From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 81 Zhongtian Martial Arts and Guzhou Martial Arts

After becoming an apprentice, Ji Ya began to show his talent. He would often go to the martial arts arena to spar with others. With his strong vital energy, he won many battles and proved that he was worthy of being the sect leader's apprentice.

This made the disciples admire the sect leader's discerning eye once again; those chosen by the sect leader were indeed geniuses, one in a million.

In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed quickly.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier, but Li Qingqiu was in a good mood as she walked along the mountain path.

After this period of cultivation, he has gained a deeper understanding of the Hundred Refinement Demon Body. The Hundred Refinement Demon Body is not just about increasing vital energy; it can also hide one's aura, suppress one's cultivation level, and convert spiritual energy into vital energy at a speed several times faster than that of ordinary people.

In addition, Li Qingqiu discovered that the Hundred Refinements Demon Body did not improve his comprehension.

From this perspective, even without the Hundred Refinement Demon Body, Ji Ya was still an outstanding genius. Perhaps it was precisely because his talent and comprehension far surpassed those of ordinary people that he was able to persevere and achieve the Hundred Refinement Demon Body.

Li Qingqiu continued climbing the mountain while thinking about it.

Once he reached the stone path leading up the mountain, he would encounter people every few steps.

In addition to disciples and pilgrims, farmers from the foot of the mountain also came up to deliver vegetables, flowers and fruits. Although Qingxiao Sect had its own farmland, as more and more people came up the mountain, the supply of food became insufficient, and Zhang Yuchun had to go down the mountain to do business with the farmers.

Of course, Zhang Yuchun did this in order to establish closer ties with the farmers at the foot of the mountain and to prepare for the future construction of a town.

After the battle of the prefecture, the reputation of Qingxiao Sect has increased significantly, and more people are coming up the mountain every day. Some people have started to want to pay Qingxiao Sect disciples to do things for them. Today, Li Qingqiu will discuss this matter with his junior brothers and sisters.

Half an hour later, Li Qingqiu arrived at Lingxiao Courtyard, where Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Dongyue, Li Sifeng, Li Sijin, Yang Jueding, and Zhang Yu had been waiting for a long time.

After confirming from Master Wei's memories that there were no other cultivation sects in the Great Li Dynasty, Li Qingqiu ordered Jiang Zhaoxia to withdraw and entrusted the spirit mine to the true disciples for guarding. Of course, Li Qingqiu also left trusted confidants in the spirit mine, such as his disciple Qin Ye.

After being defeated by Ji Ya, Qin Ye was deeply discouraged and took the opportunity to go to the spirit mine to cultivate and refine his skills.

Upon seeing Li Qingqiu approach, everyone stood up.

"All sit down."

Li Qingqiu sat between Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue and chuckled softly.

Next, they need to discuss the framework of Qingxiao Sect. This matter is urgent and cannot be delayed, otherwise things could easily fall into chaos.

After everyone sat down, Li Qingqiu asked them to give their opinions one by one. Zhang Yu was not a high-ranking member; he was here mainly to refine the framework they had set and record it in a booklet.

They had discussed these matters many times, and this time it was finally finalized.

Half an hour later, Li Qingqiu finalized the framework of the sect, which would henceforth be set as seven halls.

The Imperial Spirit Hall is responsible for matters such as the disciple roster and personnel transfers. Its head is Zhang Yuchun.

The Enforcement Hall is responsible for enforcing the sect's rules and supervising the conduct and behavior of all disciples. Its head is Xu Ning.

The Cultivation Hall is responsible for managing all kinds of martial arts resources within the sect, overseeing the Scripture Pavilion, and later including spiritual plants. The hall master is Li Sijin.

The Training Hall is responsible for receiving and assigning tasks, and its leader is Li Sifeng.

The Heavenly Craft Hall is responsible for the creation of equipment and construction, and will later take over formations and alchemy. The hall master, Zhang Yuchun, will take on both roles and will select suitable talents later.

Guangyuan Hall is responsible for diplomacy and various activities within the sect. It will also host martial arts competitions within the sect in the future, so the hall's management and assessment system will need to be adjusted in real time. The hall master is Yang Jueding.

The Lingcai Hall is responsible for the sect's finances, including the allocation of blessed lands and the statistics of spirit stones. The hall master is Li Dongyue.

Each hall can have one deputy hall master and two elders, and can recruit up to fifteen disciples.

The monthly salary of the disciples of the Seven Halls is five to ten strings of cash, the monthly salary of the elders of the Seven Halls is fifty to seventy strings of cash, and the monthly salary of the head and deputy head of the Seven Halls is one hundred to two hundred strings of cash.

One string of cash was equal to one thousand copper coins. In today's world, ten copper coins can buy a peck of rice.

This is just a worldly treatment; in the future, spirit stones and spirit plants will also be included in the monthly salary.

Even so, this monthly salary was already higher than that of many officials, which was enough to inspire the disciples.

Li Qingqiu was also thinking about sect contribution points, because sooner or later, Qingxiao Sect would break free from worldly constraints, at which point money would lose its meaning, and spirit stones would become the new currency.

He kept his thoughts of things further ahead to himself and wouldn't say them out loud to cause trouble. For now, it was enough to set the general framework for the sect.

After the establishment of the Seven Halls, Zhang Yu wrote the rules, Zhang Yuchun reviewed them, and a notice was posted early the next morning to inform the disciples of the sect that books of rules for each hall would be written in batches for the disciples to read at any time.

The Seven Halls won't be fully staffed all at once, but their emergence has caused a sensation throughout the entire Qingxiao Sect.

The disciples were unaware that they were cultivating immortality. They did not come up the mountain to practice martial arts in pursuit of longevity. They only wanted to acquire skills so that they could support their families and take care of their parents in the future. Now that they could earn money by practicing martial arts on the mountain, how could they not be excited?
Even if they don't need that much money on the mountain, they can take it back to their families. With the monthly salary announced, the morale of everyone in Qingxiao Sect has clearly increased. In their hearts, staying on Qingxiao Mountain in the future is more promising than going down the mountain.

The sect will also distribute money based on the disciples' past contributions. Disciples can go to the Imperial Spirit Hall to apply for a document recording their contributions, and then go to the Spirit Wealth Hall to collect their money with the document.

From this point on, Qingxiao Sect's finances began to circulate. Although a lot of money seemed to be distributed, the disciples' enthusiasm increased, and they would create more benefits for the sect.

The Training Hall was the first branch to open to outsiders, and people who wanted to hire Qingxiao Sect disciples flocked to it. However, Qingxiao Sect did not accept all missions. The disciples of the Training Hall had to be strictly vetted, and they could not help evil grow stronger, nor could they be exposed to unknown dangers.

The news of the Seven Halls spread, and many guest houses were talking about it, all marveling that Qingxiao Sect was truly about to take off.

"The division of these seven halls is quite reasonable. As the number of disciples increases, it is indeed necessary to divide the power, otherwise trouble is likely to occur," Zhu Yan said softly in praise.

Sitting opposite her, Su Xiling couldn't help but smile and say, "Miss, we've been together for so many years, why don't you join the Qingxiao Sect?"

Zhu Yan smiled and said, "Qingxiao Sect defeated the Demonic Sect and saved the people. It is indeed worth my joining. However, it is not appropriate for us to directly say that we want to join. Not to mention whether they will agree or not, such behavior would be shameless. How about this, you go down the mountain and bring up my books and martial arts. I will give them to Qingxiao Sect as well. You can also announce that I, Zhu Yan, am preparing to join Qingxiao Sect."

Su Xiling was surprised, not expecting her young lady to be able to do such a thing, which was equivalent to giving her own reputation to Qingxiao Sect.

She didn't stop her, thinking it was fine, since Zhu Yan was already tired of worldly struggles for fame and fortune.

The master and servant chatted for a while longer before Su Xiling went back to her room to pack her luggage.

……

The harsh winter of that year did not hinder the development of Qingxiao Sect.

As the year draws to a close, the number of disciples in Qingxiao Sect has exceeded 450, and its development momentum is unstoppable.

With more people, the Spring Festival naturally becomes more lively.

After Su Xiling returned, she and Zhu Yan went to find Li Qingqiu, expressed their desire to join the Qingxiao Sect, and presented him with their treasured books.

Li Qingqiu naturally wouldn't refuse. New disciples who join the Qingxiao Sect not only have to learn martial arts, but also have to study. The mountain has already hired several teachers, but it's still not enough.

Zhu Yan is a renowned scholar, and her arrival will inevitably attract many scholars. Moreover, no one can ever have too many books. In the Great Li Dynasty, good books are worth a fortune, and many noble families have stood the test of time by passing down their knowledge through books.

Eighty percent of the world's population has never been to school and is illiterate.

Reading enlightens the mind and broadens understanding; Li Qingqiu needed his disciples to possess creativity.

As a renowned scholar who had spent many years at Qingxiao Sect, Zhu Yan was presented with so many books and martial arts manuals upon her arrival, and was accompanied by a martial arts master who had entered the realm of martial arts. In every way, Zhu Yan deserved Li Qingqiu's generous treatment.

Therefore, Li Qingqiu made the decision to appoint Zhu Yan as the deputy head of Tiangong Hall. It was just in time for Zhang Yuchun to be too busy to manage both halls, which was really difficult for him.

That very day, Li Qingqiu instructed Zhang Yuchun to spread the word. The disciples were not particularly affected, but the pilgrims on the mountain were greatly shocked.

To become a renowned scholar, talent alone is not enough; one must also have a distinguished lineage. The Zhu family is a family whose fame is known throughout the world. The Zhu family's support for the Qingxiao Sect will also make other families set aside their concerns and come to invest.

Don't be fooled by the high monthly salary offered by Li Qingqiu for the Seven Halls; this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket for the Qingxiao Sect. There are too many people who want to give money to the Qingxiao Sect right now.

Following the Spring Festival, Qingxiao Gate is filled with great joy.

An official from Zhenyang Imperial City arrived and, in front of many disciples and pilgrims on the mountain, read out the imperial edict. The emperor learned of Qingxiao Sect's actions and bestowed upon Qingxiao Sect the title of the number one sect in Guzhou, awarding it ten thousand taels of gold.

Moreover, the official also carried a plaque that read "The First School of Guzhou," and according to the official, the person who wrote the plaque was none other than the current emperor.

Upon hearing this and seeing the plaque, the onlookers were all excited.

Zhang Yuchun, who was in charge of receiving the officials, immediately bowed and thanked the emperor for his grace. Even though he hated the emperor, he had to be polite in front of everyone to avoid causing trouble for Qingxiao Sect.

"I am Guo Ziyan, a member of the Imperial Guard. I have been practicing martial arts since I was three years old. I have heard that the master of Qingxiao Sect has unparalleled martial arts skills. I would like to have a friendly spar with him. I just want to see if there is a difference in strength between the martial arts world of Zhongtian and the martial arts world of Guzhou."

A man dressed in purple brocade robes suddenly stepped forward and spoke. His voice was loud and clear, and everyone present could hear him clearly.

Zhang Yuchun had noticed him long ago; the man's skill was so profound that he could hardly ignore him.

Sure enough, the person jumped out.

His words caused an uproar. The imperial reward had just been given, and someone was already challenging the Qingxiao Sect Master. What did this mean?

Most people had never heard of the Imperial Guard, but judging from the name, it seemed to be the emperor's personal guard.

Guo Ziyan scanned the crowd, frowned, and asked, "Where is Li Qingqiu?"

　Thank you Qian Xiaojiu for the 100 Qidian coins!
　　Ninth update!
　　It's really burned out, guys! Let's get some monthly votes to encourage each other QAQ
　　
　
(End of this chapter)