The morning after the Grand Inauguration, the Divine Dragon Realm looked like the aftermath of a war zone. Empty wine jars were piled as high as mountains. Spirit beast bones littered the plaza. Several intoxicated Elders from the former Violet Mist Pavilion were sleeping face-down in the flower beds of the Celestial Garden, drooling on the Spirit Herbs.
Jiang Chen woke up in his bed in the Celestial Palace. He stretched, feeling refreshed. The hangover of the century was happening outside, but his Indestructible Golden Body processed alcohol like water.
"System," he yawned mentally. "Auto-clean the sect. Give me a summary of today's profit. And brew me a cup of coffee."
Silence.
Jiang Chen frowned. Usually, the blue screen would pop up instantly. "System?"
DING.
A jagged, grey notification box flickered into existence. It didn't have the usual crisp blue glow. It looked like a construction sign on a broken highway.
[System Update 4.0 Initiated.] [Reason: Integration of Sect Module and Guardian Beast Data.] [Status: Downloading Assets...] [Estimated Time: 7 Days, 0 Hours, 0 Minutes.] [NOTE: All System Functions (Auto-Manage, Eye of Truth, Cashback, Inventory Access) are SUSPENDED during the update.]
Jiang Chen stared at the floating text. His eye twitched. "Suspended?"
He tried to open his inventory to get a fresh robe. Nothing happened. He tried to activate the [Eye of Truth] to scan the room. His vision remained normal. He tried to access the Sect Map to locate his disciples. Blank.
"You have to be kidding me," Jiang Chen sat up, panic rising in his chest. "I have 52,000 disciples waiting for orders. I have a sect to build. I have an invasion coming in six months. And you decide to reboot now?"
[System Message: Please enjoy the manual experience. Good luck, Host.]
The screen vanished. Jiang Chen was left sitting in his pajamas, completely alone in his mind for the first time in three years.
Day 1: The Chaos of Reality
Jiang Chen walked out of the palace. He didn't float (flight required active Qi circulation, and he was lazy). He walked. Old Sky (The Butler) was waiting for him, holding a stack of scrolls so high it obscured his face.
"Master," Old Sky rasped. "Good morning. We have some... minor issues."
"Define minor," Jiang Chen rubbed his temples.
"The Sword Hall disciples got drunk and challenged the Alchemy Hall disciples to a duel. The Alchemists poisoned the Swordsmen's breakfast porridge. Currently, 400 Inner Disciples are vomiting foam in the infirmary." "The Logistics Hall (Ye Clan) is arguing with the Blacksmiths about the price of Star-Steel. They are threatening a strike." "And we have run out of Spirit Rice. 50,000 people eat a lot, Master. The toilets are also backing up."
Old Sky dropped the scrolls onto a table. THUD. "I need your approval on the budget, the disciplinary rulings, the construction blueprints, the sanitation roster, and the food procurement strategy."
Jiang Chen looked at the mountain of paperwork. In the past, he would have said: "System, Auto-Resolve." Now, he had to actually read it.
"I have to work?" Jiang Chen whispered, horrified. "I have to use my brain? Like a peasant?"
He looked at Old Sky. "Bring me coffee. The strong stuff. This is going to be a long week."
Day 3: The Manual CEO
By the third day, Jiang Chen looked like a ghost. He hadn't slept. His pristine white robes were stained with ink. His hair was tied back in a messy bun.
He sat in the main hall, surrounded by arguing Hall Masters.
"Sect Master!" Sect Leader Jian (Sword Hall) slammed his fist on the table. "My disciples need high-grade swords! We cannot train with wooden sticks!"
"And my disciples need cauldrons!" Grandma Venom (Alchemy Hall) screeched. "How can we brew poison in soup pots?"
"We don't have the budget!" Ye Tian (Finance Hall), who was in a wheelchair, shouted back. "Do you think Spirit Stones grow on trees? We spent everything on the Wall! We are liquidating assets just to buy rice!"
"SILENCE!" Jiang Chen roared.
The room went quiet. They had never seen the usually relaxed Patriarch look so... unhinged. Jiang Chen stood up. His eyes were bloodshot.
"You want swords?" Jiang Chen pointed at Jian. "Go to the wrecked Central Continent ship. Rip off the hull plating. Sharpen it. Make your own swords. Improvise!" "You want cauldrons?" He pointed at Grandma Venom. "The Magma Chamber has natural geothermal vents. Carve stone basins and brew directly in the earth. It's better for heat distribution anyway." "And you," He pointed at Ye Tian. "Stop hoarding. Release the emergency funds. If we lose the war in six months, your savings account won't matter."
He grabbed a quill and aggressively signed three documents. "Next problem!"
Su Ling watched from the corner, her digital eyes glowing. "Master is surprisingly efficient when he is desperate," she noted to Ye Kai.
"He looks scary," Ye Kai whispered. "I think he might bite someone."
Day 7: The System Returns
The week of hell finally ended. Jiang Chen was sitting on his throne, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had personally reviewed 4,000 application forms, resolved 50 clan disputes, and designed a sewage system for 50,000 people.
He was exhausted. "I hate working," Jiang Chen whispered. "I hate it so much. Why did I start a sect? I should have just been a rogue cultivator."
Suddenly. DING.
A beautiful, crisp blue light filled his vision. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
[System Update Complete.] [Version 4.0 Online.] [All Functions Restored.]
"Oh, thank god," Jiang Chen nearly cried. "System, auto-manage all pending paperwork."
[Processing... Done.] In one second, the stack of scrolls that would have taken Jiang Chen ten hours to finish was instantly sorted, signed, filed, and distributed to the Hall Masters via spiritual transmission.
Jiang Chen slumped back in his throne. The weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. The cheat code was back.
[New Feature Unlocked: The Hall of Valor.] [You can now access the Summoning Altar.]
Jiang Chen sat up. "Summoning?"
He opened the new tab. A massive, complex interface appeared, looking like a celestial chessboard.
[The Hall of Valor] Description: The Sect requires leadership. You cannot do everything alone. Use Sect Points to summon loyal NPCs from the River of Time.
[Summoning Tiers:]
Tier 1: Elder (Cost: 500,000 Points)
Role: Administration, Teaching, Hall Management.
Cultivation: Spirit Severing (Mid to Peak).
Note: Stronger than any current Southern Sect Leader.
Tier 2: Sect Protector (Cost: 2,500,000 Points)
Role: Combat, War General, Bodyguard.
Cultivation: Void Treading (Early to Mid).
Note: A regional powerhouse capable of fighting Old Sky.
Tier 3: Grand Elder (LOCKED)
Requirement: Host must reach Dao Sovereign Realm.
Cultivation: Dao Sovereign.
Tier 4: Ancestor (LOCKED - SPECIAL)
Description: The Ultimate Trump Card.
Cultivation: Great Emperor (Level 9).
Feature: Can be summoned Once Per Week for 2 Minutes.
Cost: 10,000,000 Points per use.
Jiang Chen whistled. "An Emperor-level Ancestor? For 2 minutes? That's my nuclear button."
He looked at his balance. [Sect Points: 10,000,000 (Reward from Founding).]
"I need someone to manage the sect," Jiang Chen muttered. "The current Hall Masters (Jian, Venom) are weak. They are barely Spirit Severing. If I want to implement the Hellfire Protocol, I need an enforcer who scares them."
He looked at Tier 2: Sect Protector. "System. Summon one Sect Protector (Void Treading). Specialization: Discipline & Torture." "Cost: 2.5 Million Points."
RUMBLE.
The air in the palace twisted. A pillar of blood-red light descended from the ceiling. Old Sky, who was standing nearby, jumped back in terror. "Master? What is that energy? It feels... like a Void Treading expert!"
From the light, a figure walked out. He was a tall man, easily seven feet, wearing black iron armor that seemed to absorb the light. His face was covered by a metal mask that depicted a snarling demon. He carried a massive black ruler on his back—a weapon designed not to cut, but to break bones. His aura was terrifying. It was the aura of a Void Treading (Level 2) expert. In the Southern Region, this man was a god.
The figure knelt. The floor cracked under his knee. "I am Xing. The Iron-Faced Judge." "I greet the Patriarch."
[Summon Successful.] [Name: Elder Xing.] [Role: Head of Disciplinary Hall.] [Loyalty: Absolute (100%).] [Trait: Merciless. Will enforce Sect Rules regardless of status or tears.]
Jiang Chen smiled. "Perfect."
The Hierarchy Shift
Jiang Chen stood up. "Elder Xing. Follow me."
He summoned the Hall Masters (Jian, Venom, Ye Tian) to the War Room. When Elder Xing walked in, the Southern leaders trembled. They felt the pressure. Sect Leader Jian (Spirit Severing Level 9) felt like a child standing before a tiger. "Who... who is this?" Jian gasped.
"This is Elder Xing," Jiang Chen announced. "He is a Sect Protector." "And he is your superior."
Jiang Chen slammed the new training schedule on the table. [The Hellfire Protocol.]
"We have roughly 170 days before the barrier breaks," Jiang Chen said, his voice raspy. "Our current disciples are soft. They are used to the peaceful life of the South. If they fight the Central Continent armies today, they will be slaughtered."
"We need a new regimen," Sect Leader Jian nodded gravely. "But standard cultivation takes years."
"We don't have years," Jiang Chen said. "So we will use Trauma."
He pointed to the masked man. "Elder Xing is the new Head of Discipline." "If a disciple cries, he adds ten laps. If a disciple collapses, he wakes them up with lightning. If a disciple tries to quit, he breaks their legs and heals them so they can run again."
Elder Xing tapped his black ruler. The sound echoed like a gunshot. "Pain is the best teacher," Xing said, his voice metallic. "I will turn them into weapons."
The Gravity Mines "Ye Kai," Jiang Chen ordered. "You are in charge of physical conditioning. Elder Xing will supervise." "Convert the Lower Mines into Gravity Chambers. 5x Gravity. Everyone runs 10 miles every morning. Alchemists included."
The Poison Baths "Grandma Venom," Jiang Chen ordered. "Fill the hot springs with Diluted Dragon Blood and Acid Herbs. Every disciple soaks for one hour a day." "Objective: Total immunity to pain."
The Battle Royale "Every week, drop 1,000 disciples into the Monster Beast Forest unarmed. They have to survive for 24 hours."
"Master..." Ye Tian hesitated from his wheelchair. "This... half of them might die from the stress. This is inhuman."
Jiang Chen leaned over the table. "If they die here, we bury them. If they die when the Central Continent arrives, their families will be enslaved and their souls erased."
"I would rather be a tyrant who saves them," Jiang Chen hissed, "than a nice leader who watches them die."
He looked at Elder Xing. "Do you understand your orders?"
"Yes, Patriarch," Elder Xing bowed. "I will break them. And then I will forge them."
The Implementation
The next morning, the Hellfire Protocol began.
At the Gravity Mines, screams echoed through the tunnels. "Move!" Elder Xing stood on a floating platform, hovering in the air without a sword (Void Treading Flight). He cracked a whip made of spiritual lightning. "Last place gets no food! Second to last gets half rations!" Behind him, thousands of disciples struggled to lift their feet in the crushing 5x gravity. Their muscles tore, their lungs burned, but the ambient Qi rushed into their bodies to repair the damage.
At the Poison Springs, the water bubbled green. "Get in!" Grandma Venom cackled, pushing hesitant disciples into the acidic water. "AHHHHH!" "Silence!" Elder Xing appeared instantly, teleporting through the void. "Screaming wastes energy. Absorb the pain!"
From the balcony of the Celestial Palace, Jiang Chen watched it all. He held a glass of wine. The System interface floated in front of him, showing thousands of green arrows pointing up.
[Sect Combat Power: Rising.] [Average Cultivation Level: Increasing.] [Disciple Resilience: +300%.]
"It's cruel," Old Sky commented, standing beside him. "They are suffering. Xing is a monster."
"Steel is forged in fire, Old Sky," Jiang Chen sipped his wine. "They hate me now. They curse my name in the mines. But in six months, when the lightning of the Thunder Pavilion strikes..." Jiang Chen smiled. "They will be the only ones left standing."
"Now," Jiang Chen turned around. "I have delegated the work to Elder Xing. I can finally relax." "Let's go to the Incubator." "It's time to meet our new mascot. I've been pouring Spirit Stones into that egg for a week."