Chapter 11 Cultivation and Debt Collection
Fang Che took out the jade bestowed by the Plane Will from his Niwan Palace, his face full of anticipation as he examined its condition.
However, Fang Che's face quickly showed an expression of disappointment.
This jade was not a special treasure that guaranteed 100% Creation of Curse Tools, but rather an item that accelerated cultivation speed.
As long as the jade was stored in the Niwan Palace, it could absorb external or medicinal curse energy faster, improving cultivation efficiency.
However, this jade could only be used for one month; once the total cultivation time reached one month, the jade would shatter.
Fang Che put the jade back into his Niwan Palace and then focused his attention, activating his dual eye ability, silently muttering: Observe.
The next second, Fang Che's eyes appeared in a phantom state within his Niwan Palace, staring intently at the Voodoo Doll.
Information about improvements quickly appeared on the Voodoo Doll.
Fang Che took out the tools he possessed, searched carefully for a moment, and quickly found two improvement tools.
With a flip of his hand, the Voodoo Doll appeared out of thin air in Fang Che's palm.
Immediately after, Fang Che placed a red stone shaped like a drill onto the Voodoo Doll and activated the Flash of Inspiration skill.
The red stone instantly liquefied, enveloped the Voodoo Doll, and slowly permeated into its body.
When the permeation was complete, three drills grew on the Voodoo Doll's hands and head.
At this point, the Voodoo Doll had gained the ability to move underground!
With this ability, Fang Che would no longer need to risk approaching enemy group residential areas; he could simply find a place outside to bury the Voodoo Doll and then control it to drill through.
Afterward, Fang Che picked up another colorful stone, placed it on the Voodoo Doll, and activated the Flash of Inspiration skill.
The colorful stone turned into liquid and permeated into the Voodoo Doll.
After the permeation was complete, the Voodoo Doll's appearance remained unchanged, but the target it could now handle changed from the leader of a twenty-person group to the leader of a fifty-person group.
Currently, the number of students in each class of every academy is controlled at fifty.
And the initial formation of groups usually involves recruiting classmates.
With the Voodoo Doll, Fang Che could easily destroy any newly formed group!
By continuing to strengthen the Voodoo Doll in the future, he would be able to deal with groups with more members.
Fang Che put away the Voodoo Doll, put on thick clothes, added height-increasing insoles, then donned his cloak and mask, and went to the Curse Master Mission Hall to look for new missions.
However, the missions here were ordinary, with nothing suitable.
Fang Che casually glanced around, then turned and walked towards the Manager.
As soon as Fang Che left, the same person who had previously tried to get Fang Che to take private work, a fishing operative, quickly followed Fang Che and said the same words as last time:
"Brother, I see you haven't found a suitable mission either. I happen to have some private work here; could you help me with it?"
Fang Che ignored him and quickened his pace towards the Manager.
The fishing operative followed Fang Che for a short distance, and seeing the Manager's gaze turn towards them, he then moved away from Fang Che, not daring to say more.
Fang Che walked up to the Manager, took out a portion of the money he had obtained after eliminating Zhou Duan, and said, "I want to rent a cultivation room with an exit."
The Manager took the money, then took out a token and handed it to Fang Che.
Fang Che took the token, walked to the wall, opened a gap, and entered the cultivation room.
As soon as Fang Che entered the cultivation room, strange smoke emanated from his body and was absorbed by the wall.
The token in his hand quickly shattered, releasing curse energy.
Fang Che sat cross-legged on the ground, cultivating quietly.
Just then, the cultivation jade pendant in his Niwan Palace released a suction force, and Fang Che's speed of absorbing curse energy instantly increased by twenty percent.
For the following period, Fang Che remained in the cultivation room of the Curse Master Mission Hall, cultivating, and the illusory second-layer altar became increasingly real.
Whenever the curse energy in the cultivation room was depleted, Fang Che would go back to the Mission Hall to walk around and look for suitable missions.
However, there were never any good missions there, and those fishing operatives always targeted Fang Che.
He wondered where they got so many tools.
After two days passed like this, Fang Che, who was cultivating, suddenly noticed that his storage ring was emitting some heat.
Fang Che opened his storage ring and took out the heat source.
The glowing object was precisely the communication jade used to contact Ling Jie.
Fang Che injected a stream of curse energy, and Ling Jie's voice immediately came from the communication jade:
"A batch of the items you need has been exchanged. Take some time to come back and find me. Also, I found some missions whose rewards are things you need but the team doesn't have.
I know you're very wealthy now and might be cultivating, so I'm asking if you're willing to accept missions. If you are, you can check the Mission Wall 13 in Area 2 of the Mission Hall. If you find a mission you like, you can contact me."
After hearing this information, Fang Che continuously injected curse energy into the communication jade and replied, "I'll be there shortly."
After replying, Fang Che put away the communication jade and cultivated quietly.
Once the curse energy in the cultivation room was completely absorbed by Fang Che, he left the cultivation room, took off his disguise in an uninhabited alley, and went to the Mission Hall used by all professions.
Fang Che walked to Mission Wall 13 in Area 2 and checked the mission information on it.
The missions here were all about guarding the defensive loopholes of the Emperor Plane and hunting down external Intruders.
Each mission required a team to accept it.
Fang Che had no interest in these missions.
At this stage, Fang Che did not want to expose his Curse Tools; at the very least, he wanted to break through to a second-order Curse Master and choose new skills before acting with others.
Therefore, Fang Che left Mission Wall 13 and went elsewhere to look for missions suitable for solo action.
However, Fang Che didn't find any missions; instead, he discovered members of the Fierce Tiger Group.
Fang Che recognized this person; he was one of the group who had previously gone to Slaughter Saber Academy with Wang Yuan's corpse to extort money, and someone seemed to call him Old Zhang.
Just then, Old Zhang and others from the Fierce Tiger Group also saw Fang Che, quickly ran to him, and surrounded him.
Fang Che asked nervously, "What are you doing? This is the Mission Hall; harming others is not allowed!"
Old Zhang expressionlessly took out a pile of blood-stained loan contracts from his Arms, found Fang Che's, and said:
"I heard your class formed some Blue Sky Group and even killed Zhou Duan. That's good; you go join the Blue Sky Group and borrow money from Ling Jie to pay back the debt."
Fang Che had originally intended to repay the money, but after the Fierce Tiger Group secretly modified the contract, Fang Che lost interest in repaying and instead wanted to kill these people.
Now that these people had left the Fierce Tiger Group's stronghold, it was a good opportunity to continue killing.
Fang Che thought this in his heart, but on his face, he showed a troubled expression and said, "I joined the Blue Sky Group a few days ago, but I'm not familiar with Ling Jie. He might not lend me money. Can you give me a few more days? I'll definitely solve the debt problem in a few days!"
Old Zhang sneered and said, "You don't have to pay back the money; just sign a vanguard contract with us and serve us for three years!"
When Fang Che heard
Vanguard Contract,
his desire to eliminate the Fierce Tiger Group grew even stronger.
The so-called vanguards were cannon fodder in war, required to rush to the front to test the enemy's capabilities.
Those who signed this contract basically did not survive.
A small number of survivors were those who signed slave contracts with others, becoming their private property, and were thus protected by them.
And a Curse Master is not a powerful profession; there is no value in becoming a slave.
If Fang Che signed the contract, he would be seeking death.
Therefore, Fang Che quickly said, "I'll go find Ling Jie immediately and resolve the debt problem right away."
Old Zhang chuckled and reminded him, "That's good, but don't think about running away. With the contract, we can easily pinpoint your location.
Although the cost of locating you is more than the money you owe, our Fierce Tiger Group isn't short on money, and we're happy to use you to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys!"
Fang Che nervously replied, "It's only right to pay debts. I definitely won't run."
Old Zhang nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, saying, "Let him go."
The several practitioners blocking the way immediately cleared a path, and Fang Che quickly moved away from these people.
After watching Fang Che leave, Old Zhang chuckled and said, "Look at how cowardly that guy was just now, truly laughable."
The other people around also had smiles on their faces, and much of their tension from the past few days had dissipated.
Old Zhang smiled and said, "Let's go, let's find a few more debtors and have some fun with them."
Everyone excitedly echoed, "Good!"
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Chapter 12 The Hunt Begins
After Fang Che left the Mission Hall, he walked towards the Blue Sky Group's station.
Along the way, Fang Che encountered many members of the Fierce Tiger Group.
These people looked irritable, as if they were ready to cause trouble for others at any moment.
Fang Che kept his distance from them, avoiding direct confrontation.
A moment later, Fang Che arrived at the Blue Sky Group and found that the station was much livelier, with many First-Order Professionals moving around in the courtyard.
Fang Che hurried into the room directly facing the courtyard, seeing many First-Order Professionals selecting missions, while Yun Tian was registering them nearby.
Fang Che looked around and noticed that many more Professional message slips had been added to the walls.
At this moment, Ye Ling walked up to Fang Che, pointed to the wooden door in the corner, and reminded him, "Team Leader Ling is waiting for you in that room."
"Thank you," Fang Che nodded in gratitude, then quickly walked to the outside of the room and gently knocked on the door.
Ling Jie's pleasant voice soon came from inside the room: "Come in."
Fang Che pushed the door open, met Ling Jie's gaze in the room, and then closed the door.
Ling Jie also took out a pile of items and placed them on the table, saying, "These are the items everyone exchanged for you. Please take them."
Fang Che's eyes lit up as he glanced at the items on the table, and he quickly put them into his storage ring.
After Fang Che had put away all the items, Ling Jie said, "Recently, many people who owe debts have come to me to borrow money. I have lent it to them and signed contracts with them.
I remember you also owe the Fierce Tiger Group a lot of money. I can help you pay it back, and you don't need to sign any contract or pay anything. Consider it a thank you for your help to the Blue Sky Group."
Seeing Ling Jie proactively bring up the matter of lending money, Fang Che smiled and said, "I'm just a Curse Master, not a powerful Professional. If you lend me too much money, people will become suspicious. It's better to lend me a little less."
Before coming, Fang Che had already decided to borrow a small amount of money from Ling Jie.
This was because Fang Che needed to follow Old Zhang's demands one hundred percent, making Old Zhang and his group believe that Fang Che feared the Fierce Tiger Group.
Next, Fang Che would also diligently accept missions and work to repay his debt.
This way, even if all the Fierce Tiger Group members died in the future, no one would suspect someone who painstakingly saved money to repay a debt.
Fang Che did not tell Ling Jie these thoughts because he didn't know Ling Jie well. If Ling Jie accidentally let it slip, Fang Che would be in trouble.
Ling Jie heard Fang Che's words and nodded, "You have a point. Lending too much money to a Curse Master would indeed arouse suspicion. It wouldn't be good if the matter of eliminating Zhou Duan were exposed."
Immediately after, Ling Jie took out a pile of coins from her storage ring and said,
"Take as much as you want. If anyone asks in the future, I will say that you also signed a contract with me."
Fang Che nodded, quickly put some coins into his storage ring, then picked up a pen and paper from the table, and while writing, said,
"I'll write another list of materials I need. Please help me collect them. As for that note outside, don't touch it, lest others target me."
Ling Jie nodded and said, "Okay."
A moment later, Fang Che wrote down what he currently needed, handed it to Ling Jie, and said, "Goodbye."
Ling Jie took the note and said, "Take care."
Fang Che hurriedly left the room and quickly returned to his inn room, took out the newly acquired items, and integrated them into the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
After the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book integrated a few items, its information changed again:
["Write the enemy's full name, surname, or an approved alias on any item, and that item can replace the target's body;
Then, using the power of curses, condense the characters in the bamboo slip into seven long nails and insert them into the substitute item;
Bow and kowtow to the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and the substitute item, and recall the target's appearance. After bowing and kowtowing four consecutive times, smash the substitute item, and the enemy will die on the spot without any external injuries."]
Most people do not address each other by their full names when interacting, as it sounds too formal.
Therefore, it was very difficult for the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book to kill people.
Now, the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book no longer required the enemy's correct full name; a surname or an alias would suffice, which reduced the difficulty for Fang Che to kill.
Moreover, now one could kill by kowtowing four times, further increasing the killing speed.
Fang Che put away the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, then placed all his belongings in the corner of the room, and set off for the Mission Hall.
Upon arriving at the Mission Hall, Fang Che pretended to select missions, but in reality, he was looking for Old Zhang's whereabouts.
Not long after, Fang Che saw Old Zhang's group. Fang Che put on a nervous expression and turned to leave.
"Stop!" Old Zhang's group also saw Fang Che and quickly blocked him.
Fang Che looked nervous and stammered, "Wh-what's wrong?"
Old Zhang stood with his hands behind his back, head held high, looking at Fang Che through his nostrils, and arrogantly said, "Didn't I tell you to go borrow money from Ling Jie? Have you borrowed the money yet?"
Fang Che said with a troubled expression, "I'm just a Curse Master; I can't borrow much money at all. I'm here now to find missions and work hard to pay back the money."
Old Zhang reached out his hand to demand, "Give me the money you borrowed. Consider it interest."
Fang Che shook his head and said, "No, I'll pay it all back later."
Old Zhang frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Search him."
The few people nearby quickly searched Fang Che upon hearing this.
Fang Che allowed them to search him and said, "I didn't bring any money. Just wait until I've gathered enough."
The people searching thoroughly checked him, then shook their heads and dispersed.
Old Zhang took two steps forward, raised his fist, and threatened, "I'll let you off this time. Hurry up and take a mission, and pay back the money as soon as possible."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go take a mission right away." Then, Fang Che ran frantically to another place, away from Old Zhang and the others, carefully checking the missions.
Next, Fang Che wandered around the Mission Hall, pretending to look for missions, but in reality, learning the aliases of these Fierce Tiger Group members.
Fang Che's current method of learning aliases was very time-consuming. If he spent some money to ask others for help, he would definitely be able to find out the real names of these Fierce Tiger Group members.
However, doing so would give others leverage over him, making it less safe than acting on his own.
After some time, Fang Che noticed that many Fierce Tiger Group members had accepted missions far from the city, so he quickly left, appearing to be fleeing for safety.
Fang Che sneered inwardly, remembering their aliases and appearances, then went to observe the situation of others.
After some time, Fang Che left the Mission Hall, returned to his lodging, and recorded the aliases he had learned on a piece of white paper.
Immediately after, Fang Che took out the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book and, using the power of curses, cast the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book.
Under Fang Che's control, the seal characters transformed into seven long nails and directly pierced into a piece of white paper with an alias written on it.
This white paper was like an item containing spatial power; the nails pierced from one side, as if into an unknown space, and did not penetrate through the other side of the white paper.
Fang Che bowed and kowtowed to the white paper and the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, and the long nails continued to pierce into the white paper.
After kowtowing four times, the long nails had completely pierced into the white paper, with only the traces of the nail tails visible on one side of the white paper.
Fang Che picked up the white paper and directly tore it to shreds.
At this moment, outside the city, a group of people was running quickly.
The person running at the very front excitedly shouted, "Now that we've escaped the city, we don't have to worry about the Second-Order Assassin's harm!"
A person behind him frowned and hesitantly said, "We're all small fries and not on the Mission Hall's assassination list. Actually, I think running or not doesn't matter."
The person running at the front laughed, "Don't say those things anymore. Bringing you out is for your own good. If the Second-Order Assassin goes crazy, we'll easily be caught in the crossfire if we stay in the city. We'll just hide far away..."
At this point, the person's voice abruptly stopped, and he fell straight to the ground!
"Assassin!" The large group of people behind them scattered quickly like startled birds.
However, the hesitant person did not move. After carefully observing the corpse, he shouted, "There are no wounds on his body; an assassin didn't do this."
The scattered crowd looked back in horror, glanced at the corpse, and only after confirming there were no wounds on the body did they stop and return to the corpse, discussing animatedly.
"How did Old Hong die?"
"There's not a single wound on his body. Maybe he was too nervous before and now too excited, with too much emotional fluctuation, causing his body to be unable to bear it, leading to death."
"Possible. What do we do now? Do we take the body back?"
"No way! Someone died right after we took the mission and left. We'll definitely get scolded if we go back, and Old Hong's resources won't be safe. Let's divide Old Hong's resources and continue with the mission. We'll just say Old Hong died during the mission. It's normal for someone to die during a mission."
"Makes sense, let's do that!"
Subsequently, the group quickly divided Old Hong's items and carried Old Hong's corpse, continuing to the mission location.
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Chapter 13: The Panic of the Tigers
Inside a room at an inn belonging to Slaughter Saber Academy, Fang Che, like a venomous snake in the shadows, gazed coldly at the words on the white paper, continuously kowtowing.
Every four kowtows, Fang Che would tear off a piece of white paper and toss it aside.
On the table, the stack of complete white papers steadily dwindled, while a pile of shredded paper grew on the floor.
Fierce Tiger Group's outpost.
Old Zhang frantically ran into a room, glanced at the people inside, then walked over to Captain Li, his voice trembling as he said, "Another person has died, the body is outside!"
Upon hearing this, Captain Li gripped the wooden chair armrest so hard that he broke it off, and angrily declared:
"I told you long ago to trap that assassin in the defensive barrier and wait for the Group Leader to return; but you wouldn't listen, you insisted on opening the defensive barrier, and now look, more people have died. When the Group Leader returns, you can explain it to him!"
The others frowned, and one of them sneered, "The first-tier members are almost scared senseless by that assassin. If we didn't open the defensive barrier, there would probably be internal strife already; what's more, if you trap the assassin in the defensive barrier and he can't get out for a long time, he might just go crazy and kill indiscriminately, and we'd have no way to explain that to the Group Leader either!"
Captain Li snorted, no longer arguing.
At this moment, Old Zhang beside him spoke up, "No, this time the person who died wasn't killed by the assassin, the dead person's body..."
At this point, Old Zhang suddenly stopped speaking.
Everyone looked at Old Zhang in confusion, only to see him fall stiffly to the ground.
The surrounding people instantly ran far away, looking at Old Zhang in extreme panic.
They meticulously checked Old Zhang's condition but indeed found no injuries.
Afterward, they bravely approached Old Zhang to check his condition.
A moment later, Captain Li said with a bewildered expression, "How can there be no injuries at all? How did he die?"
One person nearby suddenly stood up and moved away from Old Zhang, saying with some horror, "This might be the work of a Poison Doctor!"
The others, upon hearing this, also subconsciously moved away from Old Zhang.
A Poison Doctor is a very troublesome profession.
To awaken the Poison Doctor profession, one needs to consume a self-refined antidote, enter an area filled with dense poisonous miasma, and devour the miasma.
Only if the antidote resolves all the poisonous miasma, and the antidote is completely digested, leaving no poison or medicine in the body, can one awaken the Poison Doctor profession.
If too much antidote is consumed, one will awaken the Physician profession.
If there isn't enough antidote, but one fortunately survives, one will awaken the Poison Master profession.
The Poison Doctor profession leans towards killing, excelling at using poison in attacks. After poisoning someone to death, the toxicity automatically dissipates, making it difficult for outsiders to investigate.
The methods used by a Poison Doctor to administer poison are also undetectable and impossible to guard against.
Captain Li and the others moved away from Old Zhang's body, their faces filled with worry.
"First it was an assassin, and now a Poison Doctor. Who exactly did our Fierce Tiger Group offend?"
"Group development inevitably offends people. Sometimes, even if you don't offend anyone, others might cause trouble out of jealousy. Thinking about who we offended is meaningless."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"In my opinion, we should stop some of the ongoing matters that might be offending people right now, to test which aspect is causing the offense, and then identify the enemy."
"That's the only way, but how do we explain the deaths of Old Zhang and these others?"
"We absolutely cannot mention anything about a Poison Doctor. Let's just casually gloss it over."
"Oh, right, the people we arranged at the various professional Mission Halls haven't found any new assassination missions. As for the Curse Master Mission Hall, which we've been focusing on, there's been no news at all. I think there's no point in keeping them there anymore. Let them come back."
"Alright."
After a brief discussion, everyone left the room, their expressions growing even uglier as they looked at the terrified crowd outside and the seven or eight bodies on the ground.
Captain Li glanced at the bodies from a distance and falsely claimed, "These people died because their nervous tension was too strong, causing their bodies to be unable to bear it. Everyone, don't be nervous, control your emotions."
No one truly believed these explanations. Even if someone's body was fragile and couldn't handle intense emotions, it was impossible for seven or eight people to die on the same day.
However, at present, no one knew where the enemy was, and there were no obvious injuries on the deceased's bodies.
Everyone could only silently deceive themselves, forcing themselves to believe Captain Li's words.
If not for that, they would probably have gone insane with fear.
Captain Li continued to reassure them, "The Group Leader will be back in a while. Before the Group Leader returns, everyone doesn't need to take on any missions; just relax and rest more."
Upon hearing the news that the Group Leader was returning, everyone's emotions became agitated, and some even had tears welling up in their eyes.
Captain Li then ordered, "When you go out these next few days, do not argue or conflict with others; try to be tolerant; also, many things in our Fierce Tiger Group are not very reasonable. I will arrange the unreasonable matters for you later. First, dispose of the bodies, then come back to me."
"Understood." Everyone nodded, carrying the bodies away from the area.
Captain Li saw that everyone was about to leave, and suddenly remembered Old Zhang's body was still in the room, so he immediately said:
"Old Zhang just now died suddenly due to excessive tension. His body is in the room. Go and carry it out for burial."
After saying this, Captain Li ignored the suddenly changed expressions of the others and left the place with the other second-tier captains.
At this time, in the Slaughter Saber Academy inn room, as the last piece of white paper was torn, all the targets Fang Che had previously locked onto had been killed.
Fang Che put away the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, collected all the shredded paper, kneaded it into a ball, then used curse energy to grind it into powder, and put it into his storage ring.
Afterward, Fang Che put on his cloak and mask and set off for the Curse Master Mission Hall.
Upon entering the Mission Hall, Fang Che looked around and found that the familiar fishing personnel had all disappeared.
Fang Che found the Manager, paid to rent a training room with an exit, and then went to check the missions on the wall.
The missions were similar to before, with no missions that Fang Che liked. So, Fang Che placed his training room token on the wall, opened a crack, and entered the training room.
This time, no smoke emerged from Fang Che, and he wasn't targeted by anyone.
Afterward, Fang Che calmed his emotions and began to cultivate once the curse energy became sufficiently dense.
Three days passed in a flash. Fang Che felt a bit tired from cultivating, so he took off his cloak and mask and went to the Mission Hall to look for information on Fierce Tiger Group members.
Just as he entered the Mission Hall, a Fierce Tiger Group member stopped Fang Che and said with a smile, "Fang Che, I'm from the Fierce Tiger Group, and I've been waiting for you here for a long time."
Fang Che pretended to be nervous and hastily said, "Please give me a few more days; I'll be able to pay back the money very soon!"
The Fierce Tiger Group member shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I'm not here to collect debts. We've discovered that Wang Yuan deceived the Fierce Tiger Group and drew up a very unreasonable debt contract. Therefore, I'm here to revise the contract."
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Chapter 14 Temperament Changes
Hearing about the modification of the loan contract, Fang Che sneered inwardly.
Fang Che did not believe that the Fierce Tiger Group was that kind.
If the Fierce Tiger Group were truly so kind, they would not have modified the contract from the very beginning.
As for the lie about being deceived by Wang Yuan, Fang Che believed it even less.
When the contract was signed, Wang Yuan was not yet a Professional, and for him to be able to deceive Fang Che with a contract, besides his mentor Lü Jing, the Fierce Tiger Group must have helped him.
Now that the Fierce Tiger Group suddenly came to change the loan contract, it was clear that too many of their people had died, and they couldn't find the killer, so they felt scared and thus actively caved in.
Fang Che thought this in his heart, but a joyful smile appeared on his face as he said, "That's wonderful! Thank you, your group, for giving me justice. Let's sign the contract right away."
The Fierce Tiger Group man smiled slightly, took out two contracts, and introduced them: "This blood-stained one is the contract Wang Yuan tricked you into signing, and this clean one is a brand-new contract.
We have already communicated with the Plane Will. You only need to sign the new contract, and the original contract will automatically become void. Fang Che, please take a look and see if there are any issues."
Fang Che took the two contracts, and after a brief inspection, found that the new contract indeed had no hidden clauses, and the interest rate was relatively reasonable.
On the new contract, the Fierce Tiger Group's seal was already stamped. As long as Fang Che signed, or pressed his handprint, or left his own Curse energy, the contract would become effective.
Fang Che unhesitatingly released his Curse energy and left it on the contract.
The contract flashed with light, officially signed successfully.
At the same time, the blood-stained contract also transformed into a mass of energy, dissipating and becoming void.
The Fierce Tiger Group man took the contract and smiled, "You don't need to rush to repay the debt; we are not in a hurry. I will take my leave."
Fang Che looked at the man with a grateful expression, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you. I will definitely repay the money as soon as possible. I'm going to look for a suitable mission now. Farewell."
Afterward, the two separated. Fang Che pretended to look for missions, but in reality, continued to inquire about information on Fierce Tiger Group members.
Although the debt contract had been changed, Fang Che was not prepared to let the Fierce Tiger Group off the hook.
Fang Che guessed that besides caving in, the Fierce Tiger Group's bigger goal in changing their fortune was to find the killer.
The Fierce Tiger Group would likely continue to cave in on other fronts, gradually narrowing down the target.
If Fang Che stopped now, the Fierce Tiger Group might pinpoint Zuo Qi.
For his own safety, Fang Che needed to continue killing to avoid exposure.
As for the lives of those ordinary members of the Fierce Tiger Group, Fang Che did not care.
These people joined the Fierce Tiger Group, enjoying the benefits provided by the Fierce Tiger Group, and many of these benefits were obtained by modifying contracts and exploiting others.
Killing these people, Fang Che had no psychological burden.
Fang Che wandered around the Mission Hall and found that the number of Fierce Tiger Group members had significantly decreased, unlike the previous few days.
After Fang Che learned the surnames and codenames of these people, he left the Mission Hall and looked for other Fierce Tiger Group members outside.
However, there were not many Fierce Tiger Group members outside either; it was as if everyone had hidden themselves.
After Fang Che learned some information about a few people, he returned to his room at the academy inn, wrote down the target codenames on a blank piece of paper, and began to curse.
However, as soon as he began to curse, the long nail in the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book could not pierce the white paper.
All the targets Fang Che chose had only first-stage strength. For this situation to occur within the same realm, it could only mean that the targets had entered the Mission Hall.
The Mission Hall is under the attention of the Plane Will, and it is impossible to kill people inside.
However, Fang Che was not in a hurry. Even the staff of the Mission Hall could not stay in the Mission Hall forever; the targets would leave the Mission Hall sooner or later.
So, Fang Che changed his targets and cursed others.
At this moment, three Professionals from the Fierce Tiger Group were walking towards the Fierce Tiger Group's headquarters.
Just as they were about to enter the Fierce Tiger Group's headquarters, the person on the left suddenly fell straight to the ground, losing his life.
The other two were terrified and quickly ran towards the Fierce Tiger Group's headquarters.
Bystanders around them also quickly dispersed upon seeing this.
Some time ago, many passersby saw Fierce Tiger Group members dying inexplicably, without any wounds on their bodies.
Many speculated that a Poison Doctor Professional was responsible.
Everyone felt a deep reverence for Poison Doctor Professionals and dared not approach the corpses, fearing contact with the toxins released by Poison Doctor Professionals.
A moment later, the two Fierce Tiger Group members who were with the deceased followed Captain Li and arrived a few meters away from the corpse.
Captain Li glanced at the corpse from a distance and said, "It's fine, carry it back."
The two were somewhat unwilling.
These days, Fierce Tiger Group members had heard many rumors outside, speculating that a Poison Doctor was killing people.
Now that someone had died inexplicably, the two truly dared not go over.
Captain Li was also unwilling to touch the corpse and coldly ordered, "You two quickly carry the person back."
After saying this, Captain Li left directly, not waiting for the two to react.
The two felt distressed. They turned their heads to look around, wanting to hire others to carry the body, but found that besides Captain Li who had left, there was no one else there.
The two sighed and had no choice but to grit their teeth, walk over, and lift the corpse.
The two carried the corpse for a while, and the person walking in front suddenly felt the corpse become heavy.
Turning his head, he saw that the person carrying the corpse behind him had already fallen onto the corpse, having lost his breath.
There were no wounds on his body either.
"Ah!" The living person shrieked and ran towards the Fierce Tiger Group's base.
Captain Li heard the sound, turned his head, and saw the terrified, frantically running person, as well as two corpses piled together.
Captain Li's eye twitched, and his emotions were somewhat agitated.
Captain Li took a deep breath, suppressed the emotions in his heart, turned, and returned to the base to find someone to carry the corpses.
On the other side, after Fang Che eliminated one-third of the Fierce Tiger Group members he knew about, he stopped kowtowing and put away the remaining two-thirds of the paper slips.
Now, the Fierce Tiger Group members did not like to move around outside. If he eliminated everyone at once, he wouldn't find targets next time, and others would suspect him.
Therefore, Fang Che planned to kill people in three separate instances, to minimize his suspicion as much as possible.
Afterward, Fang Che cleaned up all traces of the killings and went out to see if there were any other Fierce Tiger Group members moving around outside.
Unbeknownst to him, Fang Che arrived at the Blue Sky Group's base.
Inside the base, Ling Jie quickly saw Fang Che.
Ling Jie observed Fang Che and suddenly noticed that Fang Che's demeanor had become much more melancholic.
Although Curse Masters generally have a melancholic demeanor, Fang Che's temperament changed too quickly.
If it were someone unfamiliar, they would have thought Fang Che was a senior who had cultivated for several years.
Ling Jie felt that Fang Che must be a genius who was very suited to the Curse Master profession. Of course, this should also be inseparable from the help of those resources from Zhou Duan.
At this moment, Fang Che felt someone watching him. He looked up and realized it was Ling Jie.
Immediately after, Fang Che saw Ling Jie waving to him, then pointing to the corner of the mission reception room.
That corner was the room where Fang Che and Ling Jie had met last time.
The next second, Ling Jie turned and walked into the mission room.
Fang Che lifted his leg and walked into the Blue Sky Group's headquarters, following Ling Jie's steps.
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Chapter 15 You Don't Want to…
Fang Che walked into the mission room, glanced at the members who accepted the mission, then walked into the small room in the corner, closed the door, and asked Ling Jie, "What do you need me for?"
Ling Jie took out a pile of items from her Storage Ring and said, "These are the things exchanged recently. Since you're here, it's just right to give them to you."
Fang Che looked down and found that most of the items were cultivation pills exclusive to Curse Masters, but there were not many materials for refining and improving Curse Tools.
Fang Che put away these things and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
Ling Jie's expression suddenly turned serious and she said,
"There's something. I recently heard that a strong Professional of the Poison Doctor profession has targeted the Fierce Tiger Group. Perhaps there's a feud between them, or it could be extortion. If it's extortion, I'm worried that this Poison Doctor Professional will target us."
Fang Che's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this. He merely comforted her, "The Blue Sky Group hasn't been established for long, so we haven't had time to offend powerful enemies. Moreover, the Blue Sky Group isn't as wealthy as the Fierce Tiger Group, so the Group Leader doesn't need to worry."
Ling Jie frowned slightly, still worried, and said, "I heard that the main forces of the Fierce Tiger Group are about to complete their Plane War and return.
If they can't catch the Poison Doctor, they might take their anger out on others. I'm worried that the Fierce Tiger Group will target us."
Fang Che believed that the Fierce Tiger Group targeting the Blue Sky Group was an inevitable event.
Local resources are limited, and new groups that want to develop will inevitably encroach on the Fierce Tiger Group's development space.
In the past, the Fierce Tiger Group often eliminated new groups. Even the Fierce Tiger Group itself was once a target for elimination.
Now that so many people from the Fierce Tiger Group have died, and their internal situation is very chaotic, they can just eliminate the Blue Sky Group as the culprit.
This way, they not only eliminate a competitor in advance but also stabilize their internal chaotic situation.
This kind of thing is destined to happen. It's just that Fang Che's hunting of Fierce Tiger Group members might make it happen earlier.
Since Ling Jie formed the group, how could she not have thought of these things? Did his hunting disrupt Ling Jie's plans?
Fang Che watched Ling Jie and noticed that while her expression was worried, her eyes were very calm, as if she had already thought of a solution.
Fang Che pondered thoughtfully and suggested, "The Fierce Tiger Group was also a suppressed group back then. They were able to develop because they accepted dangerous missions assigned by the Plane Will and gained the Plane Will's protection. We can learn from the Fierce Tiger Group now."
Ling Jie remained worried and said, "When do you think we should act?"
Fang Che thought for a moment and replied, "Now seems to be the best opportunity. Let's act now."
The worry on Ling Jie's face suddenly lessened a lot, and a faint smile appeared on her face. "Are you sure?"
Fang Che nodded and said, "I'm very sure. The Fierce Tiger Group survived and grew strong by relying on the Plane Will's protection. They will definitely be wary of other groups using the same method.
While the main forces of the Fierce Tiger Group are not here, we should quickly accept a mission and leave. If we wait for the main forces of the Fierce Tiger Group to return, we won't have such a good opportunity."
As soon as he said this, a brilliant smile suddenly appeared on Ling Jie's face.
Ling Jie patted Fang Che's shoulder and said happily, "I've mentioned it to Yun Tian and Ye Ling many times, but they're all holding onto a lucky (stroke of luck) and think they can wait.
I've been anxious all along, and now that I have your support, I'm relieved. As long as the two of us persuade everyone together, everyone will definitely agree!"
Only then did Fang Che understand that Ling Jie was doing all this to pull him into her faction.
However, Fang Che was unwilling to persuade Yun Tian and Ye Ling.
Yun Tian is responsible for issuing missions and allocating resources, and he has good connections. It's impossible for him to be persuaded once he's made up his mind.
When Ye Ling was in the academy, she had good popularity and was quite influential, but Ye Ling listened to Ling Jie the most.
Now that even Ling Jie couldn't persuade Ye Ling, Fang Che didn't think he could persuade her.
Fang Che felt that it was time for him to find a way out.
However, as soon as he thought that there were only the Blue Sky Group and the Fierce Tiger Group nearby, Fang Che became a little worried.
Leaving the Blue Sky Group would mean no one to help him here. If he were to go far away, it would be even more difficult to develop.
Seeing Fang Che not speaking, Ling Jie said, "The Fierce Tiger Group has wronged you. Although you don't say anything on the surface, you must be angry inside.
If the Blue Sky Group is gone, I don't think you'll join the Fierce Tiger Group either. You'll only be able to go far away and develop with difficulty. Please help me.
You don't want to see the Blue Sky Group disband and be unable to quickly acquire resources in the future, do you!"
Fang Che admitted that Ling Jie's words resonated with him, but Fang Che still didn't want to persuade others.
Fang Che pondered for a moment and thought of another idea.
Fang Che asked, "How many people have signed the loan contract?"
Ling Jie replied, "One-third. If I waive the contract, they might agree to participate in the mission."
Fang Che shook his head and said, "You don't need their consent. With the contract in place, they will become indecisive when faced with something they are unwilling to do.
Indecisive people will always support the direction chosen by the majority. They will align themselves with whichever side has more people and power.
The Group Leader can first obtain the signatures of these people, use the signatures to trick others into signing, get more people to sign, and then use these signatures to persuade Yun Tian and Ye Ling."
As soon as Fang Che finished speaking, Ling Jie took out a list from her Storage Ring and said,
"A few days ago, I used the method you mentioned to win over more than half of the people. Yun Tian and Ye Ling know how I operated, but they still won't budge. Now we still need the two of us to persuade them."
Fang Che looked at the list helplessly, shook his head, and said, "If you can't persuade them, what can I do?"
Ling Jie smiled and said, "You killed Zhou Duan. Although it hasn't been publicized, Ye Ling and Yun Tian know about it. These two don't say it, but they value you very much in their hearts!"
Fang Che fell silent again.
Persuading people is not a good job.
If the outcome after persuasion is good, no one will remember you. Others will only think that they made a good choice themselves.
But if the outcome is bad, all the troubles will come knocking.
Therefore, Fang Che didn't want to get involved in this matter.
But now that it has developed to this point, he can only try.
Fang Che pondered for a moment again and said, "I can talk to them, but only once. If it fails, I won't try to persuade them a second time."
Ling Jie smiled and said, "No problem, I'll go call them over now. Please wait here."
Ling Jie hurriedly left the room, closing the door behind her.
Seeing Yun Tian was busy, Ling Jie went to Ye Ling's room. Looking at Ye Ling, who stood up to greet her, she smiled and said, "I'm still here about that matter from last time."
Ye Ling immediately sat down, picked up a book, and replied without lifting her head, "I still have the same opinion as last time: accept the mission after a period of development."
Ling Jie walked behind Ye Ling, placed her hands on Ye Ling's shoulders, and said,
"Fang Che has agreed to my plan. Now he wants to persuade you all, and he asked me to invite you and Yun Tian."
Ye Ling immediately frowned, remained silent for a moment, then still shook her head gently.
Ling Jie smiled and said, "I can see that if we don't execute the mission, Fang Che will leave.
If Fang Che leaves, he will definitely take Zhou Duan's items with him. At that time, those Professionals who joined us for Zhou Duan's items will also leave the Blue Sky Group.
You don't want to see the Professionals leave, letting all our hard work go to waste, and then be dependent on others in the future, do you!"