Who Let Him Cultivate？

Chapter 76: Evaluation

“Just who managed to siphon my power?” Yun Zhi murmured, a rare flicker of puzzlement crossing her features. The Immortal Cult had fled like rats abandoning a sinking ship, taking their entire lineages and leaving not a single soul behind. Their only legacy was the Mountain River Tripod—an artifact of such ineffable value it could purchase a first-grade sect outright.

Yet, the spatial collapse left no trace of the culprit who had tapped into her primordial strength.

In the annals of ancient cultivation, there existed a forbidden category of arts known as God Descension. It allowed a practitioner to channel the cosmic weight of another’s power, provided they had the entity’s consent. But such arts were relics of a bygone era, teetering on the edge of extinction. The sheer esoteric difficulty of mastering them meant Yun Zhi hadn’t witnessed one in centuries.

Furthermore, who in this mortal coil could possibly bypass her divine will to siphon her qi? When the tether had formed, Yun Zhi had sensed no malice, only a desperate, grasping void. Thus, out of sheer instinct, she hadn’t sealed the floodgates, allowing her power to cascade into the breach.

It didn’t take a seer to deduce the culprit’s identity.

“But where in the heavens did he learn God Descension?”

Yun Zhi certainly didn’t recall teaching Lu Yang a technique capable of shattering the fabric of reality.

***

First Place: Lu Yang.

“Hm? The leaderboard updated?” the Deputy Cult Leader muttered, bewildered. They had been too busy executing a tactical retreat for their lives to monitor Lu Yang’s performance metrics.

With the Mountain River Tripod reduced to cosmic dust, reviewing the surveillance footage was out of the question.

“The Immortal’s Eye does not glitch. The destructive yield of these three candidates is absolute!” the Cult Leader declared with unwavering certainty. He had no earthly idea what Lu Yang had actually done. The previous first-place candidate had slaughtered hundreds in a matter of minutes, seeding terminal afflictions in thousands more—a highly efficient metric of slaughter. For Lu Yang to instantly eclipse that record and seize first place was nothing short of miraculous.

But questioning it was heresy. The Immortal’s Eye was a supreme relic, operating on a higher dimensional plane than the Mountain River Tripod. Its calculations were infallible.

And indeed, it was correct. By inadvertently summoning Yun Zhi, Lu Yang had triggered a localized apocalypse, annihilating the Mountain River Tripod and vaporizing the Immortal Cult’s headquarters. The sheer infrastructural and financial devastation he had wrought easily ranked in the top three catastrophes in the Cult’s bloody history.

If one measured solely by the physical and psychological trauma inflicted upon the Cult Leader himself, Lu Yang was undeniably number one.

“See? What did I tell you?” the Cult Leader boasted, his smugness entirely overriding the agony of his shattered ribs. “This Lu Yang possesses a disruptive, visionary intellect! You look at his early performance and think he’s lagging, but the moment you turn your back, he executes a paradigm-shifting catastrophe. Boom. First place.”

“And don’t write off Meng Jingzhou or your pet project, Man Gu. Their baseline performance only looked average because the testing window was cut short. Given adequate time, they would have easily secured second and third place.”

The Deputy Cult Leader bowed his head in absolute reverence. The Cult Leader was truly on another level—not only a master of risk management but possessing an eye for talent that bordered on clairvoyance. This was the difference between middle management and the supreme leader.

“Then, how would you grade Lu Yang’s final assessment?”

The Cult Leader stroked his chin, his tone adopting the gravitas of a seasoned executive. “In the first phase, Lu Yang utilized an unorthodox, out-of-the-box strategy. He bypassed traditional spiritual paradigms to enter the Dao through martial arts—a phenomenally rare talent profile. In the second phase, he demonstrated elite analytical skills, monopolizing the potato supply chain to completely sabotage the testing environment for subsequent candidates. This showcased a staggering capacity for systemic disruption. In the third phase, this trait evolved into pure, unadulterated annihilation. To brand him an Innate Demon Seed would not be an overstatement.”

The Deputy Cult Leader gasped. In all his centuries of corporate espionage and slaughter, he had never heard the Cult Leader bestow such a legendary performance review.

“And Meng Jingzhou?”

“Meng Jingzhou leveraged a spider bite in the first phase to acquire raw power—a clear indicator of high-level karmic luck. In this chaotic era, he is a Dao Seed born of destiny. In the second phase, he reverse-engineered the exam parameters. His arrogant, domineering persona was merely a psychological smokescreen. He executed a flawless, step-by-step hostile takeover of the examiner’s mental defenses. Unfortunately, the third phase was liquidated before he could maximize his assets. He falls just short of Lu Yang. I grade him: Descent of the Dao-Demon.”

Another mythical tier. Barely a handful of the younger generation had ever received the Descent of the Dao-Demon rating. Meng Jingzhou’s career trajectory was practically limitless.

“And Man Gu?”

“Phase one: excellent comprehension, grit, and tactical execution. Phase two: highly thorough problem-solving skills. However, in phase three, he lacked disruptive initiative. In any previous fiscal year, he would be our star recruit. Sadly, with such monstrous talents overshadowing him, I can only award him a Demon in the Heart.”

Demon in the Heart. Historically, any recruit with this rating who didn’t prematurely perish was guaranteed a seat in the Immortal Cult’s upper echelon.

“Shall we fast-track them to headquarters for executive leadership training?” the Deputy Cult Leader asked.

The Cult Leader shook his head, imparting his hard-earned wisdom. “Let’s not rush their career development. They need to start at the grassroots level. Give them at least two years in the trenches. Trust me, grassroots experience builds character and operational awareness. It’s how I climbed the ladder.”

“Furthermore, I have a long-term strategic vision. Lu Yang’s mind is a chaotic, unbridled weapon of mass destruction. Once he matures, I want to see if we can deploy him as a sleeper agent into a top-tier righteous sect. Say… the Dao Seeking Sect.”

The Deputy Cult Leader chuckled, thinking the Cult Leader was being overly optimistic. Infiltrating standard sects was a matter of basic espionage, but the Dao Seeking Sect? Their disciples operated on a wavelength of madness that no normal spy could comprehend. An infiltrator would be outed in days simply for failing to match their deranged cultural fit.

Infiltrating the Dao Seeking Sect was a fool’s errand.

“I am going into Secluded Cultivation to stabilize my meridians,” the Cult Leader announced, limping toward his secret chamber.

Watching him go, the Deputy Cult Leader felt not a single ounce of treacherous ambition. Today was the perfect case study. Sure, he could assassinate the leader right now and take the top job. But then what? When the righteous sects launched their next crusade, would he have the strategic vision to make the right calls? One bad executive decision, and he’d be smote by a righteous sword array. By then, regretting his hostile takeover would be a moot point.

***

Yanjiang Branch.

“Ten recruits passed the trials, and three of them secured Innate Demon Seed, Descent of the Dao-Demon, and Demon in the Heart ratings?!” The Branch Leader’s eyebrows practically launched off his forehead upon receiving the Cult Leader’s encrypted missive.

This shattered his most optimistic performance projections! A promotion was practically in the bag!

As for the demonic rogue cultivators who had failed the first two phases, the eleven Deacons had efficiently disposed of them while they were unconscious. They were dumped in random ditches across the province. Upon waking, they would have zero memory of the Yanjiang Branch’s coordinates, dismissing the entire ordeal as a fever dream.

The most secure protocol would have been to slaughter them all to ensure zero data leaks. However, the Immortal Cult’s upper management had opted for a broader synergistic approach. These rogue cultivators would continue to wreak havoc across the mortal realm, acting as perfect chaff to draw the righteous factions’ attention. Amidst the chaotic data streams, the righteous sects would be unable to differentiate between random rogue terrorism and coordinated Cult operations.

Back in the holding area, Lu Yang and his two companions groaned as consciousness returned. Their minds felt like they had been put through a spiritual blender.

The final image burned into their retinas before blacking out was… Senior Sister descending from the heavens like a primordial deity of judgment?!

A cold sweat drenched Lu Yang’s back. Did Senior Sister see me wearing her face? If she had witnessed his Mimicry Fist turning him into her doppelgänger, she would absolutely flay the skin from his bones.

Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu were equally pale, having just recalled that Lu Yang’s Mimicry Fist had somehow summoned the actual, terrifying Yun Zhi.

Lu Yang shot them a look that screamed, Take this to your graves. The two vigorously nodded, their survival instincts operating at peak efficiency.

The Branch Leader cleared his throat, suppressing his euphoric glee to maintain a veneer of sinister authority. “From this day forth, you ten are officially blood-brothers of the Immortal Cult.”

“Standard onboarding protocol dictates we hold the initiation ceremony immediately. However, today’s three-phase gauntlet has severely depleted everyone’s spiritual reserves, myself included. To prostrate ourselves before the Indestructible Immortal in such a haggard state would be a grave insult to His dark majesty. We shall reconvene here tomorrow for the formal blood-oaths.”

Lu Yang narrowed his eyes. The moment the ‘Indestructible Immortal’ was mentioned, the Branch Leader’s tone shifted, and a fanatical reverence washed over the faces of the eleven Deacons.

This wasn’t just corporate branding. They genuinely, zealously believed this entity existed.

No wonder they’re classified as a ‘Cult’, Lu Yang mused dryly.

The Branch Leader clapped his hands, breaking the solemn tension. “Still, we have fresh blood joining the family today! It would be a massive failure of company culture not to celebrate. Tell you what, let’s go out for a team dinner.”

“I hear a new barbecue joint just opened in the county. It’s called ‘Once More’. The grease glistens like molten amber under the flickering dragon-oil lamps, and the reviews are stellar. We’ll rally there in an hour. Drinks and skewers are on me!”

Lu Yang: “…”

Meng Jingzhou: “…”

Man Gu: “…”

So, zero downtime between surviving a cosmic apocalypse and mandatory team-building. Fantastic.