Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1729 - Trick

Chapter 1729 – Trick

Liu Wuxie didn’t care about the environment. Conditions in the mortal realm had been even harsher, yet he had survived. What he needed most now was resources to increase his cultivation.

He had also joined the Azure Flame Dao Hall to build his own team. After all, the Heavenly Dao Society couldn’t ascend to the celestial realm anytime soon. He wouldn’t fear facing one or two enemies, but in the future, he would inevitably face entire groups of experts.

Teaching and guiding others were a mentor’s duties, and he planned to nurture his own disciples to assist him in the future.

Liu Wuxie believed that, with his ability and talent, building a team loyal to him wouldn’t be difficult.

The Azure Flame Dao Hall differed from ordinary sects. The students weren’t bound to the Dao Hall and were free to choose their own paths. Since such a perfect opportunity lay before him, how could he let it slip away?

That was why he asked Ye Linghan how many students she had, as it directly affected his income.

“Three,” Ye Linghan replied awkwardly, looking shy and completely different from her usual self.

Liu Wuxie nearly stumbled when he heard the answer.

“Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?” Liu Wuxie asked, clutching his chest. He felt as though he had boarded a pirate ship, and getting off now would be troublesome.

“You never asked,” Ye Linghan said aggrievedly. After all, Liu Wuxie hadn’t spoken much along the way, and she had been the one introducing the Azure Flame Dao Hall.

Liu Wuxie’s face darkened, and he was on the verge of losing his temper.

“Three students? Then, how much salary do you earn each month?” Liu Wuxie asked. Complaining was useless now, and recruiting more students was the priority.

“No salary. Those three students come from low-income families and still owe a lot of tuition. The other mentors refused to accept them, so I took them in,” Ye Linghan said.

Her answer stunned Liu Wuxie, and he nearly exploded on the spot.

“Don’t be discouraged. Now that you’re here, I believe we can recruit more students,” Ye Linghan said.

She actually had an adorable side to her once she dropped the demeanor of the City Lord Mansion’s young lady in private. She knew she had tricked Liu Wuxie into becoming her assistant. After all, she had been afraid that he would refuse if she revealed the truth from the start.

“I already have a solution in mind, but what about my salary?” Liu Wuxie asked. Ideas were already forming in his mind, but Ye Linghan still hadn’t mentioned his pay.

An assistant mentor’s salary naturally couldn’t compare to that of a full mentor, but Liu Wuxie still wanted to settle the terms in advance. After all, his services were expensive.

“The base salary is one hundred immortal stones per month, plus two hundred immortal stones for every student you recruit,” Ye Linghan replied. She was actually being quite generous, as other mentors would only give their assistants fifty immortal stones per recruited student.

Zhongsun Wen had two assistants, and their monthly salary was only about five thousand immortal stones. That was under the condition that he had the most students. Other assistant mentors earned nowhere near that amount.

Outside the Dao Hall, earning five thousand immortal stones a month was already considered impressive. From that alone, the Azure Flame Dao Hall was clearly wealthy.

Liu Wuxie frowned. The amount was far below his expectations. Even if he recruited 100 students, he would only earn 20,000 immortal stones a month.

If Ye Linghan knew what Liu Wuxie was thinking, she would probably cough up blood in anger. After all, mentors like them only earned about ten thousand immortal stones a month, and twenty thousand was already an astronomical sum for ordinary people.

However, twenty thousand immortal stones were merely a drop in the bucket for Liu Wuxie. The resources required by the desolate world were too terrifying.

“Besides the assistant mentor’s salary, are there any other ways to earn resources?” Liu Wuxie asked, quickly adapting to his role.

“There are. The first is teaching advanced classes. The rewards there are greater, and you can also choose treasures instead of immortal stones,” Ye Linghan said. She held nothing back and explained everything she knew.

“Tell me the next one,” Liu Wuxie said, motioning for her to continue. They didn’t even have a single student at the moment, so why would advanced-class students study under them?

Although Ye Linghan taught intermediate classes, her situation was actually worse than many junior-class mentors.

“There are matches between the classes every month, and the Dao Hall offers generous rewards to the winners to motivate everyone,” Ye Linghan said awkwardly. After all, her class always ranked last.

“Any other methods?” Liu Wuxie asked. Competitions between classes sounded similar to examinations, and the rewards probably wouldn’t be substantial enough.

“You can also challenge other dao halls to earn resources,” Ye Linghan continued. She naturally hoped Liu Wuxie would reconsider that idea, as challenging other dao halls could easily escalate into open conflict.

Liu Wuxie’s eyes lit up when he heard that. That meant the Azure Flame Dao Hall wasn’t the only dao hall in the area.

He was still only in the Heavenly Immortal Realm, and the resources he required weren’t yet overwhelmingly demanding. Ordinary treasures could still help him advance. He had to reach the True Immortal Realm as quickly as possible. Only then would he stand a chance against spirit immortals and truly gain a foothold in the celestial realm.

Liu Wuxie naturally understood that he had entered the Azure Flame Dao Hall solely because of his attainments in spiritual arrays. In a real-life-and-death battle, many advanced-class students could easily kill him.

The sky gradually darkened as Ye Linghan prepared a simple meal for the two of them. In the future, they could eat for free at the Azure Flame Dao Hall’s canteen, since the Dao Hall provided meals for its mentors.

“Have you thought of a way to recruit students?” Ye Linghan asked, putting down her bowl.

“I naturally have a brilliant plan,” Liu Wuxie said with a mysterious expression.

Ye Linghan stomped her foot in frustration. No matter what she asked, she couldn’t get any more information out of him.

After eating his fill, Liu Wuxie strolled around the courtyard before returning to his room. He refined four array flags in front of her, leaving her baffled and unable to understand what he was doing.

“Why are you refining array flags?” Ye Linghan asked. Although she was a profound immortal, even she couldn’t understand many of Liu Wuxie’s methods.

“Do you want to recruit a lot of students?” Liu Wuxie asked while refining the array flags. A mysterious smile curled on the corner of his lips. Since Ye Linghan had tricked him into joining the Dao Hall, he naturally intended to get some revenge.

“Of course!” Ye Linghan answered without hesitation. She even wished she could steal students from other classes.

“Then are you willing to sacrifice certain things?” Liu Wuxie continued.

“As long as I can recruit students, sacrificing a little doesn’t matter,” Ye Linghan replied immediately. She didn’t understand what Liu Wuxie meant, but she assumed it only involved earning a lower salary.

As the daughter of Fourfold City’s City Lord, she lacked nothing. Anyone who became a mentor generally wasn’t short on resources; they had merely come to temper themselves.

“Those words are enough. It’s getting late, so go rest first. If nothing unexpected happens, we’ll be busy starting tomorrow,” Liu Wuxie said as he continued refining the array flags.

Ye Linghan remained doubtful, but she eventually returned to her room to rest, as she was indeed tired. It wasn’t until late at night that Liu Wuxie finally finished refining all four array flags.

He walked into the courtyard and planted the array flags in four directions. Afterward, he stretched lazily and returned to his room to sleep.

Since arriving in the celestial realm, Liu Wuxie hadn’t enjoyed a single peaceful night’s sleep. Yet tonight, he slept exceptionally well.

At dawn, many people had already gathered outside the courtyard. Students frequently used this path, and the crowd kept growing. Before long, even mentors appeared outside.

The commotion awakened Ye Linghan. When she stepped out of her room, she saw more than a thousand people gathered outside.

The deafening chatter filled the area, and someone had pasted a sheet of paper beside the courtyard gate sometime during the night. Ye Linghan looked puzzled, wondering why so many people had gathered here before class hours.

She hurriedly threw on an outer robe and secured her hair with a simple hairpin. Despite the simplicity of her attire, she still appeared elegant and noble. Crossing the courtyard, she stepped outside.

The moment the students saw Ye Linghan, their legs froze, and their eyes widened. Although she was a mentor, she was only slightly older than most of the students, so she naturally had many admirers within the Dao Hall.

“Mentor Ye looks beautiful today!”

Many students’ eyes gleamed brightly as they stared at her. Because she wore only a loose outer robe, part of her arm was exposed, revealing smooth jade-like skin.

“Why have you all gathered here?” Ye Linghan asked. At first, she thought they had come to enroll in her class, but judging from the atmosphere, they seemed more like spectators waiting to watch a show.

“Mentor Ye, don’t tell me you still don’t know?” a high-immortal student asked.

“Know what?” Ye Linghan asked in confusion. She had gone straight to sleep after speaking with Liu Wuxie the previous night, so she wondered if something had happened while she slept.

The surrounding students all looked at Ye Linghan with heated gazes, making her increasingly uneasy.

“Look at the notice posted here,” one student said, pointing at the paper pasted beside the gate.

When Ye Linghan turned around, she saw a sheet of paper covered in bold handwriting.

“Anyone who can break this spiritual array will receive ten thousand immortal stones as a reward, along with an opportunity to watch Mentor Ye bathe…”

“One chance to watch me bathe…”

Ye Linghan exploded with rage. She finally realized who had masterminded this.

She didn’t even finish reading before charging back into the courtyard and rushing toward Liu Wuxie’s room. She was on the verge of going insane. Bathing was one of the few habits she still kept, yet Liu Wuxie had actually used it this way.

The last time she had bathed, Liu Wuxie had nearly seen her. She hadn’t even settled that score with him yet, and now he had done something like this.

“Liu Wuxie, get out of there now!”

Liu Wuxie had been dreaming peacefully when a roar exploded beside his ears. He shot upright from the bed, thinking lightning had struck nearby. Once his mind cleared, he saw Ye Linghan standing there furiously with both hands on her hips.

“Why are you going crazy so early in the morning?” Liu Wuxie asked as he hurriedly got dressed and climbed out of bed.

“What is going on outside?” Ye Linghan demanded. She found it impossible to repeat the words aloud. According to the notice, anyone who broke the spiritual array could watch her bathe once. Didn’t that mean she would have to strip naked for people to watch her every day?

“Didn’t I ask you last night whether you were willing to make sacrifices to recruit disciples? You agreed,” Liu Wuxie replied innocently.

“You tricked me!” Ye Linghan roared. No matter how slow she was, she could tell Liu Wuxie had deliberately set a trap for her.

“Didn’t you trick me into becoming your assistant?” Liu Wuxie replied disdainfully.

Ye Linghan couldn’t refute him.