Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

In this world, there are countless people who, like those in Shou Shui Village, are illiterate.

For now, he couldn't do too much, so Lin Xiao thought about starting with his birthplace.

"Aren't you worried this might hinder your cultivation?" Lin Xiao asked.

Sun Yigao pondered for a moment before answering, "I've considered this. Cultivation isn't something achieved overnight. It's like my studies—I'm pursuing both for my ideals, but my ideal isn't solely about cultivation. So, I don't see this as a hindrance."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao realized that Sun Yigao had thought this through carefully. He was pleased to see Yigao pursuing his ambitions.

"If you've thought it through, then I fully support this idea! If you need a place to teach, I can build a school at the foot of our sect's mountain. How about that?" Lin Xiao offered.

Sun Yigao didn't refuse. Instead, he smiled and replied, "If that's the case, then that would be perfect. This school could be an external project of our sect—my contribution to adding bricks and mortar to our foundation. How does that sound?"

Lin Xiao was thrilled and quickly agreed. "If you're willing, that would be wonderful! This could help develop potential talent for our sect in the future!"

At that moment, a notification suddenly echoed in Lin Xiao's mind:

[Ding—Congratulations to the host for initiating a sect construction task: Surrounding Development (1): An excellent sect must have support from the surrounding environment's potential talents. Please build a school near the sect to provide a learning environment for the local population.]

Hearing this system prompt, Lin Xiao's eyes lit up as another idea crossed his mind. He turned to Sun Yigao and said, "Speaking of which, I just had another thought. What if we include some of our sect's low-level cultivation manuals in the school's curriculum? I can make additional copies so you won't have to write them all out. What do you think?"

Sun Yigao was taken aback. He hadn't expected Lin Xiao to be willing to share these cultivation manuals with students. In this era, books were precious. Besides the required texts for exams, which were mass-printed by government-approved bookstores, many rare books were not easily shared.

During his spare time, Sun Yigao had flipped through some of the so-called "B-grade" low-level cultivation manuals in the sect's library. He found that while these manuals might not be as powerful as their Earth-grade or Heaven-grade counterparts, they contained valuable insights and ideas worth studying. In the outside world, such books would be considered highly valuable, especially since they could be used for cultivation.

However, Lin Xiao believed it would be a shame to let these books collect dust within the sect. He thought it might be beneficial to select a few suitable ones and make them available in the school for others to read and learn from.

He also had a bit of a strategic motive. With a mischievous grin, he whispered to Sun Yigao, "If these kids start learning cultivation techniques without realizing it, won't that naturally give us a pool of potential recruits for our sect in the future?"

Sun Yigao couldn't help but smile at that. "If the sect master has no objections, I'd be more than happy to see this happen. Although these manuals are considered low-level, I still believe they're excellent resources. But are you sure it's okay to let non-sect members study them?"

Lin Xiao had overlooked this point, so he quickly consulted the system in his mind.

[The sect's manuals are regular books and can be shared with non-sect members. However, non-members won't gain any cultivation progress from them.]

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao understood. Essentially, these manuals could be used as educational materials without any risk of outsiders gaining cultivation benefits from them.

Lin Xiao explained this to Sun Yigao, who found the idea even more appealing. Now, he didn't have to worry about the sect's techniques being misused by opportunists.

With this agreement in place, Lin Xiao added the construction of a school to his growing list of plans.

Back at Lingxian Sect, life was quite orderly in Lin Xiao's absence. Every morning, without fail, the disciples practiced their cultivation. Recently, they had set aside most of their other duties and divided their time between the alchemy room, talisman crafting room, refining hall, and formation hall.

Lin Xiao had placed copies of the four foundational manuals in these rooms, and with Yang Jinshu's help, a few more copies had been made. Now, everyone didn't have to crowd around a single book.

After Elder Liao had given them some basic lessons on alchemy a few days ago, he had become engrossed in studying the "Ben Yuan Heart Sutra" and had locked himself away for more in-depth research. He felt that, for now, everyone had learned the basics, and there wasn't much that urgently required his attention.

Meanwhile, Mo Yuanjiao had been making rapid progress in his cultivation. Just yesterday, he had successfully advanced to the third level of Qi Refining.

Seeing his young master's swift progress, Mo Que, still struggling at the first level of Qi Refining, felt a mixture of pride and frustration.

After breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining, Mo Yuanjiao remembered that he should write home. He took out the paper and ink he had brought with him and sat down to detail his journey in a letter. Once finished, he sealed the letter with the military seal of his family's general's residence and had Mo Que send it back.

What Mo Yuanjiao didn't know was that far away in Anqun County, a middle-aged man at the ninth level of Qi Refining had been lingering for days.

This man, named Chen Feng, had been sent by the Shangyang Sect after receiving a letter from Song Jusheng, to pick up Mo Yuanjiao.

He assumed that Mo Yuanjiao, being a young master from a general's household, would be leisurely enjoying the journey and thus traveling slowly.

So, Chen Feng had taken his time, arriving in Anqun County more than ten days ago. He assumed that once Mo Yuanjiao reached the county, he would linger there since the towns further along the route were less developed.

Comfortably waiting, Chen Feng spent his days idly wandering around the county gates and through the city, occasionally visiting the discreet brothels hidden in narrow alleys.

Little did he know that the person he was supposed to pick up had already passed through Anqun County a day before he arrived, heading straight for Cuifeng Town.

After waiting in Anqun County for over a month without seeing any sign of Mo Yuanjiao, Chen Feng finally started to worry. Where could Mo Yuanjiao be? Could he have taken a wrong turn?

Growing impatient with the missing young master he had yet to meet, Chen Feng decided to leave Anqun County and follow the likely route Mo Yuanjiao might have taken from the capital, hoping to track him down.