Chapter 609: A Mule or a Horse, Just Take It Out for a Stroll
Chapter 609: A Mule or a Horse, Just Take It Out for a Stroll
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Letting them stay on Mount Yujing for 5 days before putting them on Yun Peak for another 5 days was a way of inspiring these Foundational Disciples to aim to be better.
Although Lin Feng used his powers to gather the spiritual energy of Mount Kunlun and the nearby regions, improving the conditions to some extent, this place was still far off from Mount Yujing.
To say one was the Heavens and one was the Earth would be an exaggeration. But to experience the spiritual energy on Mount Yujing before going to Yun Peak would allow one to feel the difference.
Very soon, the bunch of Foundational Disciples were anxious as they awaited their test.
These few days, Lin Feng and the rest did not slack off either. Xiao Yan, Shi Tianhao and the rest all made their own preparations.
Just like the other time, the test was divided into two rounds. Lin Feng would be the main judge for one round and the disciples who passed had the liberty to choose the Master they wanted. After that, Xiao Yan and the rest would then choose their own disciples, as they proceeded with the second round of test.
If those who passed Lin Feng’s test were brushed off by the Masters they chose, they would not be kicked out. Lin Feng would decide for them and allocate them accordingly.
Lin Feng was also making his own preparations. But it had nothing to do with the tests. Rather, he was trying to improve and complete the construction of new buildings for his own sect.
Although the Cloud Mirror City was newly built and seemed isolated, there were already disciples who wanted to move their families there. Under Dao Zhiqiang’s support and through the space-transportation formation between the Cloud Mirror City and Shazhou County, the shifting was already ongoing.
Lin Feng had also instructed Dao Zhiqiang to search for reliable individuals to boost his housekeeping staff volume. Their main role was to take care of the chores.
Between the Cloud Mirror City and Yun Peak, there was the Mirror Lake. There was a lake-crossing path arranged at the lake. And at the bottom of Yun Peak, Lin Feng put up restrictions of the Purple Clouds stairs, which was used to test the intentions of those outside Xiling City. It was the opening of the sect.
Mount Yujing spent most of its time hiding in void space. Over at Yun Peak, it was like the visible location of the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Even those who wanted to join the sect could come over through the space-transportation formation, before accepting the challenge of the Purple Clouds stairs. For those who passed, they could become Foundational Disciples if they were deemed eligible.
Capable people were also needed at Shazhou County. Whereas the Cloud Mirror City and Yun Peak needed people to hold the fort. This caused some problems for Dao Zhiqiang.
Fortunately, Dao Zhiqiang was experienced. After gaining Lin Feng’s approval, he started to make preparations. He had scouted some useful talents. After some tests, they could be deployed.
Lin Feng shifted the mountains and created the lake, as well as constructing a city from flat ground. This was a bold move and one that was very awe-inspiring too. But for his ideas to be realized practically, Dao Zhiqiang’s expertise was also needed.
Everyone had their own talents. While a person might be highly skilled, he might not be capable in doing other things. Lin Feng had a keen eye for such things, thus he made preparations early. Now they were put into use.
Mount Yujing proceeded on the right track slowly. On Mount Yujing, Lin Feng started a new round of construction.
He started with the medicine valley. After the Blessed Spiritual Land was used on the medicine farms in the medicine valley, the soil in the farms became very fertile. They became very useful in growing spiritual herbs.
But every spiritual herb had its own characteristics. Not all spiritual herbs could grow in the same conditions.
If the Blessed Spiritual Land was used, it could still fulfil the requirements of each spiritual herb. But every time Lucky was summoned, it was very wasteful. A more appropriate method could be used to settle such a problem.
For example, if the medicine valley was expanded, it could be divided into different regions. Every region would be altered to reflect a different environment, since different herbs grew in different environment.
For example, the Snow Lotus grew in very cold conditions all year round, or the Nine Yin Herb that grew in a predominantly Yin environment.
Some of the spiritual herbs only appeared in specific seasons. When it was not that particular season, these herbs would stay buried and continue to absorb spiritual energy.
In deserts and on cliffs, there would be certain species of herbs that existed. And there were also herbs that only survived best at the bottom of the oceans.
Lin Feng directed everything while Yang Qing assisted him. The two of them divided the medicine valley into different regions and created different environments such as snow valleys, lakes, cliffs etc.
After that, they categorized the various spiritual herbs and grafted them to the specific environments where they prospered.
After settling the problem of the medicine valley, Lin Feng turned his head to look at Yang Qing, laughing, "Yang Qing, prepare yourself. From those who pass this test, there may be people posted here to help you."
Yang Qing remained calm and nodded his head, "I will try my best. Just that when this is over, I will like to try to form the Aurous Core. But I fear that may affect the Successive Disciples under me in the short-term."
Lin Feng laughed, "No harm trying. You can ask Zhu Yi to help you when the time comes."
After telling Yang Qing about the method Kang Nanhua used to overcome the tribulations of life and death when he formed the Aurous Core, Yang Qing went to try his method. He sealed his cultivation and went to engage in risky activities, from what Lin Feng observed.
Of course, with Lin Feng around, he did not allow Yang Qing to risk his life. But the risks involved were quite serious. It was like fighting a cultivator above one’s realm until one of them perished.
It didn’t mean that every effort led to a reward. But it also did not mean that there would be no reward. Countless experiences allowed Yang Qing to boost his courage as he faced death.
However, there were still problems with his determination. Having no fear for death was not the same as having determination.
But forming the Aurous Core should not be a huge problem. To Yang Qing, developing his state of mind and improving in his cultivation should be easy.
After encouraging Yang Qing, Lin Feng left the medicine valley. As he walked, he pondered. Normally speaking, there were 4 departments in a sect that allowed it to function properly. They were Accounting, Culture and Education, Law and Discipline and Logistics.
Accounting is the control of the passing down, organization and creation of mantras. It unearthed the innate battling talents of disciples and supported the gathering of intelligence as well as anything related to the defense of a sect.
Culture and Education oversaw the research, explanation and deductions of different collections of mantras. It helped the disciples understand their cultivations and was responsible for anything to do with literature and research in a sect.
Law and Discipline maintains the rules of the sect. It was used to monitor the character of disciples and provided suggestions for rewards and punishment. It was heavily involved in the administration of etiquette in the sect.
Logistics was responsible for the management of elixirs, herbs, medicines, magic items, talismans, equipment and clothing within the sect.
Such categorizations were very popular in many sects. Different individuals specialized in different things. This specializations ensured very clear standards and boosted efficiency.
However, such an environment bred disciples that were like students in a school.
Although they were efficient, they were suited to be taught in using a more collective model of education rather than an elite model of education.
The cultivation of mantras was beyond just a few, pure classroom lessons. A Master produced capable disciples through careful and meticulous teaching.
This meant that a Master had to pay close attention to each of his disciples and understand them well. He had to custom-make plans to nurture his students and carry these plans out. He also had to keep an eye on his students to ensure that they do not deviate from their paths. And if there were last-minute changes, he had to alter his plans.
Of course, a Master was not a nanny. But the effort that he expended on each and every student was immense.
With Lin Feng as an example, he passed down the Heavenly Classic of the Way’s Virtues to Xiao Yan, Shi Tianhao, Zhu Yi and his other Immediate Disciples. But he also encouraged them to comprehend their mantras and expended a lot of effort on each of them.
A few disciples would be ideal. If there were a little more, it was still plausible. But any more disciples would be too much to tolerate. No one would have the energy to teach so many disciples. If there were hundreds and even a thousand disciples, one would have to work himself to death even before he could manage all of them.
That was why Lin Feng invented such a test system. He wanted to move in a direction where the Foundation Disciples used a collective model of education, while the Successive Disciples employed an elite model of education.
Accounting, Culture and Education, Law and Discipline and Logistics were given to Shi Tianhao, Wang Lin, Zhu Yi and Xiao Yan to handle respectively. Yue Hongyan assisted Shi Tianhao while Yang Qing assisted Xiao Yan.
They were playing the roles of supervisors. They were temporarily in charge of these matters, but in the future when their Successive Disciples matured, they would pass these things down to them.
Regarding the 4 categories, there were still many areas to be improved on.
In terms of Accounting, a practice arena and mock battle arena were still needed.
In terms of Culture and Education, more cultivation places with faster time zones were need. In the Heavenly Ray Cosmic World, there was a limited amount of spiritual energy. It could not hold too many people at the same time. Furthermore, it would be wasteful to allow the average disciples to cultivate in a place where time was almost a hundred times faster.
What was needed was not something like the Heavenly Ray Cosmic World. It was places where time was 3-5 times faster than normal and which were huge enough to fit a lot of people. This was to make it convenient for a large batch of disciples to cultivate.
This was difficult, and not necessary. But with it, it would be very beneficial to the growth of a sect.
There was nothing missing in the area of Law and Discipline. But the rules of each faction had to be completed. Lin Feng set some simple but major commandments. After that, Zhu Yi took over things and set some minor commandments. It just had to be further completed.
In terms of dishing out punishments, a proper venue was needed. But it was not a pressing matter, but it should be proposed soon.
For Logistics, Lin Feng already drew a construction deed from the system to build a pavilion to cultivate magic items. A place for spells and talismans could be considered too. Talismans were particularly useful for lower level cultivators. They could be used for offensive or defensive purposes to great effect.
"Actually, nothing is very pressing." Lin Feng shook his head and laughed, "Even if we set everything in place, we still need people to operate all these things. We have to at least wait for a few generations to mature before we can operate smoothly."
"But we can lay the foundation first. When the time comes, we can just complete everything."
Lin Feng pondered over things and laughed, "All buildings start out from flat ground."
5 days passed very soon. The test for the Foundational Disciples were due to start. Lin Feng used his supernatural awareness to scan everyone at the bottom of Yun Peak. Eventually, his attention was caught by Luo Qingwu and Li Yuanfang.
"Come, little kids. Mule or Horse, let’s take it out for a stroll."