After a long silence, Jin Fengyun made the final decision. "An Inner Sect disciple indeed. Even after his cultivation was crippled, he still possesses formidable combat strength."
"Since someone has recommended him, let Li Zhiming go to the Ninth District."
With Jin Fengyun having spoken, Zhao Ming dared not say anything more. He could only cup his fists and reply, "Understood."
"However, the Yin Demonic Dead Qi on the Second Level is dense, and Li Zhiming is still recovering from his injuries. I believe he should be given some additional subsidy."
Zhao Ming decided to fight for some benefits for Li Zhiming.
"Speak with Elder Jiang about the subsidy," Jin Fengyun replied indifferently, then walked away with his hands behind his back, taking his time.
"When he reaches the Second Level, I'll have someone send him a Vitality Pill as a subsidy," Elder Jiang of the Second Level said offhandedly before following after him.
Jiang Yuan followed behind the group, glancing back at Li Zhiming with the corners of his mouth curling up into a cold, triumphant smile.
"Ah..."
"I'm sorry, Senior Brother Li."
Zhao Ming scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"It's fine. Wang Zi is Jiang Yuan's man. Since I beat his man, he was bound to find a way to make trouble for me," Li Zhiming said calmly.
"Still, with the Vitality Pill promised by the Second Level elder, spending a couple of days on the Second Level shouldn't be a problem."
"That's all we can do for now. Wait for me at the entrance to the Second Level before sunset, and I'll take you down," Zhao Ming sighed.
As evening approached, Li Zhiming left his room and came to the entrance of the Second Level.
Ahead was a stone staircase leading downward, with a few oil lamps casting a dim, flickering light along the stone walls.
Thin wisps of mist drifted upward—the physical manifestation of Yin Demonic Dead Qi.
Just as Zhao Ming and the others had said, the Yin Demonic Dead Qi down below was several times stronger than on the First Level.
For ordinary prison guards, lasting two days down there was already the limit. If they stayed three days, they would be stripped of a layer of skin even if they survived.
At that moment, two prison guards happened to be helping each other stumble up from the Second Level.
Their faces were pale. As soon as they reached the top, they collapsed onto the ground, coughing violently as if they had lost half their lives.
"Damn it, that Second Level is terrifying."
"It's simply not a place where unranked Martial Disciples like us can survive. Even Rank Nine Martial Artists with True Qi to protect their bodies can't stay down there for long."
"I really don't understand why they keep sending us First Level guards down there."
"What can we do? We're just prison guards, we have no status... We're treated worse than spiritual pets kept by people."
The two sat on the ground complaining, then looked up at Li Zhiming.
"Brother, are you going down too?"
"Mn." Li Zhiming nodded.
"Sigh... We prison guards really have it rough... I wonder when I'll break through to Rank Nine so I can take the assessment, become a Patrol Disciple, or just leave Xuyuan Prison and return to the sect—even the Outer Sect would do." The two began to grumble.
Just then, Zhao Ming strode over and urged the two men on the ground, "Since you're back, why aren't you hurrying back to rest instead of blocking the way here?"
Seeing him, the two hastily got up and left.
"Senior Brother Li, I have some bad news to tell you."
"Speak." Interest piqued, Li Zhiming looked at him.
"That Jiang Yuan directly sent three Eighth District prison guards to the Second Level. They're all stronger than Wang Zi, and two of them have even stepped into the Rank Nine realm, making them eligible to be promoted to Patrol Disciples."
"I suspect this is all targeted at you. You must be extremely careful. While you're down there, try to avoid conflicts with people and endure whatever you can," Zhao Ming warned.
"Thank you for the warning." Li Zhiming cupped his fists.
"You'd better take a Vitality Pill now before coming down with me."
"Alright."
To avoid exposing his own secrets, he swallowed a Vitality Pill directly and followed Zhao Ming down to the Second Level.
The layout of the Second Level was basically identical to the First Level.
Upon descending, two Patrol Disciples were stationed at the entrance of the Xuyuan Prison Second Level.
Naturally, the Patrol Disciples of the Second Level were stronger than those on the First; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to endure long periods of patrol duty down there.
Of course, these Patrol Disciples worked on a rotation basis, spending a maximum of five days a month on the Second Level.
"Two Senior Brothers, I've brought the man requested by the Second Level. Please take good care of him," Zhao Ming said, cupping his fists.
The two men looked Li Zhiming up and down and asked, "What's your name?"
"Li Zhiming."
"Li Zhiming, is it? This is a Vitality Pill, given to you per Elder Jiang's instructions."
One of them handed Li Zhiming a jade bottle.
"Many thanks."
"You can head back. You, follow me."
One of them led Li Zhiming to the temporary quarters on the Second Level. "You'll be staying here for the next three days."
"What do you mean?"
"Why three days?"
Li Zhiming frowned.
Normally, prison guards never spent more than two days on the Second Level.
Because exceeding two days, the Yin Demonic Dead Qi would cause irreversible damage to the bodies of prison guards who had not reached the Ninth Rank.
After all, manpower in Xuyuan Prison was not particularly abundant. Although prison guards were treated like beasts of burden, they were still long-term assets, not disposable consumables.
"Did you really think that Vitality Pill would be so easy to take?"
The Patrol Disciple chuckled mockingly.
"Aren't you afraid I'll die down here?"
Li Zhiming probed cautiously.
Although he didn't care how long he stayed on the Second Level, being targeted like this was truly sickening.
"I'm just following orders, the rest is none of our concern."
"I suggest you think carefully about who you've offended in the past, or why else would you be assigned to stay on the Second Level for three days?"
"Let alone you useless prison guards, even us patrolmen would feel a bit unwell if we stayed on the Second Level for more than three days without using True Qi to protect our bodies."
The patrolman's tone was dripping with disdain for the prison guards.
"Jiang Yuan... Elder Liu?"
Li Zhiming furrowed his brows slightly as the sharp edge in his eyes quickly vanished.
His top priority right now was collecting corpses to grow stronger; there was no need to get upset over such a trivial matter.
"Someone will come to assign you work later. I'm leaving."
The Patrol Disciple turned and left.
Hardly had he left when another Patrol Disciple walked over, followed by three prison guards.
"You three will be staying in this room tonight, sharing it with this kid."
"Understood, Senior Brother Liang!" the three replied in unison.
"You must be Li Zhiming?"
The Patrol Disciple addressed as Senior Brother Liang looked Li Zhiming over.
This Li Zhiming looked utterly unremarkable, with nothing special about him. What gave him the guts to provoke an executive elder of Xuyuan Prison?
Perhaps he was still living in past memories, thinking he was still a noble, direct-line Inner Sect disciple.
"It's me," Li Zhiming replied.
"Since it's you, that settles it. You're rooming with these three," Liang Ping instructed.
"Heh heh..."
The three of them stared directly at Li Zhiming, their smiles gloomy and vicious—they had clearly come with bad intentions.
Li Zhiming gave the three a blank, expressionless look.
Without even thinking, he knew these three were Eighth District prison guards sent by Jiang Yuan.
"You're all First District prison guards, so you should know each other. Don't cause trouble living together. Fighting is fine, but you're not allowed to take lives."
With that, Liang Ping turned and walked away.
His words sounded more like a warning to the three of them to hold back and not commit murder.
Li Zhiming narrowed his eyes, having already prepared for a fight.
What a brilliant scheme by Jiang Yuan; he had arranged everything for him without a sound.
"Li Zhiming from the Ninth District, right? My name is Wang Junfei, and I'm Wang Zi's cousin."
"The fact that you were able to beat Wang Zi means you still have some skill. You truly live up to your name as a former Inner Sect disciple—even after being crippled, you still possess formidable combat strength."
A young man who looked roughly thirty percent similar to Wang Zi spoke up first.
"Too bad for you, though. Today you aren't facing that trash Wang Zi, but the three of us."
Another man broke into a smile. A long scar covered the corner of his right eye, adding a fierce and ruthless air to his appearance.
This man was presumably the strongest of the three.
Just as the third man was about to speak, a tall, handsome man wearing green robes strode up to the doorway.
"You four, are you the new prison guards who arrived today?" the man asked.
"Yes."
"Four people in one room?" The man's expression turned stern.
"The senior brothers arranged it this way."
"There are only two beds in a room, you can't fit four people. There are plenty of rooms here, you'll each have your own."
"Uh... Senior Brother."
Wang Junfei was just about to speak when the man glared at him, forcing the words right back down his throat.
"Do you have a problem?"
"No, we'll follow Senior Brother's arrangements."
Wang Junfei could only force a smile and nod, while secretly clenching his fists.
"Who is called Li Zhiming?" the man asked again.
"Me."
"Come out, I have a task assigned to you."
Li Zhiming got up and left the room with the man.
"Damn it, where on earth did this Li Zhiming get such blind luck!"
As soon as Li Zhiming left, Wang Junfei said angrily.
"He must be a patrol captain of the Second Level. Not someone we can afford to provoke. But where can Li Zhiming run off to?"
"When he comes back, we'll just go find him." The scarred man remained entirely calm.