Cultivation, Inc.I Use Capitalism to Fix a Dying Sect

Chapter 123: Establishing the War Hall Elite Plan

When did defeating a Foundation Establishment cultivator as a mere Qi Refining disciple become this trivial? Was the world’s logic glitching?

For the Qi Refining disciples, the existential dread of the seniors translated into pure, unadulterated ecstasy. They all knew the baseline specs of Zhang Yuan and the other 4 beta testers. Their Spirit Roots were trash.

Yet, with such low-tier hardware, they had effortlessly crossed a major realm barrier to crush their superiors. It was a reality they hadn’t even dared to dream of.

Especially that final strike—Zhang Yuan’s “Five Elements Unite”—that blade of multi-colored light had cleaved straight through the mental barriers of the entire Sect, striking a deep chord in the hearts of every cultivator present.

“I’ve made my decision! I’m abandoning my current path to cultivate the Five Elements Art!” a Qi Refining Grand Perfection youth declared, his eyes blazing with absolute conviction.

“Me too! I must obtain that level of power!”

“To think even a Low Grade Spirit Root could reach such heights… I’m switching to the Five Elements Art today!”

Across the vast plaza, thousands of Qi Refining disciples voiced their desire to switch paths. Even the haughty Foundation Establishment cultivators felt their Daoist hearts wavering.

Hovering above, Sun Yi listened to the surging engagement metrics below. He was quite satisfied with this data.

His private experiments had already confirmed the algorithm. The Five Elements Art optimized combat output to an extreme degree. Furthermore, unlocking the 5 Dantian gates in tandem with the Art yielded systemic synergies that he was still uncovering.

Since the Art was this broken, it needed to be patched into the mainstream user base immediately.

But relying on hype wasn’t enough; he needed an institutional framework. Sun Yi cleared his throat. The sound was augmented with True Qi, cutting through the noise and instantly capturing the server’s attention.

“You have all seen the results,” Sun Yi announced, his voice carrying the crisp authority of a Headmaster at a product launch. “Those 5 testers possess sub-optimal Spirit Root aptitude, yet they used pure data to prove their value.”

“None of you present have worse baseline specs than them. Therefore, every single one of you can achieve this exact same output.”

He paused, letting the implication sink in. “The prerequisites are simple. You must overwrite your current cultivation with the Five Elements Art, and your physical hardware—your fleshly body—must be upgraded to handle the stress.”

“To facilitate this, I am officially launching the ‘War Hall.’ Every disciple who successfully opts into the War Hall will receive the Sect’s full backing in terms of capital and resources. I can confidently guarantee that any disciple who switches to the Five Elements Art and enters the War Hall will see their combat efficiency increase by at least 10 times.”

A 10x multiplier! Sun Yi’s pitch detonated the entire plaza.

Even Elder Jin Jue and the C-suite management team snapped their heads up in surprise. This “War Hall” proposal had not been on the meeting agenda.

For the disciples, all logic vanished. The only thing echoing in their minds was the promise of a 10x power-level upgrade.

“Headmaster!” An early-stage Foundation Establishment disciple shouted, pushing through the crowd. “Does this 10x increase apply to us at the Foundation Establishment stage as well?”

Every eye locked onto Sun Yi, holding their breath for the verdict.

Sun Yi looked at the user, a calculated smile on his face. “Of course. The scaling applies to all levels.”

“Headmaster, I’m opting in! I want to join the War Hall!” “Me too! Put my name down!” “I must enter the War Hall!”

The plaza descended into a frenzy of application requests. Sun Yi raised a hand and pressed down. A wave of heavy pressure blanketed the plaza, and the tsunami of noise instantly subsided.

“Admission to the War Hall will be heavily gated,” Sun Yi continued calmly. “First, you must successfully transition to the Five Elements Art. Second, you must pass the Sect’s internal audit.”

“The beta phase for the War Hall will be limited to 100 slots. It is open to all cultivation realms. Anyone may apply.”

“Excellent! I’m registering!” “I’m applying too!” “I will secure a spot even if it kills me!”

“That concludes today’s demonstration. Return to your quarters and optimize your training,” Sun Yi commanded, waving his hand. He then led the Elders back to the central hall. As for Zhao Lun and the other 4 testers, they were dismissed to continue their grinding.

Inside the central hall, as soon as the doors sealed, Elder Jin Jue spoke up. “Headmaster, please enlighten us. What is the nature of this War Hall?”

Sun Yi scanned his boardroom. “I am consolidating our best assets. I plan to heavily invest in an elite division of disciples. These units must possess absolute, uncompromising loyalty to the Sect. Even when we face a life-or-death crisis, they will not defect. They will be our core combat force.”

Elder Qin Chu stroked his beard. “Headmaster, the Sect is currently united as one from top to bottom. Surely no disciple would betray us now?”

Sun Yi shook his head, a cynical glint in his eyes. “Their current loyalty is bought with high-yield benefits. They are staying for the resource allocation.”

“I don’t deny that some organic users would stand and fight. But I refuse to base my security protocols on something as unpredictable as human nature.”

“Our resources are finite. We have the data to open the 5 gates, but the biological material harvested from the Mi Luo Beast is strictly limited. We cannot upgrade the entire user base. Therefore, we must implement a strict vetting process to maximize ROI.”

“Then, Headmaster, how do you intend to filter these disciples?” Elder Han Yun asked, leaning forward with curiosity.

Sun Yi extended his right hand. A jade slip materialized in his palm. “I’ve drafted the assessment protocol. Review the specs.”

Elder Jin Jue took the jade slip, his divine sense scanning the contents before his eyes widened. He passed it down the line.

“The Heart Questioning Array…” Elder Jin Jue muttered, his brows furrowing. “This is a pinnacle 4th-grade Formation. Headmaster, do you intend to leverage our contract with the Seven Star Tower for this?”

Sun Yi nodded. Having downloaded the basics of Formation arts, he knew the Heart Questioning Array was the ultimate cybersecurity tool of the cultivation world. It induced high-level illusions to audit a cultivator’s subconscious. It was the standard method super-Sects used to purge spies.

However, the hardware costs for constructing it were astronomical. Ordinary Sects simply couldn’t afford the overhead. Furthermore, as a 4th-grade Formation, it was only effective on cultivators below the Golden Core stage; against Golden Core software, its logic failed.

The maintenance cost to boot up the array for each test was equally brutal. Even during the Qingyun Sect’s golden age, they had never installed such a system.

Yet, ever since discovering it, Sun Yi had flagged it as a mandatory installation. With this firewall, he could guarantee a 100% secure userbase.

Sun Yi had run the projections. Constructing the array would burn through 20,000,000 Points, not to mention the ongoing power requirements.

Despite the heavy burn rate, Sun Yi concluded it was necessary. Only with this system in place could he safely inject top-tier resources into the disciples. With the Seven Star Tower as their new business partner, sourcing the array blueprints and materials was highly feasible.

“Do you believe the implementation of the Heart Questioning Array is viable?” Sun Yi asked, looking around the table.

“I second the Headmaster’s motion. This Formation is critical for our foundation,” Er Gouzi was the first to speak. As Deputy Headmaster, his vote carried weight.

“I also approve of the Array’s construction,” Elder Qin Chu nodded in agreement.

The remaining Elders voiced their consent without hesitation.

“Good. The motion passes,” Sun Yi finalized. “Elder Li Tai, you are the liaison for the Seven Star Tower. Contact them immediately and get the Array operational as soon as possible.”

“Understood. I will send a communication talisman to the Tower at once,” Elder Li Tai agreed.

“Elder Han Yun, you are in charge of the mass migration. Coordinate the disciples’ transition to the Five Elements Art. If you hit any bottlenecks, report directly to me.”

“Yes, Headmaster!” Han Yun nodded.

“Elder Jin Jue, Elder Qin Chu, expedite the unlocking of your 5 gates. Elder Ye Luo, I require your continued assistance in mastering the miscellaneous arts. We need to accelerate the R&D on the Heavenly Soul Liquid.”

The Elders nodded, accepting their task assignments. Finally, Sun Yi looked at Er Gouzi. “Changqing, continue managing the day-to-day operations. Issue a global notification: the War Hall selection timeline is TBD. Tell the userbase to continue their prep work. All critical bugs or issues are to be routed directly to my desk.”