Chapter 168 The first day of taking office (1)

Then, the bell of Huangfeng Valley rang to call the disciples of the sect to a meeting.

In the meeting hall of Yuanjiazhuang, all the cultivators of Huangfeng Valley who were at the foundation building stage and above in Yuanjialing, the eight Jindan elders, and the Yuanying supreme elder gathered.

The succession ceremony was in the usual simple style of Huangfeng Valley.
When everyone was present, Patriarch Linghu announced in public: Zhong Lingdao is old and has not much time left, so from now on the young man Sun Zecheng will take over as the head of the sect.

Messengers were sent to inform the other five sects of Yue State. Soon, the new leader of Huangfeng Valley, Sun Zecheng, was only 32 years old. At the same time, his deeds, such as bringing back a record-breaking elixir from the Blood Forbidden Zone, winning the first place in the Tianwutai discussion, and sniping dozens of demon monks at Jinguyuan, also spread.

As for Sun Zeben himself, he had just taken office and immediately had a lot of things to deal with.

"Zhong Lingdao, please hand over all the matters on hand to Sect Leader Sun, and you can assist him from the side." After Patriarch Linghu announced the appointment, he left a few words and left with a happy face, but everyone else, including the eight Jindan elders, all stayed.

"That's great! Huangfeng Valley needs a young and promising leader like Brother Sun! Congratulations, Master Sun!" Zhong Lingdao came up with a smile to congratulate Sun Zecheng on taking over as the leader. He looked very happy, as if he had been liberated. He didn't have the slightest bit of anger, depression, or other feelings that a leader should have.

"Master Zhong, you're too polite! What's the matter that needs to be dealt with so urgently?"

Sun Zecheng had just returned today when he was called by Patriarch Linghu, who then immediately summoned all the staff to take over. Before leaving, Patriarch Linghu specifically instructed Master Zhong to hand over the matters at hand to Sun Zecheng. How could Sun Zecheng not know that there were a lot of things waiting for him?

"Reporting to Master Sun, there are indeed a few things."

"The first thing is that the Yanyue Sect and other five sects have agreed to jointly seize Linglong Mountain and Beiliang Country... We have already reported this to the Grand Elder, but he has not spoken yet."

"The second thing is that the Nine Nations Alliance requested that people be sent to take turns guarding the border... We have already reported this to the Grand Elder, but he has not spoken yet."

"The third matter is the offerings from the elders... We have already reported this to the Grand Elder, but he has not spoken yet."

"The fourth matter is the salary of the foundation-building managers and disciples... We have already reported this to the Grand Elder, but he has not spoken yet."

"The fifth thing is the salary of the Qi Refining disciples and the Foundation Establishment Pills... We have already reported this to the Grand Elder, but he has not spoken yet."

……

Zhong Lingdao said that at the end of every matter, "We have reported this matter to the Grand Elder, but the Grand Elder has not spoken yet."
Sun Zecheng now understood why Elder Linghu couldn't wait to arrest him as the head of the sect as soon as he sensed his return.

It turns out that as the leader of the sect, Zhong Lingdao is just a mouthpiece, leaving everything to Patriarch Linghu to handle!

Besides, the fact that Linghu Patriarch did not express his opinion was itself a statement.
the first thing,

Things like conquering Linglong Mountain. Linglong Mountain is just a small mountain range, and it would be very crowded even if a family lives there. Who would own it if we conquer it?

It is obvious that they belong to the extremely powerful Yanyue Sect!
In that case, why is there such a rush to attack Linglong Mountain?
The real job of attacking must be done by the Yanyue Sect!
In Huangfeng Valley, it is nothing more than negotiating an exchange of interests. If your Yanyue Sect gets Linglong Mountain, my Huangfeng Valley will get it. After the interests are negotiated, we will go to help Yanyue Sect!

These have not been negotiated yet. If we report to Patriarch Linghu, should we let him negotiate the details of profit distribution?

What do we need you, Master Zhong, for?
The second thing,

When we come to the Nine Nations Alliance, it is necessary to send people to participate in the border rotation battles.

This is the value exchange that the Nine Nations Alliance allows the Yellow Maple Valley and even the six factions of the Yue Kingdom to settle down in the Northern Liang Kingdom. There is nothing to say.

It's not a major war, and there's no need to send a Nascent Soul to take over the border duty. You can just send a Golden Core Elder to lead the others. Why do you need to ask for permission from Patriarch Linghu?

Starting from the third thing, all of them are about the sect’s resources, treatment, and economic issues.

To put it bluntly, the problem is how to feed the entire Huangfeng Valley sect.

Well, the Yuanying Supreme Elder provides the highest combat power and the security of the sect. If he also has to consider how to feed such a large group of people in the sect, what are you, Sect Leader Zhong, doing?
Sun Zecheng now deeply understood why Elder Linghu couldn't wait to arrest him as the head of the sect as soon as he sensed his return.

After listening to the work handover from the former headmaster Zhong Lingdao, Sun Zecheng lay back in his chair, relaxed, and casually looked around at everyone in the meeting hall, and spoke calmly:
"First of all, Linglong Mountain is too small to accommodate two sects. Let Yanyue Sect fight, and our Huangfeng Valley can only go to lend a helping hand."

"However, with Yuanjialing as the center, the territories of the three surrounding Jindan sects will belong to our Huangfeng Valley. In exchange, we will form a new situation after the six sects occupy Beiliang Country. That's it!"

Sun Zecheng looked at the map and made seemingly random arrangements, so that most of the passages from Beiliang Kingdom to Yu Kingdom were in the hands of Huang Fenggu.

"Should we report this to Elder Linghu?" Zhong Lingdao asked.

Sun Zecheng thought to himself: What is there to report? Linghu Patriarch was annoyed that he had to find him for big and small matters, so he changed the leader. He said casually: "No need, I can just take care of such a small matter."

A group of foundation-building stewards who were used to seeing Master Zhong report everything to the ancestor looked at the new master in surprise. Not even the Golden Core Elders dared to make the final decision on such a matter. Was it really a matter that a foundation-building master could make the final decision at will? Didn't he know that the master of Huangfeng Valley was just a senior steward?
Zhong Lingdao wanted to say that this was no small matter, but Sun Zecheng waved his hand to interrupt him.
"Ancestor Linghu will not have any objections."

It’s good that you have opinions. You don’t have to be the leader anymore.

The second thing is to send Jindan elders to the border to take turns on duty, and the third thing is the offerings and treatment of the elders.

The salary issue hasn't been resolved yet and they're already talking about rotation. The honorable Jindan Elder is being asked to do the work before the money has been agreed upon. This is the wrong order!
"Let's start with the third thing first. What is the specific situation of this matter? What are your opinions, elders?" Sun Zecheng skipped the second question.

Just now, Zhong Lingdao only said that the sect moved to Beiliang Kingdom, and the income dropped sharply, making it impossible to maintain the original offerings from the elders, but he did not elaborate.

This group of Jindan elders did not leave after Linghu Patriarch left, not to congratulate Sun Zecheng on his appointment as the head of the sect. Needless to say, they must have stayed for the treatment of offerings.

When the elders heard Sun Zecheng talking about this, they looked at him in different ways, but none of them said anything.

As for the foundation-building managers, their looks seemed to be those who were just watching the fun.

"No one is talking? What's going on, Master Zhong?" Sun Zecheng was puzzled and had to ask the former master Zhong Ling first.

"Reporting to Sect Master Sun, it is like this. After moving to Beiliang Country, the sect's income has dropped sharply. It is really impossible to sustain it, so we can only cut expenses and tide over the difficulties together, but..."

Sect Leader Zhong hesitated to speak.

Shouldn't this be discussed openly? Why is he hesitant to speak? Sun Zecheng was puzzled.

"If you guys are all silent, let me do it!" Finally an elder spoke. It was Sun Zecheng's master Li Huayuan.

"Master, please speak."

Li Huayuan was very pleased with Sun Zecheng's call of "Master". He said loudly, "Good disciple! You are the head of the sect now. Do you think it is reasonable?"

"It's difficult to move to Beiliang Country. Everyone knows that. Half a year ago, Sect Leader Zhong cut everyone's tributes in half, and no one said anything."

"But now they have to cut it by another 80%! Is this still possible?"

"What? After a 50% discount, there is another 20% discount, which means it is only 10% of the original discount? Such a drastic reduction! How can we survive like this?"

Sun Zecheng was wondering when Master Li Huayuan started to talk about the truth. Then he heard Li Huayuan say that after cutting it in half, he would have to reduce the offerings by another 80%. He couldn't help but blurt it out.

"Isn't it! The former Sect Leader Zhong only knew how to cut the offerings!" Li Huayuan took the lead, and seeing Sun Zecheng's attitude, Elder Du also followed suit and accused the former Sect Leader Zhong Lingdao.

"It is true that the original offering is too little." The other Jindan elders were more restrained. They did not blame Zhong Lingdao, but only emphasized that it was too little.

Only Elder Hongfu and Elder Lei Wanhe remained silent.

Being criticized by the two elders, Zhong Lingdao was sweating, really sweating on his forehead and nose.

He quickly explained: "The elders are aware of the situation in the valley. In fact, we have hardly made any income since we moved to Yuanjiazhuang more than a year ago. We have been living off our savings."

Sun Zecheng was clear about the situation in Yuanjiazhuang. That income was not enough to support the Yuan family, let alone Huangfeng Valley.

But, after more than a year, with such a large sect and so many people, are they still just sitting there waiting for food? Sun Zecheng was speechless.

"Reducing it by half is already too much. How can we reduce it further?" Sun Zecheng asked puzzledly.

"That's right!" As soon as Sun Zecheng finished speaking, he received support from his master Li Huayuan and several other Jindan.

Zhong Lingdao had lost his status as the sect leader, and facing the pressure from several Jindan elders, he was sweating profusely and speechless.

"Master, elders, don't worry, let Master Zhong explain the situation clearly."

"There are too many people in the hall," Zhong Lingdao said while winking.

"It's okay, let's talk about it here. The fifth question is about the salary of foundation-building disciples. We are all disciples of the Yellow Maple Valley. If you have any difficulties, just talk about it."

"Okay! Since it's Master Sun's order, I'll just say it."

Zhong Lingdao simply let it go and settled the account in detail.

"There are only 800,000 spirit stones left in the entire Yellow Maple Valley."

"After moving here, there is no income from the spirit stone mine, no ground fire for refining instruments, and a very small medicine garden full of spirit herbs that are less than 50 years old, not even 100 years old. All the income is more than 10,000 yuan a year from the market. After half a year this year, the market income has dropped by 80%."

Sun Zecheng thought that if the salary was cut in half, everyone would be poor and dare not spend spirit stones. Naturally, the business in the market would be bad, and a sharp drop in income would be normal.

"Huangfeng Valley currently has one Yuanying Supreme Elder, who needs an annual offering of 200,000."

"Eight Jindan elders need fifty-six thousand offerings a year."

"There are about 230 people building the foundation, and the annual salary and offerings required are about ."

"There are 4,000 people in the Qi Refining Stage, and the annual salary required is 144,000."

"If we continue to cut the offerings by half, we will need to spend 257,500 per year, and 800,000 will only last for three years."

Three years. Three years may seem like a long time to ordinary people, but to a cultivator, three years is just a blink of an eye.

No wonder Zhong Lingdao looked relieved! Huangfeng Valley is almost unable to make ends meet!
(End of this chapter)