While lying on the floor of my library, the warm wooden boards pressing into my back, I held up a worn poster and let the golden afternoon light spill over it.

It was one of our creations and a ridiculous xianxia-style WWE showdown promo we’d plastered across nearby towns. Bold, curling letters sprawled across the top, and behind the silhouette of a man punching a beast in the face, a blazing red sun flared dramatically.

You want to live your dream? Join the Blazing Sun Sect’s powerhouse!

Want to keep your freedom? That’s perfect too! You don’t have to join the Sect!

Get a free Earth Grade Technique for very little work! Just cooperate with the Blazing Sun Sect for one season and promise not to use the technique for evil intentions!

I snorted.

That last line? That was the leash. The so-called “promise not to use it for evil” was just a convenient loophole. A clause that gave us the right to hunt down any of our future “employees” if they ever stepped out of line.

There were a surprising number of rogue cultivators joining up, even though we’d barely spread the flyers beyond the towns nearest the Blazing Sun Sect.

I wanted to expand this much further, but I needed results first. Proof to wave in the faces of the inner elders since the old geezers were still making most of the decisions. Well, I was one of them now. So I couldn’t exactly whine about it.

Turns out, the results were better than anyone expected.

From the reports so far, the shitty ad campaign had actually worked. We’d nearly replaced all the lower-tier power needed to maintain basic order in the Sect’s undefended territories.

The Blazing Sun Immortal had once said the villages we’d taken under our wing could survive on their own, just like before they bent the knee. But reality wasn’t so simple. Plenty of towns didn’t even have a single Foundation Establishment cultivator to protect them. If a beast wave hit? They’d crumble.

The Sect had been around for over three thousand years. In that time, new towns were born under the protection of our banners. They got used to having us there. During bad winters, when beasts stirred, or when outer lands grew lawless, we were their shield.

Quiet winters didn’t stop the tax collectors. The people still paid and still believed we were watching the beasts.

If we abandoned them now, we wouldn’t just be dealing with rogue beasts. We’d be dealing with dissent, and the last thing a weakened sect needed was for the lower ranks to band together and try something stupid.

I set the poster aside and picked up the poison compendium I’d been reading.

Poison, as an element, was inherently secretive. Too much knowledge floating around, and someone would find a way to craft an antidote. That’s why it wasn’t studied as deeply as other elements. Too risky. Too unstable.

Then again, I wasn’t just anyone.

With the level of access I had now, arguably the highest in the Sect, I had eyes on things few ever got to read.

And I intended to make the most of it.

Poison, like most things in cultivation, only got interesting once it became an element. That's when it touched upon things that were only theoretically possible.

It was like reading about artificial gravity in a sci-fi novel. Technically possible, sure, but wildly unlikely in real life.

But cultivators? They made the improbable real.

Take a plant with hallucinogenic pollen. A simple poison in nature. But once refined through cultivation? It could evolve into full-blown mind control.

I now understood how someone like Song San could create a poison that induced mind control or something equally dangerous.

Of course, such things were unlikely to work on me. I had a Sky Grade Technique that dealt with mental energy, and even if my mind was poisoned, I could use Eight Mind Phantoms to stay conscious.

Eight Mind Phantoms was an absolute technique that could control minds. Mere poisons could only mimic that effect. It was like comparing a phone camera to a professional camera. Both could capture an image, but only one was truly made for it.

Even as I built countermeasures, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a message. Song San’s deranged little signature. His way of saying, “I’m still alive. Still watching.”

Then I felt someone approaching. My focus snapped, and I set the book aside.

Luckily, it was someone familiar, Zun Gon.

He landed at the door of my library and immediately entered. One thing I hated about my new position? The lack of proper defenses. Barely any arrays, and none good enough to stop a serious attack.

I'd set up some to detect newcomers when I wasn't around, but they weren't anything special. Additionally, I wasn't at a high enough level yet to ensure that my arrays could handle a Core Formation cultivator if one were to attack.

"How can I help you?" I asked.

Zun Gon and I had been through enough together that I didn't have to pander to his ego. And he was a no-nonsense guy, so it wasn't strange for him to get straight to the point.

"Your recruitment stunt? The one with the posters? Somehow, it worked well," he said.

"And I get the feeling that you're going to tell me something went wrong with it," I replied.

"Yes," he nodded. "The elders and I were deciding who should be the main rally speaker to handle these twenty or so Foundation Establishment rogues and who knows what crimes they've committed on the outside. And there are over fifty Qi Gathering cultivators, too."

He paused. "So, in the end, we decided you should handle them. After all, it was your idea to begin with."

I got the feeling that some of those old geezers didn't agree with my ideas and, wanting to save face, they decided to put this hot potato in my lap instead of recruiting outsiders directly.

Although I didn’t really want to do this job, being an elder came with certain responsibilities. Which, to be honest, had nothing to do with giving rally speeches. But I was in a good mood, and strangely enough, I loved my job.

I wasn’t sure that muscle-headed cultivators who only solved problems by having a higher cultivation level than their opponents knew how to handle hoodlums. Maybe a few of them did, especially if they grew up in rough environments, but what we needed right now was for these hoodlums to be on our side, not bleeding out on the dirt.

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As for the wise elders, who could handle such a thing? They were intelligent enough not to get involved.

“Sure, show me the way,” I said.

Without another word Zun Gon flared his Qi and, in a split second, vanished into the distance like a flame-streaked arrow.

I sighed, wrapped myself in jade armor, and launched after him.

It didn’t take long before I caught up and flew alongside him. Zun Gon glanced at me and nodded in approval.

“You’ve gotten faster at flying,” he said. “Your first Foundation Technique might be the most versatile one I’ve ever seen.”

“Anyway,” I asked, “what can you tell me about these newcomers?”

“What’s there to know?” he replied.

“Like, do any of them look like borderline demonic cultivators? Did we check for that?” I asked. “We really don’t want some guy showing up who uses sacrifices to power himself up.”

Sure, the Song Clan had their own weird rituals, an open secret to anyone who dealt with them closely, but this was about optics. We needed new blood, but we didn’t need anyone thinking we’d stooped low.

“Well, your recruitment idea brought in twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators. And more are coming every week,” Zun Gon said. “As for the Qi Gathering ones, they’re already showing up in numbers. We had to settle them in Greengrass Town.”

Greengrass Town.

That was where I had bought Speedy. I even had a friend there, Mao Zhi. He’d been kind to me back when I was still a nobody. Shared information with me once that could’ve cost him his life.

Hopefully, he was still doing okay. A guy like Mao Zhi didn’t deserve to get hurt just because the world had gone insane.

“Kill any of the new cultivators who cause trouble in Greengrass Town,” I said flatly.

Zun Gon gave me a strange look. Like he wanted to say something but held back at the last second.

He might’ve been questioning my judgment. But I was an elder now. I didn’t owe anyone explanations, or at least not unless the sky was falling.

And killing a few problematic outsiders? That happened all the time. No one cared.

We landed a moment later on a wide stone platform at the base of the mountain that led into the Sect. A small wooden stage had been set up so that someone could stand tall and deliver a speech.

The crowd had already gathered.

Twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, just like Zun Gon had said. And at least sixty people overall.

I scanned the crowd. They weren’t deranged lunatics or ragged cave-dwellers, not at first glance. A few wore robes cleaner than mine. One guy even had a spirit beast curled around his neck like a fashion statement. In fact, some looked quite refined.

Of course, some of them were probably spies. That was just a fact.

But there was nothing I could do about that. At least not yet.

I cleared my throat, standing at the edge of the platform with Zun Gon a step behind me like a looming shadow. Then I began.

"Everyone, thanks for coming," I said, smiling with as much politeness as I could muster. "Some of you might've been cautious about the fliers, but they're legitimate. The Blazing Sun Sect is facing a staff shortage. If you help us through the winter, you'll be rewarded. Foundation Establishment cultivators will receive an Earth Grade Technique. Qi Gathering cultivators will be given an offensive-type Mortal Grade Technique."

I paused, letting the words sink in. My eyes scanned the crowd, waiting for a hand to rise or someone to ask a question.

Nothing.

Then a voice cut through.

"I didn't think some kid would be giving the speech," said an old man with a kindly face, like the friendly grandpa from down the street. If that grandpa had spiritual veins and three swords strapped to his back.

"Same," scoffed another man. "Didn't travel all this way just to be ordered around by someone the same age as my grandkids."

Welp. There went all the goodwill I had stockpiled. Here I was, giving them a fake corporate HR smile and a golden opportunity, and they spat on both.

"Anyone else have something to say?" I asked, still keeping the smile, still polite.

That seemed to embolden a few.

"Yeah," said a guy in the middle row. "Has the Blazing Sun Sect grown so weak that they let some kid do all the talking?"

Behind me, I felt Zun Gon's aura spike. His Qi flared like a blade drawn an inch from its sheath.

I raised a hand without turning around.

He didn't like it, but he listened. I could almost feel the air stiffen with how much restraint he was forcing.

I needed to handle this carefully. One wrong move and I'd lose the crowd, or Zun Gon would turn them into meat paste. Zun Gon might even turn on me if I wasn't careful.

"Good," I said calmly. "I appreciate your honesty."

That caught a few of them off guard.

"Now," I added, sweeping my gaze across the group, "Everyone who agrees with our friend here, who also thinks the Blazing Sun Sect is weak, go ahead and raise your hands."

There was a pause.

Then, five hands rose. Three of them belonged to the same hecklers. Foundation Establishment, all of them. One in particular stood out. It was an eight-star Foundation Establishment cultivator, probably in his early forties. Good talent.

I smiled.

“Elder Zun Gon, can you please kill everyone who raised their hands?” I asked politely.

“With pleasure,” Zun Gon replied.

He didn’t need to be told twice.

One moment, he was beside me. The next, a crimson streak tore through the crowd like a sword through rice paper.

I barely saw it. Just a flicker of red, a shimmer of killing intent, and then–

Pop.

Five heads exploded in perfect unison. No screams. No struggle. Wet, meaty bursts... skulls collapsing like overripe fruit, splattering blood and gray brain matter across the snow.

Before their headless bodies even hit the ground, Zun Gon was already back at my side. Hands behind his back, posture composed, expression unreadable.

Only the blood dripping from his fists betrayed what had just occurred.

The rest of the crowd stared in stunned silence. Some of their eyes widened as reality settled in. Whatever rumors they’d heard about the Sect weakening didn’t matter. To cultivators like Zun Gon, they were nothing.

Was it excessive? Maybe. But we were playing with a bad hand this winter.

I smiled and said, “Let me clarify. You’re all here under a contract. You work for the Sect. The Sect pays you, in this case, with an Earth Grade Technique.”

I let the silence stretch. No one spoke this time.

“Your opinions and feelings about the Blazing Sun Sect are...” I continued, “Irrelevant.”

Just in case some of the less astute individuals needed the point hammered home.

In this situation, I was like the CEO of a corporation, and these people were not even employees. They were freelance contractors, meaning they were less than employees and could be easily replaced.

I swept my gaze across the crowd.

“So. Do you agree to the contract or not? It’s a yes-or-no question. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

In the end, every single one of them agreed, verbally and quickly.

Violence was often the most efficient way to resolve certain problems.

The crowd dispersed, heading off to rest in nearby towns and villages. Though not before I gave a clear warning not to act like beasts. If they did, well… they’d end up like the five with no heads.

Once it was just me and Zun Gon, he cleared his throat and glanced around.

“There’s some news I figured would be better to tell you after this, to not distract you from your speech,” he said.

“Oh? Really?” I asked, trying to act interested, though my mind had already returned to what books I might read once I got home.

Zun Gon’s expression was unreadable. “The Song Clan Leader has sent a message that Song Song is going to return to the Sect.”

And just like that, my thoughts screeched to a halt, and my heart skipped a beat.