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Tantai Yuexi nodded as well.

Su Chun glanced at the two of them, said nothing, and put all the pills into a separate storage bag.

"Okay, I'll destroy them tomorrow."

As night deepened, Yun Die and Tantai Yuexi each returned to their rooms to rest.

Su Chun sat alone in the Misty Palace, gazing at the moonlight outside the window, her mind filled with countless thoughts.

The sect has been established, and elders have been appointed. The next step is to recruit disciples.

She needs a complete, systematic, and sustainable succession system.

This matter cannot be rushed; it must be done step by step.

She closed her eyes, and blurry outlines appeared in her mind.

Those outlines are what the future disciples of the Misty Sect will look like.

Chapter 364 The Human Touch

Before dawn, the light shield of the Nine Palaces Locking Heaven Array shimmered with a pale golden luster in the morning light, enveloping the entire Azure Phoenix Mountain Range in a hazy, ethereal aura.

Su Chun stood on the stone steps in front of the Misty Palace, looking down at the layers of palaces and pavilions below, and took a deep breath.

The mountain air carries the fragrance of pine needles and the sweetness of medicinal herbs; inhaling it makes one feel light and refreshed.

This was the 137th morning she had spent in the Misty Sect.

The sect has been established for over a year, and everything is slowly getting on track.

The teleportation array was set up more smoothly than she had expected.

The knowledge of the Void Scripture she brought back from the Spirit Realm, along with the rare materials left behind by the three Nascent Soul cultivators, enabled her to build a teleportation array connecting the Southern Continent and the Great Jin Dynasty in just six months.

Currently, the Misty Sect has thirty-seven official disciples, all of whom are female cultivators and all come from the Southern Continent.

Among them are rogue cultivators rejected by major sects, offspring of collateral branches abandoned by their families due to their mediocre talent, and lucky individuals like Su Chun who accidentally embarked on the path of cultivation from the mortal world.

Most of them were not particularly outstanding, and could even be described as mediocre, but Su Chun didn't care.

She herself possesses the five elements of spiritual root, and she understands better than anyone else that aptitude doesn't represent everything.

"Sect Master, it's time for morning lessons."

Yundie's voice came from behind.

She was dressed in a light blue elder's robe, her long hair tied up with a jade hairpin, and she looked much more energetic than when she was in Tiannan.

She single-handedly built up the alchemy pavilion of the Misty Sect. In the past year, she has refined thousands of pills, which not only meet the daily needs of the sect's disciples, but also sell some of them to the outside world, earning the sect a lot of spirit stones.

"Ah."

Su Chun nodded and turned to walk towards the training ground.

On the training ground, thirty-seven disciples were already lined up in neat rows.

They were dressed in uniform moon-white disciple robes, with standard longswords hanging at their waists. They were all full of energy, and their eyes were filled with anticipation for the future.

Upon seeing Su Chun approach, all the disciples bowed in unison.

"Disciple greets Sect Master."

The sounds were uniform and echoed through the mountains, startling several birds perched on pine branches.

Su Chun walked to the high platform in front of the martial arts arena and scanned the face of each disciple.

She could name most of these faces.

What they lack is not talent, nor perseverance, but an opportunity.

"Today's morning lesson will continue with the first level of the 'Ethereal Sword Technique'."

Su Chun's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every disciple.

"This sword technique is an improvement I made based on the Heavenly Heart Sword Manual and the Purple Blood Demon Art. It is designed specifically for female cultivators and is suitable for all kinds of spiritual root attributes. You must practice it seriously and not slack off."

"Yes, Sect Master."

The disciples responded in unison.

Su Chun stepped down from the platform, where Tantai Yuexi was already waiting for her at the edge of the training ground.

She wore a silver-white elder's robe, with a slender soft sword hanging at her waist. She was like a drawn sword, cold and sharp.

"We have guests coming today."

Tantai Yuexi's voice was still that cool and aloof tone, but Su Chun could hear a hint of displeasure hidden beneath that coolness.

"Who?"

"Chief Steward Sun of the Tian Ce Mansion."

Su Chun was slightly taken aback.

What is he doing here?

"They said they came to collect land rent."

Tantai Yuexi's lips curved slightly, but the expression was more of a faint mockery than a smile.

"However, I feel that his intentions are not pure."

Su Chun was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Let's go take a look first."

The two left the training ground and headed towards the mountain gate.

The gate of the Misty Sect is built on the mountainside of the main peak. It is a gate made of white spirit jade, with the three large characters "Misty Sect" engraved on the lintel. The strokes are sharp and are Su Chun's handwriting.

On either side of the archway stood a female disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage, responsible for guarding the mountain gate.

Upon seeing Su Chun approach, the two quickly bowed in greeting.

"metropolitan."

Su Chun nodded, walked out of the mountain gate, and looked down the mountain.

At the end of the mountain path, a gray beam of light slowly rose and flew towards the mountain gate.

As the light of the escape beam appeared in the sky, Su Chun was able to clearly see the appearance of the person who had arrived.

As expected, it was Steward Sun, with the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul stage, still with that same serious and methodical demeanor, only now he had someone else by his side.

She was a young woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, with a beautiful face and gentle temperament. She wore a light blue dress and had a token from the Tian Ce Mansion hanging at her waist. She was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Steward Sun led the woman to the front of the mountain gate and bowed to Su Chun with clasped hands.

"Senior Su, it's been a long time, you still look as dashing as ever."

Su Chun returned the greeting, her gaze falling on the young woman.

"Steward Sun, who is this gentleman?"

Steward Sun stepped aside and introduced the situation.

"This is my daughter, Sun Wanqing. She has served in the Tian Ce Mansion for many years and has always admired the elegance of the Misty Sect. I brought her here today to pay a visit."

Su Chun's gaze lingered on Sun Wanqing for a moment.

"Admire the splendor of the Misty Sect? What splendor do we, a small, newly established sect, have to speak of?"

The smile on Manager Sun's face froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

"Senior Su is too kind. Although the Misty Sect is newly established, its future is limitless. Who doesn't know that Senior Su is someone that three Nascent Soul cultivators value?"

Su Chun didn't reply, but just looked at him quietly.

Steward Sun felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, coughed twice, and took out a document from his storage bag.

"Senior Su, it's time to pay this year's land rent. As agreed, it's five thousand high-grade spirit stones."

Su Chun took the document and put it into her storage bag without even looking at it.

"Manager Sun, you've come all this way just to collect land rent?"

"Of course not."

Steward Sun hurriedly took out an exquisite jade box from his storage bag and presented it to Su Chun with both hands.

"This is a small gift, nothing more, but please accept it, Senior Su."

Su Chun didn't take it, but just looked at the jade box with a slight frown.

"Steward Sun, what do you mean by this?"

Manager Sun's smile became even more solicitous.

"Senior Su, to be honest, my daughter, Sun Wanqing, has been extremely fascinated by the path of cultivation since childhood. Although she has served in the Tian Ce Prefecture for many years, she has never been able to find a suitable master. She heard that the Misty Sect only accepts female disciples and has strict rules, so she thought..."

"She wants to join the Misty Sect?"

Su Chun interrupted him.

Manager Sun nodded, his eyes full of anticipation.

Su Chun's gaze fell on Sun Wanqing.

"You wish to join the Misty Sect?"

Sun Wanqing quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply to Su Chun.

"This junior, Sun Wanqing, humbly requests that Senior Su accept me as a student."

Su Chun looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"The Misty Sect accepts disciples based on their aptitude and temperament, without considering their background or family history. I have already examined your aptitude; you have three spiritual roots, which is not bad. However, your temperament still needs further examination."

Sun Wanqing looked up, her eyes filled with surprise.

"Thank you, Senior Su."

"Don't thank me yet."

Su Chun waved her hand.