Chapter 59: Easy Harvesting.

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Easy Harvesting.

Time passed as Li Jian and his three free laborers continued exploring the Fragment Realm.

With three extra pairs of hands, his exploration became much easier.

Whenever they encountered demonic beasts, Wang Hun and the other two would take the lead while Li Jian stayed behind and watched.

Once the battle was over, he would naturally collect the spoils according to their agreement.

At first, the trio still needed some time to adjust to their new arrangement.

However, as they encountered more opportunities and handed over their gains one after another, they gradually grew accustomed to it.

After all, they had already agreed to the terms.

There was nothing strange about keeping their word.

As for Li Jian, he was quite satisfied with how things were going.

Although Wang Hun was the strongest among the three, Zhang Zhao and Chen Lei were also at the Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement.

With the three of them working together, even ordinary demonic beasts that would have required some effort for Li Jian to deal with alone were no longer much of a threat.

More importantly, he no longer had to risk his own injuries just to obtain a few resources.

Whenever they discovered spirit herbs, ores, or other useful materials, the trio would collect them and bring them to him.

Li Jian only needed to check their finds and store the valuable items in his spatial ring.

Of course, he didn’t simply sit around doing nothing.

He continued observing the surrounding terrain, keeping track of their route and looking for places that might contain better treasures.

After all, the Fragment Realm was vast, and the resources they had collected so far were only a small portion of what it had to offer.

As the hours passed, the group gradually ventured deeper into the realm.

Along the way, they encountered several more demonic beasts and discovered a handful of spirit herbs growing in secluded places.

Their harvest steadily increased, and Li Jian’s mood improved with every new item added to his spatial ring.

However, the deeper they went, the more cautious he became.

The Fragment Realm might be a training ground prepared by the Purple Mist Sect, but that didn’t mean it was completely safe.

Dangerous creatures and unexpected situations could still appear, especially in areas that had rarely been explored.

Li Jian had no intention of getting greedy and losing his life over a few extra treasures.

For now, as long as his three laborers could handle the dangers ahead, he was perfectly content to let them do the hard work while he enjoyed the benefits.

After all, having other people risk their lives while he collected the rewards was a rather pleasant arrangement.

More importantly, the value of the resources he had collected so far had already exceeded the thirty spirit stones he had spent on the Fragment Realm entry token.

In other words, he had already made a profit.

And there was still some time left before his time in the Fragment Realm came to an end.

Thinking about this, Li Jian couldn’t help but smile.

’Not bad. At this rate, I might be able to earn quite a fortune.’

However, as Li Jian looked at his three laborers, another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

’And at this rate, I’ll probably run out of Favor Debt points soon...’

Although the three had accumulated a considerable amount of Favor Debt, every request he made still consumed some of it.

If he continued exploiting them without giving anything in return, their remaining Favor Debt would eventually become too low for him to make further requests.

Li Jian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

’It seems I’ll have to reward them after this.’

Of course, he wasn’t planning to be generous for no reason.

If he wanted to continue using them in the future, it would be better to maintain their Favor Debt at a reasonable level.

Besides, a small reward now might allow him to make even greater use of them later.

Thinking about this, Li Jian’s lips curled into a faint smile.

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After another stretch of exploration, the group finally found a suitable place to rest.

Wang Hun, Zhang Zhao, and Chen Lei sat down to catch their breath.

All three looked exhausted after spending so much time fighting demonic beasts and searching for resources.

Meanwhile, Li Jian found a comfortable spot nearby and sat down leisurely, looking at his three laborers.

As his gaze fell on Chen Lei, a memory suddenly resurfaced in his mind.

Of the three, Chen Lei had been the one who bullied the original Li Jian the most.

The fat man had often treated him like a servant, ordering him around and making him take the blame whenever something went wrong.

In fact, that was probably why Chen Lei had accumulated the most Favor Debt out of the three.

Li Jian’s expression turned thoughtful.

’Now that I think about it, this fatty really was something else.’

He couldn’t help but feel curious.

What exactly had made Chen Lei treat the original owner so badly?

Was it simply because the original Li Jian had been weak and easy to bully, or was there another reason?

Li Jian glanced at Chen Lei, who was still panting as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Since the three were currently bound by their agreement to obey his reasonable orders, asking a few questions shouldn’t be a problem.

With that thought, Li Jian leaned back slightly and spoke.

"Chen Lei, I have something I want to ask you."

The fat man immediately looked up.

"...What is it?"

Li Jian studied his face for a moment before asking casually, "Back when we were in the outer sect, why did you bully me so much?"

Chen Lei froze.

His expression turned awkward, and he instinctively avoided Li Jian’s gaze.

For a moment, he seemed reluctant to answer, as though the question had touched on something he would rather keep buried.

However, under Li Jian’s expectant gaze, he eventually scratched his cheek and answered in a somewhat embarrassed voice.

"Well... I wanted to look good in front of Su Qin."

Li Jian blinked in confusion.

’Su Qin?’

He hadn’t expected that answer.

Chen Lei’s face grew red as he continued, clearly finding it difficult to admit his past behavior.

"Back then, Su Qin seemed to come looking for you quite often. I thought she was interested in you, so I figured... if I bullied you too, she might start paying attention to me as well."

He lowered his head, looking increasingly embarrassed and fidgeting.

"I thought that if I acted tougher than you and showed her that I could easily push you around, she’d see me as someone more impressive."

Li Jian stared at him in silence, his expression completely deadpan.

’...What kind of logic is that?’

So this fatty had been bullying the original owner simply because he thought Su Qin might take an interest in him if she saw him doing it? Li Jian couldn’t help but feel speechless.

’No wonder this guy has the highest Favor Debt among the three...’

Thinking about the original owner’s miserable experiences, Li Jian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

’What a ridiculous reason to make someone’s life difficult.’

But then, remembering something, Li Jian looked at him with a strange expression.

"Don’t you know Su Qin already has a Dao Companion?"

Chen Lei’s embarrassment disappeared almost immediately, replaced by a shameless grin.

"Of course I know!"

He even puffed out his chest as he spoke, as though there were nothing wrong with his intentions.

"But so what? There’s no rule against stealing someone else’s woman, is there?"