While the recruitment was taking place, Ting Zao and Xuan Zhen were focused on the flying ship that the sect leader had given them.

“Ting Zao, the formations and their materials are embedded in the very structure of the ship. Some are just fitted in, so it’ll be easy to remove them without wasting materials, but the ones that are fused will have to be removed by you.” Xuan Zhen, the formations pavilion elder, explained before starting to dismantle the materials he could.

“Leave it to me.” Ting Zao, the Refinement elder, responded confidently.

The ship was resting on the ground, supported by a sturdy structure that Ting Zao had prepared, remaining at its normal size. This was necessary because, if the formations were removed while it was reduced in size, it would return to its original size and crash down without its floating formations.

Through the hard work of Ting Zao and Xuan Zhen—who, to make the process easier and ensure success, used one of their enlightened minds to guide the other—the ship was dismantled without compromising many materials.

Looking at the pile of materials and the black hull of the ship, Xuan Zhen’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Time to play. How about we improve this propulsion system?” Xuan Zhen grinned mischievously at the burly blacksmith Ting Zao, who tilted his head in confusion.

…

“I declare the recruitment closed!” Lie Zheng announced loudly in the late afternoon, to the disappointment of many in the crowd.

The disappointment came from the fact that they either had the wrong mentality and knew it—thus not daring to step forward and risk their lives—or simply did not have the necessary qualifications to be recruited.

Ignoring the crowd, Lie Zheng looked at the sect members and the new disciples.

“Let’s go!” He said, turning to leave.

The elders followed him, then the disciples, but as he walked, Lie Zheng noticed that many disciples had fallen behind.

Looking back helplessly, he saw a crowd of trembling old men walking with flushed faces from exertion… at the speed of a turtle.

This recruitment far exceeded Aotian’s expectations, with 112 cultivators recruited—71 of whom were over 60 years old.

Cultivators are like mortals. When they reach the end of their lives, their bodies weaken—something even more evident in low-level cultivators, like Qi Refiners. Even so, in an era where a man was already considered old at 50 and few lived beyond that age, a Qi Refinement cultivator could live up to 90 years or more, which was already a great advantage.

As Elder Lie pondered how to bring those old men back to the sect without waiting half a month for them to arrive on foot, the solution came flying above him, casting a shadow over the crowd.

“Look!” People began to point, amazed.

Above them, a large black ship without sails floated over their heads, with some kind of turbine on its sides, where a mixture of red and yellow energy swirled. Golden runes were also visible on its hull, and at its front, a sculpture of a black dragon’s head with gleaming golden eyes loomed menacingly.

It was majestic, beautiful, and fierce.

“Hey, old Lie, need a ride?” A playful and teasing voice echoed from above.

Lie Zheng looked up and saw Xuan Zhen, the formations elder, waving at him with an amused smile from the edge of the deck.

“Heh! Just in time.” Lie Zheng shook his head in amusement and signaled with his hand, gesturing for him to bring the ship down.

Under Xuan Zhen’s control, the upgraded ship slowly descended. A ramp was lowered, and Xuan Zhen appeared at the top of it.

“Come on, get on!” He called, waving them up.

The sect members began to board. The young disciples cautiously stepped forward, but despite that, they curiously looked around at everything.

Lie Zheng, seeing this, became irritated.

“What the hell are you doing?!” He shouted, and the disciples froze at the sudden reprimand.

“Apologies, senior! The juniors admit their mistake!” They shouted in unison, honestly apologizing and internally berating themselves for letting their curiosity win, embarrassing both the sect and themselves.

“What the hell are your apologies worth?!” Lie Zheng growled, furious at seeing them standing still.

He pointed at the ramp and shouted:

“Are you waiting for your fellow disciples to break their bones before helping?!”

The new recruits exchanged looks, bewildered, only then understanding why the elder was angry.

Below, a crowd of old men struggled to climb the ramp with trembling steps. Some even fell, caught by those behind them—who in turn also began to fall. It was almost like a domino effect of elderly cultivators.

Aotian had to hold back hard to keep from laughing at the scene.

“Yes, elder!” Scared by Lie Zheng’s fury, the younger disciples rushed to help.

Elder Xuan Zhen watched everything, highly amused, but also observed the old men with curiosity.

“It seems the new blood we received this time isn’t so new.” He joked, making Lie Zheng roll his eyes.

And then he continued:

“So, who’s the oldest this time?” He asked curiously.

Lie Zheng unconsciously looked at the first old man he had met during this recruitment.

“Apparently, it’s that one.” He pointed with his chin at an old man in the crowd.

“That one? Yeah, it really seems to be him.” Xuan Zhen smiled as he saw the toothless old man grin at them and bow—almost falling to the ground before a young disciple caught him in a panic.

“Yes. His name is Hui Lang, just turned 99. If he doesn’t break through this year, he’ll probably die.” Lie Zheng said seriously, despite enjoying the scene.

Xuan Zhen widened his eyes.

“Damn, this old man still has the drive to fight for the hope of breaking through to Foundation Establishment, joining the sect at this age.”

Despite his surprise, he looked at the old man with more respect.

“Yes, and we’re going to help him with that.” Lie Zheng affirmed firmly.

Then, they waited a few more minutes until all the old men boarded before departing.

…

Meanwhile, Aotian walked with Rihai, checking his panel.

With this recruitment, he was close to completing the mission of elevating the sect to the Golden Core level.

[Conditions to become a Golden Core Sect:

1 – Sect leader at the early stage of the Golden Core Realm

2 – Five inner elders at the early stage of Foundation Establishment

3 – Ten outer elders at the peak of Qi Refinement

4 – Five inner disciples with high qualifications

5 – Twenty outer disciples with good qualifications

6 – Train five inner disciples to the peak of Qi Refinement

7 – Train twenty outer disciples to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement]

Conditions 1 and 2 had already been met before the sect even reached this level. Condition 3 was fulfilled last month when the elders cultivated on their own. The number of disciples, their qualifications, and levels were also sufficient, yet the sect had not upgraded.

‘It seems I can’t skip steps. I don’t have any inner disciples yet, only outer ones, which is why the sect hasn’t been updated yet.’ Aotian reflected seriously but was not worried in the slightest.

‘That’s easy to fix…’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep