The third day of the competition in recruited disciples' aptitude.
Sect World.
Lin Feng had just awakened in the sect master's cave abode when he received several reward notifications from Sect World.
[Congratulations to the Evergreen Sect on advancing from a mortal sect to a Qi Refining sect. Rewards obtained: low-grade Spirit Stones ×1,000, Low-Grade Yellow-Rank Spirit Gathering Array blueprint ×1, low-grade yellow-rank cultivation method "Tiger Roar Fist" ×1, low-grade yellow-rank spirit grain seeds ×100, low-grade yellow-rank healing pills ×30, sect mountain-protecting grand formation blueprint (low-grade yellow-rank) ×1.] [Congratulations to the Evergreen Sect on becoming the first sect in Sect World No. 999 to advance to a Qi Refining sect. Additional rewards obtained: middle-grade Spirit Stones ×100, Storage Bag (9 cubic meters) ×1, rare Spirit Root testing jade disc (high-grade Law Artifact) ×1, spirit spring source (E-grade) ×1.] [Low-Grade Yellow-Rank Spirit Gathering Array blueprint: collect materials to construct a low-grade Spirit Gathering Formation, increasing Spiritual Qi concentration within a small area by 10%.] [Low-grade yellow-rank spirit grain seeds: plant to harvest crops containing a small amount of Spiritual Qi.] [Low-grade yellow-rank healing pills: consume to heal injuries to a minor degree.] [Sect mountain-protecting grand formation (low-grade yellow-rank): once deployed, it can withstand, at most, an all-out strike from a cultivator at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.] [Rare Spirit Root testing jade disc: can test aptitude more accurately.] [Spirit spring source (E-grade): once placed within the sect, it can increase the sect's Spiritual Qi concentration by 5%.]
In addition, there was a notification from the Entry System:
[Congratulations on your sect advancing to a Qi Refining sect. Sect entry slots +1. Current number of equippable sect entries: 2. Number of equipped entries: 1.]
A string of reward notifications appeared in Lin Feng's mind.
There were rewards for the sect's advancement, rewards for being the first to advance to a Qi Refining sect, and a notification from the Entry System.
Before Lin Feng even had time to rejoice, he received another server-wide announcement:
[Server 999 announcement: congratulations to the Evergreen Sect on advancing to a Qi Refining sect and obtaining generous rewards.]
The moment this announcement appeared, every sect in World No. 999 was dumbfounded.
The Server 999 chat channel once again erupted in a flood of messages.
[Falling Cloud Sect Master: buddy from the Evergreen Sect, get out here! Who's going to believe you aren't cheating?] [Fire God Sect Master: the Evergreen Sect only recruited a disciple with a supreme-grade Spirit Root yesterday, and today they broke through to the Qi Refining Realm? Even a legendary immortal spiritual root couldn't pull that off, could it?] [Azure Cloud Sect Master: according to publicly available data, the average time required for a supreme-grade Spirit Root to break through to the Qi Refining Realm is three months. Even a heavenly spiritual root takes an average of one month to enter the Qi Refining Realm.] [Dao Inquiry Sect Master: you said it yourself, that's the average. Maybe they were just one step away! That personal disciple of mine will probably break through to the Qi Refining Realm in another day! What a shame I missed being the first to advance to a Qi Refining sect!] [Azure Cloud Sect Master: but the Evergreen Sect is an E-grade sect. Going by its rating, the Spiritual Qi concentration around it should be far lower than ours too. Breaking through to Qi Refining in one day under those conditions? Cheating! Definitely cheating!] [Daoxuan Sect Master: fuck! Where the hell did this Evergreen Sect come from? They actually broke through to the Qi Refining Realm before my sect's personal disciple, Chen Xuanli! I refuse to accept this. I demand to check their cards!] [Minor Hehuan Sect: even the big shot at the top of the disciple recruitment points leaderboard got overtaken? This E-grade Evergreen Sect has something going for it!] [Dao Inquiry Sect Master: @Daoxuan Sect Master: your sect's Chen Xuanli broke through to the Qi Refining Realm too?] [Daoxuan Sect Master: yes, just now! I'm so pissed! I thought the reward for being the first Qi Refining sect was nailed down, but then this Evergreen Sect came charging out of nowhere!] [Dao Inquiry Sect Master: fuck! There are quite a few ox demons and snake spirits in this batch! If I'd known, I would've applied to repeat a year!] [Daoxuan Sect Master: now I suspect this E-grade Evergreen Sect has a sect legacy! Otherwise, they couldn't possibly be this fast!] [Some Unknown Minor Sect: what? Even E-grade sects can have sect legacies?] [Limitless Sect Master: actually, most E-grade sects may have been bound upon awakening after native sects of this world were destroyed. Who knows, one might have been an incredibly glorious major sect once!]
Quite a few sect masters of mid- and low-tier sects felt they had learned something new.
Lin Feng himself, however, was slightly displeased.
Was that really necessary?
Wasn't it just advancing to a Qi Refining sect? They even made a server-wide announcement, as though they were afraid people wouldn't know!
Wasn't this just making people jealous of their Evergreen Sect?
So much for lying low and developing.
After grumbling a little, Lin Feng continued receiving new notifications.
[Congratulations on advancing to a Qi Refining sect. The sect's External Affairs Hall building has been unlocked. Construction costs 100 low-grade Spirit Stones. Build now?] [External Affairs Hall: initially E-grade upon construction. Sect administrative processing speed +10%.] [Congratulations on advancing to a Qi Refining sect. The sect main hall (E-grade) has met its upgrade requirement (advance to D-grade: Qi Refining sect). Spend 500 low-grade Spirit Stones to upgrade the sect main hall?] [Evergreen Main Hall (D-grade): attraction to sect disciples +10%.]
Looking at these two upgrade notifications, Lin Feng did not hesitate as he had before.
Now that they had advanced to a Qi Refining sect, the sect's resources were no longer as impoverished as before. At least Spirit Stones were no longer so scarce.
Advancing to a Qi Refining sect had rewarded them with 1,000 low-grade Spirit Stones, and being the first to advance had earned them another 100 middle-grade Spirit Stones!
One middle-grade Spirit Stone was worth 100 low-grade Spirit Stones.
The sect's Spirit Stone reserves had leaped in scale from fewer than 70 low-grade Spirit Stones to 11,000 low-grade Spirit Stones!
[Spent 500 low-grade Spirit Stones. Successfully upgraded the sect main hall to D-grade. Current main hall: Evergreen Main Hall: attraction to sect disciples +10%!] [Requirements for upgrading the sect main hall to C-grade: advance to a Foundation Establishment sect and spend 2,000 low-grade Spirit Stones.] [Note: the higher the sect main hall's grade, the greater its attraction to sect disciples. It will draw more mortals with aptitude from the surrounding area to join the sect of their own accord.] [Spent 100 low-grade Spirit Stones. Successfully constructed the sect's External Affairs Hall.] [External Affairs Hall (E-grade): primarily used to handle the sect's daily affairs, including issuing sect missions and calculating sect contribution points. Current grade: sect administrative processing speed +10%.] [Requirements for upgrading the External Affairs Hall to D-grade: attain Qi Refining sect status and spend 500 low-grade Spirit Stones.]
Without hesitation, Lin Feng spent another 500 low-grade Spirit Stones to upgrade the External Affairs Hall to D-grade as well, bringing the sect's administrative processing speed bonus to 20%.
Just as Lin Feng finished upgrading, the sect's main hall instantly transformed.
The previously unremarkable sect main hall now carried a hint of dominance and intimidation.
On the peak beside the one housing the sect's main hall, a new side hall appeared out of thin air-the sect's External Affairs Hall.
A sky stairway appeared between the sect's main peak and the External Affairs Hall, connecting them.
The series of changes in the sect instantly drew the attention of all its disciples.
Liu Yurou and Tie Dali were the first to reach Lin Feng's side. Their faces were filled with shock as they watched the sky stairway appear between the two peaks, feeling all the more that their sect master was powerful.
Besides Liu Yurou and Tie Dali, a disciple with a middle-grade Spirit Root and another with a low-grade Spirit Root also arrived.
The remaining five mortal disciples, who lacked aptitude but each possessed four entries, stood a little farther away, but their eyes were also filled with shock.
Lin Feng was very satisfied with their expressions. "I've already told you, as long as you cultivate diligently, our Evergreen Sect has a promising future!"
At the same time, Lin Feng gave Liu Yurou an approving glance. A year had passed within the sect, and her cultivation had already reached the third layer of Qi Refining!
She had probably broken through to the Qi Refining Realm in the early hours of that very day.
"Yurou, Dali, the four of you who possess aptitude will continue cultivating in the sect's main hall from now on. You must not slack off just because you've made a little progress in cultivation."
"As the other five of you currently lack cultivation aptitude, you will first go to the External Affairs Hall and take charge of the sect's daily affairs. I have some spirit seeds to give you. Find a place rich in Spiritual Qi to plant them, and tend them well."
"Now that the External Affairs Hall has been established, all contributions to the sect will be recorded. Once you have contributed enough, I will grant you the qualification to cultivate."
Hearing this, the five mortal disciples immediately knelt and bowed. "We will faithfully follow your teachings, Sect Master. We will not disappoint you."