“Tsk tsk tsk,” Lin Yu exclaimed in amazement from within the ring. “Disciple, you’ve truly imparted that whole capitalist ‘exploitation’ aesthetic to them. Look at Old Wang’s demeanor, he’s more like a ruthless foreman than you are now.”

Su Ming smiled, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes. “This is called standardized management, Master. Only this way can I free up my hands to focus on more important matters.”

Old Wang turned his head and suddenly saw Su Ming standing at the entrance. His stern face instantly blossomed into a chrysanthemum-like smile as he trotted over to greet him.

“Hall Master! You’ve emerged from seclusion!”

At this shout, the disciples in the courtyard performing menial tasks all stopped their work, standing up in unison, their eyes filled with reverence and admiration. “Greetings, Hall Master!”

Su Ming waved his hand, signaling everyone to continue. “Old Wang, well done. It seems you haven’t been slacking off these past two weeks.”

“How could we!” Old Wang rubbed his hands together, his face showing unconcealable pride. “Following that… that ‘manual’ you left behind, we optimized the repair process for two small formation plates. We merged the ‘cleaning’ and ‘polishing’ steps, increasing efficiency by over ten percent! Now our Repair Hall truly achieves ‘daily tasks, daily closure’!”

Watching Old Wang’s straightened back and confident gaze, Su Ming nodded inwardly in approval.

The former good-natured man from the Accounting Office, who used to be meek and only knew how to bury his head in calculations, had now genuinely grown into a technical supervisor capable of holding his own.

This was the power of a system, and also the foundation upon which Su Ming stood firm in this world.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard gate.

“Brother Su! Brother Su!”

The voice arrived before the person. That distinctive, raspy voice could only belong to Wang Defa.

Wang the fat man rushed into the courtyard, sweating profusely. The moment he saw Su Ming, his small eyes, nearly squeezed shut by fat, instantly lit up, like a drowning man grasping a life-saving straw.

“Good heavens, you’ve finally emerged from seclusion!”

Wang Defa grabbed Su Ming’s sleeve, looked left and right, and lowered his voice. “Let’s talk in private. Big catch!”

The two men went to a side hall and sat down. Without wasting words, Wang Defa directly pulled out a jade slip he had kept hidden close to his body and slapped it solemnly on the table before Su Ming.

“What’s this?” Su Ming raised an eyebrow.

“A letter of allegiance.”

Wang Defa wiped the oily sweat from his forehead, his eyes turning fierce. “Last time, those bastards from the Vessel Hall wanted to audit our accounts, right? Over these past two weeks, using my authority as the Accounting Office supervisor, I conducted a cross-comparison between the Vessel Hall’s material procurement lists from the last ten years and their actual outbound records.”

Su Ming’s heart stirred. He reached out, picked up the jade slip, and probed it with his divine sense.

The next moment, his pupils contracted slightly.

This was no longer just an account book; this was a meticulously detailed “list of crimes,” thorough to a frightening degree.

Inside the jade slip, dense data was organized into Su Ming’s favorite chart format.

Which year, which month, how much Star Pattern Steel the Vessel Hall procured, how much was actually warehoused, and how much was recorded as loss.

Which elder’s relative was in charge of the procurement, and how much higher the price was compared to the market rate.

There were even notes on where those so-called “failed” high-grade magical artifacts ultimately ended up—in which underground black market.

“Good heavens,” Lin Yu whistled. “This fatty is a talent! He’s practically stripped the Vessel Hall bare. If this thing gets thrown out, half the people in the Vessel Hall would lose their heads.”

Su Ming put down the jade slip and looked deeply at Wang Defa.

He understood that Wang Defa was gambling.

Betting that Su Ming would win, betting that the Repair Hall would become a true behemoth within the sect.

So he was no longer that fence-sitter trying to please both sides, but had instead staked his entire life and fortune on Su Ming’s ship.

“Steward Wang, this gift is… weighty.” Su Ming lightly tapped the table with his fingers.

“It’s not heavy enough!” Wang Defa gritted his teeth. “Brother Su, I’ve figured it out. In this sect, to live well, just knowing how to do accounts isn’t enough. You need backing, you need a blade! You are that blade, and I, Old Wang, am willing to hand you the knife!”

Su Ming smiled, storing the jade slip in his sleeve.

“Good. Since Steward Wang trusts me, then from now on, we are our own people.”

The simple phrase “our own people” made all the fat on Wang Defa’s body tremble with excitement.

He knew his gamble had paid off!

After seeing Wang Defa off, just as Su Ming was about to return to his meditation room to consolidate his cultivation, another “rare guest” arrived at the courtyard gate.

Dressed in snow-white robes, a long sword strapped to his back, with handsome features yet carrying deep exhaustion and… a trace of unspeakable awkwardness.

It was precisely the talented disciple from Formation Peak, Luo Feng.

“Senior Brother Luo?” Su Ming was somewhat surprised. “What brings you to my humble abode today? Have you come to discuss the aesthetics of the path of formations again?”

An unnatural expression flashed across Luo Feng’s face. He cleared his throat dryly. Unlike his usual haughty demeanor, he seemed somewhat flustered, rubbing his hands together.

“That… Junior Brother Su, ahem, I’m not here for a philosophical discussion this time.”

Luo Feng glanced at the busy disciples performing menial tasks around them and lowered his voice. “I heard you emerged from seclusion today. I came to… ask for help.”

Luo Feng got straight to the point. With a flick of his wrist, an extremely complex, crimson jade slip emitting a scorching aura appeared in his hand. “I accepted a sect mission to reinforce the core fire-control formation array for the ‘Molten Heart Furnace’ in the Earth Fire Cavern. This formation needs to withstand the dual assault of Earth Lung Poison Fire and violent fire spiritual energy over the long term.”

Su Ming’s expression turned serious. The Molten Heart Furnace in the Earth Fire Cavern was an important site for the sect’s alchemy and artifact forging; its core formation was no trivial matter. The fact that Luo Feng received this mission itself proved his abilities were highly recognized.

“Senior Brother Luo’s formation attainments are profound. This mission must be easily within your grasp,” Su Ming said politely.

Upon hearing this, however, a trace of helpless bitterness appeared on Luo Feng’s face—the kind of distress a genius feels when encountering a cognitive bottleneck.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep