Inventorying Resources

Jiang Zhiqiu looked at the many Golden Core techniques within the Scripture Repository and, for a moment, did not know which one to choose.

There was no doubt that, having cultivated to the Golden Core Realm, he possessed a Golden Core technique of his own.

Now that he had entered the Azure Cloud Sect, he naturally wanted to choose a technique better than his current one.

But with so many techniques available, he had no idea which ones were good and which were not.

After examining them for quite some time, he finally looked earnestly at Zhang Yang. "Eldest Senior Brother, do you have any suggestions?"

Zhang Yang glanced at Jiang Zhiqiu and asked, "What type of technique do you need?"

He had basically read through all the techniques here.

Before today, the Azure Cloud Sect had only had him as a disciple. He was even the successor Azure Cloud Master had chosen for the next generation. The entire Azure Cloud Sect was Zhang Yang's—what did it matter if he read a few techniques?

Jiang Zhiqiu was different.

Leaving aside the fact that Jiang Zhiqiu had entered the sect with prior training, even someone who had only just joined the sect had no right to casually browse its techniques.

Without asking further, Jiang Zhiqiu directly revealed his background. "When I reached Foundation Establishment, my Dao Seed was fire-attributed. But the Golden Core technique I obtained was wood-attributed. Although I can still cultivate it, it cannot fully bring out my talent. So if there is a fire-attributed technique, that would naturally be best."

Zhang Yang raised a hand and pointed at several Jade Slips. "These are all fire-attributed techniques: the Blazing Sun Technique, the Heaven-Burning Technique, the Nanmíng True Fire Art... You can choose any of them. As for which one, that is up to you. Speaking of which, I am rather curious—where did Junior Brother obtain the technique he cultivated?"

Jiang Zhiqiu hesitated for a while before saying, "To be honest, Senior Brother, my experiences are somewhat complicated.

When I was young, I encountered a Rogue Cultivator. Perhaps because my family circumstances were fairly good and I had some talent myself, Master took me in as his disciple, and I embarked upon the path of cultivation.

But my master had only happened to obtain a Foundation Establishment cultivation technique through a fortunate coincidence. He did not have any Golden Core Realm techniques either.

My Golden Core Realm technique was taken from another cultivator."

As he spoke, he selected the Blazing Sun Technique and read its contents.

Any technique displayed here should have been a good one, so he was not picky.

Zhang Yang shot Jiang Zhiqiu a glance. "So you are a genius after all!"

He silently added, And a ruthless one, too. Otherwise, Jiang Zhiqiu would not have achieved what he had today. A Rogue Cultivator without a master's guidance, who had fumbled his own way into Core Tempering, was indeed quite impressive.

Jiang Zhiqiu gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Senior Brother overpraises me. What kind of genius am I? Someone like Senior Brother is the true genius. If I am not mistaken, Senior Brother is probably only around twenty years old, correct? Yet this junior brother is already more than one hundred and thirty this year.

Moreover, because of the matter of seizing that technique, I offended someone and had no choice but to drift from place to place, always afraid of being discovered.

It was only after I arrived at Azure Cloud Market that I enjoyed more than twenty years of peace."

Only he himself knew how much bitterness lay within those experiences.

Zhang Yang was startled inwardly. This guy was over a hundred years old... Back in his previous life, he would have had to kneel and pay respects to an old grandfather over a hundred!

"Forget the Past," Zhang Yang said indifferently. "Once you join my Azure Cloud Sect, you are one of us. The sect will support you. Let us work together to make the Azure Cloud Sect flourish. And in that, we will need Junior Brother's efforts."

Jiang Zhiqiu hurriedly said, "I am willing to heed Eldest Senior Brother's orders!"

"The Azure Cloud Sect currently lacks people, and Azure Cloud Market still needs someone to manage it. You can cultivate at Qingyun Market anyway, so once you have chosen your technique, return there! If you encounter any problems in cultivation, when the uncle-masters are free, I will ask them to give you some guidance."

Although he had allowed Jiang Zhiqiu to choose a technique, Zhang Yang would not place Jiang Zhiqiu in an important position before he had gained his complete trust.

And Qingyun Market had needed someone to manage it in the first place. Jiang Zhiqiu had already run it for twenty years, making him the perfect choice.

"But now that you are a disciple of the sect, you cannot manage Qingyun Market as you did before." Zhang Yang said seriously to Jiang Zhiqiu, "Of Qingyun Market's income, fifty percent must be handed over to the sect, while another thirty percent must be used to develop Qingyun Market. As for the remaining twenty percent, that will be your compensation for your hard work."

Once the cultivation of the Azure Cloud Sect's disciples rose, the Azure Cloud Sect itself would also sell Pills, Talismans, magical treasures, and so on.

Those were all sources of sect income!

Jiang Zhiqiu nodded. "Then I shall follow Eldest Senior Brother's arrangements. If Eldest Senior Brother has no other matters, I will return to Qingyun Market first."

After Zhang Yang nodded, Jiang Zhiqiu flew toward Qingyun Market.

After watching Jiang Zhiqiu leave, Zhang Yang returned to Cloud Soaring Peak and found Ling Yunzi. "Uncle-Master, aside from Third Uncle-Master, Fifth Uncle, and Sixth Uncle, please invite the other two uncle-masters to come as well. While the disciples are busy with Foundation Establishment, we should thoroughly inventory the resources within the Azure Cloud Sect's territory."

Ling Yunzi sent out a message, and before long, Biling Zi and Baiyun Zi flew over. They looked at Zhang Yang curiously and asked, "What do you need us to do?"

Zhang Yang had given them ten thousand Spirit Stones, which had given them confidence in reform. Naturally, they were willing to take part in it.

Zhang Yang raised a hand and conjured a map of the lands surrounding the Azure Cloud Sect. Marking out several areas, he said with a smile, "Uncle-Master Ling Yun and I already inspected these regions the day before yesterday. What we need to do next is thoroughly inspect all the other regions as well.

The first thing to investigate is whether anyone has been secretly mining our mines. If we discover any, we must not only confiscate the minerals but also hold them accountable.

The second task is to take stock of the locations of every village and mark them down. These people will also be people of our Azure Cloud Sect in the future, and we must treat them well.

For now, we will only complete these two tasks. As for everything else, we can only take action after the other disciples have raised their cultivation."

He had many things to do, but he had to take them one step at a time.

Without another word, Biling Zi and Baiyun Zi each chose a direction and flew away.

Ling Yunzi glanced at Zhang Yang and said, "You should stay in the sect and keep busy. I can handle the resource inspection myself."

If he went alone, his sword flight would be much faster. Bringing Zhang Yang along would only tie his hands and feet.

Zhang Yang had not intended to go anyway. He had already set an example for everyone. The uncle-masters were highly cultivated and did not fear troublemakers, making them perfectly suited for inspecting resources. Besides, until Third Uncle-Master refined the Pills, the others would not achieve much even if they cultivated in seclusion.

After Ling Yunzi left, Zhang Yang returned to his own quarters and took out Spirit Stones to cultivate.

Although he had successfully formed his Golden Core, it still needed to be further strengthened.

Only when the Golden Core could grow no larger would he enter the realm of tempering the Golden Core.

Three days later, several disciples hurried to the small courtyard where Zhang Yang lived, interrupting his cultivation.

Zhang Yang walked out of the courtyard, looked at the three men and two women before him, and asked, "What is so urgent?"

The five of them all said, "Eldest Senior Brother, we have successfully completed Qi Gathering. Should we proceed to Body Refinement next? If we are to refine our bodies, may we receive herbs from the sect for tempering them?"