Chapter 352: Still Working a Job in Another World

Instead of answering, Han Daozi asked, "Then why are you helping her?"

Zhai Xiaotian only said, "I’ve been here a very long time—so long, I’ve forgotten just how long. I used to think this world was nothing special, but now, I’m finding it rather interesting."

He was being straightforward: he had simply noticed something different about Song Jiulai.

But that definitely wasn’t the case for Han Daozi.

Zhai Xiaotian could feel the fluctuations from the great array Han Daozi had set up. They were anything but ordinary.

That Array was clearly special.

Zhai Xiaotian was only providing some minor conveniences for the Longevity Sect disciples. He never intended to help to this degree.

As a Cultivator at or above the Nascent Soul Stage, it was highly unlikely that Han Daozi would go to such lengths to help Song Jiulai merely out of curiosity or amusement.

The Cultivation World was a place where the strong preyed on the weak. Anyone who could cultivate peacefully to such a Realm was definitely no soft-hearted saint.

’He must be after something.’

’And it isn’t something small, either.’

’It’s probably more than just getting Song Jiulai to run a few errands for him.’

’I just can’t figure out what it is about Song Jiulai that he values so much, enough to make him this invested.’

Han Daozi took a sip of his wine, his eyes narrowing. Then he said, "Stay out of your senior’s business! You’re lucky I’m a patient old man."

Zhai Xiaotian cupped his hands. "My apologies. This junior overstepped."

Han Daozi waved his hand dismissively. "Just focus on being a good Smuggler. I, for one, am curious to see where that girl is going to pull seven hundred new disciples from."

Zhai Xiaotian wasn’t surprised by this. He was already well aware that new disciples appeared in the Longevity Sect from time to time.

"It’ll be soon, I’m afraid," Zhai Xiaotian said. "Things are about to get much livelier around here."

’Besides, the number of disciples in the Longevity Sect doesn’t add up.’

’A sect with a thousand members... anywhere else, it would be a major sect on par with the Sea View Sect by now.’

’But here, it’s still just a small sect.’

’All because their leader is only at Late-stage Foundation Establishment.’

Song Jiulai finished arranging the remaining affairs of the Sect.

Chen Miaomiao’s experimental base could now be moved inside the Sect proper without any fear of discovery.

Song Jiulai created a more detailed plan for partitioning the Sect.

’Just like how the true Inner Sect of the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect is in the heavens.’

’This place can also serve as an Inner Sect.’

’I’ll designate the entire area of Wang’an County and Feique Mountain as the Outer Sect.’

’Only Core Disciples will be allowed to enter the Inner Sect.’

However, Song Jiulai realized there was an issue.

’Before, my goal was to prevent player factions from growing too powerful and squeezing out new players.’

’Now that the plan is set, the Yunzhou Continent is vast enough for disciples to spread out and earn their own points.’

’The more space they have, the easier it will be for new disciples to find their footing.’

’But a huge Sect can’t function without managers.’

’Take Chen Miaomiao, for example. Besides her research fields, she’s now also managing some of the Feique Sect’s miscellaneous affairs. When disciples from other sects come to visit the Longevity Sect, someone has to be sent to host them, right?’

’I can’t just expect people to work for free, can I?’

’I can create some official, yet low-impact, "mascot" management positions for the players.’

’I’ll pay them a salary. Spirit Stones or points will both work,’ she thought, pursing her lips. ’But they’ll also be responsible for miscellaneous tasks, so they can’t stay out on adventures for long periods. It’s not a role for combat-focused players. In addition, players who volunteer to maintain the great array should also receive some monthly compensation.’

’There are always trade-offs with this kind of thing.’

’For instance, players who don’t like to fight, or players who are away from the Sect for long stretches, can’t be expected to take on these responsibilities.’

’So naturally, their rewards will be different.’

’Handling chores will slow down their cultivation progress a bit.’

’So I’ll explain all the downsides to them clearly. No need to mention any benefits.’

’As long as they know there’s a salary for the job, the players will weigh the options themselves.’

’I’ll establish a Management Department. The minimum requirement will be the Foundation Establishment Stage. Beyond that, players can apply themselves, and selection will be based on an assessment. There should be three people in the role at all times, so if one logs off, there’s a backup. Their main duties will be receiving visitors from other sects and handling negotiations and business development.’

Song Jiulai figured Chen Miaomiao was a shoo-in for one of the spots.

As for the rest, it would depend on what Fan Guzhou, Han Tian, and the others decided among themselves.

’I’ll also set up a Beast Taming Department, an Alchemy Department, and an Artifact Refining Department.’

This aligned with the paths players had been developing recently, but Song Jiulai had always followed a hands-off, "free-range" policy.

’That was fine when there were fewer people.’

’But with so many, a hands-off approach won’t work anymore.’

The more players there were, the harder it was to guarantee they wouldn’t stir up trouble—especially those who get caught up in the heat of a game and start acting like lawless maniacs.

But unlike the players’ previous self-directed exploration, these departments would need to have quotas.

’For example, the Alchemy Department will have to produce a certain amount of medicine each month for the Sect’s reserves.’

’There will be rewards based on the grade of medicine they refine.’

’The Sect’s internal resource system has to be established.’

’I’ll provide the raw materials myself.’

This was what Fan Guzhou and his group were already doing. The medicine currently being distributed to the Feique Sect members was all provided by Chen Miaomiao and her team.

But any subsequent profits they made were their own.

After all, the land was technically hers!

The players were essentially just leasing it from her.

After sorting out all the miscellaneous details, she also established an Array Formation Department for those who would maintain the array.

Once she had everything planned out, the System officially sent out an announcement.

[System: Greetings, players. The Sect will soon welcome seven hundred new players. To facilitate management, several new administrative departments have been created. We sincerely invite all players to apply. Interested parties may private message the System for inquiries. Application Hotline: Call out to the System.]

Sect Channel:

[Fan Guzhou: ...Isn’t that "call out" part a little redundant?]

[Zhou Nvzi: So they’re finally setting up departments! I was just saying how we were too disorganized and hard to manage. The main issue was we needed to interact with the outside world but didn’t have any representatives. These new positions are great.]

[Han Tian: The requirements will probably be strict, right?]

...

A few players were the first to comment, but most who saw the message immediately started applying to the System.

They figured that since the System sent the announcement before the new players had even arrived, these positions obviously weren’t intended for the incoming batch.

And they were right.

After all, the new players had zero cultivation. Making them managers responsible for miscellaneous tasks would be far too chaotic.

For each rotation of management positions, Song Jiulai never considered the newest players. Only after the *next* batch of players arrived would qualified players from the *previous* batch become eligible candidates.

All these positions would first be filled from among the three hundred existing players.

Han Tian and the others who were quick on the uptake soon figured out how the new management departments worked.

Veteran Players’ Private Chat

[Honghuang: So they’re just mascot positions, huh? Only responsible for dealing with the Yunzhou locals, with no direct authority over other players. Too bad, I wanted to throw my weight around! The only time I was ever ’in charge’ was in elementary school as the class study monitor. Unfortunately, I got ’fired’ by the teacher for copying my classmates’ homework every day!]

[Lin Yuyu: That’s a given. We’re all here to play a game. Even if we take on a ’job’, we’re working for the Sect Master. Why would we listen to another player? The System has direct authority, so we don’t need to worry about it.]

[Gu Yunxi: I see the three main professional departments have work quotas now. Dammit, why do I still have to work in a different world?!]