“Elder Qin Chu, mobilize the Internal Affairs disciples,” Sun Yi commanded, his voice cutting through the lingering cheers. “Gather the new managers and the old staff. I want a full team on the ‘Resource Tokenization’ project immediately. We need to digitize our currency system.”

He tossed a jade slip to Han Yun. “Elder Han, you’re on Infrastructure. Retrofit the Scripture Library according to these blueprints. We’re expanding the capacity.”

Sun Yi pivoted, pointing to the next elder. “Elder Jin Jue, your mandate is Sect Discipline. Get the new Law Enforcement hires up to speed on the updated statutes. Clean up the department.”

“Elder Ye Luo, you’re on Logistics. Take a team to the Miscellaneous Arts Hall. I want a full inventory audit by tomorrow morning.”

“Elder Li Tai,” Sun Yi finished, looking at the burly man. “Strategic Planning. Map out all internal and external missions. Calibrate the reward structures. Also, deploy scouts to the Chaos Demon Commandery. I want intelligence on our rivals.”

The five Golden Core Elders frowned at the barrage of orders, but the clarity of the directives left no room for argument. They nodded and dispersed to execute.

“Patriarch,” Sun Yi said, turning to the old man. “You’re the Chairman. You just… oversee the big picture.”

Patriarch Qingxuan waved a hand dismissively. “This old man will accompany you. I wish to see how you handle the Sect Vault.”

“Suit yourself,” Sun Yi grinned. He signaled to a trembling Er Gouzi. “Let’s go. Time to see if this company has any liquidity.”

The group arrived at the main peak’s Treasury. Two massive gates made of Black Iron, standing three zhang high, blocked their path. The surface was etched with complex circuitry—formations that hummed with a lethal, low-frequency vibration.

Sun Yi’s internal threat detection spiked. Proprietary encryption. High-level firewall. Definitely lethal.

Qin Chu stepped forward, producing a jade token. He embedded it into a recess in the metal. “This is an ancestral array,” he explained, weaving hand seals to input the spiritual key. “We reinforced it to withstand a Nascent Soul brute-force attack. It’s a triple-layer formation. Intruders face immediate eradication.”

Clack. Clack. Hiss.

The hydraulic-like grinding of gears echoed as the heavy doors slid open. A blast of cold, stale air hit them, carrying the scent of old dust and immense power.

“The barrier is lifted,” Qin Chu announced. “Follow me.”

They navigated a long, reinforced corridor until they reached the inner sanctum—a second gate deep within the mountain’s belly. Qin Chu repeated the unlock sequence. As the final tumblers clicked into place, the doors groaned open.

A wave of pure, concentrated spiritual energy washed over them, so dense it felt like stepping into a pool of liquified mana. Sun Yi took a deep breath, his cells screaming in delight.

“Welcome to the Sect Reserves,” Qin Chu said, stepping inside.

Sun Yi followed and froze. The vault was the size of a football field, illuminated by overhead lumen-crystals.

“Capital,” Sun Yi whispered, his eyes widening.

Piles of Spirit Stones lay on the floor like mounds of discarded gravel. To the disciples behind him, it was a fortune. To Sun Yi, it was Cash Flow.

I have the title, he thought, scanning the room, but in this world, capital is king. My cultivation base is my net worth. I need to bootstrap my leveling speed.

He walked over to a smaller pile on the right. The energy signature was significantly higher. “Mid-grade Spirit Stones. High-yield assets.” Using these would double his cultivation efficiency—a direct ROI on his time.

Then, he saw the safe box in the back. Inside sat stones the size of walnuts, glowing with a terrifyingly pure light.

“High-grade Spirit Stones,” Sun Yi murmured. Blue-chip stocks.

He did the mental math instantly. Using a High-grade stone at his current Qi Refining level would be like trying to drink from a fire hose. The energy leakage would be 90%. Inefficient. Bad burn rate. Better to hold as a reserve asset.

He moved on to the shelves.

“Marrow Cleansing Fruit… bio-hacking for potential.” “Calming Tea… stress management supplements.” “Essence Fruits… instant level-up consumables.”

And then, the hardware.

“Thunder Origin Stone. Red Iron. One Origin Heavy Water.” Sun Yi picked up a jagged piece of metal, his eyes gleaming. To the Elders, this was just crafting junk. To Sun Yi, these were components.

Conductive alloys. Energy-dense batteries. Signal amplifiers.

He needed to build the prototype. The ‘Microwave Detector’ wasn’t going to build itself.

“We need to categorize this data,” Sun Yi said, snapping out of his trance. He clapped his hands. “Work time.”

“Attendant Er Gouzi,” he barked. “Start the inventory log. Asset name, quantity, estimated valuation. I want a spreadsheet.”

“Elder Qin,” Sun Yi pointed to a pile of obscure roots. “We don’t have the domain knowledge for some of this legacy hardware. You need to appraise it for the database.”

“Fine,” Qin Chu grunted. “This old man will assist.”

Sun Yi turned to the Patriarch, adopting his most professional negotiation face. “Chairman. As CEO, I’m requesting an advance on my salary. I need a resource injection to jumpstart my personal cultivation. Deduct it from my future dividends. Is that within policy?”

Patriarch Qingxuan looked at the eager young man and laughed. “I approve the request. Take what you need today. Consider it a Sect Leader’s stipend.”

The Patriarch knew the Dao of leadership: If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it the best grass.

“However,” Qingxuan added, his eyes narrowing, “I expect results. Do not let the sect’s investment go to waste.”

“Deal,” Sun Yi beamed. “If I don’t turn a profit for this Sect within a year, you can have my head on a platter. That’s a binding KPI.”

Sun Yi moved fast. He didn’t grab everything—that would be embezzlement. He grabbed what was strategic.

10 High-Grade Spirit Stones: Emergency capital.

20 Marrow Cleansing Fruits: Talent optimization.

Essence Fruits & Pills: Fast-tracking the leveling process.

The Components: Every piece of Thunder Origin Stone and Red Iron he could find.

He was building a radar. He was building an edge.

He stuffed the items into his storage bag, took a deep breath, and turned back to the Board of Directors.

“I’ve secured my funding,” Sun Yi declared, his voice echoing in the vast vault. “And I’ve accepted the liability. Gentlemen, rest assured. We are going to take this company to the moon.”