Privileges

The slew of rewards Zong Wenxian produced all at once instantly caused an uproar throughout the crowd. Not only the inner and true disciples, but even many Void Piercing elders looked on with envy so fierce their eyes turned red. "A mountain peak protected by a twelfth-tier formation, with an allowance of a full three hundred retainers! All three hundred are supported by the sect, with their daily cultivation resources paid for! The benefits enjoyed by the chief steward even surpass those of a true disciple—the only difference being that they lack a true disciple's influence!" "Who says they lack influence? Even a prime minister's gatekeeper ranks as a seventh-grade official! As long as the junior sect master possesses enough talent to show the potential to advance to Void Refining within a millennium, the chief steward's influence will surpass a true disciple's, not fall short of it!" "And a Battle Lineage Hall Master, leading an entire hall of elites! The thirty-six halls of the Battle Lineage are the Heavenly Dao Sect's most formidable instrument of force! Each hall is overseen by an acting Void Piercing elder, commanding four to six Void Piercing Battle Immortals and at least four hundred cultivators at the Radiant Sun Golden Core realm or above! What an astounding force that is!?" "That's nothing! The crucial part is the Refined Gold Mountain Range! That range is developed jointly by us and the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The refined gold and other materials produced each year amount to five or six million Pure Yang Great Pills! Even if Junior Sect Master Yaoguang only takes half of our sect's share, that's still an annual revenue of one to one and a half million Pure Yang Great Pills!" "The authority over District Three of Heavenly Dao South City is equally monumental! Across Heavenly Dao South City's eight districts, each houses millions of cultivators. More importantly, those cultivators aren't destitute paupers—there are countless wealthy merchants and prominent clans among them! Their annual tributes alone likely exceed a million Pure Yang Great Pills, to say nothing of the one hundred and eight shops! Managed properly, that's another million Pure Yang Great Pills in income every year!" All manner of divine mind transmissions rippled incessantly among the inner disciples, true disciples, and Void Piercing elders. Those disciples intimately familiar with the sect's various assets quickly calculated and realized, to their shock, that the assets conferred upon Yaoguang by the sect master were enough to guarantee him at least three million Pure Yang Great Pills in annual revenue. And that did not even account for implicit, indirect earnings. Three million Pure Yang Great Pills! Such returns in a single year! Calculated across a Void Piercing elder's ten-thousand-year lifespan, that amounted to a staggering thirty billion! That was enough to purchase dozens of Dao artifacts. Of course, the math could not be simplified like that. Earning five thousand a month did not mean one could save sixty thousand in a year and buy a home in a county town with cash after five. For one thing, a junior sect master was typically matched with the privileges of a deputy sect master, lacking only a deputy sect master's actual authority. For another, he had to cultivate to the Void Refining realm within a thousand years to retain these entitlements. If he failed to break through after a millennium, he would drop from an infinitely promising junior sect master to an ordinary elder, and his benefits would decrease accordingly. Yet even if they decreased, the true income of Void Piercing cultivators in a major sect never came solely from the profits distributed by the sect itself. Just like the difference between base salary and actual earnings, as long as an elder was not completely devoid of worldly desire, reaching an annual income of a million Pure Yang Great Pills was well within reach for every Void Piercing cultivator. Following that, Zong Wenxian and the others exchanged a few more words with Yaoguang, raising the question of whether to host a Void Piercing Banquet. Every Void Piercing cultivator was part of the sect's high echelon. Even in a premier major sect like the Heavenly Dao Sect, the number of Void Piercing cultivators could only be counted in the hundreds. The rise of such an expert naturally warranted a celebration by any top-tier sect. However, Yaoguang had no intention of keeping such a high profile. In his eyes, Void Piercing... Was still somewhat lacking. If one truly wanted to celebrate, doing so upon becoming a Dao Lord was far more appropriate. Seeing his disinterest, Zong Wenxian and the others did not insist. Conferring all these privileges was, on one hand, Zong Wenxian's way of signaling goodwill in hopes of easing relations with Yaoguang; on the other hand, it was an unavoidable choice. Next, they would need to convene and carefully discuss how to handle this unexpected variable named Yaoguang, especially when Dao Lord Penglai's shadow was clearly looming behind him. After promptly arranging a mountain peak for Yaoguang's residence, the sect's upper echelons departed one after another. Though the leadership at the level of sect master and lineage masters had left, many elders stepped forward to exchange greetings. In any case, making a familiar impression came first. As for the true disciples... Lingxi showed ample goodwill. Zhang Qing appeared especially enthusiastic. The two took the initiative to guide Yaoguang toward the mountain peak assigned by the sect. Before long, they arrived before a cluster of peaks. The complex consisted of a main peak and thirty-two secondary peaks, each separated by over a hundred li. Every peak pierced high into the clouds; the larger ones towered over a hundred thousand meters, their summits sprawling across dozens of li, while even the smaller ones reached tens of thousands of meters. Every mountain was crowded with countless structures, including palaces and pavilions beyond count. Countless birds and cultivators shuttled among them. And all of this was the personal property of the peak's master. "The junior sect master enjoys the perquisites of a deputy sect master, so this peak matches the residence of one. A deputy sect master's grotto-estate typically spans an expanse of a thousand li, and Junior Sect Master Yaoguang's is no different. These thirty-three peaks span nine hundred and forty li from north to south, and one thousand and twenty li from east to west." Zhang Qing gave the introduction with a hint of envy. Compared to Yaoguang's grotto-estate, while true disciples enjoyed the perks of a peak master, their peaks usually covered only three hundred li—a tenfold difference in total area. "Junior sect master, deputy sect master, sect master, elder, peak master, and supreme elder—although these represent different advancement tracks, the roles of junior sect master, deputy sect master, and sect master are principal executive posts, whereas elders, peak masters, and supreme elders serve in supporting roles. To distinguish principal from subordinate and rank from status, a junior sect master's estate is naturally larger than those of us true disciples," Lingxi said with a smile from the side. "Furthermore, while a true disciple is only permitted sixty servants, the junior sect master's quota is increased directly to four hundred. Among them, the chief steward receives thirty thousand Pure Yang Great Pills annually from the sect, and the subordinate supervisors earn between three thousand and five thousand Pure Yang Great Pills each. Such compensation... is considerably higher than the entire revenue of many local smaller sects." Hearing this, Yaoguang silently noted that it was far more than just "considerably higher." In the Yunchuan Mountains, factions overseen by Incandescent White Golden Core cultivators brought in only a few hundred Pure Yang Great Pills a year. That was less than a single supervisor's salary here. Such was the disparity between major sects and petty factions on Beihai Star. The major sects hoarded ninety percent of the spoils, while the smaller factions scraped by on less than ten percent, living hand-to-mouth and never knowing which day might bring their annihilation. "Junior Sect Master Yaoguang possesses a special physique, and your chances of achieving Void Refining within a thousand years are exceptionally high. You will likely reside on this peak for a very long time to come. Please bestow a name upon it. It will not be long before this name resounds throughout the Heavenly Dao Sect, and in the future, across all of Beihai Star." Lingxi smiled and offered the suggestion. "A name..." Looking across the sprawling range stretching over a thousand li, Yaoguang gave it little thought before answering directly, "Let it be called Nine Cauldrons Peak." "A promise as weighty as nine cauldrons, settling the fate of the realm... A fine name. One can see Junior Sect Master Yaoguang's noble character reflected in it," Zhang Qing praised with a smile. Yaoguang offered no explanation, descending directly toward the main peak. Atop the peak, the chief steward, having received advance notice, was already waiting with his staff. When they saw Yaoguang and the others touch down, the entire group came forward to greet them. "We welcome the Junior Sect Master home." The sect assigned caretakers to manage the day-to-day operations of every mountain peak. Of course, if the junior sect master wished to replace them with his own people, he could do so at will. All it took was a word to the registrar of the Immortal Lineage. "The operations of the peak shall continue as usual," Yaoguang said. As junior sect master, he now carried substantial weight within the Heavenly Dao Sect. If true disciples were groomed by top factions as future Void Refining peak masters, then a junior sect master... Was already a member of the Void Refining reserve. Such standing carried immense significance in the sect. Yet he understood his own situation all too well. Becoming a true disciple through the Golden Book of the Great Dao, and then using its authority to step directly into the position of junior sect master, made him an outsider parachuted in midway as far as the sect's high echelons were concerned. Furthermore, he had been delivered to the Heavenly Dao Sect directly by Dao Lord Penglai. It was inevitable that the leadership would suspect whether Dao Lord Penglai was using him to scheme against the sect. With neither side knowing the other's true intentions, friction and probing would be unavoidable in the days ahead. Yaoguang needed to ascertain their stance, and they were just as keen to discern his. If he maintained a low, obedient profile... Both sides could coexist peacefully. If he began stirring up trouble right out of the gate, the Heavenly Dao Sect's inner circle might very well use Dao Lord Penglai as an excuse to shut him out completely, ensuring their own interests were not diluted. Extraordinary talent!? When personal interests were at stake, who cared whether you might become a top-tier powerhouse in the future? They would still cast you aside as far as possible. Even in the mortal world, those in power turned talent away at the gates to protect their official posts. Immortals prioritized naked self-interest even more, making them far more selfish and ruthless in such matters. Therefore, before stabilizing the situation and striking a balance with the majority of the sect's factions, he had no intention of dragging the people of the Nine Cauldrons Sect into the vortex of the Heavenly Dao Sect's power struggles. Before Yaoguang could step into the main palace of the peak, two streaks of light tore through the distant horizon. "It's Elder Wan Qianshan of the Immortal Lineage's Law Enforcement Hall and Elder Chi Yu of the Chi Family," Zhang Qing, who was intimately acquainted with the sect's elders, said immediately. The two landed from their streaks of light and cupped their hands toward Yaoguang from a distance. "Pardon the intrusion, Junior Sect Master Yaoguang." Elder Wan Qianshan of the Law Enforcement Hall spoke first: "Hou Feng reported that Junior Sect Master Yaoguang had slain True Disciple Xuan Shuang. Following our investigation, we determined there was surely a misunderstanding, likely caused by an error in Elder Tushan's Myriad Immortals Compass." Adopting a righteous and stern tone, he declared, "The Law Enforcement Hall's warrant for your arrest has been rescinded. Furthermore, the sect will hold all personnel who handled this matter accountable. In particular, Elder Hou Feng failed to investigate thoroughly and misreported the situation. Once he returns to the sect, our Immortal Lineage will certainly discipline him appropriately."