Five days ago, to win people over, Lin Lin had told the outer disciples to gather at the cave entrance at the seventh hour with five spirit stones.

  The appointed time arrived quickly. From a distance, Lin Lin saw a group of people standing at the entrance.

  He counted: four outer disciples, seven inner disciples.

  This outcome made Lin Lin sigh.

  Originally, as the representative of the outer disciples, he had really wanted to give them more opportunities.

  After all, outer disciples rarely had family support. Their path to immortality was much harder than that of the inner disciples.

  If Lin Lin gave them a hand now, they would probably be very grateful.

  But reality was truly cruel.

  A poor man has short ambitions; a skinny horse has long hair.

  This saying was not meant to look down on the poor, but to express their helplessness.

  The five spirit stones Lin Lin mentioned was also a large sum for a local small landlord.

  If these five spirit stones were lost, it would be a heavy burden for the family and the individual.

  Most outer disciples did not dare to easily gamble their luck on these five spirit stones.

  Of course, that was not all. What was worse was the wrong education poor families gave their children.

  The six outer disciples Lin Lin had originally chosen as guards were the six poorest in the sect.

  His idea was to give them spirit stones and nurture them.

  In the future, they would think of following him.

  But now, besides Feng Jinbao, only two of those guard disciples were willing to join this operation.

  Two of the guard disciples even stood nearby, unwilling to join.

  Feng Jinbao was still trying to persuade them. Seeing Lin Lin arrive, he indignantly reported them. "They said that since you gave us so many spirit stones before, you must be regretting it now. So this business deal is actually just an excuse to take the stones back."

  Hearing Feng Jinbao's report, those two guard disciples felt a bit embarrassed.

  "It's fine. Business is business. Buying and selling is normal. Alright, show me your spirit stones."

  The eleven people all took out their spirit stones and held them out on their palms.

  Lin Lin did not take the stones. Instead, he walked over and looked at the inner disciples. "Aren't you worried I might steal your spirit stones?"

  A younger inner disciple, his voice still not change, looked up and answered sharply, "My family said, only work with Acting Sect Leader Lin. Even if we have to pay extra spirit stones, it's a small matter."

  The other inner disciples chimed in, saying their families meant the same. They were willing to follow Lin Lin.

  Looking at their sincere faces, Lin Lin suddenly understood why class in the world was so unbreakable.

  Because the rich had money and dared to gamble it on opportunities.

  The poor had no choice. With only a few coins in their pockets, they could not bear to gamble their capital.

  The poor already had few opportunities. If they did not gamble, they had even fewer.

  Lin Lin took a small box from his sleeve and opened it. It was full of various spirit stones. "You trusted me enough to take out five spirit stones. Everyone here gets five spirit stones back."

  As soon as he said this, the two outer disciples standing guard nearby stamped their feet in regret.

  Feng Jinbao and the other outer disciples widened their eyes, unable to believe such a good thing could happen.

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  When Feng Jinbao actually received his five spirit stones, he was filled with gratitude towards Lin Lin.

  The inner disciples, seeing their gamble paid off, were not very interested in the five stones.

  But in any large group, there were all kinds of people.

  One inner disciple, wearing fine clothes and a ring, even said directly, "Forget the five stones. I, Zuo Yong, on behalf of the Zuo family, only wish to share the Acting Sect Leader's burdens. I seek no reward."

  Seeing this kind of cleverness, Lin Lin immediately put on a stern face. "This is business. No matter how good the relationship, even brothers settle accounts clearly. Take it. Don't make me say it twice!"

  Seeing Lin Lin angry, Zuo Yong had no choice but to obediently take the five stones.

  After distributing all the stones and recording the names of these eleven, Lin Lin led them into the cave. "The pills I promised you are inside. You just need to do one more thing for me, and the pills are yours."

  At the cave entrance, Lin Lin, as usual, gave each of the two guard disciples a spirit stone. "Although you two are not part of this deal, the road ahead is long. There will be other opportunities."

  Hearing this, Zuo Yong could not help but smile slightly.

  Smart as he was, he knew this kind of trust-based game only happened once.

  Lin Lin said this, but in his heart, he had already decided these two were not loyal enough.

  Failing one test meant they would永远 be one step lower in Lin Lin's eyes.

  The eleven followed Lin Lin to an open space inside the cave.

  In the middle was a sack containing a person.

  The person's hands and feet were broken, his mouth was tied, and seeing people arrive, he urgently yelled "Mmmph mmmph."

  This was Lin Lin's second test. "All of you, stab this person in a vital spot with your sword. After you stab, each gets five foundational pills."

  As soon as he finished, Feng Jinbao drew his sword and stabbed straight into the chest of the person in the sack.

  The sword hit the breastbone, not reaching a vital spot, but it made the person in the sack groan in pain.

  Feng Jinbao, having received the five spirit stones earlier, felt he had not earned them and was uneasy.

  Hearing Lin Lin say to stab someone, he stabbed without hesitation.

  Embarrassed that his sword hit bone and did not go in, he wanted to stab a second time.

  Lin Lin quickly stopped him. "Alright, alright. Next person. Next."

  Lin Lin had originally thought, based on some Western saintly movies, that the eleven would split into two groups arguing.

  The saintly ones would say this person should not be killed, no matter who he was.

  The others would say they trusted Lin Lin, and killing him was fine.

  Then there would be all kinds of annoying melodrama.

  But in reality, none of the eleven disciples hesitated about whether to kill or not.

  What they hesitated about was what exactly Lin Lin was testing.

  Zuo Yong, watching from the sidelines with his arms crossed, said seriously, "This is probably to test our swordsmanship. We need to strike fatally through the sack."

  Hearing this, everyone rushed to be next.

  Lin Lin had to assign them an order.

  Starting from the second person, they stabbed as viciously as possible.

  By the time the fourth sword pierced the skull of the person in the sack, he was dead.

  Seeing the man was dead, everyone turned their eyes to Lin Lin.

  Lin Lin quickly spoke up.

  "Don't just stand there. Keep going. Keep stabbing."

  Seeing the man was dead and Lin Lin still did not stop, Zuo Yong started analyzing again. "I get it. This is a test of sword strength. See, the man's back is against the wall. It's a competition to see whose sword force is strongest, piercing the corpse and leaving a mark on the wall."

  Hearing this, everyone stabbed even harder.

  Several people got their swords stuck in the bones and almost could not pull them out.

  A few used so much force the sword tips bent.

  Among the eleven were three girls. Lin Lin, to be considerate, had put them at the back.

  When it was their turn, to prove their strength was not weak, they actually used the flat of their blades to chop, cutting the arms and legs off the corpse in the sack.

  After the eleven finally finished, Feng Jinbao earnestly asked for a rematch. "Sect Leader Lin, let me stab again. Just once."

  Lin Lin quickly blocked the corpse, afraid they would really make it unrecognizable. "Alright, alright. Now I'll give out the pills. One bottle each. Five pills per bottle. All recently refined."

  Everyone took their pills, but their minds were still on the person in the sack.

  After distributing all the pills, Lin Lin lifted the sack. Beneath it was the mutilated corpse of Ma Zhaoyuan.

  After a slight shock, everyone calmed down.

  They seemed to have been psychologically prepared for this outcome.

  "Everyone, the sect leader and the three elders fought over the Moonlight Wine. Now they are dead. I plan to take over Qingfeng Sect. Can I count on your support?"

  Everyone present understood. By killing Ma Zhaoyuan, they had completely offended the Ma family.

  That sword stab was their pledge of allegiance.

  Now on Lin Lin's pirate ship, they did not really mind.

  Compared to the stingy Liu Fenghai, this free-spending sect leader in front of them seemed more approachable.

  After a brief mental negotiation, everyone bowed to Lin Lin. "Greetings, Sect Leader."

  "Don't be so formal. All of you will be the pillars of Qingfeng Sect in the future. The positions of elder will be chosen from among you eleven. I hope you will do your best and diligently improve your cultivation."

  "Yes."

  Lin Lin briefly explained the conflict between Ma Zhaoyuan, Li Wangxuan, and Zhang Shan, and the upcoming arrival of the Canglong Gang.

  Then he gave the eleven their first order.

  Move all the sect's resources into the cave, stockpile supplies, and prepare to hold out.

  He had his own strategies for dealing with the Canglong Gang, the Li family, and the Ma family.

  After giving his instructions, Lin Lin dismissed them. Then he saw Feng Jinbao walking towards him with his head down.

  Lin Lin had a natural fondness for this honest man.

  "Feng Jinbao, is there something else?"

  "Sect Leader Lin, please let me stab again. This time, I definitely won't embarrass myself."

  Feng Jinbao knelt on one knee, his attitude sincere.

  Lin Lin was speechless.

  What saints? This cultivation world had no saints. Weren't these all living Yama Kings?