Final Arrangements

After leaving the shopkeeper surnamed Ye, Kang Dabao returned to the Chongming Small Pavilion. He instructed Zhou Xinran to settle all the soldiers in the squad before taking her back to the sect.

Sitting in the sect's council hall, after all the junior brothers and disciples had taken their seats, Sect Leader Kang Da finally spoke.

"The state court has sent a document ordering me to lead a team to meet up in Guo County and suppress bandits under Sima Fei. With such a large commotion, both sides will likely gather hundreds of cultivators for a chaotic battle, which will most likely involve Foundation Establishment." Kang Dabao paused here, looking around. Not to mention his fellow disciples and followers, even the Ji Wuwu looked concerned. He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

"This journey is fraught with danger, and things may not go smoothly. There are some matters that need to be settled first." Sect Leader Kang Da's tone turned serious, but Jiang Qing, who was about to attack, suddenly stepped forward. "Senior brother, let me go with you. As long as I still have my sword, no one can harm you."

Upon hearing this, the Sect Leader Kang Da's face seemed to soften slightly. After all, he was the junior brother who had grown up on his shoulders—no, now the junior brother was Zhou Yixiu.

Kang Dabao felt a warmth in his heart, but still scolded, "Nonsense! I've already said it involves Foundation Establishment, so what's with the talk of not being able to get hurt? If you come with me, then I'll have wasted my time as an official sent to my death."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qing's face turned ashen. He clenched his teeth, lowered his head, and remained silent.

"I'm not taking anyone with me this time. You all just focus on protecting the home." Kang Dabao simply raised his hand, stopping Yuan Jin had just stood up to say something.

"Alright, enough said. I called you here because there are some things to arrange. Master Zhou, could you please estimate the revenue of the Chongming Small Pavilion first?"

"Reporting to our Sect Leader, in the past three months, Chongming Small Pavilion has earned eleven Spirit Stone from selling pills, eight spirit Spirit Stone from selling Law Artifact, and forty-two Spirit Stone from operating its tavern and lodging. Based on this, we estimate that the final profit for the year will be around two hundred and forty Spirit Stone."

"Our sect leader previously waived four years' rent for all the shops in Chongming Market. Now, only the stall fees for Rogue Cultivator cultivators can be shared among the four shops, which is about four hundred Spirit Stone a year. After deducting three hundred spirit stones for maintaining the market's formation, we can still receive about seventy Spirit Stone each year."

Upon receiving the order, Zhou Xinran's originally plain face gained a touch of stern composure as she stood up to reply.

Kang Dabao nodded in satisfaction. After nearly a year of operation, and with the hard work of the charming butler Zhou Xinran, Chongming Small Pavilion was finally starting to look like it was on the right track.

After deducting the profit sharing for Pei Yi and Yuan Jin, as well as the salaries of the two cooks, Chongming Small Pavilion can still make a stable profit of two to three Spirit Stone a year, which is much better than when it first opened.

"Junior Brother Zhou, tell us about the situation at the spirit field as well." Kang Dabao turned to look at Zhou Yixiu.

"Last season, Rongquan followed my experience and planted Red Spirit Grain sparsely, but it didn't grow well. The 21 mu of First-Tier Lower-Grade spirit fields only yielded a little over 8 hu and 1 dou of Red Spirit Grain. Not only did we barely earn any Spirit Stone after deducting the cost of spirit fertilizer and seeds, but the soil in the spirit fields was also depleted. This means we can't plant spirit valley next year and will have to leave the land fallow."

"However, after consulting the 'Nine Treatises on Spirit Plant' left by the sect's predecessors, I learned that in this situation, it's advisable to plant a small amount of white alfalfa. Not only will it yield a small amount, but it will also increase the fertility of the spiritual field more than planting soybeans. I roughly calculated that, based on this method, one season's production of white alfalfa could earn approximately thirty Spirit Stone."

"Next year, we can plant spirit grains. Our spirit fields are all newly cultivated, and their fertility is still quite poor. We might not be able to grow Red Spirit Grain well yet. Junior Brother prefers to plant Tea-Colored Grains. If things go as expected, we can probably earn about ninety Spirit Stone a year. After that, we can continue to cultivate according to the crop rotation method each year, planting white alfalfa and Tea-Colored Grain in turn. After seven or eight years, when the fertility of the spirit fields improves, we can try planting Red Spirit Grain and some low-grade spirit medicine. After cultivating the spirit fields for another twenty or thirty years, Junior Brother can try to upgrade some of the spirit fields to First-Tier Middle-Grade."

"That locust tree will soon be fully recovered. The female cultivator from the Lu Household just came to see it. Next year, her Black Spirit Bee will be able to collect honey, and we'll make a net profit of 120 to 160 Spirit Stone from that alone. The locust blossoms will also be produced, which will earn us about 80 to 100 Spirit Stone."

Zhou Yixiu was indeed an excellent cultivator. He had all the information about Spirit Plant in his mind. He answered Kang Dabao's questions in a well-organized and straightforward manner. Even a complete layman who knew nothing about Spirit Plant could understand him clearly.

"Even at the lowest possible rate, Junior Brother Zhou's Spirit Plant can earn the sect around 250 Spirit Stone a year, and on good days, it can exceed 350. Adding the 310 from Chongming Market, that's at least 560 Spirit Stone a year." Kang Dabao closed his eyes and did the calculation, feeling a surge of joy.

Whether or not a sect has a qualified master of cultivation is a clear indication of its development.

"Thank you for your hard work, Junior Brother Zhou." Sect Leader Kang Da praised him sincerely.

Zhou Yixiu repeatedly said he dared not accept such praise. His time at the Chongming Sect had indeed been a rare period of peace and quiet in his cultivation journey. He felt genuine gratitude towards Kang Dabao.

"Thinking that if I had come to join earlier, I wouldn't still be at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, with no hope of Foundation Establishment," Zhou Yixiu sighed inwardly, looking at Kang Dabao with some worry in his eyes. If something happened to his senior brother, the sect leader, he wondered if the situation he had worked so hard to build up could still be maintained.

"Junior Brother Yuan, you've been in charge of the sect's expenses these days, so tell us about it." Kang Dabao called on Yuan Jin again. He had actually been working with Yuan Jin on this matter for a long time, so he was generally aware of it. However, since Chongming Sect was having such a serious meeting today, it was necessary to bring it up.

"Currently, there aren't many expenses within the sect. The biggest expense is still the annual stipends and job allowances for each disciple." Yuan Jin paused, took out Jade Slip he carried with him, and read aloud, "Our sect currently has one late-stage disciple, with an annual stipend of forty yuan; four mid-stage disciples, each with an annual stipend of twenty yuan, totaling eighty yuan; six early-stage disciples (Zhou Xinran, Han Yundao, Duan Anle, Kang Rongquan, Pei Que, and Jin Shilun), each with an annual stipend of ten yuan, totaling sixty yuan; and two disciples who have not yet entered the Dao (Mo'er and Zhang Le) have not received their annual stipends."

"At the same time, disciples who have entered the Dao but have not yet reached the age of fifteen (the age of dancing elephants) will receive an annual subsidy of five Spirit Stones, totaling twenty Spirit Stone. The annual stipend alone amounts to two hundred Spirit Stone."

"In addition to their annual salary, disciples holding specific duties receive stipends. The sect leader receives 100 Spirit Stone year; the transmission of skills deacons receive 20 spirit stones per year; the alchemy deacons receive 20 Spirit Stone per year; the Spirit Plant deacons receive 20 spirit Spirit Stone per year; the Spirit Plant deacons receive 20 Spirit Stone per year; spirit plant disciples receive 5 Spirit Stone stones per year; market management disciples receive 5 spirit Spirit Stone per year; Beast Garden disciples receive 5 spirit stones per year; and cook disciples receive 5 Spirit Stone per year. The total stipend for each duty is 200 Spirit Stone."

"Initial disciples receive two bottles of Qi Condensation Pill per year, costing two Spirit Stone based solely on the raw materials; mid-stage disciples receive one bottle of Qi Refining Powder per year, which must be purchased and costs twelve Spirit Stone; late-stage disciples are responsible for their own pills, with an additional eighteen Spirit Stone allocated. The total cost for pills is seventy-eight Spirit Stone."

"Therefore, adding the sixty Spirit Stone that must be paid to the Pingrong County each year, the sect's fixed annual expenses amount to five hundred and thirty-eight Spirit Stone."

Kang Dabao sighed upon hearing this. Chongming Sect was indeed earning a lot, but his expenses were also considerable.

The main person responsible for this situation is naturally the Sect Leader Kang Da. The annual salary he gives to his disciples is one-third higher than that of long-established sects like the Grass Witch Cult, and is almost the same as that of the Chongming Sect at its peak.

However, after the planning of Sect Leader Kang Da, Chongming Sect has already spent almost all the Spirit Stone needed for its purposes. Instead of hoarding the Spirit Stone they have earned, it would be more worthwhile to distribute them as soon as possible to strengthen the sect members.

Besides, the actual expenses aren't that high. Take Kang Dabao, for example; the sect doesn't have enough Spirit Stone right now, and he's never received his full 100-yuan sect leader allowance.

Jiang Qing's Seven Luminaries Heart-Slaying Sword something he explicitly stated he would repay the sect with Spirit Stone himself. He had collected quite a few Storage Bag over the years, and by selling off the odds and ends, the repayment would be quite easy.

Furthermore, Yuan Jin said he would suspend receiving his annual salary until he paid off the hundreds of Spirit Stone he had spent to escape from Master Qi.

In this way, as long as Chongming Sect operates normally each year and distributes generous cultivation resources to its disciples, it can still save up more than one hundred to two hundred Spirit Stone. After saving for five or six years, it can easily buy a top-tier Law Artifact similar to the Seven Luminaries Heart-Slaying Sword.

This is considered quite good among the cultivation forces in Pingrong County.

The head of Kangda University spent decades of hard work, and finally allowed the Chongming Sect to escape the days of bare-butt poverty. After doing this, I couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Okay." A thousand words lingered in his heart, fermenting, but in the end, only a single "okay" escaped Kang Dabao's lips.

"All junior members, step forward. Let me take another look." Sect Leader Kang Da calmed his somewhat agitated emotions.

Han Yundao, as the senior disciple of the next generation, led a group of juniors to the center of the hall with red eyes.

"My disciples, cultivate diligently, and let me see the day when my Chongming Sect is no longer subject to the control of others."

"Grand Uncle." The younger generation all wiped away their tears, but Kang Rongquan cried the most bitterly, soaking his clothes.

"With the journey imminent, I shouldn't be saying discouraging things, but this battle involves Foundation Establishment, and we may not be able to return safely. It would be more appropriate to decide on the next sect leader first." Kang Dabao then turned his gaze to his junior brothers.

"Junior Brother Yuan."

"Yuan Jin is here."

"If I really don't come back, you'll have to be a good sect leader." Kang Dabao sighed, and his words seemed to freeze the air in the hall.

Kang Dabao carefully glanced at the expressions of his junior brothers. They were all frowning and anxious, but there were subtle differences in their expressions.

Zhou Yixiu's face showed only sorrow, Jiang Qing's was a mixture of anxiety and hope, Yuan Jin's was ninety-nine percent fear mixed with a bit of joy.

After a period of hope, fear, and sorrow, Pei Yi's eyes flashed with an unconcealable sense of loss.

To be fair, in terms of cultivation, aptitude, and ability, Pei Yi is far superior to his junior brother Yuan Jin in the position of the Chongming Sect. He would be more suitable for the position.

After hesitating for a long time, Kang Dabao still chose Yuan Jin as the sect leader.

Perhaps this is why, after the old man made his decision, his uncles chose to empty the Chongming Sect and leave in anger.

But power is tempting, and human nature is such that even those who cultivate themselves are not immortals, and it is still difficult for them to escape worldly desires.

At that time, the master had no sons, and his only daughter was a good-for-nothing. She was not much younger than Kang Dabao, but her cultivation was even worse than Kang Dabao's.

Furthermore, due to some matters that were difficult to discuss openly, she left home early and never returned. In addition, being a woman, she was naturally unsuitable to be the sect leader.

At that time, there wasn't even a single immortal seedling with Spirit Root in the He Household, so naturally, this position couldn't be passed down to the He Household in the same old way.

The old man had selfish motives at the time, passing the position to his eldest disciple instead of choosing the younger and more capable Martial Uncle Li and others.

It's unknown whether he ever imagined that this decision would cause the Chongming Sect, which he had painstakingly built up and was beginning to show signs of revival, to completely disintegrate.

Today, I too have selfish motives and am unwilling to pass the position of sect leader to Martial Uncle Li's lineage, which has also hurt Pei Yi's feelings.

But the current Chongming Sect is almost entirely his own creation; surely he won't repeat the mistakes of the past so easily.

"Phew, the position my master passed on to me, I guess, will have to be passed on to one of his disciples. I think the Second can handle it." Sect Leader Kang Da looked at Yuan Jin with some worry.

"Junior Brother Pei." Kang Dabao then looked at Pei Yi.

"Pei Yi is here." Pei Yi was a little dazed. Hearing Kang Dabao call him, he paused for a moment before standing up.

"Junior Brother Song Caipan is handsome and possesses the virtue of concealing his talents; from today onwards, he is promoted to Elder of Transmission."

"Junior brother thanks Senior Brother Sect Leader." Pei Yi knew this was Kang Dabao's way of comforting him, and he instantly felt much better. "In Senior Brother Sect Leader's heart, he still knows that I am stronger than Junior Brother Yuan."

Kang Dabao finally turned his gaze to Jiang Qing. There were actually no outstanding talents among the next generation of disciples. The hope for the revival of the sect would ultimately rest on this "Sword Immortal" of the Chongming Sect.

"After we disperse, we'll give all the treasures we took out of the coffin to the Third for safekeeping."

As Sect Leader Kang Da was thinking this, he saw Yuan Jin, who was completely different from his usual wild self, walk out with bloodshot eyes. He pushed aside the golden pillar and the jade mountain, and immediately knelt down in the hall.

"The restoration of the sect is no easy feat. I, your junior brother, have been unworthy, and in the past, it was all thanks to Senior Brother, the sect leader, who single-handedly managed everything. I still vividly remember the hardships you endured in your pioneering efforts. Today, you are once again risking your life for us unworthy disciples. I am uneasy, yet I feel powerless to do so. I only hope that you will take care of your health and not suffer any mishap!"

"Disciple Double Brightness pays respects to the Sect Leader!" Elder Pei Yi, who was in charge of transmitting skills, immediately stepped forward and loudly proclaimed.

"Double Brightness thanks the Sect Leader!" Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall stood up and bowed in unison.

"I am unworthy of such praise. The revival of our sect depends on you all!" Sect Leader Kang Da laughed heartily through his tears and bowed deeply at the head of the table.

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