Early January.

The Qingfeng Dao Academy in New Magpie Town.

More than ten days had passed since the members of Qingfeng Dao arrived in Black Cloud.

At dusk, all the sect members who had gone out to sea returned one after another, gathering at Lin Hui’s place to report on their gains from this period.

"This trip to the sea was very profitable. We harvested over a hundred sea pearls, more than ten thousand catties of third-grade sea fish, and even found a sea relic—though it was just a common Blue Conch used for judging wind direction. The total income is between six and eight million coins," Su Yaping summarized.

"With Senior Su’s strength, it’s only natural for the haul to be immense. The rest of us were just along for the ride," Wang Hongshi said with a bitter smile.

"With such great profits, you all must be careful. Wealth stirs the hearts of men and will surely attract the envious," Lin Hui warned.

"Master, why don’t you join us? Staying at that Martial Arts academy, how much can you make in a month? It’s not nearly enough," Xia Si suggested.

"There’s no need," Lin Hui smiled. "Money can be made anytime if one wishes. The key is having the power and background to protect those profits."

"You’re right. That’s why I’ve already started visiting the local powers and paying my respects. I’ve given them half of the money," Wang Hongshi said in a low voice.

"Good. Things on my end are also getting on the right track. The next step is to slowly climb up. The Martial Arts academy has a high ceiling and great potential for future development, but I can’t be too hasty." Lin Hui had already learned about the promotion ladder at the academy over the past few days.

He was currently just an auxiliary instructor. Above that was Class Leader, then Head Class Leader, and then Vice Dean and Dean.

At the Head Class Leader level, the income from external study halls was terrifying. A single student’s tuition was one million a year. And the Head Class Leader of the Fifth Academy had fifty to sixty students in their external study hall. It all depended on how strong their students’ examination results were.

In Black Cloud, the relationships between students and teachers actually spread across all trades and industries, forming academic cliques and factions of various sizes.

"Our goal is to ensure our income is self-sufficient, then to secure a stable environment for dedicated cultivation. Everything else is in service of this purpose," Lin Hui said.

He raised his head, looking at the full moon, hazy with mist in the night sky.

"No matter where any of you are, from now on, we will gather periodically. For the time being, Qingfeng Dao will not accept new members. We will operate with the current sixty-six people as the core."

"Daoist Master, do you mean we should retreat into the shadows? Transition from a public organization to a secret one?" Su Yaping said in a low voice. He was quick to embrace his new identity, already calling himself a member of Qingfeng Dao before he had even learned its legacy Martial Arts.

"Yes. The number of complicated and redundant public affairs is too great, and it attracts too much attention. It’s better to simply operate from the shadows," Lin Hui nodded.

"Then, what about operating expenses..." Wang Hongshi hesitated.

"We’ll be individually responsible for our own profits and losses. There will be no organizational headquarters, no miscellaneous personnel, and no daily social obligations. With only periodic gatherings, the expenses will be minimal. I can cover them," Lin Hui said with a smile.

"How could we allow that? We will take responsibility for it. How could we dare let the Daoist Master spend his own money!?" Wang Hongshi said hastily.

The others quickly chimed in with their agreement.

"Everyone, remember this: your sense of belonging to Qingfeng Dao and your sincerity toward the sect determine whether the Dharma Seal you’ve received remains effective. Therefore, during our periodic gatherings, you will need to show that your Dharma Seals are still present," Lin Hui said.

"Yes! We will obey the Daoist Master’s command," Wang Hongshi said quickly.

The others followed his example.

"Let’s settle it then. We will gather once a year at this time from now on." Lin Hui turned around. "If there’s nothing else, you may disperse."

Having confirmed the schedule for future gatherings, the members took their leave.

Lin Hui was left alone. He stood in the courtyard with his eyes closed, taking stock of the Treasure Medicines he had left.

Without the support of a faction to supply him with ingredients for Alchemy, he had run out of Black Emperor Pills on the ship. The evolution of his Blood Seal had slowed to a crawl, and the super-speed progress of one month being equivalent to eight was gone.

Now, he was back to a snail’s pace, where one month was just one month.

This immense disparity made Lin Hui very uncomfortable.

’I need to increase my income as soon as possible and rebuild the supply chain for purchasing and refining Elixirs. I have the Elixir Recipes, and I can perform Alchemy myself. The main issues are income, channels, procurement, equipment, and a suitable location... Otherwise, with the rate I consume Elixirs like the Black Emperor Pill, my savings won’t last long.’

Soon, a simple yet complete plan began to form in Lin Hui’s mind.

He had the Alchemy Special Effect, Heart Unification. Making money was actually quite easy for him.

’Special Effect: Heart Unification (When refining Elixirs, your success rate will increase by thirty percent.)’

This was a Special Effect that had evolved back when he was practicing Alchemy. Now, it could be put to great use.

But he didn’t just want to make money.

Back in his room, Lin Hui organized his remaining Treasure Medicines. He had 14 stalks of Purple Cloud Ganoderma and 21 stalks of Yun Lingzhi. The medicinal garden in the maze ruins had only just been established; it would take at least five years for the herbs to grow normally, with a harvest of sixty stalks every five years.

This speed was the result of a Blood Seal evolution that had cost him quite a few stalks of Purple Cloud Ganoderma. But looking at it now...

’As expected, growing them myself is far inferior to buying or stealing them...’

With a sigh, Lin Hui gave up hope on growing them himself.

After some thought, he decided his next step would be to continue evolving conceptual things, like the Dharma Seal. Through his evolutions so far, he had discovered that only things of this nature could move freely with him, anytime and anywhere, without any restrictions.

’Since I already have a Dharma Seal for enhancing strength, continuing to strengthen that aspect is pointless. It would be easy for the sect members to lose their ambition. I’d be better off evolving something in another area, like a support ability or a Secret Technique for long-distance communication.’

Transmitting his voice with Inner Strength was useful, but it became completely ineffective beyond a certain distance.

If he could create an ultra-long-range communication Secret Technique exclusively for Qingfeng Dao, it would be far too convenient.

After handling that, it would be time to evolve the Star Breath Sword Manual again.

*

*

*

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since Lin Hui joined the Martial Arts academy.

His Body Tempering through Typhoon Swordsmanship had successfully reached the peak of the Ninth Grade, and he had quietly obtained the Special Effect: Micro-flash. Although Lin Hui himself couldn’t feel any difference at all; it seemed the same whether Micro-flash was active or not.

For the time being, he couldn’t figure out what this Special Effect did.

Aside from this, the Blood Seal had also evolved a communication Secret Technique for Qingfeng Dao’s exclusive use—or rather, a group Special Effect.

Using the Wind Disaster Power as a link, he named it Wind Chime.

The name came from the fact that every time the Secret Technique was used, it would automatically form a translucent, illusory wind chime with Inner Strength, which produced a crisp sound.

After passing the Secret Technique to all the core members, Lin Hui returned to the same kind of dull and monotonous life he had lived in Tuyue.

Teaching, cultivating, buying medicine, and performing Alchemy—day after day, the cycle repeated.

And through this repetition, a network belonging to Qingfeng Dao gradually and evenly spread throughout the area around New Magpie Town.

The various disciples each found their own way, quickly integrating into the local scene.

The members didn’t completely follow Lin Hui’s instructions, continuing to voluntarily offer up a significant portion of their monthly income as Qingfeng Dao’s core operating funds.

Over the year, Lin Hui also gradually found medicine procurement channels in the local Inner City, familiarized himself with the procedures, and settled into a stable rhythm of life.

The breakthrough in his Body Tempering from Typhoon Swordsmanship greatly elevated his Heart and Spirit, and a faint, colorful light began to appear between his eyebrows.

As everything progressed smoothly, an opportunity that Lin Hui had long been waiting for finally arrived.

*

*

*

「Inside the Taixu Martial Arts Academy’s Fifth Branch.」

Lin Hui packed up his teaching documents, stood up, and left his office, walking down the third-floor corridor.

Most of the colleagues and teachers he passed along the way gave him a slight nod in greeting.

Over the past year, Lin Hui had gotten to know almost all the teachers in the academy. After confirming that life in Black Cloud’s Inner City was relatively normal, he decisively moved on to the next step of his plan.

Walking step by step down the corridor, Lin Hui’s expression was calm, only offering a slight nod and smile when he encountered colleagues.

’Whether it’s channels for Treasure Medicine, protection for my disciples’ businesses, or the low-key stability I need for my cultivation, I require a sufficient background and power. I have the personal strength, but I need a faction to ensure that after I kill an opponent, I don’t end up provoking an even greater power. These things are all necessary.’

’As for how to obtain that power... cultivating it myself is too slow. It’s better to just borrow it.’

As for how to borrow it, Lin Hui’s gaze fell upon the training grounds below. Three young students were there, led by the Head Class Leader, watching other students demonstrate the standard Seven Forms of Smoke and Cloud.

These three were the students with the strongest backgrounds in the Fifth Academy.

Among the three were two girls and one boy, all around fifteen or sixteen years old. To have not even developed Inner Strength at this age meant that they either had extremely poor talent or were completely unmotivated and lazy.

"Daoist Master, I’ve gathered the information." Li Yuanyuan, princess of the Shadowhound Clan, appeared silently behind Lin Hui and spoke to him via Wind Chime transmission.

"Tell me." Lin Hui stopped, feigning a look of someone enjoying the scenery as he stood by the third-floor railing, gazing toward the training grounds.

"The three are Xie Rongsheng, Fan Lingxi, and Zhu Fei. All three come from Original Blood Nobility families, and none of them are favored. Xie Rongsheng is completely unmotivated and lazy. He only likes to indulge himself and is quite dull-witted. His talent is average."

"What about the other two?"

"Fan Lingxi has a naturally poor appearance and figure, and she has a congenital, irreparable deformity. Her talent is also poor, so her family abandoned her, tossing her into this fringe Martial Arts academy to fend for herself."

"Zhu Fei is a bit different. Rumor has it that she was too wild at the Moon Tower, causing many scions of Original Blood families to fight over her out of jealousy. Several were seriously injured in the brawls, and she’s had several abortions. Her family couldn’t handle the trouble anymore, so they threw her over here."

Li Yuanyuan was clearly an expert at gathering intelligence. From receiving the order to obtaining all the detailed information, she had taken only one month.

"Very good. How reliable is the intel?" Lin Hui asked via transmission.

"At least sixty percent of it is confirmed to be true," Li Yuanyuan said seriously.

She looked at Lin Hui’s back, hesitating slightly.

"Daoist Master, these three seem like hopeless cases who have been abandoned. They often bully other students, and their character isn’t very good. Don’t you think choosing them is a bit too arbitrary? Especially that Xie Rongsheng—he has no motivation himself. Even if others try to spoon-feed him, he won’t eat."

"Let me correct you on one point. As long as they are human, there is no one who cannot be motivated," Lin Hui said, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

"The reason he’s unmotivated now is simply because he hasn’t suffered a big enough blow..."

"You mean, we should artificially create a setback for them and then appear to redeem them?" Li Yuanyuan guessed.

"Why redeem them? Just giving them a little hope is enough. Whether they are redeemed or not has nothing to do with me," Lin Hui said. "I just need them to be obedient."

"This disciple does not understand," Li Yuanyuan said, lowering her head.

"Having been abandoned, they must have a fire of ambition suppressed in their hearts, a desire to rise up. I just need to make them feel like they are the protagonist, the core of the story. As for strength and power, the reason they haven’t obtained it yet is simply because the wheels of fate have not yet begun to turn..."

Lin Hui paused, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight smile.

"And now, I am that fate..."

These three were simply disposable pawns he would cultivate, to be kept when useful and cast aside to be destroyed when not.

Therefore, he only needed to contact the three of them secretly, without revealing his own identity. After letting them display a little bit of power, he would simply leverage the resources they obtained.

Achieving all this was actually very easy with the effects of his seal technique. The difference was, whenever he no longer needed them, he could retract the seal technique and instantly cast them back down to rock bottom.

Of course, if one of the three were to have a sudden awakening and strive to improve from then on, it wasn’t out of the question to truly accept them into the sect.