Recruiting an Army Is Fun; Logistics Are Hell

"And it obeyed my every command. So smooth."

If he had not been a transmigrator, Lin Fan might have called it seamless. But as someone who had come from the modern world, he felt "smooth" better matched the sensation at this moment.

His hand slowly shifted through different gestures, and the Earth Core Demonic Fire roamed across his palm as though dancing.

"Impressive."

"And just as I guessed, when I share the strength of disciples with A-Grade talents or above, it isn't just their cultivation realm. I can share all their techniques as well."

"What they know, I know. What they don't know, I know too!"

At that moment, Lin Fan felt incomparably exhilarated.

The Earth Core Demonic Fire had originally been one of a kind, but now it had been doubled outright, split into two. Xiao Ling'er could use it, and so could he—and they could use it at the same time!

As for alchemy, he had originally understood nothing at all.

But now, memories and experience had appeared in his mind out of nowhere. As long as he wished it, he could refine pills at any time, and he would not be inferior to Xiao Ling'er, who had painstakingly studied alchemy, in the slightest.

"Cultivation realms, combat skills, cultivation techniques, battle experience, and so on. Even support skills can be shared."

"Perhaps, for now, the only thing that can't be shared is external items?"

"Such as equipment."

Lin Fan quickly analyzed many details.

Then he chuckled.

Happily, he picked up a Core Condensation Pill and prepared to swallow it.

But Third Elder Li Changshou suddenly poked his head in. "Sect Master, I discovered..."

"Hm?!"

The moment the words left his mouth, his eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the pill in Lin Fan's hand. "A Seventh Grade Core Condensation Pill?"

"Sect Master, this pill of yours?!!!"

"Where did it come from?"

"Xiao Ling'er refined it." Lin Fan smiled. "She has a great talent for alchemy."

"This is far more than great?!"

Li Changshou's lips twitched, and he was utterly shocked. "This is the bearing of an unmatched genius! She has only just broken through to the Core Condensation Realm, yet she can already refine Seventh Grade pills. Even Fourth Tier or Fifth Tier alchemists have an extremely low success rate when refining pills of this quality."

"Still, if she happened upon a stroke of fortune and refined one such batch, it would not be entirely unacceptable."

He comforted himself this way.

Otherwise, it was simply too difficult to imagine what kind of monster could accomplish such a thing.

Yet Lin Fan said faintly, "It wasn't a coincidence."

"Huh?!"

"Sect Master, you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. When she gave me these pills, she looked very relaxed. She even told me to distribute them among our fellow disciples. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like a coincidence. And in this jade bottle..."

Pointing at the jade bottle, Lin Fan muttered, "There should be around a hundred or so left?"

"What?!"

Li Changshou shuddered. "A hundred or so Seventh Grade Core Condensation Pills? Even if there were nine pills per batch, that would still, still take!!!"

"Gasp!!!"

He sucked in a breath of cold air.

At that moment, four words lodged in his throat, demanding to be spoken.

"Terrifying indeed!"

But even more terrifying was...

How exactly had the Sect Master selected Xiao Ling'er from among those ten thousand people?!

At the time, she had clearly kept a low profile and revealed no advantage whatsoever.

No, rather, what basis had the Sect Master had for establishing those strange rules?!

No matter how one looked at them, they were utterly chaotic, with no discernible basis at all. Yet relying on one of those rules, he had selected the ordinary-looking Xiao Ling'er from among ten thousand people.

In the end, the facts proved that Xiao Ling'er's talent was monstrously powerful!

Even when the Moon Embracing Sect had been at its peak, it had likely never possessed such a monstrous disciple.

If Xiao Ling'er knew how to repay kindness and did not die young, then might the Moon Embracing Sect truly have a chance to restore its former glory?

At the very least, while Xiao Ling'er lived, the Moon Embracing Sect's status would not be too low, right?

Thinking of this, Li Changshou grew even more excited, but the look he gave Lin Fan also became more complicated.

At the same time, he could not help thinking more deeply...

"There are dozens of conditions in the new disciple recruitment rules. Fulfilling just one can produce a monster like Xiao Ling'er. If someone fulfilled several, would they not possess an invincible bearing, capable of suppressing an entire era?"

"Even if no one can fulfill several conditions, as long as we find more people who fulfill one of them and take them as disciples, wouldn't the Moon Embracing Sect's status and reputation soar ever higher? It wouldn't take long to achieve a 'great revival'?!"

"Gasp!"

Drawing another sharp breath, Li Changshou murmured, "A monster. Truly a monster. If Xiao Ling'er is willing, she could carry our entire sect forward in the days to come."

"And..."

He looked at Lin Fan again. "Sect Master, I fear you also possess astonishing talent, only we have been unable to discover it. After all, how could ordinary people experience enlightenment and breakthroughs one after another like this?"

"There's hope!"

"The Moon Embracing Sect has hope."

Seeing Third Elder Li Changshou grow increasingly excited until he was muttering things too indistinct to hear, Lin Fan could not help coughing lightly. "Third Elder."

"Third Elder?"

"What did you come here for?"

"Ah!!!"

Only then did Li Changshou come back to his senses. "This old man has lost his composure."

He barely managed to compose himself. "Sect Master, our resources are becoming difficult to sustain."

"The bulk has all been supplied to Ling'er, but the other disciples also need some resources. We have been working outside these past few days, but it has only been a drop in the bucket."

"Spirit herbs, materials, and the like can still be supplied."

"But Origin Stones..."

They had originally intended to solve the problem themselves, but in the end, they could not, and could only report it to him.

What Xiao Ling'er currently needed most were not Origin Stones, but all sorts of spirit herbs and materials.

Since Xiao Ling'er was only in the Core Condensation Realm, the materials she needed were not particularly rare. And because the elders were all in the Cave Heaven Realm, they could run about outside and obtain enough for her use.

But the other disciples needed Origin Stones.

Though their talents were mediocre and their value as mascots outweighed their practical value, they were still sect disciples. They could not simply be ignored.

Even if they were made Outer Sect Disciples and assigned odd jobs?

They could hardly make Personal Disciples, elders, or even the Sect Master do such things.

For example, if they made Personal Disciples serve as "door-closing disciples," then who would serve as the door-opening disciples?

"Moreover, Origin Stones are needed to maintain the sect's formations and so on."

Li Changshou smiled bitterly.

Most stronger third-rate sects had their own Origin Stone Veins. Though small, they were generally sufficient for their own use.

But the Moon Embracing Sect was dirt poor, so naturally it had none.

They could only earn them bit by bit.

"This really is a problem."

Lin Fan frowned slightly.

One never understood how expensive daily necessities were until one managed a household. He truly did not know much about the sect's specific Origin Stone expenditures.

But he had played far too many games and understood these routines all too well.

Especially management games like this.

Recruiting troops was naturally necessary, but the economy could not collapse either. Otherwise, they would be left helpless and unable to turn anywhere. Even in Red Alert, one had to build more ore refineries and seize a few more oil fields.

Seizing an Origin Stone mine was highly unrealistic given the Moon Embracing Sect's current strength.

Robbery and plunder were even less worth considering. During the Novice Period, he could not casually provoke trouble, especially not if it made him a Red Name.

Then they could only start with resources produced by their own sect.

Speaking of resources...

Lin Fan looked at the pill still resting in his palm, which he had yet to swallow, and raised an eyebrow.