Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 344 New Road
What is most important to a cultivator?

It is undoubtedly a cultivation resource.

Currently, the Li family's resource allocation system mainly adopts a dual-salary model, that is, simultaneously distributing cultivation-based salaries and position-based salaries to the family members.

The concept of "cultivation-based salary" is easy to understand, since cultivation level determines a cultivator's abilities.

在李家，练气初期修士每个月能拿到50斤俗米、10斤灵米、2斤灵果以及3枚黄芽丹和2枚打熬力气的锻骨丹。

练气中期修士要好上不少，月例变成50斤俗米、20斤灵米、5斤灵果以及6枚黄芽丹和2块灵石，修炼资源几乎翻了一倍。

Once they advance to the late stage of Qi Refining, they become the backbone of the family, and their monthly allowance changes again, becoming 50 catties of spirit rice, 10 catties of spirit fruit, 1 bottle of Yellow Sprout Pill, 6 Qi Condensation Pills, and 5 spirit stones.

Over the course of a year, the total value exceeded 150 spirit stones.

Furthermore, the Li family's cultivation-based stipend is paid out at a fixed rate based on cultivation level. Even if you are not at home, it will accumulate in the storeroom, waiting for you to come back and collect it.

You could say that as long as you don't die, you can live off this salary until you're old.

The earlier you break through to a higher realm, the more you can consume.

Some of the elders in the family, such as Li Chenglu, have been in the late stage of Qi Refining for fifty or sixty years. Including his younger days, he alone has received more than ten thousand spirit stones in cultivation stipends from the family.

This is something a rogue cultivator wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Of course, this resource was distributed at various time stages.

The actual effect produced was not as great as imagined.

For most of the Li family members, especially those in the early stages of Qi Refining, the only thing they can receive right now is three Yellow Sprout Pills.

To think that one can join the ranks of geniuses with such limited resources is nothing short of a pipe dream.

However, the Li family also has a position and salary.

Compared to the cultivation-based salary that can be obtained effortlessly, the position-based salary is much more generous.

All disciples who join any hall or branch can receive between 200 and 600 merit points per month.

If you are promoted to deputy head, you can receive over 1000 merit points.

Those in charge can earn over 2000 merit points.

Above them are deputy hall masters and hall masters, and the merits they can receive will only increase.

Although merits are not cultivation resources, they can be exchanged for cultivation resources in real terms!
One Huangyadan pill is worth 50 merit points.

Even a cultivator in the early stage of Qi Refining can exchange 4 Yellow Sprout Pills for the lowest tier of 200 merit points. With the cultivation stipend, that's 7 Yellow Sprout Pills.

It should be noted that it takes an ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator several days to refine a single Yellow Sprout Pill.

The combined cultivation resources from their double stipends are basically enough to meet their daily cultivation needs.

However, the Li family would naturally not provide the bare minimum for educating its members.

In addition to their double salary, the Li family also received various subsidies and rewards.

What the Li family members are most familiar with is the mission rewards.

That's right. The Li family was once an affiliated family of the sect, and they also identified with some of the sect's systems.

Every month, the family regularly issues tasks such as cultivating spiritual fields, planting spiritual plants, guarding key locations, and driving away demonic beasts. The tasks are generally easy, and as long as they are completed, you can get merit rewards. The more you work, the more you earn.

Most of the Li family members were happy to complete the tasks assigned by the family.

Or rather, they rely heavily on mission rewards to acquire more cultivation resources.

However, since the Li family established themselves in Danggui Mountain, the Foreign Affairs Hall, which originally issued tasks, has been left idle, and the issuance, receipt, and record of tasks have all been taken over by the Merit Hall.

However, within a few years, the Hall of Merit was abolished and replaced by the Examination Office, which was then under the jurisdiction of the Inner Affairs Hall.

Now, Li Qianxiong is even going so far as to abolish the function of issuing tasks by the Examination Room.

Everyone present felt uncomfortable.

"Master, think twice!"

Many members of the Li family wailed. If the changes in organizational structure affected the middle and upper-level cultivators, then the changes in the mission system affected all cultivators in the clan.

Li Qianxiong looked at them, unmoved: "You are dissatisfied because you do not understand the superiority of the Service Bureau system. This matter is beneficial to the family and to you in every way, and there is no room for discussion."

At this moment, Li Chengdian stepped forward and smoothed things over: "You don't need to worry too much. The task assignment has simply been moved from the Examination Room to the Service Center. The family will divide the Service Center into two parts: the outer center will remain in Changyang Valley, and the inner center will be located on Tailai Peak. You can still easily receive tasks."

"Will the difficulty of the mission and the rewards be the same as before?"

Someone asked the question that was of most concern.

Li Qianxiong glanced at Li Chengdian, who was about to shut up, but had to cough and continue: "Since it is a reform, it is not just for show. In the future, the missions of the Service Department will be divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. Level A missions are the most difficult, and Level D missions are the easiest. The rewards for completing the missions will be linked to the difficulty level."

Upon hearing this, the Li family members present instantly erupted in excitement.

Most people could complete the original family tasks on their own, at most it would take some time.

But now, the family has adjusted the level of the missions and placed them in the Service Institute, which is prepared for non-family cultivators. Naturally, the rewards for missions at all levels have become much more particular.

It should be understood that the purpose of issuing tasks in the Examination Room is to cultivate the family's offspring.

The purpose of issuing tasks at the Service Institute is to exploit unaffiliated cultivators and get big results with little money.

The two are completely different in nature, and the actual task rewards are naturally very different as well.

At home, however, two different types of tasks need to be combined.

The so-called worry is not about scarcity but about inequality.

Even if the non-family cultivators knew the truth, how could they be willing to accept the rewards that the Li family disciples received for cultivating an acre of spirit field, which were several times or even ten times their own?

Even if they didn't leave on the spot, they'd probably be cursing the Li family to death in their hearts, right?

Since its establishment, the Service Institute has accumulated considerable fame. Many wandering cultivators who have drifted to Pudong are happy to serve the Li family. If they resent the Li family because of this matter, it would undoubtedly be a loss.

However, if everyone is treated equally, it means that the era in which the Li family members could easily earn merits will completely disappear.

This was absolutely devastating news for them.

For a moment, the scene became chaotic.

Li Chengdian also began to feel a headache coming on.

There are too many family-owned organizations, and consolidation is a good thing, but he actually opposes reforming the Service Bureau.

The Service Institute is a platform for hiring cultivators from other clans, so why should cultivators from our own clan be involved?
However, Li Qianxiong insisted on his own way and, with the power of Li Xiangming's foundation building, persuaded many people in the family, at least the fourth branch of the family, to give their full support.

As the head of the third branch of the family, and being the closest blood relative to Li Qianxiong, he couldn't very well object, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

As he expected, the family almost unanimously opposed the idea as soon as it was brought up.

But he couldn't just stand by and watch.

Who can blame them when the clan elders have already passed this resolution?

As the clan elder, he had a responsibility to explain to the clan members. "Everyone, things aren't as serious as you think!"

Li Chengdian shouted loudly, attracting everyone's attention. He then explained, "The reason for classifying tasks is to deal with this situation. The Service Institute will indeed reward every cultivator who completes a task equally, regardless of whether they are from our own clan or not. However, the frequency and number of tasks issued, as well as the authority to rate tasks, have always been in the hands of our Li family."

After the explanation, the agitation on the field finally subsided.

Although most people still don't understand why their families insist on having them receive tasks through the Service Bureau.

However, the patriarch and elders promised that the Service Council would issue more and more tasks to the Inner Court, and the types of tasks would be more diverse. Only the tasks that they had left over or could not complete in time would be placed in the Outer Court.

In addition, welfare tasks are distributed regularly every month.

The so-called welfare missions are actually level D difficulty missions, which are classified as level C missions and appear in the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard disciples who complete the missions will also receive level C rewards.

In conclusion, the Li family encourages its members to accomplish more tasks.

As long as they don't slack off, the Li family's children will definitely not be treated worse than they are now.

Some elite children can receive Class C, Class B, or even Class A missions through the reformed Service Academy, and obtain mission rewards far exceeding those of the past.

Although most people have low cultivation levels, who hasn't fantasized about reaching a higher realm?
In the past, the assessment room only had ordinary tasks, and the rewards for those tasks were pretty much the same.

The current Service Council offers more and more rewarding tasks, and many ambitious clansmen are already eager to take them on.

Even if things get worse, it won't be worse than they are now, right?

If Li Xiangming knew this idea, he might secretly laugh.

Because the Li family simply doesn't have that many tasks to issue right now.

The Li family has a well-established organizational structure. They have a pill and weapon refining room, a talisman and array making room, and even a beast-catching room with a demon-hunting team under their control for capturing demon beasts.

How much work is left for the Logistics Department?
We can't just keep taking on jobs like building farmhouses or mining houses, can we?

In that case, the Li family members would never be satisfied.

Li Qianxiong and the clan elders' promises were no different from empty promises.

At least Li Xiangming believes that the reform of the Service Bureau within three to five years will definitely harm the interests of some ordinary clansmen, but will benefit some elite clansmen.

However, most of the elite clansmen are in the Fifth Hall of the Imperial Household Department, and due to their duties, they may not have time to take on tasks from the Service Department.

The idea of ​​making the excellent even more excellent is nothing but empty talk.

Nevertheless, Li Qianxiong was very insistent on reforming the Service Institute. Even the clan elders had long been mentally prepared. Originally, they wanted to postpone it for a while, but Li Xiangming's return gave Li Qianxiong a reason to convene a clan meeting.

Li Qianxiong certainly didn't intentionally set a trap to harm those clansmen with low cultivation levels; rather, he was considering the future plans of the clan.

Ever since the Li family discovered that the White-Faced Tiger had abducted children with spiritual roots, they began to pay attention to stockpiling spiritual root seeds.

Back then, Li Xiangming personally recruited six people with the Li family spiritual roots.

In the following years, the Li family recruited all the spiritual root seeds they could, and all those who had the blood of the Li family were sent to Tailai Peak.

Once Li Xiangren achieved foundation building, the Li family invested even more heavily in the Xiang and Ji generations, and never hesitated to recruit spiritual root seeds.

Since Li Xiangming returned to the family, the number of Li family members has grown explosively in the past ten years, now firmly exceeding three hundred.

However, in order to improve decision-making efficiency, the Li family decided to establish the Imperial Household Department, which either abolished or adjusted a large number of halls and departments, forming the current structure of one department and five halls.

It is foreseeable that once the latest batch of spiritual root seeds grows up, the five halls of the prefecture will no longer have a place for them.

Because the mansion has five halls and only about twenty rooms, it can only accommodate about two hundred people at most.

One radish, one hole; if the predecessors haven't left, how can the successors enter?

However, if one cannot enter the Five Halls of the Prefecture, one will not be able to receive a position and salary, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to the younger generation of cultivators.

After much deliberation, Li Qianxiong finally set his sights on the Logistics Department.

The Service Institute issues missions in the form of bounties, allowing cultivators to choose which ones to complete.

This system is not new; the Examination and Evaluation Office has similar functions.

However, the Service Institute is geared towards non-family cultivators, which gives it its own unique characteristics.

Now, Li Qianxiong hopes to significantly enhance the strategic position of the General Staff Department, making it a "promotion" channel comparable to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The path to "promotion" for cultivators is not simply about job positions, but rather about accessing cultivation resources.

The main reason why the Li family members had to take up positions at home was for the job and salary.

But if the Li family members had the opportunity to obtain rewards far exceeding their official salaries in the Ministry of Personnel, why would they be so eager to enter the five halls of the prefecture?

Not everyone has management skills.

People like Li Xiangren and Li Xiangyu, who excel in combat, will grow much faster in the sect than they would in their families, where they would simply sit and collect achievements.

After the reform of the Service Bureau, the Li family will give every member of the clan the right to choose.

They either pass the examinations of the government and its five departments to enter various functional agencies and receive a stable position and salary; or they enter the Service Academy, similar to disciples of a sect, to obtain generous rewards by constantly taking on challenging tasks.

When the Imperial Household Department becomes bloated, the Li family will raise the mission rewards to attract family cultivators to the Department of Service; when the Imperial Household Department urgently needs to expand, the Li family can attract family cultivators back by increasing their positions and salaries.

In this way, the Li family can perfectly resolve the unavoidable contradiction of "too many people, too few jobs" in the future.

Moreover, the tasks of the Logistics Department were not as simple as those of the Examination Office, but were divided into multiple levels.

The Li family members can hone themselves by completing challenging tasks, thus becoming more outstanding cultivators—something that family cultivators raised in a sheltered environment lack.

It must be said that although Li Qianxiong's idea was somewhat far-fetched, it was incredibly exciting.

Even the most conservative elders were tempted.

However, ideas and reality may not always align.

When the students of the Service Academy do not receive enough tasks, or when the rewards for those tasks are not generous enough, this system will collapse.

Only by continuously expanding and acquiring sufficient financial resources could the Imperial Household Department maintain the Service Bureau.

In other words, the General Affairs Bureau was established above the Imperial Household Department.

However, although the Li family has accumulated a considerable number of cultivators in terms of quantity, quality, and even prestige, its sphere of influence is still limited to Danggui Mountain.

How could such a small place support the "huge" Logistics Department?
Li Xiangming had no idea what Li Qianxiong was thinking.

Even though he was a confidant of the family head, Li Qianxiong would not tell him everything.

He could only offer subtle hints, but with little effect.

However, Li Xiangming knew that Li Qianxiong was by no means a reckless person.

Since he is so eager to promote the Service Bureau, perhaps the Imperial Household Department will also undergo changes.

The family likely wants to develop both the mansion and the hospital simultaneously!
Thinking about this, Li Xiangming seemed to be deep in thought.

The Li family has been quiet in Pudong for more than ten years; it's time for them to stretch their muscles and get back into action.

(End of this chapter)