Li Jian’s footsteps nearly paused.
His eyes widened slightly for a brief moment before he quickly forced his expression back under control.
’Over two thousand...?’
’Each of them already owes me more than two thousand Favor Debt points?’
A strong wave of surprise surged through his heart.
He had only awakened the system yesterday, so he had assumed that only harm from that point onward would be counted.
He never expected that the system would also calculate the accumulated debts from before.
All those times they had bullied him, mocked him, and forcefully taken the spirit stones and resources he received from Zheng Qingyao... every single incident had been recorded.
And now, the total had already reached such a terrifying number.
Li Jian’s heart beat slightly faster.
’More than two thousand points each...’
This is on the completely different level from Zheng Qingyao’s debt.
The cold light in his eyes deepened, but on the surface, he still put on a somewhat helpless and weak expression as he looked at the pair standing in front of his residence.
Han Jin and Su Qin, completely unaware of the storm forming in Li Jian’s heart, still wore their usual mocking and superior smiles.
Han Jin took a step forward and casually extended his hand toward Li Jian, his tone relaxed yet carrying an unmistakable pressure.
"Alright, Junior Brother Li. You know the rules. Hand over whatever Senior Sister Zheng gave you today, and we can all save some time."
Su Qin tilted her head slightly, her full chest swaying with the movement as she added in a soft yet clearly threatening voice,
"Don’t be so stingy. It’s not like you can keep those things anyway. If you hand them over obediently, we might even leave you a few spirit stones to buy some medicine."
Li Jian lowered his gaze slightly, as if he were in deep thought.
But inside, his thoughts were completely different.
’More than two thousand Favor Debt points each... With this much, the things I can make them do are on a completely different level.’
He slowly reached into his robes and took out the small bag of spirit stones Zheng Qingyao had given him earlier.
Under their watchful eyes, he opened it and revealed the hundred low-grade spirit stones inside.
Han Jin’s eyes lit up with satisfaction.
"Not bad. At least you know when to be sensible."
He reached out to take the bag, but just before his fingers touched it, Li Jian suddenly spoke in a calm voice.
"Senior Brother Han. Senior Sister Su."
Both of them paused slightly at his tone.
Li Jian raised his eyes and smirked.
"Today... I don’t feel like handing it over."
For a moment, the area in front of the stone residence fell silent.
Han Jin’s outstretched hand froze in midair.
The casual smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by a cold and dangerous look.
Su Qin’s charming expression also stiffened slightly, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Li Jian in disbelief.
"...What did you just say?" Han Jin asked slowly, his voice dropping.
Li Jian calmly stored the bag of spirit stones back into his robes and met their gazes without the previous timidness.
"I said, I don’t feel like handing it over today."
Suddenly a sharp killing intent flashed through Han Jin’s eyes.
"Good... good... very good."
He let out a cold laugh.
"It seems Junior Brother Li has grown some courage after being used as a test subject a few more times. Do you really think a piece of trash like you has the right to refuse us?"
Su Qin crossed her arms under her full chest, her voice turning cold and mocking.
"Li Jian, don’t forget your place. In the outer sect, people without background or strength should learn to lower their heads... or do you need us to properly remind you again?"
The atmosphere instantly turned oppressive.
Several outer disciples who happened to be nearby noticed the situation and quickly distanced themselves.
Everyone in this area knew that Han Jin and Su Qin were not people ordinary outer disciples could afford to offend.
Seeing Li Jian actually dare to refuse them only made the onlookers shake their heads, as if already imagining the miserable outcome that was about to follow.
Han Jin took another step forward, his peak Qi Refinement aura pressing down unrestrainedly toward Li Jian.
"I’ll give you one last chance. Hand over the spirit stones and kneel down to apologize. Otherwise..."
His eyes turned completely cold.
"Don’t blame this Senior Brother for being ruthless."
Li Jian stood there under the pressure, his expression remaining strangely calm.
Under the increasingly oppressive aura coming from Han Jin, Li Jian remained silent for a brief moment before a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Instead of continuing this confrontation outside where others could see, it would be much more convenient if he brought them inside.
He immediately focused on the system and issued a request toward both of them.
’Han Jin, Su Qin, both of you enter my residence.’
The system responded almost instantly.
[Request confirmed.]
[Favor Debt from Han Jin: 2,200 → 2,195]
[Favor Debt from Su Qin: 2,100 → 2,095]
[Request has been successfully issued.]
Li Jian’s eyes flickered slightly in surprise.
’Only 5 points each? That cheap?’
Before he could dwell on it, the system’s mechanical voice sounded again in his mind.
[Explanation: The cost of a request is influenced by multiple factors, including the target’s cultivation level, status, pride, and mental resistance.]
[Han Jin and Su Qin’s cultivation and overall status are significantly lower than Zheng Qingyao’s. Therefore, the Favor Debt required to influence their actions is much lower.]
Li Jian’s heart stirred.
’So that’s how it is...’
Zheng Qingyao is an inner sect disciple with higher cultivation and much stronger pride, so even simple requests cost more.
But these two are only outer disciples...
Just as that realization settled in his mind, Han Jin and Su Qin who had still been releasing pressure moments ago suddenly paused.
A faint look of natural realization appeared on both of their faces, as if entering his residence was simply the reasonable next step.
Han Jin lowered his aura and spoke in a cold voice,
"Hmph! Since you refuse to hand it over outside, then we will settle this inside. Don’t think you can escape just by hiding in your residence."
Su Qin gave a soft snort and followed closely behind him.
Under the stunned gazes of the few outer disciples still watching from a distance, the famous Dao Companion pair of the outer sect actually stepped into Li Jian’s shabby stone house one after another.
Li Jian stood at the doorway for a brief moment, the cold smile in his eyes deepening.
Then he also stepped inside and slowly closed the door behind him.
The moment the door shut, the simple stone residence became completely cut off from the outside.