When Lu Yang stepped out of the quiet chamber, he was surprised to find someone already waiting outside.
His heart immediately tensed—standing there in a black Daoist robe, face gloomy and sinister, was none other than the black-robed Daoist who had previously assigned him to the Hehuan Hall!
"Greetings, Senior Brother," Lu Yang hurriedly bowed.
"You're not bad. Quite talented,"
the black-robed Daoist said with a smile, his eyes narrowing. "I heard that Yu Suzhen dragged a very capable young man into her room, and that a breakthrough to the Qi Refining realm was imminent."
"But I didn't expect that venomous woman to actually fail."
As he spoke, the black-robed Daoist gave Lu Yang a very peculiar look.
Three whole days—it had been three days!
Yu Suzhen's moaning had echoed outside the meditation chamber. Even though the black-robed Daoist prided himself on his worldly experience, he couldn't help but feel a bit of respect.
If this kid doesn't die, he'll surely be a pillar of the Sacred Sect one day!
"Come with me."
This Daoist's name was Liu Xin, a formal disciple of the Bu Tian Peak, one of the Four Inner Peaks. He was responsible for handling promotions from registered outer disciples and relaying sect matters.
"The outer sect has four halls, and the inner sect has four peaks. They correspond to each other."
On the way, Liu Xin enthusiastically introduced, "Aside from the Holy Flame Cliff where the Sect Master resides, our Sacred Sect is centered around the Four Inner Peaks."
"Since you came out of the Hehuan Hall, naturally you'll enter our Bu Tian Peak. I'll take you to update your registration first."
Having someone to guide him was exactly what Lu Yang hoped for. "Many thanks, Senior Brother Liu."
"Just doing my duty,"
Liu Xin replied calmly. "Once we finish updating the roster, I'll take you to visit the other three halls. Being a formal disciple comes with many perks—it's the sect's form of welfare."
"According to the rules, every formal disciple only gets to claim this once." At this, Liu Xin sighed slightly. "Once you're in the inner sect, if you want more of the same-level items, you'll have to complete sect missions and earn contribution points to exchange for them."
Lu Yang frowned. "Contribution points?"
"They're the currency issued by the Sacred Sect," Liu Xin explained. "Once you've updated your status, you'll be able to view them through your disciple token."
Curious, Lu Yang followed Liu Xin to update the registry.
The process was simple. It involved relocating the life lamp he lit upon joining the sect from the outer sect area to the inner sect area.
Then Lu Yang poured a strand of true qi into the token on his waist. Instantly, a line of text appeared on it:
> "Formal Disciple: Lu Yang"
> "As a formal disciple, the Sacred Sect gifts you 50 contribution points. Contribution points can be exchanged for spirit stones, techniques, magical artifacts, cultivation residences, and more."
> "Upon entering the inner sect, you will need to pay contribution points to rent a cultivation residence. Rent is 30 points per month. Of course, you may also choose to purchase a residence. As a new inner sect disciple, you receive a 20% discount on the down payment if you buy one within ten years."
…And so on. The introductory guide filled over a dozen pages.
After carefully reading, Lu Yang came to a blunt conclusion:
> "This inner sect runs on money."
With contribution points, you could get anything—techniques, pills, treasures, you name it.
Without them? You couldn't even afford a place to stay.
At the same time, Lu Yang also learned what Liu Xin meant by "benefits".
Every registered disciple who got promoted to formal status was entitled to one free item each from the Treasure Refining Hall, Pill Refining Hall, Beast Taming Hall, and Hehuan Hall:
One magical artifact
One pill
One spirit beast
One dual-cultivation furnace (partner)
All completely free of charge.
> "Looking at it that way... yeah, that's a real perk."
Lu Yang used his disciple token to open the redeemable item list. Instantly, rows of text appeared:
Techniques, artifacts, pills, beasts, furnaces—the cheapest ones all started at 100 contribution points.
Meanwhile, the listed rewards for sect missions were laughably small—most gave single-digit points, very few exceeded ten.
From this, it was clear—the value of those four free items after promotion was at least 400 contribution points. For a formal disciple, that was a huge windfall.
While thinking, Lu Yang followed Liu Xin to the Treasure Refining Hall.
They were greeted by Chen Hao, a steward of the hall and a formal disciple. Stewardship of the hall was his sect task.
According to Liu Xin, fixed post tasks like this were the most lucrative in the inner sect. A single task could support a disciple's lifestyle with plenty of contribution points, and it was stable—a "golden rice bowl." Unfortunately, they were rare and hard to get without connections.
"Senior Brother Liu? Long time no see!"
As soon as they entered, Chen Hao gave Lu Yang a quick once-over, then turned to Liu Xin and greeted him warmly: "Bringing in a new disciple again?"
"Sure am."
Liu Xin grinned meaningfully. "Then why don't you hurry up and bring out the finest artifact in the Treasure Refining Hall for Junior Brother Lu to see?"
"You got it!"
Chen Hao nodded eagerly and led them deeper into the hall. But as they walked, Lu Yang began to frown in confusion.
> "Isn't this a disciple's quiet cultivation room?"
Shouldn't magical artifacts be stored in a warehouse or vault?
Chen Hao looked puzzled at first, then suddenly understood and laughed. "Junior Brother, you may not know—the best artifacts are all here."
Before the words finished, they arrived at one such cultivation room.
"This disciple has been around a long time—spent three years as a registered disciple in the outer sect. Unfortunately, he was too rigid and took the wrong path in cultivation…"
As he finished speaking, Chen Hao pushed the door open.
Inside, Lu Yang saw a Daoist seated cross-legged on a mat, eyes closed, muttering in a trance-like state.
> "Success… I'm about to succeed…"
Suddenly, Chen Hao formed a hand seal.
The Daoist's eyes snapped open, a look of ecstasy on his dull face.
> "Haha! I've done it! Daoist Master, I've broken through!"
Boom!
Before the words were even finished, he exploded, flesh and blood flying everywhere—then instantly recoiled and fused into a skeleton left behind on the mat.
Moments later, the man was gone.
In his place, a crystalline, jade-like bone sword with perfectly ordered segments gently landed on the mat, gleaming with magical light.
Chen Hao stepped forward, picked it up, and handed it to Lu Yang, smiling with satisfaction:
> "Magical Artifact: Bone Jade Sword. Considered a top-tier item in the Treasure Compendium of the Dao. This disciple was quite gifted—cultivated bitterly for years. Without such skill, the artifact's spiritual glow wouldn't be so pure."
Lu Yang: "…"
Staring at the Bone Jade Sword and recalling his own past life, Lu Yang felt a chill to the bone.
He was finally starting to grasp the true nature of the Sacred Sect.
> Eight words summed it up:
The weak are prey, nothing goes to waste!
The sect invested resources in training these registered disciples, so they were expected to generate value in return.
If they couldn't—well, the sect would extract that value from them instead.
If you broke through and became a formal disciple, everyone celebrated.
But if you didn't, the sect wouldn't support you forever. It would reclaim every bit of investment to avoid losses.
To the Sacred Sect, disciples were either clouds or water—their purpose differed, but they were all resources, never trash.
> "The name truly fits the sect…"
Lu Yang closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Then, remembering he had the Hundred Lives Book as his fallback, he reopened them, calm once more.
"Junior Brother has good composure—clearly a fine man!"
Seeing how quickly Lu Yang steadied himself, Liu Xin's eyes flashed with surprise. Then his smile grew even brighter.
Lu Yang then followed Liu Xin to the Pill Refining Hall and the Beast Taming Hall, receiving a Qi Supplementing Pill and a Human-Faced Owl.
The pill replenished true qi when taken, while the owl was like a messenger pigeon, typically used by formal disciples to send messages.
When it came to the dual cultivation furnace, however, Liu Xin hesitated.
"You advanced too quickly, Junior Brother,"
he said, shaking his head. "You just joined the outer sect, and now you've already reached Qi Refining. The Hehuan Hall hasn't even had time to prepare a suitable furnace for you."
"How about waiting a few days?"
Lu Yang didn't care about the furnace at all, and cupped his hands respectfully:
> "I leave it to your arrangement, Senior Brother."
Liu Xin burst out laughing, then handed him a jade slip.
> "This is a secret internal technique from Bu Tian Peak. Take it back and cultivate it well."
Lu Yang accepted the slip and immediately used his spiritual sense to scan it.
In the next moment, an incredibly profound and complex cultivation method filled his mind.
> "Innate Dao Scripture"