C13 Plan of the Sect

The decadent banquet hosted by Wang Ruhai at Fate Pavilion, a rare event that graces Deepmere only once every ten years, had concluded. Yet, this particular feast set off a whirlwind of excitement across the city.

The buzz in Deepmere centered around the reemergence of the long-inactive Twin Rage Sect, which had made a surprising comeback. Lee Qingyun, the sect master of Twin Rage, had shattered the image of ineptitude that once clung to him by defeating Zhang Tiankui, a core disciple of the Soul Capturing Sect.

In the wake of this event, the disparaging tales that once dogged Lee Qingyun began to fade. To the citizens of Deepmere, he was transforming into an image of resilience and youthful ambition—a sect master with a bright future.

Some residents were even eager for Twin Rage to start recruiting in Deepmere once more. Meanwhile, Lee Qingyun was energetically engaged in fortifying his sect within Twin Rage.

Nestled to the east of Deepmere City lay Green Mountain. Ascending the mountain path from the city's eastern edge, one would encounter a stone staircase with 3,674 steps. At the summit, a spacious square, roughly ninety feet across, awaited.

On this clearing, an old man with hearing difficulties was diligently sweeping. The square was, in fact, the expanse before his home's entrance.

The gate, constructed from fine pearwood, lacked ornate carvings but exuded an understated elegance and grandeur. Despite its spotless condition, the gate seemed to have lost its vitality, appearing somewhat worn and unrefined.

Lee Qingyun watched Uncle Liu attentively sweeping and inquired, "Uncle Liu, this gate must be over a hundred years old, isn't it?"

"Two hundred and ninety-nine years and two months," Uncle Liu replied, astonishingly precise down to the month.

"Ah," Lee Qingyun mused, "I'm thinking of refurbishing it."

"Good wood is hard to come by these days," Uncle Liu remarked.

"I'll find a way," Lee Qingyun assured him.

Uncle Liu responded thoughtfully, "Without quality wood and skilled craftsmen, it might be best to leave the gate as it is."

From the donkey shed, a supportive bray from an old donkey punctuated the conversation.

"Uncle Liu, why don't you take the old donkey for a stroll? I'll take another look at this," Lee Qingyun suggested.

When the system upgrades the gate and the grand hall, there's a chance we might witness some unusual events. We just need to make sure Uncle Liu doesn't get hurt in the process.

Uncle Liu grumbled to himself and ambled toward the donkey shed, leading the old donkey towards the rear mountain.

"Begin."

Once Uncle Liu was out of sight, Lee Qingyun instructed the system.

"Initiating the renovation of the sect's grand hall and gate."

"Renovating..."

Lee Qingyun watched in astonishment as, contrary to expectations, no strange phenomena occurred. Instead, the original gate was swiftly deconstructed and reassembled into a new form.

"Please select a couplet for the gate."

Impatiently, Lee Qingyun responded, "I don't want to choose, just build it already!"

"A selection must be made, the first..."

"Fine! I pick the first one! Just keep going, keep going!"

"The first couplet has been selected, corresponding to the mountain-protecting formation, Buddha's Wrathful Diamond."

"The mountain-protecting formation is currently a low-grade Yellow Rank. Each activation will consume 50 Heavenly Points."

The gate was rapidly erected, still using wood, but its height and width were now several times larger, measuring 60 meters across and nearly 100 meters tall...

Lee Qingyun swallowed hard. That was excessively tall...

The 60-meter width was divided into several gates: the main gate, side gates, corner gates, and auxiliary gates... Lee Qingyun massaged his temples, wondering how Uncle Liu would manage to clean and guard such a vast entrance.

A couplet stood tall on either side of the main gate:

"Buddhist chants echo at dawn through the misty temple,

A fisherman's song weaves into the autumn of sea and sky."

Lee Qingyun marveled at the couplet's profound cultural touch. Its elusive meaning made it clear that it belonged to a distinguished sect.

Despite the gate's somewhat overstated design, the renovation was a success.

Pleased with the gate, Lee Qingyun was ready to move on and inspect the grand hall.

"Sect Master!" Fong Yong called from behind.

Lee Qingyun turned to see Fong Yong, who was laden with bags and carrying a wooden bucket, up to some mysterious task.

"Fong Yong, isn't it exhausting to carry all those things up the mountain?"

Fong Yong wiped away his sweat and replied, "No worries, Sect Master. I've always been diligent and never shied away from hard work."

"I noticed that our main gate is peeling in many places. It didn't look good, so I figured I'd sell some things down the mountain to fix it up."

"You've paid me well, so I can't just sit around doing nothing, right?"

"You might not think much of it, but the gate is a sect's... um..."

Fong Yong looked up, his face glistening with earnest sweat and a joyful smile, then paused. "The face..."

Lee Qingyun gave Fong Yong's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Good job. For now, stash these items in the warehouse. They might come in handy later."

Fong Yong snapped his jaw shut and responded, "Absolutely, Sect Master. You're absolutely right."

Lee Qingyun suggested, "Come on, let's check out the main hall. It's going to be your workspace."

"Ah, of course, of course." Fong Yong was utterly amazed by Lee Qingyun's miraculous abilities. A tall building erected from the flat ground without the need for wood or stone...

As they entered the main hall together, Fong Yong's knees buckled. "This... Sect Master... Is this really where I'll be greeting guests in the future?"

Seeing the main hall for the first time was a shock to both Fong Yong and Lee Qingyun. The hall...

Yellow bricks and green trim, purple columns with golden beams, dragons and phoenixes frolicking, the epitome of grandeur and luxury... The exterior... It was practically a duplicate of the Great Treasure Hall.

This facade... It could likely rival that of a six or seven-star sect.

Reflecting on the mountain-protecting formation's effect that came with the main hall, Lee Qingyun felt a surge of satisfaction. It looked like the Twin Rage Sect was indeed upgrading their arsenal!

Oh, and the spirit gathering formation still needed to be activated.

With that in mind, Lee Qingyun instructed Fong Yong, "Get comfortable with the surroundings here. I'm going to head over to the cave dwellings on the back mountain."

Fong Yong acknowledged, "Understood, take care of your business."

"Host, just a heads up: low-grade spirit stones aren't sufficient to power a spirit gathering formation over five hundred acres."

Lee Qingyun, "???"

"Why didn't you mention this sooner?"

"It is, however, capable of supporting a formation that spans fifty or five acres."

Lee Qingyun, "Is it going to kill you to say everything all at once?"

The System fell silent and stopped speaking.

After a lengthy silence, Lee Qingyun couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, I apologize. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

The System responded, "Considering the current number of disciples in your sect, I recommend initiating the spirit gathering formation at the lowest setting. It will envelop only a five-acre area. A single low-grade spirit stone should suffice for its needs over a certain period."

Lee Qingyun inquired, "And what effects can we expect?"

The System explained, "Based on the system's estimates, it can amplify the spiritual energy by eightfold. With eight hours of operation daily, it can be sustained for a month."

Lee Qingyun exclaimed, "Let's do it!"

He then gazed across the five hundred acres of the cave dwelling area, his thoughts stirring. He mused wistfully, "When will Twin Rage truly flourish? When will we have enough disciples to fill this entire area?"