My construction materials are weird

"How is it? What's the buzz down there?"

The Confucian School, hit hardest by the cultivator upheaval, has been closely monitoring news of the Contractors.

They can't help it; they have a large population, many cultivators, and many with mediocre talents.

"Sect Leader, the buzz is significant, and so is the discussion, but this is an open scheme. Even if they're dissatisfied, what can they do? They can't stir up much trouble... In fact, we don't even need to step in. Some with ulterior motives want to cause trouble, but those eager to improve will stop them on their own."

He added, "It's like dividing them internally. Cultivators who are unmotivated, afraid of death, will face opponents who want to improve and cultivate, so..."

"Everyone is smart. Seeing no hope of reversing this, they won't cause trouble. After all, making too much noise isn't good. Besides, our compensation plan can be considered a way out. Currently, many cultivators have chosen the compensation plan."

Yan Lai nodded in satisfaction after hearing this: "Good."

The so-called compensation plan is similar to severance pay or generational investment.

The Confucian School isn't truly heartless, inhumanely cutting off those who are useless. That would be too much.

They have a secret compensation plan, discussing with cultivators who have mediocre talents but don't want to take risks. As long as you listen and do chores, or choose to leave, we'll give you a significant amount of resources as a buyout.

If not for yourself, then think of your descendants. You can use these resources to cultivate descendants with better talents.

As long as the talent is up to par, the Confucian School will open its doors wide to your descendants, even absorbing those who are slightly below par.

With this compensation plan, even unwilling cultivators have nothing to say.

If not for yourself, then think of your descendants.

What if your descendants have good talents?

If you cause trouble with headquarters now, wouldn't your descendants resent you to death?

The people of Xia, or rather, all of humanity, will think of their descendants.

Those who don't think of their descendants can't be called true humans.

Moreover, this is a cultivator world that values strength and martial power, placing even greater emphasis on descendants.

Even if you die, if your descendants are strong, you may have a chance to return from the offerings, like the Infernal Ghost Cultivators of the Xuan School.

There is such a precedent.

A cultivator from a small family, with a low level, only in the mid-stage of Entry Rank. It was said that such a cultivator would hardly retain his soul after death and enter the Inferno.

Half a year later, he 'lived'.

Not the person, but a trace of his soul in the merit token, protected by the token, didn't dissipate.

The worship of his family and descendants, the gathering of incense and faith, nourished this trace of his soul, allowing him to live.

Then, he, who wasn't qualified to go to the Inferno, went to the Inferno after his soul awakened and became a Ghost Cultivator.

After this event spread, there were other successful cases, proving that this plan was feasible.

Those with strong souls and high cultivation can directly go to the Inferno to transform into Ghost Cultivators after death, but it's not absolute. For example, if your soul is completely destroyed, it won't work.

This mainly applies to cultivators in the late stage of Entry Rank.

Cultivators in the mid-stage of Entry Rank who want their souls to go to the Inferno after death face some difficulty.

In short, the probability of a sixth-level Entry Rank going to the Inferno after death is higher than a fifth-level, and a fifth-level is higher than a fourth-level.

The weaker the cultivation, the smaller the chance of retaining the soul and going to the Inferno after death.

The one gathered by incense and faith before was a fourth-level Entry Rank cultivator, currently one of the only two who didn't have their souls completely dissipated after death and could become Ghost Cultivators.

There is another one who is a special case, an existence with a naturally strong soul.

In short, who wouldn't want a second chance to cultivate?

Even if they become Ghost Cultivators, even if it's difficult for Myriad Tribulations Yin Spirits to enter Sainthood, even so, no one really wants to die.

Therefore, there are more who think of themselves after death, and think of their descendants.

The Confucian School's compensation plan, they accept it whether they want to or not.

What can they achieve by making a fuss?

It's better this way.

"Have you figured out the Contractors?"

Yan Lai asked again.

"We've generally figured it out, but not the specific details," Meng Qiao said.

"Why?" Yan Lai asked, puzzled.

"Because the Contractors can't say, and won't fully disclose, otherwise it's equivalent to betraying Lord Myriad Spirits, equivalent to tearing up the contract, and they will be destroyed in body and soul," Meng Qiao said.

"Hmm, I understand," Yan Lai nodded.

Binding a contract is equivalent to becoming one with the Myriad Spirits Palace, and it's impossible to reveal some of the secrets of the Myriad Spirits Palace to outsiders.

They can only know some generalities, and the general situation is what Lao Liu said to his colleagues before.

As for more secret information, it won't be revealed to outsiders.

"Lao Meng, what do you think of temporary Contractors?" Yan Lai asked.

"This? It's hard to say, after all, no one has tried it. But I think it's better not to try it for now. We still have a lot of room for improvement, unlike the Contractors who have no other way. We need to be cautious, after all, it involves luck."

Meng Qiao thought for a while and said.

"Hmm, you're right. Let's not consider this for now. Let's take it slowly."

After saying that, he asked again: "When will the three Sect Leaders, Sun Hui, Jiu Tong, and Minghui, arrive?"

"Soon, at most half an hour," Meng Qiao said.

"Okay, I'll wait a while. You go and get busy."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Meng Qiao then withdrew.

The three of them came to him to discuss with Saintess Tushan about giving up the three major battlefields, as well as some guarding and pioneering tasks.

It's been delayed for a long time, and it's time to decide.

Even without Qiao Liangyu's hidden danger, and with the current manpower not so lacking, the Four still haven't chosen to forget.

Indeed, the manpower isn't that lacking, but it's still lacking.

In addition, the appearance of the Myriad Spirits Palace means that it won't be long before new cities will be pioneered and protected. It's better to be prepared, lest the Merit Hall say they want to start a new round of pioneering, but they can't come up with the manpower.

Compared to the value of pioneering new cities, nothing can compare to it at present.

After all, although the Four are laying off cultivators, they still lack cultivators, lacking geniuses and experts.

The pioneering of new cities is currently the best place to screen talents.

Each new city's pioneering will increase many geniuses.

This is a very valuable wealth.

About twenty minutes passed.

Sun Hui, Jiu Tong, and Minghui arrived.

"Let's go!"

Without communication, the four nodded tacitly and headed towards the Spirit Beast Base Camp.

In the Spirit Beast Base Camp, Saintess Tushan was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed.

Seemingly waiting for the arrival of the four.

"Yan Lai, (Sun Hui, Jiu Tong, Minghui) greet Fellow Daoist Saintess Tushan."

Here, they address each other as 'Daoist friend,' which means they're here to discuss benefits, not a personal visit.

"The arrival of four Daoist friends brings honor to my humble abode. Please, have a seat, have a seat quickly."

Tu Shan Holy Mother was full of smiles. It's hard to imagine that such a loli-like face could have an imposing aura.

Yet, it doesn't seem abrupt, which is quite magical.

"Haha, we're disturbing your peaceful cultivation, Daoist friend," Yan Lai said.

"Sect Leader Yan Lai is joking. Where did this peaceful cultivation come from? Facing so many children every day gives me a headache. Peaceful cultivation is impossible. Just opening my eyes every day and thinking about feeding everyone makes me worried. The four of you are also sect leaders, so you should know what I mean. It's too difficult."

"Haha!" Yan Lai smiled expressionlessly.

He wasn't stupid and could hear the meaning in Tu Shan Holy Mother's words.

Without one mistake, one head, one hair, one inside, one appearance, one in, one look!

Wasn't she just complaining that they hadn't given the spirit beasts any opportunities before? Tu Shan Holy Mother was using this as an excuse to complain.

"Holy Mother is joking. In my opinion, all of Holy Mother's subordinates are elites. Under Holy Mother's leadership, the spirit beasts have received ample development. This has been affirmed by Steward Sun of the Hall of Merit... To be honest, we've come this time because of this."

"Oh?"

Tu Shan let out a soft 'oh,' pretending not to understand.

"Previously, the spirit beasts were in the initial stage. Our idea was to protect them, giving the spirit beasts as much time as possible to grow and avoid losses caused by war. As you know, there are various battlefields and development tasks. Human cultivators sacrifice themselves every day..."

Being eloquent is Yan Lai's superpower.

He spoke eloquently, saying things like it was for your own good, giving the spirit beasts space and time to grow, and so on.

Those who didn't know the truth would really think it was for the spirit beasts' benefit.

Even Tu Shan Holy Mother felt a little depressed listening to it, but she couldn't afford to fall out with them, because falling out would mean she was acting unreasonably.

Regardless of what the cultivators said, everyone understood the purpose of their visit. If you overplayed your hand, you would be acting unreasonably.

"Therefore, we've decided to give up the Third Battlefield, as well as the development and defense of individual cities, for the spirit beasts to take over. What do you think?"

Yan Lai said finally.

What else could she say? Tu Shan couldn't refuse, she could only agree.

After all, this was what her spirit beasts wanted. Spirit beasts needed to grow through various battlefield tests.

This was an inevitable step. Spirit beasts that hadn't experienced tests couldn't possibly grow.

Take the current spirit beast generals, for example. They stood out because they experienced the trials of the Demon World.

The past was the past, and it couldn't be counted before the spirit beasts joined the spirit beast group.

Before, they were just wild beasts and ferocious beasts without intelligence. Only after learning the method created by Xuan Huang for the spirit beasts could they be considered true spirit beasts.

Therefore, even if a spirit beast was an old demon before, it was still considered inexperienced.

Tu Shan had thought about developing new strongholds, such as the Seven Heavens and outer space universes that the Lord had mentioned.

But that didn't mean that Blue Star wouldn't be involved. After all, the Blue Star Holy Land was the foundation.

Whether it was the Seven Heavens, secret realms, or the outer universe, everything was unknown. It wouldn't be prudent to explore and develop them rashly.

It would be better to practice in various places on Blue Star first.

"Thank you, four great powers, for your concern and care for the spirit beasts. On behalf of all the spirit beasts, I express my heartfelt gratitude."

Tu Shan Holy Mother thanked them formally.

Scheming was scheming, but she couldn't be rude on the surface.

Especially with the sensitive identity of the spirit beasts, who were originally called beasts and often despised.

Therefore, they cared more about etiquette than humans.

She added, "Please rest assured, everyone. We will certainly shoulder our mission and won't dare to say we'll do as well as the cultivators, but we will never be a burden to everyone. We..."

Tu Shan Holy Mother made another statement.

The four great sect leaders nodded in satisfaction. It was easy to communicate with smart people, and everything was taken care of.

However, since they were originally enemies who didn't get along, the four of them left after a brief exchange.

The four of them weren't needed for the specific detailed steps. The four of them only made the decision.

After the four of them left, a piece of news quickly spread.

No, two pieces of news spread together.

"Have you heard? The spirit beasts are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to fight for their own interests. Therefore, the four great powers have been forced to give up the Third Battlefield and some spiritual lands, intending to let the spirit beasts develop them. We will suffer considerable losses."

A cultivator hurriedly arrived at a clubhouse in Qingyun Mountain and said to the friends who were already present.

After speaking, everyone looked at him in confusion.

"What's wrong? Is it wrong?"

This person was also very confused.

"Um, we also received a piece of news, but it's completely the opposite of what you said. It's that the four great powers didn't do well and were criticized by Steward Sun. The four great powers were forced to give up some battlefields or cities for the spirit beasts to guard, but the four great powers are a little unwilling, so they spread the news that they were forced by the spirit beasts... They're even using the interests of us rogue cultivators to bear the losses,"

One of his friends said.

After speaking, he and his Daoist friends fell silent.

Two completely different pieces of news.

One was unfavorable to the spirit beasts, and the other was unfavorable to the four great powers.

"This?"

Everyone was silent for a while.

After a while, a cultivator asked, "Which one do you believe? Or rather, which one do you think is true?"

This question was difficult, but it was also very simple for rogue cultivators.

"It must be a conspiracy of the four great powers. Have the four great powers suppressed us less? They can definitely sell out our interests," a cultivator said.

"That's right, that's right, I think so too. The spirit beasts wouldn't be so bad. They should have been schemed against by the four great powers. The four great powers don't want to bear the losses themselves, so they fabricated lies to blame the spirit beasts. It must be them."

"I think so too. The four great powers are full of evil. What conscience can they have? They must have been criticized by Steward Sun, but they don't want to bear the losses themselves, so they gave up the Third Battlefield dominated by us rogue cultivators, right?"

Well, it can only be said that the rogue cultivators have deep grievances against the four great powers.

Familiar people might not be good friends. On the contrary, a spirit beast that has never been in contact with them, because there are no accumulated conflicts, everyone naturally stands on the side of the spirit beasts.

Everyone wouldn't miss the opportunity to kick the four great powers when they were down.

Even the person who came to report the news just now instantly felt that he had been deceived and that it was a conspiracy of the four great powers.

"Despicable four great powers, wanting to sacrifice our interests to avoid losses, and also wanting to blame the spirit beasts, wanting to provoke conflict between us and the spirit beasts, humph!"

Everyone instantly understood.

It should be said that their rough sorting of ideas was actually correct.

The four great powers just didn't want to lose themselves and also wanted to provoke the conflict between the rogue cultivators and the spirit beasts, which is why they did so.

It can only be said that they lifted a stone to drop it on their own feet.

It can also be said that Tu Shan Holy Mother's counterattack was beautiful.

... (End of chapter)