You were put to guard a shabby mountain gate, yet all your disciples became Immortal Emperors.

Lin Zhou was in a great mood after getting rid of that fathead Li Mu.

He walked over to Xiao Fan with his hands behind his back, adopting the air of a veteran cadre inspecting work.

"My disciple, from today onwards, I will give you special training!"

Lin Zhou cleared his throat and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a charcoal drawing he had just made.

"These are the cultivation KPIs that I set for you overnight, so you'd better take a close look."

"KPI? Master, what's that?" Xiao Fan looked completely bewildered.

"KPIs are... cough, they're the training targets you have to meet every day!"

Lin Zhou almost let something slip, but quickly covered it up.

"Look, the daily spiritual energy intake must reach a cycle of 360 times! Physical training involves running ten laps around the mountain carrying a 100-pound weight!"

"Also, at the end of each month, I'll be conducting a performance review. If you don't meet your targets, hmph, no year-end bonus!"

Xiao Fan was completely confused.

What metrics, what performance, what year-end bonus?

Why does Master keep spouting words I can't understand?

"In short, just remember this: starting today, your good days are over! For...for our little Qiongshan, work hard!"

Lin Zhou almost blurted out "I am your teacher," cursing inwardly. "Damn it, I'm suffering from the aftereffects of being a corporate slave. I almost made empty promises to my apprentice."

Although Xiao Fan couldn't understand, seeing his master so serious rekindled his passion.

"Disciple understands! I will never let Master down!"

He took the ten Body Tempering Pills, swallowed one on the spot, and sat down cross-legged to begin circulating his internal energy.

Lin Zhou didn't sit idle; he activated his Heavenly Eye of Luck and carefully observed the circulation of spiritual energy within Xiao Fan's body.

The medicinal power of the pill dissipated, flowing into Xiao Fan's meridians like a warm current.

But what happened next made Lin Zhou frown.

The immense medicinal power had barely entered the meridians and circulated once when it was swallowed up by an invisible vortex deep within the dantian with a "whoosh" sound, ninety-nine percent of it!

In the end, less than one percent of it could be refined and absorbed by Xiao Fan!

"Holy crap, this Chaos Fire Spirit Root can eat way too much!"

Lin Zhou thought to himself, "Wow!"

This isn't cultivation; it's practically filling a bottomless pit with soil!

No wonder this kid's cultivation has regressed. At the rate at which his spiritual root is being consumed, let alone body-tempering pills, even if he ate immortal pills like they were food, he probably wouldn't be able to keep up.

"No, conventional methods won't work; we need drastic measures!"

In Lin Zhou's mind, the experience of that third-grade alchemist was rapidly processing.

Soon, a bold and crazy plan took shape in his mind.

He turned and rushed to the small herb garden behind the thatched hut, where only cheap, low-grade herbs were grown, which he usually couldn't be bothered to even glance at.

Now, these things have become treasures.

Linzhou didn't care about the interactions between different medicinal properties; he only picked out the most potent and strong ones and put them in the basket.

What are those thorny grasses, fire lilies, and heart-breaking vines...?

They pulled them all out at once.

Then, he set up a broken iron pot, threw all the herbs in at once, added water, and started a fire to stew them.

Before long, an indescribable stench wafted from the pot, and the dark green broth bubbled and gurgled, looking even more frightening than the Meng Po soup.

"Disciple, come here!"

Lin Zhou waved to Xiao Fan, who was still meditating.

Xiao Fan opened his eyes, smelled the odor, and his face turned green.

"Master, what... what is this?"

"A complete tonic soup!" Lin Zhou said without batting an eye.

"I saw that you are weak, so I specially made this for you. Quickly, take off your clothes and soak in it."

"ah??"

Xiao Fan's legs began to tremble as he looked at the pot of strangely colored and foul-smelling stuff.

Is this definitely a tonic soup and not poison?

"What are you dawdling for? Don't you want to defeat Rong Ruoyue?"

Lin Zhou's eyes widened.

Xiao Fan gritted his teeth and decided to go all out!

He quickly took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, and jumped into the large iron pot with his eyes closed.

"ah--!"

As soon as he entered, Xiao Fan let out a piercing scream.

That feeling was nothing like taking a bath!

Thousands upon thousands of red-hot steel needles were frantically drilling into every pore of his body!

The violent effects of the drug, like a wild dog that had broken free, rampaged through his meridians, threatening to burst him alive!

This isn't just pain, it's hell!

Xiao Fan's consciousness began to blur, and his vision went black. Just as he was about to faint, a warm hand pressed against his back.

A pure and gentle energy flowed over, instantly stabilizing his meridians that were on the verge of collapse.

It's Master!

"If you want to defeat Rong Ruoyue and avenge your humiliation, what's a little pain? Endure it!"

Lin Zhou's cold voice rang in my ears.

That chaotic true energy, like a seasoned veteran, guided the violent medicinal power, gradually cleansing and tempering Xiao Fan's body and meridians.

The pain persisted, but Xiao Fan gritted his teeth.

Yes, what's a little pain?

Compared to the shame of being jilted, compared to the humiliation of being ridiculed as a good-for-nothing, what is this little bit of physical pain!

After an unknown amount of time, when the medicinal properties in the pot were completely absorbed, Xiao Fan was finally freed from that hellish torment.

He lay paralyzed in the pot, too weak to even move a finger.

But he could clearly feel that his physical strength and the resilience of his meridians had improved significantly!

Most importantly, the true energy within his body has reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm!

Body tempering complete!

Ding! Disciple Xiao Fan's worship value +100, current worship level: 4!

[Ding! Disciple Xiao Fan has broken through a minor realm, returning a portion of the host's cultivation! Host's cultivation has increased to the early Foundation Establishment stage!]

A warm current surged through Lin Zhou's body. He felt the spiritual energy within him undergo a qualitative change in an instant, his dantian and qi sea opened up, and he officially stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm!

Cool!

Lin Zhou was secretly pleased, but he maintained a cool and aloof demeanor.

He's achieved the cultivation level a normal piece of trash should have!

After training, Lin Zhou looked at Xiao Fan, who was exhausted, and the two servants, Li Youde and Zhang Youcai, who were peeking around with admiration. Suddenly, he became interested.

"Everyone, come here for a meeting!"

He called the three men to the front of the thatched hut and cleared his throat.

"Today, our Xiaoqiongshan is officially established! I'd like to announce our corporate culture!"

"Corporate...culture?"

The three looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Yes! Our culture is: reject ineffective involution, and focus on high efficiency and avoiding internal friction!"

Lin Zhou stood with his hands behind his back, speaking with great passion and fervor.

"From now on, we at Xiaoqiongshan will be one team! A team! We must work together towards a common goal!"

"Now, everyone stand up and shout the slogan with me!"

Lin Zhou took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Little Qiongshan! Little Qiongshan!"

Li Youde and Zhang Youcai reacted the fastest, shouting at the top of their lungs in response.

"Little Qiongshan! Little Qiongshan!"

"We don't keep petty scoundrels on the mountain!"

"We don't keep petty scoundrels on the mountain!"

The two servants shouted until their faces turned red and their necks bulged, working harder than anyone else.

Xiao Fan stood to the side, his face full of embarrassment.

This slogan...

That's so embarrassing!

But seeing his master's serious expression and the two servants' focused enthusiasm, he inexplicably called out in a low voice as well.

After shouting, he felt no shame, but instead felt a surge of heat in his chest.

Yes, this is his home.

Lin Zhou nodded in satisfaction; the first step in building the corporate culture had been a success.

But when he turned around and saw the empty herb garden and the iron pot with only dregs left, his face fell again.

This grueling training is effective, but it's incredibly expensive!

Xiao Qiongshan's meager savings were emptied in a single day.

What will I use to upgrade my power bank tomorrow?

Lin Zhou frowned and activated the map function of the Qi Yun Tian Yan (a magical eye for destiny).

On the map, the dot representing Xiaoqiong Mountain is surrounded by a gray-white area, indicating extreme poverty.

But in an area marked "dangerous place" on the back mountain of the sect, a bright green spot was shining.

[A hundred-year-old Crimson Sun Grass, guarded by a demonic beast.]

Lin Zhou smiled.

He turned to look at Xiao Fan, giving him a kind and friendly smile.

"Disciple, come on, your master will take you to get some start-up capital."