Recently, after entering the Green Wilderness Secret Realm, both Qin Jianghe's mother and Tie Tou's mother had returned from the escort bureau in Songyang County. After coming out of the secret realm, they didn't go back to the county but stayed in the sect to cultivate with everyone else. They had explored every corner of the county, and there was little left to see—so much so that they even knew where all the dog holes in every alley were.
Thus, except for the disciples who had to remain outside, almost all the members of Lingxian Sect were now gathered within the sect.
On the following day, the second Lingxian Sect Assembly was convened.
The Sect Master Lin Xiao began with a brief opening speech, stirring up everyone's enthusiasm for cultivation and announcing the sect's development plans for the near future.
Then, the formal appointment ceremony began.
The specific details of the ceremony were omitted, but the appointed positions were as follows:
Head of the Finance Hall: Qin Jianghe – Responsible for overseeing all sect financial matters, including income, expenses, management of sect resources, and external business ventures.
Head of the General Affairs Hall: Liu Yunan – Responsible for managing the daily cultivation of the disciples, distributing sect missions, and supervising the general affairs hall staff.
Head of the Law Enforcement Hall: Yang Jinshu – In charge of supervising disciple behavior, resolving disputes, disciplining those who break rules, and organizing sect patrols. (Though, due to the presence of the Heart-Testing Path, the main duties of the Law Enforcement Hall are more about patrolling and maintaining security.)
Pill Refining Elder: Sun Yigao – Oversees all matters in the alchemy room.
Artifact Forging Elder: Position Vacant.
Talisman Crafting Elder: Liu Chun – Oversees all affairs in the talisman crafting room. Since Liu Chun is currently away, his identity token will be held by the Finance Hall, and someone will deliver it to him at the next trade fair in the cultivation world.
Array Formation Elder: Mo Yuanjiao – Oversees all matters related to arrays, with Mo Que as his assistant.
Spiritual Food Elder: Jiang Youfu – In charge of the sect's kitchen and dining hall. The food for the mountain restaurant and the Lingxian Eatery in the village will be supplied by the sect's kitchen through the Finance Hall.
Spiritual Fields Elder: Lin Laozi (Full name: Lin Quan) – Manages the planting and maintenance of the spiritual fields and the repair of farming tools.
Head of the Library Pavilion: Also Sun Yigao (dual responsibility).
Head of the Medicine Garden (i.e., the manager of Yaoguang's Small World): Liao Pantu.
Beast Garden Manager: Xiaoluan.
As for Xiaoluan being appointed as the Beast Garden Manager, it happened like this:
When the discussion came to the Beast Garden, there wasn't a clear candidate for the role, and no one volunteered. Some were already assigned to other positions, and others had lower cultivation levels, making them unsuitable for managing the Beast Garden. After all, it wouldn't be ideal for a manager to have lower cultivation than the beasts they were supposed to manage.
At that moment, a pair of wings shot up energetically among the crowd, flapping with enthusiasm.
Everyone turned to see Xiaoluan, mimicking the hand-raising gesture others had used to volunteer, flapping its wings wildly, as if afraid Lin Xiao wouldn't notice.
"Caw! Caw! Let me! I'll manage those beasts!" Xiaoluan cried out.
At first, Dapao, who was Xiaoluan's disciple, didn't react, but after a moment, realization struck—if Xiaoluan became the Beast Garden Manager, it wouldn't have time to torment him! His eyes lit up with excitement and hope as he glanced toward Lin Xiao, who was making the decision.
Although Lin Xiao had some reservations about Xiaoluan's reliability, it had never failed to complete a task given to it. Plus, Xiaoluan had the highest cultivation level among the sect members below the Foundation Establishment stage. With most of a Silver Frost Python's beast core still unconsumed, Xiaoluan's breakthrough to the next realm was just a matter of time. All in all, Xiaoluan was indeed the best—no, the best chicken—candidate for the role of Beast Garden Manager.
Thus, with Dapao looking on in anticipation, Lin Xiao nodded.
And with that, all of the key positions within Lingxian Sect were officially filled.
Next came the distribution of identity tokens to everyone.
After these matters were settled, each department began recruiting additional staff as needed. The meeting hall turned into a lively recruitment fair, with people eagerly negotiating where they would go. Some leaders had their eyes on particular members, while others with no current position expressed interest in specific departments. Everything was conducted in a harmonious and orderly manner.
Many of the older members of the sect ended up reporting to Lin Laozi, who oversaw the spiritual fields. After all, they had spent most of their lives farming, and for most of them, their first choice was naturally to continue doing what they knew best. However, some of the elders, tired of a lifetime of farming, chose to switch things up and try their hand at different roles. Others, unsure of what they wanted, noticed certain departments were severely understaffed and decided to join them to help balance the numbers.
As for Fang Mancang, Fang Manliang, and Guo Yuxiao, who were far away in Songyang County and the capital, their roles in handling the sect's business affairs fell under the jurisdiction of the Finance Hall. As a result, Qin Jianghe officially assigned them to his department.
With that, the initial management system of Lingxian Sect was formally established. Despite having only a few dozen people, every member had a role in one department or another—though, even so, they were still short-handed. And many, having only just been assigned their new positions, had no idea how to perform their duties.
But that was no problem.
Before the official sect-wide recruitment of disciples, there would still be time for everyone to learn and adapt to their new responsibilities.
Seeing that everyone had been assigned their roles, Lin Xiao knew the assembly was nearing its conclusion.
Looking down at the gathered crowd, Lin Xiao addressed them:
"As you all know, our sect will soon begin recruiting a large number of disciples. When these new members join, they will need guidance from their teachers. While the General Affairs Hall will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day cultivation of the disciples, they won't have the time or resources to teach everyone individually. This is where the need for mentors arises."
"Moreover, as each of us continues to cultivate, our understanding and insights into our techniques will begin to diverge, with each of us developing our own unique approaches. These ideas and insights will become our sect's most valuable assets, and naturally, these treasures must be passed down."
At this point, Jiang Youfu couldn't help but think of his Original Essence Heart Sutra: Immortal Food Chapter. The thought of passing on this unique technique filled him with excitement, especially since he found great joy in teaching his only disciple, Seng Seng, new things.
Sun Yigao also agreed with Lin Xiao's sentiments. For all living things, inheritance was crucial. Even what we call instinct in animals was, in a sense, a form of inheritance.
Lin Xiao continued:
"When it comes to passing on knowledge, it's impossible to avoid the topic of formal apprenticeships. Right now, the hierarchy of teachers and disciples in our sect is quite irregular, with cultivation realms all over the place. For now, this doesn't matter, since we're all friends and family. But in the future, things cannot continue this way. We must establish clear guidelines for this."