No dramatic confrontations.
No major collections.
No sudden breakthroughs.
Just routine.
Li Ren woke early, completed his assigned chores, and spent the rest of his time quietly observing the courtyard. Mei Lin moved through the servant ranks, taking on small tasks that gave her an excuse to talk to different people.
It wasn’t glamorous work.
But it was necessary.
Small debts were the foundation of larger ones.
And information was often more valuable than power.
One afternoon, Li Ren sat near the well, cleaning a set of wooden buckets.
Mei Lin returned from the laundry area and crouched beside him.
“I heard something interesting,” she said.
He didn’t look up. “About?”
“The outer disciples,” she replied. “There’s an argument going on between two of them. Something about a lost reward.”
That caught his attention.
He set the bucket aside.
“Explain.”
“One of them supposedly owes the other a share of spirit stones from a hunting trip,” she said. “But he’s refusing to pay. Says the other one didn’t contribute enough.”
Li Ren’s eyes sharpened.
“How much are we talking about?”
“Thirty spirit stones,” she said.
He let out a low whistle.
“That’s not a small amount.”
For a servant, thirty spirit stones could mean years of food and security. Even for outer disciples, it wasn’t pocket change.
“Names?” he asked.
“Gao Ming is one of them,” she said. “The one who slapped you before.”
Li Ren remembered him.
The outer disciple whose qi he had partially extracted.
“And the other?”
“Zhou Ke,” she replied. “Quiet type. Keeps to himself.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Li Ren nodded slowly.
Thirty spirit stones…
That was worth investigating.
That evening, as the servants finished their chores, a figure approached the courtyard entrance.
He wore blue outer-disciple robes. His posture was stiff, his expression tense.
Above his head, text appeared.
Target: Zhou Ke
Debt: Owed share of hunting reward
Total: 30 spirit stones equivalent
Status: Overdue
Li Ren stood up.
The man walked directly toward him.
“You’re Li Ren?” Zhou Ke asked.
His voice was calm, but there was frustration beneath it.
“That depends,” Li Ren replied. “Who’s asking?”
“Zhou Ke. Outer disciple.”
Li Ren nodded. “I know.”
Zhou Ke hesitated, then spoke more quietly.
“I heard you can settle debts.”
Li Ren crossed his arms.
“Sometimes.”
Zhou Ke glanced around the courtyard. Servants pretended not to listen, but their ears were clearly tuned to the conversation.
“Walk with me,” Zhou Ke said.
They moved to a quieter corner near the storage sheds.
Mei Lin stayed a short distance away, pretending to sort tools while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Zhou Ke lowered his voice.
“Gao Ming and I went on a hunting mission two weeks ago,” he said. “We brought back a spirit beast. The reward was sixty stones.”
“And he kept them,” Li Ren guessed.
Zhou Ke nodded.
“He said I didn’t do enough work. But without me, he would’ve died out there.”
Li Ren studied his face.
No anger. No dramatics.
Just quiet resentment.
The kind that came from being cheated.
“Why not report him to the elders?” Li Ren asked.
Zhou Ke shook his head.
“No proof. It would just become his word against mine. And he has friends.”
That made sense.
In any hierarchy, influence mattered more than fairness.
“So you came to me,” Li Ren said.
Zhou Ke nodded.
“If you can settle this debt, I’ll give you a portion.”
“How much?”
“Five spirit stones,” Zhou Ke said.
Li Ren raised an eyebrow.
“Out of thirty?”
Zhou Ke didn’t flinch.
“You’d be doing what I can’t,” he said. “That seems fair.”
Li Ren considered it.
Five stones’ worth of value wasn’t much compared to the full debt.
But this wasn’t about the stones.
It was about stepping into the outer disciple level.
That meant:
Stronger targets.
Bigger debts.
Better returns.
And more risk.
He looked at Zhou Ke.
“Tell me everything about Gao Ming,” he said.
A few minutes later, Li Ren returned to his usual spot near the wall.
Mei Lin joined him.
“Well?” she asked.
“Thirty-stone debt between outer disciples,” he said. “He wants me to collect.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s dangerous.”
“Yes,” he agreed.
“Are you taking it?”
He leaned back against the wall.
“For five stones, normally? No.”
“Then why consider it?”
He looked toward the outer disciple quarters.
“Because once I start collecting at that level, my reputation changes.”
Mei Lin nodded slowly.
“Servant debts are copper coins,” she said. “Outer disciple debts are silver.”
“Exactly.”
She thought for a moment.
“If this goes wrong, he could try to kill you.”
Li Ren shook his head.
“Not during collection. The karmic law protects me.”
“But after?” she asked.
He didn’t answer.
Because she was right.
Protection only applied during lawful collection.
Outside of that…
He was just another low-ranking cultivator.
That night, Li Ren opened his system.
Divine Debt Ledger
Host: Li Ren
Realm: Interest Gatherer (Stage 1)
Debt Qi: 55/200
Major Debt Detected:
Gao Ming → Zhou Ke
Value: 30 spirit stones equivalent
He studied the numbers.
Thirty stones.
If he collected even part of that…
It could push him much closer to the next stage.
But it would also put him directly in the sights of the outer disciples.
He closed his eyes.
Every upgrade comes with risk.
Back on Earth, the biggest collections were always the most dangerous.
But they were also the ones that changed careers.
He opened his eyes again.
A slow smile formed.
“Looks like it’s time to move beyond the servant courtyard,” he murmured.