Chapter 295: Preliminary Plans for Lingguang Hall
Tong Yao escorted Hua Changxi to the mouth of the dry well. After parting ways with him, Hua Changxi did not return to the city directly but instead flew towards Nanxiang County on a spirit cloud.
“The territory here seems to have expanded again!”
Lingguang Hall was located to the north of Nanxiang County. Previously, Hua Changxi could reach Lingguang Hall shortly after flying out of the South City Gate, but now, the travel time had clearly increased.
“Nanxiang City”
If Tong Yao was telling the truth and Nanxiang City was the Vermilion Bird Emperor’s stronghold, then Lingguang Hall would definitely not be able to stay out of it.
Hua Changxi flew her spirit cloud, carefully avoiding the Nascent Soul cultivators dispatched by the Royal Family, and slowly traversed the skies above Nanxiang County.
This time, the spatial fluctuations in some areas around Nanxiang County were even more pronounced.
“Seven, eight, nine, eleven.”
Last time, she had only detected a few areas of spatial fluctuation. She hadn’t expected that this time, the number would increase to eleven.
Moreover, the areas with spatial fluctuations had more concentrated fire spiritual energy.
Tong Yao said that Cave Heaven Blessed Lands would appear, so were these areas the locations of the Cave Heaven Blessed Lands?
With this thought, Hua Changxi’s spirits lifted. She memorized these locations and then flew towards Lingguang Hall.
On the way, she noticed an increase in cultivators gathered in Nanxiang County. Not only that, but several Demonic Beasts were lurking in the mountains and forests, including a few Nascent Soul Realm Demonic Beasts.
With cultivators and Demonic Beasts gathered, Nanxiang County was likely to descend into chaos.
Her spirit cloud landed, and Hua Changxi stood on the plaza outside the main hall of Lingguang Hall.
On the plaza, hundreds of people were advancing through fire; on the steps outside the Transmission Hall, more than a dozen people were struggling to climb; outside the mountain gate of Lingguang Hall, cultivators were arriving one after another.
Such a number of cultivators applying at the same time could be considered a ‘grand occasion’.
However, compared to the magnificent and majestic palace complex, a hundred people were still as insignificant as ants. Even with the Vermilion Bird Army members who had joined Lingguang Hall earlier, Lingguang Hall still presented an image of coldness and desolation.
There were still too few people!
Hua Changxi looked at the somewhat lifeless palace complex below, her eyes flickering.
Having fewer people also had its advantages. If there were too many people, she would have a headache managing them all.
On Five Finger Mountain, the preliminary management structure for the Five Elements Gate had already been established. With An Ze and An Ran managing it, assisted by the Mountain Spirit, and guarded by five Demonic Beasts, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
Now, only Lingguang Hall had yet to be put on the right track.
She had to quickly finalize the management structure while the Vermilion Bird Army was not yet too large. Even if it wasn’t perfectly standardized, it would be better than the previous laissez-faire approach.
Hua Changxi turned and entered the main hall, took out her brush and ink, and began to write a planning proposal. After several revisions, she drafted an initial plan.
Lingguang Hall Departments: Transmission Hall （ Personnel Department ）, Logistics Department （ Pill Repository, Spirit Talisman Repository, Array Formation Repository ）, Mission Hall, Merit Hall, Discipline Hall, Martial Arts Hall, Training Hall.
Positions in each department: Laborer → Steward （ Official Staff ） → Steward → Hall Master.
Vermilion Bird Army Promotion Path: Ordinary Soldier → Squad Leader → Centurion → Commander of a Thousand → Commander of Ten Thousand → Garrison Commander → Brigadier General → General.
Appointments for positions below Commander of Ten Thousand would be jointly decided based on cultivation level, merit points, and disciplinary records from the Discipline Hall.
Hua Changxi reviewed the plan several times and, confirming that the overall direction was correct, directly posted it on the spirit screen in the Mission Hall lobby.
Next, she took out the 《 Vermilion Bird Army Roster 》.
Hua Changxi flipped through the roster of nearly seven thousand Vermilion Bird Army members. Those who were recognized by the Transmission Stone and taught the 《 Vermilion Bird Divine Art 》 undoubtedly had high talent, but their character was another matter.
Now that she had published the management structure of Lingguang Hall, those with ambition would naturally strive to cultivate, complete missions, and vie for the positions they desired.
Using this to screen talent was the most efficient method she could think of.
However, other departments could be left without personnel for now, but the Merit Hall could not. Someone needed to record the merit points of the Vermilion Bird Army after they completed missions.
Hua Changxi looked at the 《 Vermilion Bird Army Roster 》 and, after some thought, her gaze fell on Su Yu’s name. Besides Yun You, the Steward of the Pill Repository, his talent was currently the highest.
She would let him be a Steward of the Merit Hall for now and see what happened later.
Su Yu was diligently cultivating in the training room when he suddenly felt a fluctuation of spiritual energy in the room. He opened his eyes to see a key suspended in mid-air.
Then, the spiritual energy in the air churned and twisted, revealing two lines of text.
“Effective immediately, Su Yu is appointed Steward of the Merit Hall, responsible for recording the Vermilion Bird Army’s merit points.”
“For investigating the anomalies in Nanxiang County, ten merit points for each useful and effective piece of information.”
Looking at the key and the text formed by spiritual energy, Su Yu was momentarily stunned. After a moment, he quickly got up and cupped his fists in the direction of the main hall, bowing: “Su Yu accepts the order and will not fail the Hall Master’s expectations.”
As he spoke, the text in the air dissipated, and the key fell into Su Yu’s hand.
After confirming the Steward of the Merit Hall, Hua Changxi saw that it was already dark and teleported back to the Dan Yuan Secret Realm.
Afterward, she ate some spiritual fruits in the secret realm and began refining Third Rank Pills, continuing to upgrade her Alchemist rank.
Meanwhile, at Lingguang Hall, everyone gradually discovered the content Hua Changxi had published, and a huge stir erupted.
“Why would the Hall Master suddenly release these?”
“It must be because of the changes in Nanxiang County.”
“Everyone, currently, besides the Pill Repository which has one Steward, all other departments don’t even have laborers. This is our opportunity.”
“And the army positions. The Hall Master never said anything before, but now, we also have a direction for advancement.”
The cultivators who remained to cultivate in Lingguang Hall had their eyes burning with fervor. A few even showed expressions of determination.
Everyone knew that it was time for them to work hard and complete missions.
On the first day of the ninth month, Hua Changxi emerged from the secret realm and handed a storage bag filled with pills to Yu Fu, instructing him to take it to the Northern Garrison Command and give it to Xue Xian.
Yu Fu took the storage bag and left. He returned shortly after to report.
“Master, at the Northern Garrison Command, I also encountered people from the Artifact Saint Palace, Talisman Saint Pavilion, and Formation Saint Sect. On my way back, I also saw the Demon Suppressing Army on patrol.”
Hua Changxi nodded upon hearing this. With the Five Great Sacred Lands cooperating so actively, she hoped that the influx of cultivators into the capital would not lead to any unrest.
“Cultivators from various regions should be arriving in the capital soon. Go and have Pharmacist Xu prepare for the recruitment of apprentices.”
After watching Yu Fu leave, Hua Changxi turned and entered the Dan Yuan Secret Realm.
The first level of the secret realm was now vastly different. New spiritual medicines had been planted in the southeast and southwest areas. In the northeast, a large number of apprentices were busily harvesting spiritual medicines and cultivating the medicine fields.
“Hmm?”
Hua Changxi had originally planned to take a stroll and then return to the third level of the secret realm to continue refining pills. However, when she noticed Hua Sanlang and a female cultivator chatting and laughing, she immediately stopped.
“Jia Lu, come here for a moment.”
Hua Changxi directly sent a message to Jia Lu, who was responsible for patrolling.
Soon, Jia Lu rushed over in a hurry.
Hua Changxi looked in Hua Sanlang’s direction: “What’s going on between my Third Brother and Zhu Qinghuan?”
All the stewards paid close attention to Hua Changxi’s biological brother. Jia Lu immediately said, “One time, San Lang was picking spiritual medicine and was burned by it. Zhu Qinghuan helped him detoxify.”
“After that, San Lang often went to Zhu Qinghuan to ask questions, and they became familiar with each other.”
Hua Changxi: “Did my Third Brother actively approach Zhu Qinghuan?”
Jia Lu nodded affirmatively: “Yes.” He paused, knowing Hua Changxi’s concerns, and added, “Since entering the secret realm, Zhu Qinghuan has been very well-behaved and has not associated with others excessively.”
After hearing this, Hua Changxi looked again at Hua Sanlang and Zhu Qinghuan, who were still chatting and laughing. She noticed that Zhu Qinghuan was indeed maintaining a distance from Hua Sanlang, while her Third Brother seemed more proactive and enthusiastic.
“Has anyone actively approached my Third Brother during this period?”
Jia Lu nodded: “Everyone knows he is your brother, and people in the secret realm want to get close to him. Many people often surround him and try to curry favor with him, but there’s nothing unusual.”
Hua Changxi felt a bit helpless upon hearing this. This was precisely why she didn’t want to involve her family in her affairs.
Whether they wanted to or not, her family would be affected because of her.
However, not everyone could withstand these influences. The temptations they would face, from being ignored to being the center of attention, were unimaginable. She truly didn’t want to test human nature.
“Please keep a closer eye on my Third Brother and the Hua Clan members. If they make any mistakes, show no leniency.”
Jia Lu: “…Yes.”
Hua Changxi asked again: “By the way, where is Chu Junhao? How is he doing?”
Jia Lu: “The Seventh Prince likes to socialize, but he has diligently completed the tasks assigned to him.”
Hua Changxi looked over: “There is only Chu Junhao in the secret realm, no other princes.”
Jia Lu’s expression stiffened, and he quickly stated that he had noted it.
Hua Changxi glanced again in the direction of Hua Sanlang and Zhu Qinghuan, then turned and went to the third level of the secret realm.
