Chapter 295: Preliminary Plans for Lingguang Hall

Tong Yao escorted Hua Changxi to the dry well’s mouth. After parting from him, she didn't return directly to the city but instead flew toward Nanxiang County on a spiritual cloud.

"It seems the territory over here has gotten larger again!"

Lingguang Hall was located due north of Nanxiang County. In the past, after Hua Changxi came out of the South City Gate, it wouldn't take long to reach Lingguang Hall, but now the time spent on the road had increased noticeably.

"Nanxiang City..."

If what Tong Yao said was true, and Nanxiang City was the abode of the Vermilion Bird Emperor, then with Nanxiang City appearing in the world, Lingguang Hall certainly couldn't stay out of it.

Hua Changxi rode her spiritual cloud, cautiously dodging the Nascent Soul cultivators dispatched by the imperial family, slowly weaving through the sky 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 noticed a few places with spatial fluctuations. She hadn't expected that this time the number would increase to eleven.

Moreover, in the places with spatial fluctuations, the fire spiritual energy was even denser.

Tong Yao said that a blessed cave-heaven would appear. Could these locations be the sites of those cave-heavens?

At this thought, Hua Changxi’s spirits lifted. She committed these locations to memory and then flew toward Lingguang Hall.

On the way, she noticed that the number of cultivators gathering in Nanxiang County had increased. Not only that, but there were also many demon tribes lurking in the forests, including several at the Nascent Soul stage.

With cultivators and demon tribes gathered together, Nanxiang County was likely about to fall into chaos...

The spiritual cloud descended, and Hua Changxi stood on the square outside the main hall of Lingguang Hall.

On the square, hundreds of people were walking forward amidst flames. On the steps outside the Skill-Transmission Hall, more than a dozen people were crawling with difficulty. Outside Lingguang Hall’s mountain gate, cultivators were also arriving one after another.

Having this many cultivators join at once could indeed be called a "grand occasion."

Yet, compared to the magnificent and towering complex of halls, these hundred or so people still seemed as small as ants. Even with the Vermilion Bird Army members who had previously joined Lingguang Hall, the entire place still appeared desolate and lonely.

People—there were still too few!

Hua Changxi looked at the almost lifeless halls below, her eyes flickering.

Fewer people also had its advantages; if there were too many, she would have a headache trying to manage them all.

Over at Mount Wuzhi, the initial management structure of the Five Elements Sect had already been set up. With An Ze and An Ran managing it, along with the mountain spirit assisting and five demonic beasts guarding the mountain, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

Now, only Lingguang Hall had yet to get on the right track.

She needed to take advantage of the fact that the Vermilion Bird Army was still not too large to quickly finalize a management structure. Even if it wasn’t perfect, it would still be better than the previous laissez-faire approach.

Hua Changxi turned and entered the main hall, took out ink and brush, and began writing a plan. After several rounds of deletions and additions, she drafted an initial blueprint.

Lingguang Hall departments: Skill-Transmission Hall (Personnel Department), Logistics Department (Pill Repository, Talisman Repository, Array Repository, Armory), Mission Hall, Merit Hall, Discipline Hall, Martial Arts Hall, Training Hall.

Positions within each department: Menial Worker → Steward (formal staff) → Supervisor → Hall Master.

Vermilion Army promotion path: Common Soldier → Squad Leader → Centurion → Chiliarch → Myriarch → Garrison Commander → Staff Officer → General.

Appointments to positions below Myriarch were determined jointly based on cultivation level, merit points, and any disciplinary records from the Discipline Hall.

Hua Changxi read through the plan several times. Confirming that the overall direction had no problems, she directly posted it on the spiritual screen in the Mission Hall.

Then, she took out the "Vermilion Army Roster."

Hua Changxi flipped through the roster, which listed nearly seven thousand soldiers of the Vermilion Army. That these people had been acknowledged by the Skill-Transmission Stone and taught the "Vermilion Bird Divine Art" meant their talent was undoubtedly not low. However, their character was hard to judge.

Now that she had released Lingguang Hall's management structure, those with ambition would naturally strive to cultivate, complete missions, and compete for desired positions.

Using these mechanisms to screen for talent was the most efficient method she could think of.

However, while other departments could wait to assign personnel, the Merit Hall could not. Someone was needed to record the merit points earned by the Vermilion Army after completing missions.

Hua Changxi looked at the "Vermilion Army Roster." After some thought, her gaze fell on the name Su Yu. Aside from the Pill Repository Steward Yun You, he currently had the highest talent.

She would let this person serve as the Merit Hall Supervisor for now; everything else could be decided later.

Su Yu was cultivating single-mindedly in the training room when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the room’s spiritual energy. Opening his eyes, he saw a key floating in midair.

Then, the spiritual energy in the air twisted and surged, revealing two lines of text.

"Effective immediately, Su Yu is appointed Merit Hall Supervisor, responsible for recording the merit points of the Vermilion Army."

"For investigating anomalies in Nanxiang County, one useful and valid piece of information earns ten merit points."

Looking at the key and the characters manifested from spiritual energy, Su Yu was momentarily stunned. After a moment, he quickly rose and clasped his fists toward the main hall, bowing: "Su Yu accepts the order and will not disappoint the Hall Master's expectations."

As his words fell, the characters in the air dissipated, and the key landed in Su Yu's hand.

After Hua Changxi confirmed the appointment of the Merit Hall steward, seeing that it was already dark, she teleported back to the Danyuan Secret Realm.

There, she ate some spirit fruits in the secret realm and began to refine third-grade pills, continuing to advance her alchemist rank.

Meanwhile, back at Lingguang Hall, as everyone gradually discovered the content Hua Changxi had posted, an uproar immediately erupted.

"Why would the Hall Master suddenly issue these?"

"It must be because of the changes in Nanxiang County."

"Everyone, right now, aside from the Medicine Repository having a steward, every other department doesn't even have janitorial staff. This is our chance."

"And the military positions too. Before, the Hall Master said nothing, but now we finally have a direction to advance."

The cultivators who remained in Lingguang Hall to train all had blazing lights in their eyes, and a few even showed determined expressions.

Everyone knew they had to start working hard on missions.

On the first day of September, Hua Changxi emerged from the secret realm and handed a storage pouch filled with pills to Yu Fu, instructing him to take it to the Northern Guard Command and give it to Xue Xian.

Yu Fu took the storage pouch and left, returning shortly after to report completion.

"Master, at the Northern Guard Command, I also ran into people from the Artifact Saint Palace, the Talisman Saint Pavilion, and the Array Saint Sect. On my way back, I saw the Demon-Suppressing Army on patrol."

After hearing this, Hua Changxi nodded. The five holy lands were cooperating so actively—she hoped that after cultivators from all regions entered the capital, no chaos would arise.

"Cultivators from everywhere should be arriving in the capital soon. Go tell Pharmacist Xu to prepare to take on apprentices."

Watching Yu Fu leave, Hua Changxi turned and entered the Danyuan Secret Realm.

By now, the first layer of the secret realm looked completely different. New spirit medicines had been planted in the southeast and southwest areas, while in the northeast, large numbers of apprentices were fervently harvesting spirit medicines and cultivating medicine fields.

"Hm?"

Hua Changxi had originally planned to make a quick round and return to the third layer of the secret realm to continue alchemy, but when she noticed Hua Sanlang chatting and laughing with a female cultivator, she stopped in her tracks.

"Jia Lu, come here."

Hua Changxi directly sent a message to Jia Lu, who was in charge of patrols.

Soon, Jia Lu rushed over in a fluster.

Hua Changxi looked in the direction of Hua Sanlang: "What's going on between my third brother and Zhu Qinghuan?"

Since all stewards kept a close watch on Hua Changxi's biological brothers, Jia Lu immediately replied: "One time, Third Lang was burned by a spirit medicine while harvesting, and Zhu Qinghuan helped him detoxify."

"After that, Third Lang often went to ask Zhu Qinghuan questions, and as they interacted more, they became familiar."

Hua Changxi: "Was it my third brother who approached Zhu Qinghuan first?"

Jia Lu nodded affirmatively: "Yes." After a pause, knowing what Hua Changxi was worried about, he added, "Ever since Zhu Qinghuan entered the secret realm, she has been very well-behaved and hasn't made too many acquaintances."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi again looked at Hua Sanlang and Zhu Qinghuan, who were still chatting and laughing. She noticed that Zhu Qinghuan indeed kept some distance from Hua Sanlang, while her third brother seemed more proactive and enthusiastic.

"During this time, has anyone actively approached my third brother?"

Jia Lu nodded: "Everyone knows he is your brother. Many people in the secret realm want to get close to him and often crowd around to curry favor, but nothing unusual has happened."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi felt a bit helpless. This was the main reason she didn't want to work together with her family.

Whether they wanted it or not, her family would be affected because of her.

But not everyone could bear these influences. The transition from being ignored to being the center of attention—one could imagine the temptations along the way. She really didn't want to test human nature.

"Keep an extra eye on my third brother and the Hua clan members. If they make mistakes, don't go easy on them."

Jia Lu: "...Yes."

Hua Changxi asked again: "By the way, what about Chu Junhao? How is he doing?"

Jia Lu: "The Seventh Prince... likes to move around, but he seriously completes the tasks assigned to him."

Hua Changxi looked over: "In the secret realm, there is only Chu Junhao, no prince."

Jia Lu's expression jolted, and he quickly indicated that he had taken note.

Hua Changxi glanced once more in the direction of Hua Sanlang and Zhu Qinghuan, then turned and headed to the third level of the secret realm.