Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 508 A Century-Long Plan
As a veteran player, [Handsome Guy] knew more or less that Wang Ergou had some connections—although he really couldn't understand why the Chinese would bother with a game, he had some guesses.

For example, it might be some new technology undergoing alternative testing. After all, when non-invasive brain-computer interfaces first appeared, were even included in medical insurance, and became popular in virtual reality games, many people marveled for years that cyberpunk had become reality. Technological development does indeed always surprise and shock us every few years.

So, if Wang Ergou said it was reliable, then it probably really was. Therefore, [Handsome Guy] decisively chose to listen to advice, eat his fill, and immediately teleported to the Taiyin Palace.

The Taiyin Palace is always overcrowded. Due to the ever-increasing demand, the number of NPCs in the palace responsible for handling temporary requests from players for various tasks has increased to more than a dozen.

Each of these NPCs has a desk, and around the desk is a small hemispherical barrier, also known as a "bubble" or "bubble barrier" by players. This barrier can block sound and blur figures.

There are more than twenty tables (bubble barriers) in the entire hall, but they are not full depending on the shift schedule. Most of the time there are only a dozen or so NPCs.

Compared to the initial two NPCs, Elder Lu Ying and Senior Sister Baili Shuang, the current area is much "richer," but the number of players has also increased significantly, so there are still long queues in front of each bubble barrier.

Even with this, it's already the case that daily tasks have been extracted and changed to be accepted and submitted separately on the system page!

[Handsome Guy] also waited in line for several minutes before it was his turn.

He was assigned to a new NPC named Li Chengze, whose title was Grand Elder of Internal Affairs of the Taiyin Sect. He was added after several slots were opened up. His background story was that a reclusive elder of the Taiyin Sect had come out of seclusion to assist Sect Master Fang in managing the sect, etc., nothing special.

Elder Li only works half an hour a day in the main hall, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, it's not fixed. [Handsome Guy] queued up for him simply because there were relatively fewer people in the queue.

When it was [Handsome Guy's] turn, Li Cheng greeted him with a smile, "Oh, it's [Handsome Guy]. What can I do for you?"

He acted as if he knew [Handsome Guy]—but in reality, [Handsome Guy] was meeting this new NPC for the first time!

[Handsome Guy] took a deep breath, suppressing a sudden surge of tension, and explained, "Elders, elders, I want to build a school, but I've encountered some difficulties. I asked for advice from relatives and friends, and Wang Ergou suggested that I ask the elders for their opinions, which might be helpful..."

To his surprise, Elder Li was genuinely intrigued. He asked in astonishment, "Oh? Build a school? What kind of school?"

"That's right, the Master-Disciple System just opened today, and I registered a disciple, a demon cultivator. But my disciple is a newly awakened demon cultivator; he doesn't even know the most basic cultivation. You see, that's the problem. I don't know either! So I was thinking of building a truly inclusive and open school, teaching everything from the most basic cultivation to how to survive in society. The students I'd recruit would be demon cultivators, ghost cultivators, and the like—those who have a hard time surviving and have nowhere to learn basic knowledge and general understanding..." The more he talked, the more excited [Handsome Guy] became. He kept going on and on: "Of course, we can accept humans too! And if there are any Quanxian Clan or Dragon Clan in the future, we'll accept them too! In short, it's a school open to all races, teaching them everything from the most basic cultivation to eventually categorizing them into different types, like talisman cultivators, array cultivators, magic cultivators, and so on!"

"Hmm, a very good idea. I didn't expect you, [Handsome], to have such remarkable ambitions. The sect encourages such behavior!" Elder Li nodded kindly, praising you before asking, "So, what kind of difficulties did you encounter?"

"It's like this," [Handsome Guy] scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and explained, "Because the primary goal is to help those demon cultivators or other races who have just awakened their spiritual intelligence to learn, we can't charge tuition. If those who truly need education are excluded from school because of high tuition fees, then the school loses its meaning. Therefore, it's difficult to determine the source of funding for the school..."

The more he talked, the more embarrassed he became.

Although his original intention was to ask the sect NPC for advice because of Wang Ergou's instigation, if there was any way to help those who could not afford tuition to attend school while also maintaining the school's operation, his words sounded too much like he was begging for money—he was practically asking the NPC for money!
However, although [Handsome Guy] was embarrassed, Elder Li, with a gratified smile, offered an answer that greatly surprised [Handsome Guy]: "You've considered this very well, and you've indeed thought of a problem that our sect's management hadn't considered at all. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. Simply improving the treatment of demon cultivators and providing temporary assistance courses cannot solve the fundamental problem. In a way, it's also our dereliction of duty..."

As Elder Li spoke, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. He sighed and continued, "However, your idea is excellent, and the sect will definitely support it strongly. How about this, later I'll have a meeting with the sect leader and elders... cough cough, to discuss it. If possible, we can directly establish a project, with you as the person in charge, and apply for funding from the sect. That way, the sect will allocate funds to support it every year, just like Zhongzhou University, and we won't have to worry about those who truly need it not being able to afford the tuition!"

Upon hearing this, the handsome young man's eyes widened in disbelief: "Really, really!?"

Elder Li nodded with a smile: "Of course, this is a good thing, and it's something our sect supports. Here's what we'll do: I'll give you a task. You can start preparing by choosing a location or thinking about the whole plan. It would be even better if you could write a more intuitive plan. If you really can't, that's okay too. You can think about it more. After we've discussed it, I'll send someone to help you."

[Handsome Guy] was so excited he almost jumped up: "Wow! A hidden quest!? It's a hidden quest, right!? Is it a gold hidden quest!?"

"Hehehe, don't get too excited, wait a moment..."

Elder Li casually offered a reassuring remark, then stared straight ahead—as if he were dealing with the game system in his field of vision like a player.

About two minutes later, a clear and pleasant notification sound rang out, and [Handsome Guy] discovered that a golden hidden quest was indeed flashing in his taskbar—

[Education is the foundation of a century-long plan]: [Your idea has been appreciated by Elder Li, who has decided to discuss it with the Sect Master and other elders. Please wait until tomorrow... (Rewards: 20000 Exp, 3000 Sect Contribution Points, 3000 Sect Prestige Points, Limited Mystery Item)]