Sun Yi hovered just outside the shimmering barrier of the Qingyun Sect’s defensive array. He retrieved the Headmaster’s Token, channeling a pulse of True Qi into the jade. A beam of coded light shot from the artifact, striking the invisible wall.

The barrier rippled, executing the command. A massive portal dissolved into the energy field, expanding until it was wide enough to accommodate the massive Tier 4 Flying Boat.

“Tower Master Mo, please hold position,” Sun Yi called back to the ship. “I need to initialize the landing protocols.”

“As you wish, Sect Leader Sun.”

Sun Yi turned and flashed through the portal.

He had barely entered the Sect’s airspace when five streaks of light tore across the sky, screeching to a halt in front of him. The five Golden Core Elders.

Elder Jin Jue’s face was a mask of raw emotion. “Headmaster! You’ve finally returned. We were worried sick!”

“Another hour,” Elder Ye Luo exhaled, clutching his chest, “and we would have stormed out to find you.”

Seeing the genuine concern on the faces of these old men, Sun Yi felt a pang of guilt. He smiled warmly, raising a hand. “Apologies for the latency. The route was… congested.”

“It’s those bastards from the Black Wind Stockade and Evil Spirit Valley,” Elder Jin Jue growled, a fierce, murderous aura radiating from him. “If they hadn’t blockaded us, the Headmaster wouldn’t have been stranded outside for so long.”

Elder Han Yun stepped forward, eyeing Sun Yi with curiosity. “Headmaster, how did you bypass their blockade? The net was tight.”

The other four Elders leaned in, baffled.

Sun Yi smiled faintly. Instead of speaking aloud, he sent a compressed data packet via voice transmission, summarizing the events of the last few days—the ambush, the counter-kill, and the negotiation.

The Elders’ eyes widened in unison.

“Peerless wit!” Jin Jue exclaimed, slapping his thigh. “I knew the Headmaster had a plan!”

“To think you not only escaped but brought the Seven Star Tower back as guests?” Elder Li Tai shook his head in disbelief. “This is a monumental shift in our geopolitical standing!”

“Headmaster, you are truly amazing!”

Sun Yi cut off the praise with a sharp gesture. “Save the performance reviews for later. We have work to do.”

He turned to Jin Jue. “Elder Jin Jue, issue a system-wide alert. I want every disciple assembled to welcome our partners from the Seven Star Tower. We need a show of force.”

“Understood, Headmaster!” Jin Jue cupped his hands and sped off to execute the command.

Sun Yi pivoted to Qin Chu. “Elder Qin Chu, take Changqing and liquidate a batch of resources. I need thirty million Spirit Stones’ worth of inventory, immediately. Critical note: Ensure none of the items can be traced back to the Myriad Demon Forest.”

“Understood. I will handle the laundering myself.”

Qin Chu had processed assets for Patriarch Qingxuan before; he knew how to scrub metadata. He turned and vanished.

“Elder Ye Luo,” Sun Yi continued, pointing to the scholar. “Run a full audit on the Miscellaneous Arts Hall. Identify every gap in our database—techniques, manuals, blueprints. List everything we lack. We’re going to procure the IP directly from the Seven Star Tower.”

“Yes, Headmaster. I’ll generate the requisition list immediately.” Ye Luo hurried away.

Finally, Sun Yi looked at Elders Han Yun and Li Tai. “You two are with me. We’re the reception committee. Look sharp.”

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The great bell of the Qingyun Sect tolled, the sound waves rolling across the mountains.

Instantly, the sect woke up. Thousands of streaks of light shot into the sky like a reverse meteor shower.

The current user base of the Qingyun Sect exceeded four thousand cultivators. Thanks to Sun Yi’s aggressive resource distribution, even the lowest-ranked disciple was at Qi Refining Level 8. The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators had skyrocketed.

They swarmed toward the Central Square, a sea of robes and flying swords. The air buzzed with speculation.

“Another all-hands meeting? Did the Headmaster find the patch for the bottleneck?”

“Impossible. It hasn’t been that long.”

“I heard the beta testers failed. Out of the eight who went with him, only three reached Foundation Establishment. None of the Low-Grade Spirit Root disciples made it.”

“Damn… so the hardware limit really is hard-coded?” A disciple sighed, his expression darkening.

“Don’t doompost,” another shot back. “The Headmaster said he’d find a solution. When has he ever failed to deliver an update?”

“True. Trust the process.”

While skepticism lingered, the majority held onto hope. Sun Yi had turned their world upside down before; maybe he could do it again.

Suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended from the sky. Silence fell over the square like a heavy blanket.

Elder Jin Jue hovered above them, his voice amplified by True Qi, booming like thunder.

“The Headmaster ventured into the jaws of death to find a path for your cultivation! He nearly died at the hands of the Black Wind Stockade’s evil cultivators, all to secure your future!”

The disciples looked up, eyes wide.

“He has returned with distinguished guests,” Jin Jue roared. “Everyone, form up! Show me your spirit! Do not embarrass the Headmaster! Do not embarrass the Sect!”

The speech hit home. The disciples moved with sudden, sharp purpose. They aligned into perfect phalanxes, chests out, heads high. Their spiritual energy flared in unison.

It wasn’t just a crowd anymore; it was an army on parade. The discipline was iron-clad, the morale soaring.

Seeing the formation set, Jin Jue signaled Sun Yi.

Sun Yi smiled. Good optimization.

He motioned to Li Tai and Han Yun. “Let’s go.”

The three of them flew out of the array, landing gracefully on the deck of the Seven Star Tower’s flying boat.

Sun Yi bowed slightly to the trio waiting for him. “Apologies for the wait. We had to prepare the landing zone.”

Mo Wen waved his hand dismissively. “Sect Leader Sun is too polite.”

Sun Yi stepped aside to introduce his team. “This is our Transmission Elder, Han Yun, and our External Affairs Elder, Li Tai. Elders, this is Tower Master Mo Wen, along with Deacon Wei Dong and Deacon Wen Xian.”

“Greetings, Fellow Daoists,” Han Yun said, cupping his hands. “Welcome to the Qingyun Sect.”

Li Tai added a diplomatic flourish. “We thank you for looking after our Headmaster. The Seven Star Tower is now a Priority Tier partner of the Qingyun Sect.”

“Hehe, you flatter us,” Mo Wen chuckled. “We merely facilitated transport.”

“Tower Master Mo, please. Enter the Sect.”

“After you.”

The massive flying boat engaged its thrusters, gliding slowly through the portal and into the Qingyun Sect proper.

Mo Wen stood at the rail, scanning the environment. It was his first site visit.

Honestly? He was underwhelmed.

The ambient Spiritual Qi was thin. There wasn’t even a Tier 4 Spirit Vein anchoring the location. Compared to the rich environments occupied by the Black Wind Stockade or even the Evil Spirit Valley, this place was a slum.

How can a sect scale in this environment? Mo Wen thought, a frown touching his lips. Does Sun Yi actually have the capital he claims?

Doubt began to creep in.

Then, the flying boat crested the final peak and drifted over the Central Square.

Mo Wen looked down.

His eyes widened. His expression shifted from skepticism to shock.

Below him stood an army of over four thousand cultivators, arranged in perfect, silent formation. Their energy condensed into a palpable force that rose up to meet the ship. It wasn’t the power of the land that was impressive here—it was the power of the personnel.