After the Nascent Soul ceremony, Divine Wind Island returned to its former tranquility, though a subtle change lay beneath the calm.
The most obvious change was in the ships coming and going. Previously, Divine Wind Island's harbor rarely saw a visiting ship even once every ten days or half a month. The occasional passing merchant vessel that docked for supplies would leave after only a brief stop.
Now, however, ships entered and left the harbor almost every day. Some came bearing gifts to forge connections, some came to negotiate trade, and others simply came to join them.
After hearing that Divine Wind Island had a Nascent Soul cultivator overseeing it, some wandering cultivators were tempted to join and traveled thousands of miles to try their luck.
Chen Ming welcomed them, but remained cautious. Every wandering cultivator who sought to join had to undergo an assessment first. Only after their character and cultivation met his standards would he admit them.
As for opportunists who merely wanted to cling to powerful connections and sponge off them, he politely refused them all, making no exceptions. In his words, "Divine Wind Island isn't a shelter. We don't take just anyone."
Wan Yao'er, meanwhile, spent most of her time consolidating her cultivation. Although she had successfully formed her Nascent Soul, her Early Nascent Soul Stage was not yet stable enough and needed prolonged refinement and tempering.
Apart from handling essential island affairs each day, she spent all her time cultivating in seclusion in her private chamber, unraveling the deeper mysteries of that mysterious inheritance.
Chen Ming busied himself with the island's daily management. As Divine Wind Island's reputation grew, more and more minor matters required his personal attention-approving new disciples' applications, coordinating resource allocations between departments, answering letters from various powers, arranging patrols and defensive