Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 93: Rules Revised Again

When Ji Yuan saw the message left by Old Master Xu, the fog clouding his mind was instantly dispelled.

He suddenly felt enlightened.

He understood!

He finally understood!

No wonder the Water Dragon Sect had abruptly begun its recruitment ahead of schedule, and with such urgency, not willing to wait even a moment.

It turned out to be because of this—after all, quite a few disciples within the Water Dragon Sect had originally come from the Yunyu Marshlands. Once they got wind of the news, they would definitely find ways to spread it.

Just like Old Master Xu had done.

So the longer they delayed, the more widespread the insider information would become, and by then the number of recruits—no, cannon fodder—they could attract would drastically decrease.

As for whether they could keep the matter under wraps?

That was impossible.

The Water Dragon Sect had thousands upon thousands of disciples—there was no way to hide it.

All they could do was recruit as many people as possible before the news spread too far.

Once those people joined the Water Dragon Sect, how they were used would be entirely up to the sect.

“Senior, this doesn’t look like the road to the Water Dragon Sect. Did we take the wrong way?”

“No mistake. You have to pass through here to get to the Water Dragon Sect.”

“Senior, why are we heading to the frontlines? Isn’t this where the fight with the Joyous Palace is happening, Senior!”

“Don’t worry. We’re just transiting through here. We’ll return to the Water Dragon Sect shortly.”

“Senior, why are you handing me a magic weapon and telling me to charge forward? Senior, wait—don’t leave me behind—”

Such conversations had already begun playing subconsciously in Ji Yuan’s mind.

But—was the Water Dragon Sect really this ruthless?

They had only just started fighting the Joyous Palace, and already they were sending cannon fodder to the front lines?

Ji Yuan didn’t think that was very likely. If they were truly at the end of their rope, the Water Dragon Sect wouldn’t be acting so calm—let alone the fact that not even a handful of Foundation Establishment cultivators had died yet.

It was more likely that the Water Dragon Sect didn’t want to sacrifice its elite disciples.

Instead, they’d round up some rogue cultivators to act as decoration and boost morale.

These newly recruited rogue cultivators hadn’t used up any internal resources yet, so their deaths wouldn’t hurt.

And rogue cultivators were like leeks—cut them down, and a few years later, another crop would grow.

How dark!

Truly dark!

Even Ji Yuan, now calm, felt a chill down his spine.

 Who would’ve thought that such a massive sect like the Water Dragon Sect would stoop to harming rogue cultivators—but then again, if not the rogues, would they sacrifice their own?

Still, weren’t rogue cultivators’ lives worth anything?

This scheme was truly sinister.

Under the guise of early recruitment—“join now or wait another three years”—many rogue cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining, just on the cusp of eligibility, would be drawn in.

Ji Yuan figured the Water Dragon Sect would likely even lower the entry requirements slightly to attract more rogues.

Thankfully, thankfully, there was still Old Master Xu looking out for him. If not for him, Ji Yuan might already be on the road to becoming cannon fodder.

It seemed that when he eventually joined the Water Dragon Sect, he would have to repay the old man’s kindness fiercely.

Three years—

Ji Yuan turned to look out the window, his gaze falling from the windowsill onto the vast Yunyu Marshlands.

Three years it would be!

At worst, he’d just wait until reaching the peak of Qi Refining before joining.

That would be fine.

After all, he was still young—barely 20 years old.

Even waiting another three years, he’d only be 23—still the perfect age to make a name for himself.

Having reassured himself, Ji Yuan exhaled deeply, then turned to look at Tu Yue, who still stood there like a block of wood. He finally spoke: “Don’t overthink it. We’ll be sticking around this market city for another three years. Let’s just raise our chickens properly.”

With a wave of his hand, Tu Yue silently went to the backyard to clean up the [Chicken Coop] for the day.

Fortunately, Old Master Xu had sent his message in time.

Otherwise, Ji Yuan might’ve already sent out his goods. It wasn’t embarrassment that bothered him—it was the sting to his pride.

He stepped out to the front courtyard again, gazing toward the direction of Zengtou Market.

With Old Master Xu’s warning, Ji Yuan didn’t even dare to join the excitement anymore.

Better to stay home and be safe than to get forcibly conscripted.

So he figured he might as well wait at home.

Perhaps it was because he knew something major was happening in Zengtou Market that Ji Yuan couldn’t even bring himself to cultivate.

He wondered if Du Wanyi and Yao Jingfeng could also see through the Water Dragon Sect’s tactics. But since he had been informed by Old Master Xu, it was likely they, with their ties to the sect, had also gotten word early.

Like Dong Qian and Han Feiyu—names Yao Jingfeng often mentioned.

Ji Yuan paced back and forth in the courtyard. After Tu Yue finished tidying up the buildings, she returned to stand quietly at the door.

Ji Yuan glanced at her, then decided to temporarily retract the buildings.

Zengtou Market was under a strange atmosphere now—it was best to be ready to flee at any moment.

After a while, Ji Yuan thought of asking Lin Hu to go into the market and investigate. But upon going to check, he discovered that their whole family had already gone.

“Hm?”

Just as he returned home, Ji Yuan looked toward the Yunyu Marshlands and saw a fiery red flying boat heading straight for his courtyard.

Du Wanyi?!

Why was she here? She must have heard about it too.

Ji Yuan deactivated the building effects, and she landed in the courtyard right on time.

“Fourth Brother.”

“Second Sister, what brings you here?”

“The Water Dragon Sect started recruiting early. Zengtou Market too, right?” Du Wanyi’s expression looked rather grim and heavy.

Ji Yuan couldn’t tell whether she knew the truth or not, so he simply nodded.

“Indeed.”

This was fact, so no need to hide it. After speaking, he immediately asked, “Aren’t you going to join, Second Sister? You even came to our Zengtou Market.”

He even smiled faintly as he said it.

But Du Wanyi couldn’t smile at all. “Fourth Brother, don’t you think this whole thing feels off?”

“Oh?”

So she didn’t know?

Ji Yuan wiped away his smile. “What? No message came from the upper ranks?”

“None.” Du Wanyi shook her head slowly. “Even if there were, most of them would’ve gone to Yao Jingfeng.”

“This—”

Could it be that Yao Jingfeng received the message but didn’t tell her?

That didn’t seem likely.

It would be a self-defeating move with no benefit to him—plus, the four of them had originally entered the sect in the same year.

Previously four, now three, but still from the same cohort.

“I found it strange too. This happened far too suddenly. It’s as if—the Water Dragon Sect is desperate for us to join.”

Ji Yuan didn’t know how deep the matter went, but if even Du Wanyi was unaware, it had to be serious.

Given that, it was better not to tell her the truth—no need to bring trouble to Old Master Xu.

“Exactly, exactly, that’s the feeling I got.”

Du Wanyi clenched her right fist and pressed it into her left palm, gently tapping.

“I was worried something was wrong, so I came to ask your opinion, Fourth Brother.”

She used to always go to Yao Jingfeng when something happened, but after the last incident, she now trusted Ji Yuan more.

Otherwise, she would’ve gone to Yao Jingfeng again.

“So what are you planning to do, Second Sister?”

Ji Yuan decided to ask first.

“I’m worried—” Du Wanyi looked conflicted, then finally clenched her teeth, “Why don’t we wait a little longer!”

After witnessing Luo Tian’s death, Du Wanyi had become increasingly cautious.

“Alright!”

Since Du Wanyi could make such a decision herself, Ji Yuan didn’t have to say a word. That saved him from having to persuade her or reveal the source of the message.

“I thought the same. It’s only three years anyway. If we don’t join this time, we’ll just wait for the next round.”

“Mhm.” Du Wanyi nodded firmly, a faint smile finally appearing on her face. “I knew you wouldn’t join either, Fourth Brother.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because you’re too much of a coward, hahaha.”

Ji Yuan rolled his eyes and didn’t bother responding.

Just then, the sound of water being broken came from outside, followed by a knock on the courtyard gate and a slightly anxious voice.

“Brother Wen, come in—the door’s not locked,” Ji Yuan called out.

Wen Lin immediately pushed the door open, only to be surprised to see an outsider in the courtyard. He paused for a moment, then quickly cupped his hands and bowed. “Greetings, Senior.”

Du Wanyi wiped the smile off her face and nodded coldly. She never showed a pleasant face to outsiders.

“What’s the matter, Brother Wen?”

Ji Yuan also noticed that Wen Lin had returned alone, without his wife or daughter, which likely meant something urgent had happened.

“Brother Ji, I picked up some information in Zengtou Market. The Water Dragon Sect has changed some of the recruitment rules.”

Wen Lin didn’t share his own opinion—he simply stated the facts.

“What rules?”

“This time, as long as you’re in the late stage of Qi Refining, the Water Dragon Sect will accept you. There’s no longer a requirement to individually slay a late-stage Tier 1 demon beast like before.”

“Oh?”

Ji Yuan and Du Wanyi exchanged glances, both showing a “just as expected” look.

“Anything else?”

The news didn’t surprise Ji Yuan, so he remained calm.

“I originally planned to test Ling’er’s spiritual roots, but this year, the Water Dragon Sect isn’t doing spiritual root testing. They seem to only be recruiting late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and rogue cultivators skilled in pill-making, talisman crafting, or artifact forging.”

“So this year’s recruitment by the Water Dragon Sect only targets two types of people.”

After Du Wanyi softly finished speaking, Wen Lin nodded. “Exactly.”

He turned toward Ji Yuan with a hesitant look but still softly called out, “Brother Ji—”

“Don’t worry. I understand.”

Ji Yuan still had that calm demeanor, as if everything was within his control.

“Alright, Ling’er and the others are still in Zengtou Market. I’ll go fetch them now.”

Wen Lin cupped his fists. “Farewell!”

As he walked away, Du Wanyi smiled again now that the outsider was gone. “Fourth Brother, your neighbor’s quite a decent fellow.”

“He’s a good man.”

Ji Yuan sighed. “Looks like we were right. The Water Dragon Sect dropped even the entry threshold, all just to bring in more people.”

“The Water Dragon Sect never had a shortage of disciples before. Why would they suddenly need so many—”

Halfway through her sentence, Du Wanyi turned to Ji Yuan with a sharp look.

Their eyes met, and both saw the realization in each other’s gaze.

Ji Yuan looked at the finally “enlightened” Du Wanyi. “The Water Dragon Sect really is a bit shady!”

“Who says it isn’t.”

Du Wanyi took a deep breath, as if recalling something. ‘The Water Dragon Sect did something similar before.’

“They wanted to send a batch of miners into the depths of a leyline to dig, but there were demon beasts dwelling within the mine. Any cultivator at the late stage of Qi Refining or above would awaken them, so the sect only allowed early and mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to go.”

“But there were very few low-stage cultivators within the sect, so they used the guise of ‘recruiting prospective disciples’ to trick a bunch of mermen into mining. In the end, very few made it back.”

Looks like it was an old tradition.

These cultivation sects were never that decent to begin with.

When the time came to join the Water Dragon Sect, they’d have to be prepared to run at a moment’s notice.

The path of cultivation was full of hardships—it was truly hard to make a name for oneself!

The two waited another day, but still Yao Jingfeng hadn’t shown up.

Du Wanyi was getting uneasy. “Logically, if any official message came down from the upper ranks, Yao Jingfeng would’ve informed me first. If he didn’t find me, he would’ve come to you. But we’ve waited so long, and still nothing—”

Just as the two were preparing to head over to Huaiyin Market to check for themselves—

Lin Hu and Sui Lin, who had gone to Zengtou Market to see the excitement, had already returned. And they didn’t come back empty-handed—they brought news with them.

“The Water Dragon Sect’s recruitment has already ended. They also said next year’s recruitment will proceed as usual. This year’s was a special, emergency case and won’t affect the next.”

Wen Lin said with a cheerful smile.