Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Huang Rong stared at the blueprint, utterly shocked.

Isn't this just the beginning of a complete separatist regime?

Yang Guo not only possessed martial arts talent, but his scheme was also unfathomable.

She suddenly realized that the man she had set her sights on was no ordinary person.

Yang Guo slammed the blueprints on the table: "That's all for today." He surveyed the room. "The framework is up and running; now it's time to fill in the personnel. Everyone go back and think carefully about your strengths and which department's work you're best suited for. Tomorrow morning we'll have a formal meeting to assign roles and responsibilities. Anyone who's not capable will be sweeping the back hill. Meeting adjourned!"

Yang Guo waved his hand, and several hundred disciples lined up to leave the council hall.

As everyone left, they were whispering among themselves, discussing the novel plans they had just heard.

Wang Tieniu was the last to arrive, and he happily ran back to the kitchen to take stock of the stored grain.

The council chamber quickly emptied.

Huang Rong stepped forward, looking at the still-wet ink on the drawing on the table, her tone revealing a hint of admiration: "Guo'er, you have quite the ambition. Although the Beggars' Sect has many branches, most of them fight their own battles. If your structure can really be put into operation, the Quanzhen Sect can dominate the North in less than three years."

Yang Guo gave a wry smile, rubbed his temples, and plopped down in the armchair. "Chief Huang, please don't make fun of me. This pie in the sky looks good, but who's going to eat it?"

Lu Wushuang leaned closer, pointed to the three words "Intelligence Department" on the paper, and said eagerly, "I think this is fun. I'm pretty good at light footwork, I can go and gather information for you."

Yang Guo glared at her: "With your pathetic skills, you'd be nothing more than a sitting duck. The Jiangnan region is a dangerous place; if you go out to gather intelligence, you'll be sold into a brothel within three days."

Lu Wushuang was so angry that her face turned red, and she stomped her foot and stepped aside.

Li Mochou walked to the table, traced the words "Finance Department" with her finger, and mercilessly exposed their secrets: "You want to do business? Where's your capital?"

When Xiaolongnu heard the word "capital," her face flushed slightly, but she still didn't refute it. Yang Guo's money all came from Xiaolongnu supporting him, but she clearly didn't want everyone to know this.

Yang Guo, his sore spot touched, retorted with a forced smile: "You don't need to worry about that. This sect leader has plenty of ways to make money."

Li Mochou gave a cold laugh and said nothing more.

Yang Guo leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the beams on the roof.

No matter how well the blueprints are drawn or how perfectly the system is designed, it ultimately depends on people to implement them.

Li Zhiqing is an obedient executor, but lacks the ability to work independently; Wang Tieniu is a rough man, good at managing the kitchen, but completely clueless when it comes to coordinating the entire logistics; as for intelligence and finance, extremely shrewd people are needed.

These Taoist priests of the Quanzhen School are experts at chanting scriptures and meditating, but asking them to deal with people from all walks of life and to haggle with merchants is like forcing a duck onto a shelf.

Yang Guo knew very well that the biggest crisis facing the Quanzhen Sect was not the Mongols, but the lack of manpower; they didn't even have a single capable and competent subordinate.

"We need to recruit people," Yang Guo muttered to himself.

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong continued, "There are many talented and extraordinary people in the martial arts world, but not many are willing to become Taoist priests in the Quanzhen Sect."

"Who says you have to be a Taoist priest?" Yang Guo sat up straight. "I'm running a kingdom within a sect. As long as you have the ability, it doesn't matter if you're a monk or a beggar. You can still get a salary from the Quanzhen Sect without wearing a Taoist robe."

Yang Guo stood up, walked to the table, rolled up the blueprint, and turned to look at the four women beside him.

Huang Rong is full of clever ideas, but unfortunately she is about to return to Xiangyang and can't help much; Xiaolongnu has superb martial arts skills and is his strongest martial arts guarantee; Li Mochou is knowledgeable and well-versed in the ways of the martial arts world; Lu Wushuang is just an extra, but it's good to keep her around to run errands.

"Go back and rest, everyone." Yang Guo stuffed the blueprints into his pocket. "After we're assigned to our posts tomorrow, we'll prepare to go to Jiangnan."

The three women dispersed. Only Lu Wushuang remained; she was still Yang Guo's personal maid, sleeping on the outer couch in the sect leader's room at night, sharing meals and sleeping in the same bed with Yang Guo.

As darkness fell outside, Yang Guo touched the thin piece of paper in his pocket, his mind still calculating his future plans.

Since he took over this mess of the Quanzhen Sect, he had to play big. Once he had completely built up this system, the Quanzhen Sect would be his greatest source of confidence to dominate the world.

A night breeze blew into the main hall. Yang Guo took a deep breath and walked towards the backyard.

I need to rehearse my speech for tomorrow's division of labor meeting. I need to keep these Taoist priests in line, but I can't push them too far.

Being the boss is a job that's really inhuman.

However, the thought of being able to discuss the Qiankun Technique in the rooms of several beautiful women that night made Yang Guo's steps much lighter.

When men build their careers, it's ultimately for these reasons.

As night deepened, the backyard of Chongyang Palace was quiet and still.

Yang Guo pushed open the door to the leftmost guest room, where an oil lamp was lit.

Huang Rong was facing away from the door, tidying up a small bundle on the table. She wasn't wearing a Taoist robe, but instead a neat blue outfit with a tight belt that accentuated the curves of a mature woman. Her long hair was styled into a smart bun.

They're leaving.

Yang Guo bolted the door shut, walked over and wrapped his arms around Huang Rong's waist from behind, resting his chin on her slender shoulder.

"Chief Huang, you're leaving already?" Yang Guo rubbed his palm against the fabric. "If you leave, I won't even have anyone to warm my bed tonight. How lonely I'll be through these long nights. Why don't you divorce Guo Jing and stay in Zhongnan Mountain as my wife?"

Huang Rong stiffened, turned around, and slapped away the hand on her waist. Her eyes were slightly red, but her words were sharp: "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. You're the local tyrant of the Quanzhen Sect, with the Dragon Girl from the Ancient Tomb Sect by your side, and that charming Red Serpent Fairy. How could I possibly be the one to warm your bed?"

There was a strong hint of sourness in his words.

Yang Guo grinned and pulled Huang Rong's wrist into his arms. "You're so jealous."

He lowered his head and whispered into Huang Rong's earlobe, "When I was at my lowest point in the Quanzhen Sect, Master Long took me in. Technician Li was also forced into it. Only Chief Huang is the one I truly love."

Huang Rong turned her head away, her breathing becoming erratic.

The two were very close, their body heat passing between them through their clothes.

Yang Guo put away his playful smile and pulled Huang Rong to sit down at the table.

"Let's get down to business." His expression turned serious. "You saw the blueprint I drew during the day. In your opinion, as the leader of the Beggars' Sect, is that 'Kingdom within a Sect' plan feasible?"

Huang Rong tidied the stray hairs at her temples, regaining her usual composure. "That's a good idea."

She tapped her finger on the table. "But you're taking too big a step. The Taoist priests of the Quanzhen School are very good at chanting scriptures and meditating. If you let them do these things, everything will be in chaos within half a month."