Justin spent the rest of the day guiding Eric.
He emptied over fifty spirit rings, separating their contents into five groups.
By the end of the day, his experience increased by about a thousand.
"This is not going to cut it..." Justin grumbled, feeling bored.
The sect was quiet.
The majority were lazy, except the ones training.
Inner disciples took five mid-quality stones, and the outer disciples took 10 low-quality ones.
Then both had to seek the city, since the sect lacked alchemists.
It was baffling, since this was intended to motivate the disciples, but instead, it severely limited them and held the outer disciples back.
Justin wasn't satisfied, even though it was the beginning.
Thus, he hatched a plan to fire things up.
"That's enough," Justin waved at Eric, believing he was good to go.
"Pay your friends a visit and make me proud!" He continued, standing up to visit the storage.
He had gathered plenty of resources by now, confident he could sway the sect however he wanted.
Justin arrived, waving his hand cheerfully at Elder Ray.
The sect had eight elders who took turns protecting the facilities.
Rey stood up, cupping his hands respectfully.
He said, "Daoist Justin, it's been a while!"
"What? It's been two days or maybe less." Justin responded, sensing something was wrong.
'Is it some sort of disorder?' He frowned, keeping his thoughts to himself.
"Your two days are fifty years or more for us, we are not as fast as you."
Rey spoke, referring to Justin's cultivation.
"Indeed," Justin nodded in agreement, "It's insane, isn't it?" He continued sarcastically.
Then he took the chance, changing the subject a second later.
"I need you to gather all disciples tomorrow," Justin said, explaining his plan.
The sect had about five hundred disciples, and he was willing to 'nurture' fifty of them.
Rey nodded his head, showing no signs of rejection.
His face brightened, certainly liking the idea.
"Good, I shall prepare a banner with the rules and rewards." Justin stepped into the storage building, and his voice echoed.
He grabbed a massive piece of paper, ink, needles, a hammer, and two long wooden sticks.
He placed the materials on the ground and began attaching them, forming a board.
Then he began writing on the board.
"Monthly Tournaments begin in one week. Join now to earn great resources!
Rules:
—Participants must register before the deadline.
—Participants must respond when summoned; failure results in disqualification.
—A grace period of 5 minutes is allowed for late participants.
—Qualification Matches will be best of three, depending on the participants.
—Tournament matches will last until a participant loses consciousness, and surrendering is not allowed.
Additionally, all sect rules apply.
Rewards:
—1st ==> 20 Refined pills, 30 Low-quality crystals + Spirit Ring
—2nd~3rd ==> 15 Refined pills + 10 Low-quality crystals
—4th~13th ==> 4 Refined pills
—14th~25th ==> 2 Refined pills
Justin grinned, confident he could keep this going for at least three months.
The next step was hiring some of the elders to serve as judges.
However, he preferred to wait until everything was ready.
As far as he believed, the rewards were insane and the spots were plenty.
He guessed his rewards would be great, since he designed the rules maliciously.
The last step was marking the tournament winners, forcing him to seek the sect master.
He waved at Rey, "I'm done here, but I need you to bring me to the core zone."
"Sure thing, but give me a moment," Rey responded, surprised Justin was done quickly.
He disappeared for a few seconds before appearing with an inner disciple.
It was a younger girl similar to his appearance, except for the gender differences.
Rey handed her five low-quality stones as a payment before accompanying Justin.
"Was that your daughter?" Justin couldn't hide his curiosity, asking while they strolled to the sect's peak.
Rey laughed, nodding his head. He responded, "That's correct, her name is Luna."
"Then why did you pay her?" Justin frowned, thinking it was ridiculous.
"Because she wouldn't have agreed otherwise, and she's the only one I trust."
Rey explained as they strolled, then he suddenly asked, "Never mind me, don't you plan on having some children someday?"
"I'm still too young for that, maybe far into the future," Justin responded casually.
"However, I plan on getting a few beauties along the way." He continued, believing it would be better for his mental health.
Cultivators had ridiculous lifespans, and he didn't wish to spend his life alone.
"Oh my, I thought you were at least a thousand years old. Speaking about women, how is my Luna?"
Justin frowned upon hearing Rey's words.
Was it normal for a father to ask such a question?
Believing Ray was attempting to hook them up, Justin answered truthfully.
"Between a bombshell and a grenade, I'd smash if given the chance."
Unfortunately for him, Rey couldn't understand most of his words.
"What?" He raised his eyebrows as they arrived at their destination.
Justin answered, "She's a fine woman, but I won't settle for one."
"Well, take your time. I will be here until you're done," Ray smiled as the path revealed itself.
Rey felt excited knowing his girl stood a chance.
He believed her cultivation would skyrocket if coupled with Justin.
Justin nodded his head silently, granting his approval.
He continued walking, eventually reaching Dandurff's hut.
He knocked on the door, announcing his arrival.
"I'm back, old man!"
A few seconds passed in silence, then Dandurff responded.
"What's the matter this time?"
The old man's voice prompted Justin to step inside.
"How much does it cost to produce six bronze tokens?"
Justin asked, then explained what he needed them for.
The old man frowned, knowing very well the sect was severely declining.
"Have you checked the sect's storage? We can't sustain what you intend to do."
Dandurff responded, knowing they only had garbage weapons, spirit stones, and some materials.
"That's on me, but the tokens are on you."
Justin smiled, waving his hand as the pills fell on the group, forming a towering pile.
Dandurff hurled, staring at the pills like some ancient treasures.
"Huh?! Where did you get that from?" He questioned with a frown.
"Some dead ass motherfuckers. They followed me, so I killed and looted them.
Dandurff rubbed his hair, frowning at Justin's vulgar explanation.
"So, how much will you take to finish the tokens? I will pay you nicely."
Dandurff shook his head, unwilling to leave his humble abode.
"It costs a couple of spirit stones at most, just visit any blacksmith."
Justin smiled, knowing it was a flaw of random planning.
He said, "I will pay you a spirit diamond, alright?"
He didn't want to revisit the city out of pure laziness.
His reason was simple.
Dandurff was an Immortal expert, capable of warping there in the blink of an eye.
Dandurff's eyes widened, his chest huffed and buffed, then he spat a mouthful of black blood.
He held himself back the first time they met.
However, he couldn't take Justin's behavior anymore.
"You! Do you treat such precious items like candy?!" He questioned, grabbing Justin's clothes violently.
'Precious my ass,' Justin thought, coughing in attempted to appease Dandurff.
"Release me, old man!" Justin shouted, attempting to free himself.
"It's not my fault that I'm filthy rich." He continued, wishing Dandurff would sympathize with him.
"Damn it, old man! Is this how you treat a benefactor?!" Justin questioned, his words piercing the old man's pride.
He couldn't understand why Dandurff was refusing, given it was beneficial to the sect.
Were Immortals this lazy?
Dandurff finally responded, "Fine, you have a point."
Then he released Justin, as the young man questioned.
"So, will you do it or not?"
"Two diamonds!" Dandurff responded, raising two of his fingers.
Justin retrieved a diamond from his inventory, counter-offering with confidence.
"Only one, or I'm going to hire someone else."
Dandurff scoffed, knowing who Justin was talking about.
"Nope, I will do!" He exclaimed, snatching the diamond from Justin's hand.
"Come back tomorrow," His words echoed, his form disappearing a second later.
"Finally..." Justin yawned, glad everything ended smoothly, even though it almost went downhill.
He eventually parted ways with Rey, returning to his residence so he could get some rest.
—————
A/N:
Hello everyone, this chapter marks 12k words.
So, going forward, I will be releasing a single chapter / day till June.
Said chapters will come ~one hour after or before reset.
How's the story so far? Is Justin up to the standards?
I'm very excited to hear your thoughts!