Chapter 31: Inspecting the Sect (Part 1)

Chen Yi collapsed onto the bed, played with his phone for a while, and once sleepiness hit, he tossed the phone aside and closed his eyes, drifting through several short, broken naps.

When dawn was nearly breaking, Pang Xiaolei brought people up the mountain to dig out the remaining bones. He also brought Chen Yi toiletries and breakfast.

“This village is safe now,” Chen Yi said as he ate.

Pang Xiaolei sneered. “Safe? How many people will even come back in the end?”

Chen Yi knew the young people in this village were innocent, but their parents’ words and behavior over the years might already have shaped their values.

The state would not let these people wander around freely. Maybe they would be scattered and integrated into society, quietly observed for a few years before they gained true freedom.

Chen Yi did not want to guess at their final outcome, nor did he want to discuss it. He had only said that to tell Pang Xiaolei about the results of his work last night.

After that, Chen Yi asked about the two young men who had been sent down the mountain last night.

Pang Xiaolei said, “Zhao Zhiqiu woke up this morning. He has a concussion and is being treated in the hospital. Song Hongyu’s infection is severe. He still hasn’t regained consciousness and may become a living ghost. He’s already been sent to a special department. They’ll have to observe him first.”

Chen Yi nodded, feeling sorry for Song Hongyu. But as long as the person was still alive, there was hope for recovery.

As his cultivation grew higher and higher, more and more functions of the sect system would open. There had to be a way to treat living ghosts. It was not yet time for despair.

After eating the last mouthful of porridge, Chen Yi wiped his mouth and asked, “All right, then if there’s nothing else, I’m planning to head back.”

Pang Xiaolei nodded. “No problem. Leave the follow-up to me. You should go back and work hard on cultivation. They took the Qi Refining Pill to Captain Ye to eat. In just the one night since we left, guess what happened?”

Chen Yi thought for a moment. “He reached second-stage Qi Refining already?”

Captain Ye’s aptitude was “As Rare as Phoenix Feathers and Unicorn Horns.” His cultivation was indeed extremely fast.

He had joined the team later than Pang Xiaolei, and on ordinary days, he still had to manage the special training team members’ training, so he was not always in closed-door cultivation.

But even with less time, he had touched the “threshold” of second-stage Qi Refining faster.

Relying on a Qi Refining Pill to break through to second-stage Qi Refining in one go did seem possible.

Pang Xiaolei shook his head. “The Qi Refining Pill has the function of speeding up spiritual energy absorption. It’s equivalent to doubling cultivation speed. Advancement is impossible, but after one night, Captain Ye has clearly reached the threshold. If he eats another two or three Qi Refining Pills, he’ll probably be able to break through in a short time.”

Chen Yi: “…”

Double cultivation speed?

Why did that sound so familiar?

Wasn’t that the same effect as his idling?

But there was still a difference. Under idling, he could increase his cultivation at every moment without cultivating at all. Captain Ye, on the other hand, had to focus on cultivating and could not do anything else.

Thinking of it that way, idling was still more amazing.

Still, the Qi Refining Pill really was a good thing. If it could be mass-produced in large batches, cultivation speed would be cut in half, giving the humans on this planet much more strength to respond before the folded space fully opened.

Pang Xiaolei rubbed his hands and asked what reward Chen Yi had received from this chain mission.

Chen Yi was helpless too, and said he had only received five years of talisman-crafting experience.

Pang Xiaolei was shocked. “Is this a game? It can give experience directly?”

Chen Yi’s heart lurched. Once the term “experience” came out, the fact that he could idle would probably no longer stay hidden.

He instinctively wanted to keep concealing it, but after another thought, he felt there was no need.

He would let nature take its course.

In the end, Chen Yi did not explain.

He might as well take this opportunity. If someone asked, he would be honest.

Pang Xiaolei envied the experience reward for a few seconds. After all, he had already planned to study talisman crafting once he was not too busy, while Chen Yi had directly received five years of experience over here.

But after another thought, a reward that could not be used right now was not very meaningful either.

Right now, it was not only him. Everyone in the entire country who knew about the sect system was staring eagerly at Chen Yi, waiting for him to complete the main mission and open up professions.

“All right, then. I’ll arrange a plane for you right away. It’s good for you to go back early.”

Then Pang Xiaolei said seriously, “Thank you for this time. Last night, I heard Captain Sun say that this aberration was not an ordinary one. It was an aberration evolving toward a ghost story. Even though we’ve already stepped over the threshold of cultivation, dealing with this kind of aberration would still result in casualties.

“For this mission to be completed so smoothly, and for a twenty-year-old cold case to be solved too, you deserve the greatest credit.”

Chen Yi smiled. “When you talk like that, I don’t know what to say. Fine, you say your part. I’m going back.”

Pang Xiaolei smiled with a sunlit expression and escorted Chen Yi to the village entrance. As he watched Chen Yi’s departing back, he thought for a moment, then suddenly called out, “Sect Master!”

Chen Yi turned and looked over.

He saw Pang Xiaolei make a huge heart over his head with both hands. The man was in his thirties, but he smiled like a child.

Chen Yi: “…”

…

Ding!

Cultivation completed. Reward: Defense Talisman x5.

Chain Mission: Inspect the Sect

Reward: For every mission completed, receive a random reward of pills, talismans, spirit stone, or experience.

Cultivation: three percent, incomplete.

Chen Yi opened his eyes from his cultivation state. As he collected the mission reward, he looked at the new mission.

Three days had already passed since he returned from his business trip.

At first, he had thought this cultivation mission would be easy to do. He only needed two days to complete it. But once he truly started cultivating, he realized it was not that simple.

People had to eat, drink, use the bathroom, and sleep. Add in all kinds of scattered tasks, and being able to guarantee eight hours of cultivation time was already his limit.

After three days, Chen Yi finally completed the chain mission. He glanced at the cultivation progress bar and felt delighted.

Under the dual improvement of Cultivation Technique Idling and cultivation, he had already reached thirty-five percent of seventh-stage Qi Refining.

Unfortunately, the Qi Refining Pill overlapped with the idling function. The Qi Refining Pill Tang Qirui had fought so hard to obtain had basically been wasted by Chen Yi. Before more Qi Refining Pills were refreshed, he could not waste them again.

As soon as Chen Yi stood and moved, he felt countless gazes gather on him. Those gazes carried anticipation, eagerness, and a full measure of curiosity.

Tang Qirui, in particular, hurried out of the Sect Main Hall at the first moment he received the news.

Chen Yi took the initiative to walk over and intercepted him halfway. “Let’s talk while we walk.”

He could conveniently complete the newly refreshed, practically freebie mission too.

They walked toward the Sect Main Hall.

Chen Yi said, “The reward was five Defense Talismans.”

Every time he completed a mission, Chen Yi would explicitly keep one share, while the rest would be handed to Tang Qirui.

This was the tacit understanding between him and Tang Qirui, as well as between him and the state.

Chen Yi was not a “tool.” He had handed over the sect system out of an patriotic heart that pitied the world and wanted to save it. The relationship between both sides was very clearly one of cooperation.

Chen Yi offered his greatest sincerity, but he also had to keep his own share, at least to ensure that at a critical moment, he had the ability to protect himself and his family.

Tang Qirui accepted the four Defense Talismans, so happy his brows nearly flew.

He also let out a long breath of relief.

As Chen Yi brought out one thing after another, the “state apparatus” operated with a roar. Countless outstanding scientists and scholars, after undergoing meticulous assessments, had obtained the qualification to come into contact with this secret.

The result was that demand exceeded supply.

The Demon-Suppression Bureau wanted standard-issue weapons for missions.

The research institute wanted pills, spirit stone, and talismans for research.

The sect space side also wanted to pile pills onto Captain Ye to push him faster into second-stage Qi Refining.

Everywhere, there was too much porridge and too little meat. There was not enough to divide.

Some people used connections. Others came directly to request research materials. Still others went straight upward to complain about him, accusing him of unfair distribution. Tang Qirui, after all, was a talent who had been tested by his post, but this was the first time he discovered that this kind of “chief housekeeper” work was so difficult!

Every time Chen Yi could bring out a few things, he felt as if he could breathe a little easier, and his mood naturally turned pleasant.

So on this side, he accepted the Defense Talismans, then turned around and handed them to his secretary, Little Song, instructing, “Distribute them according to the contingency plan.”

“Yes!” Little Song nodded, took the Defense Talismans, and hurried away.

Only then did Tang Qirui ask, “What’s the next mission?”

“I’m doing it right now. Inspect the Sect.” Chen Yi looked at the mission progress. “It’s already eight percent done.”

When they entered the Sect Main Hall, the inside was completely different now.

The previously empty Sect Main Hall now contained fourteen sets of seats including the sect master’s, respectively located on the left and right sides of the Sect Main Hall in two conical areas.

They represented the two complete systems of the Criminal Law Hall and the sect stewards.

The sect steward series had its own position tree.

First level: elder.

Second level: general affairs elder.

Third level: inner sect steward and outer sect steward.

Fourth level: two second-level stewards for the inner sect and two second-level stewards for the outer sect.

Fifth level: four third-level stewards for the inner sect and four third-level stewards for the outer sect.

Among them, the first, second, third, and fourth levels would receive their own dedicated seats in the Sect Main Hall.

This set of seats was equivalent to a local area network computer office system. Only personnel personally appointed by Chen Yi, the sect master, could see and use this system after sitting at their own desks and chairs.

Superiors could see subordinates, but subordinates could not see the system contents of superiors.

Through the system panel’s personnel appointments, Chen Yi could directly see everyone’s system panel on the water mirror.

Tang Qirui currently had the identity of “chief inner sect steward.” Chen Yi could not appoint him to a higher position because his cultivation was not enough.

Elder positions all had extremely high cultivation requirements. Tang Qirui had no talent for cultivation and was truly very busy, so in the end, no one knew who would be arranged to take the elder position.

As the chief inner sect steward, Tang Qirui could manage all the stewards in the sect, issue disciple missions, create sect contribution points, earn money for the sect, and so on.

In any case, it was the kind of thing that made Chen Yi’s head hurt just by looking at it, the sort of mess he wanted to throw out in one whole lump.

Once again, he thanked his own desireless and undemanding personality. From the very beginning, he had thought of handing the sect system over to the state. Otherwise, he would have been worked to death like an old ox!

How fortunate. How fortunate!

“I’ll go stroll around other places. Please continue with your work.”

Chen Yi spoke respectfully to Mr. Old Ox.

Looking at Tang Qirui again, he really had grown thinner. When others came into the sect, they all entered Qi Refining, and after their physiques strengthened, their eyes shone with spirit. Only the group responsible for logistics, from top to bottom, all looked as if they had been drained dry.

Their sacrifice was truly moving!

Tang Qirui rubbed his forehead. “All right. I do have something to handle right now. I’ll come find you later.”

“Okay.”

Chen Yi left the Sect Main Hall alone and passed through the square.

Captain Ye was currently leading the special training team members in seated cultivation.

The hundred-plus team members were divided into three groups.

Three people formed a column, five people formed a squad, and thirty people formed a team. Each team had a captain, vice-captain, and squad leader.

Captain Ye was the captain-general, while Pang Xiaolei was the vice-captain-general.

At the same time, Captain Ye was also the Criminal Law Hall Master of the sect.

He controlled the sect’s criminal law, could act first and report afterward, managed the thirty-two prisons, and could suppress demonic beasts, aberrations, and traitors.

Most of the management personnel of the Night Watchers special training squad held posts in the Criminal Law Hall.

Pang Xiaolei was one of the vice hall masters.

At this moment, Captain Ye, who was attacking second-stage Qi Refining, was meditating in the square with one of the teams. Captain Liang, who had recently gone on a mission with Chen Yi, was also in the team.

Another team was training physical fitness behind the Sect Main Hall.

Cultivation methods had to be practiced.

Martial techniques had to be maintained as well.

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