The Sudden Disturbance

"Most of the people are here, aren't they?"

Seated in the chair of honor, Ye Xiu cast a calm glance over the room. Ji Ye took out his terminal, aimed it at the crowd, and nodded.

"All cultivators with prior appointments have arrived. The doors outside have also been sealed. We can begin."

Under everyone's gaze, Ye Xiu still wore that faint smile. Those in the front rows who knew him well had long grown accustomed to his bearing, while many cultivators in the back who were here for the first time noticed that, even under the scrutiny of so many people, he did not change in the slightest. They could not help but feel a measure of admiration for his composure.

That was what a true great cultivator was like—Mount Tai could collapse before him, yet his expression would not change.

"The Alliance is busy with the current situation. I believe all of you had to make arrangements far in advance to find time to come here today."

"Since we are here to discuss serious matters, there is no need for so many pleasantries."

Ye Xiu rose calmly to his feet.

"The main purpose of today's gathering is to resolve the Alliance's greatest current difficulty."

"The shortage of manpower."

At those words, quite a few Alliance cultivators sat up straighter.

They had heard something of this matter before. Or rather, even without consulting anyone relevant, any cultivator who had truly worked at the Alliance's grassroots level could clearly understand where the problem lay.

Heyang City was developing at breakneck speed, gathering in all the independent cultivators scattered around it like a torrent of gold flooding through a riverbed. Yet it was desperately short of the relevant administrators.

As its nominal ruler, one of the Alliance's foremost priorities was maintaining