Chapter 138: Establishing Sect Rules

Mu Fanghe naturally understood the underlying significance. "How about I offer a suggestion to both of your sides? Since the Myriad Manifestations Sect has also joined the Sect Alliance, why not establish the headquarters of the Sect Alliance right here at Misty Peak? This place connects to the Yunluo Mountain Range, serving as a gathering hub for various sects. Furthermore, it sits at the tri-border intersection of the Mojue, Mengze, and Fengling nations, and borders the Endless Sea. Its geographical location makes it a true strategic hub of all-directional connectivity!

"If the headquarters of the Sect Alliance is established here, it will bring immense convenience. Moreover, this place can well serve as a training base for the unified recruitment of new disciples by the Sect Alliance. Once they achieve certain accomplishments in their cultivation, they can then be distributed accordingly. After all, there are quite a few minor sects within the Sect Alliance, and they might worry about not being able to recruit enough disciples on their own.

"During the cultivation process of the new disciples, various sects can arrange training personnel to observe and select them discreetly. The Myriad Manifestations Sect can conduct its recruitment separately, which will distinguish it from the other disciples and maintain a sense of healthy competition, facilitating the benign development of the new disciples."

Ren Yinhuai’s eyes lit up. Mu Fanghe’s suggestion was quite suited to the current situation, giving many minor sects the opportunity to recruit disciples after their own hearts. At the initial establishment of the Sect Alliance, pacifying the sects under its banner was the primary task. Distributing them only after all aspects of the alliance were on the right track would foster unity among the sects.

Gathering all the disciples together would also help maintain friendly interactions between sects, and the mutual exchange of needed goods would be exceedingly convenient.

For Liu Junhuai, this was of little consequence at the moment. Armed with the secret weapon of his Heavenly Perception, testing spiritual roots with spirit essence stones was entirely unnecessary for selecting disciples. He had long made up his mind to gather the disciples with the best aptitudes into the Myriad Manifestations Sect. As the host here, he certainly retained the right of first selection.

Ren Yinhuai and Xiao Qingtian consulted in low voices for a moment, after which Xiao Qingtian said, "Domain Lord Mu’s suggestion could not be more appropriate. Our Sect Alliance will immediately summon our allies to discuss this matter. Setting up the headquarters here will also facilitate the launch of the alliance's operations."

Mu Fanghe took his leave of everyone, saying, "You can sit down and discuss your matters thoroughly. I must set off immediately as well. Patiently await the right moment for our next phase of action plan. At the inception of the Sect Alliance, rooting out and eliminating infiltrating spies is of paramount importance. You must maintain strict screening, which is the key to the continued survival of the Sect Alliance!"

Everyone stood up to see him off. The flying boat carrying Mu Fanghe had already vanished without a trace, yet the crowd still gazed into the distance. Because with Mu Fanghe’s departure, no one knew what kind of waves would be stirred up next. A sense of urgency, as if a great battle were imminent, quietly settled over everyone's hearts.

While the Sect Alliance convened its allies for an interim meeting, Liu Junhuai also needed to discuss recruitment arrangements with the Myriad Manifestations Sect.

Arriving at the banquet where the members of the Myriad Manifestations Sect were gathered, Bian Jijing was joyfully recounting Liu Junhuai’s performance on the main stage. The atmosphere at the scene was warm and lively, with smiles dancing in the eyes of every sect member.

Seeing Liu Junhuai arrive, the crowd burst into cheers. Bian Jijing was about to speak when Wan Xingyun preempted him. "Sect Master Liu, when I went outside the mountain gate to announce your arrangements, tens of thousands of people at the scene were shouting your name. To be honest, having lived for so long, I have never witnessed any cultivator receive such public devotion from so many others. They all say the cultivation world is filled with indifference and detachment, but it seems that is not entirely true. These cultivators inquired about the recruitment situation of the Myriad Manifestations Sect—does the Sect Master have a plan?"

Liu Junhuai waved his hand to signal everyone to sit down and speak. "The Sect Alliance is currently worried about competing with the Myriad Manifestations Sect for the recruitment of new disciples, and they are hastily discussing the matter. My purpose in coming over is precisely because of this. The Sect Alliance now intends to establish its headquarters within our Myriad Manifestations Sect, and the newly recruited disciples this time will also establish their cultivation base here. This is extremely advantageous for us."

Fang Keyin said in surprise, "That is indeed a good thing. At least the security issue of the Myriad Manifestations Sect is resolved. Moreover, practicing together in a unified environment will fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the disciples from various sects under the pressure of competition. If the two sides periodically hold rewarding events like grand sparring tournaments, it will further stimulate the disciples' passion for cultivation. Yes, a very good thing!"

Wu Yaohan said, "The matter of recruitment still needs to be deliberated at length. Establishing a good cooperative relationship with the Sect Alliance is crucial for the future development of the Myriad Manifestations Sect. We must not create rifts over this recruitment and lose more than we gain."

Liu Junhuai smiled and waved his hand. "Grandpa Wu is worrying needlessly. We are also a part of the Sect Alliance, and this is our territory after all; they will ultimately have to spare our feelings. My suggestion is to first recruit one thousand disciples, and the Sect Alliance has already agreed that the Myriad Manifestations Sect may make the first selection. Later, they will uniformly issue numbered plaques to the cultivators participating in the recruitment. Grandpa Wu, wait for my news; I will provide you with the specific serial numbers of these one thousand people.

"Of course, the Myriad Manifestations Sect will still need to take out some spirit essence stones just to keep up appearances. I guarantee that the aptitude of these one thousand cultivators will be the best among the tens of thousands. This news should be kept strictly among those present here and must never be leaked."

The people present had already reached a level of superstitious belief in Liu Junhuai’s various mystical abilities. Since he could utter such words, it meant he possessed his own unique method of appraisal, and no one raised any objections.

"In addition, the preliminary sect rules have already been formulated. After these one thousand new disciples join, it is imperative to establish related halls such as the Scripture Pavilion, Weapon Pavilion, Elixir Pavilion, Enforcement Hall, and Merit-Imparting Hall. I must trouble you all to formulate detailed plans.

"Although the present strength of our Myriad Manifestations Sect is not yet strong, the resources we possess are incomparable even to those of a major sect. If we want the Myriad Manifestations Sect to grow rapidly, we must establish a complete sect structure along with a reward and punishment system. I intend to set up a sect contribution point system. As long as one has sufficient sect contribution points, they can even exchange for top-tier magical treasures from the Magical Treasure Pavilion, acquire elixirs of various grades from the Elixir Pavilion, and trade for cultivation techniques of various grades from the Scripture Pavilion.

"During this period, I have obtained quite a few cultivation techniques, elixirs, medicinal herbs, and magical treasures. We will classify these and place them into the respective institutions for the disciples to exchange using sect contribution points." Liu Junhuai had long since formed a clear outline for the management direction of the Myriad Manifestations Sect, and expressing it now flowed effortlessly.

The people present felt the extraordinary nature of his suggestions halfway through listening. By the time they heard the entirety, their eyes began to shine brightly, and they held deep admiration for Liu Junhuai’s meticulous planning. They could not help but marvel that the first sect master of the Myriad Manifestations Sect was indeed a heaven-gifted genius; with such exquisite and rigorous sect rules formulated, it would be difficult for the Myriad Manifestations Sect *not* to develop.

Liu Junhuai looked toward Wan Xingyun. "Our Myriad Manifestations Sect needs to forge some jade talismans. Sect Master Wan has the advantage in artifact forging, so you shall oversee this. Such jade talismans will have each person's information engraved upon them, such as name, assigned dwelling, cultivation realm, and aptitude, making it convenient for teachers or fellow disciples to check and prevent any confusion of seniority and status that would ruin the rules.

"Once the jade talismans are forged, hand them over to me. I will need Elder Wu Shaoyuan. Elder Wu needs to arrange simple restrictive formations on the jade talismans to facilitate their unified management.

"The existing disciples are all classified as inner sect disciples. When those one thousand disciples join, those who excel may enter the inner sect, while the remaining individuals will temporarily be designated as outer sect disciples. If anyone present intends to take disciples, they may select them from the inner sect disciples, but they can only be accepted as proxy disciples.

"Above the inner sect disciples are the personal disciples. Do not rush into this matter just yet; among those one thousand disciples, there will be cultivators at the Core Formation realm or above, leaving plenty of room for selection."

With Liu Junhuai and the others pooling their wisdom, a more detailed sect development plan gradually emerged. Everyone from the Myriad Manifestations Sect was filled with confidence regarding the future development and growth of the sect.

After discussing for a long time, the banquet drew to a close, and the recruitment assembly was about to commence.

Having unified the progression plan with the members of the Sect Alliance, Liu Junhuai stepped out of the Myriad Manifestations Sect, found a high vantage point, and released his Heavenly Perception to inspect the tens of thousands of cultivators outside the mountain gate seeking to join a sect one by one.

The result of the inspection was quite satisfactory to him; he unexpectedly discovered many cultivators with dual spiritual root aptitudes among them. Once the numbers were distributed, Liu Junhuai would be able to record them one by one.

After the banquet officially ended, with the opening of the mountain gates, tens of thousands of cultivators swarmed in. Such a large number of people suddenly pouring into the sprawling Myriad Manifestations Sect instantly made the space within the sect feel much more crowded.

The Sect Alliance was responsible for distributing the numbers. Ren Yinhuai, Xiao Qingtian, and the others looked anxiously at Liu Junhuai, their expressions revealing a deep-seated fear that Liu Junhuai would cherry-pick all the disciples with superior aptitudes.

Liu Junhuai looked at them with a disdainful smile. "You seniors shouldn't be so small-minded, guarding against me like I'm a thief! We agreed beforehand that today I would only pick one thousand people, and no matter how good the aptitude of the remainder might be, I won't compete with you for them. However, if new cultivators come to participate in the recruitment over the next few days, I will reserve the right to select a few more from among them."

Xiao Qingtian laughed. "That is still feasible. Starting tomorrow, the distribution of numbers will be handled by your Myriad Manifestations Sect, and if you hide people away beforehand, we won't even know."

Ren Yinhuai at the side looked bitterly at Liu Junhuai. "You say, how can someone of your tender age possess such meticulous scheming? Since we all belong to the Sect Alliance anyway, why be so calculative? Do you perhaps have some secret art for discerning people? You look so utterly confident of success, why do my own misgivings grow?"

Fang Yexu and Guan Zhaoyong burst into loud laughter. Fang Yexu said with a touch of sourness, "Didn't Alliance Leader Ren notice that Domain Lord Mu's instructions before leaving were all biased toward Junhuai? This young Sect Master Liu of ours has clearly caught Domain Lord Mu's eye, and his future prospects are boundless. If I were you, I would desperately maintain a friendly relationship with him; this kid will climb to very high positions in the future, believe it or not?"

Liu Junhuai shot Fang Yexu a sidelong glance. "There's no need to talk like that. Domain Lord Mu asked you to oversee the Sect Alliance because he needed your help; you shouldn't be driving a wedge into our long-standing, friendly relationship like this. Right, Sect Leader Ren?"

Ren Yinhuai chuckled. "I’ve known you for less than three months, where does this 'long-standing' come from? Still, our relationship is indeed rather good. Sect Leader Xiao calls you Uncle Xiao, so from now on you can just call me Uncle Ren! One moment it's 'Sect Leader Ren', the next it's 'Alliance Leader Ren', I don't even know which side I'm supposed to belong to anymore!"

Naturally, Liu Junhuai seized the opportunity to climb further up the pole. "Uncle Ren, actually, it's all the same whoever picks first. Now we belong to the same big family; if a crisis comes, we will all go all out to help each other, and aren't all the sects commanded by you anyway? The only reason I'm picking first is to seek some psychological comfort. After all, this is the territory of the Myriad Manifestations Sect, and I’ve carved out such a massive piece of land for the Sect Alliance to use unconditionally. What else do you expect the Myriad Manifestations Sect to do? If I don't even fight for this little bit of rights, the disciples within the sect will say I'm spineless!"

Ren Yinhuai said, "I haven't forgotten everything you've done for the Sect Alliance. On the contrary, during the Sect Alliance meeting just now, all the allies expressed their gratitude toward the Myriad Manifestations Sect. Theoretically, you naturally have the right to pick disciples first, and the allies are all raising both hands in agreement. But why do I always feel like you've got some trick up your sleeve in all of this? I just have a bad feeling about it!"

"Hahaha..." Everyone around burst into uproarious laughter.