Returning to the Scripture Library, Sun Yi found Er Gouzi waiting by the entrance of the cultivation chamber. A quick scan of the young man’s aura revealed a pleasant surprise: Qi Refining, Fifth Stage.

Sun Yi’s expression brightened. Fifth Stage meant the boy had unlocked aerial flight. Finally, he had a mobile courier.

“Fifth Stage already?” Sun Yi walked over, clapping him on the shoulder. “Excellent. Your efficiency metrics are looking promising.”

“Thank you, Sect Master! It is entirely due to your cultivation… I mean, your guidance,” Er Gouzi stammered, bowing low. He was acutely aware of his mediocre aptitude; without Sun Yi’s resource allocation, he would still be mopping floors. The relationship had shifted permanently—Er Gouzi was no longer just a fellow disciple; he was a subordinate facing his benefactor.

“Cultivation is a personal KPI; I just provided the capital,” Sun Yi dismissed the praise with a wave of his hand. “Come inside. We need to discuss your career trajectory.”

Once the stone doors sealed shut, Sun Yi turned to him. “Have you mastered aerial maneuvering?”

Er Gouzi nodded, excitement flushing his cheeks. “I have, Sect Master. Though… my velocity is still sub-optimal, and I lack stability.”

” proficiency comes with flight hours. Since you’re mobile, it’s time to increase your workload,” Sun Yi said, his tone shifting to business. “I am officially appointing you as the Deputy Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect.”

Er Gouzi’s heart nearly seized. He paled, shaking his head violently. “Sect Master, please! I… I am unworthy! How could a low-level disciple like me take such a position?”

“I am the CEO—the Sect Leader. If I say you are qualified, you are qualified,” Sun Yi cut him off firmly. “You are my interface with the general staff. Without a proper title, your authority will be questioned, which creates friction. I need a Chief of Staff I can trust.”

Seeing the terror still lingering in the boy’s eyes, Sun Yi sweetened the deal. “Your salary will be deducted directly from my personal dividends, so the Elders won’t complain about the budget. For now, your compensation package will match that of a Hall Master.”

“A… Hall Master?” Er Gouzi gaped.

“Consider it a competitive starting offer. The sect is currently in a liquidity crisis, but that will change. As long as you execute my orders faithfully, I don’t care about your aptitude. I will drag you to Foundation Establishment personally. Hell, even Golden Core is not off the table. That is your performance bonus.”

Sun Yi stared him down. “I am offering you equity in the future of this sect. Are you going to reject the offer?”

Er Gouzi’s breathing hitched. The promise of Golden Core—a realm he hadn’t dared dream of—dangled before him like the ultimate carrot. Sun Yi was a master of painting the cake, and Er Gouzi was starving.

“Sect Master, rest assured!” Er Gouzi straightened, his face setting into a mask of determination. “I will not disappoint you. I will complete every task to the letter!”

“Good attitude.” Sun Yi smiled, satisfied. He had successfully secured a loyal lackey.

“Here.” Sun Yi tossed a stack of jade slips onto the table. “These are your Standard Operating Procedures. Study them. If you hit a bottleneck in understanding the workflow, ask me.”

As Er Gouzi settled into a corner to devour the employee handbook, Sun Yi returned to his own project: the notes of the mad genius, Feng Luo.

He was scrutinizing the theory of the ‘Second Dantian.’ The simulation tower had proven that his hardware was lagging behind his software; a single energy core couldn’t handle the multitasking required for his combat style. He needed a dual-core processor.

Feng Luo’s notes mentioned a beast called the Mi Luo, a creature naturally gifted with a secondary energy reserve. If Sun Yi could reverse-engineer that biological architecture…

It took Er Gouzi a full day to process the jade slips. By the time he emerged, he understood the scope of his new role, though the specifics of Sun Yi’s management style still baffled him.

Two days later, after a crash course in administration from Sun Yi, the appointment was ready to be formalized. Sun Yi prepared to summon the five Golden Core Elders for the announcement.

Suddenly, Sun Yi’s head snapped up.

Without a word, he blurred into motion, rushing out of the cultivation chamber. Er Gouzi scrambled to follow.

Sun Yi launched himself into the sky, hovering above the Scripture Library. He wasn’t the first on the scene; Luo An was already there, standing in the void, his gaze fixed on the Law Enforcement Hall.

“Situation report?” Sun Yi drifted to Luo An’s side.

“It appears Elder Jin Jue is breaking through,” Luo An said, his voice thick with envy.

Sun Yi focused his senses. The ambient Heaven and Earth Qi was turbulent, swirling into a massive funnel centered on the Law Enforcement Hall. Even with his lower cultivation, the atmospheric pressure was undeniable.

“Excellent,” Sun Yi said, a grin spreading across his face. “This calls for a celebration. A stronger workforce increases our valuation.”

Below them, the sect was in an uproar. Disciples abandoned their tasks, taking to the roofs or flying on swords to witness the spectacle.

Nearby, Elder Qin Chu hovered, watching the phenomenon with a complicated expression. He and Jin Jue had been peers at the mid-Golden Core stage for decades. To see his colleague pull ahead was a bitter pill.

Two streaks of light shot across the sky—Elders Li Tai and Han Yun—coming to a halt beside Qin Chu.

“Qin Chu,” Elder Li Tai teased, though his eyes remained serious. “Watching Senior Brother leave us in the dust… stings a bit, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t pretend you two aren’t jealous,” Qin Chu retorted. “After today, he’s one step closer to the Nascent Soul.”

The mention of ‘Nascent Soul’ silenced them. Elder Li Tai’s smile vanished, replaced by a look of profound longing. “Nascent Soul… the unreachable dream. Do we even have a chance?”

“I used to think it was impossible,” Elder Han Yun said slowly, his gaze drifting toward Sun Yi in the distance. “But under this new administration… perhaps the ceiling has been raised.”

Qin Chu followed his gaze and chuckled. “Who would have thought? One sentence from the Sect Leader, and Jin Jue breaks a bottleneck that held him for years. The man is a miracle worker.”

“I doubted his methods initially,” Han Yun admitted. “But the results are irrefutable. If we follow his lead, maybe the Nascent Soul stage isn’t just a fantasy.”

BOOM.

A pillar of golden aura erupted from the Law Enforcement Hall, piercing the clouds. A long, resonant roar shook the mountains—a cry of pure, unbridled power. The pressure of the Late Golden Core stage washed over the sect, heavy and undeniable.

The swirling vortex of Qi dispersed, revealing a figure standing proudly in the void. Elder Jin Jue’s robes snapped in the wind, a golden spirit sword hovering above his head, radiating razor-sharp intent.

The Board of Directors had just gained a heavyweight member.