The Child of Destiny Is Forced to Sell His Labor

That document looked ancient and sacred, but its edges glowed with a black light, and it had a fleshy texture like human skin. No matter how you looked at it, it felt eerie.

What Xiao Chen did not know was that this seemingly formal document was no ordinary piece of paper! It was the 765th-ranked Cursed Artifact in the Great Zhou Royal Treasury—the Human Skin Scroll: Deed of Self-Sale!

This cursed artifact had no offensive power; it only possessed an extremely heaven-defying rule: Once the subject voluntarily signed their name or pressed their handprint out of some psychological motivation, it would form a law-of-causality level enslavement! The enslaved person's destiny, cultivation, lifespan, and even their soul would be completely at the mercy of the contract's master! The enslavement period was 20 years. The side effect was that the holder had to feed it human blood every day.

"What is this?" Xiao Chen shrank back warily, staring dead at the document.

"This is the Outstanding Genius Special Talent Introduction Plan recently launched by His Majesty to protect geniuses like you."

Wei Zhongxian's voice was full of bewitchment, like a hissing venomous snake in the Garden of Eden. "As long as you sign this document, His Majesty will pay out of his own pocket to clear your two million tael debt! Not only that, but you can immediately walk out of this dark sky prison, regain your freedom, and openly participate in the upcoming Genius Gathering as the imperial court's representative!"

Xiao Chen's heart thumped wildly.

He was too eager to get out! He was desperate to prove himself in the arena of the Genius Gathering, to viciously slap the face of the fiancee who had humiliated him by breaking off their engagement, and to trample the aristocratic scions who had mocked him under his feet! If he missed this gathering, he would regret it for the rest of his life!

But he was not stupid; there was absolutely no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

"What is the price?" Xiao Chen asked warily.

"There is no price at all!" Wei Zhongxian slapped his thigh, his face full of genuine concern. "It is merely having you join the Great Zhou system and become a Royal Third-Rank Guard with a Sword! Think about it, a third-rank high official! With this official position, you are a court official. Who would dare call you trash anymore? When you return home in glory, you will bring honor to your ancestors! As for your job, it is very simple: represent His Majesty in the Genius Gathering and beat the geniuses of other factions into the ground! Is this not exactly what you wanted to do in the first place?"

Looking at Wei Zhongxian's sincere old face, the defenses in Xiao Chen's heart began to wildly loosen.

"Representing the imperial court in battle... Right, this was what I was going to do anyway. Defeat everyone and take first place!" Xiao Chen's brain raced, beginning to convince himself. "As for this so-called third-rank guard position, it is just an empty title that binds ordinary mortals. Once I take the top spot on the Genius Ranking and become world-famous, the world will be vast enough for me to soar freely! What can a mere piece of paper and a secular imperial court do to me? Han Xin could endure the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs; I, Xiao Chen, am just enduring humiliation to bear a heavy burden, sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall!"

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen took a deep breath, his eyes becoming resolute again, as if he had made an extremely wise decision.

"Fine! I will sign! I hope your Emperor keeps his word!"

Xiao Chen bit his index finger and heavily pressed his bloody thumbprint onto the front of the gold-stamped document.

The moment the bloody handprint landed, a strange scarlet light flashed across the surface of the document.

"Hahaha! Good! Good! Good! Lord Xiao is indeed a wise man who submits to circumstances!" The sincerity on Wei Zhongxian's face vanished without a trace in an instant, replaced by a smug smile.

He casually waved his jade ruyi, and a burst of soft, yin true qi severed the cold iron chains on Xiao Chen's hands and feet.

Xiao Chen stood up, stretching his sore wrists, his bones letting out crisp, popping sounds like firecrackers. He shot a cold glance at Wei Zhongxian and said proudly, "Since the contract is made, I can leave now, right?"

"Of course, Lord Xiao, please do as you wish. The sky is high and the sea is vast, yours to explore." Wei Zhongxian carefully tucked the document into his robes, his movements as gentle as if he were caressing a peerless treasure.

He walked to the cell door, suddenly stopped, turned his head, and smiled with seven parts eeriness and three parts pity. "However, as a colleague, this director must kindly remind you of one thing. Before you go out, remember to read the fine print on the back of the document's copy."

Xiao Chen froze, a strong premonition of disaster surging in his heart. He snatched up the copy of the document left on the ground and hurriedly flipped it over.

On the previously smooth back of the parchment, accompanied by the activation of the cursed artifact's power, hundreds of clauses densely written in fly-head characters smaller than ants gradually emerged! He had not looked closely just now, thinking it was a decoration. The question was, whose contract was written so small? And on the back?

The top line of text glaringly read:

Supplementary Clauses to the Royal Guard Lifelong Labor Dispatch Contract. Great, this Third-Rank Guard with a Sword was not even a formal position, but a dispatched temp worker:

Clause 1: Party B (Xiao Chen) promises to serve Party A (Great Zhou Emperor Wang Hao) free of charge for twenty years. During this period, all spoils of war, secret realm fortunes, competition prize money, and even heavenly treasures accidentally picked up by Party B shall belong 100 percent legally to Party A. Party B only has temporary custody rights.

Clause 2: Party B agrees to adopt the 996 blessing work schedule. That is, escorting the Emperor at 9 AM and patrolling at 9 PM, working six days a week. In the event of war or if His Majesty is in a bad mood, it automatically switches to 007 mode. No complaints are allowed, otherwise, it will be deemed as negative slow-down of work.

Clause 3: The two million tael debt has been converted into an internal interest-free loan of the Inner Court, but Party B's monthly salary will be fully deducted for repayment until it is paid off. Calculated by bank actuaries, it is estimated to take one hundred years.

Clause 4: This signing is bound by the rules of the Great Zhou high-level cursed artifact Human Skin Scroll: Deed of Self-Sale. If Party B has any thoughts of breach of contract, slacking off, talking back, or defecting, Party A has the right to legally carry out coercive execution methods against him, including but not limited to pulling out tendons and peeling skin, extracting strange flames, and death by a thousand cuts, and will automatically execute his nine familial exterminations. The right of final interpretation forever belongs to the Great Zhou Emperor Wang Hao.

Xiao Chen stared dead at these lines of text, his pupils contracting violently. He only felt a freezing rush of rebellious blood shoot straight to the crown of his head. With a buzz in his brain, as if viciously smashed by a giant hammer, his entire world was spinning!

"You... you guys..." Xiao Chen pointed at Wei Zhongxian's back, his fingers trembling violently, a desperate and mournful beast-like roar coming from his throat. "You set me up! This is not talent introduction at all! This is a bone-crushing, marrow-sucking slave contract!! That dog emperor Wang Hao will die a horrible death!! I am going to kill you!!!"

Xiao Chen went completely berserk, desperately mobilizing the spiritual energy that had just recovered in his body, and lunged toward Wei Zhongxian to kill him!

But the next second.

"Buzz!"

Deep in the imperial palace far away, Wang Hao, who was leisurely sipping tea, smiled faintly and shifted his divine sense.

In the sky prison, from the spot where Xiao Chen had pressed his bloody handprint, a profound scarlet array pattern flew directly out of the document, bypassed all defenses, and instantly sank into Xiao Chen's glabella!

"Ahhhhhh—!"

The true qi in Xiao Chen's body dissipated instantly like a deflated balloon, and he fell heavily to his knees with a thud. The extreme, soul-tearing agony caused his entire body to spasm. He rolled on the ground, overwhelmed by a pain worse than death, unable to even detonate his own dantian!

When a cursed artifact acknowledged a master, it seized control of life, death, and the very soul! Under this absolute rule, the ability to fight above one's realm—something the Child of Destiny was so proud of—was nothing more than a ridiculous joke.

Wei Zhongxian slowly turned around, looking down from his vantage point at Xiao Chen, who was twitching on the ground like a maggot. The smile on his face vanished completely, replaced by the chilling aura expected of the Director of the Eastern Depot.

"Guard Xiao, do not waste your energy. Cursing His Majesty constitutes a severe breach of contract. This is the automatic punishment brought down by the cursed artifact."

Wei Zhongxian crouched down and patted Xiao Chen's sweat-drenched cheek with a jade ruyi. His voice was gentle, yet every word pierced the heart: "The Great Zhou's rice is not so easy to eat. Did you think you were enduring humiliation for the sake of future vengeance? Heh, remember this: in His Majesty's eyes, you so-called heaven-chosen geniuses are nothing but ants. You pose absolutely no threat."

If Wang Hao knew that Wei Zhongxian was out here misrepresenting him like this, he would definitely give him a massive slap across the face. Is this how you draw aggro for your own Emperor? Do you think you aren't dying fast enough?

Wei Zhongxian stood up, brushed the dust off his sleeves, and left Xiao Chen with a cold, unforgiving view of his back.

"Work hard and strive to pay off your debts, Heaven's Chosen. Tomorrow morning at the Mao hour (six o'clock), report to the Meridian Gate on time to clock in for work. If you are a single incense stick's time late, ten years of your salary will be deducted. Hehehehe..."

Wei Zhongxian's sinister, duck-like laughter gradually faded into the distance.

Left behind in the dark, damp heavenly prison was Xiao Chen, the Child of Destiny who had once sworn to trample the Nine Heavens. Now, he curled up on a pile of foul-smelling straw. Clutching his copy of the contract in a death grip, he let out a heart-wrenching wail filled with endless remorse, echoing for a long time through the cold night of the capital.

Wang Hao's iron fist of capitalism had struck the Child of Destiny, baring its blood-and-sweat-stained fangs. And thanks to the classic villainous behavior of his subordinates, he had also drawn a massive wave of hatred.

...

Early the next morning, inside the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, on the white marble steps outside the Sweet Spring Hall.

Xiao Chen stood lifelessly in the wind like a wooden post bereft of its soul. He wore a brand-new third-rank imperial bodyguard uniform embroidered with a flying bear motif, and a standard-issue refined steel saber from the Internal Affairs Department hung at his waist. If this outfit were worn by an ordinary martial artist, it would be a glorious blessing that honored their ancestors. But for the once imperious Child of Destiny, Xiao Chen, who was hailed as "invincible in the same realm," wearing it was a fate worse than death.

His eyes were hollow, with heavy dark circles beneath them. Last night, in his assigned dormitory, he had forcefully bitten down so hard that he shattered one of his own molars. In his mind, he had simulated exactly ten thousand times the scenario of storming into the Sweet Spring Hall with his giant black iron ruler and hacking the tyrant Wang Hao into eight pieces.

However, while ideals were plump, reality was painfully bony.

"Lineage-Ending Soul-Locking Contract."

The moment Xiao Chen silently recited these words in his heart, before he could even sketch out a specific route for his rebellion, a scarlet rune suddenly flared up between his eyebrows. Immediately following that, a severe pain, as if tens of thousands of venomous ants were simultaneously gnawing at his soul, instantly struck from the crown of his head all the way down to his heels.

"Hiss—!" Xiao Chen gasped, his legs suddenly giving way as he nearly dropped to his knees. He bit his lip fiercely, forcing himself to hold back a scream as cold sweat cascaded down his forehead like a waterfall.

"I will endure... I must endure!" Xiao Chen roared madly in his heart, forcibly brainwashing himself with the method of spiritual victory. "Those who achieve great things can even suffer the humiliation of crawling between another's legs. How can I, Xiao Chen, fall here? As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood! This tyrant merely covets my combat prowess. Once I use the Great Zhou's institutional resources to secretly break through to the Sky Soaring Realm, I will definitely use this damned contract to cause a backlash against him! I will slaughter the entire imperial city and make him kneel at my feet and sing of his submission!"

Just as Xiao Chen was frantically playing out his ultimate "do not bully the young and poor" revenge theater in his mind, an extremely harsh and undisciplined clatter of footsteps interrupted his fantasies.

Xiao Chen raised his head, looking over coldly with bloodshot eyes.

He saw Wei Zhongxian flicking his horsetail whisk, leading a group of young people over with a face full of smiles.

This group of people was simply an eyesore. Walking at the very front was a vassal prince's heir wearing a four-clawed dragon robe, his nostrils flared so high they seemed to want to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun. On the left was a pot-bellied duke's son whose belt was about to burst from his stomach, blatantly gnawing on half a roast chicken in his hand. The one on the right was even more outrageous: a sickly youth sitting in a wheelchair made of pure gold, his face as pale as paper, coughing three times for every two steps he took, looking as if he might breathe his last at any moment. The only normal one was the dark-skinned, burly youth walking at the very back.

"Come, come, young masters, please halt your steps for a moment." Wei Zhongxian stopped in front of Xiao Chen, turned around, raised his pinky finger, and introduced with his highly penetrating voice, "This here is the first main combat ace of the Great Zhou Royal Representative Team One, personally handpicked by His Majesty himself, Lord Xiao Chen! Everyone, please applaud and welcome our ace!"

The air fell into an eerie silence.

A moment later, two or three scattered, entirely insincere claps sounded out.

The vassal prince's heir stopped, casually pulled out a jade bone-picking hairpin to pick his teeth, and cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Chen with the kind of look one would give a stray dog on the side of the road. He sneered, "Tch, what bullshit ace? Eunuch Wei, don't try to bluff me. Isn't this just that unlucky bastard who went bankrupt and was forced to sell himself to work for the imperial court?"

Xiao Chen's face darkened with frustration. "You little punk, do you even know how to speak?"

The Heir of Jing, Wang Xu, patted his own round chest as he spoke, his golden python robe emitting the crisp sound of friction from its magical formations. "I had my father pay a full five million taels in 'sponsorship fees,' plus the mining rights to three fire spirit stone mines, just to buy this starting spot to represent the imperial court from the Directorate of Ceremonial! You'd better make it clear to this wage slave that once we get on the arena, he is not allowed to steal my thunder!"