Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

As an Independent Cultivator, he had never enjoyed the benefits of an Immortal Sect, or any of the advantages that came with it. Now, the Immortal Sect was demanding he risk his life to defend Chaning Cliff, which was nothing more than conscripting him as cannon fodder.

If the leader of the Law Enforcement Team had tried to persuade him with kind words, Wei Tu would have focused on the situation, not the person, and wouldn't have held a grudge against him.

But on the contrary, the leader of the Law Enforcement Team hadn't used kind words at all. Instead, his speech was full of mockery and taunts directed at him.

Naturally, Wei Tu added a black mark against the man's name in his mind.

Next, the Law Enforcement Team issued a punishment to the Xiaya Mei Family for harboring Wei Tu.

They fined the Mei Family three Tier Two Middle-Grade Magical Artifacts, one thousand Spirit Stones, and various other resources.

This punishment instantly wiped out more than half of the Xiaya Mei Family's centuries of accumulated wealth.

Mei Yuanfeng's face instantly paled. If not for his daughter, Mei Zhen, supporting him, he would have collapsed on the spot.

"Sun Yu of Qingzhu Mountain." As the Law Enforcement Team was leaving, the leader glanced at Wei Tu and arrogantly announced his identity.

Although Wei Tu hadn't shown any sign of displeasure the entire time, how could Sun Yu not know that every Independent Cultivator he conscripted hated him to the bone?

Announcing his own name and then watching the Independent Cultivators' faces contort with extreme resentment—this was the pleasure Sun Yu derived from being a member of the Law Enforcement Team.

The other Law Enforcement Team Cultivators were unfazed by this scene. Apparently, they knew their leader, Sun Yu, did this often.

But even if this had been the first time Sun Yu had done it, they wouldn't have been surprised. After all, most Independent Cultivators sent to the front lines were just cannon fodder.

Few Independent Cultivators ever returned alive.

A Tier Two Talisman Master's strength was not considered weak among Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators, but it was nothing compared to the Demon Cultivators of the five great Demon Sects.

Even if Wei Tu managed to survive and return, they wouldn't care. Every Cultivator who could join the Law Enforcement Team was a Disciple from a prominent Immortal Sect family. Who would be afraid of a Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivator with "no background"?

However, Sun Yu was a little disappointed.

After hearing his name, Wei Tu's expression remained indifferent, as if he hadn't taken the provocation to heart at all.

"Let's go!" Sun Yu didn't linger on Wei Tu. In all his years of issuing Recruitment Orders, he had seen Independent Cultivators like Wei Tu before. By now, most of them were dead and gone.

...

After the Law Enforcement Team left, Mei Yuanfeng beat his chest with both hands, wailing in despair. "It's over! The family's savings are all gone! Those damn Sect Cultivators! My Mei Family has had Ancestors die on the front lines too!"

"And they still show no consideration at all."

As he spoke, a look of resentment appeared on Mei Yuanfeng's face, and he ground his teeth ceaselessly.

"Father, we can always earn more Spirit Stones. The most important thing is that they didn't discover Xiuwen reached Foundation Establishment," Mei Zhen said comfortingly as she supported Mei Yuanfeng.

Unlike Wei Tu, the siblings Wei Yan and Wei Xiuwen had reached Foundation Establishment in secret during wartime. The outside world didn't know that they were now Foundation Establishment Masters.

And compared to material wealth, Wei Xiuwen was undoubtedly far more important to the Mei Family right now.

"Right, right. They didn't find out about Xiuwen." Thinking of this, Mei Yuanfeng breathed a sigh of relief, feeling very fortunate.

A few months ago, the Mei Family's last remaining Foundation Establishment Ancestor, Meilang, had also been conscripted by the Immortal Sect and sent to the front lines.

If Wei Xiuwen had been taken away as well, the Mei Family's foundation would have been truly and utterly destroyed.

"Here are one thousand Spirit Stones and three Middle-Grade Magical Artifacts. While it can't cover all of the Mei Family's losses, please accept it as a token of my sincerity." Wei Tu took a Storage Bag from his robes and handed it to Mei Yuanfeng.

This time, the Mei Family had been punished because of him, but the severity of the extortion was entirely due to the greed of Sun Yu and his group.

His situation was just a pretext.

Therefore, he didn't feel obligated to compensate the Mei Family for the full amount of the fine.

Compensating them for part of it was already a sign of his integrity.

Five hundred Spirit Stones was the normal fine the Law Enforcement Team levied for harboring Independent Cultivator Forces.

However, he had become quite wealthy after killing Alchemist Shu, so covering most of the Mei Family's losses was not difficult for him.

After all, the family was being punished on his account.

Besides, with Wei Xiuwen as the Mei Family's only Foundation Establishment Master now, compensating them for their losses was also an indirect way of increasing his own son's resources.

There was nothing to be reluctant about.

"Thank you, my dear in-law." Seeing the Storage Bag Wei Tu offered, the grief on Mei Yuanfeng's face faded slightly, and he hurriedly bowed in thanks.

Times were different now.

Just like the Ancestors of the Xuanhou Qir Family, the two Ancestors of the Mei Family had taken the vast majority of the family's "wealth" with them when they left for the battlefield in order to better protect themselves.

The Mei Family's current resources were a pale shadow of what they had been just a few decades ago.

A hundred years ago, he could afford to spend two hundred Spirit Stones on the crafting method for a One Qi Pouch, but now, he could no longer act so generously.

"Father, you must be careful at Chaning Cliff this time. Nothing can be allowed to happen to you."

Just then, the siblings Wei Yan and Wei Xiuwen, who had been hiding deep within the Mei Clan Territory, came out.

After learning from Mei Zhen about Wei Tu's new post, Wei Yan anxiously wrung the fabric of her dress, her face etched with worry as she looked at Wei Tu.

If nothing unexpected happened, this... might be the last time she ever saw him.

This wasn't Wei Yan being pessimistic; the death rate for Independent Cultivators sent to the front lines was over fifty percent.

Furthermore, Wei Tu's assignment was several years longer than that of an ordinary Independent Cultivator—a full ten years.