Further Developments

---- Xuanwei City

The construction of the Office of the Duke of Qin was actually an expansion of the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court, so it didn't take long for it to become quite impressive.

Setting up the framework is only the first step; there's still a lot to do.

Just like the discussion about whether the Office of the Duke of Qin's Mansion should continue to expand and renovate the current Sword Nurturing Hall, or have flying beasts find a dilapidated ancestral home of a royal family member in Great Abyss Capital and carry it over directly;

Just like the Sword Discussion Assembly held in Xuanwei City to select talented individuals, when should it be held, what are the regulations, and what rewards should be set?

For example, recruiting high-level talents in various arts and crafts such as alchemy, weapon crafting, and talisman arrays for the Office of the Duke of Qin;

As before, the edict of the Duke was to be sent to all sides to garrison those who were not in favor.

In no time, the high-ranking officials in the Office of the Duke of Qin began to work hard again. Even Fei Nanying Golden Core, a newly promoted Golden Core cultivator, could hardly cultivate properly and still had to find time to do things for Kuang Liuting.

After all, since the Fei Household has already succeeded halfway through their gamble thanks to Fei Ye Shui, they are even less likely to give up halfway. The position next to Kuang Liuting is very valuable now, and if the Fei Household makes even a small opening, there will be plenty of people who want to join in the fun.

However, this position is not yet available for Sect Leader Kang Da to squeeze out. No matter how much the Fei Household and Kuang Liuting favor him, he is still only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if he is so outstanding, it will be difficult for him to stand out from the crowd of Golden Core cultivators who will emerge in the future.

After witnessing the ceremony, Kang Dabao bid farewell to the group of high-ranking cultivators in the Office of the Duke of Qin. He and Fei Shuhe visited Kang Changyi, who was cultivating at the Qi residence. Seeing that Kang Changyi's cultivation had made considerable progress, they returned to their sect.

However, to be fair, Sect Leader Kang Da was not in vain.

Besides having the unprecedented opportunity to see True Person real face and shadow of the current emperor, Kang Dabao's wife Fei Shuhe, also received the title of Eighth-Rank Lady. Meanwhile, Kang Changxi, who was not yet of marriageable age, was given the post of Assistant Advisor of the Office of the Duke of Qin by Kuang Liuting.

Kang Dabao thought the former was fine, at most he could only get some supplies for free and at most add some Fei Shuhe to the already overflowing glory of this noble lady.

However, Kang Changxi's position as a clerk was different. Among the officials under the Duke's mansion, this was a low-ranking but powerful post, much more valuable than the military advisor position in the Sima Office that Kang Changyi had previously obtained.

It's strange that they're so easily putting this on a mere child's head.

Fortunately, neither Duke Kuang Liuting of Duke of Qin nor Kang Dabao intended for Kang Changxi to actually work in the government. According to Kuang Liuting, it was just a matter of having Kang Changxi hold a nominal position and receive a stipend.

Kang Dabao had to persuade him at length before he finally managed to suppress Kang Changxi's eagerness to try.

This also made Sect Leader Kang Da realize that his eldest son seemed to have some extraordinary ambitions and a tendency to show off, and that he would need to teach him a lesson in the future.

After all, being too sharp and conspicuous is not a good thing. Only by learning the ultimate secret of "quietly blending into the crowd" can one better protect oneself.

Overall, it was a good thing for Kang Dabao that his wife and children could receive some titles and honors, as it was a way to bestow titles and honors upon his wife and children.

After all, the Office of the Duke of Qin now has the full support of Nascent Soul Grandmaster like Five Old Mothers Mountain, and has also received personal instructions from Emperor of Wei to allocate various expenses. Its financial resources are quite substantial, so there is no need to worry about not being able to distribute the annual stipend.

However, to Sect Leader Kang Da's slight surprise, on the return journey, the usually reserved Fei Shuhe couldn't hide her joy even in front of her own son, clutching the imperial edict tightly for a long time, which was quite unusual.

"Ha, Madam has lost her composure today." Kang Dabao found it quite amusing, but Fei Shuhe, upon hearing this teasing remark, paid no attention. She simply rushed over, took his strong arm, and whispered, "After we return this time, I will also have Nanny Sun write to the main family to tell them about my recent situation."

"Ha, madam, that's a bit too common!"

"Hmph, mind your own business!"

---Three months later, Double Brightness Trade Market

Jin Shilun looked at the busy scene in front of him and felt really emotional.

He still vividly remembered how his master had built this place from scratch. Now, Double Brightness Trade Market in Cloud Horn Prefecture had become the most prosperous cultivation market besides Xuanwei City, where the prefecture was located, and Han City, which had been under the control of the Yue Household for many years.

Those coming and going here are no longer just ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators; even Foundation Establishment are not uncommon. According to some busybodies, they even saw a Rogue Cultivator Pill Master in this market, but they don't know if it's true.

However, it is true that since a few years ago, City Commandant Deng Baichuan has been unable to control this bustling market town.

After Yue Feng, who was assisting Yue Jia, studied the Linshan matter on his own, he and a group of Yue family members went to the Haibei Qunjing Prefecture and never returned.

Therefore, the person currently serving as Deng Baichuan's fake deputy is a True Cultivator from the Yunwei Zheng Household. Although he is over two hundred years old, he is a late-stage cultivator with considerable experience. With the arrival of elite troops from the Sima Office, they are barely able to maintain this prosperity.

Jin Shilun was merely moved by the scene before him; after all, the Double Brightness Trade Market was no longer solely owned by the Chongming Sect.

Therefore, Jin Shilun did not linger for long before greeting several familiar patrolmen and Swift Movement to the Chongming Small Pavilion. Upon entering, he saw that Zhou Xinran, the Chongming Sect's head of merchandise, was still at the counter.

This eldest sister among the second-generation disciples of the Chongming Sect is now over fifty years old and has long lost the lively appearance that Jin Shilun had when he first met her as a young man.

However, Zhou Xinran exudes the nobility of Foundation Establishment True Cultivator's wife, which is quite different from the somewhat unruly farm girl she used to be, but she also has a unique charm.

"Is Junior Brother Jin back?" Zhou Xinran's face showed a hint of friendliness as she pulled the familiar guests who were talking to Jin Shilun to his side and introduced them, "This is You Xiaobao, whom Junior Brother Yuan brought here. He is currently cultivating at Phoenix Forest Mountain in the Cold Crow Mountain Range."

"You Xiaobao, Fellow Daoist You?!" Jin Shilun smiled and joked, "Fellow Daoist's name does sound very familiar. I almost thought you were related to my master."

You Xiaobao, a Qi Refinement family head, dared not joke with Jin Shilun, a direct descendant of a major sect, in such a manner. His face was nearly covered in sweat from fright, and he immediately stammered, "No, no!"

Only Jin Shilun, the sect leader's disciple, would dare to make such a joke; even Zhou Xinran didn't dare to respond. After glaring at Jin Shilun, Zhou Xinran comforted You Xiaobao, saying, "It was just my junior brother joking; I hope Fellow Daoist You won't take it to heart."

After drinking the spiritual tea in front of him, You Xiaobao felt much better. He then picked up all the items he had chosen and put them into his Storage Bag. After bowing to the two of them in farewell, he left Chongming Small Pavilion.

Jin Shilun's face showed some doubt. "There is clearly Jia-Chou Military Stronghold in the Cold Crow Mountain Range that can be operated, so why did Fellow Daoist You come to Double Brightness Trade Market? But judging from their appearance, these people are living quite well. A mid-stage cultivator can actually afford a spiritual item worth nearly a hundred Spirit Stone."

Zhou Xinran explained with a smile, "The old man was just saying that the supplies in Jia-Chou Military Stronghold were insufficient, so he sent a letter to Junior Brother Ming. It's not surprising that he came out."

Jin Shilun naturally knew that the "old man" Zhou Xinran referring to was his fourth uncle Zhou Yixiu. After the Cold Crow Mountain Range stabilized, this old man often stayed in Wild Fox Mountain to tend to the nearly two hundred acres of Second-Tier Lower-Grade spirit fields.

It was only a few days ago, when his third uncle Jiang Qing returned from Ying Prefecture, that the old man went back to Little Ring Mountain. As for other times, he rarely Spirit Awakening the Spirit Plant in the spiritual fields.

"Is business so booming in Jia-Chou Military Stronghold?!" Jin Shilun asked curiously, Zhou Xinran replied, "You're not the only one thinking about going to the Sword Discussion Assembly in Xuanwei City."

"Among the four hundred or so families in Cold Crow Mountain, some are also interested?!" Jin Shilun was somewhat surprised by Zhou Xinran's words. Apart from a handful of Foundation Establishment forces, the other small families in Cold Crow Mountain were already considered rare, having even one Late Qi Refinement cultivator in their family was considered a feat. They actually wanted to go to Xuanwei City to compete in swordsmanship?

Zhou Xinran said irritably, "And where did you come from? You don't even know this kind of news? Senior Martial Uncle Ye suggested that we follow the example of the Office of the Duke of Qin and hold Sword Discussion Assembly, so that we can select some talents from under the jurisdiction of our Chongming Sect."

Jin Shilun suddenly realized what was going on. While picking out various spiritual materials from his Storage Bag, he smiled at Zhou Xinran and said, "Junior Brother spent three whole months in Cold Crow Mountain to complete Second Master Uncle's task of collecting the heart blood of six top- First-Tier Supreme-Grade ape-type Demon Beast. He came to Xiaolou before even returning to the sect. How could he possibly have gotten Xiaolou?"

"It seems Master has been sent on this mission three times in the past year or two. Is his lifeblood so fragile?" Zhou Xinran's cultivation aptitude was not high; he was merely an ordinary person with Four Spirit Roots. However, he disliked ascetic cultivation and could not bear the loneliness of a quiet room with a dim lamp. He had almost no chance of Foundation Establishment, so he simply withdrew early and focused on managing the Chongming Sect's business.

Therefore, unlike his two junior brothers, Ye Pingshui and He Yuanyi, Zhou Xinran, although named Yuan Jin's disciple, knew very little about Yuan Jin's cultivation. After a slight surprise, he stopped caring and turned his attention to the spiritual materials that Jin Shilun had placed on the table.

Jin Shilun had searched for a long time to collect enough of the six kinds of First-Tier Supreme-Grade ape-type Demon Beast blood, and he still needed to deliver them to the sect's Merit Points Hall, so he would not sell them at the Chongming Small Pavilion.

However, several rare First Tier mid-to-high quality spiritual herbs and more than ten First Tier mid-to-high quality Demon Beast remains were quite valuable. Zhou Xinran used his spiritual appraisal ability to examine them one by one and quoted a very fair price to Jin Shilun.

The latter didn't bother to calculate, but simply said, "I'd be grateful if Senior Sister could convert these Spirit Stone into Merit Points."

"Junior Brother, didn't you already collect all your Merit Points long ago? Besides, didn't our Sect Leader allow you to borrow less from Senior Martial Uncle Ye?"

Hearing Zhou Xinran's question, Jin Shilun didn't hide anything and said with a faint smile, "Just one unit of Foundation Establishment resources might be a bit tight. Junior Brother still wants to earn more. It would be even better if you could accumulate enough Merit Points for one Foundation Establishment Pill."

Zhou Xinran, moved by his ambition, laughed and said, "Haha, don't overwork yourself. If you're lacking anything, you can tell us fellow disciples. Anle did a good job feeding the golden-haired donkey, which has now become Second Tier spirit beast. As a result, he was rewarded by the sect leader and received a Merit Points, which is quite generous."

"Haha, don't worry, Senior Sister. If we can't gather enough later, Junior Brother won't hold back against Second Senior Brother." After saying this, Jin Shilun sighed. Who could have imagined that the castrated donkey that dragged the entire Chongming Sect along back then could actually advance to a Second Tier Demon Beast?

After calculating on his fingers again, Jin Shilun realized he didn't know how much Merit Points he needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill, and he was still far from having enough for the second set of Foundation Establishment resources. He Zhou Xinran, "Senior Sister, can our sect's disciples participate in the Sword Discussion Assembly at Cold Crow Mountain?!"

"I'm afraid that won't work. This time, our sect leader has even brought out Foundation Establishment resources as prizes for the top three winners."

Zhou Xinran's words had a deeper meaning, and Jin Shilun, who had been her fellow disciple for many years, naturally understood it. After a moment's thought, he realized why his master was being so generous, given his personality.

"I'm afraid they're about to make some big moves again," Jin Shilun thought to himself. Before he could speak, Zhou Xinran chimed in:

"My father sent a letter ten days ago, saying that according to the sect leader's wishes, not only will the entry standards for the Immortal Ascension Assembly be relaxed today, but there may also be another sect competition next year. The sect leader instructed Senior Martial Uncle Ye to select many precious items from the treasury as prizes, and I heard that the first prize is even a Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Real?!"

"My father's words are trustworthy," Zhou Xinran said with a smile, seeing Jin Shilun's excitement. "Junior brother is the sect leader's disciple, how could he keep this news from you? It's just that you're all alone, wandering far from home, so it's difficult for you to get news. If you're really worried, why not just ask the sect leader directly?"

Jin Shilun has always been considered one of the most intelligent disciples of Sect Leader Kang Da.

Upon hearing the news, he was naturally excited; but after the initial excitement, Jin Shilun began to ponder, "Lowering the standards for new disciples, holding a sect competition, and vigorously cultivating fellow disciples—this matter is bound to be significant."

Jin Shilun originally intended to finish his duties within the sect and then temporarily settle down to cultivate and spend some time with Mo'er.

Since their marriage, the couple has spent little time together, and now they only have one child, Jin Tanglü, so he naturally needs to make it up to his wife.

However, after hearing the important matter mentioned by Zhou Xinran, Jin Shilun immediately changed his mind. After spending only three to five days in a blissful embrace with Mo'er, he immediately rushed to Little Ring Mountain. At the same time, he also made up his mind not to leave the mountain for a while.

---- Little Ring Mountain

"Is the preparation for the sword duel complete?!"

The Sect Leader Kang Da asked Ye Zhengwen, who was in charge of the matter. After thinking it over for a while, Ye Zhengwen said confidently, "At the latest, it should be possible to make the trip before July, a month later."

Kang Dabao considered it for a moment, then said with satisfaction, "Hmm, that's good then."

Ye Zhengwen then said, "There are many participants this time. Once the news gets out, some families may be interested in Foundation Establishment spirit objects, while others may be concerned about the reputation of their sects. There are probably hundreds of people involved. Won't it be a bit difficult to organize this?"

"The quotas were already set according to each organization's strength, and the prizes for the top three to the top twenty have already been announced. How can we change them now? Besides, even the weakest small organizations have to be given one spot. How many can we cut?"

Sect Leader Kang Da's words made sense, and after pondering them for a while, Ye Zhengwen didn't elaborate further.

After all, given his talent, he wouldn't need the former to speak to know.

Given the thrifty and hardworking nature of Sect Leader Kang Da, the fact that he was able to offer three Foundation Establishment spiritual items and a variety of Spirit Artifact as rewards for this sword competition was clearly an attempt to win people's hearts.

Even though the Chongming Sect had grown to over a thousand disciples, Kang Dabao still couldn't bear to lose any of his own people. As for the upcoming "pacification of Three Ting Prefectures," it was unknown what Five Old Mothers Mountain and the Office of the Duke of Qin were thinking.

If True Person Moon Hidden were to disregard the dignity of Nascent Soul cultivator and personally participate in the battle, it would be a thunderous strike. The cultivators of Mountain North Circuit would not be able to withstand it for long. At that time, Chongming Sect would only need to bring along the various families of the Double Brightness Alliance to serve as human extras, and they could return with no effort and a full harvest.

However, if True Person Moon Hidden doesn't take action, then things will become somewhat...

Even if Chongming Sect doesn't get to "pacify Three Ting Prefectures" this time, there will still be endless tough battles to fight before the Mountain North Circuit is pacified. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the strength of each family as soon as possible so as to make recruitment plans.

"The matter of swordsmanship must be taken seriously, and the matter of recruiting Rogue Cultivator into the sect can also be put on the agenda. As before, we should not accept those who are brave and aggressive, but rather honest and dutiful people who have mastered one of the hundred arts and are under the age of forty."

Even if there aren't many cultivators who have mastered even one of the hundred arts at the entry level, that's fine. But those who are fond of fighting and brawling are absolutely unacceptable; they would be detrimental to the sect's atmosphere and do more harm than good.

Ye Zhengwen listened and agreed earnestly. Indeed, since the sect had gradually gotten on the right track, Sect Leader Kang Da had attached great importance to the enlightenment of his disciples in various arts.

However, cultivating disciples is not something that can be accomplished overnight. At present, the only people that Chongming Sect can offer besides Zhou Yixiu and Kang Rongquan, who are both second -Second-Tier Lower-Grade cultivators, are Duan Anle, First-Tier Supreme-Grade Second-Tier Lower-Grade beast master; Yuan Jin, a First-Tier Supreme-Grade -grade weapon master; Wei Gu, First-Tier Supreme-Grade array master; He Yuanyi, a First-Tier Superior-Grade weapon master; He Wanying, a first-tier high-grade talisman master.

Among them, Yuan Jin has been focusing on cultivation and military training in recent years, seemingly because he has a highly talented disciple, He Yuanyi, to take his place. He has not forged Law Artifact for quite some time.

After all, Yuan Jin followed the arrangement of Sect Leader Kang Da to become a disciple of Master Qi to cultivate the art of weapon forging. One reason was that he did have some talent in this art, and the other was that he also wanted to earn more resources to help his senior brother.

If he were to follow his own heart, he would have little interest in weapon crafting. Now that he has cultivated a reliable person to take over, it would be better to simply entrust the task to him. He himself would focus on studying military formations, hoping to remove the word "prototype" from the Azure Jue Guard as soon as possible.

As for Wei Gu, his aptitude for array formations is quite good, and he has a sincere passion for it. In addition, after Zhang Qingran realized the reality of the situation, she also put a lot of effort into teaching him.

However, the former is quite old. When he was young, he was Rogue Cultivator and did not receive proper training. During his haphazard cultivation, many errors were not corrected, which has now become deeply ingrained and is somewhat detrimental to his Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, even if Wei Gu has been traveling around seeking fortuitous opportunity to Foundation Establishment and accumulating Merit Points in recent years, just like Jin Shilun, whether he will be able to establish Foundation Establishment in the future is still uncertain.

Duan Anle's talent is slightly inferior to Wei Gu's. To have achieved such accomplishments at this age is due to his inner talent, good comprehension, and diligent study. Because of this, he is favored by many elders and can become a true leader among the younger disciples.

As for He Yuanyi, it goes without saying that, in the eyes of Sect Leader Kang Da, although he is Qi Refinement cultivator and comes from a minor branch of the He Household, his future is much better than that of He Yuanhe, who has just become the Flying Snow Peak in the Stone Mountain Sect.

With his Triple Spirit Root, his cultivation progressed rapidly. Now, at just over forty years old, he was already Qi Refinement Ninth Layer cultivator. If he could reach Foundation Establishment, given his outstanding talent in weapon crafting, he would not lack resources in the future, and his future would be extremely bright.

There's not much to say about He Wanying in the end; ever since her nemesis Feng Wan died, she seems like a completely different person.

Not only has he never shown his former unruly nature again, but he has also become much more serious about cultivation, and has even mastered the art of talisman making taught by the former Sect Leader He.

However, she is not very talented in this field and will likely have no chance of becoming a Second Tier talisman master in the future. She can only teach the younger generation in the Hundred Arts Pavilion in the hope that some talented people will emerge as soon as possible.

Besides these, although there are many other disciples studying alchemy, artifact crafting, and talisman arrays, few truly excel. Meanwhile, those specializing in geomancy, Puppet Master, and insect divination...

Therefore, for the sake of the sect's development and strength, Sect Leader Kang Da, who has always disliked people with skills coming to him, finally made an unprecedented decision to finalize this matter.

The first batch of recruits will be in the Hundred Arts Pavilion of Little Ring Mountain. Among them are servants and entertainers that Fei Shuhe brought back from the Fei Household, as well as many independent Rogue Cultivator who have been recruited from various places and make a living by their own skills.

Chongming Sect could at least claim to know the background of these people, and by recruiting them, he could reduce many risks.

The second batch consisted of Lineage cultivators who grew up in Ping and Jin counties and Cold Crow Mountain.

It's already rare for an ordinary, humble family to produce even one entry-level weapon maker or Alchemist. Over the years, the family has spent countless resources to support such a person. It's only right and proper for the family not to let go of such a talent.

Therefore, these people also need to be carefully vetted, and we must not let those with ulterior motives take advantage of us. This requires some discernment.

Kang Dabao knew about Ye Zhengwen's Sect Leader Kang Da, so he was quite at ease with the latter's actions.

Now that Ye Zhengwen is in charge of internal affairs, Yuan Jin and Jiang Qing are in charge of military campaigns, his job as sect leader is much easier.

He has almost single-handedly rebuilt Chongming Sect, which has also reduced many of the petty and unsavory issues that are common in sects.

Now that the brothers are in harmony, the disciples are of one mind, and everyone in the sect is of one mind, no matter how big or small the matter is, Sect Leader Kang Da need not worry too much.

As for those worrying matters, they are all outside our control, and none of them are within our control.

While the phrase "going with the flow" may sound harsh, it is Chongming Sect needs to do now, otherwise, given the increasingly terrifying situation in Shannan Circuit, being crushed to dust in the blink of an eye is nothing more than a matter of moments.

Chongming Sect, led by Sect Leader Kang Da, needs to do now is to make itself heavier and more substantial, so that the surging waters can gradually be stopped.