The Outer Sect wasn't paradise. It was just a cleaner version of hell.

  ?Jiang Chen stood in the doorway of his new residence. It was a small, wooden hut located in District 9—the "slums" of the Outer Sect, nestled against the damp, foggy edge of the mountain.

  ?Compared to the Corpse Pit, it was a palace. It had a bed with a mattress. It had a window. It had a door that locked.

  ?But compared to the soaring pagodas of the Inner Disciples he could see near the peak, it was a shack.

  ?"Wood rots," Apeiron criticized, scanning the structural integrity. "And the Feng Shui is terrible. This hut is built on a minor ley line intersection of 'stagnant water' and 'damp earth'. You will develop arthritis if you sleep here for ten years."

  ?"Good thing I don't plan to stay ten years," Jiang Chen said, tossing his standard-issue gray robe onto the bed.

  ?He sat down and checked the "Welcome Package" the Sect had given him.

  ?Identity Token (Outer Disciple): Made of iron. Grants access to the library (First Floor only) and the Dining Hall. ?Spirit Stones: Three (3) low-grade stones. A monthly stipend that wouldn't buy a decent meal in the real world. ?Manual: Basic Qi Breathing Technique.

  ?Jiang Chen flipped through the manual.

  ?"Garbage," Apeiron said instantly. "Burn it. If you circulate your Qi that way, you'll clog your meridians. It's designed to keep disciples mediocre so they remain obedient foot soldiers."

  ?Jiang Chen tossed the book aside. "I need real resources. I need pills. I need meat."

  ?He checked his status.

  ?[Current EV: 858.]

  [Hunger State: 15%.]

  ?The [Void Foundation] was currently dormant, but the "tax" was real. Every breath Jiang Chen took, the Void siphoned a fraction of the energy. If he didn't eat, he would starve faster than a normal human.

  ?"I need to retrieve the stash," Jiang Chen muttered, thinking of the spatial ring he hid in the woods.

  ?"Risky," Apeiron warned. "Elder Mo has watchers in the forest. If you return to the crime scene now, you look guilty. You must wait for the heat to die down."

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  ?"So I'm broke," Jiang Chen concluded. "And I'm hungry."

  ?Thump. Thump. Thump.

  ?Someone was banging on his door.

  ?Jiang Chen stood up. His eyes flashed violet for a split second before shifting back to a dull, mortal brown. He opened the door.

  ?Three men stood there. They wore the gray robes of Outer Disciples, but their sleeves were rolled up, revealing thick arms. The leader was a bald man with a scar on his chin.

  ?"New guy," the bald man grunted, leaning against the doorframe. "You're the one from the pit. The 'Survivor'."

  ?Jiang Chen slumped his shoulders, adopting the posture of a terrified servant. "Yes, Senior Brother. I am Jiang Chen."

  ?"I'm Disciple Wang," the bald man said. "I run District 9. We have a rule here. Newcomers pay a 'protection fee' to ensure no... accidents... happen to their hut."

  ?He held out a hand. "Three spirit stones. That's the stipend, right? Hand it over."

  ?Jiang Chen looked at the hand. Then he looked at the three spirit stones on his table.

  ?It was classic bullying. The Sect didn't police the lower districts. The strong ate the weak.

  ?"Eat him," Apeiron suggested casually. "He is barely Qi Condensation Layer 8. A light snack."

  ?"No," Jiang Chen thought. "If I kill a disciple on my first day, I draw attention."

  ?"Then break him."

  ?Jiang Chen looked at Wang. "Senior Brother, I just arrived. I need these stones for food."

  ?Wang laughed. His two lackeys chuckled.

  ?"You ate corpse-rot for years, boy. You can starve for a few more days." Wang stepped into the room. He reached for the stones.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't use a skill. He didn't use Void Qi.

  ?He used pure, brute physicality.

  ?As Wang reached for the table, Jiang Chen grabbed his wrist.

  ?"Huh?" Wang frowned. "Let go, tra—"

  ?Jiang Chen squeezed.

  ?His grip strength, enhanced by the Obsidian Furnace Body, was sufficient to crush granite.

  ?CRACK.

  ?The sound of the radius and ulna snapping was loud in the small room.

  ?"AAAAHH!" Wang shrieked, dropping to his knees.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't let go. He twisted the broken arm, forcing Wang's face into the floorboards.

  ?The two lackeys froze. They looked at the "cowardly servant," expecting him to be trembling.

  ?Instead, Jiang Chen was looking at them with eyes that were cold, dead, and utterly bored.

  ?"I don't have protection money," Jiang Chen said softly to the whimpering man on the floor. "But I do have a specialized set of skills from the Corpse Pit."

  ?He leaned down, whispering into Wang's ear.

  ?"I know exactly how to peel a human body so that they stay alive for three days. Do you want a demonstration?"

  ?"No! No!" Wang sobbed. "Crazy! You're crazy!"

  ?Jiang Chen released him. Wang scrambled back, cradling his ruined arm.

  ?"Get out," Jiang Chen said.

  ?The three bullies fled, tripping over each other in their haste to escape the psycho in hut 402.

  ?Jiang Chen kicked the door shut.

  ?[Social Status Established: Dangerous.]

  ?"Subtle," Apeiron noted dryly. "But effective. Now, about that hunger..."

  ?Jiang Chen picked up the three spirit stones. He crushed one in his hand. The blue dust dissolved into his skin, providing a meager trickle of EV.

  ?[EV +5.]

  ?"That was nothing," Jiang Chen sighed. "I need a job. A mission. Something that lets me kill things without the Elders watching."

  ?He walked to the window and looked up at the Mission Hall tower in the distance.

  ?"Tomorrow," Jiang Chen decided. "We go hunting."