Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 35 Spells and Supernatural Powers

“Slaves are definitely not wanted.”

Zhang Chengdao's attitude was very firm, and he said: "Servants are unnecessary. What can't a cultivator do by himself? Why would he need servants?"

"What the sect leader says makes sense."

Xu Ying nodded in agreement.

From the moment Xu Ying heard Zhang Chengdao say he was recruiting, he changed his title from "Immortal Zhang" to "Sect Leader".

Although there are only three of us now, addressing each other as "Immortal" is a habit we had before. But when there are more people in the future, we will definitely have to call each other "Sect Leader" so that it will seem like we are from the same sect and it will sound more formal.

"also,"

Zhang Chengdao didn't notice the change in how Xu Ying addressed him, but was still immersed in his own plans, and continued, "The title of 'miscellaneous disciple' doesn't sound good either."

Xu Ying was somewhat embarrassed: "So, what does the sect leader mean..."

"They are divided into inner and outer disciples."

"Inner disciples are my personal disciples, and their main focus is cultivation. Those who work in various industries are collectively called outer disciples. They learn the same basic cultivation techniques as inner disciples, but because they have assigned positions, they will perform certain tasks."

"These outer disciples have different titles. For example, those who mine are called mining disciples, and those who take care of the herb garden are called herb garden disciples... Of course, these outer disciples are treated well. In addition to their wages, they also receive corresponding 'performance bonuses.' For example, if the herb garden's profits are high this year, the herb garden disciples will receive an extra share of the profits. If the profits are low, their share will be low or even zero. This will motivate them!"

Zhang Chengdao spoke eloquently, and Xu Ying's eyes lit up considerably as she listened.

Although he didn't know what "performance" was, after hearing Zhang Chengdao's explanation, he understood a bit more and found the concept very novel.

"However, names like mining disciple and herb garden disciple don't sound very good. It would be best to separate them into departments... uh, to categorize them. For example, those in charge of the herb garden and alchemy could be located on a separate peak in White Stone Mountain, with all these industries and businesses set up on the peak, named 'Hundred Herbs Peak'. The disciples in charge of these affairs would be called 'Hundred Herbs Peak disciples'."

"For example, mining and forging could be done by naming a peak 'Sword Forging Peak.' Farmland could be called 'Shennong Peak.' With such divisions, inner disciples or specialists could be assigned to oversee and manage the area, and profits could be distributed to the disciples as dividends, while losses could be subsidized by the sect..."

This idea was actually a plan that Zhang Chengdao came up with by combining the designs from various cultivation novels and games with the concept of departmental work in modern companies. There are certainly still many imperfections in it, but even so, Xu Ying was amazed by it.

The sect leader truly lives up to his reputation as a deity; he possesses such a comprehensive governance method!

Zhang Chengdao continued to suggest, "As for the people we hire... just spread the word that the White Stone Immortal Sect is recruiting outer disciples, and the Sword Casting Manor next door is going to hold a martial arts tournament, right? While the martial artists from all walks of life are heading here one after another, let's spread the word more. When people come, I'll interview them one by one... cough, let's meet them."

How can we know if an applicant has a gold, purple, blue, green, or gray name without meeting them in person?
Even outer disciples have to meet certain requirements; you can't just accept any Tom, Dick, or Harry! Xu Ying had no idea about her sect leader's ulterior motives. She thought her sect leader was so meticulous that he even had to inquire about each outer disciple... truly the demeanor of an immortal.

He nodded repeatedly: "The sect leader's considerations are indeed thorough!"

……

Recruiting outer disciples is not something that can be done overnight. After settling these matters with Xu Ying, Zhang Chengdao continued to work tirelessly on upgrading his cheat ability.

[Clay Deposits] Although clay can only be produced through human labor, for some reason, both Chang Ping'an and Xu Ying were far less efficient than Zhang Chengdao when they tried to mine clay.

Zhang Chengdao played like he was in Minecraft, shoveling up clay ore and tossing it into his backpack, instantly obtaining over ten units of clay resources with almost no effort.

So he spent almost the entire day digging clay to fire a considerable number of rough tiles, and built several wooden and tile houses near the mine for the outer disciples to use in the future.

Soon, after reaching level 8, among the newly unlocked buildings, the [Book House] surprised Zhang Chengdao the most.

In the game, the [Scholarship] was originally used to cultivate villagers' skills, usually by improving their work efficiency, mining talent, planting talent, and so on.

In reality, although the [Book House] can no longer train other people's skills, Zhang Chengdao discovered a bunch of "secret manuals" on the bookshelves in the [Book House].

They are called secret manuals, but they are actually just thin books or rolled-up bamboo slips, which contain various methods of cultivating magic and supernatural powers!

Zhang Chengdao was so excited that he immediately began to read diligently. Before long, he had learned several relatively easy spells, including more than ten spells such as Fire Drawing Spell, Frost Condensation Spell, and Water Generation Spell!

Although these minor spells and supernatural abilities are not of great use for the time being, that's because Zhang Chengdao himself is incompetent!
Once his cultivation level increases, his Fire Drawing Technique will no longer be able to conjure a small flame, but will be able to throw out a large fireball!
Even the Frost Condensation Technique, which can currently only be used to freeze ice blocks, might be able to achieve the destructive power of freezing thousands of miles!

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more novel it seemed. It wasn't until it got dark that Chang Ping'an came over and invited Zhang Chengdao to come back for dinner. Only then did he realize that he had actually spent the whole afternoon learning magic and supernatural powers!
During dinner, Zhang Chengdao deliberately acted profound in front of Chang Ping'an and Xu Ying, saying, "With Ping'an's current cultivation level, he can already learn some magic and supernatural abilities. I have built a new [Book House], and there are many secret manuals of magic and supernatural abilities on the bookshelves outside the wall. If you are interested when you have time, you can go and look through them and learn a thing or two."

"Magic and supernatural abilities! Thank you, Master!"

Chang Ping'an was both surprised and delighted. He thought it was something his master had prepared especially for him, and he was so excited that his eyes widened!
He had diligently cultivated for so many days, but remained stuck at the first level of Qi Refining, unable to make any progress, and had been feeling frustrated for quite some time. Now, hearing that his master wanted him to learn some magical arts and supernatural powers, he was not only curious but also relieved some of his anxiety about not being able to advance in his cultivation level. He was also deeply moved—it turned out that his master was afraid that he would be upset, so he had specially prepared other cultivation lessons for him!

Moved as he was, Chang Ping'an felt increasingly guilty.

If my aptitude wasn't so poor, how could I have been stuck at the first level of Qi Refining for so long without being able to break through!
No wonder my master never wanted to take me as his disciple!

Thinking of this, Chang Ping'an calmed down considerably and gritted his teeth inwardly: This time I must not disappoint my master, I must learn all those magical techniques and supernatural abilities!
Working hard on Chapter 3! Powder!
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(End of this chapter)