Cultivation: Being Immortal

Five Elements SectInternal Affairs Hall

The Hall Master sat at the top, with a dozen stewards busy around him. After a while, someone approached the Hall Master with a list and said. Hall Master, this year's list of outer disciple applicants for the Building Foundation Pill has been prepared.

"How is the situation?"

"It's worse than previous years. In the past three years, we have reduced the supply of Building Foundation Pills by twenty percent, and the total number of outer disciples has reached nearly a thousand."

"It's quite difficult to snatch eighty Building Foundation Pills from a thousand people."

The Hall Master nodded, but this is a good thing for the sect. The more competition there is among the outer disciples, the easier it is for them to select the most outstanding ones.

"Hall Master, here's the list. Please take a look. If there are no issues, we can announce it."

"Okay."

The Hall Master nodded and quickly scanned the first eighty names on the list. The details were very comprehensive, including cultivation level, Spiritual Root, and age, which were all important criteria. The comments from others in the sect about their comprehension ability were also considered.

The Hall Master understood very well that these eighty people were excellent, but there were also others who were just as outstanding and met their requirements. However, due to the limited number of Building Foundation Pills, they had to be excluded.

"Take these circled names back for further discussion."

The Hall Master casually circled a few names, and the steward beside him was shocked, thinking: Did the Hall Master forget someone? Weren't they all included?

"Yes, Hall Master."

"This is a small matter. The next thing we need to do is to do well in organizing the Medicine City celebration. This is the first time our Five Elements Sect is hosting the celebration, and we must not make any mistakes. Our Internal Affairs Hall should fully support the work of the External Affairs Hall and also provide some treasures..."

The Hall Master answered, speaking seriously to the several stewards. Yunzhong City has held the Centennial Celebration eleven times, and the Five Elements Sect has sent representatives seven times.

Especially in the last two or three times, the people of the Five Elements Sect were astonished by the flow of people in Yunzhong City. Was it just a simple flow of people? No, it was spirit stone, it was resources, it was wealth.

Outsiders enjoy the spectacle, but insiders understand the tricks. Only they know how much money can be made from organizing such a celebration. That's why the Five Elements Sect also became interested and prepared for years. Finally, they also found a reason to hold a celebration in Medicine City, of course, the name had to be changed.

Continuing to use the term Centennial Celebration, Yunzhong City wouldn't really say anything, but the Five Elements Sect themselves felt that they were overshadowed by the Zhonghang Sect and the Cloud Sword Sect.

······

"I was indeed not selected."

"There must be scheming behind this. Why was I eliminated?"

"I will go to the Law Enforcement Hall to report them."

"Let's go, I want to report it too."

At the entrance of the Internal Affairs Hall, when the quota for the Building Foundation Pill applications for this year came out, the people were excited. Some cried bitterly, some cursed angrily, and some went to the Law Enforcement Hall to file a complaint. But there were also people like Lin Jiang who remained silent because they were already mentally prepared for this outcome.

(Translated by Gravity Tales 😢)

Filing a complaint is useless. At the very least, the list needs to be checked by the Hall Master. The overall Hall Master of the Internal Affairs Hall is a powerful person at the Nascent Soul stage. Who would be willing to offend such a powerful person for the sake of a Qi Refining Period disciple?

But if you say there are no internal matters involved, Lin Jiang doesn't believe it. Among the eighty spots, the last thirty and the fifty spots from eighty to one hundred are not much different in ability. Anyone could fill those spots. However, the people on the list obviously all come from certain big clans within the sect.

Favoritism and relationships exist in the world of humans. Absolute fairness and justice only exist in utopia. That's why Lin Jiang didn't care too much and just left directly.

Lin Jiang went to the Library Pavilion. The Five Elements Sect's Library Pavilion is very big. It occupies a whole mountain and has over ten courtyards, each filled with shelves containing jade scrolls.

Outer disciples have one day each year to read books for free in the Library Pavilion, but there are restrictions and they can't take the books away or make copies. Any extra books they want to read require payment with Merit Points, which is the sect's internal currency.

Lin Jiang has spent quite a few Merit Points in the Library Pavilion. Coming from an independent cultivator background, his knowledge about the cultivation world is limited and not systematic. For example, regarding first-grade spiritual talismans, Lin Jiang has only collected less than 300 types of runes from the outside world, while the Five Elements Sect has recorded over 500 types. Although the additional 200+ types are rarely seen in daily life, who knows when they might come in handy.

The monopoly of knowledge is also one of the reasons why major sects thrive.

The Library Pavilion is a very quiet place, but there are always people talking and bothering others. Generally, Lin Jiang avoids these things and finds a place to read.

But today, he heard something interesting. After listening carefully for a while, Lin Jiang stepped forward and said. Excuse me, fellow senior brothers. I just heard you talking about the celebration in Medicine City. Is it the Centennial Celebration of Yunzhong City?

"You heard it wrong. It's not the Centennial Celebration of Yunzhong City, but the celebration of our Five Elements Sect in Medicine City."

"Medicine City is also having a celebration?"

"Actually, we've had similar celebrations in Medicine City before, but they were not as grand. This time, we are planning to have a celebration that is just as impressive as the one in Yunzhong City."

"I'm sorry for asking, but can you please explain what this is all about?"

Lin Jiang, who had stayed in Medicine City for several years, knew that Medicine City had been envious of the profits brought by the Centennial Celebration of Yunzhong City. They had also organized similar celebrations before, but the results were not good. It was a lot of effort for very little reward, so they gradually lost interest.

"It seems that you've been inside our sect for too long and haven't been out and about. Since last year, our sect has been expanding in Medicine City, and we have increased the size of Medicine City by fifty percent. The new city district is almost finished..."

"I see, I have learned something new, thank you. So, when does this celebration start?"

"We are also discussing this matter, and we all agree that we will be able to witness the grandeur of the world's heroes next year or the year after."

"Exactly, the disciples of Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect, when it comes to this matter, still have a sense of superiority. They can't be so arrogant in the future."

"The Centennial Celebration will definitely be lively. We will also go..."

Lin Jiang listened to them chatting for a while, then silently left. But now, all he could think of was opportunities.

The world of cultivation is competitive, cruel, and closed off. It's not just a problem of fathers passing on to their sons, it could be several generations of ancestors existing at the same time. How can an ordinary cultivator compete with these aristocratic descendants? The only way is to take a shortcut.

Taking a shortcut requires opportunities. If the chance doesn't come, no matter how talented you are, it's useless. This grand celebration is such an opportunity.

Lin Jiang has spent almost thirty years in the Five Elements Sect, but he has barely accumulated any wealth. The money he earned is mostly used for Merit Points. Compared to when he first arrived in Yunzhong City, his value has greatly diminished.

Although he can still afford one or two Building Foundation Pills, after rebuilding the foundation, he still needs a lot of resources for cultivation. In short, no one will complain about having too many spirit stones.

"The Yunzhong City Centennial Celebration offers many opportunities, and the same goes for Medicine City if it becomes prosperous. But not everyone can speculate. First, you need a source of information and be aware of the information gap. Second, you need a backer. Without a backer, if something happens, you'll be the sacrificial lamb."

Lin Jiang thought in his heart, speculating is easy to talk about, but difficult to do. Otherwise, everyone in the world would speculate. The essence of speculation is the difference in information, using information to make money.

And the confidence of speculation relies on a strong backing. Without a strong backing, it is a suicidal behavior. Once you become rich overnight and attract attention, it's not a small matter. At the very least, you will lose money to avoid disaster.

"Big speculation needs a big backing, small speculation needs a small backing. It's really hard to choose."

Lin Jiang sighed. Why is he not like Cao Ying? If he had a powerful master as a strong backing, what would he be afraid of? He could just directly go for it.

Now he is without any support at the Five Elements Sect. Even if he has thousands of ideas in his mind, he dare not take action, for fear of being liquidated in the end.

"Actually, Yue Qing is a talent. Otherwise, I would find him."

Lin Jiang immediately thought of Yue Qing. Among the disciples of the same level, Lin Jiang knew quite a few, but he had to admire that Yue Qing was one of the truly capable ones. Although this guy's character wasn't very good, character and ability didn't have much connection.

"Working with Yue Qing together, and privately doing it yourself, perfect."

Lin Jiang quickly made up his mind. Yue Qing is not very reliable, but it's okay. Lin Jiang can use his reputation to get things done. Working with Yue Qing together and privately doing it himself, no matter what, he won't lose. Even if he can't have the meat at the celebration this time, he will drink the soup to the fullest.

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