Chapter 1: Being a Sect Master Isn't Easy
"Huh? This game is quite interesting."
Lin Fan clicked his tongue in amazement, "At the start, it's a declining sect, barely hanging on with a few old folks. The disciples are all losers, either mediocre or short-lived. The sect's resources are almost depleted, on the verge of extinction."
"The player takes on the role of the new sect master to save the sect from crisis."
"And you can't just mess around. There's a small 'assessment' every year, and a major one every ten years? The assessment could be invasion by external enemies, vendettas from foes, or even extraterrestrial demons or falling meteorites. Those who can't survive... Hmm?"
After reading the game introduction and understanding the gameplay, Lin Fan found it more interesting.
"With a game like this, a bit of promotion should attract players. Why is it that it's been online for a year, and all the data is zero?"
"Did they go bankrupt and couldn't afford advertising?"
"Then let me be the first to try it out. If the game is good, I'll recommend it to you."
Lin Fan is a gaming content creator.
He's played tens of thousands of games, cleared over three thousand games, and because of his witty and humorous video style, he has over three million fans. He's doing pretty well in this circle.
The only downside is that he once publicly declared that he would never do sponsored content.
Now he's somewhat regretting it...
Other gaming content creators with hundreds of thousands of fans already have luxury homes, fancy cars, and beautiful models. Meanwhile, his income is barely at a comfortable level.
Ding.
Download completed.
Lin Fan opened the game, and the next moment, everything went black.
"What the hell, this game is toxic!!!"
"I haven't deleted my browsing history and study materials yet!!!"
"..."
...
"Sect Master, Sect Master?"
"..."
Whoosh!
Lin Fan rolled over and got up, cursing, "Damn it... Hmm?"
He was dumbfounded.
"What is this?"
Everything around him was too unfamiliar.
And who is this old man standing beside my bed, with white hair but rosy cheeks?!
Suddenly, a splitting headache struck.
Memories flooded his mind.
Lin Fan was stunned.
"Damn it!"
He cursed.
It seems like... he's transmigrated!
This is the Lanyue Sect, once a top sect in the southwestern region of the Xianwu continent. But in recent years, it has declined, with no successors. Now it has fallen to a third-rate power.
During its peak, the sect had millions of disciples and tens of thousands of spiritual mountains. How magnificent it was?!
It even rivaled the Sacred Ground, though it nearly got wiped out...
But at least it had some backbone!
Now, there's only one mountain peak left, all the land that used to belong to it is gone.
And even that was only because of the remaining few old folks who had some abilities. Otherwise, they couldn't even hold onto this last bit of property, let alone remain a third-rate sect. They might even lose their heritage!
The unlucky guy Lin Fan transmigrated into is also named Lin Fan, who just became the Sect Master of the Lanyue Sect yesterday.
His cultivation is not great, and his talent is mediocre.
The only reason he became the Sect Master is because none of the old folks wanted to bear the burden.
As Lin Fan overheard them saying, "The decline of the Lanyue Sect is already a foregone conclusion. It's almost impossible to change it. If I become the Sect Master, and the Lanyue Sect perishes under my leadership, how can I face the ancestors of the sect after I die?"
"So, even if the Lanyue Sect's heritage is destroyed, it can't be destroyed in my hands..."
The five elders, five old folks, are all cultivators at the 'Cave Heaven' realm of the fourth stage. Their cultivation is not weak, at least decent among the third-rate sects. But their ideas are remarkably consistent.
This also made Lin Fan's mouth twitch.
The Xianwu continent's cultivation realms are divided into: Open Physique, Condense Origin, Form Yuan, Cave Heaven, Point Mystery, Know Fate, Unite Dao, Break Void, Ascend Immortal.
Each realm is further divided into nine small realms, commonly referred to as the Nine Layers, or sometimes as the nth Layer, such as the Eighth Form Yuan, the Ninth Cave Heaven, and so on.
Memories kept flooding in, but Lin Fan became more and more speechless.
He's just a little chick at the Origin Condensation realm, and he's just entered it.
These few Cave Heaven realm old folks could kill him with one finger, and they're all 'ancestors'!
In the end, they didn't want to be the Sect Master themselves and actually let me do it?
Is this some kind of joke?!
Even more of a joke is... it seems like... he's the best talent among the disciples of the current and past three generations?!
A handsome young man in his twenties, at the Origin Condensation realm, his talent is not 'extraordinary', but it's also not bad. But even with that, he's the best among three generations???
Oh, okay, there were indeed talents better than himself in the previous two generations, but they're all dead.
Not one left.
Lin Fan: "..."
In the current generation, uh, there are only seven left besides himself, and it seems... they're all trash, complete trash. They can't even manage their lives properly.
To ask them to be the Sect Master seems to be difficult for them.
Up to this moment, Lin Fan finally realized how thorough this so-called 'decline' is.
Even in a random insignificant sect, there are more and stronger disciples than the Lanyue Sect!
Lin Fan's mind was in turmoil.
But in the eyes of the Elder Su Xinghai, it looked like Lin Fan was dazed, so he couldn't help but remind him, "Sect Master, it's already midday. Aren't you going to figure out how to recruit disciples and revitalize our Lanyue Sect, to restore its former glory?"
"Young man, don't be lazy!"
Lin Fan suddenly felt like ten thousand camels were galloping past him, but in the end, he sighed helplessly, "Okay, Elder, you can go down first, I'll think of a way first."
"Time waits for no one, Sect Master, we all believe in you!"
"When the time comes, with thousands of disciples and tens of thousands of spiritual mountains, you will be a giant figure in the Xianwu continent. Who would dare not to respect you when they see you? All the fairies, if you take a liking to any of them, who dares not to comply?"
The Elder left, but his face was full of 'dry dad' expression.
He's painting a rosy picture for Lin Fan!!!
And fooling him!
Su Xinghai left.
Lin Fan rubbed his forehead, feeling overwhelmed.
"Transmigration, and it's exactly the same as the game introduction. Is it a problem with the game that forcefully transmigrated me, or did I get electrocuted and become a vegetable, and all this is my dream and illusion?"
He tried pinching his thigh, it hurt.
"..."
"Sigh, whatever the situation is, let's treat it as real transmigration. Otherwise, it's hard to handle."
Lin Fan sighed.
What if it's true? If I mess up, wouldn't it be really embarrassing?
He still remembered from the game introduction that there's at least one small crisis every year, a major crisis every ten years, and supposedly a world-ending crisis every hundred years, and... there's an ellipsis for a thousand years, but even without saying, it's definitely worse than the hundred years one.
"Who the f*ck wants to transmigrate to such a place? I was living so well on Earth. Even if I didn't do sponsored content, I could still save poor girls from destitution until they were eighty years old every day with my current financial resources, and never repeat the same girl every day!"
"Coming to this ghost place, it's straight to hell from the start. This is... sigh, the only benefit might be the extended maximum lifespan, right?"
The Xianwu continent is rich in spiritual energy, and even ordinary people have a maximum lifespan of over two hundred years, while the Origin Condensation realm is around five hundred years.
"As long as I can live that long. There's a crisis every year."
Lin Fan frowned, starting to consider how to break the deadlock.
As the saying goes, life is like a forceful intrusion. If you can't resist it, try to enjoy it.
"So, I have only one goal, to survive."
"And the premise of survival is to make the sect stronger and make myself stronger."
"System?!"
Lin Fan tried to call out the system, but it was useless. After struggling for a long time, there was nothing.
"But I remember from the game introduction that as long as I develop the sect, I can become stronger, especially by accepting disciples. If their talent rating is above A, I can share their talent and strength..."
"So, whether I've transmigrated into the 'game' or not, maybe I can judge it by this point. If I accept a disciple with talent rated A or higher, and see my own talent and strength, if it's true~"
"F*ck!"
After finally sorting out his thoughts, Lin Fan couldn't help but complain, "Without a system, how would I know whose talent is rated A or higher?"
He rubbed his head, almost pulling out his hair.
After a long, long time.
He finally calmed down and deduced, relying on his professional knowledge and the countless fantasy novels he read during middle school, to summarize some rules...
"Since it's a Xianxia, cultivation world, there are countless cultivators. There must be destined individuals or protagonist templates, right?"
"I can't discern what level of talent they have, but I don't believe that those with protagonist templates or even son or daughter of destiny will have bad talents!"
"So, let's screen them from this angle."
Lin Fan found pen and paper, writing hastily.
"I remember that three days from now is the day when the Lanyue Sect opens its doors to recruit disciples this year. Let's change the sect rules first!"
In the evening.
Lin Fan finally stepped out of the Lanyue Palace—the place where the Sect Master cultivates and resides.
Looking at the small sect... Lin Fan's face turned black again.
This scene in front of him is too different from what he imagined a cultivation sect to be.
The rundown mountain peak, the dilapidated and few buildings, the deserted sect square...
At this moment, the five elders walked over.
Lin Fan looked over, but his gaze paused more on the second elder, Wu Xingyun.
The five elders were three men and two women. The male elders all looked like old men, while the female elders looked young and beautiful, all seeming like mature beauties, especially the second elder, Wu Xingyun, who not only looked beautiful but also had extraordinary wisdom.
"Sect Master."
"Have you figured out how to revitalize our Lanyue Sect?"
Su Xinghai asked with folded hands.
Seeing the 'sincere' look in his eyes, Lin Fan's mouth twitched.
He wanted to swear!
You didn't want to be the Sect Master yourselves, but you freaking made me do it, and you keep pushing me?!
"Cough."
He coughed, "This Sect Master believes that the reason why our Lanyue Sect is in decline and getting worse is largely due to our system and sect rules being flawed."
"Just in time, three days from now is the day to recruit disciples. This Sect Master has drafted a new set of rules. Take a look."
Lin Fan shook, and the densely written 'new rules' floated in front of the five elders.
They looked at each other, then focused on the rules.
Recruitment Rules:
1. Those with the surnames Xiao, Ye, Shi, and Lin are given priority.
2. Those who like to talk to themselves, especially with objects like rings, are given priority.
3. Those who have survived life-threatening situations three times or more, especially those with mysterious origins, are given priority.
4. Those who were rejected in marriage or have fallen from grace, especially those with missing parents, are given priority.
5. Those who are targeted or harassed as soon as they arrive at the mountain gate are given priority.
6. Those who like to hang a mysterious smile on their lips, and their enemies also like to chuckle sinisterly, are directly designated as direct disciples.
7. Those who have undergone bone-chilling experiences or are on the verge of death are directly designated as direct disciples.
8. Those who are cowardly and extremely cautious, always shouting about certain death, are directly designated as direct disciples.
9. Those with ever-changing personalities, even changing gender at times, are directly designated as direct disciples.
10...
Lin Fan stopped here, not finishing the tenth rule.