Chapter 295: Preliminary Planning for Lingguang Hall

Tong Yao escorted Hua Changxi to the mouth of the withered well; after parting from him, she did not return directly to the city but instead rode her spirit cloud toward Nanxiang County.

"This territory seems to have expanded again!"

Lingguang Hall is located due north of Nanxiang County; previously, when Hua Changxi flew out from Nanchengmen, she could reach Lingguang Hall in a short time, but now the journey clearly took much longer.

"Nanxiangchengcheng..."

If what Tong Yao said was true, and Nanxiangchengcheng is the residence of the Zhu Que Emperor, then with Nanxiangchengcheng emerging, Lingguang Hall could certainly not remain uninvolved.

Riding her spirit cloud, Hua Changxi carefully avoided the Nascent Soul cultivators dispatched by the imperial family, slowly weaving through the skies above Nanxiang County.

This time, the spatial fluctuations in some areas surrounding Nanxiang County were even more pronounced.

"Seven, eight, nine... eleven."

Last time, she had detected only a few spatial fluctuations; she never expected that this time they would increase to eleven.

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

Tong Yao said that grotto-heavens and blessed lands would appear; could these locations be the sites of those grotto-heavens and blessed lands?

Thinking of this, Hua Changxi's spirit stirred; she memorized these locations in her mind and then flew toward Lingguang Hall.

Along the way, she discovered that the number of cultivators gathering in Nanxiang County had increased; furthermore, many demon beasts were lurking in the mountains and forests, including several at the Nascent Soul realm.

With both cultivators and demon beasts converging, Nanxiang County was likely truly about to descend into chaos...

Her spirit cloud descended, and Hua Changxi stood on the plaza outside the main hall of Lingguang Hall.

On the plaza, over a hundred people were advancing through flames; on the steps outside the Transmission Hall, more than ten others were crawling forward with difficulty; outside the mountain gate of Lingguang Hall, cultivators were also arriving one after another.

Such a number of cultivators joining simultaneously could indeed be called a 'grand occasion'.

Yet compared to the magnificent and towering palace complex, a mere hundred people were as insignificant as ants; even adding the Zhu Que Army members who had previously joined Lingguang Hall, the hall as a whole still presented an image of desolation and loneliness.

There were still far too few people!

Hua Changxi gazed down at those palace groups lacking vitality, her eyes flashing.

Having few people had its advantages; if there were too many, she would headache over whether she could manage them all.

Over at Mount Wuzhi, the preliminary management structure for the Five Elements Sect had already been established; with An Ze and An Ran handling affairs, aided by the mountain spirit, and protected by five demon beasts guarding the mountain, there should be no major problems.

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

She needed to finalize the management structure quickly while the current Zhu Que Army was still not too large; even if it wasn't entirely standardized, it would still be better than the previous laissez-faire approach.

Hua Changxi turned and entered the main hall, took out brush and ink, and began writing a planning proposal; after several deletions and revisions, she drafted a preliminary plan.

Departments of Lingguang Hall: Transmission Hall (Personnel Department), Logistics Department (Pill Warehouse, Talisman Warehouse, Formation Warehouse, Armory), Mission Hall, Merit Hall, Discipline Hall, Martial Arts Hall, Training Hall.

Positions within each department: Laborer → Clerk (Regular Staff) → Manager → Hall Master.

Promotion path for the Zhu Que Army: Ordinary Guard → Squad Leader → Company Commander → Battalion Commander → Regiment Commander → Garrison Commander → Assistant Regional Commander → General.

Appointments for positions below Regiment Commander would be jointly determined based on cultivation level, amount of merit points, and records of offenses from the Discipline Hall.

Hua Changxi reviewed the plan several times; confirming that the general direction was sound, she directly published it on the spirit screen in the Mission Hall lobby.

Next, she took out the "Zhu Que Army Roster".

Flipping through the nearly seven thousand Zhu Que Army members listed in the roster, Hua Changxi noted that since these individuals had gained the recognition of the Transmission Stone and been taught the "Zhu Que Divine Art," their talents were undoubtedly high, but their character was another matter entirely.

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

Using these criteria to filter talent was the most efficient method she could conceive.

However, while other departments could remain unstaffed for now, the Merit Hall could not; someone needed to record the merit points earned by Zhu Que Army members upon completing missions.

Looking at the "Zhu Que Army Roster," Hua Changxi pondered for a moment before fixing her gaze on the name Su Yu; apart from Yun You, the manager of the Pill Warehouse, this person currently possessed the highest talent.

She would first appoint this person as the Manager of the Merit Hall to see how things went; other matters could be addressed later.

Su Yu was concentrating on cultivation in the training room when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy in the room; opening his eyes, he saw a key hovering in mid-air.

Immediately afterward, the spiritual energy in the air churned and twisted, revealing two lines of text.

"Effective immediately, Su Yu is appointed Manager of the Merit Hall, responsible for recording the merit points of the Zhu Que Army."

"Regarding the investigation of anomalies in Nanxiang County: ten merit points for each piece of useful and valid information."

Gazing at the key and the characters formed by spiritual energy, Su Yu was momentarily stunned; a moment later, he swiftly rose, cupped his fists toward the main hall, and bowed: "Su Yu accepts the order; I will certainly 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 confirming the Manager of the Merit Hall, Hua Changxi saw that night had fallen and thus transmitted herself back to the Danyuan Secret Realm.

Afterwards, she ate some spirit fruits within the secret realm and began refining third-grade pills, continuing to upgrade her alchemist rank.

Meanwhile, at Lingguang Hall, everyone gradually discovered the content Hua Changxi had published, instantly stirring up a huge uproar.

"Why would the Hall Master suddenly publish these?"

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

"Everyone, currently, apart from one manager in the Pill Warehouse, other departments don't even have laborers; this is our opportunity."

"There are also military positions; previously, the Hall Master said nothing, but now we finally have a direction to advance toward."

The cultivators remaining at Lingguang Hall to cultivate all had fiery glints bursting in their eyes, while a few others displayed expressions of determined confidence.

Everyone knew they needed to work hard on completing 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 deliver it to Xue Xian at the Northern Town Guard Office.

Yu Fu took the storage bag and departed, returning shortly afterward to report.

"Master, while I was at the Northern Town Guard Office, I also encountered people from the Artifact Sage Palace, Talisman Sage Pavilion, and Formation Sage Sect. On my way back, I also saw the Demon-Suppressing Army on patrol."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi nodded; with the Five Great Sacred Lands cooperating so actively, she hoped that after cultivators from various regions entered the capital, no disturbances would arise.

"Cultivators from various regions should be entering the capital soon; go and tell Physician Xu to prepare for recruiting apprentices."

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

At this moment, the first layer of the secret realm was vastly different; new spirit herbs had been planted in both the southeast and southwest zones, while in the northeast zone, a large group of apprentices were busily harvesting spirit herbs and reclaiming medicinal fields.

"Hmm?"

Hua Changxi had originally intended to make a quick round before returning to the third layer of the secret realm to continue refining pills, but upon noticing Hua Sanlang chatting and laughing with a female cultivator, she immediately halted her steps.

"Jia Lu, come here for a moment."

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

Very soon, Jia Lu rushed over in a flustered hurry.

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

Since all stewards kept a close watch on Hua Changxi's biological elder brother, Jia Lu immediately replied: "On one occasion when Sanlang was harvesting spiritual herbs, he was burned by them; it was Zhu Qinghuan who helped neutralize the poison."

"After that, Sanlang frequently sought out Zhu Qinghuan to ask questions, and through such back-and-forth interactions, the two became acquainted."

Hua Changxi asked: "Was it my third brother who took the initiative to approach Zhu Qinghuan?"

Jia Lu nodded affirmatively: "Yes." Pausing briefly, and knowing what Hua Changxi was worried about, he added, "Since entering the secret realm, Zhu Qinghuan has been very well-behaved and has not excessively associated with others."

After hearing this, Hua Changxi looked again at Hua Sanlang and Zhu Qinghuan, who were still chatting and laughing, and observed that Zhu Qinghuan was indeed maintaining a distance from Hua Sanlang, while her third brother appeared to be the one being more proactive and enthusiastic.

"During this period, has anyone taken the initiative to approach my third brother?"

Jia Lu nodded: "Everyone knows he is your elder brother; people in the secret realm all wish to get close to him, and many often surround him to curry favor, yet nothing unusual has occurred."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi felt somewhat helpless; this was precisely the main reason she did not want to bring her family along when handling affairs.

Regardless of their willingness, her family would inevitably be affected because of her.

Yet not everyone can bear such influences. The transition from being ignored to being surrounded like a star by the moon entails temptations that are easy to imagine; she truly did not wish to test human nature.

"Keep a closer eye on my third brother, and also on the members of the Hua clan; if they commit mistakes, do not show any leniency."

Jia Lu: "...Yes."

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

Jia Lu replied: "The Seventh Imperial Prince... likes to move about, but he has diligently completed every task assigned to him."

Hua Changxi glanced over and stated: "Within the secret realm, there is only Chu Junhao; there are no imperial princes."

Jia Lu's expression stiffened with shock, and he hastily affirmed that he had taken note.

Hua Changxi took one last look in the direction of Hua Sanlang and Zhu Qinghuan, then turned and headed toward the third layer of the secret realm.