The Undying Immortal System

Chapter 469 – Life 120, Age 28, Martial Grandmaster 5

As I took a final look at Pale Mist Mountain’s Dragon Vein, I couldn’t help but worry that my actions had been far too impulsive. I hadn’t detected anyone spying on me, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility of some Spirit or Ancestor having means beyond my understanding. And, even if no one watched me improve the Vein itself, they might notice the effects of this improvement on the mountain.

More importantly, by taking out that bar of Rank 9+ Origin Vein Steel, I had created a large enough temporal anomaly that I wouldn’t be able to purchase any more temporary reset points. I would no longer be able to use short time loops as training tools, and I would no longer have any way to bring back those who die.

Of course, with our sect’s continued growth and advancement, the cost of temporary reset points would have continued to rise. Even before this overly powerful temporal anomaly, the days of relying on abbreviated time loops were already nearing their end.

As for the dangers associated with the Bureau learning about my use of Origin Vein Steel, there wasn’t much that I could do. If they decided to demote us to a Second-Class Sect over this, then so be it. We would adapt. If they decided to abduct me to learn where I had gotten it, then I would just have to use a few points to teleport everyone into my inner world and start over.

Firming my resolve, I turned and began the slow climb back to the surface.

My use of that Origin Vein Steel had been reckless, but I was confident we would be able to manage the fallout. From now on, we just needed to be far more deliberate when risking our lives.

When I stepped out onto the peak of Pale Mist Mountain, I paused, sensing subtle changes to the surrounding environment. The mist was ever so slightly denser, and the fog that covered the mountain’s peak extended farther down the slopes. Ye Sheng had originally built all his terraced gardens below the mists, but now, the uppermost level was firmly within their grasp.

Unless someone had a detailed understanding of how the mountain had been before I improved the Dragon Vein, I doubted anyone would notice these changes. However, they still needed to be dealt with.

The System had said that excess energy from the Dragon Vein would flow into the surrounding environment. Why waste this energy creating mist when we had far more practical ways to put it to use?

After only a moment of consideration, I set myself a new task. I would hide the effects of the improved Dragon Vein by creating a formation to capture its excess energy, then use that energy to improve our sect.

Kan and JiuLi, meanwhile, opened our mountain’s gates to begin recruiting new Disciples.

Over the past several years, the Bureau had repeatedly urged us to start recruiting local cultivators. We had always pushed this off with the excuse that our sect was still semi-nomadic, but now that we were establishing a permanent stronghold on Pale Mist Mountain, we no longer had any excuse to delay.

That said, our sect was primarily intended as a way for me to accumulate karmic energy, so we still needed to give preferential treatment to our own people.

On the day the domain held its blessing ceremonies, JiuLi sent messengers to all the nearby villages, announcing that the Amorphous Blade Sect would hold a Disciple Selection in one month’s time. The reaction to this news was rather mixed.

Most sects held their preliminary Selection two weeks after the blessing ceremony, and they did so in a market outside the nearest city. This allowed the various sects to compete for talented disciples. With our Selection being held a full month after the ceremony, anyone we didn’t accept would need to wait an entire year before they would have a chance to go somewhere else.

This dissuaded the vast majority of people from even attempting to join us, but not everyone.

We were the only First-Class, Seven-Star Sect in the region, and everyone knew that we had destroyed Blackblade Hall. This gave us enough cachet that a few of the area’s most talented individuals—those who had no fear of rejection—decided to wait for our Selection.

There were also those who had already been turned down by every other sect and had nothing to lose.

Thus, in the final week before our Selection, a horde of 16-year-old youths descended on the newly built Flowing Mist Village that sat at the base of Pale Mist Mountain.

The only ‘residents’ of Flowing Mist Village were a few people from our sect who had dressed up like mortals and were acting the part of waiters and shopkeeps. Following the example of the Twin Mountains Sect, the youths who wanted to join us were allowed to run wild in the days leading up to the Selection, while these ‘mortals’ kept an eye on them to make sure no one took things too far.

They also documented everyone’s behavior. After all, what was the point of recruiting a talented genius if that genius was only going to cause havoc the first chance they got?

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On the day of the Selection, a team of Masters tested the potential disciples on truth stones to ensure they met the Bureau’s requirements for a First-Class Sect. Those who passed were sent into one of Meng LuYao’s illusions, where they faced several tests of character. Then, Kan and JiuLi combined the results of this test with the notes on everyone’s behavior to quickly eliminate the vast majority of those who had applied.

Most met their rejection with subdued acceptance. A few did not.

“How— How dare you?!” shouted a young man dressed in flowing red brocade. “Do you know who I am? My father is the head of Eastmarch Village. I have a peak six-star guandao affinity. Kneel down and apologize, or I will immediately report you to your Sect Master!”

JiuLi’s only response was to wave lazily at one of the nearby Disciples, ordering them to take the young man away.

By the end of this first test, we were left with only a single ‘genius.’ The other 58 who passed were ‘incompetents’ who had all been turned down by every other sect they had attempted to join.

Seeing this result, JiuLi nodded in satisfaction. “Good. You have all performed well so far. Let’s begin the next phase of your assessment.”

With a wave of her hand, JiuLi turned and led the 59 remaining youths through the gates of our sect.

Because of my recent journeys back through time, the calendar of my inner world was no longer in sync with that of the Central Continent. The awakening ceremonies in Chang’an were held more than two weeks after the blessing ceremonies in the local villages.

This was one of the reasons for the delays in our Disciple Selection. The other was that we needed to prepare Chang’an’s youths to meet their counterparts from the outside world.

After passing through the gates of our Amorphous Blade Sect, JiuLi led the 59 locals to a square where Kan sat calmly on a stage in front of them. Then, she led in 40 members of the Shi Clan, 80 members of the Su Clan, and a handful of members from the Bao and Ye Clans.

Once everyone was in place, Kan stood up and addressed them through a speaking formation.

“There are nearly 200 of you seeking entry into our Amorphous Blade Sect. However, we will only accept 100 new Outer Sect Disciples each year.” He paused, allowing a ripple of unease to pass through the crowd.

“You will all be taken in as Servant Disciples. You will have food, lodging, and work. Those who perform their duties well will be taught to cultivate, and the lessons you receive will rival those of any sect in this domain. Those who work hard will earn the right to join us as Outer Sect Disciples. Those who do not will be forced to leave.”

Several of the gathered youths showed expressions of unwillingness, but Kan just flashed them a grim smile.

“You may reject any tasks you are assigned, and you may leave our sect whenever you wish. But know this: the moment you step out that gate, you will never be allowed to return.”

This was, once again, loosely based on the methods of the Twin Mountains Sect. However, where that sect was looking for geniuses in alchemy and cultivation, we just needed to see which of these new Disciples were worth entrusting with our sect’s secrets. This was, more than anything, a form of long-term psychological evaluation.

As Kan’s speech continued, I waited for my cue. As soon as he raised his right hand, I reached into my inner world and pulled out dozens of small jade tokens, making one token appear directly in front of each of our new Servant Disciples.

“These tokens are an open declaration that you are a member of the Amorphous Blade Sect. Wear them proudly. Their yellow color represents your status as a servant, but with diligent effort, you will soon replace them with the green badges of a true disciple.”

Managing and assigning work to nearly 200 youths was a colossal undertaking that our current infrastructure simply couldn’t support. After an extended discussion, we decided to deal with this by implementing a system that a few of our guilds had once used.

Anyone who earned a position as a Premier Disciple would be allowed to create a Hall with a specific focus, such as hunting demon beasts or developing new alchemical pills. These various Halls would then be responsible for assigning tasks to the Servant Disciples, and the Servant Disciples would become Outer Sect Disciples by joining one of these Halls.

Excluding YuHua, we currently had 24 Premier Disciples, each with their own area of expertise. So, establishing the first of these new Halls was relatively straightforward.

Ye Sheng became the head of our Herb Hall, with Bao Ming serving as his deputy. Sulan YaoQing became the head of the Pill Hall, with Sulan DanQing serving as her deputy. Others established Halls for refining clothes, hunting beasts, and preparing for the inevitable war against the Li Clan.

The only one that worried me was the Law Enforcement Hall, which was established by Suba HaoRong. We needed a Law Enforcement Hall, and HaoRong was the only one with any interest in setting one up, but Kan and JiuLi would need to keep a close eye on it and keep HaoRong in check.

Both the head and deputy of each Hall were granted the title of elder, and we established an official Elder Council composed of the heads of the ten most prominent Halls. This immediately created a need for more rules—rules to determine which Halls qualified for a seat on the council, and rules outlining how subordinates could challenge their Hall’s head for leadership.

For the moment, most of these rules weren’t overly important. However, as our sect grew to encompass several kingdoms and empires, conflicts would inevitably arise, and we would need a framework for resolving them.

The Halls tasked our existing disciples with teaching the basics of cultivation and martial arts to our new servants. The servants, meanwhile, were tasked with everything from assisting in the herb fields to emptying outhouses. These were mostly chores that our Masters and Grandmasters could have accomplished with a wave of the hand, but for now, this was the limit of their capabilities. If we wanted to shape their skills and their character, this was where we had to start.

We still had a great deal of work ahead of us, but Kan, JiuLi, and our new elders had everything well in hand, giving me time to study new formations.