I run a casino in the immortal realm.

At the end of the narrow passage was an iron gate, behind which stood a young man in a gray robe.

He looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a bronze badge embroidered on his left chest, bearing the words "General Affairs".

He was holding a list in his hand, and when he saw Zheng Yifei come out, his gaze lingered on him for a moment.

"Zheng Yifei?"

"Um."

"Come with me."

Without further ado, the gray-robed youth turned and left.

Zheng Yifei followed and handed over a bag of spirit stones: "Senior brother, I'm new here and want to find an easy job. Could you please help me?"

"Oh, you're quite sensible. You're the most perceptive among this batch of new disciples. Don't worry, I've got your back."

The gray-robed youth took the bag with some surprise, tossed it in his hand a couple of times, and felt that it contained over a hundred spirit stones. A satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he patted Zheng Yifei on the shoulder.

"Thank you, senior brother. I hope to receive your guidance in the future. Once things settle down, I'll treat you to a drink."

As a former gambling king, Zheng Yifei's mastery of interpersonal relationships was unparalleled. Although he didn't know how much power this senior brother wielded, his involvement in the introduction of new disciples meant he could probably put in a good word for him.

Of course, even if this senior brother couldn't help, it didn't matter. A hundred or so spirit stones were nothing to him, and he didn't care.

The square is very large, probably able to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

There were already about a hundred new disciples standing in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones. Most of them still had the fatigue and excitement of climbing the Ten Thousand Steps on their faces.

Zheng Yifei found a spot against the wall and stood there, scanning the area around.

This group of newcomers are all at the late stage of Qi Refining, mostly at the seventh level, with a dozen or so at the eighth level, and only two at the ninth level.

They ranged in age from fourteen to seventeen or eighteen, and were all dressed very elegantly, clearly disciples of aristocratic families. He was perhaps the only rogue cultivator among them.

After about half an hour, everyone arrived.

A young man in a white robe walked onto the stone platform at the front of the square and cleared his throat.

"My name is Chen Ping'an, a disciple in charge of the General Affairs Hall, at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Today, I'm responsible for introducing you newcomers to the sect. I'll only explain it once. If you don't understand, figure it out yourself. If you can't take it in, you'll suffer the consequences later."

He opened the bamboo slips, speaking slowly but each sentence crisp and clear.

"Qingyun Sect is the absolute overlord within a radius of five thousand miles. The sect has 367 vassal families, more than 1,200 villages, and 43 markets under its jurisdiction, and they pay taxes to the sect every year."

You can think of the Qingyun Sect as a country.

The square fell silent.

"The king is the sect leader, a Golden Core cultivator at the Great Perfection, with the Daoist name Qingyunzi. You might not see him even once in a hundred years after you join the sect, so don't worry about it."

"Below the sect master, there are the six peak masters and deputy peak masters, the head and deputy head of the General Affairs Hall and the Law Enforcement Hall, plus the elders of the Elder Council, totaling twenty-three Golden Core cultivators. This is the foundation of the sect."

Chen Pingan held up two fingers.

"The sky above is the skeleton—the stewards and deacons of each peak and hall, all of whom are in the late Foundation Establishment stage, responsible for the daily operation of the sect."

"Below that are the inner disciples, 3,100 in total, all at the Foundation Establishment stage. These are the backbone of the sect, each of them having fought their way up from the outer sect."

"Finally, it's you guys."

Chen Ping'an closed the bamboo scroll and glanced at the audience below.

"There are over 83,000 outer disciples, all in the late stage of Qi Refining, who perform various tasks and are equivalent to the lowest-level clerks in this 'country'."

Someone muttered something under their breath, but was pulled back by the person next to them.

Chen Ping'an acted as if he hadn't heard and continued speaking.

"Even among the outer disciples, there are different ranks. The disciples of each peak receive the best treatment. Not only do they receive several times more monthly salary than those of the General Affairs Hall, but they also learn the core skills of each peak."

He counted on his fingers.

"For example, after completing their assigned tasks, Danfeng disciples who learn alchemy can sell any extra products they produce. A skilled outer disciple of Danfeng can easily earn a thousand spirit stones a month."

A commotion broke out in the audience.

"The weapon-making peak refines weapons, the talisman-making peak creates talismans, and the array-setting peak sets up arrays. They all follow the same principle: if you have a skill, you can earn extra money."

Sword Peak is different. Sword Peak disciples mainly engage in external conquests, clearing out demonic beasts, and carrying out sect martial arts missions. These missions are the most dangerous, but the rewards are also the highest. If you're lucky, you can earn several hundred or even a thousand coins for a single mission.

The Enforcement Hall is responsible for sect discipline and also offers bonuses.

Chen Ping'an paused for a moment.

"None of the above is any of your business."

The atmosphere in the square cooled down considerably.

"You've been assigned to the General Affairs Department. What does the General Affairs Department do?"

The General Affairs Hall manages everything for the entire sect, from food and drink to the cultivation of spirit fields, the collection of taxes from markets, the transportation of minerals, the allocation of laborers, the handling of warehouses, and the disposal of garbage—every capillary of the sect's operation is maintained by the General Affairs Hall.

"Monthly stipend: ten low-grade spirit stones."

Someone below gasped.

"The monthly salary of disciples from each peak ranges from twenty to forty, with the highest being sixty for Sword Peak. You only get ten. There are no extra incomes, no core skills to be taught, just endless work."

Chen Ping'an tucked the bamboo slip into his waistband and crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you all feel this is unfair, it means you haven't understood the situation yet. There are over 80,000 outer disciples in the Qingyun Sect, but the number of places for the six peaks is limited. Those who can't get in are all crammed into the General Affairs Hall."

Some of you lack sufficient spiritual root aptitude, some have low cultivation levels, and some lack background and connections—in short, your value to the sect at this stage is simply to work.

No one spoke.

"But the General Affairs Office isn't a dead end either."

Chen Ping'an's tone relaxed slightly, "The sect holds an internal assessment every year. Disciples of the General Affairs Hall who reach the Foundation Establishment stage can become inner disciples."

Of course, some people think that the outer disciples of the General Affairs Hall are inferior to independent cultivators. However, in reality, disciples of the General Affairs Hall have a right that distinguishes them from independent cultivators—they can use their disciple tokens to purchase internal sect cultivation techniques, pills, talismans, and array plates at an 80% discount. No matter how rich an independent cultivator is, they cannot buy these things.

The lifelessness in the audience eased slightly.

Don't be too happy yet.

Chen Ping'an raised his chin: "Even at an 80% discount, you still need money to buy it. With a monthly salary of ten spirit stones, after deducting three for food, lodging and other miscellaneous expenses, you're left with seven. A single, most ordinary mid-grade Spirit Gathering Pill costs thirty. You do the math, how many months will it take to save up for one?"

The square fell silent again.

Chen Ping'an seemed quite satisfied with the quiet and nodded.

"Next, we'll assign roles."

He unfolded another bamboo scroll and began to read out the names and corresponding positions.

Warehouse management, spirit field inspection, ore vein transportation, miscellaneous labor allocation, market tax collection...

The vast majority of people were assigned to spirit fields and mines, which were the two positions with the highest demand and involved the most physically demanding work.

"Zheng Yifei".

"exist."

Chen Ping'an glanced at him again.

"Eighth level of Qi Refining, top tier of cultivation among the new recruits. Report to the General Affairs Department's Tax Office tomorrow, find the steward to receive your duties, and you will have a private dormitory, room number 37 in section C."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding new disciples cast envious glances at him.

Tax collectors are one of the few positions in the General Affairs Department that do not require physical labor. Although the monthly salary is the same, it is easy and respectable, and they may also be responsible for additional taxes.

Zheng Yifei knew that the bag of spirit stones had worked, because he saw the senior brother who had guided him earlier smiling and nodding at him from the side.

Money really can make the devil turn the millstone; this ironclad rule applies everywhere.

After the assignments were completed, Chen Ping'an led everyone through a long passageway, out of the underground plaza, and into the residence of the outer disciples of the Qingyun Sect.

Section C consists of rows of neat stone bungalows, each about ten square meters in size, with a stone bed, a stone table, a storage cabinet, and a moisture-proof curtain with a spiritual pattern hanging at the door.

The conditions were ten times better than the mud-brick houses in the shantytown of Heishanfang, but two levels worse than the inn where Zheng Yifei stayed in Yunlai, Qingyun City.

Zheng Yifei found number 37, pushed open the door, and put his luggage on the stone table.

There was a basic first-order spirit-gathering array in the room, with a spirit stone of average quality embedded in the array core, which could barely maintain the concentration of spiritual energy in the room being 20% ​​higher than that outside.

better than nothing.

He sat on the stone bed and went through all the information he had gathered that day in his mind.

Eighty thousand outer disciples, three thousand inner disciples, and twenty-three Golden Core cultivators.

Resources are highly concentrated at the top of the pyramid, while the lower-level disciples fight each other for scraps.

With a monthly salary of ten spirit stones, one cannot even afford a mid-grade pill.

This is not a sect.

This is a country that has been operating for thousands of years.

It is no different from the concept of a country on Earth; the entire country's operation is supported by taxes.

He was assigned to the tax department.

Tax collector.

Zheng Yifei leaned against the wall and tapped his fingers twice on his knee.

What is a tax collector? He is someone who sits upstream in the flow of money.

Every shop, every gambling den, and every transaction in Qingyun Market must be examined by tax officials.

Everyone thought this was the worst job.

Zheng Yifei's lips twitched slightly.

The flow of funds in the market, consumption habits, the profit and loss data of the gambling dens, and the supply channels of the shops—these things are boring ledgers in other people's eyes, but in his eyes, they are the cards on the table.

Footsteps came from outside the door, and people passed by in the corridor, whispering about something.

"...Have you heard? One of the new recruits this year has five spiritual roots and was actually assigned to the Eastern District Tax Bureau..."

"Five spiritual roots? You could practice your whole life and still not be able to build a foundation. You're just wasting a spot."

The laughter faded into the distance.