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

Chapter 203: Gu Qingcheng’s Special Class Contribution Award

“Excellent. We need to continuously scale up our recruitment drives,” Sun Yi said, his tone carrying the pragmatic authority of a Sect Headmaster. “However, even as we expand our quotas, strict quality control is non-negotiable. The assessments cannot be compromised.”

Sun Yi clearly understood that building a foundational Sect was a long and arduous marathon. But more importantly, his strategic foresight kept him painfully aware of the catastrophic bottlenecks they would face if they expanded too recklessly.

“Understood, Headmaster. I’ll optimize our recruitment outreach and ensure your screening protocols are strictly enforced,” Er Gouzi nodded, fully committed to the vision.

“Give me a status update on the War Hall,” Sun Yi pivoted, shifting his focus to the Qingyun Sect’s most loyal, core militarized force.

“According to yesterday’s quarterly audit, our active War Hall roster has officially reached 1,030 personnel,” Er Gouzi reported briskly. “We’ve strategically deployed detachments to lock down the spiritual medicine garden, garrison the regional Qingyun Dao Palaces, and secure our high-yield resource nodes.”

“As for their combat metrics,” Er Gouzi continued, a hint of pride in his voice, “every single War Hall operative has successfully broken through to Foundation Establishment. They have integrated the Split Spirit Technique into their regimens, and all five intrinsic gates have been fully unlocked.”

Sun Yi nodded, highly satisfied with the return on investment. The War Hall was his elite vanguard; only the most fiercely loyal operatives deserved this level of hyper-subsidized cultivation.

“Phase two begins now. I am making it top priority to outfit the entire War Hall with the Qingyun Battle Armor,” Sun Yi instructed. “Your immediate directive is to aggressively hoard Flowing Silver—specifically Flowing Silver Essence. It’s the critical catalyst for the third-tier armor matrix. Even if a standard third-tier, first-grade suit doesn’t require a massive volume, outfitting over a thousand troops will strain our supply chain to the breaking point.”

The newly developed exoskeleton was naturally going to his most loyal troops first. If the budget and materials allowed, Sun Yi wanted to skip the lower tiers entirely and standardize third-tier loadouts across the board.

Because every War Hall operative possessed a six-Dantian configuration and utilized the Split Spirit Technique, their physical durability and energy reserves were far beyond standard parameters. While they couldn’t match Sun Yi’s monstrous output, they had the necessary torque to pilot the third-tier Qingyun Battle Armor without burning themselves out.

Of course, issuing the absolute pinnacle—third-tier, ninth-grade—to the rank-and-file was an economic impossibility right now. Giving them entry-level third-tier suits was already a massive market disruption. They could run hardware upgrades later when the Sect’s resources increased.

“Consider it done, Headmaster. I will secure the Flowing Silver market,” Er Gouzi affirmed firmly. Treating Sun Yi’s directives as holy gospel had become his absolute conviction.

“Alright, we are on the clock. Get back to your department,” Sun Yi dismissed him with a wave.

Watching Er Gouzi hurry off, Sun Yi took a moment to mentally process the Sect’s current trajectory. The metrics were phenomenal.

With the hostile takeovers of the Evil Spirit Valley and Black Wind Stockade complete, and the remaining independent factions in the Chaos Demon Commandery thoroughly intimidated, the Qingyun Sect had entered a period of hyper-growth. The only remaining bottlenecks holding them back were raw manpower and time.

Time… Sun Yi frowned, rubbing his temples. Sometimes he felt he was pushing too aggressively. He had only been sitting in the Headmaster’s chair for a little over a year. To scale a regional Sect to this level of industrial output in such a short window was already a miracle.

But would the macro-environment give him the runway he needed? Would the demon race or the looming superpower of the Tian Sacred Palace politely wait for his research and development to finish?

The Qingyun Sect was sitting on a mountain of paradigm-shifting technology. Despite his draconian secrecy measures and security protocols, espionage was an inevitability. A heavy sense of urgency weighed on Sun Yi’s chest. He didn’t know when the eye of the Tian Sacred Palace would pivot toward his territory, but when it did, he needed an army of iron waiting for them.

Shaking off the grim thoughts, Sun Yi turned his attention back to the massive industrial floor of the Refining Hall.

At the far end, Patriarch Qingxuan was meticulously utilizing his high-level flames to purge impurities from raw ore. All around him, hundreds of refiners were locked into a synchronized rhythm at their respective workstations.

Ever since Sun Yi had forcefully restructured the Refining Hall into a modern assembly line, their production methodology had completely diverged from the traditional, artisanal cultivation world.

The initial rollout had been fraught with pushback and quality assurance issues, but the friction had been smoothed out. Sun Yi had shattered the concept of a single master crafting a sword from start to finish. Now, it was a precise sequence of refining engineering.

One specialized division did nothing but aggressively purify raw ore. The next handled the complex alloy fusions. Further down the line, specialized strikers hammered out the uniform Sword Embryos, before passing them to the scribes who etched the intricate, standardized Artifact Runes. It was purely a matter of managing the logistical handover between each department.

With this hyper-specialized division of labor, the Refining Hall’s output efficiency had gone strictly vertical.

Earth’s industrial revolution, mapped perfectly onto a cultivation framework. The artisans were thriving under the new system, finding a strange, meditative rhythm in the standardized workflow. The success had even triggered a Sect-wide restructuring; the other Miscellaneous Arts Halls were currently adopting identical factory operational models, skyrocketing their internal productivity.

For the next month, Sun Yi basically lived on the factory floor, anchoring the final assembly point for the Qingyun Battle Armor. As the most technically proficient refining master in the Sect, finalizing the delicate matrices of the third-tier, ninth-grade suits required his direct intervention.

Patriarch Qingxuan, despite his overwhelming cultivation and Nascent Flame, lacked the surgical precision required for the final arcane circuitry, relegating him to the role of a highly overqualified smelter.

Fueled by an endless supply of purified materials coming off the assembly line, Sun Yi locked himself into a relentless production loop. Whenever his divine soul frayed, he downed vials of Heavenly Soul Liquid. Whenever his Dantians ran dry, he rapidly absorbed High Grade Spirit Stones.

Thirty days of absolute, fanatical forging.

When the fires finally died down, the Sect’s entire stockpile of third-tier Flowing Silver Essence was gone. In its place stood 30 flawless, lethal sets of third-tier, ninth-grade Qingyun Battle Armor.

Sun Yi stepped back, his physical and mental stamina completely flatlined.

“Sun Yi… you’ve pushed yourself to the absolute brink,” Patriarch Qingxuan said, approaching with a mix of deep pride and paternal concern as he looked at Sun Yi’s pale face.

“Heh, it’s the burden of the Headmaster,” Sun Yi corrected with a tired grin. “But I’m hardly the only one pulling overtime. This was a massive team effort.”

Sun Yi’s gaze swept the room. Gu Qingcheng, Elder Yan, Elder Tong, and the core engineering team were all slumped against workbenches, looking completely drained. They hadn’t slept in a month either.

“Hahaha!” Gu Qingcheng suddenly threw her head back, her flamboyant, arrogant energy cutting through the exhaustion. She struck a dramatic pose, her eyes shining with maniacal brilliance. “It was a grueling grind, yes! But our genius has manifested reality! Our Golden Core experts are going to look absolutely devastating in these masterpiece armors! So, Headmaster, tell me… isn’t it time to rain down the rewards?!”

“Hahahaha! The Patriarch is right here,” Sun Yi laughed loudly, pointing at the old man. “Invoice him directly!”

“Hmph! You are the Headmaster! Don’t push your reward administration onto me,” Patriarch Qingxuan snorted, immediately turning his head and effectively washing his hands of the financial department.

Sun Yi chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the exhausted, expectant faces of his refining team.

“You all fought like demons this past month,” Sun Yi’s voice rang out, authoritative yet brimming with warmth. “The successful deployment of the Qingyun Battle Armor is a paradigm shift for our Sect. Every single one of you delivered massive value. But the most valuable contributor of this sprint… undoubtedly goes to our brilliant Gu Qingcheng.”

Sun Yi locked eyes with the flamboyant refiner.

“Oh, Headmaster, please! Such heavy praise!” Gu Qingcheng gasped, theatrically clutching her chest and putting on a distressed face. “I’m a fragile artist! Too much pressure makes me panic!”

“Is that so? You’re panicking?” Sun Yi sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “What a tragedy. I had just drafted the paperwork for a Special Class Contribution Award, but if your nerves can’t handle the weight of it, I’ll have it downgraded to a First Class.”

Gu Qingcheng’s eyes bulged. She instantly dropped the fragile act and leaped forward. “Wait! Headmaster! Suddenly, my nerves are forged of divine iron! Please, crush me with the Special Class Contribution Award! I guarantee my fragile soul can withstand the burden!”

Are you kidding?! A First Class Contribution Award paid out a flat 100,000 Points. A Special Class Contribution Award was a staggering 500,000 Points! Half a million Sect Points was enough capital to buy out entire premium catalogs in the treasury.

“You’re absolutely sure you aren’t panicking anymore?” Sun Yi asked, a vicious smirk playing on his lips.

Gu Qingcheng violently pounded her chest. “I am absolutely, definitively, undeniably sure! Drop the 500,000 on my head, Headmaster! I am ready!”

“Alright, enough theatrics,” Sun Yi laughed, his tone shifting into a booming, official cadence. “No one can deny the sheer brilliance you brought to this project. I hereby announce: For his outstanding technical breakthroughs in the Qingyun Battle Armor initiative, Gu Qingcheng is awarded the Special Class Contribution Award!”

Sun Yi turned to the rest of the breathless factory floor. “And to every single Refining Hall operative who bled for this assembly line over the last 30 days… you are all receiving a First Class Contribution Award!”

“WOOOOOOOO!”

The announcement hit the floor like a thermal detonator. The entire Refining Hall instantly erupted into a deafening roar of absolute fanaticism. Disciples screamed, hugged, and jumped onto their anvils, the sheer ecstasy of a six-figure Point injection washing away a month of exhaustion. The explosive shockwave of their cheering violently rattled the windows, drawing the bewildered and envious stares of every other Miscellaneous Arts Hall in the compound.