Bai Zichen gave them a simple breakdown of their duties. Su Lie was to handle visitors and matters like accepting calling cards from other Sect Disciples. He was also responsible for gathering information on all the Sect’s affairs, large and small, organizing it, and reporting to him once a month.

Peng Jinhua was responsible for periodically going to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to collect essential supplies for the Cave Mansion and to tend to the exotic flowers and spirit herbs.

Further duties would be assigned based on their performance.

After having the two men each pick a pavilion to live in and instructing them not to disturb him unless it was important, Bai Zichen returned to a building in the deepest part of the Cave Mansion.

Just as he was about to step inside, he looked at the blank door plaque. He traced three characters in the air with his finger, and in the next moment, three large, flamboyant words appeared on the building’s plaque.

"White Jade Tower!"

Bai Zichen looked up and nodded in satisfaction.

The jade box delivered by Youu San from the Artifact Refining Hall was palm-sized. He broke the dust-sealing formation on its lid, and the jade box opened on its own.

This formation’s main purpose was to prove that the magical artifact hadn’t been opened and swapped out after leaving the Artifact Refining Hall.

A small, delicate jade pendant lay inside the jade box. It was as clear as ice and emitted a faint glow.

A top-grade magical artifact, the Illusory Moon Spirit Pendant!

Yesterday at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, the steward on duty had given Bai Zichen three magical artifacts to choose from: a Five Metals Heavy Hammer, a green flying ship, and this Illusory Moon Spirit Pendant.

The Qingfeng Sect treated its Inner Sect Disciples extremely well, but it couldn’t just let them choose any top-grade magical artifact they pleased. Doing so would only add to the burden of the already overworked Artifact Refining Hall.

These three top-grade magical artifacts—for offense, flight, and illusion—corresponded perfectly to three different specializations.

Moreover, the Sect had stable supply channels for the artifact refining materials, ensuring consistent quality in the finished products. Thus, a century ago, they were designated as the standard-issue magical artifacts for Inner Sect Disciples.

Of the three, the flying ship was undoubtedly the most expensive.

But Bai Zichen had his Ink Bamboo Sword. His speed using Sword Control far surpassed any flying magical artifact, and its lethality exceeded that of the Five Metals Heavy Hammer. His only real choice was the Illusory Moon Spirit Pendant.

The only drawback was that the Illusory Moon Spirit Pendant was not a defensive magical artifact. It could conjure a doppelgänger, a figure identical to the user, to deceive and confuse opponents.

This doppelgänger was a product of profound illusion techniques. No matter how carefully a Qi Refining Cultivator stared, they wouldn’t be able to tell the real from the fake.

Used at the right moment, it could be tremendously effective.

’Still, this Illusory Moon Spirit Pendant is useless against me. With a single sweep of my Divine Sense, I can tell the true body from the fake one in an instant... It’s not bad for bullying some Qi Refining Cultivators who have no way to counter it, though.’

Bai Zichen hung the Illusory Moon Spirit Pendant around his neck, letting it rest against his chest. It was a top-grade magical artifact, after all.

’Another major benefit of being an Inner Sect Disciple is the massive collection of texts in the Transmission Hall. Outer Sect Disciples have to spend Sect Contribution for every book they borrow, but I can peruse them freely without any restrictions. However, my cultivation of the Chang Chun Skill is progressing so smoothly that, unlike others, I don’t need to reference the notes and experiences of those who came before me.’

After a moment’s thought, he suppressed his desire to read and decided to focus on cultivating in his Cave Mansion.

’First, I’ll push through in one go and cultivate to the peak of the Sixth-Layer of Qi Refining.’

’My cultivation session yesterday was thirty percent more effective than back home. Even the time needed to refine the medicinal power of a Qi Replenishing Pill has been shortened to ten days... Anyway, I have an abundance of spirit pills, so I can save a lot of time I would otherwise spend meditating and refining spiritual qi.’

With his Divine Sense, Bai Zichen could easily perceive the changes as he refined the medicinal power of the Qi Replenishing Pills he consumed.

Before leaving the clan, he had exchanged all of his surplus clan contribution points for elixirs effective for late-stage Qi Refining, leaving them for his great-uncle, Bai Jiu’an.

Even so, the elixirs he had in his personal reserve would last him a very long time.

Even without any additional income for the time being in the Qingfeng Sect, he had no reason to be overly concerned.

...

The sect’s recruitment drive had ended several days ago, and after a period of commotion, the Qingfeng Sect had quieted down.

The addition of over a hundred new disciples to the Sect barely caused a ripple.

The new servant disciples had to undergo three months of standardized training before being assigned to various posts based on their individual strengths.

The lucky ones could stay on the main mountain.

The unlucky ones were sent to various branch courtyards. Not only was the spiritual qi there thin, but some were located in dangerous places frequented by demon beasts, putting their lives at risk.

There were far fewer Outer Sect Disciples. Whether they were former servant disciples who had painstakingly earned their promotion, outstanding Immortal Seedlings who had been scouted, or disciples sent from various cultivation families, all of them still held aspirations for the Great Dao.

Naturally, their main focus was the sect competition to be held in three months.

For an Outer Sect Disciple to become an Inner Sect Disciple, there were only three paths: placing in the top three of the sect competition; being accepted as a direct disciple by one of the Five Hall Masters; or receiving a special promotion by decree from the Sect Leader or one of the two Core Formation True Men.

The five halls of the Qingfeng Sect—Transmission, Law Enforcement, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and Talisman—were each led by a Hall Master with a cultivation of at least the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, anyone who could become a Hall Master also represented a powerful faction within the sect.

The vast majority of Outer Sect Disciples wouldn’t even dare to dream of being accepted as a direct disciple by such powerful figures.

A genius like Su Li, who possessed a Talisman Spirit Body and was taken in as a direct disciple by the Talisman Hall Master at a young age, was an extremely rare case, which was why people still talked about her with such relish.

As for the Sect Leader or a Core Formation Ancestor personally singling out an Outer Sect Disciple for promotion, that was even more unthinkable.

Therefore, placing in the top three of the sect competition was the most realistic path to promotion. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But in recent days, another matter had overshadowed the upcoming sect competition.

"Junior Brother Mo, with your noble birth and special bloodline, to be pushed aside by some nameless brat... I’m indignant on your behalf!"

In a waterside corridor, seven or eight young men were gathered in a circle. All of them were Outer Sect Disciples.

The plain-looking young man who had spoken smiled at Mo Changfei, a wine cup in his hand.

Aside from Mo Changfei, who had just joined the Sect this year, all of these Outer Sect Disciples had been knocking around in the outer sect for many years.

"Hmph! Just a stroke of dumb luck, that’s all. He got lucky and presented a cultivation technique that was a great boon to the Sect, so the Sect Leader rewarded him. It’s not like his talent is anything special!"

Mo Changfei’s eyes were red as he drained the spirit wine in his cup in one gulp.

It would have been one thing to start as an Outer Sect Disciple. But for Bai Zichen, whom he utterly detested, to become an Inner Sect Disciple directly, standing a rank above him, made Mo Changfei grind his teeth in hatred.

"That’s not quite right, Junior Brother Mo. For a reward, he could have just been given a treasure. Could any contribution be worth more than a Foundation Establishment Pill? There was no need to grant him the status of an Inner Sect Disciple. If you ask me, this Bai Zichen is definitely not that simple."

A female disciple with skin as fair as snow retorted. She was standing to pour wine, which revealed her slender figure.

"Exactly. I heard that Bai Zichen is several years younger than us and is already at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining... He’s definitely no mediocrity!"

"Don’t tell me he’s actually a Foundation Establishment Seed? At this rate, he’ll become a True Disciple in a couple of years, won’t he?"

BANG!

"Just you wait! When I get the chance, I’ll prove to all of you that he’s nothing but a fraud propped up by the Bai Family!"

Mo Changfei slammed his wine cup down and stormed away from the table.

One of the Outer Sect Disciples quickly got up, apologized to the group, and followed after him.

Once Mo Changfei was out of earshot, the others exchanged silent glances until one of them couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Senior Brother Quan, you’re really something else. You goaded that idiot into probing Bai Zichen’s background, and it only took a few words to make him fly off the handle."

"Heh, some Fire Phoenix Bloodline... The sect’s higher-ups studied it thoroughly long ago. Aside from their descendants having an extremely high chance of being born with spiritual roots, there’s nothing miraculous about it. On the contrary, it brings negative side effects to its bearer, making them irritable, easily angered, and unable to control their emotions."

The plain-looking young man who had first spoken, Senior Brother Quan, sneered. One of his ancestors had been a Sect Elder. Although the ancestor had long since passed away, he had left behind a considerable network of connections.

"Cultivators from the Mo Family can only resolve this negative side effect once they reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. Only then will they cultivate fire-element techniques slightly faster than others."

"This ’Fire Phoenix Bloodline’ is just a fancy way to make themselves sound good!"

Senior Brother Quan had just broken through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, so he had a decent chance of making it into the top three in the upcoming competition.

Using a little trick to stir up a conflict between Mo Changfei and Bai Zichen was, for him, a situation with all potential benefits and no drawbacks.