Zhang Yang looked at the few people in the square, somewhat surprised that Little Fatty had arrived first.

"What a nimble fatty!" he thought.

He took out a piece of paper and a pen, handed them to Little Fatty, and instructed, "I have a task for you. Register everyone's name according to the order they arrive in the square. Once everyone is here, I'll explain the matters of entering the sect. By the way, what's your name?"

Little Fatty grinned, "Reporting to Senior Brother, my name is Wang Baole! And I'm the first to arrive!"

"Very good!" Zhang Yang nodded, handing the paper and pen to Wang Baole.

Then, he took the account books of the Azurecloud Sect and began to examine them.

The primary task was, of course, to figure out how much wealth the Azurecloud Sect still had.

Wang Baole, holding the paper and pen, started asking for everyone's names and began registering them in order of arrival.

As soon as Zhang Yang opened the account books, his expression changed.

"The ancestors were truly useless!" Zhang Yang muttered to himself, shaking his head repeatedly.

He had always thought the Azurecloud Sect was so poor that it only had a few mountains left.

But he never expected that the first sentence in the account book would shock him.

"The area within three hundred miles of Azurecloud Peak belongs to the Azurecloud Sect."

Zhang Yang knew well what a three-hundred-mile radius meant.

That was the size of an entire province!

How could such a vast territory have no money? So poor that they didn't even dare to recruit disciples? How incompetent could they be?

Most importantly, there was no record of any industries within this three-hundred-mile range.

Zhang Yang clearly remembered that the Azurecloud Market was only a few miles away from the Azurecloud Sect, and it was within the sect's territory. That was the sect's industry.

What was more outrageous was that he had been to the Azurecloud Market, and the taverns and pharmacies there were actually paying taxes.

Where did these taxes go?

The more Zhang Yang looked at the account books, the angrier he became. Were these cultivators using their brains only for cultivation, understanding nothing else?

When he saw the final balance of one hundred and three spirit stones lying alone in the account book, Zhang Yang couldn't hold it together.

The grand Azurecloud Sect, a sect with a five-thousand-year legacy, was left with just one hundred and three spirit stones...

No wonder every time he wanted to buy alchemical pills, Seventh Uncle-Master would earnestly advise, "Zhang Yang, using alchemical pills for cultivation is a lower method. Moreover, the spiritual qi cultivated that way is impure, leading to impurities in the body, which is very disadvantageous for us cultivators. The highest form of cultivation is to refine the spiritual qi of heaven and earth..."

What lower method? They simply had no money!

After all, even the cheapest Qi Nourishing Pill cost two hundred spirit stones!

Besides spirit stones, there were no materials for refining artifacts, no spiritual herbs for alchemy... nothing at all!

The seven siblings of Azurecloud Peak, including Qingyunzi, were always in seclusion.

As for Zhang Yang himself, he could indeed search for herbs on the Azurecloud Peaks to sell, but how much could one person find?

Could he still cultivate?

So, for the past ten years, Zhang Yang had been troubled and had long wanted to reform.

However, Zhang Yang had to admit that the elders were quite kind to him.

From the moment they took him up the mountain ten years ago, they immediately provided him with a set of gear, even including high-end items like a spatial ring.

The whole set must have cost tens of thousands of spirit stones.

In this regard, the Seven Sons of Azurecloud were indeed dedicated to nurturing disciples, acting as responsible elders.

Of course, this also led to Qingyunzi and the others reacting as if the world was ending when they heard Zhang Yang had recruited dozens of disciples.

"Senior Brother, the registration is complete. There are eighty-seven people in total!" Wang Baole presented the list to Zhang Yang, "Please instruct us on what to do next."

Zhang Yang closed the account book, took the list from Wang Baole, glanced at it, and put it away.

He stood up and looked at the eighty-seven youths in the square.

The youths instinctively straightened up, waiting for Zhang Yang to announce the matter.

They were now disciples of the Azurecloud Sect and would naturally have to follow the sect's rules in the future.

Zhang Yang glanced at everyone and said, "First of all, congratulations on being able to enter the Azurecloud Sect!

Our Azurecloud Sect was founded over five thousand years ago, and historically, seventeen people have successfully ascended to the Immortal Realm. Therefore, joining the Azurecloud Sect is an honor for you all.

However, has anyone noticed a problem?

Where will you all live in the future?"

Everyone couldn't help but look around. Besides the main hall and a few towers, everything else was just mountains and forests, with no houses at all.

But since they had joined the sect, wasn't accommodation supposed to be the sect's responsibility?

Zhang Yang's expression turned serious as he continued, "You may have heard that in the past few decades, our Azurecloud Sect has only recruited one person, which is me. According to usual practice, we would strictly select disciples this time as well.

However, our sect is facing an unprecedented change in a hundred years.

This great change is closely related to each and every one of us here.

It is precisely because of this that I have opened the doors wide, inviting you all to come up the mountain to face this unprecedented change together.

If we handle it well, the future world will have a place for us, and among those who ascend to the Immortal Realm, we will be included.

If not, we will face eternal damnation.

Fellow disciples, don't think about escaping, as this is something you cannot avoid.

I want to ask you, are you willing to face it with me?"

The people in the square looked at each other.

They sensed the seriousness of the situation from Zhang Yang's words.

But what exactly had happened?

Wang Baole swallowed and asked, "Senior Brother, what should we do?"

Zhang Yang slowly said, "As for what to do, we will discuss it later. For now, the first thing you need to do is quickly build a place to live. The seven peaks behind the main hall already have sect elders at the tops. Besides the peaks, you can choose suitable locations on the mountains to build houses. Get started quickly and solve the accommodation problem as soon as possible. I'll give you two days. After two days, gather here again, and I will teach you the methods of cultivation."

He paused, then his tone turned cold, "Remember, you are now fellow disciples, and you should love and support each other. If anyone dares to bully others, the consequences will be beyond what you can bear."

After saying this, he flew away.

The people in the square were a bit dumbfounded.

They felt something was off, but since it was their first time joining a sect, they didn't know what other sects were like either.

After being dumbfounded for a while, they decided to go build a place to live.

After all, they were already here; they couldn't just sleep on the ground, could they?

At the top of Azurecloud Peak, Qingyunzi, who claimed to be in seclusion, and the other six were sitting together.

They were observing the situation in front of the main hall through a precious mirror.

"Senior Brother, isn't what we're doing a bit inappropriate?" Third Brother Danchenzi looked at Qingyunzi with a strange expression.

Qingyunzi was full of worry. He also felt it was inappropriate, but now that the people were already on the mountain, what could they do?

He could imagine that the reputation of the Azurecloud Sect, built over thousands of years, might be ruined.

Suddenly, Second Uncle-Master Lingyunzi's expression changed, "Not good, that kid is coming to find me!"

What good could come from being sought out at this time?

The others looked at Second Uncle-Master with schadenfreude.

"Hurry up and go! Don't drag us down!" they urged.

Second Uncle-Master, with a bitter face, flew back to his peak.

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan