Aotian was sitting cross-legged, while extremely complex patterns unfolded within his roots, releasing energy throughout his body.

His cells became highly active under the effect of the patterns and, as they absorbed the energy, they slowly strengthened.

Then, under external changes, a discreet golden energy entered his body, interacted with the patterns, was refined, and directed to the cells, which began devouring that new energy with an appetite countless times greater than before.

It was the purified energy released by the Dew of the Dragon's Lament, which floated in Bao Wuji's hands nearby.

Aotian felt his cells almost scream with joy as they strengthened. Even the discomfort of body refinement disappeared under the effect of this energy.

From Bao Wuji's perspective, Aotian could feel that Rihai also seemed much more relaxed while refining her body than usual. Although he imagined it could not completely nullify her body's pain when manipulating spiritual energy, it still had to be several times more comfortable, which filled him with relief.

He felt much better thinking about that. After all, who enjoys watching their wife suffer? Aotian certainly did not.

Thus, the two progressed rapidly under the effect of the energy released by the dew, focusing solely on body cultivation.

Rihai could not cultivate normally before repairing her roots, and Aotian considered that energy too arrogant and powerful to be used in the Golden Core, which would slightly shake the perfect foundation he wanted to establish.

Therefore, he decided first to raise his body refinement to the level of the Golden Core, pairing it with his cultivation realm, which, with the dew, would take only about ten days, and then stop using it, only employing it to enhance his body cultivation whenever his real cultivation advanced.

And then, when he reached the Nascent Soul realm, he would use the dew's energy for real cultivation, accelerating his advancement speed.

He didn't know how long he could use this special energy before his body developed a resistance to it. But he wasn't worried — there would always be wonders in the world capable of accelerating cultivation. As long as this energy gave him the initial push, it would already be extremely valuable.

'Due to the damage to her roots, Rihai should take a few more days than I did to reach the limit of her body refinement — the perfection of Foundation Establishment. Once she reaches that point, I will have to help her advance to the Golden Core realm in body before cultivation.'

Aotian, using his other minds, pondered eagerly about that day.

He then shifted his focus to Tian Zhu, who was in the main hall at the mountain peak, listening to Jian Huiyin's reports before him.

"Sect Leader, the eighteen cities around the mountain are already entering the final stage of settlement. In total, the Bamboo Sword Sect has migrated one million mortals to each city, according to your orders not to bring too many," she explained with a serious voice, her beautiful face remaining mostly expressionless.

Tian Zhu nodded and turned his gaze to Xuan Zhen, inner elder of the Formation Pavilion.

"Reporting to the leader, with the materials that arrived, the new arrays will soon be installed in the cities. We believe the vital trace array is the most suitable for an affiliated cultivation city. A total suppression array could also be installed, but in that case the cities would likely never turn into cultivation cities, which I believe is not desirable," Xuan Zhen explained with a serious look.

Tian Zhu pondered for a moment and nodded.

"The vital trace array will be sufficient for now. A partial suppression one should also be installed, and the controller will be assigned to the city's protector," he ordered.

With the arrival of the new materials, and after robbing several sects, he had already synthesized the auxiliary arts inheritances to the Nascent-Tier level and, combined with the feedback of a Mahayana, the formations Aotian could create were far more powerful and diverse.

Although there were no spiritual veins to sustain such arrays, the elevation of his knowledge allowed him to deduce some lower-level formations that were still useful. Even though they were limited by the scarce first-level ambient spiritual energy outside the sect, they could be compensated with spirit stones, as long as they did not remain active all the time.

The vital trace array was viable, as it did not consume much energy. What it did was store the auras of cultivators who entered the city and, if the use of spiritual energy reached a certain level, record the information of who used it, when, and where. Thus, in case of crime, it was easy to identify the culprit.

Of course, like anything, it could still be bypassed by special means, but considering it was a synthesized inheritance, the cultivator would need to be very strong and have exceptional methods to trick such an array created by Aotian.

The total suppression array, on the other hand, simply suppressed someone's cultivation, preventing any use of energy in the area where the formation was established. The problem was that this type of array consumed a lot of energy and, relying only on the ambient energy outside the mountain — even after the improvement occurring due to the sect's intervention — it could still only suppress Qi Refiners.

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And if Qi Refiners reached the city, they would not want to stay, since they could neither cultivate nor defend themselves within it. Thus, the cities would forever remain only for mortal use, which was not what Aotian wanted.

Therefore, it was better to build a partial suppression array, which normally remained inactive and consumed no energy, being activated when necessary to suppress a limited area. Using spirit stones, it could also restrict stronger cultivators, which would be better for the development of the cities.

If a powerful cultivator appeared and the protector could not defeat him immediately, the city could suffer great damage during the fight. With the suppression array, such a situation could be avoided.

Having defined the applications of the arrays, Tian Zhu turned his gaze to Wen Tai, inner elder of the Heritage Pavilion.

"Sect Leader, the schools in the eighteen cities are already ready for operation. Competent teachers have been selected, and we have provided the curricula they will follow. For now, it is mainly literacy, mathematics, social studies, and ethics, with great focus on the latter. After all, in the future, most citizens will probably gain power, and it is better to cultivate the correct mindset in them from the start."

The middle-aged man, with a serious and scholarly appearance, explained with his hands behind his back and his posture upright.

"And sciences?" Tian Zhu asked calmly, already knowing the answer, though Jian Huiyin nearby did not.

Wen Tai shook his head.

"We have not included it in the curriculum yet. Spiritual energy gravely affects the laws of physics, and much needs to be studied and documented before any results can be obtained or taught."

"The Dao and the laws likely originated from this process of fusion between these two forces, which greatly obscures the lines of understanding. Results cannot be foreseen in the short term, but some practical applications, even without full comprehension, can still be developed. That is why we established two research departments in each city, gathering scholars among mortals as well as cultivators from all regions under our sect's influence. Together, we will study both the origins and practical applications of what we have named spiritual science."

"We also created a rudimentary reward system, which will encourage competitiveness among these different institutes. Furthermore, we will establish result exchange events between these entities, which will occur periodically."

He explained, with a small proud smile appearing on his serious face.

Tian Zhu tapped his finger on the throne, thoughtful, before finally declaring in a firm tone:

"This is good. But I want strict oversight of both the results and the members. There must be no data leaks, whether to outsiders or family members. If there are no results, that is not a problem, but if there are and they leak, it could be disastrous for the world."

His tone was heavy, and Wen Tai put away his smile, nodding seriously.

"Do not worry, Leader, we have not relaxed on the security protocols. Although I wish knowledge to spread through the world, I am aware that not all knowledge should become public."

Receiving the elder's serious assurance, Tian Zhu nodded.

Aotian, though he was speaking to himself, was extremely serious about the matter. Just imagining a spiritual nuclear bomb already made his hair stand on end.

But he would still proceed with the studies. This could bring him incredible insight into the laws, which was related to his ascension. And it would also be great for the mortal side of the cultivation world if some good inventions came out of it.

Meanwhile, Jian Huiyin, who was listening nearby, could not keep her expressionless face, and her mouth twitched helplessly.

'Gentlemen, could you avoid talking about the origin of things as mythical and sinister as the dao and laws so simply in front of me? I am getting a bit of chills,' she thought, goosebumps rising on her arms, never having heard anything like that before.

Her mind also filled with questions, such as: what the hell is science?

Unaware of the beautiful woman's complicated thoughts, Tian Zhu's gaze passed over Bao Hui, but did not linger.

The sect's finances had already been reported and were going very well. The disciples explored the region and brought back many resources, making the sect self-sufficient, while also becoming stronger and better structured.

The other pavilions followed the same line, and there was not much else to be reported.

"Good. I am satisfied with the sect's growth, and all the elders will receive a bonus this month. You may head to the Treasure Pavilion later for collection."

Tian Zhu nodded, his face remaining expressionless, but his words showed satisfaction. Then, he began giving successive orders:

"With everything going well, we will begin the next stage of the sect's growth. Refinement Pavilion, Formation Pavilion, I want you to create a powerful challenge tower. This tower must have several floors and accommodate different environments for various spiritual beasts. Later, Elder Snake will go to one of the mid-continents and bring back a variety of beasts, placing them in this new structure."

"The requirements for this tower are that it must identify disciples by their Token, allowing entry with registered names. Both the disciples and the spiritual beasts inside the tower must have their vital points protected by formations. As for the rest of the body, you need not worry. The tower must recognize the defeat of both the beast and the disciple, protect them, and take them outside for medical care. Some requirements, restrictions, and rewards will be defined later to prevent abuse of the system."

"The beasts will be cared for by the Beast Pavilion, trained, taught, and strengthened. I want beasts experienced in combat, growing in skill and strength together with the disciples. When disciples are mortally wounded and considered defeated, one member of the Alchemy Pavilion will be on standby to treat them, but contribution points will be charged for the treatment. After all, if disciples receive free treatment, they may end up deliberately throwing themselves into death's claws, and that is something I do not want to see. Even without dying, they still need to pay a painful price, so they do not forget the importance of life."

"The beasts, on the other hand, do not need to pay anything, as they will already be serving the sect by being constantly challenged. On the contrary, we will give them opportunities to grow beyond what they could originally. Understood?"

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

Various cries of confirmation echoed from all the pavilions involved in the mission.

Waiting for the responses to cease, Tian Zhu gave his final order:

"Good. Lastly, each pavilion will organize an internal competition, with a few days of difference between each one. And in one year, when the cities outside the mountain are more structured, we will announce to all regions under our domain a grand competition, open to any participant, with the champions receiving rich rewards."

"As for the internal competition, it will take place in four months. At the end of this meeting, immediately announce it to the disciples. Now, let us discuss the rewards for this event…"

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