone tablet:

「Betrayal has a cost; be cautious when defaulting on debts.」

— Inscribed by Lin Chen.