Down at the base of the ten-mile-tall Dry-Well Heaven-Pillar Tower, inside the bustling East Plaza Paving Zone, four grey-bearded old men in bright yellow “Dry-Well Debtor #99,001 — #99,004” vests were carefully tapping a square slab of purple spirit-stone into the sidewalk with rubber mallets.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
They were the Four Rank 6 Golden Core Sect Ancestors: - Ancestor Heaven-Lock of the former Heavenly-Lock Sect; - Ancestor Blood-Sword of the former Azure-Sword Sect; - Ancestor Pill-Fire of the former Pill-Cauldron Sect; - And Ancestor Gold-Bone of the former Joyous-Gold Sect!
Six months ago, these four proud Golden Core overlords had marched their allied armies to crush Dry-Well City—only to get flattened by Pei Xuan, handed a 100-Million-Spirit-Stone Property Damage & Road Repair Bill by Abacus Su, and sentenced to haul rocks and pave highways in yellow Debtor Vests until every last copper was paid off.
During their first week in debtor prison, the four old Ancestors had cried every night about the “humiliation” of supreme Golden Core immortals laying bricks for mortals.
During their second month, they had stopped crying because Old Guo’s three daily debtor canteen meals of Rank 5 Braised Spirit-Pork and Wagyu Meat-Potatoes actually tasted ten thousand times better than their old sects’ fasting pills.
