Chapter 119: Chapter 101: First Day on the Job, Promoted to Dean

Jiang Yi descended in a fiery glow, retracting the flames and landing halfway up the mountain as per the rules.

He landed steadily on a wide plaza. A magnificent hall, built against the mountain’s contours, abruptly came into view.

It had double eaves and nine ridges, with beast heads biting the ends. A gilded plaque hung beneath, inscribed with the three words “Supreme Merit Institute.” The calligraphy was powerful and imposing.

’It’s certainly more impressive than the Qi Gong Institute.’

Jiang Yi glanced around briefly. He saw that the hall’s doors were vermilion, studded with bronze nails. Two ferocious beast statues, cast from heavy iron and standing about ten feet tall, squatted on either side of the entrance.

Their claws rested on embroidered balls, and their eyes held a Spiritual Light, as if they possessed a spirit, staring intently at any who approached.

“Disciple Jiang Yi, here to receive my assignment for the Merit Supervision Institute.”

He waved the Jade Talisman given to him by Zhou Fu twice. The two ferocious beast statues immediately retracted their gazes, returning to their lifeless, inanimate state.

’It seems not many Inner Peak Disciples make it here.’

Jiang Yi noticed the Supreme Merit Institute was exceptionally deserted, unlike the Qi Gong Institute, which always had people coming and going.

He suddenly recalled an “Opportunity” the Celestial Book had once shown him.

The Seventh Grade Technique primarily cultivated by the Sect Leader’s lineage, the Cloud Formation Rain True Spirit Technique, was stored here.

Back then, he had lamented that he would likely never have the chance to get close to such an important place in his life, yet now he was stepping inside himself.

’A person’s fortunes truly change with time. One really can’t jump to conclusions.’

Jiang Yi slowly stepped through the entrance. Inside the grand hall, golden pillars stood like a forest, each entwined with coiling dragons that held luminous pearls in their mouths, illuminating the interior down to the smallest detail.

Before he could get a closer look, an old Daoist in black robes suddenly appeared.

The man was wrapped in a large black robe. He moved without a sound, his figure drifting like a ghost, exuding a grim, chilling aura as if he had materialized right behind him.

“Little Junior Brother, if you’re here to receive an assignment, why have you come to the Supreme Merit Institute instead of the Qi Gong Institute?”

Jiang Yi turned and offered a Daoist salute, but he was inwardly surprised. This old Daoist actually had a cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, and a black gleam the size of a grain of rice was condensed between his brows.

This was the sign of having passed the Divine Barrier.

The Primordial Gate was flourishing, allowing one’s consciousness to manifest externally and coalesce into a single point.

“The assignment this Disciple received is for the Merit Supervision Institute.”

Jiang Yi handed over the Jade Talisman. The old Daoist took it, glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly, becoming a bit more solemn.

“So it is a junior brother joining the Merit Supervision Institute. Please, follow me.”

’He seems to have gotten a bit more polite.’

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Why did everyone who heard the words “Merit Supervision Institute” treat him like a dead man walking?

Suppressing the Fire Cave and Water Cave must truly be a first-class ordeal, one that made Inner Peak Disciples’ faces pale at the mere mention of it.

The old Daoist led the way, guiding Jiang Yi out of the Supreme Merit Institute and toward a remote corner to the southwest.

’So the Merit Supervision Institute is on Observing Sun Peak.’

Jiang Yi was slightly surprised. Cradling the calico cat, he took the initiative to start a conversation.

“May I ask, Senior, what position this Disciple has been assigned at the Merit Supervision Institute?”

The old Daoist looked decrepit, but his steps were nimble. His voice drifted back from ahead.

“Junior Brother, no need to call me ’Senior.’ I’m just over a twelve-year cycle older than you. ’Senior Brother’ will do.”

’Good lord!’

Jiang Yi’s eyebrow twitched. He thought to himself that this senior brother looked far too old.

He looked like he was in his seventies or eighties, not much different from his Grandpa Yang Xun. And he was only in his early forties?

“You’ll understand in the future, hehe.”

The old Daoist chuckled lowly, his voice as dry and hoarse as a night owl’s cry.

“Some assignments in the sect are not so easy. I once served in the Merit Supervision Institute myself. The torment of the Fire Cave and Water Cave, day and night… never mind the loss of Merit, it even consumed a good deal of my lifespan.”

He paused, then added:

“What you may not know, Junior Brother, is that you are now the only person left in the Merit Supervision Institute. Therefore, the position you have received is that of ’Dean’.”

Jiang Yi was stunned. He had assumed that no matter how derelict the Merit Supervision Institute was, there would at least be a few disciples stationed there.

He never expected it to be completely wiped out, an empty post.

No wonder his treatment had been so generous ever since he volunteered for the Merit Supervision Institute, with conveniences offered at every turn.

The “last meal” that the Inner Peak Disciples privately whispered about was quite an apt description.

“Junior Brother Jiang, we’re here.”

The old Daoist led Jiang Yi to the front of a vast, empty side hall.

The hall’s interior was boundless. In the very center was a pit carved out of the ground, shaped like a caisson ceiling. A RUMBLING sound echoed from within, as if tens of thousands of tons of seawater were crashing and churning, making one’s eardrums tremble slightly.

It was surrounded by a thick circular battlement cast from copper and Iron Essence, which was plastered with a dense layer of Yellow Talismans inscribed with Vermilion.

But even so, it couldn’t completely seal in the Qi Mechanism.

A searing hot, incomparably potent ray of fierce light, almost tangible, surged outward. From a distance, it looked like a thick column of fire dozens of feet high.

’Such dense Spiritual Energy!’

Jiang Yi’s gaze sharpened. ’So this must be the “Fire Acupoint,” huh?’

“Junior Brother Jiang, every fifteenth of the month, the ’Bing Fire’ in this Demon Acupoint will surge. Its Qi Mechanism rushes up like a pillar, its momentum as fierce as a heavenly conflagration.”

The old Daoist’s tone held a hint of schadenfreude, like someone who’s been rained on and now wants to see others get soaked, as if waiting for Jiang Yi to show distress.

“Then, on the first of the month, it changes, and the ’Ren Water’ will rise and flood.

Your duty is both simple and not. When the Bing Fire rages, you must use your own cultivation to wear down its power, not allowing its height to exceed nine feet.

When the Ren Water swells, you must do the same. You absolutely cannot let it flow freely and submerge the area ten feet beyond the battlement.”

Jiang Yi’s face remained calm, but the corner of his eye twitched. He finally understood why the Inner Peak Disciples considered suppressing the Fire Cave and Water Cave to be a form of torture.

According to the old Daoist, this assignment was undoubtedly a matter of using one’s own cultivation to fill the Demon Acupoint, bit by bit, to calm the rampaging Qi Mechanism within. This was to prevent the Bing Fire and Ren Water from spiraling out of control, damaging the foundation of the Dharma Lineage and disturbing the surrounding Spiritual Aura.

Never mind him, who was only at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer; even if a cultivator at the Seventh or Eighth Layer came, the Spiritual Liquid and Merit stored in their Inner Mansion would be but a drop in the bucket against this colossal Demon Acupoint.

’This is an endless, arduous task.’

Jiang Yi understood clearly now. Without the world-shaking Dao Inheritance taught by the Cat Master, entering the Merit Supervision Institute was tantamount to walking into a death trap. He would be doomed to have his life whittled away, reduced to a mere consumable for the sect.

The best-case scenario would be ending up like the old Daoist: luckily surviving, but left half-crippled.

“Thank you for the information, Senior Brother.”

Jiang Yi cupped his hands, then immediately asked another question:

“Since this is my first time on the job, are there any taboos or things I need to be aware of while serving at the Merit Supervision Institute?”

As he spoke, he smoothly slipped several glittering red talisman coins into the old Daoist’s hand.

The move was vulgar, but it was a tried-and-true method for opening doors.

“Junior Brother, you’re a man who understands how things work.”

The old Daoist was an Inner Peak Disciple whose potential was exhausted, with no hope of further advancement. Guarding the Supreme Merit Institute, he rarely had opportunities for extra income.

His eyes lit up at the sight of the talisman coins. After readily accepting them, a friendly smile spread across his deeply wrinkled old face.

“If you were assigned elsewhere, you would naturally have to pay respects to the right people, align with the right faction, and get on good terms with your senior brothers to live peacefully.

But you, Junior Brother, are the ’Dean’ of the Merit Supervision Institute. Who is there to manage you?

You only need to remember two points. First, and most importantly, you must never let the Demon Acupoint become unstable, disturb the Spiritual Aura of Observing Sun Peak, or disrupt the Sect Leader’s cultivation.

Second, fellow disciples will occasionally come by, wanting to borrow the Demon Acupoint’s Qi Mechanism to sacrificially refine magical artifacts or cultivate Daoist skills.

Whether you agree or not, whether you grant them this convenience, is entirely up to you, Junior Brother.”

Jiang Yi nodded slightly, committing each point to memory.

From the sound of it, as long as he could suppress the Qi Mechanism of the Fire Cave and Water Cave, his post at the Merit Supervision Institute was actually quite free.

The old Daoist seemed to remember something and added:

“Oh, right. Some fellow disciples also bring their younger family members to leech off the benefits. That’s not good.

In the past, the Merit Supervision Institute was unguarded, so they acted without restraint. Now that you’re the Dean, Junior Brother, it is hoped you will rein them in a little.

This is also Senior Sister Zhou’s intention.”

Jiang Yi’s brow furrowed slightly as he thought to himself:

’As expected, it’s ultimately unrealistic to think I can completely avoid the sect’s internal struggles and focus solely on my cultivation, detached from it all.

In a Demon Dao Dharma Lineage, every talent must be put to use, or they have no reason to exist.

The first-class monthly stipend granted by the Sect Leader is also too hot to handle.’

He let out an imperceptible sigh. He guessed that the unruly “fellow senior brothers” who didn’t follow the rules, as mentioned by the old Daoist, were most likely from the Observing Fate Peak lineage.

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