The voice arrived before the person did.

“We heard you were bullied by bad people!”

Qingfeng and Mingyue rushed to his front, one on the left, one on the right, and stopped.

Mingyue’s little face was puffed up with anger, like an enraged hamster.

“Who was the blind fool? Tell us! We’ll go back and tell Master, and he’ll get justice for you!”

Qingfeng, on the other hand, wore a stern expression on his little face, trying his best to look like “I’m very angry, and the consequences will be severe.”

“Tell us quickly! Was it that guy surnamed Sun from Formation Peak? I’ll go to the Enforcement Hall right now and have them increase his punishment!”

Watching the two little ones’ righteous indignation, Su Ming felt a warmth in his heart.

In this cold sect, such pure concern was especially precious.

He smiled gently and invited them into the courtyard.

“Thank you, Senior Sister, Senior Brother, for your concern. The matter has already been resolved. The sect’s enforcement is strict and fair;
it won’t wrong a good person, nor will it let a bad one go.”

He skillfully changed the subject, poured them some water, and casually asked,

“I’ve heard that after becoming an outer sect disciple, one can enter the Transmission Pavilion to select cultivation methods? I wonder, are there any other benefits?”

This question successfully piqued Qingfeng’s “eagerness to teach” interest.

He cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back like a little adult, and began pacing in the courtyard.

“Benefits? There are loads of benefits!”

He glanced at Su Ming, as if weighing something.

“Why are you asking this? Could it be… Elder Ma promised you an outer sect disciple spot?”

Su Ming’s heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged as he gave a bitter smile. “This disciple wouldn’t dare to hope for such a thing. It’s just that being in the sect, one needs something to aspire to, something to motivate oneself.”

This answer satisfied Qingfeng greatly.

He nodded and finally began listing the benefits like counting treasures.

“Alright then, let me open your eyes a bit.”

“Becoming an outer sect disciple comes with so many advantages!”

Qingfeng extended one finger.

“First, monthly stipend! A menial disciple gets at most three to five spirit stones a month. An outer sect disciple starts with ten low-grade spirit stones! Plus a fixed quota of ‘Foundation Consolidation Pills’ to stabilize cultivation!”

He extended a second finger.

“Second, cultivation methods! Free access to the first floor of the Transmission Pavilion! It holds over a hundred Qi Refining stage cultivation methods, along with various basic technique jade slips. Sword techniques, escape arts, defensive spells… everything is there, all exchangeable with contribution points!”

“Third, lectures! The qualification to regularly listen to Golden Core elders’ lectures! Any difficult problems encountered during daily cultivation can be raised during these lecture sessions. The elders will resolve your doubts and explain things! This is an opportunity that’s hard to buy even with a thousand pieces of gold!”

“Fourth, missions! You can go to the Hall of Meritorious Deeds and take on sect missions with richer rewards! Hunting demon beasts, gathering spirit herbs… not only can you earn a lot of spirit stones and contribution points, you can also go out to gain experience and broaden your horizons!”

Qingfeng finished in one breath, looked at Su Ming’s stunned expression, and smugly lifted his chin.

He paused, his tone becoming unprecedentedly serious.

“But the most important thing… is status!”

“An outer sect disciple truly steps across the threshold of the Cloud Hidden Sect! Your name will be recorded in the sect’s jade register, receiving the highest protection under the sect’s laws!”

“Unless you commit a heinous crime like betraying the sect or murdering fellow disciples, even an inner sect steward cannot casually kill you!”

“Do you understand? This is the most fundamental difference between an outer sect disciple and a menial!”

After finishing, Qingfeng puffed out his little chest, very satisfied with his own “knowledge sharing.”

Su Ming stood rooted to the spot, as if struck by a thunderbolt.

He had known before that outer sect disciples had many benefits, but he had never understood so clearly, so profoundly, that behind this status lay a fundamental leap in life security! It was a qualitative change from being “consumable goods” to “protected property”!

Ten spirit stones, Foundation Consolidation Pills, the Transmission Pavilion, elder lectures… these were certainly tempting, but none could compare to the storm the six words “cannot casually kill” stirred in his heart. This meant that as long as he didn’t actively seek death, he could truly practice his master’s “Way of Survival” more stably within the Cloud Hidden Sect!

Looking at the two little ones standing up for him, warmth surged in his heart, mixed with a hint of indescribable bitterness. He took a deep breath, suppressed the churning emotions, and towards Qingfeng, performed a solemn, deep bow.

“Senior Brother Qingfeng, Senior Sister Mingyue, for the kindness of resolving my doubts today, Su Ming… will remember it in my heart!”

His sudden solemnity actually made Qingfeng a bit embarrassed. His little face flushed slightly as he waved his hand. “Ah, it was nothing! You… you don’t need to be so polite!”

Mingyue also nodded vigorously. “Yeah, yeah, Su Ming, don’t be afraid. If there are bad guys in the future, we’ll still help you!”

After chatting a bit more and seeing that the night was deep, Su Ming finally saw the two reluctant little ones to the courtyard gate.

Watching the two small figures carrying lanterns disappear into the stone path shrouded in night, the gentle smile on Su Ming’s face gradually faded away.

After seeing off Qingfeng and Mingyue, Su Ming closed the courtyard gate.

“Creak—”

The sound of the wooden door closing was exceptionally clear in the silent night.

Leaning against the cold door panel, he didn’t immediately return to his room.

The night breeze was slightly cool, dispersing the liveliness the two little ones had brought.

But Su Ming’s heart could no longer be calm.

Outer sect disciple!

That wasn’t just a status;
it was a door, and behind it lay the true path of immortality.

He quickly walked back to the eastern side room. The moment the door closed, Lin Yu’s soul thought, which had long been unable to hold back, jumped out.

“Disciple, do it! We must do this!”

Lin Yu’s phantom image excitedly rubbed his hands together inside the Xuantian ring, like a startup founder who just got angel round funding.

“Outer sect disciple! Stable monthly salary plus options! Plus internal training and team building! This is an iron rice bowl!”

Su Ming lit the oil lamp. The bean-sized flame illuminated his face, which held an unprecedented seriousness.

“The key is…” Lin Yu changed tack, a sly light flashing in his eyes, “how do we turn this ‘hard job’ into our ‘power base’?”

Su Ming paced under the lamplight, his mind racing.

From ledger data, to formation principles, to the intricate relationships between the various peaks of the sect.

A moment later, he suddenly stopped, a brilliant light bursting in his eyes.

“Master, I understand.”

“We’re not fighting for temporary gains or petty advantages.”

“What we’re fighting for is the ‘right to set the standards’!”

“Once the maintenance of the sect’s low-level formations must follow our procedures, then…”

“Even if Elder Ma is no longer here in the future, as long as this system is still running, any successor who wants to move against us would have to consider first whether the entire sect’s logistics would collapse because of it!”

Su Ming’s heart settled completely.

The road ahead was still perilous, but he had found that one viable, narrow path to victory.

“Time waits for no one!”

Su Ming, the accountant, felt the drive he had when pulling all-nighters to analyze reports in the Hanlin Academy completely ignited.

He immediately spread out paper and brush, dipped the brush fully in ink.

“Master, we must produce a detailed outline within three days that Elder Ma cannot refuse and cannot find any flaws in!”

Inside the eastern side room of Courtyard Ding-Qi, formation light swirled, completely isolating all external prying.

On the table, the drafts Su Ming drew up through the night quickly covered the surface.

Inside the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu’s soul power even materialized a huge virtual white light board. On it, drawn with strange symbols Su Ming couldn’t understand, were complex mind maps, frantically simulating and deducing.

Master and disciple, one responsible for refining the details based on the Cloud Hidden Sect’s actual situation, the other responsible for providing top-level design ideas beyond this era.

A sleepless night.

When the sky lightened at dawn, the rudimentary form of an outline titled “Outline for the Establishment of the Formation Lines Repair Hall” had already taken shape.

The outline was clearly divided into three parts.

Part One: “Draft Organizational Structure and Personnel Management.”

Clearly established positions such as Hall Master, Deputy Hall Master, Repair Team, Quality Inspection Team, Storage Team, etc., each with its own duties and clear responsibilities, fundamentally eliminating the possibility of overstaffing and buck-passing.

Part Two: “Standard Operating Procedures Framework.”

The repair processes for the ten most common, highest repair-rate low-level formation devices in the sect, such as the Bedrock Shield Formation, Spirit Gathering Array, Illumination Formation, etc., were all broken down into foolproof steps, accompanied by illustrative diagrams.

Part Three: “Contribution Point Incentive and Assessment Methods.”

Directly linked each repair disciple’s work efficiency, repair quality, and material consumption to the contribution points they could earn. More work, more reward;
survival of the fittest. Using the most direct benefits to stimulate everyone’s motivation.

Su Ming put down his brush, looked at the three thick drafts on the table, a flame burning in his eyes like never before.

He clenched his fist.

“Master, if this hall can be established, it will be the first deep root we plant in the Cloud Hidden Sect.”

“We want the status of outer sect disciple!”

“And we want this ‘right to set the standards’ even more!”

His gaze pierced through the window lattice, looking towards the few silent rooms in the courtyard.

“Within these three days, I must find the most suitable ‘cornerstones’.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep