Even the Village Elder Pays Protection Money

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Yu hurriedly sought out Mo Tianxiao.

"Senior Brother Mo! The Sect Master wants you to go to the sect's main hall. It seems to be about the Void Emperor Mystic Realm."

"Has it already been two years?" Mo Tianxiao walked out of his cave mansion, sighing inwardly. For cultivators, time seemed to be pressed on fast-forward.

"How much protection fee have we collected over the past two years?"

Hearing this, Li Yu took out a spatial ring and handed it to Mo Tianxiao. "Senior Brother Mo, here are all the spirit stones we've collected in the past two years. It's roughly around one million."

Even Li Yu could hardly believe it. In just two short years, they had actually accumulated so many spirit stones. Collecting protection fees felt even faster than going out to rob people.

"Keep five hundred thousand for yourself. Divide the remaining five hundred thousand into three portions and distribute them to the three disciples below the Nascent Soul realm in the sect who have made the fastest progress in their cultivation over the past two years."

Mo Tianxiao didn't plan on keeping these spirit stones. A mere million was not even a fraction of what his master gave him. It was better to use them to reward disciples with lower cultivation bases and stimulate their enthusiasm for cultivation.

After all, the higher their cultivation bases, the more villain points they could provide him.

"Senior Brother Mo, are you really giving me five hundred thousand? Isn't that a bit too much?"

Li Yu's eyes were filled with excitement. Five hundred thousand spirit stones—how many missions would he have to complete to accumulate that much?

In the Demonic Sect, disciples didn't receive a regular stipend. They either had to complete missions to earn rewards, or break through to a major cultivation realm to be rewarded with a pill.

Of course, if one was talented enough to catch the eye of an elder, they naturally wouldn't lack resources.

However, geniuses were ultimately a minority. The vast majority of disciples in the Demonic Sect had to rely on themselves.

"Just take it since I'm giving it to you. Do things for me, and I naturally won't treat you poorly."

Mo Tianxiao glanced at Li Yu. Just based on the fact that the other party was obedient and knew how to handle matters, he wouldn't forget this underling.

"Senior Brother Mo, say no more, I'm following you for the rest of my life! Whether it's climbing a mountain of swords or plunging into a sea of fire, wherever you need me, just give the word!"

Li Yu's eyes were resolute. These five hundred thousand spirit stones might be nothing to Senior Brother Mo, but for an ordinary sect disciple like him, it would take years of bitter struggle to save up.

"Alright, as long as you work for me, you won't lack benefits. I'm heading to the main hall first. Remember to handle this matter beautifully."

With that said, Mo Tianxiao stepped onto his flying sword and headed toward the sect's main hall.

Li Yu watched him until he completely disappeared before setting off to handle his next task.

Meanwhile, inside the sect's main hall.

Yue Liuli sat high on the main seat, flanked by the ten core elders of the Netherworld Demonic Sect.

Nangong Wan and another sect disciple stood in the center of the hall. It seemed everyone was waiting for Mo Tianxiao's arrival.

"I heard that the kid Tianxiao has been collecting some sort of protection fee within the sect recently. Does Sect Master Yue know the reason?"

An old man seated to the lower right of Yue Liuli suddenly spoke with a chuckle, seemingly curious about Mo Tianxiao's behavior of collecting protection fees.

"First Elder, you know about this too? I heard Tianxiao sends people to collect four spirit stones from the disciples every month, calling it a protection fee?

What danger could there possibly be here? What do you think he's really trying to do?"

The other elders also spoke up one after another, discussing the matter.

If you said this behavior was excessive, he only collected four stones a month. Even for ordinary disciples, that was nothing. Thinking about it carefully, it wasn't really over the line.

It was just... as the Sect Master's disciple, he shouldn't be lacking in spirit stones. Why would he think of using such a method to rake in wealth?

As the numerous elders conversed in low voices, they didn't forget to sneak a few glances at Yue Liuli. It seemed they suspected she hadn't been giving Mo Tianxiao his cultivation resources on time, causing him to target the disciples.

Feeling the baffling gazes of the elders, the corner of Yue Liuli's mouth twitched slightly as she couldn't help but inwardly complain: "What exactly has this guy Xiao Mozi been doing? The cultivation resources she gave him should have been enough for him to cultivate all the way to the Saint Realm, right?"

Was there any need to go and do such a thing?

"Alright, I'm not him, so how would I know what he wants to do? When he gets here, we can just ask him directly."

Yue Liuli said somewhat impatiently, and the surrounding discussions instantly ceased.

"Clatter."

At this moment, Mo Tianxiao arrived at the main hall. Putting away his flying sword, he hurried inside. Seeing that everyone was waiting just for him, he instantly felt a little embarrassed.

"Master, Elders, sorry to keep you all waiting."

Fortunately, Mo Tianxiao was thick-skinned and quickly adjusted himself.

"Senior Brother."

Nangong Wan looked at Mo Tianxiao and called out softly.

The other disciple beside her also cupped his hands toward Mo Tianxiao and said, "Senior Brother Mo."

In response, Mo Tianxiao glanced at him and similarly cupped his hands. This should be the person going with them to the Void Emperor Mystic Realm. Although his status was lower, his strength definitely far exceeded Mo Tianxiao's current level.

After cupping his hands, Mo Tianxiao shifted his gaze back to Nangong Wan and blinked at her.

Seeing the two of them exchanging winks, Yue Liuli felt a bit irritated. "Since you're here, first answer the elders' doubts. Xiao Mozi, tell us what's going on with this recent business of collecting protection fees?"

"Ah?"

Hearing his master speak, Mo Tianxiao froze. He hadn't expected his master to actually pay attention to such a trivial matter. No, it must have been because of these elders.

Mo Tianxiao looked toward the numerous elders and found them looking at him with amiable expressions.

"Tianxiao, don't be nervous. We don't mean to blame you, we just want to know your reason for doing this. If you don't have enough cultivation resources, you can just ask us for them."

The First Elder was the first to speak.

"Exactly, exactly. You are our sect's Young Sect Master, your resources are fully guaranteed."

The other elders spoke with unusual politeness, leaving Mo Tianxiao feeling overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

His talent couldn't be considered top-tier. At the very least, compared to his junior sister, there was a massive gap between them.

But these elders seemed to treat him exceptionally well. Could it be because of his master?

He quietly stole a glance at Yue Liuli and found her staring calmly back at him, scaring him into quickly retracting his gaze.

"The truth of the matter is actually like this... because... and then... so..."

Mo Tianxiao opened his mouth and started spouting nonsense. A barrage of empty words bluffed the elders into a daze, leaving them completely clueless as to what he was saying.

"Uh... young people really do think differently. Tianxiao, you've done well in this matter. Furthermore, every year I will contribute three hundred thousand spirit stones toward this protection fee to be rewarded to the sect's disciples."

"Since the First Elder has spoken, I will also contribute one hundred thousand spirit stones as a protection fee."

"I'll contribute one hundred and twenty thousand."

Following the First Elder's lead, the rest of the elders voiced their stances one after another. Although they had no idea what this protection fee was actually protecting, since it was a welfare benefit for the disciples, there was no harm in it.

They would just consider it as giving face to the Young Sect Master.

Of course, in reality, they were doing it out of respect for Yue Liuli.

[Making the sect's First Elder pay a protection fee aligns with villainous behavior. Rewarded Villain Points +100!]

[Making the sect's Second Elder pay a protection fee aligns with villainous behavior. Rewarded Villain Points +100!]

......

As a burst of pleasant chimes echoed in his mind, Mo Tianxiao froze right where he stood.

What's going on??