Chapter 356: 356: Conditions for Advancing to a Two-Star Rank Force
Seeing this, Liu Ming was greatly puzzled.
“Sect Master Ye, why that expression? Could it be that your requirements for disciples are too high?” Liu Ming asked curiously.
“In Misty Sect, we talk about fate when recruiting disciples. Previously, I went to Southern River Basin’s Northern Liang City and turned the entire city upside down, only to recruit thirty-five disciples. It’s tough!”
Ye Feng’s face was filled with sorrow.
If he could recruit just anyone, his strength would have surged up to the Spirit Sea Realm or even the Divine Origin Realm by now, but the system was very strict.
“Sect Master Ye actually went to Southern Ming Country, then wouldn’t that mean crossing the Barren Desert? Eh, why is there such a strong and familiar Demon King’s aura nearby?” When Northern Liang City was mentioned, Liu Ming was very surprised.
“Oh, look here.” Ye Feng led Liu Ming to the edge of the cliff, pointing down to the sect’s main plaza.
Looking at the enormous and ferocious corpses of the Mad Python King and the Poison Scorpion King, Liu Ming gasped in shock, “Sect Master Ye, did you actually slay the two great Demon Kings of the Barren Desert?”
“Actually, the Barren King Shalibeta is also done for, not just two!” Ye Feng whispered.
“Hiss!”
Liu Ming stepped back three paces, his face filled with shock, looking at Ye Feng as if looking at a monster.
“It wasn’t me, it was all Princess’s doing,” Ye Feng confessed.
“This… Hu Princess is so powerful?” Liu Ming was even more astounded. If the protector was this terrifying, then as Sect Master, wouldn’t Ye Feng be invincible?
Misty Sect, terrifying as such!
Liu Ming was increasingly shocked.
“But what’s the use? Can’t even recruit disciples,” Ye Feng said with a wry smile.
“Isn’t recruiting disciples supposed to be based on your own wishes, Sect Master Ye? Why can’t you recruit anyone?” Liu Ming was bewildered.
“As I mentioned earlier, Misty Sect’s way of recruiting people is all about ‘fate’. One look and I know whether there’s fate or not, but alas, most are fated to part.”
Ye Feng sighed helplessly.
“Why not try in County King City?” Liu Ming suggested.
“Recruit disciples in County King City?” Ye Feng’s eyes brightened, scolding himself for not having thought of this before.
“But, Misty Sect is not well-known in County King City, right? There probably won’t be many disciples willing to sign up,” Ye Feng said, spreading his hands.
“It seems Sect Master Ye isn’t aware of a major event that happened outside County King City recently,” Liu Ming said with a half-smile.
“What happened?” Ye Feng was clueless.
He seemed to have heard no rumors at all!
“Elder Gong Qingqiu was pursued by the assassin ranked tenth on the Killer’s List, Mad Blade, but instead he turned around and killed Mad Blade. This matter has already been spread all over County King City, with many wishing to join your sect!” Liu Ming revealed an extremely important piece of information.
“So that’s what happened!” Ye Feng suddenly realized, finally understanding why his Prestige Points had soared.
“In that case, I’ll go to County King City today to recruit new disciples, and of course, elders and stewards can also be recruited,” Ye Feng decided.
“Let us go together,” Liu Ming extended the invitation.
“Good!” Ye Feng nodded in agreement, calling upon Mo Ying and several other disciples who had nothing particular to do, and boarded the Spirit Snake Flying Boat with Liu Ming, heading together toward County King City, thousands of miles away.
Halfway there.
Liu Ming looked over the huge and swiftly moving Spirit Snake Flying Boat with great surprise, asking, “Sect Master Ye, is this crafted from the entire scale armor of the Mad Python King?”
“Yes!” Ye Feng nodded.
“Did Sect Master Ye himself craft it?” Liu Ming probed.
“Hmm, correct. I crafted it. Although the workmanship is a bit rough, it will do,” Ye Feng said, sipping a cup of Versailles Tea, calmly viewing the thousands of miles of rivers below, feeling quite pleased.
“This… This is what you call rough workmanship?” Liu Ming’s mouth twitched as he looked at the splendidly designed and powerful Spirit Snake Flying Boat, feeling immense envy.
The material alone was from the entire scale armor of a Demon King!
In the entire Southern River Basin, it was unique.
Mo Ying, Huo Yunjie, Li Jiaojiao, Qiao Jiaxi, Ji Ziling, Wang Ping’an, and several other First Generation Disciples were sitting around.
At this moment, they were all cultivating the newly announced Auxiliary Cultivation Method “Condensing Origin Art” and the Fifth Grade Magic “Condensing Origin Seal”.
As for Hu Feifei, she did not come.
For safety reasons, Ye Feng had chosen to leave her at home to guard the house.
“By the way, could Lord Liu tell me about the specific layout of County King City, so I have an idea of what it’s like?” Ye Feng asked.
“County King City is one of the strongest forces in the Southern River Basin. The entire city stretches for thousands of miles and has a total population of over a hundred million. It’s a true super metropolis and also a top Two-Star Rank force. It is divided into the City Lord’s Mansion, Sect Main Hall, Assassin’s Hall, Top Ten Noble Families, Top Hundred Sects, and many other forces. The overall strength is very formidable,” Liu Ming began his introduction.
Ye Feng and the disciples were all listening attentively.
The so-called County King City was just a city that encompassed a multitude of forces.
Stretching over a thousand miles, the City Lord’s Mansion was a top Two-Star Rank force. As for the rest of the city, there were hundreds of One-Star Forces grouped together as the Top Hundred Sects.
Of course, there were also the Top Ten Noble Families.
These families weren’t Star-Level Forces, but the ancient ancestors in these families were at the Spirit Sea Realm level, not much inferior to the weakest Two-Star forces, and their overall family strength was also strong.
The Assassin’s Hall was a hall specifically for hired assassins, claiming to host a hundred top assassins, but in reality, the number of assassins was far greater.
The Sect Main Hall managed all the sects within the Southern River Basin, or at least nominally so, as in reality it mostly just handled the star evaluations for ascension of Star-Level Sects.
Additionally, there were many scattered forces in County King City that were insignificant or unremarkable.
“Top Ten Noble Families, each with a Spirit Sea Realm expert in charge, tsk, County King City truly lives up to its reputation!” Ye Feng murmured in admiration.
“By the way, what are some of the new requirements for a sect that wants to ascend to a Two-Star Rank?” Ye Feng added.
“For a Two-Star Rank force, the total number of sect disciples must be at least a thousand—that’s the minimum requirement. As for the Sect Leader’s strength, naturally, it should be at the Spirit Sea Realm level, of course, there’s also the need for a Minor Spirit Vein,” Liu Ming explained. “As for the Spiritual Medicine Garden, the Spirit Beast Garden, the crafting of artifacts, alchemy, and such, as long as they can satisfy the normal operations of the sect. Of course, the sect must also forge a large city under its command.”
Ye Feng was aware of the sect numbers requirement.
Criteria like the Sect Leader’s strength were also hard indices.
But to forge a large city, what kind of peculiar requirement was that?
“Why does a sect need a city as a subordinate force?” Ye Feng wondered, even finding it somewhat inconceivable.
“The development of a sect depends on a city. This sentence was said by an Ancient Sage with the surname Zhou. Therefore, once a Star-Level Force reaches Two Stars, it must have a city under its command,” Liu Ming said.
“Zhou… an Ancient Sage surnamed Zhou?” Ye Feng’s gaze sharpened.
He remembered a person worthy of respect.
That Ancient Sage named Zhou had said many things with profound wisdom, serving as a warning to countless people.
“Yes, a Two-Star Rank sect must have a large city with a population of at least a million under its command. Some even require over three million. Because when there are more people, facilities are sure to be complete. Moreover, the more populated a city is, the more people there are with good root attributes, which is more conducive to ensuring a continuous supply of younger generations for the sect,” Liu Ming explained.
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng suddenly understood.
Indeed!
What does a sect rely on for development?
At its core, it’s still people!
As the older generation inevitably ages, how could a sect continue and flourish without a new generation to follow?
Therefore, a large city is necessary.
It provides a place for cultivators.
“It seems that in the future, as the Sect Master, I’ll need to vigorously develop Whitefloat City,” Ye Feng mumbled to himself.
He now understood why the Divine Wind Sword Sect had Divine Wind City with a population of over thirty million under its command.
Why the County King’s Mansion had the populous County King City.
All these were their foundations!
“Whitefloat City has good potential, and it’s worth developing, Sect Master Ye,” Liu Ming expressed his agreement.