The Foundation Realm was completely different from the Qi Gathering Realm.
While being in the Qi Gathering Realm might mean that you were a cultivator to mortals, for cultivators, being in the Qi Gathering Realm meant that you were nothing more than a trainee.
Only those that were in the Foundation Realm would be considered true cultivators among fellow cultivators. After all, for them, the Foundation Realm really was the true beginnings of cultivation.
The Qi Gathering Realm was just for gathering spiritual energy that would allow you to cultivate. The Foundation Realm was where one built the foundation for all future cultivation, so it was where one actually began building a solid cultivation.
In fact, in most sects, outer disciples were treated as servants for inner disciples, core disciples, and elders. They were made to do most of the chores for the sect, in return for being taught a simple cultivation technique that would allow them to cultivate.
If the enemy was in the Foundation Realm, Lin Fan had no chance of facing them at all.
His only hope would be the Mercenary Guild.
After all these thoughts passed through his mind, Lin Fan shook them out with a sigh.
There really was no meaning to thinking about all this today since it would just make him worry. It was better for him to wait until he heard the Mercenary Guild's decision tomorrow.
So with these thoughts, Lin Fan headed to bed.
Of course, before heading to bed, he didn't forget to show the girls his "love". It was especially important since he needed to "dual cultivate" with Xiao Yue in case anything went wrong.
The next morning, there wasn't much for Lin Fan to do, so he chose to stay in and cultivate.
He normally didn't cultivate unless it was late at night since there were things that he needed to do, but this was one of those rare free days where he was able to cultivate during the day.
After cultivating until noon and having some lunch, Lin Fan headed off to the Mercenary Guild.
As he passed Xiao Yue on his way out, he took the key that she gave him.
It didn't take him long to get to the Mercenary Guild and when he arrived, he found Tian Tian and Lala waiting for him at the counter.
As he approached, he saw that both of them had their brows deeply knitted as if they were upset about something.
Tian Tian noticed Lin Fan as soon as he came over and without any hesitation, she explained what had happened in the meeting in the morning.
To put it simply, the Mercenary Guild would not be helping Lala.
The higher ups had decided that there were no benefits for helping protect Lala from her family, so they would be leaving everything to Lala herself and her family to sort out. If the Qian Family were to do something, the Mercenary Guild were even prepared to let Lala go as a receptionist to keep themselves from getting involved.
Lin Fan was filled with anger when he heard this. He slapped the table and asked Tian Tian, "Is the Mercenary Guild really that unwilling to protect its members?"
Tian Tian didn't say anything at first, but then she said with a sigh, "It's more complicated than that…It's because she's a receptionist that we have a problem."
Lin Fan revealed a confused look as he asked, "What's wrong with being a receptionist? Isn't she still a member of the Mercenary Guild?"
Tian Tian gave another sigh before saying, "Receptionists are only temporary workers of the guild, they aren't actual members of the guild. It could be said that they rank even lower than normal mercenaries. The only reason people are willing to be receptionists is because it's safer and earns more money than being a normal mercenary."
Lin Fan was even more confused when he heard this as he said, "But they're still part of the Mercenary Guild?"
Tian Tian shook her head and said, "A temporary worker versus a relationship with a sect that's just as strong as them, which one do you think that the Mercenary Guild would choose?"
Lin Fan fell silent when he heard this.
He didn't even need to think about it to know what the answer to this was, but that still didn't answer his question.
After a period of silence, Lin Fan asked, "Then what happens now?"
Tian Tian didn't answer right away and after a moment of hesitation, she said, "Well, there's a choice in front of us right now." Tian Tian took another pause there to turn to Lala before saying, "It's one that you have to make."
She paused once again before saying, "You can either become a mercenary again or you have to return to the Bai Family and solve this matter yourself."
Lala knitted her brows to think while Lin Fan revealed a confused look. He couldn't help asking, "How would her becoming a mercenary help?"
Tian Tian explained, "The Mercenary Guild is an organization that was set up for mercenaries, so naturally mercenaries have special protection rights. As long as she's a mercenary, the Mercenary Guild will have no choice but to support her even if the other side is a sect, or else the Mercenary Guild's reputation would be ruined." Then she gave a sigh and said, "The Mercenary Guild is an organization that relies on organization, so it will follow this rule no matter what."
Lin Fan gave a nod even though he didn't really understand what this meant, but he knew that it wasn't important if he knew or not. The most important thing was that the Mercenary Guild would protect Lala if she were to become a mercenary again.
Lala didn't reply, instead she looked at Lin Fan and asked him, "Can I join your group if I become a mercenary again?"
Lin Fan was surprised when he heard this, but then he said without any hesitation, "Of course."
Lala revealed a smile when she heard this and then she turned back to Tian Tian to say with a nod and a smile, "I'll return to being a mercenary again then."
Tian Tian revealed a smile as well as she looked at Lin Fan before turning back to Lala, "You made a good choice."
The tone that she spoke in made it clear that there was a deeper meaning to her words.
Lala revealed a blush when she heard this.
Meanwhile, Lin Fan was kept busy with the notification that had appeared.
[Lala has been moved by your words. Affection has increased by 20.]
Along with the 30 affection that Lin Fan had gotten previously, Lala's affection had been pushed to 50 which meant that it was over the line he needed to tame her.
Right after this first notification, there was a second notification that appeared.
[Target for taming has been detected. Does the host wish to tame Lala?]
Lin Fan hesitated a bit when he saw this, but then he confirmed it in his mind.
Since he had done all this, if Lala didn't become his in the end, then it would have all been a waste of time.
Lin Fan was a nice person, but if she was to follow him from now on, she would most likely learn his secrets. If she were to reveal these secrets to anyone…then he would be in grave danger.
So the only way to make sure that he was safe was to tame her.
Most importantly of all, the main reason he had helped her in the first place was because he liked her and wanted her as his woman. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone as far as helping her this much and would have just ended their relationship last night.
After all, it wasn't worth antagonizing an entire sect just for one woman.
After he confirmed it, there was the same glow of light that appeared around Lala as when he tamed all his other pets. That glow only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing.
Then Lala's information appeared in Lin Fan's system interface.
At the same time, the way that Lala looked at Lin Fan had changed.
She didn't know what it was, but when she looked at him now, she felt that there was something that was different about him. It was as if there was a new sense of trust that she felt towards him.
However, that wasn't the end of this matter just yet since there was still a problem to deal with.
After registering Lala as a mercenary, Tian Tian said, "While this will stop the Blizzard Sect and the Qian Family's first young master from taking action, that won't stop the Qian Family from taking personal action since this is a disgrace for them."
Lala revealed a worried look as she asked, "What about the Bai Family? Will they be alright?"
Lin Fan knitted his brows when he heard this.
Her family had sold her to the Qian Family and she was still worrying about them. While Lin Fan was a kind person, he was also someone that believed that people should receive what they deserve and the Bai Family clearly didn't deserve a good ending.
But he still understood that she was worried since that was her family.
Tian Tian said, "The Mercenary Guild has mediated with the Bai Family and they have cut relations with you. So of course the Qian Family won't seek retribution with them."
Lala revealed a surprised look before saying, "Ah."
Tian Tian then said, "Your mother has been moved to a safe place as well, away from the Bai Family."
Lala then let out a sigh of relief before saying, "Thank you."
She didn't say anything else on this matter.
Lin Fan realized that he had been wrong about Lala. It wasn't that she was worried about the Bai Family, she was just worried about her mother.
His image of the Bai Family came from Lala's father, so he didn't actually know about her mother. It seemed like it was better not to judge a book by its cover since every family had different members.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦