An acting steward was someone who managed Area B on Old Zhao's behalf—the position Boss Zhao had previously held.
However, the title of acting steward didn't sound very imposing, so over time, everyone simply called him Boss Zhao.
What Ye Hao hadn't expected in the slightest was that Old Zhao would choose him to replace Boss Zhao as the new acting steward.
Truth be told, Ye Hao had absolutely no interest in the position.
However, now that someone had come knocking on his door and was even offering benefits...
He certainly didn't mind accepting them, especially since the other party had promised him two additional spirit fields.
"Old Zhao told me to discuss it with you. If you don't take it, the position is mine."
"Of course, what actually happens depends on your choice, Junior Brother Ye. If you truly want to be the steward, I can assist you."
After saying this, Li Cheng looked at Ye Hao, feeling somewhat uneasy.
When he had first come to see Ye Hao, his attitude hadn't been great.
If Ye Hao harbored a grudge because of that, his chance at becoming steward would vanish.
Boss Zhao had reaped plenty of perks in the steward position.
That was what truly made his eyes turn red with envy.
As long as he secured the steward position, he would easily fulfill what he promised Ye Hao now.
Before long, he would be able to claw back even more.
"You're currently only at Fourth-Layer Qi Refinement. Are you sure you can keep those guys in check?"
Ye Hao frowned.
Within Area B, there was no shortage of people at his level.
Quite a few were at Fourth-Layer Qi Refinement, and some had even reached Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement.
Added up, there were at least several dozen of them.
Li Cheng, being only at Fourth-Layer Qi Refinement, truly couldn't suppress a crowd like that.
Furthermore, there were several veteran spirit farmers who had reached Sixth-Layer Qi Refinement. Feeling that their potential was limited, they hadn't joined the inner or outer sects and had remained in the handyman disciple area.
Even Boss Zhao had to be polite when dealing with these veterans at Sixth-Layer Qi Refinement.
If Li Cheng couldn't handle it, things might end up falling back on Ye Hao anyway, so it would almost be better to just take the position from the start.
However, he truly didn't want to get involved in this mess.
"Junior Brother Ye, there's something you don't know. As long as you agree to let me take Boss Zhao's place, Old Zhao naturally has a way to boost me to Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement."
Saying this, Li Cheng suddenly lowered his voice. "Old Zhao possesses a special secret technique that can forcibly raise my cultivation by one minor stage."
"Although it will cost me a bit of my potential, being able to boost myself to Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement in a short time is good enough."
"I was curious before about why Boss Zhao's realm rose so quickly. Looking back, Old Zhao helping him must have been the reason."
"It's just that Old Zhao only told me this secret today."
Saying this, a trace of resentment flickered in Li Cheng's eyes.
However, he concealed it extremely well.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace.
Old Zhao possessed such a powerful secret technique yet had kept it hidden all along.
If Old Zhao had helped him earlier, perhaps he would have entered the outer sect long ago.
"Senior Brother Li, are you sure you want to use this secret technique?"
"Why do I feel like there's something wrong with this secret technique?"
Ye Hao paused inwardly.
If Boss Zhao's breakthrough to Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement was truly thanks to Old Zhao's secret technique...
...why had Boss Zhao remained stuck at Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement after all these years?
Logically, having stayed in the steward position for so long, he must have pocketed quite a lot of profits.
For hundreds of spirit fields, harvested twice a year, he extracted ten jin of white spirit rice per mu each season.
That amounted to an illicit income of at least several thousand jin of white spirit rice.
With the resources exchanged from all that white spirit rice, things didn't add up.
Logically speaking, even a pig at Fifth-Layer Qi Refinement should have benefited.
Those resources would have been more than enough to push its cultivation to Sixth-Layer Qi Refinement.
"Old Zhao has ties with my seniors. How could he possibly harm me?"
"Junior Brother, as long as you agree to this, I'll take full responsibility for any problems that arise down the line."
Facing Ye Hao's advice, Li Cheng gently shook his head.
After all, Old Zhao had treated him extremely well over all these years.
Apart from being a bit stingy with certain resources, he had given him everything he should have.
He simply didn't believe Old Zhao would harm him.
"Fine, I withdraw. The position of acting steward is yours."
Good advice fell on deaf ears; seeing that Li Cheng refused to listen to his warning, Ye Hao didn't bother trying to persuade him any further.
After all, his relationship with the man wasn't particularly good to begin with.
He nodded and agreed to the proposal.
"Then I truly thank you for stepping aside this time, Junior Brother Ye."
"Oh right, after I take over the position this time, I might raise the protection fee collected each year a bit."
"Of course, you won't need to pay that, Junior Brother Ye. Things will stay the same as before for you."
Having finished speaking, Li Cheng stood up with an excited look and left.
Previously, he certainly wouldn't have dared to raise the protection fee, let alone extract so much.
However, now with Ye Hao's involvement, bolstered by his Lesser Spirit Rain Technique, the yield of the spirit fields across Area B had increased significantly.
If he continued extracting only ten jin of white spirit rice per mu each season like before, that would be far too little.
So, extract fifteen jin per season?
Forget it, fifteen jin is still too little. Let's just extract thirty jin directly.
After leaving Ye Hao's wooden hut, Li Cheng's steps grew lighter and lighter.
After all, Ye Hao had withdrawn, so he was about to succeed Boss Zhao and become the new acting steward of Area B.
Boss Zhao's moniker had sounded quite nice, and in the future, everyone could call him Boss Li as well.
"I just agreed not to compete with him for the acting steward position..."
"...and he's already planning to exploit the spirit farmers even harder once he takes charge."
"Hopefully he won't push it too far, or Boss Zhao's fate will serve as his warning."
Hearing the man's final words, Ye Hao couldn't help but sneer.
Even when facing a Red Tiger that had reached First-Tier great perfection, Boss Zhao leading so many followers certainly would have been able to escape.
Yet so many of his lackeys had died, and he had even lost an arm. No matter how one looked at it, something felt off.
"Oh well, it has nothing to do with me anyway. Let him mess around however he wants."
After a long moment, Ye Hao let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Setting the matter of the acting steward aside...
...the most important thing right now was still sprouting his low-grade gold spirit root.
He pulled out the jade box and retrieved the Golden Spike Millet Fruit from inside.
The Golden Spike Millet Fruit was only the size of a thumb.
Golden all over, it resembled millet.
Generally, it only grew on the surface of shallow gold-attribute spirit veins.
It was said that the higher the rank of the gold-attribute spirit vein, the higher the quality of the Golden Spike Millet Fruit it produced.
A Second-Tier Golden Spike Millet Fruit would be sufficient to awaken a mid-grade gold spirit root.
However, for the current Ye Hao, a First-Tier Golden Spike Millet Fruit was more than enough for his needs.
"Time to begin refining."
Sitting cross-legged on the futon, Ye Hao began refining the Golden Spike Millet Fruit before him.
The sweet, slightly tart fragrance of the fruit entered his throat, instantly turning into fine, warm streams of golden spiritual energy that flowed throughout his limbs and bones.
This was entirely unlike wild, violent gold-element spiritual materials.
The spiritual energy was gentle and lingering, gradually permeating, rooting, and spreading along the meridians that had been clogged for years.
"Condense!"
Ye Hao's entire body shuddered.
In the void deep within his dantian, a faint speck of golden light slowly brightened.
The light was faint, thin, and far from brilliant, carrying a touch of innate frailty.
Yet it was exceptionally solid.
It took firm root within his foundational meridians.
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