Chapter 131

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Chapter 131: The Danger of Five Elements Sect

Five Elements Sect, Inner Sect

Like other major sects, Five Elements Sect is under the control of the Presbyterian Church. All the elders are at the Nascent Soul stage and there is no limit to their number. Currently, Five Elements Sect has fifteen Nascent Soul Elders.

At the end of each year, the elders hold a meeting to summarize their achievements. However, not all elders are required to attend as they have various duties to attend to. Some may be guarding important places, others may be in seclusion for cultivation, or traveling around the world. For the sect, it is only required to have at least three elders at the entrance gate at all times to ensure the basic safety of the sect.

This year, there are six members from the Presbyterian Church participating, which worries the Sect Master Qin Quan. It seems like there will be another dispute today.

"Since no one else is coming, let’s get started. Let’s begin with a discussion of this year’s events."

Qin Quan glanced at the time, realizing that no one else was coming. He ordered someone to close the door and began recounting the major events of the year: how many disciples left or died, how many new disciples joined, the number of breakthroughs from the Building Foundation Period to the Golden Core Period, the income and expenses in terms of spirit stones, all with specific data.

These contents were compiled by the Internal Affairs Hall, and Qin Quan read them aloud to let the elders understand the overall situation of Five Elements Sect.

Overall, Five Elements Sect has remained relatively unchanged for many years. The income and expenses are consistent every year, with some turnover in personnel, but the overall number remains the same. This situation has been maintained for many years.

"The last sentence, I won’t say it anymore. You all have heard enough of Zhang Wanjing’s words."

When they reached the last sentence, Qin Quan said, because every year Zhang Wanjing’s final sentence in the previous reports is the same, meaning that if the sect’s power doesn’t improve, it will decline. But after so many years, hasn’t the Five Elements Sect declined?

"Master Brother Guo, I have something to say about this Zhang Wanjing."

"Senior Brother Guo, what do you want to say?"

"I want to accuse him of disrespecting his elders and violating the rules of the sect. According to our rules, he should be put on a self-reflection period instead of continuing as the Deputy Hall Master of the Internal Affairs Hall."

"Senior Brother Guo said it well. I also think Zhang Wanjing has gone too far. It’s time to remove him as the Deputy Hall Master. How about replacing him with your eldest disciple? My requirements aren’t high. As long as he can reach the same level as Zhang Wanjing, I will completely demote Zhang Wanjing and punish him with a self-reflection period of one hundred years. What do you think?"

Qin Quan glanced at Guo Yunfeng and said. This Guo Yunfeng is getting more confused as he gets older. Even people eight hundred miles away can hear his little tricks. How dare he come here to complain?

"Ahem, well, Master Brother, the sect has many talented individuals, so it’s possible to replace someone else."

"Indeed, the sect is full of talented individuals. Senior Brother Guo, who do you think can take on this great responsibility? Or how about you contribute more to the sect, Senior Brother Guo?"

Qin Quan argued back again. Is Zhang Wanjing the strongest one in the Five Elements Sect? No, there are even stronger ones than him. But Zhang Wanjing is the most devoted and daring to challenge the elders. Even if someone else takes his place, they may have more abilities, but can they withstand the elders’ constant demands for more money? In just a few years, the entire sect will be drained empty.

"Senior Master, I was still hoping to break through to Soul Changing. I don’t have time."

"What about the other senior brothers?"

"No time."

"I don’t have time either."

Several elders answered straightforwardly. Becoming a Deputy Hall Master suits their abilities, but they don’t want to spend time on it. Nascent Soul can live for a thousand years, but is a thousand years really that long? They still want to make further progress. They don’t have time for this matter.

"Since everyone doesn’t have time, let’s just forget about this."

"Senior Master, are we disregarding the elders’ reputation?"

"I will give the order to reprimand Zhang Wanjing."

"Brother, is it possible…"

"Senior Brother Guo, let it be, on to the next item."

Qin Quan immediately interrupted Guo Yunfeng and forcefully moved on to the next topic. Guo Yunfeng had no choice but to stay quiet. Even though he couldn’t fully understand the situation, he knew Qin Quan wouldn’t harm Zhang Wanjing.

The meeting ended, and everyone dispersed. However, Law Enforcement Hall Master Nie Wuyuan stopped Qin Quan and had something to say to him.

"Brother Nie, if you have something else to say, just say it."

"Senior Master, actually I wanted to talk about Zhang Wanjing."

"Did Zhang Wanjing offend Brother Nie?"

"No, actually over the past few years, I’ve come to admire Zhang Wanjing more and more. Senior Master, haven’t you noticed how much support I, as the Law Enforcement Hall, have shown Zhang Wanjing?"

"What exactly does Brother Nie want to say?"

"What I want to say is, Zhang Wanjing is right about the Five Elements Sect facing a crisis."

"Is the Five Elements Sect in crisis?"

Qin Quan chuckled silently, with dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, hundreds of Golden Core cultivators, and an unknown number of Soul Changing cultivators, where would the Five Elements Sect’s crisis come from?

"How old is the Sect Leader this year?"

"Just over seven hundred. What about you?"

"I’m already 823 this year, Senior Brother Guo is 900. The youngest should be Junior Brother Ye, who is over 600 and a half this year. Hasn’t the Sect Leader noticed any issues?"

"So what are you suggesting…"

Qin Quan’s expression became serious. Upon thinking about it, it seemed that it was true. Some of the Nascent Soul cultivators in the Five Elements Sect were getting older.

It’s been many years since the Five Elements Sect produced any new Nascent Soul cultivators. Moreover, the Nascent Soul seeds cultivated by the sect are not that impressive. Not only do they not match our past glory, but even other disciples are dissatisfied. The senior brothers of Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect are aware of the Nascent Soul seeds from our generation, they are formidable.

Even though the two sects are far away from our Five Elements Sect and there are no immediate worries of hostility, we in the Five Elements Sect also face a lack of successor, which should make us cautious.

"Please continue, Senior Nie."

"That’s enough talking. As the head of a sect, since you already know about this matter, you should start planning for it as soon as possible."

Nie Wuyuan shook his head. It’s pointless to say too much. As long as the Sect Leader knows, it’s up to him from here.

Qin Quan watched Nie Wuyuan’s departing figure with a furrowed brow. This matter seemed to be quite serious. There are internal problems within the Five Elements Sect. It’s hard to discern below the Nascent Soul stage because as long as their aptitude is passable, they can compensate with resources.

But it’s different at the Nascent Soul stage. It demands a high overall requirement for cultivators, especially in their mindset. Without an indomitable spirit, advancing to the Nascent Soul stage is extremely difficult.

·······

Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua sat in the cave of another Deputy Hall Master in the Internal Affairs Hall of the Five Elements Sect’s main gate, waiting for the feast. Today is the wedding day of this Deputy Hall Master’s son, and he sent an invitation to Zhang Wanjing. However, Zhang Wanjing declined with the excuse of being busy, so Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua came instead.

"Vice Hall Master Jin has gone too far. I have come here on behalf of my father, and yet he arranged for me to sit at the same table as those at the Building Foundation stage."

Zhang Shuhua angrily said, he felt discriminated against. He was supposed to be arranged at the golden core table, representing his dad. But instead, they arranged him at the Building Foundation table, which downgraded his status.

"Forget it, even if you sit at the golden core table, you won’t be able to eat much. It’s enough to fill your stomach here."

Lin Jiang rolled his eyes, wondering what advantages there were to sitting at the golden core table. In the cultivation world, the seating is divided based on cultivation level, and the food levels are different too. It’s not that the host is being stingy, it’s that the spirit food is filled with spiritual energy, which can be eaten by those at golden core level, but not necessarily by everyone. If someone who overindulges without reservations eats it, it might lead to a deadly explosion.

"You don’t understand. It’s a matter of face. Even if I only take one bite, I have to go."

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t worry about it so much. Just focus on eating."

Lin Jiang couldn’t understand why Zhang Shuhua cared about this. Now he knows why Zhang Wanjing didn’t come, it would only cause trouble.

Zhang Shuhua couldn’t let it go, but Lin Jiang didn’t care. When the food arrived, he kept eating vigorously. They can blame Zhang Wanjing for being unreliable, making them come as a formality but not paying their share. It was Lin Jiang who ended up paying, so they might as well eat their fill.

"Hey, hey, senior brother, did you hear what they were saying?"

Halfway through eating, Lin Jiang stopped using his chopsticks. His stomach couldn’t hold anymore, and there was too much spiritual energy. He quietly refined the spiritual energy while telling Zhang Shuhua because he found the conversations of the people around them quite interesting.

"Heard that, this time Vice Hall Master Jin’s son is getting married, and the ones helping at home are all the servants they raised, not asking for help from the sect."

"Looks like you already knew about this."

"Do you know why my dad isn’t coming? It’s because he can’t stand it, he’s definitely going to ruin the event."

Zhang Shuhua said. Many of the higher-ups in the Five Elements Sect have fallen and taken a lot of resources from the sect, but they haven’t used them to improve their cultivation. Instead, they use them for their own enjoyment, fancy clothes, delicious food, servants, and concubines, indulging in extreme worldly luxury.

"Yeah, I can’t bear to watch either. Compared to their family, mine is too poor."

Lin Jiang admired Vice Hall Master Jin’s residence, it was so splendid. Even the pillars were made of precious third-grade spirit wood. Comparing his residence to this one was like comparing a village mud house to the Forbidden City.

Lin Jiang couldn’t stand it any longer, why wasn’t this residence his?

"If you go to some elder’s residence, you’ll find Vice Hall Master Jin’s residence is also poor."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"Not even a little bit exaggerated."

"Oh, look at all those beautiful fairies! Aren’t they disciples of the Five Elements Sect?"

Lin Jiang stared at the group of elegant women in front of him, and once again cursed Vice Hall Master Jin. Why did he arrange male disciples to serve the food at his table, while the two tables for the golden core disciples were served by the fairies? Even if he couldn’t eat, he could still enjoy the view.

"They are servant disciples. Many senior members have their own maidservants. They arrange them to work in the caves as servant disciples. If you get on good terms with them and stay overnight, they will send maidservants to accompany you."

"What? Is that true? Can I do it too?"

Lin Jiang suddenly became excited. So there really are such customs in the cultivation world. He should have known earlier.

"You, a Building Foundation disciple, are not qualified."

"Great, I have found the motivation to work hard in my cultivation."

Lin Jiang clenched his fist. This statement was even more powerful than getting an adrenaline rush. He had to work hard in his cultivation, achieve the Core Formation stage as soon as possible, and then stay overnight in the golden core disciples’ caves in the sect.

"Can you please show some improvement?"

This time, Zhang Shuhua couldn’t bear it anymore. Not because of Vice Hall Master Jin, but because of Lin Jiang. Can’t he see that everyone is laughing at him?

"You don’t understand anything."

Lin Jiang rolled his eyes. If others can do it, why can’t he just say something? It’s not illegal to talk big. Just because others can do it, does it mean he can’t?