After the Sect Leader finished speaking, a heavy silence settled over the great hall. No one dared to break the stillness.

Even Elder Yan, who had been shouting in agitation moments ago, held his tongue.

After a long pause, the Supreme Elder spoke. “In my opinion, we must still talk with the other four sects. We need to clarify their true intentions. We need to see if we can negotiate… After some bargaining, perhaps we can avoid a complete falling out.”

Elder Yan couldn’t help but rise, bowing respectfully but with rigid tension. “Supreme Elder! Last time, you also said there might be a misunderstanding. You sent people to inquire with those four sects. The result—”

Before he could finish, another elder stood up. “Junior Brother Yan, that’s not quite right.”

“The Supreme Elder’s thinking is grounded in reality. Remaining calm and composed is the only way to solve problems.”

“If we lose our heads and fight desperately against the Spirit Beast Sect and the other three, do you think we stand a chance? If we all die, who will carry on Wanchun Valley’s legacy? This is merely a matter of a sabotaged ceremony and some friction with our neighbors. It is far from the time to bet our entire orthodoxy on a suicidal war.”

Elder Yan’s voice turned ice-cold. “Senior Brother Bai! What you say isn’t wrong in theory. But I fear they won’t give us any breathing room. They intend to devour us completely!”

“First, spies. Then, the sabotage of the Grand Ceremony. Now, the humiliation of our envoys. They are advancing step by step, and we are simply watching ourselves die.”

“If yielding temporarily could solve this, I would agree. But if we keep yielding, we die anyway. I say we fight them now rather than endure this slow, humiliating death!”

Before Elder Bai could respond, the Supreme Elder spoke again, his voice slow and measured. “Yan Ming, how do you know they intend to devour us? Could it not be that they are merely trying to extract benefits?”

“Supreme Elder, isn’t it obvious? Do they show any intention of peace?”

Elder Yan leaned forward, deferential yet firm. “Even if they are only extracting benefits now, insatiable greed will drive them to demand more. In the end, they won’t stop until Wanchun Valley is swallowed whole.”

“No, you are mistaken…”

The Supreme Elder’s tone was infuriatingly calm. “You think I am weak for seeking peace. But you don’t understand that the way of the world is to conquer hardness with softness. The teeth fall out, but the tongue remains. Softness endures.”

“As long as there is the slightest room for maneuver, we should avoid conflict. If they want tribute, we give it. If they have conditions, we meet them…”

“Are we to just let them bully us like this?” Elder Yan’s indignation boiled over. “How can we entrust Wanchun Valley’s survival to the mercy of wolves?”

“Of course not. Doing nothing would be suicide.”

The Supreme Elder rose and walked to a spirit wood pillar, facing the assembly of Elders and Deacons. “We must show submission. We must repair relations. And at the same time, we must arrange a marriage alliance.”

“If we can bind ourselves to one of the four sects through marriage, the alliance will fracture. The other three will no longer view us as meat on the chopping block. We will gain protection, and we will no longer face a unified front.”

Elder Yan paused. He wasn’t blindly opposed to logic. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Those four sects are united. They even sabotaged our Grand Ceremony to cut off our future… finding one willing to marry us will be difficult, won’t it?”

Elder Wen stood up and bowed. “A marriage alliance now is essentially a gamble.”

“If we choose correctly, we might be safe. But if we choose wrong—if they take the dowry and the benefits but offer no protection—what then?”

“Any sliver of a chance is worth trying,” the Supreme Elder insisted. “We delay as long as possible. We negotiate whatever terms we can.”

“Isn’t that better than provoking a siege tomorrow?”

Elder Yan and Elder Wen fell silent.

From a strategic standpoint, the Supreme Elder wasn’t wrong. Wanchun Valley was weak. They were farmers and alchemists, not warriors. They could not withstand a siege from four sects.

Submission, appeasement, and stalling for time were the only rational options.

It just felt utterly suffocating.

Seeing the lack of further opposition, the Sect Leader finally spoke.

“The Supreme Elder is prudent. All of you are concerned for the sect. Seeing such unity brings me comfort.”

“However, the Dao requires balance. We cannot cling to one extreme.”

“We will follow the Supreme Elder’s plan. But we must also prepare other means of self-preservation.”

The Supreme Elder stroked his beard and nodded. “Agreed. Sect Leader, please speak.”

The Sect Leader smiled faintly, then his expression hardened. “Wanchun Valley has never sought conflict. We cultivate, we plant, we refine pills. Offensive war is impossible for us. We can only defend.”

“We must reinforce the Sect’s Great Formation. Furthermore, we will erect a secondary defensive array specifically for the main peak. If the outer walls fall, all disciples will retreat to the main peak to make a final stand!”

Elder Yan and Elder Wen nodded vigorously. Even the Supreme Elder murmured his assent.

In the face of annihilation, preparing for a last stand was only prudent. Even if they couldn’t win, they had to be able to hold the line.

The Sect Leader continued. “Recall all disciples stationed in the mortal territories. Concentrate all resources at the main peak. This includes the Green Grain Market.”

“This…” An Elder hesitated. “Sect Leader, if we recall the garrison disciples, rogue cultivators and demons will run rampant. The mortal populace will suffer greatly.”

“Pedantic,” the Supreme Elder scoffed. “Mortals don’t care which immortal sect rules them, as long as someone keeps the monsters away. If Wanchun Valley falls and the Spirit Beast Sect takes over, the peasants will welcome them just the same.”

“Our priority is the survival of the sect. Once the crisis passes, we can send disciples back to slay the demons.”

No one argued further.

The Sect Leader then dropped his final decree. “There is one more matter… In this critical moment, to boost morale and force our disciples to grow stronger, I am issuing an Exceptional Promotion Order.”

Exceptional Promotion Order?

The assembly looked at him in confusion.

“An order to shatter the old rules,” the Sect Leader explained. “We will relax restrictions on learning spells, accept rogue cultivators, and accelerate promotions. And we will increase the sect’s tax.”

“First: Any rogue cultivator seeking to join Wanchun Valley—verified not to be a spy or Demonic Cultivator—can be accepted as a Laborer Disciple. They will serve us and learn our basic Qi Refining method.”

“Second: Any Laborer Disciple who reaches the third level of Qi Refining will be immediately promoted to Outer Disciple. They will gain freedom of movement, assigned housing, and access to missions.”

“Third: Any Outer Disciple who reaches the sixth level of Qi Refining will be promoted to Inner Disciple. They will receive servants, residence on the main peak, and the right to seek a Foundation Establishment master.”

“Fourth: The sect’s levy on harvest yields will be raised from eighty percent to ninety percent. This will stockpile resources for the war effort and force the lazy to cultivate harder to escape the status of Laborer Disciple.”

“This is the Exceptional Promotion Order. It is our only way to rapidly inflate our strength.”

The great hall fell silent for a heartbeat.

Then, the Elders and Deacons erupted into an uproar.