Diligence System: From Servant to Martial King

Li Xian immediately inquired about the location of the Willing Death Valley. The talkative merchant pointed to the north, saying that after heading north for about a dozen miles, one could see two mountains named "Tomb Mountain" and "Stele Mountain." The area between these mountains is the "Willing Death Valley."

Some important people have built multi-layered towers and lofty platforms within the valley... crafting it into a perfect place for violent duels. The more prosperous Jade City grows, dazzlingly splendid, impeccably dressed, the more people crave primitive excitement.

Willing Death Valley, Willing Death Valley... This place is neither deliberately hidden nor deliberately advertised. Those with fate naturally come to know of it, those without fate spend a lifetime unable to encounter it.

The talkative merchant jingled his money and said, "I’ll be blunt, take it or leave it. I see you’re wearing a cage bracelet, that means you’re a debt slave. You must’ve heard about Willing Death Valley from somewhere you don’t even know. But I advise you, it’s better to pay your debts steadily than to head there."

"If becoming a debt slave means lowering your dignity to the utmost, then stepping into Willing Death Valley is to transform into a ferocious beast."

Li Xian couldn’t help pondering, "The Willing Death Valley is just ten miles away, not considered far. Having come out, how can I not first take a look? Willing Death Valley, Willing Death Valley... This place is extraordinary; my going there involves hidden dangers. But never mind... each step I’ve taken, haven’t they all been like this?"

Heart Lake calm, deeply contemplating. That night he simply didn’t return to his wooden abode and directly headed towards "Tomb Mountain" and "Stele Mountain." The intricate cage bracelet silently harmonizing with the world of Jade City, as if intending to escape. Hot as iron, silver silk piercing within, digging into flesh, blood flowing from his wrist.

Li Xian realized, "It’s no wonder countless debt slaves choose a lifetime of repayment and dare not risk escaping. This cage bracelet subtly senses, continuously bleeding me. I can’t employ Blood Solidification and Aperture Closure. If I stubbornly proceed, I can only drain myself completely dry. Even if not drained, the trail of blood will soon be found by Jade City constables. Then, weakened and fatigued, how could I possibly resist?"

Having tasted Jade City’s deterrents, even knowing the location of "Willing Death Valley," the short distance seemed as vast as a chasm. Li Xian suddenly noticed a few hemostatic herbs along the mountain path. He quickly plucked them, chewed them into grass pulp, and smeared it beside the bracelet. It alleviated somewhat.

Utilizing the "Ghost Doctor’s" medical skills and the "Wen Caishang" lineage’s healing arts, he applied medicine locally, attempting to slow blood and breath. Enhanced by "Consumption," the blood flow weakened by forty percent. Li Xian silently calculated the distance, hoping to make it to the "Willing Death Valley" before drying up. Yet what kind of situation Willing Death Valley holds, remains unknown, let alone how to handle it upon arrival.

Li Xian steadied his mind, "Since the cage bracelet has behaved strangely, even if I obediently return to the wooden abode, the tranquil pavilion constables will surely find me. So, regardless of the outcome, I must proceed into the darkness."

Breathing slowed, he moved while purging and replenishing his blood with every step, consuming any blood-nourishing herbs he encountered on the way.

After traveling several miles, he felt dizzy and was about to collapse; his face was pallid to the extreme. The cage bracelet, inlaid with silver silk of a special material, promoted bleeding. Li Xian’s efforts to struggle forward several miles were already a miracle. Ordinary martial artists would have fainted and fallen by the roadside.

But near Dongran Lake when near death, Li Xian had survived. In this perilous situation, he gritted his teeth to persevere, certain of overcoming. His will like iron, Heaven rewards diligence, his sleeves stained with blood, the blood trail left to be as it is. Traveling several more miles of mountain path, as he neared the "Willing Death Valley," guards grew sparse.

The "cage bracelet" contained two "Jade Hearts," intricately constructed, capable of sensing regional changes, affecting his body.

Li Xian, weary and frail, greatly depleted in blood and energy. Yet driven by willpower, he finally beheld a building. Entirely pitch-black, built adjoining the mountain. Behind the structure was a towering black gate, approximately forty-four yards high and wide, imposing and tall. The black gate housed two pitch-black dragon heads within, lifelike, eyes holding spirit. It’s said that while the dragon heads were cast from alien iron, the dragon eyes were genuine artifacts.

Inside is the "Willing Death Valley."

A queue formed before the building. About dozens of people, with varying expressions, some trembling in fear, some excited with anticipation, some bewildered and lost... At the forefront of the line was an old man, recording names of those arriving.

Willing Death Valley... Everyone entering the valley willingly gambles with their life. Some, with nowhere else to turn, naturally discover the Willing Death Valley, attempting to gamble with fate. Some are spotted by the "death persuaders", informed of the valley’s location, coaxed or enticed to come.

The arrayed queue includes merchants, beggars, women, children, scholars, youths... of all sorts, diverse and varied, with countless strange circumstances.

Li Xian rejoiced, positioning at the end of the line, observing silently. Those in front glanced back, seeing him covered in fresh blood, a filthy and weak appearance, they departed in shock.

The sky was pitch-black, the moon partially missing. Ghostly white moonlight shone on the mountain wall, accentuating the eerie coldness. Just then, the silver silk within the "cage bracelet" retracted, and the debt amount changed to "ten thousand one hundred taels" of silver.

It turns out... Jade City regards debt slaves as their property; for each drop of blood spilled during a slave’s escape, an additional monetary debt incurs. Li Xian, blood and energy depleted, relied on his formidable body, internal organs interconnected, sustaining him without collapse. Pausing now, the cage bracelet, not sensing positional change, ceased the bleeding.

It soon reached Li Xian’s turn. The old man routinely inquired, learning Li Xian’s identity as a debt slave, couldn’t help but glance up and inspect. Clicking his tongue, he saw the undeniable bloodstains across his entirety, even masking his appearance, obscuring his true form.

The old man thought, "I’ve seen many ready to die, yet... this appearance is a first."

The old man remarked in curiosity, "You, being a debt slave, how did you learn of this place?" Li Xian calmly replied, "A stroke of chance."

The old man said, "This situation is a first for me. As a debt slave entering the Willing Death Valley... have you made up your mind? If you earnestly pay your debts, freedom is still foreseeable. But entering the Willing Death Valley..."