22: Five years

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, several batches of Disciples had rotated through the Skinning Room.

Some died in accidents, some used connections to transfer to other Skinning Rooms, and others sought different ways to earn contribution points after their cultivation improved.

Only Fang Huai maintained a simple routine between two points.

The Skinning Room by day and his outer Sect residence by night; he was the very picture of a hardworking and uncomplaining worker.

His speed in processing Yao Beasts decreased from taking six hours to skin a First Level of Qi Refining Yao Beast at the start, to four hours, and eventually to less than four hours for a Qi Refining Second Layer Yao Beast.

In just five short years, after deducting expenses, he had saved up sixty thousand contribution points.

At this moment, Fang Huai looked at his panel, his brows furrowed.

[Hundred Fiends Art (Incomplete Manual) First Layer: 27/100]

[Body Tempering Art Third Layer: 100/100]

[Skinning Technique Mastery: 100/100]

His Body Tempering Art had reached the third layer, and his Skinning Technique had progressed from entry-level to proficient, finally getting stuck at mastery.

He didn't care much about the stagnation of his Skinning Technique, but the bottleneck in his Body Tempering Art was truly a headache.

As a result, the only reason for him to stay in the Skinning Room was to earn contribution points.

But no matter how many contribution points he had, if his cultivation didn't improve, he would be nothing more than a money-printing machine for Wu Liu.

As for Jin Xiaoxiao, who lived with him, she had reached the Qi Refining Third Layer Perfection half a year ago due to her diligent cultivation and decent talent.

One day, Fang Huai pushed open the door only to find Jin Xiaoxiao sitting on his bed.

"Junior Sister Jin, you shouldn't be sitting there."

Jin Xiaoxiao remained silent, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "Senior Brother Fang, I have applied to the Outer Sect Hall to leave the Sect and shed my Mortal Skin."

In the cultivation of the Hundred Fiends Art, there are three thresholds for Shedding Mortality within the Qi Refining stage, corresponding to the three transformations when breaking through to the Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Perfection of Qi Refining.

The first threshold is the shackle one must break free from when advancing from the Early Stage to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining—the Mortal Skin.

Shedding Mortal Skin requires stripping away the original skin and then entering seclusion in a place with dense Evil Qi to stimulate the Qi Sea to condense a Fiend Spiritual Root, finally using Evil Qi as a foundation to reshape new skin.

The new skin is naturally attuned to Evil Qi, enhancing the ability to purify Evil Qi and increasing the power of Fiend Arts.

However, once this act of Shedding Mortality begins, it must never be interrupted.

For Disciples with a solid background, Shedding Mortality is merely a matter of time under the protection of their Sect or Family.

But for low-level Cultivators who are like drifting duckweed, it is a perilous ordeal with only a slim chance of survival.

Whether one succeeds or not is entirely up to fate.

Fang Huai said nothing. He took out some poison heart grass from his robe, pinched a leaf between his fingers, and chewed it carefully.

Jin Xiaoxiao broke the silence. "Senior Brother Fang, do you have any words of advice for me before I leave the Sect?"

"No," Fang Huai replied, showing no emotion. "In the path of cultivation, you have more experience than I do."

"Senior Brother Fang, there is something troubling my heart that I wish to ask you."

"Speak."

"If one uses any means necessary to achieve a goal, even sacrificing their most precious possession... would that be considered base?"

The numbing bitterness of the poison heart grass had already spread across his tongue. Fang Huai paused and spoke slowly:

"A Cultivator's life is fleeting, nothing more than a struggle against heaven for one's fate. There is no right or wrong, let alone baseness."

Jin Xiaoxiao smiled with relief. "Senior Brother is absolutely right. This journey to shed mortality is a life-and-death gamble. Although I am fully prepared, there is still a knot in my heart that only Senior Brother can untie."

"Feel free to speak."

Since Jin Xiaoxiao entered the Qi Refining Third Layer, the help he could provide had become minimal.

On the contrary, she had stood up for him several times, helping him gain a firm foothold in the Skinning Room.

As long as it didn't involve danger, he was willing to help her as much as he could.

Jin Xiaoxiao's face suddenly turned bright red. She lowered her head and said:

"I've been competitive since I was a child. Even if I lose, I want to lose spectacularly. The only time in my life I lost miserably was that encounter with you five years ago, Senior Brother.

Senior Brother, could you let me win just once?"

At first, Fang Huai didn't catch the underlying meaning. When he realized it, he chuckled. His gaze fell on Jin Xiaoxiao's cheeks, which were as red as a monkey's bottom, and he smiled:

"What if I say no?"

Jin Xiaoxiao suddenly lunged at Fang Huai, pinning him beneath her.

With a deft flick of her fingers, she unbuttoned his chest. Her pearly teeth closed lightly, biting hard into Fang Huai's neck.

"I'm at the Qi Refining Third Layer now, my cultivation is far higher than yours. You don't have a choice!"

————

After Jin Xiaoxiao left, Fang Huai continued his old trade in the Skinning Room.

However, the workload in the Skinning Room became heavier, and rumors began to proliferate.

"A type of Curse Gu has appeared on the northern battlefield. It seems targeted at our Corpse Fiend Sect. When it takes effect, small insects crawl out from all over the body, turning the person into a Gu-man."

"This doesn't seem like the Profound Sword Sect's style. Could they have teamed up with other Sects?"

"Within the borders of the State of Chen, I haven't heard of any Sect having such methods."

"..."

While the Disciples were gossiping, Wu Liu pushed open the door and entered, announcing a new Sect regulation:

Anyone who has been in the outer Sect for a full year must be prepared to be summoned for Sect missions at any time.

Anyone who refuses the summons will be dealt with as a traitor to the Sect.

"Crime of betraying the Sect?"

Everyone was shocked. Betraying the Sect was a grave crime; at best, one's soul would be extracted and their body torn apart, and at worst, it would implicate their entire Family.

Most of them didn't even know basic Spells. Participating in Sect missions in such a state was no different from going to their deaths.

The crowd didn't understand the Sect's decision, but Fang Huai knew why the Sect was doing this.

When people who should have stayed in logistics were forced onto the front lines, it meant that the manpower on the front lines was severely insufficient.

Over the past five years, the Corpse Fiend Sect had launched a massive offensive against the Profound Sword Sect. Although they had occupied a large portion of the enemy's territory, they had also paid a heavy price.

Cultivators in the middle and Late Stages of Qi Refining suffered heavy losses, and even Foundation Establishment Cultivators had fallen. Their core strength was greatly weakened.

The tasks these people were originally supposed to do were now being assigned to low-level Cultivators.

Thinking of this, Fang Huai stood up and left the Skinning Room.

He had saved up enough contribution points; it was time to put them to use.

————

Fang Huai sat in the reception hall of the Cultivation Rooms, carefully observing the passing Disciples.

Almost every Disciple displayed the tag [Drawing Qi into the Body], but they were distinguished by three colors: gray, white, and red.

Those at the same First Level of Qi Refining as him were tagged gray; those from the second to sixth layers were tagged white; and those above the sixth layer were tagged red.

After figuring out the pattern, Fang Huai's thoughts shifted. He swapped tags with a Qi Refining Sixth Layer Disciple and then stopped a hurrying Cultivation Room Guardian Disciple.

Due to the war, the number of Disciples coming and going from the Cultivation Rooms had increased several times over, leaving the Guardian Disciple overwhelmed with work.

Seeing that the one stopping him was a Junior Brother at the First Level of Qi Refining, he immediately grew angry:

"If you only want to rent the lowest-grade Cultivation Room, go to the Miscellaneous Labor Valley. This place is already full."

Fang Huai shook his head and said, "Find me a Grade A Cultivation Room. I want to rent it for two months."

"Grade A? Two months?"

The Guardian Disciple's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

One should know that Grade A Cultivation Rooms were almost comparable to those in the inner Sect, but they were also expensive, costing five hundred contribution points per day.

For Fang Huai to rent one for two months, that would be thirty thousand contribution points.

The Guardian Disciple's first reaction was that Fang Huai was the offspring of some Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle, but seeing his simple clothes, he didn't look like someone from a wealthy or noble background.

He thought Fang Huai was playing a prank on him, but seeing Fang Huai's determined gaze, it didn't seem like a joke.

"This Junior Brother... Senior Brother, Cultivation Rooms cannot be rented on credit."

Fang Huai said nothing. He took out his Identity Token and infused it with spiritual energy.

A line of information appeared on the token:

[contribution points: 60,751]