Patriarch Qingxuan also wanted to hear whether Sun Yi had any other ideas, so he asked, “Anything else?”
Sun Yi immediately began his performance. “Of course. I also plan to open the Scripture Library to every member of the sect. All the texts inside can be read freely, though anything involving sect secrets must be hidden away beforehand.”
Qingxuan froze for a moment and looked at him in confusion. “Open it to everyone? Without charging sect contribution points?”
“Yes, Patriarch. Let every member choose suitable cultivation methods, combat arts, and secret techniques. It will broaden their horizons, quickly raise their strength, and increase their loyalty. Of course, there still need to be limits.”
“In my view, the Scripture Library is tied to the sect’s great work of training disciples. If the sect wants to develop, it absolutely cannot use the Scripture Library to squeeze resources out of its own disciples. It must be open to them.”
“How can a sect develop if it wants to grow while refusing to let its disciples cultivate good techniques?”
The five elders, including Elder Jin Jue, no longer felt like speaking. They let Sun Yi play this however he wanted.
“Of course, the sect’s very best cultivation methods, combat arts, and secret techniques will only have their first halves made public. Anyone who wants to cultivate the later portions must first pass the sect’s assessment.”
Only then did Patriarch Qingxuan nod. That was more like it. If even the sect’s top techniques, combat arts, and secret arts were released outright, even he would hesitate.
“In addition, we need to encourage innovation inside the sect.”
“What do you mean by encourage innovation?” Qingxuan asked, looking at Sun Yi curiously.
Sun Yi hurried to explain. “Patriarch, the reason our Qingyun Sect’s Miscellaneous Arts Hall has kept declining is that our products have no competitiveness in the market. In pills, anything we can refine, Seven Star Tower can refine too. They occupy most of the market, and their costs are lower than ours. Ordinary cultivators will definitely choose Seven Star Tower’s products. After all, they are a major brand.”
“What major brand?” Qingxuan’s face filled with confusion. Clearly, he could not understand this Earthling term.
Sun Yi continued, “Take the same Qi Gathering Pill. One is refined by our Qingyun Sect, and the other is refined by Seven Star Tower. If the price is the same, a normal cultivator will choose the Qi Gathering Pill refined by Seven Star Tower. Seven Star Tower is the pill brand. It has a bigger name and makes cultivators trust it more.”
“If we want to compete with Seven Star Tower, we need to produce our own distinctive products. That requires encouraging our members to innovate and create unique new products: pills that increase a cultivator’s lifespan, pills that raise the odds of a breakthrough, things like that. In any case, our sect needs its own core technology.”
“Besides pills, spirit artifacts and talismans also need innovation. If the Miscellaneous Arts Hall wants to go far, it needs products that belong to us alone.” This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
“The members of the Miscellaneous Arts Hall should also be graded. The higher the grade, the richer the rewards.”
“In the future, even cultivation methods, arts, and secret techniques should encourage innovation. If any member creates a new method, new art, or new secret technique, they should receive a generous reward.”
Patriarch Qingxuan smiled and nodded, looking quite interested. “A very interesting idea.”
“Hmph. Mere grandstanding!” Elder Jin Jue could not help snorting.
Sun Yi looked at Elder Jin Jue and asked with a smile, “Elder Jin Jue, what do you think is most important for a sect’s development?”
Elder Jin Jue answered without hesitation, “Talented cultivators, of course. Only by securing more talented cultivators can a sect grow stronger.”
Sun Yi raised his right index finger and shook it, rejecting the answer outright. “Completely wrong. For a sect, the most important thing should be resources. To put it another way, financial power. That means spirit stones. In ordinary people’s words, money!”
“All the resources in the sect treasury are the Qingyun Sect’s financial power. Think about it. If that financial power increased tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold, ten thousandfold, what kind of scene would that be? At that point, the five of you Golden Core elders could attempt to break through to Nascent Soul as you wished.”
“With enough resources, what kind of talented disciple could we fail to recruit?”
At the temptation of reaching Nascent Soul, the eyes of all five Golden Core elders shone. But they quickly came back to themselves. This was only a big empty promise Sun Yi had drawn for them.
“The Qingyun Sect’s current income is extremely limited, while our resources are consumed without pause. So we must open new sources of wealth and continuously provide the Qingyun Sect with financial power. The problem I said I would solve within one year is meant to open a major source of revenue for the sect. But that alone is not enough. The Miscellaneous Arts Hall must also work together on this.”
“Easy to say. How could gaining resources be as simple as you make it sound?” Elder Han Yun stared coldly at Sun Yi.
Sun Yi spread his hands and smiled casually. “Of course it isn’t easy, but we cannot refuse to act just because something is difficult. I said we should overcome difficulties and achieve our goals. I will make the detection radar as quickly as possible. If that thing can replace divine sense in the forbidden zone, we can obtain resources from there. And as long as the Miscellaneous Arts Hall can create irreplaceable products that belong to Qingyun Sect, we will have succeeded.”
“Detection radar? What is that thing?” The elders and Patriarch Qingxuan almost ignored the idea outright. A third level Qi Refining cultivator wanted to make a treasure that could replace divine sense in a forbidden zone? He was dreaming.
“After internal reform, I will also need the sect elders to lead teams to pacify the demons and evils of Chaos Demon Commandery and unify the entire commandery. Every human city must have Qingyun Sect disciples stationed there to guard it. At the same time, we need to help them solve problems: bringing rain during droughts, controlling floods, and so on. We also need to build a square in the center of every city and erect a transmission stele there. We will choose cultivation methods from the Scripture Library, carve their first halves onto the steles, and let the humans in those cities cultivate them. The Qingyun Sect disciples stationed in the cities must regularly explain the key points of the methods to ordinary people.”
“What? You want us cultivators to protect those lowly mortals? And do you think Chaos Demon Commandery is that easy to unify? Do you take Black Wind Stockade and Evil Spirit Valley for decorations?” Elder Ye Luo widened his eyes and stared at Sun Yi in disbelief. Shock appeared on everyone else’s faces as well. Even Patriarch Qingxuan looked puzzled.
Seeing their reactions, Sun Yi sighed inwardly. This was how the cultivation world was. Cultivators always acted high above everyone else. They generally did not take ordinary mortals seriously. In their eyes, mortals were ants, not even worth a second glance, let alone spending energy to protect.
Sun Yi stared coldly at Elder Ye Luo and questioned him in a deep voice. “Lowly mortals? It seems Elder Ye Luo has forgotten that before you cultivated, you were also a mortal. What gives you the right to look down on mortals?” You are reading on novelping(.)com, the official source.
“Hmph. I am different from those lowly mortals. I was born into a cultivation clan,” Elder Ye Luo said proudly.
Sun Yi pressed him, “Then how did your cultivation clan come into being? Did it not develop from a mortal at the beginning? A cultivator cannot forget his roots. The foundation of any sect is mortals. I want to unify Chaos Demon Commandery, protect human cities, and have our members preach the Dao in those cities in order to build an unmatched foundation for Qingyun Sect.”
“Once Qingyun Sect protects those cities and those ordinary people, if one day we recruit disciples from those places, those disciples will thank Qingyun Sect from the heart because we protected their hometowns and their loved ones. They will identify with Qingyun Sect, and from then on they will be loyal to Qingyun Sect.”
“I checked some of the sect’s records. Over the past hundred years, it is not that our sect never recruited top-tier talents. But most of those geniuses were either poached by other sects at a high price or left the sect during sect wars. What use is it to recruit talented cultivators like that? It only wastes the sect’s resources.”
“I believe that when training disciples, the first thing to look at is loyalty to the sect. Second are perseverance and determination. Talent comes last. We have already suffered losses for so many years. I do not want the sect to raise another pack of ingrates in the future, so we must solve this problem from the root.”
“I heard that Patriarch also has a top-grade spirit root and outstanding aptitude. Back then, many sects promised enormous benefits to poach you away, but Patriarch’s character was noble. You were not moved by profit. You were loyal to the sect and recognized from the heart that you were part of Qingyun Sect. No matter what hardships the sect later faced, you never chose to leave. The Qingyun Sect needs disciples as upright and noble as you, Patriarch. If all our members were like that, why would we ever worry that the sect could not grow strong?”
Patriarch Qingxuan smiled, his gaze toward Sun Yi filled with appreciation. Sun Yi had spoken too well, especially the parts praising him. Qingxuan listened until his face glowed red, feeling almost as if he were floating.
Sun Yi secretly glanced at Qingxuan. Seeing how pleased the patriarch looked, he thought, I’ve flattered you this hard, Patriarch. Aren’t you going to settle my position as sect leader already?
Qingxuan seemed to notice Sun Yi’s little expression, but he did not intend to fuss over it. He stood directly, his bearing imposing as he said, “Well said. I had almost forgotten. When I was still a mortal, my hometown suffered a flood, and my family and friends were trapped in misery. My master happened to pass by, calmed the flood, and saved my loved ones. That is why, after I joined Qingyun Sect, I never once thought of leaving. I have always treated this place as my home. Sun Yi, your decision to send people to protect mortals is very good. I support it.”
“Also, since you have the will and the ability, I will give you a chance. You can try being the new sect leader. If you fail to meet my requirements within one year, I will personally kick you down from that position! But this matter you raised, unifying Chaos Demon Commandery, will be very difficult. Black Wind Stockade and Evil Spirit Valley are no weaker than us. Do you have a way to deal with them?”
Sun Yi was overjoyed. “Rest assured, Patriarch. I have my own plans. Protecting mortal cities and building the sect’s foundation can only be carried out after Black Wind Stockade and Evil Spirit Valley are dealt with.”
His position as sect leader was finally secure. His small goal had been achieved. With his arms wrapped tightly around Patriarch Qingxuan’s thigh, who in Qingyun Sect would dare cause him trouble in the future?
But when he looked at the five Golden Core elders in the hall, all of them wearing unfriendly expressions, and felt the killing intent in their gazes, he knew that if he did not obtain their full support, the follow-up work would be hard to carry out. He might even fail to keep his little life.
They had taken the stick, so it was time to give them a piece of candy to steady them. Although he had just offended all five of them, as long as the benefits were enough, even the enemy who killed one’s father might cooperate. What did this little conflict count for?
Sun Yi had racked his brains and spent enormous effort to compete for this position as sect leader. He could not have himself plotted against the moment he took the seat. As for the benefits that would steady the five Golden Core elders, Sun Yi had already thought them through.
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