Not only did the arrangement of the debt payment plan make it difficult for them to save up to pay back the debt, but it also meant that if they delayed for too long, it was possible for them to pay more than five times the 100,000 energy stones.
This arrangement made it so that the minimum amount that they would have to pay is 100,000, and this would only be the case if they pay the debt before the end of the first month of joining the sect.
If they wait up to 10 years to finish paying the debt, they would need to pay an extra 120,000 energy stones in interest. And if they waited up to 50 years before they finish paying the debt, they would need to pay 600,000 energy stones in interest alone.
So the earlier they paid off the debt, the better. Of course, it was easy to come to this conclusion. Putting this conclusion into action and paying early is another matter that might be beyond their hands.
While some of them were reeling about this, someone broke down beside them and began shouting, "How come I owe 421,000 energy stones? I just joined the sect. Where did the extra debt come from?"
Another person looked bewildered as he said, "I too got an extra 134,000 energy stones in debt. Where did it come from?"
Tommy saw this and shook his head in pity as he said, "It looks like fellow cultivators’ previous lifetimes weren’t so great. You’d better start earning money as soon as possible to pay off the interest, or the sect will come after you."
For the first time, Tommy showed genuine emotion. His pity for the two men was genuine without a trace of deceit. Of course, this didn’t mean that he wouldn’t take advantage of the situation to fleece them.
He planned to grant them what appears to be a lucrative opportunity, but it would only sink them into more debt. But before he did that, he explained to them the concept of lifetimes, so that they would know where the extra debt was coming from.
Tommy was their guide, so it was his job to help them settle down. For now, he appeared to be doing his job well. But Loki didn’t buy it at all. He took everything Tommy said with a grain of salt and caution.
However, the more Loki thought about the situation, the more he realized that he had more serious things to deal with than Tommy’s shifty personality. He was worried about the afterlife debt system and how it could be exploited by the sect to enslave everyone in the sect.
So, after Tommy was done explaining the concept of reincarnation to them, Loki asked him, saying, "How can we verify that we truly owe the sect the amount the sect says we owe? After all, we can’t even remember that we had a last life?"
In response, Tommy shrugged and said, "There is no way to know. The sect won’t even reveal the identity of our last life. The higher ups of the sect said this was to protect us by severing the bad karma from our last life and preventing the enemies who killed us from finding us again for more retribution."
"I have to say that I agree with this. Imagine that your enemy in your last life is a rank 3 or even a rank 4 cultivator. If they know that you’ve reincarnated and rejoined the sect, I bet they will come rushing over to roast you to death again, and there will be nothing you can do to stop them."
"Besides, the accounting system of the sect isn’t all that bad. They will also protect all the money that you earned in your last life and return it all to you free of charge. And the sect bank in charge of our accounts and debts has sworn to never cheat anyone."
"Because of all of these things, I can only blame you for not doing well in your last life. You didn’t leave money, so you have only yourself to blame."
This made Loki sigh and say, "At this rate, they might actually become slaves forever and ever."
But then he chuckled and said, "On the plus side, this much debt on your neck will help you refine your Dao Heart faster."
His words made Tommy burst out laughing. The other six didn’t have the heart to laugh, though. They all had a grim look on their faces. Only Tommy was in a good mood and could afford to laugh.
As he laughed, he said, "You’re right. They call it the Sky Raising technique, but it should be called the Debt Raising technique."
Loki also laughed and said, "And they call it the Four Directions Sect when they should call it the Debt Direction Sect. You come for the power, but you leave with the debt."
He made more puns about the terrible debt situation of the sect that made Tommy laugh and slap his thighs. The more he spoke, the more Tommy laughed.
Eventually, Tommy begged him, saying, "No more. No more. Let’s go, or we will really be crippled by debts."
Loki chuckled because the words "crippled by debts" made him think of more funny things to say. But he kept quiet and did as Tommy said.
As they were leaving the sect, Tommy said to him, "I’m surprised that you can remain so composed after learning of a sudden 100,000 energy stones awakening debt. Not many people can remain that composed when they are hit by unexpected debt."
To this, Loki chuckled and said, "Someone else already told me about it, so I was mentally prepared."
As he said this, he saw Jim walk away with a new member of the Death Claw Society in tow. This reminded him of everything Jim had said to him, including what he said about how nothing in the world was free.