Sage of Humanity

In the past, the quiet front of Heaven's Augury Hall suddenly buzzed with activity, as independent cultivators formed three lines to register with Hua Ci Yiyi and Kong Niu. The registration included the independent cultivators' basic information, such as name, origin, cultivation, duration of cultivation practice, and level of talent.

But it wasn't as simple as becoming a sect disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect just by completing registration. If that were the case, it would be far too easy. What was being done now was only the most basic statistics gathering.

Eventually, Lu Ye and Hua Ci would have to discuss who among these people would be accepted into the Righteous Blood Sect, picking out the taller ones from among the shorter ones.

By nightfall, the independent cultivators in front of Heaven's Augury Hall dispersed, having completed all registrations.

Lu Ye sat on the steps in front of Heaven's Augury Hall, looking at a booklet and suddenly frowning, "Who registered this?"

The handwriting on it was incredibly ugly, and Lu Ye had to scrutinize it carefully to make out the words.

"Me!" A muffled voice rang out. Lu Ye looked up to see Kong Niu. Their eyes met, and the fellow gave Lu Ye a simple-minded grin.

Lu Ye was at a loss for words.

Gathering the booklet, Lu Ye said, "Everyone has worked hard. Hua Ci and Chen Yu stay behind; the rest may leave."

After a busy day, Yiyi, Ruan Lingyu, and Kong Niu left. The first two returned to sect headquarters, while Kong Niu went to the training room. He was the hardworking type who, except for mealtime returns to the headquarters, would typically stay at the training room.

In the past, he followed Hua Ci at Mount Ying, where there was no good cultivation environment. But now, at the Righteous Blood Sect, things were different. Not lacking in cultivation resources, the spiritual energy of nature in the training room was also extremely dense—a condition that could not be compared to Mount Ying.

Kong Niu cherished his current situation immensely.

In front of Heaven's Augury Hall, Lu Ye, Hua Ci, and Chen Yu were sifting through the candidates to be admitted into the sect. Chen Yu was more familiar with the independent cultivators in the marketplace and had a better grasp of their personalities and character. While he could not claim to know everything about them, he certainly knew more than Lu Ye and Hua Ci.

With his help in the selection, it was undoubtedly easier to ensure the quality of the new sect disciples.

There were a total of four hundred thirty-two resident independent cultivators in the marketplace, and the number registered in the three booklets was the same, meaning that all the independent cultivators had come to register. This enthusiasm was beyond Lu Ye's expectations; he had thought it would be good if half of them registered.

The three of them were busy until late at night, initially drafting a list of one hundred people to be admitted into the sect. Those not chosen, if willing to affiliate themselves with the sect, were welcome; the unwilling were not forced. However, judging by the passion of the independent cultivators that day, they would surely not refuse the offer to affiliate.

On the Spirit Stream battlefield, many independent cultivators would choose to affiliate with a certain sect. This way, they could utilize the sect's infrastructure, such as entering the training room to cultivate, establishing their dwellings within the sect's grounds, and enjoying the augmentation of nature's spiritual energy by the sect's Heaven's Augury Pillar.

In return, these independent cultivators were expected to contribute when the sect faced challenges and to follow orders.

For example, if the sect was declared war upon, those affiliated independent cultivators, when summoned, had to join in the battle. Otherwise, their affiliation would be revoked.

It could be said that every sect establishment on the Spirit Stream battlefield consisted of three types of people: the sect disciples, cultivators from big sects who came to train, and independent cultivators who chose to affiliate.

The biggest difference between the first type and the latter two was that sect disciples received a monthly stipend from the sect, granting them access to more cultivation resources.

However, those not chosen in the first round need not worry. Now that the Righteous Blood Sect had opened its gates widely to accept disciples, it was certain that more would continue to be admitted. As long as they performed well, there was a chance for everyone.

Chen Yu posted the list of the one hundred chosen people on the marketplace's notice wall overnight. Those whose names were on the list were naturally overjoyed. Those not on the list felt a natural disappointment but might still find it a good choice to affiliate with the Righteous Blood Sect.

Moreover, Chen Yu specifically revealed that the Righteous Blood Sect would continue to recruit disciples in the future, reassuring the independent cultivators to wait patiently. Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire

Lu Ye then returned to the headquarters to report the progress of the new recruits to his senior sister Shui Yuan and also received some Spirit Stones and elixir pills from her.

The next day, inside the Heaven's Augury Hall at the Righteous Blood Sect's establishment, Lu Ye and Hua Ci stood at the front, with one hundred cultivators lined up below. Chen Yu was the first among them.

A hundred pairs of eyes gazed ardently as Lu Ye proclaimed, "From today on, you are the disciples in name of the Righteous Blood Sect, no longer the independent cultivators without support. I hope you will advance or retreat with the sect, share in its glory and disgrace. Today, we take pride in our sect, and perhaps one day, the sect will take pride in us.

I look forward to that day, the sect master looks forward to that day, and I believe, as long as we work together, that day will surely come!"

"Yes!" the crowd roared in unison below.

Lu Ye nodded satisfied, "Step forward when I call your name!"

Hua Ci took out the list, and her pleasant voice called out, "Chen Yu!"

"Disciple is here!" Chen Yu immediately stepped forward.

Lu Ye took out a big seal, his Governor's seal, and with a plea to Heaven's Augury, stamped it onto the back of his hand. He then handed Chen Yu a few Spirit Stones and a few elixir pills as a token of the monthly stipend for a disciple in name. Shui Yuan had allocated them the previous night. It wasn't much, not even enough for half a month's cultivation, but it was a benefit every sect provided.

He earnestly said, "Cultivate well."

"Yes," Chen Yu replied, accepting them solemnly.

"Zhang Hai."

"Disciple is here!"

"Liu Wu."

...

One by one, names were called, and Lu Ye stamped each person's hand with his Governor's seal and distributed the monthly stipend. Everyone was beaming with joy.

Gazing at the hundred people gathered in the great hall, Lu Ye was filled with a multitude of thoughts. The basic framework of the stationed area was set up, but to truly develop it would be a long and arduous task.

The independent cultivators' strength wasn't high; beneath Chen Yu, there were only a few at the Level 6 realm, and not many at Level 5, moreover, these independent cultivators didn't possess high talent, which made their cultivation efficiency worrying.

However, if talent was insufficient, Spiritual Energy could compensate for it. He was still setting up the Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes in the training room, and as long as the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the stationed area improved, the efficiency of the sect disciples' early cultivation stages might not fall behind others.

The recruitment of a hundred disciples was quickly completed, and after they left, hundreds of independent cultivators who had been waiting outside poured into the great hall.

These independent cultivators were to be attached to the Righteous Blood Sect stationed area. Compared to those hundred disciples, they had no monthly salary, and their treatment was somewhat inferior, such as prioritizing sect disciples for the use of the training room.

After handing the independent cultivators over to Hua Ci to deal with, Lu Ye left the great hall and went to the training room to arrange the Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes.

It wasn't until evening that Hua Ci sent news that the independent cultivators had been taken care of.

Lu Ye hurried back to the Heaven's Augury Hall, where Hua Ci was waiting.

"Let's begin."

What he now had to do was raise the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the stationed area, which was also the greatest gain he and Hua Ci had from participating in the Spirit Stream Defense Battle.

The reason he hadn't upgraded upon returning was considering that if the cultivation environment here improved, it would affect the choices of those independent cultivators.

As it turned out, he had worried needlessly; practically all the independents in the marketplace had either become disciples in name of the Righteous Blood Sect or chosen to affiliate with it, without exception.

Moreover, once word of this place spread, there would certainly be even more independent cultivators rushing here.

The foundational Spiritual Energy in any sect's stationed area was a tenth higher than in the wilderness; to raise the density of Spiritual Energy, one needed to buy the enhancement of a Heaven's Augury Pillar.

Before the Spirit Stream Defense Battle, Lu Ye spent five hundred merit points to buy an enhancement, using it as a bargaining chip to participate in the battle. Now, the Spiritual Energy at the sect's stationed area was two tenths richer than in the wilderness.

He attempted to buy another enhancement, but he was out of merit points, and the message returned informed him that it would cost a thousand merit points.

Lu Ye had a feeling that the richer the Spiritual Energy, the more merit points would be required for an enhancement; his fourth senior brother had said the same.

Checking his own marking, he and Hua Ci had secured a total of eighty-eight enhancements in the Spirit Stream Defense Battle, and each of these enhancements was the most basic type, worth five hundred merit points.

These enhancements could be exchanged for merits, but because they were property of the sect type, they could only be exchanged for sect merits and not directly into personal merits.

There is a certain way of conversion between these two, for instance, Lu Ye could donate his own personal merit points, turning them into the sect merits of the Righteous Blood Sect and storing them in the Heaven's Augury Pillar.

The reason the big sects had so many merit points to purchase enhancements from the Heaven's Augury Pillar was due to the cumulative donations of numerous Disciples. Matters within the stationed area couldn't be resolved by one person alone; it required the concerted efforts of many Disciples.

For example, as a Governor, bearing the heavy responsibility of safeguarding the stationed area, Lu Ye could receive a portion of the sect's merit points from the Heaven's Augury Pillar as his monthly salary. Hua Ci, as the Deputy Governor, also had this privilege.

In the future, if any Disciple performed outstandingly and made significant contributions to the sect, in addition to rewards of elixir pills and Spirit Stones, they could even be awarded a certain amount of merits directly, which would come from the Heaven's Augury Pillar.

These things were the most basic common knowledge, recorded in the jade slip previously given to Lu Ye by Li Baxian.

In the Heaven's Augury Hall, Lu Ye placed his hand on the Heaven's Augury Pillar, and with a mere thought, he exchanged all eighty-eight enhancements for sect merits, immediately adding forty-four thousand sect merit points inside the pillar.

He didn't immediately use these merit points to buy an enhancement; instead, using his authority as the Governor, he allocated this month's merit salary to both himself and Hua Ci.

Hua Ci noticed something and looked down to check her own battlefield marking, jumping in surprise, "Why is there so much?"

Her personal merit points had increased by four thousand four hundred points at once, which was a tenth of the total merits.

The same was true for Lu Ye.

"You didn't kill too many people in the Chess Sea, and everyone is short on merit points; hold onto these for now, you might need them sometime."

"That's too much; I won't need this many."

"You will need them."

If it were possible to allocate more than a tenth of the monthly salary, Lu Ye would have liked to give even more.

These merit points were earned together with Hua Ci in the Chess Sea. Even if they were divided equally, it wouldn't matter, but considering that they still needed to increase the Spiritual Energy concentration for the sect's stationed area and that a few thousand merit points were indeed a significant sum at this stage, it was sufficient for now.