Li Shouyi looked at the people kneeling on the ground and sank into thought.
On the Mountain Peak, amid birdsong and fragrant flowers, hundreds of people knelt on the ground, anxiously awaiting Li Shouyi's answer.
After a while, Li Shouyi said gravely, "Get up first."
"If you won't agree, Senior, we won't get up."
"If you don't get up, I won't agree."
At his words, the faces of the hundreds present instantly lit up with excitement, and they shouted, "Thank you for granting our wish, Senior!"
"No, thank you for granting our wish, Master!"
As their ringleader, Wu Suowei was naturally quick on the uptake.
Once he stood, he noticed the incense planted on the table and the plaque bearing the words "Useless Talent Sect." A gleam flashed through his eyes, and he asked Li Shouyi, "Master, could today happen to be the day you're founding your sect?"
"That's right. Today marks the official founding of our Useless Talent Sect."
"I'm your second senior sister! Come on, hurry up and greet me!"
Su Wan'er jumped in with the answer again, planting her hands on her hips and regarding everyone with pride.
Hearing this, Wu Suowei immediately smiled at Su Wan'er. "Greetings, Second Senior Sister."
Then he smiled at Li Shouyi. "Master, this is your disciple's apprenticeship gift. Please accept it."
Wu Suowei's actions seemed to open the floodgates.
Smiling, the group formed a long line before Li Shouyi and began presenting their gifts.
But Li Shouyi wasn't happy in the slightest. In fact, his expression looked rather ugly.
System notification: Because the disciples the host has accepted do not meet the requirements, the next mission's difficulty has increased by +1. +1, +1, +1...
The string of system notifications made Li Shouyi's face grow darker and darker.
System notification: The difficulty of accepting your next disciple has increased by two hundred and thirty-four years. System notification: The next disciple the host accepts must be a useless talent seen only once in eight hundred years to trigger a mission.
When Su Wan'er, Lin Shuishui, and their fellow disciple saw that Li Shouyi could no longer hold all the gifts, they stepped forward to share his burden.
"A hundred thousand, two hundred thousand—wow, wow!"
"We're rich! We're rich!"
When the two women opened the Storage Bags and saw the Spirit Stones inside, their eyes instantly turned into dollar signs: $.
Their delighted cries snapped the dark-faced Li Shouyi out of his thoughts.
He looked at Su Wan'er and said gravely, "You wayward disciple, you just said you could manage all these people, didn't you?"
"Huh? Yes, yes! Don't worry, Master. I can definitely manage them all."
Hearing her master's voice, Su Wan'er hurriedly pulled herself out of the bliss of counting money.
Although Su Wan'er didn't lack money, she loved the feeling of counting it.
Lin Shuishui, meanwhile, took it to another level.
She counted like this: "One roast chicken, two roast chickens..."
Yes, there was no doubt about it. This was a silly girl who could never forget roast chicken.
"Good. Make arrangements for them in a bit. Your master needs some peace and quiet."
With that, Li Shouyi instantly swept the Storage Bags in front of the two women into his own storage space.
Then he mounted his Flying Sword and vanished in a streak of light.
"Second Senior Sister? What's wrong with Master?"
Seeing Li Shouyi leave without a trace of expression, Wu Suowei was deeply puzzled.
"It's fine. This is probably the first time in his life Master has received so much money, so he wants somewhere quiet to count it in secret."
"But don't worry. Master gave me all the instructions before he left."
"From now on, I'm in charge of all your arrangements."
"You?"
Wu Suowei began to panic.
Sure enough, Su Wan'er's next words left him utterly speechless.
"All you newcomers, every last one of you! I'm the banker today. Hurry up and place your bets!"
As they watched Su Wan'er expertly pull a massive table from her Spatial Ring, those who already knew her reputation—
Their eyes instantly lit up. Is the Gambling Goddess planning to give back all the gifts we just handed over?
"Place your bets! The more you bet, the more you win! Hurry up!"
Su Wan'er had already begun shaking the Dice with practiced ease, even planting one foot on the table.
She looked every inch a street tough.
Right then, she was thinking that while all these people were here—
I need to hurry up and establish karmic ties with them. That way, my cultivation can rise quickly!
And just like that, what had been an exceedingly solemn sect-founding day turned into a mass gambling session in the blink of an eye.
"Eldest Senior Sister, don't we need to order a batch of identification tokens?"
"Third Junior Sister, I'm so sleepy! I'll answer that question after I wake up."
Ignoring the still-puzzled Pei Zhujiu, Lin Shuishui turned and returned to the Thatched Hut, where she began sleeping soundly.
For some reason today—
She felt as though she was about to break through.
Seeing everyone else busy while she stood there blankly, Pei Zhujiu felt utterly lost.
But her confusion lasted only a moment, because she could no longer suppress her craving for alcohol.
Then she flew straight toward the nearby mountain folk. Like Su Wan'er's and Lin Shuishui's abilities, Drunken Dream of Life and Death came with its own system.
So she had no need to learn how to fly. For Pei Zhujiu, Su Wan'er, and Lin Shuishui to improve their cultivation—
All they needed to do was continue deepening their understanding of their respective Daos.
At a tavern, Li Shouyi ran into his third disciple.
"Wow, Master! You came drinking without inviting me?"
Seeing Li Shouyi's face already flushed from drinking, Pei Zhujiu immediately sat beside him, lifted a jar of wine, and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
"Oh, it's Zhujiu!"
"W-what brings you here?"
After speaking, Li Shouyi let out a drunken belch toward Pei Zhujiu.
"Master, you promised I'd have more wine than I could drink every day. This is already the fourth day."
"If I didn't come out to find something to drink, I probably wouldn't even be able to walk straight."
After a few mouthfuls of wine, Pei Zhujiu immediately felt vitality return to her body.
Looking at the bleary-eyed Li Shouyi, she asked in confusion, "Master, why are you drunk?"
"Is it because you accepted so many disciples today that you're too happy?"
"Heh!"
"Happy, my big chicken drumstick! I couldn't explain it to a little drunkard like you anyway. Fine!"
"Drink as much as you like today. When you're done, you can take some away. Your master will cover it all."
"Really?"
Pei Zhujiu's eyes lit up. Turning to the tavern keeper, she shouted, "Bring out all the wine you have! My master's paying today!"
"Right away! Please wait a moment, honored guest!"
But once the tavern keeper brought out all the wine, while Pei Zhujiu was excitedly packing it into her Spatial Ring—
Li Shouyi slipped away.
At that moment, he thought, You wayward disciple, you actually expect me to foot the bill?
Go dream your grand spring-and-autumn dreams!
I thought you were a good disciple at first. Good grief.
But what happened? Not only did you disappoint your master, you went straight ahead and broke the records your two senior sisters left behind.
In less than six hours, you shot all the way up to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
From outside the door, Li Shouyi watched Pei Zhujiu diligently packing wine into her Spatial Ring.
A cold smile curled his lips as he murmured, "Today, I'll let you, my wayward disciple, learn just how treacherous the human heart can be..."
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