Chapter 766: These Young People Just Got Here and Already Want a Promotion?
Kunxu Eleventh Layer, Central Apex Heaven, Myriad Laws Sect Region.
True Monarch Starfire stood before the grand doors of Heaven’s Mandate Hall, sighing inwardly, “Finally… I’ve returned to the sect.”
“Who could have imagined that my journey to the lower realm would turn into a blessing in disguise, allowing me to enter Heaven’s Mandate Hall?”
True Monarch Starfire understood that, given his past sect record and position, achieving a transfer to Heaven’s Mandate Hall would have been as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
His cultivation realm and rank had stagnated, effectively sealing his future prospects in this life.
Yet now, after his journey to the lower realm and subsequent return to the sect, it felt like a rebirth, his path forward now wide open.
“Back when I was a Golden Core cultivator, I let you call me ‘Old Man’ without complaint.”
“But now that I’ve reached the Nascent Soul Realm, at just over three hundred years old, I’m merely a young man.”
“A young man who passed the Sect Examination and now has limitless potential.”
Outside the Martial Arts Pavilion’s office.
Yu Xinghan, radiating scholarly vigor, strode through the corridor.
Having just completed his onboarding procedures thanks to the Sect Examination Clone’s manipulations, his heart burned with fighting spirit.
“Now that I’ve entered the sect, the Lower Realm has nothing to do with me anymore.”
He understood that the first official day of reporting for duty was crucial, a new beginning for him in this life.
Here, no one knew about his past hardships, embarrassing moments, or humiliating failures in the Lower Realm.
To his colleagues, he was a blank slate, and this first day presented an opportunity to reinvent himself.
But he carried a significant flaw.
“I must completely sever ties with the past and erase the label of ‘lower layer person’ from me.”
He knew that while sect disciples might not actively despise him out of emotion, they would rationally… brand him as a lower layer person.
This practice of quickly defining someone based on their background saved time and effort, reducing the cost of assessing character, a method he himself frequently used.
For instance, Yu Xinghan’s current friends list, managed by his Sect Examination Clone, was divided into four groups: Seniors, Peers, Scum Group, and Blacklist Group.
He believed that the colleagues he was about to meet would use similar methods.
“Once they label you as a lower layer person and assign you to the Scum Group or Blacklist Group in the contact list, you’ll never be able to hold your head up in the department.”
“Any minor mistake will inevitably be met with remarks like ‘Typical lower layer person’ or ‘No wonder, given they’re from the lower layers.’ As this perception deepens, I’ll become the department’s universally recognized Scum, trampled underfoot by everyone.”
“Then all the dirty work and tedious tasks will be dumped on me, the good opportunities will never come my way, and promotions will become utterly unattainable.”
“If it comes to that, I’ll never have a chance to rise above my station.”
“To avoid this, the first step… is to establish my persona and completely shed the lower layer label!”
“And I have to act fast! I must establish this persona before I even add my colleagues as friends!”
In his view, there was a very simple way to achieve this.
“True Monarch Starfire!”
“Becoming their son-in-law? Not enough!”
As the office door loomed closer, Yu Xinghan sent a message directly to True Monarch Starfire: “True Monarch, I want to become your son!”
“If I become the son of the seasoned True Monarch Starfire, I’ll practically be half-upper class by birthright!” he thought to himself.
“And if I can win over Li Xuelian, who hails from the Sect Layer, it would be a perfect match, solidifying my status as a true upper-class citizen.”
Just as the cultivators were finishing their registration, Zhang Yu had already settled into his office.
As Zhang Yu’s gaze swept across the room, the outsourced employees around him came into view.
Identifying outsourced employees was simple: they all appeared slightly transparent within the office area.
Even to Zhang Yu, a Level 1 Sect Staff member, he could adjust their transparency to 99% if needed.
In an instant, all outsourced employees became nearly invisible, leaving only faint, shimmering silhouettes in the air.
In Zhang Yu’s vision, if one weren’t paying close attention, the vast office area seemed to contain only a few scattered Sect Staff members.
Immortal Slayer remarked, “Outsourced employees are like air in the sect, constantly maintaining operations while striving to remain as unnoticed as possible. This is the expectation many sect disciples have of them.”
Zhang Yu turned to look at Ye Xingli, who was standing beside him. As he gradually reduced the transparency, his senior sister’s figure reappeared before him.
In Ye Xingli’s eyes, Zhang Yu, a Level 1 Sect Staff member, glowed like a fireball, radiating light as the Dharma Realm highlighted and identified him, just like the other Sect Staff.
When Zhang Yu observed the outsourced employees, he could directly access their names, supervisors, cultivation realm, outsourced job rank, and current tasks through the Dharma Realm.
Among these tasks, a small portion involved document processing, while the majority centered on studying, practicing, testing, and validating martial dao techniques.
It could be said that the outsourced personnel of Martial Dao Group Three spent every month ceaselessly reviewing, studying, and analyzing various martial arts.
If they failed to meet the standards or couldn’t fulfill their superiors’ requirements, they had to spend their own money to purchase experience, memories, or even rent cultivation power from the Dharma Realm, all to improve their work efficiency and accuracy.
Immortal Slayer said flatly, “This is the most challenging aspect of outsourcing. To stay employed, you have to constantly invest your own money to do the work.”
“On top of that, outsourced staff earn less than Sect Staff for the same work, unequal pay for equal labor. This means most of their monthly Immortal Coins are poured back into their jobs. Some Cultivators with insufficient skills even need to take out loans to complete their tasks.”
“They’re slowly… being squeezed dry of all their potential, all for that sliver of hope of climbing the Immortal Dao.”
“Yet the ultimate outcome is merely that the sect grows stronger and more rigid, while the Immortals’ Dao Lineages become ever more profound and impenetrable, after countless tasks assigned by those above have been completed.”
As Zhang Yu reviewed the outsourced workers’ profiles, he realized this wasn’t data voluntarily shared by the workers themselves. Rather, it was a privilege granted by his authority as a Level 1 Sect Staff member, allowing him to access such information with ease.
At that moment, similar information about Ye Xingli appeared in his vision.
A glaring red warning flashed across Zhang Yu’s interface: “Your outsourced cultivator is idle. Assign her a task immediately.”
Seeing this, Ye Xingli tensed up as well. Her eyes, burning with a desire to work, turned expectantly toward Zhang Yu.
“Junior Brother, quickly assign me a task,” she urged.
Having undergone training at the Sect Examination Classes and onboarding, Ye Xingli knew all too well that work… that was an Outsourced Cultivator’s lifeline.
An Outsourced Cultivator without work or assignments was like an unwanted stray dog, utterly unable to survive within the sect.
“I can no longer serve as Junior Brother’s dual cultivation partner,” Ye Xingli thought bitterly. “If I don’t get work opportunities soon, I’ll be expelled from the sect… Ah, what exactly am I lacking compared to Le Mulan?”
Her burning desire to walk the Dao blazed anew, making her crave the next assignment even more fiercely.
Zhang Yu knew that after bringing Ye Xingli to the Edict Pavilion, she had completed her onboarding there alongside him, earning a monthly after-tax salary of 400 Immortal Coins.
As a fully contracted outsourced cultivator, prolonged idleness would soon trigger higher-level warning alerts. This would be considered negligence on Zhang Yu’s part and reported to his superiors.
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Yu turned to Ye Xingli and said, “Senior Sister, for now, please handle the initial review. Out of these 24 sets of materials, check whether the documents are complete, the formatting is correct, and if there’s any illegal content…”
Ye Xingli had familiarized herself with the Edict Pavilion’s workflow before arriving, understanding that the initial review primarily involved paperwork.
However, upon hearing this, she was slightly taken aback. “Junior Brother, do you only need me to handle the paperwork?”
Before coming here, Ye Xingli had already prepared to assist Zhang Yu in verifying various cultivation arts.
She had even planned how much to borrow to purchase knowledge memories, cultivation memories, work memories, and even lease cultivation…
Especially after seeing Zhang Yu take on 24 cultivation art assignments at once, Ye Xingli felt even more convinced that he needed her help.
Yet at that moment, Zhang Yu simply smiled at her. “Senior Sister, for now, just focus on the paperwork.”
“What a joke. With only 24 cultivation arts, I barely have enough to practice myself, why would I share them with you?” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “Besides, Senior Sister, you’re only at the Golden Core Realm. I can’t ask you to buy knowledge memories or lease cultivation to help, can I?”
Ye Xingli looked at Zhang Yu with a touch of gratitude, thinking to herself, “Junior Brother… he’s always like this, silently shouldering all the responsibilities himself.”
In that moment, Ye Xingli made a decision that went against her principles: “If Junior Brother can’t finish the task in time, I’ll take out a loan to help him.”
As Zhang Yu assigned the preliminary review task to Ye Xingli, his fingertips lightly tapped, instantly submitting the task to her through the work platform.
The flashing warning that had been alerting her moments before abruptly vanished, allowing Ye Xingli to breathe a sigh of relief.
Beyond Outsourced Cultivators, Zhang Yu also knew that the sect had various uses for Soul Cultivators, which reminded him of Zhao Tianxing and the others who had ascended with him.
However, unlike Outsourcing, Soul Cultivators were more like equipment that Cultivators carried with them. The costs of maintenance, upkeep, use, and upgrades had to be borne by the Cultivators themselves. Currently, his finances were tight, so he had no choice but to keep Zhao Tianxing and the others in suspended animation for now.
Only when he had accumulated sufficient Immortal Coins could he rent the sect’s Calculation Pool for them.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zhang Yu:
Chu Wangji: “Are you the new Zhang Yu?”
Chu Wangji was a veteran of the Edict Pavilion, having served as a Level 2 Sect Staff member for many years. This extensive experience had given him a deep understanding of the Edict Pavilion’s hierarchy and operations.
However, he remained immensely curious about the newcomer, Zhang Yu.
After all, Zhang Yu was the first candidate to pass the lower layer Sect Staff Selection Examination, making Chu Wangji unsure of his background and capabilities.
“Normally,” Chu Wangji mused inwardly, “Lower Realm Natives — regardless of their connections, wealth, or prospects — are all doomed to obscurity. They should be relegated to my ‘Incompetent Group’ in my contacts, entities requiring no investment of social resources.”
“But… someone who climbed through the Heavenly Court’s forced Sect Examination must have connections.”
Chu Wangji now wanted to learn more about Zhang Yu to determine his future social strategy: whether to ignore him, treat him as a stranger, view him as a competitor, befriend him, treat him like family, or become his devoted sycophant.
Meanwhile, following Chu Wangji’s lead, other members of Martial Dao Group Three greeted Zhang Yu one by one, putting on polite and enthusiastic appearances. They even added him to the group’s chat.
As soon as Zhang Yu entered the group chat, the first thing he saw was Martial Dao Group Three’s performance ranking for the month.
Zhang Yu knew that Martial Dao Groups One, Two, and Three within the Edict Pavilion’s Review Department were primarily responsible for reviewing cultivation arts at the Nascent Soul Realm and below, including foundational, intermediate-grade, and expert-grade techniques.
As for martial arts above the Nascent Soul Realm, as well as military-grade and Immortal Sect-level techniques, these couldn’t be handled by a single Martial Dao Review Group. Such comprehensive reviews often required the group leader to mobilize personnel across groups or departments for collaborative assessment of the entire cultivation art.
The performance ranking Zhang Yu was currently viewing was based on the scores assigned to each cultivation art after evaluation, with members ranked according to their accumulated points.
Naturally, the group leader wasn’t included in this ranking.
While group leaders also participated in reviews, they didn’t compete for individual rankings with their team members. Instead, their performance was assessed based on the overall effectiveness of the groups they led.
He Yiwen held the top spot with 89 points for the month.
Chu Wangji followed in second place with 72 points.
As for the newly joined Zhang Yu, having completed zero martial dao technique reviews so far, he naturally occupied the last position.
Looking at the score and the scoring criteria, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “My 24 Nascent Soul Realm foundational cultivation arts are worth 4 points each. If I can get them all reviewed within a month, that’s 96 points.”
“Based on this, Senior Sister Ye Xingli and I should be able to surpass the other group members and their outsourced cultivators, securing the top spot in our group.”
With this in mind, Zhang Yu curiously asked Chu Wangji, “Are there any rewards for this performance ranking?”
Chu Wangji replied, “Of course! What’s the point of a performance ranking without rewards? To further enhance work efficiency throughout the Edict Pavilion, we’ve further refined the performance evaluation system for all departments and groups.”
As a seasoned veteran, Chu Wangji continued working while sharing some information with Zhang Yu through a sliver of his consciousness: “The monthly top performer in Martial Dao Group Three receives 500 Immortal Coins and 10 Dao Merit points.”
“Moreover, if you secure the top spot in the overall ranking across Martial Dao Groups One, Two, and Three, you’ll earn an additional 1,500 Immortal Coins and 20 Dao Merit points.”
Zhang Yu asked again, “Does this ranking system also help with promotion?”
Chu Wangji chuckled. “Of course. The better your performance and the more tasks you complete each year, the higher your chances of being promoted.”
Zhang Yu pressed on, “When does the sect typically handle promotions?”
Chu Wangji chuckled. “Barring special circumstances, there’s typically an evaluation in March each year. But since it’s already late December, you’ve missed this year’s opportunity. Just focus on working hard next year.”
Seeing Zhang Yu’s eager interest in promotions, Chu Wangji thought to himself, “He’s barely joined, and he’s already thinking about promotions? Does this kid really have some kind of backing?”
Simultaneously, he sighed inwardly. “Promoting from 1st Rank to 2nd Rank can still be achieved solely through performance. But to advance to 3rd Rank, you have to wait for a vacancy to open up.”
“Even when a vacancy does arise, there’s a long line of people waiting ahead of you… I wonder if I’ll ever get a chance to reach 3rd Rank within the next thirty years.”
As for the 4th and even 5th Ranks, Chu Wangji didn’t even dare to dream of them in the short term.
After all, within the sect, cultivators of higher ranks possessed greater wealth, longer lifespans, and an unwavering grip on their positions.
“Those old fogies would cling to their posts for millennia if they could,” Chu Wangji muttered.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhang Yu checked the Martial Dao Review Group’s overall rankings and discovered that the top spot belonged to a Level 2 Sect Staff member from Martial Dao Group One, who had already accumulated 108 points this month.
“108 points, huh?” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “If I mastered a few more martial arts this month, or simulated them using the Formless Martial Art to complete more cultivation art reviews… I should be able to surpass that score.”
“Whether it’s for Immortal Coins, Dao Merit, or even rank promotion, I need to climb these performance rankings.”
Having just joined the sect, Zhang Yu knew he desperately needed Immortal Coins and even more Dao Merit.
The sect provided cultivators with exceptionally favorable cultivation conditions, but everything came at a price, requiring Immortal Coins or Dao Merit for access.
Immortal Sect-level magical artifacts, Bionics, medicinal pills, and, most importantly, Immortal Sect Techniques were the channels through which Zhang Yu could continue to improve his foundational attributes after reaching the Nascent Soul Peak.
Especially the Immortal Sect Techniques…
“If I could complete a Chain Formation Diagram composed of Immortal Sect Techniques, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance my work efficiency and competitiveness within the sect.”
Ever since connecting to the Dharma Realm and gaining access to the purchase catalogs for various Immortal Sect Techniques, Zhang Yu had been like a rat who had fallen into a rice jar, frequently browsing the catalogs and adding one technique after another to his collection.
Now, Zhang Yu’s gaze shifted, and the Immortal Sect Techniques he had collected materialized before him.
Some could supplement his Inverted Kunlun, others could enhance his Formless Martial Art, and there was even a set that could augment his Great Sage’s Heir lineage. Still others could form powerful Chain Formation Diagrams with names like Primordial Chaos One Qi, Desire Heaven Demon Lord, and Empress Wa Creations, names that sounded profoundly powerful.
Without exception, the cultivation arts Zhang Yu had chosen were all Immortal Sect-level Techniques, with the cheapest costing over 100,000 Immortal Coins and several hundred Dao Merit.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “My monthly salary is barely enough to survive. And if I want to climb higher… it’s utterly insufficient.”
After ending his conversation with Chu Wangji, Zhang Yu continued reviewing the basic cultivation arts at hand.
Regardless of how Ye Xingli’s paperwork was progressing, Zhang Yu intended to master all twenty-four basic cultivation arts, transforming them into nourishment for his Nascent Soul Sacred Body.
Just then, Qu Yizhi, the Group Leader of Martial Dao Group Three, unexpectedly approached Zhang Yu.
The other group members were startled by this sight, whispering, “The Group Leader himself came over? Zhang Yu must have some serious connections.”
Thanks to the Dharma Realm’s powerful capabilities, tasks and communications could all be handled remotely. Chu Wangji and the others hadn’t seen their Group Leader visit them in person for a very long time.
Chu Wangji thought to himself, “Looks like it’s time to switch to friend mode.”
At that moment, Group Leader Qu Yizhi approached with a faint smile, casually addressing Zhang Yu: “Little Yu, I have another task for you…”
He then sent Zhang Yu the review materials for an intermediate-grade martial arts cultivation art, adding, “Submit a preliminary report on this cultivation art by the end of the workday.”
Seeing Zhang Yu obediently accept the assignment, Qu Yizhi nodded and turned to leave without a backward glance, leaving Chu Wangji and the others utterly bewildered.
Chu Wangji thought to himself, “Just assigning a task? Why come here in person?”
But over the following days, as Qu Yizhi continued to pile more work on Zhang Yu, Chu Wangji and the others gradually understood his true intentions.
“With this workload, how can Zhang Yu possibly finish his own tasks?”
“Is Qu Yizhi targeting him? Trying to work him into the ground?”
Faced with their superior, no one dared to speak up for Zhang Yu.
In fact, after noticing Qu Yizhi’s actions, no one actively spoke to Zhang Yu anymore. Chu Wangji completely cut off communication, sending him no further messages. Under Qu Yizhi’s influence, the group had unconsciously begun to isolate Zhang Yu.