Chapter Four: Sect Construction Tasks

“Ding, the Sect Construction Mission has begun. Do you wish to accept the mission?” The voice of the Sect Master System sounded in Jiang Yan’s ear.

“Accept the mission.” Without hesitation, Jiang Yan chose to accept. Based on his previous experience with games, sect missions were always worth taking—completing them not only strengthened the sect, but the system also rewarded him with spirit stones, techniques, and elixirs. So he didn’t hesitate.

He opened the task panel—main quests, side quests, dungeon quests, construction quests—all revealed themselves.

Main quest: Upgrade the sect to Unranked status, free it from the subordinate role; increase the disciples’ strength—at least two disciples at Qi Refining Level Four, three at Qi Refining Level One to Three; complete the sect’s construction tasks, with at least three special buildings.

Upgrading the sect’s status was no simple feat. It was both difficult and easy depending on circumstance; in the territory of Linqing Prefecture, sect promotion followed certain standards, but tangled with plenty of vested interests.

As Jiang Yan knew, Linqing Prefecture boasted many sects. The one dominating them all was the Golden Flame Sect, the largest Third Rank sect in the region. Beneath it were the Second Rank sects, which had to pay tribute yearly, then First Rank, Unranked, and at the very bottom, subordinate sects like Mount Hua.

Being a subordinate sect to Golden Flame, Mount Hua enjoyed a small town at its foot to support itself and did not need to pay tribute. However, every three years, Golden Flame held a demon hunt, and subordinate sects were required to send their best to participate in place of Golden Flame’s disciples. This was the price of subordination. Jiang Yan’s master, Ding Yuan, died in the last demon hunt, fighting on behalf of Golden Flame.

Unranked sects held only a slight advantage over subordinates. To rise from subordinate to Unranked, a sect needed at least one cultivator at Qi Refining Level Four.

Qi Refining Level Four was the first true threshold for cultivators. Once reached, a cultivator could manipulate spiritual energy beyond the body, control objects, and kill. A Fourth Level cultivator could easily sweep through a subordinate sect, far surpassing those who relied solely on physical prowess in the first three levels. Having a Fourth Level cultivator marked the difference between a subordinate sect and an Unranked one.

First Rank sects were defined by at least one cultivator at Qi Refining Level Seven; Unranked sects needed a Level Seven to qualify for First Rank. Second Rank sects required at least one with mastery at the peak of Qi Refining; Third Rank sects boasted a Foundation Establishment expert. Anything above Third Rank was beyond Jiang Yan’s knowledge, as he’d never left Linqing Prefecture.

The greatest sect in Linqing was Golden Flame, with its Foundation Establishment master, suppressing all Second Rank sects—even those with Qi Refining peak experts—and reigning supreme.

The various Second, First, and Unranked sects of Linqing, including Mount Hua’s rival, the Heavenly Mountain Sect, all had to pay their annual tribute of spirit stones to Golden Flame for peaceful development.

As for the main quest, Jiang Yan felt success was unlikely in the short term. Just having two Level Four and three Level Three cultivators was a hurdle Mount Hua could not clear. So, he turned his focus to the side quest.

Construction quest: Build the sect gate according to the gate blueprint at the designated location, and activate the protective mountain array as required.

He glanced at the bright moon overhead and calculated there was still a fair while before dawn. Jiang Yan decided to head straight down the mountain and build the gate where the side quest required.

He fetched a wooden crane from his treasure pouch, intending to ride it down to complete the gate construction. But seeing the damaged crane, he remembered—he’d pushed it too hard during the day in his rush to meet the Golden Flame envoy Bai Lun. The crane was now unusable. Resigned, Jiang Yan put it away and abandoned the idea.

After about half an hour’s walk, he arrived at the spot designated by the system. He took a Low Grade First Rank wooden puppet from his pouch and placed it on the ground. Stepping back, Jiang Yan gripped a spirit stone in his left hand, shaped his right fingers into a sword, and recited a swift incantation, “Hasten.”

The wooden puppet slowly grew larger as Jiang Yan’s fingers trembled. When it reached the height of a person, he stopped, wiped sweat from his brow, and caught his breath. He repeated the process with the other four puppets, making each human-sized.

He took the gate blueprint from his Sect Master’s ring and infused it with spiritual energy from his right hand. When the blueprint shone brilliantly, he tossed it skyward, formed a sword with his fingers, tapped the floating blueprint several times, and recited, “Hasten.”

The blueprint unfolded in the wind, instantly growing to the size of a gatehouse and gently falling to the ground. The four wooden puppets rushed forward, hammering and assembling, constructing the gate. Sometimes, they would cut neat blocks of green stone from the nearby mountain path and transport them to the site, forming the foundation.

For about three hours, the four wooden puppets clanged and bustled, and soon a grand, majestic mountain gate stood at the foot of Mount Hua.

The gate, built entirely from square-cut green stone, towered as high as a three-story building, spanning dozens of yards on either side, its boundaries merging with the cliffs, completely sealing the road from outside the mountain.

Jiang Yan gazed at the gate, and a transparent information panel floated before his eyes.

Special Building: Sect Gate
Class: First Rank
Function: Slow increase of spiritual energy across the entire mountain
Additional Function: ** Array blocks cultivators up to Qi Refining Level Five

Joy blossomed in Jiang Yan’s heart. The gate indeed came with a First Rank mountain-protecting array. Though the array could only bar cultivators up to Level Five, Jiang Yan believed that as the sect advanced, stronger arrays would be unlocked. What surprised him more was the gate’s ability to amplify spiritual energy—under its influence, spiritual energy across Mount Hua would gradually increase, making cultivation easier for all disciples.

“Ding, sect construction quest complete. Rewards: one spirit beast, ten spirit stones.” The system’s voice sounded, and the rewards were delivered.

“Woof woof…” The barking of a puppy drew Jiang Yan’s attention.

He turned and saw a snow-white puppy circling the newly built gate, unable to enter Mount Hua. Frustrated after so many laps, the puppy barked loudly, snapping Jiang Yan from his reverie.

He looked at the puppy, and the information panel appeared instantly.

Spirit Beast: Howling Sky Dog (Quest reward)
Class: Upper Grade First Rank
Exclusive Skill: Howling Soul Sound (Second Rank, Lower Grade attack skill)

Only then did Jiang Yan realize this was the spirit beast gifted by the system—unable to enter due to the mountain-protecting array, trapped within.

But this snow-white puppy was no ordinary creature—it was an Upper Grade First Rank spirit beast with a Second Rank attack skill. Jiang Yan nearly jumped for joy. Such a beast could rival a Qi Refining peak cultivator, and its exclusive skill was a powerful area-of-effect attack. With this Howling Sky Dog, Mount Hua need fear no siege from cultivators below peak Qi Refining; a single Howling Soul Sound could stun a whole crowd of Level Nine cultivators.

Jiang Yan’s mind stirred, and he deactivated the protective array. The Howling Sky Dog, seeing Jiang Yan, immediately stopped its circling and dashed over, joyfully running around him. The adorable snow-white dog looked no different from a regular pet, hardly betraying its true power. Yet it seemed somewhat displeased, tugging at Jiang Yan’s trouser leg, trying to lead him somewhere.

Jiang Yan was troubled—he had no beast-taming techniques, no way to direct the Howling Sky Dog, no means to communicate…

Beast Communication Technique… Jiang Yan slapped his thigh. Wasn’t there a Fifth Rank Beast Communication manual in the novice pack? He retrieved it from his Sect Master’s ring and hurriedly practiced the section for communicating with First Rank spirit beasts.

As he activated the technique, ancient light flickered between his fingers. “Hasten,” he intoned, applying the technique to himself.

The moment the technique took effect, a restless, impatient emotion surged in Jiang Yan’s mind…

He tried communicating and received an answer that left him both amused and helpless—the Howling Sky Dog wanted to sleep, preferably in the spirit beast garden.

He put away the wooden puppets and followed the dog up Mount Hua. Since the dog wanted to rest, and the system’s construction tasks included building a spirit beast garden, Jiang Yan decided to fulfill that quest.

The snow-white Howling Sky Dog bounded up the mountain path, occasionally darting past Jiang Yan, leaving a white streak behind with its speed…

Jiang Yan smiled wryly—indeed, a spirit beast’s speed far surpassed that of any low-level cultivator. Now that Mount Hua had its guardian spirit beast, so long as they avoided provoking peak Qi Refining cultivators, the sect would be secure.

Man and dog soon reached the eastern valley atop Mount Hua, stopping before the mountain’s only property. The Howling Sky Dog halted, lifted its snowy head, and barked several times. Jiang Yan immediately understood—this was a suitable spot for the spirit beast garden.

He took the garden blueprint from his ring and repeated the construction process.

As soon as the garden was completed, the Howling Sky Dog barked and, like a white blur, dashed inside, rolling on the soft grass.

Jiang Yan gazed at the garden, and its information appeared on the transparent panel.