Chapter 235: The Era’s Pusher
Hua Changxi, bringing Hua Sanlang along, found a spot at a tea stall next to the restaurant to wait for Tong Yao’s interview results for Hua Liulang.
“These past few days, clan members have been visiting daily, and many of them helped Grandfather in the past.”
“Although the Earl’s Mansion provides cultivation resources for those who test positive for a Spiritual Root, it’s far from enough for cultivation needs.”
“Knowing you are now the Secret Realm Master of the Divine Wood Secret Realm in Dan Sheng Hall, the clan members have come knocking.”
“But you don’t want your family involved in your affairs, and you’re very decisive, so Grandfather is overwhelmed by their pleas.”
“When I go home later, I’ll tell Grandfather that you’re willing to recruit clan members into the Secret Realm, and he’ll surely be overjoyed.”
“Ever since Grandfather became a Clan Elder, he’s wanted to do something for the clan, to give our family more say within it. Now that you’re willing to recruit clan members, the other Clan Elders can no longer use Grandfather’s seniority against him.”
Hua Changxi faced the street, her left hand supporting her chin, her right hand lightly tapping the table, listening to Hua Sanlang’s incessant chatter with a blank expression.
As Hua Sanlang spoke, he observed Hua Changxi’s expression. Seeing that she had no reaction, he felt helpless.
Why can’t Jiu Niang understand that the family is her greatest support!
The Earl’s Mansion had already inquired thoroughly. Other Secret Realm Masters have clan members as their core members, and then have trusted friends and relatives assist them.
They cooperate with each other, each taking what they need, naturally working together.
As it is, Jiu Niang hasn’t made any moves, while other Secret Realm Masters have already arranged their personnel, assigning each party their duties, and are systematically developing their Secret Realms.
Hua Sanlang sighed inwardly. He truly couldn’t understand why Jiu Niang was unwilling to use her own people. It was the same with the Fire Spirit Mine before, and it’s the same with the Secret Realm now.
Fortunately, Jiu Niang is willing to recruit clan members this time; otherwise, their family truly wouldn’t know how to explain themselves to the clan.
As for the Earl’s Mansion’s proposal to act as a liaison, connecting with several Nobles who had close ties with the Hua clan to jointly assist Jiu Niang in managing the Secret Realm, he didn’t dare to mention it at all, fearing he would anger Jiu Niang and ultimately jeopardize the recruitment of clan members into the Secret Realm.
At this moment, Hua Sanlang finally understood why his grandfather disliked his sister.
Yes, Jiu Niang is successful and brings honor to the family, but she is too arrogant. She’s so arrogant that even her elders and relatives must bow their heads to receive even a little benefit, which is too embarrassing.
Sigh.
Hua Changxi noticed Hua Sanlang’s continuous glances but ignored him.
She couldn’t completely ignore the Hua family members or be completely uninvolved, but she also didn’t want to be overly interfered with or influenced.
When recruiting apprentices, she would not intentionally exclude Hua clan members, but she would not offer any special treatment either. She would treat them the same as other cultivators who came to apply.
The reason for bringing Third Brother into the Secret Realm as a Steward was twofold: firstly, she genuinely intended to help. After all, it was too difficult for cultivators without backing or connections to obtain resources nowadays, and she couldn’t truly ignore the Hua family members having no cultivation resources;
Secondly, for the development of the Secret Realm, she needed a few Stewards to manage the newly recruited apprentices. For the selection of Stewards, she could only choose from those familiar to her.
Third Brother studied medicine from a young age and has experience managing an apothecary shop. It should be fine for him to manage apprentices in the early stages of Secret Realm development.
“Third Brother, Sixth Brother and the others are out. Let’s go over.”
Hua Changxi saw Tong Yao leading Hua Liulang out of the restaurant and quickly left the tea stall with Hua Sanlang.
“Fellow Daoist Tong!”
Hua Changxi smiled as she walked towards Tong Yao. Seeing the joy on Hua Liulang’s face, she immediately asked with a smile, “Fellow Daoist Tong, are you willing to take my Sixth Brother as your disciple?”
Tong Yao shook his head, “I will not take your Sixth Brother as my disciple.”
Hearing this answer, Hua Changxi was stunned, and then she saw Tong Yao smile.
“If your Sixth Brother were to become my disciple, wouldn’t I be a generation above you? Yet, I wouldn’t dare to have you call me Senior.”
Tong Yao saw Hua Changxi let out a heavy sigh of relief, and his smile deepened.
“Fellow Daoist Hua, I need to take your Sixth Brother back to my sect. If my Master is willing to take him as a disciple, he might not be able to return home for some time.”
Hua Changxi’s eyes lit up. Sixth Brother becoming a disciple of Tong Yao’s Master was a truly unexpected joy. “Then I’ll trouble you, Fellow Daoist Tong.”
Tong Yao smiled, “There’s no need to be so formal between us.”
Afterward, Hua Changxi and Hua Sanlang both gave Hua Liulang a few instructions, and then watched him leave with Tong Yao.
Watching the two walk away, Hua Sanlang couldn’t help but ask, “Jiu Niang, who is Fellow Daoist Tong’s Master in the Artifact Saint Palace?”
Hua Changxi looked at him, “Third Brother, regarding matters of the Artifact Saint Palace, Sixth Brother can tell you himself later.” She paused.
“The Artifact Refining Workshop is still sealed off. Please don’t casually mention Sixth Brother’s entry into the Artifact Saint Palace to anyone, Third Brother.”
Hua Sanlang nodded, “Don’t worry, I understand these things.” He then looked at Hua Changxi, “Jiu Niang, after I enter Dan Sheng Hall, can I also have a Master?”
Hua Changxi shook her head, “Dan Sheng Hall is different from other Sacred Lands. It has long been infiltrated by the Royal Family and various Nobles.”
“It’s impossible to discern which faction is the true successor of Dan Sheng Hall.”
“Or perhaps, the inheritance of Dan Sheng Hall has yet to be discovered.”
“In this situation, who do you want to find to become your Master?”
Hua Sanlang frowned, his face filled with worry, “I didn’t expect Dan Sheng Hall to be so chaotic.”
Seeing him like this, Hua Changxi comforted him, “Third Brother, put your mind at ease. Once we enter the Secret Realm, I will start by teaching you and the other apprentices the identification and planting of Spiritual Medicine, and then teach you Alchemy step by step.”
It wasn’t that she was bragging, but in Alchemy, besides Meng Qingyao, no one in the current Medical Affairs Department could likely compare to her.
Hua Sanlang looked at Hua Changxi suspiciously, “You will teach us?”
Hua Changxi looked at his doubtful and untrusting gaze and became displeased, “Yes, I will teach you. What, do you look down on me?”
Hua Sanlang was silent for a moment, “It’s not a matter of looking down on you, Jiu Niang. You only started cultivating less than two years ago, and your time studying Alchemy is even shorter.”
“Third Brother knows you have great talent in Medical Skills and Alchemy, and you might have been fortunate enough to receive an Alchemy inheritance.”
“However, I believe that whether it’s cultivation or Alchemy, it requires guidance from predecessors. Relying on self-exploration is a minor issue; if you go down the wrong path, you’ll regret it too late.”
Hua Changxi didn’t reply. Third Brother’s concerns were not unfounded, but they didn’t apply to her.
The reason was simple: she had obtained the complete Shennong inheritance.
However, she was too lazy to argue with Hua Sanlang. Once they entered the Secret Realm, the truth would be revealed.
As it was getting late, Hua Changxi didn’t say anything else to Hua Sanlang and they parted ways.
Hua Changxi returned to the Medical Affairs Department and directly entered the Secret Realm, continuing to brainstorm plans for the Secret Realm’s management and operation.
Talent cultivation plan: Apprentice → Spiritual Medicine Planter → Spiritual Medicine Preparer → Pharmacist → Alchemist
Secret Realm management structure: Law Enforcement Hall → Mission Hall （ divided into Planting Department + Preparation Department + Alchemy Department ） → Merit Hall → Logistics Department → Personnel Department → Lecturer’s Hall
The Lecturer’s Hall is responsible for spreading Medical Skills and Pill Dao. She can serve as the lecturer for now. Once she discovers good seedlings in the future and cultivates them, she will be freed up.
The Personnel Department is responsible for recruitment. The first and second layers of the Secret Realm have 150 million mu of Medicine Fields. With many apprentices to recruit, it will take a long time. Let Pharmacist Xu lead the other seven Medicine Children to be responsible;
The Logistics Department is responsible for matters such as food, housing, transportation, and tools. Let Eunuch Yu be responsible;
The Merit Hall is responsible for recording the apprentices’ contributions. Let Eunuch Zhao be responsible;
The Mission Hall is responsible for the collection, planting, and preparation of Medicinal Herbs. Let Hua Sanlang and Eunuch Zhou be jointly responsible;
The Law Enforcement Hall is responsible for maintaining order within the Secret Realm. Let Eunuch Jia be responsible.
Eunuch Jia, Eunuch Yu, Eunuch Zhao, and Eunuch Zhou are all Hua Changxi’s people. After the entire Labor Department was replaced, the four of them, through their respective channels, are still working in the Labor Department.
Before this, Hua Changxi had intended for the four of them to remain in the Labor Department to facilitate gathering information, but now, with no one else available for Secret Realm development, she had to requisition them.
Having determined the basic framework for Secret Realm management, Hua Changxi used her Spiritual Power in the first layer of the Secret Realm to construct two field ridges that ran through the southernmost and northernmost, and the easternmost and westernmost points, directly dividing the first layer of the Secret Realm into four areas.
The entrance and exit of the Secret Realm’s Teleportation Array are located in the fourth area. Once apprentices are recruited, they will start collecting Spiritual Medicine and cultivating Medicine Fields from the fourth area, and then gradually radiate to other areas.
The first layer of the Secret Realm covers an area of 100 million mu. Even though Hua Changxi is a Nascent Soul Cultivator, constructing the field ridges still consumes a significant amount of time.
While Hua Changxi was busy in the Secret Realm, other Secret Realm Masters were also busy. However, they had people at their disposal, so their actions were much more composed.
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Ling Jing Pavilion convened the first Secret Realm Master Assembly on Ninth Street.
The person presiding over the meeting was Xia Zhen. Out of the sixteen Secret Realm Masters, only Hua Changxi was absent.
The reason was simple: Xia Zhen had not sent anyone to notify Hua Changxi.
Xia Zhen even placed only fifteen chairs in the Meeting Hall, clearly showing an attitude of excluding Hua Changxi.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, Hua Changxi had shown such disrespect to Xia Zhen, even saying that the Secret Realm was bestowed upon her by the Divine Wood, and she had the final say on everything in the Secret Realm, with no need for outsiders to interfere.
In response, Xia Zhen naturally intended to teach Hua Changxi a lesson.
Since Hua Changxi wanted to have the final say, she no longer needed to attend Ling Jing Pavilion meetings from now on.
