“By the way, all Tianyuan crystals you produce each month must be handed over. If anyone dares to hide even one, you’ll wish you were dead. Lock them in Pen Two, and don’t let them starve. Otherwise, they won’t have the energy to generate wealth for us.”
With that, the armoured man turned and left.
Here, everyone was treated like livestock, kept in pens. They wouldn’t starve, but they ate what animals would.
And they had to work relentlessly. Slacking brought harsh punishment.
The earlier talk of leaving was nonsense.
Since all Tianyuan crystals had to be surrendered, gathering enough to leave was impossible, not in thirty years, not in a lifetime.
They were truly being raised like livestock.
Clang!
Pen Two’s gate opened, and the warriors were roughly shoved inside, given no chance to protest.
While the others grumbled, Ling Xiao, holding Leng Mei’s hand, observed their surroundings.
Pen Two was much larger than expected, spanning tens of thousands of acres, housing nearly as many slaves.
All were warriors from First Heaven to Four Symbols Heaven, clearly pre-selected.
What struck Ling Xiao as odd was that, while most slaves toiled to produce Tianyuan crystals, a small group chatted idly, eating and drinking heartily.
It reminded him of prison bullies, strikingly similar.
Likely, Pixiu Island, to manage each pen, chose some slaves as leaders to oversee the rest, granting them special treatment.
Or perhaps these privileged slaves rose through internal competition and elimination.
Their cultivation was noticeably stronger than the others’.
“Hey, another bunch of fools!”
“Don’t say that. Weren’t we tricked by Pixiu Island too?”
“Not just Pixiu Island. I heard this place is co-managed by Pixiu Island and the Shenhuang Empire. Otherwise, you think the Empire would let them do this unchecked?”
“Right, I heard that too. Damn, two empire-level forces teaming up to scam us Celestial Realm warriors. What an honour.”
Many slaves in Pen Two stopped working or enjoying themselves to look at Ling Xiao’s group, newly arrived.
Their words carried intense anger and helplessness.
And a hint of schadenfreude.
After all, when you’re suffering, you want others to suffer too.
“Master, Pixiu Island and the Shenhuang Empire don’t seem as upright as they appear,” Leng Mei whispered. “With these two powers united, the warriors here have no hope of leaving.”
“Hm. I noticed when we arrived. There are five pens, each with over ten thousand warriors. That’s more than fifty thousand Celestial Realm warriors. Terrifying,” Ling Xiao said. “If the Holy Dynasty had fifty thousand such warriors united, the True Demon Empire couldn’t have swallowed so much territory so easily.”
“How long have they been here? Are we really stuck here forever?” Leng Mei asked, worried. “I don’t mind, but Master, you have grand ambitions.”
“If we’re getting out, we’re all getting out. If I can’t overcome this, what grand ambitions can I talk about?” Ling Xiao said, confident because of his array mastery, a major advantage.
He also noticed many warriors in Pen Two seemed to have been here for years, decades, even centuries.
Their faces were numb, indifferent to everything, eyes unfocused, like walking corpses.
They’d lost hope, knowing escape and resistance against Pixiu Island were futile.
But if Ling Xiao could give them hope, these people might turn into ferocious beasts, turning on Pixiu Island.
Ling Xiao wasn’t one to take a loss lying down.
Since Pixiu Island dared treat him this way, he’d make them pay.
But he needed a solid plan.
First, he’d make use of this place.
The ancient arrays here enabled Tianyuan crystal production, too complex for even his Mountain River Martial Soul to fully analyse.
Imitating them was nearly impossible.
So, he’d seize this chance to use the crystals to boost his cultivation. In a month, he’d face a life-or-death battle with Blood Skull, and this would give him an edge.
“Hey, everyone, line up here!” a gruff voice interrupted Ling Xiao’s thoughts.
He saw it was one of the group eating and drinking earlier.
The man looked upright, but appearances were deceiving. Judging by looks was naive and foolish.
The warriors in Pen Two gathered. Though the man’s attitude was poor, hearing him out wouldn’t hurt.
“Heh, pretty obedient, huh? Good. Listen up. There are no overseers here, but that doesn’t mean you can slack. Pixiu Island’s rules: First Heaven warriors hand over at least one Tianyuan crystal a month, Two Principles Heaven two, and so on. Fail to meet the quota, and you’ll beg for death.
If you produce enough crystals, you can’t keep them. All must be turned over. Our boss will send someone to collect them at the end of each natural month.
You’re lucky, it’s only the second of the month. Plenty of time to prepare. If you’d arrived at month’s end, you’d face punishment.
Pixiu Island doesn’t care if you’re new. By month’s end, you must deliver crystals.
Also, management here has a touch of humanity. Perform well, and you can live in better places, eat human food.
Oh, one crucial thing I nearly forgot: don’t even think about using the crystals you make. If you refine one here, the administrators will sense it.
You’ll be punished, and all your crystals confiscated.
That’s it. Get to work producing crystals. Those caves are your homes. The walls have instructions for making Tianyuan crystals.”
