Our eldest brother never hides good things from us.

The gray-robed man's chest heaved violently, breaking through his defenses.

He had finally cornered Chang Wen, and was about to be able to legitimately mine spirit ore at Haoran Peak tomorrow. But not only did Chang Wen postpone payment until tomorrow, he also demanded compensation for emotional distress?

What kind of logic is this!

"Chang Wen, always leave yourself a way out, so you can meet again in the future."

The old man in the gray robe spoke in a low voice.

Chang Wen raised an eyebrow slightly. "You schemed against me first, then spread rumors about my loan, and now you're telling me to leave some room for maneuver?"

"I forgot to tell you, I, Chang Wen, have always been clear about right and wrong. Since you dared to do this, don't blame me for doing it the next big time. You'll have to pay for this emotional distress today, whether you like it or not. Otherwise..."

He looked at Lin Yuan and said, "Junior brother, go to the Law Enforcement Hall and file a complaint. Say that someone has trespassed on Haoran Peak, disturbed the disciples' cultivation, and even used words to coerce Haoran Peak into giving up the right to mine spirit mines."

"Yes, Senior Brother! I'll go right now!"

Lin Yuan had long disliked the gray-robed old man, and now that he had received the order, he immediately took action.

"stop!"

The gray-robed elder shouted urgently to stop them, his face flushed as he looked at Chang Wen, "We've only come to collect a debt; how have we disturbed your cultivation?"

That's going too far!

Whether or not it has disturbed you is not for you to decide.

Chang Wen interrupted him, "My five junior brothers and sisters have been shaken by your commotion, and their cultivation has been affected. There has to be an explanation for this loss. I won't ask for more than that. Two thousand mid-grade spirit stones each, six people, that's twelve thousand in total."

"Twelve...ten thousand?!"

The gray-robed old man was stunned, as if he had been hit on the head with a club.

Han Xiao and the others could hardly believe their ears.

"Are you fucking crazy? Two thousand mid-grade spirit stones per person? Why don't you just rob someone?!"

He got angry.

Extortion! This is absolutely extortion!

The 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones they borrowed from Chang Wen were all scraped together from various sources; they had no money left to save.

They were certain that Chang Wen couldn't repay the exorbitant interest, and they were just waiting to mine the spirit mine on Haoran Peak to make a fortune. Unexpectedly, they were instead blackmailed by Chang Wen!

This is absolutely outrageous!

"Don't robbers know the rules of the trade? Demanding compensation is a legitimate right."

Chang Wen remained calm and patiently explained, "If you feel this is unreasonable, you can go to the Enforcement Hall and let the Enforcement Elders judge it. However, it won't be as simple as just compensation for emotional distress then."

"Who is behind you, and why are you so interested in the mining rights for the Haoran Peak spirit mine? The Enforcement Elders must be very interested. Why don't we investigate that as well?"

The old man in the gray robe felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner shirt.

His backer had specifically instructed him that this matter couldn't be brought up openly. If those in higher positions got involved, he'd be in deep trouble!

Han Xiao tugged at his sleeve, "Elder, calm down. We can't let this get out of hand today."

The old man in the gray robe's face began to twitch!

Twelve thousand mid-grade spirit stones!

He could work his whole life and still not be able to pay it back! But he simply can't refuse to pay!

He was told he had to pay money or go to the Hall of Enforcement. But he would rather die than go to the Hall of Enforcement.

"Chang Wen..."

The gray-robed man's voice was deep and resonant, "You've gone to such extremes today, aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

Chang Wen laughed, "When you were spreading rumors about my loan scheme and plotting to seize my Haoran Peak spirit mine mining rights, did you never think of this day?"

"A total of twelve thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Hand them over now and you can leave. If you don't pay now, we'll start charging interest at one percent per day."

"Pfft pfft pfft..."

The old man in the gray robe couldn't hold back any longer and spat out a mouthful of blood.

One percent daily interest?

Holy crap! They're double-crossing us! Even more ruthless than them!

"Senior Brother Chang, we're all from the same sect. Aren't you going a bit too far?"

Han Xiao patiently negotiated with them.

Chang Wen didn't answer him, but looked at Lin Yuan, "Junior brother, I'll count to three. If they haven't responded by then, go directly to the Enforcement Hall to call for reinforcements!"

"yes!"

Lin Yuan answered loudly.

"one."

"Chang Wen, don't push your luck!"

"two."

"You, pfft..."

The gray-robed old man was shocked that Chang Wen not only extorted money from him but also ignored him, and he immediately spat out another mouthful of blood.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm only giving you a discount because we're from the same sect. Otherwise, it would be even more."

Chang Wen smiled and was very polite.

The old man in the gray robe...

"Here you go!"

The old man in the gray robe really didn't want to stay here any longer; the mere sight of Chang Wen gave him a headache.

They and the others behind them emptied their pockets and finally managed to scrape together an item worth a thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

"This is all we have. Forget about the ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones you borrowed before; let's settle the account."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"Why didn't you just give up easily earlier? Why make such a fuss?"

Chang Wen accepted the storage bag and looked at Han Xiao, "Where's the loan agreement? Give it to me."

Han Xiao stared at Chang Wen for a while, then did as usual, taking out the spirit contract from his pocket.

Chang Wen took it, checked it, and put it in his pocket. With a slight smile, he looked at the crowd and said, "Please take care, everyone. I won't see you off."

"Senior Brother Chang, although we were in the wrong today, you went too far. The mountains and rivers remain unchanged. I, Han, will remember this."

Only after leaving did Han Xiao dare to utter harsh words.

This trip not only failed to collect interest, but also failed to obtain the mining rights for the Haoran Peak spirit mine, and resulted in a loss of 12,000 mid-grade spirit stones, making it an epic disaster.

Ultimately, they underestimated Chang Wen and revealed their intentions too early. Otherwise, Chang Wen wouldn't have been able to use the Law Enforcement Hall to blackmail them.

What a huge loss!

...

A few days later, several messages spread throughout the Haoran Immortal Sect.

Chang Wen, the senior disciple of Haoran Peak, borrowed 10,000 mid-grade spirit stones from Han Xiao. Han Xiao led a group to collect the debt but failed, instead losing 10,000 of the principal plus 1,000 in interest, and ultimately had to pay 1,000 out of his own pocket.

People are extremely curious about this. How did Chang Wen manage to double-cross Han Xiao? They want to learn from his experience so they can take advantage of Han Xiao.

I'm also curious why Han Xiao was willing to suffer a loss. What secret was behind it?

Speculation abounded and opinions varied widely.

Regardless, people's opinion of Chang Wen changed. Rumor had it that although Chang Wenren, the senior disciple of Haoran Peak, was not bad, he was a complete cultivation failure.

In retrospect, the rumors were likely wrong. Chang Wen was definitely hiding his true abilities.

"No matter what, Haoran Peak was once the main peak. How could one become the senior disciple of Haoran Peak without some real skills?"

"Actually, I guessed it long ago. Fairy Biyou entrusted Haoran Peak to Senior Brother Chang with confidence, which clearly means that Senior Brother Chang is no ordinary person."

"I suspect he might be a Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, how could he have gotten the better of Han Xiao?"

"Nascent Soul stage? That's too narrow-minded. I guess he's already entered the Integration stage, just one step away from becoming a Tribulation Transcending expert."

"The Mahayana stage is also possible."

In this way, Chang Wen was artificially elevated to a height that did not belong to him.

Some admired him, some questioned him, some speculated whether the Qionghua Peak Master would stand up for Han Xiao, and some tried to show off by claiming kinship.

Several more days passed.

Even more shocking news overshadowed the public opinion brought about by Chang Wen.

The three-hundred-year agreement will expire in five days.