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Mo Hua asked Zhang Lan, “Uncle Zhang, was Bald Tuo telling the truth?”

Zhang Lan pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “The first part was true, not so sure about the latter half, probably half-truths. This person is cunning; we can’t take his words entirely at face value.”

Mo Hua nodded.

He definitely hid something about the map.

But as to what the map is exactly related to, there are too few clues, and Mo Hua didn’t have any idea either.

“Should we ask that one-eyed man again?” suggested Mo Hua.

He remembered another Sin Cultivator with one eye who seemed to be a leader of some sort, likely to know more.

“Okay, when I’m free I’ll interrogate him. You should head back now; this interrogation room is not a pleasant place.”

After finishing, Zhang Lan waved his hand in front of his nose, as if trying to fan away the foul smell.

“Yeah.”

Mo Hua also felt that the smell here was unpleasant and oppressive after staying too long, so he prepared to leave.

Zhang Lan suddenly added, “I’ll come to find you in a few days.”

Mo Hua turned back, somewhat puzzled, “For what purpose?”

“Have you forgotten?” Zhang Lan winked at Mo Hua, “It was agreed that if you caught Bald Tuo, you would receive a reward from the Taoist Court.”

Mo Hua’s eyes lit up, “What kind of reward?”

“You’ll know in a few days.”

Zhang Lan was still being mysterious.

True to his word, Zhang Lan did find Mo Hua a few days later and handed him a brocade pouch.

Mo Hua opened it to find a bronze-made token inside.

The material wasn’t particularly precious, nor did it seem to be a Spiritual Artifact. Its style looked somewhat archaic, even a bit clunky and stiff.

“This is it?” Mo Hua felt a little disappointed.

He had thought the Taoist Court would give him spells, cultivation techniques, pills, or something like a formation.

Zhang Lan said with annoyance, “What do you mean ‘this is it’? Do you even know what this is?”

Mo Hua shook his head.

“This is a waist token of the Taoist Court!”

Mo Hua’s mouth fell open, “Aren’t the Tribunal Cultivators the only ones with official waist tokens?”

“Correct,” nodded Zhang Lan, “That’s why yours is not official.”

Mo Hua was stunned for a moment, “A fake?”

Zhang Lan sighed, “Auxiliary.”

“Oh.” Mo Hua understood.

Tribunal Cultivators, from Enforcement Leaders and Supervisors up to Deputy Court Leaders and the Court Leader, were all hired after passing an assessment.

The assessment was strict, with categories ranging from one’s Spiritual Root and cultivation techniques to martial arts and spells, family background, any criminal record, and whether there was any direct relative who had been imprisoned or turned Demon within three generations.

All these were factors scrutinized by the Taoist Court.

Passing the assessment was no easy feat – not one in a thousand, but surely one in a hundred.

Apart from the assessment, there were also various complicated relationships and networks among the cultivators in the shadows.

For Mo Hua to pass the assessment and become an official Tribunal Cultivator, even just as an Enforcement Leader, might be quite difficult.

Now, being able to casually obtain an auxiliary position wasn’t so bad.

“What’s the difference between auxiliary and official?” asked Mo Hua.

Zhang Lan explained, “Auxiliary means outside the regular establishment. You can help the Taoist Court with tasks, earn merits, and exchange them for resources like Spirit Stones, cultivation techniques, spells, Spiritual Artifacts, and formations necessary for Tao Cultivation.”

“But without a proper rank in the Tribunal, you can’t get promotions, don’t really have any authority, and certainly can’t compare with the regular Tribunal Cultivators in terms of treatment.”

“Oh,” Mo Hua nodded, “like a contractor on the surface, but actually a worker.”

Zhang Lan huffed, “Many cultivators desire even this and can’t find the connections.”

Mo Hua leaned in, speaking quietly, “Is this waist token really that good?”

Zhang Lan pointed at the token in Mo Hua’s hand, “To others, this might just be a way to scrape by. But it’s different for you; you’re a Formation Master. You don’t rely on this to make a living, and you can even use this to fleece the Taoist Court.”

Mo Hua whispered, “Uncle Zhang, you’re also part of the Taoist Court. Encouraging me to fleece the Taoist Court, isn’t that a bit inappropriate…”

Zhang Lan glared at Mo Hua, “I didn’t coax you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Zhang Lan felt somewhat helpless, “With the Taoist Court unifying the Cultivation World, there are countless resources. The Tribunal below it is also vast and wealthy. The fact that you can fleece the Tribunal Cultivators is a credit to your own skill.”

At least, in the whole Tongxian City, you are the only one who can have a Court Leader deliver a waist token to you…

Zhang Lan thought silently.

After considering for a moment, Mo Hua asked curiously, “But how do you fleece them?”

The waist token might belong to the Tribunal, but it only had some simple patterns on it, no inscriptions, and it looked like an ordinary bronze token; there was nothing special about it.

Even though Zhang Lan said it could be exploited, Mo Hua had no idea how to do so.

After asking, Mo Hua felt it wasn’t great to always be asking Zhang Lan for things, so he patted his chest and generously said:

“Just eat and drink to your heart’s content today, I’ll pick up the tab.”

After all, the eatery was owned by his family.

Zhang Lan chuckled and shook his head, then explained to Mo Hua:

“You’ve helped the Tribunal, and without this waist token, it would only count as a personal favor, which can be taken lightly or seriously and may not always be honored.”

“But with the waist token, your favors can be recorded as merits, and merits can be concretely exchanged for spirit stones, pills, and spiritual artifacts.”

“For instance, helping us catch Bald Tuo, once caught, counts as us owing you a favor, which the Court Leader and I will acknowledge, but other cultivators might not know about it and might not acknowledge it either.”

“Now with the waist token, this favor can be noted as merit, approved by the Court Leader, and recorded in the merit book. That’s a solid accomplishment that’s publicly recognized, and no one can deny it.”

Mo Hua gained a rough understanding and then asked, “So, how are these merits calculated?”

Zhang Lan took a sip of tea and continued:

“First of all, it’s divided by grade. You’re in the Qi Refinement Realm, so your merits will be graded at Grade C.”

“Next, the merits are classified into four ranks: A, B, C, and D. Different ranks of merits can be exchanged for different items, but there’s also a limit to how much you can exchange.”

“For your assistance in capturing Bald Tuo, the Court Leader recorded it as a ‘B’ rank merit; if you exchange for spirit stones, you can get about a thousand.”

“That much?” Mo Hua was surprised.

Over twenty people combined to capture Bald Tuo, and Mo Hua alone would get a thousand spirit stones.

“This is just based on the calculated merit; there are also other bounties and various rewards that add up to quite a lot.”

“Bald Tuo is that valuable? If I catch a few more, wouldn’t that make me rich?”

“What are you thinking?” Zhang Lan lightly rubbed Mo Hua’s head, “Do you think Bald Tuo is a radish? Catching them isn’t as easy as picking radishes.”

Mo Hua thought for a moment and nodded.

That’s true. Among that group of sin cultivators, Bald Tuo was considered a “big brother.”

Even if he was a radish, he’d be the biggest one among them.

“However, it’s better to save these merits for future use, converting them into spirit stones is a bit of a waste,” Zhang Lan added.

“Is there a special reason for that?”

“Behind the Tribunal is the Taoist Court, with its deep and abundant heritage and resources. What they offer as rewards might not be the most precious, but they are the most comprehensive.”

Zhang Lan patiently explained, “Whether it’s for cultivation or Formation Painting, you’ll inevitably encounter things that, while not expensive, are rare and may not be purchasable even with spirit stones. That’s when it gets tricky.”

“But with this waist token, you can directly exchange it for items from the Tribunal’s warehouse, which will save a lot of hassle.”

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly as he listened.

He would truly have been clueless about such matters without Zhang Lan’s guidance.

Then Mo Hua expressed his concern, “By taking this waist token, am I obliged to follow the orders of the Tribunal?”

He didn’t want to one day genuinely become a “lapdog of the Tribunal,” only able to act on the Tribunal’s whims.

“Rest assured,” Zhang Lan raised his eyebrows at Mo Hua, “that’s another advantage of this Bronze Waist Token, ‘you answer their call but not their beckon.’”

“The Tribunal has the right to enlist you, but they don’t have real authority over you. As long as you don’t rely on this as your livelihood, you can simply throw the token away and quit. No one can do anything to you.”

“Is this what ‘If there is no desire, then you will be steadfast’ means?”

Zhang Lan considered for a moment and nodded, “I suppose it does. As long as you don’t stoop low to gain favor, it’s actually very easygoing.”

With that in mind, Mo Hua was reassured.

He was a Formation Master and indeed didn’t rely on this for a living. The waist token was just for fleecing some extra benefits.

Mo Hua then sighed, “My identity is getting a bit complicated now.”

His main role was as a Formation Master, and then there was being a Monster Hunter, and now he was also a little hustler fleecing the Tribunal.