I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

Chen Fan pointed toward the canyon. "Over the next month, we have to move many of the buildings out of this canyon and build a city outside of it. For instance, we can’t have things like farmland inside the caves."

"All of the Ghost Plants we harvested this time must be planted."

"Any medicinal herbs also need to be transplanted."

"The Jade Scrolls we brought back from the Pill Sect contain instructions on planting and caring for medicinal herbs. You should all study them whenever you have time."

Then, he continued, "Next is the Celestial Granary Pavilion. It will be responsible for managing the Mortal Realm’s storage. Exotic Treasures, Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, Ghost Stones, Martial Arts, Ancient Texts, and so on will all be stored there."

"We won’t have separate pavilions like a Spirit Treasure Pavilion or a Library Pavilion."

"Everything will be stored in one place."

"The first Pavilion Master will be Wang Kui. There is no Vice Pavilion Master for the time being."

He pulled an Identity Token from his robes and handed it to Wang Kui. "You have a great responsibility. You’ll be in charge of all the Mortal Realm’s resources. Any loss, no matter how small, will not be tolerated. You must be diligent."

"Next, the Commerce Pavilion. Wang Mazi, you will be its first Pavilion Master. You’ll have full authority over the upcoming auction. Once the rainy season is over, you need to quickly assemble merchant caravans, build outposts along the routes, and establish trade networks with other factions."

"The Battle Pavilion. Zhou Mo, you will be the Pavilion Master, and Big Fish will be the Vice Pavilion Master."

"You will be responsible for the day-to-day security of the Mortal Realm’s camp and city, as well as for external operations. You both need to raise your Cultivation levels as quickly as possible."

"The Punishment Pavilion. Lame Monkey, you will be its Pavilion Master. You’ll be responsible for internal oversight and have the authority to supervise all other Pavilion Masters. You will pass judgment on anyone who violates the Mortal Realm’s rules, thereby upholding them, and you’ll also be in charge of interrogations and the like."

"The Dark Pavilion."

After a brief pause, Chen Fan pulled out another Token and looked at Shao Qiu, who sat nearby with a solemn expression. "It will be responsible for external assassinations and intelligence gathering for the Mortal Realm."

"You must quickly establish an intelligence network for the Mortal Realm and develop assassination capabilities. Do not disappoint me."

"Xiaoyu, take the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage back to Jiangbei City. Bring back the Wild Wolf Gang and recruit a group of workers."

"The rest of you may go and select your subordinates now."

「Outside the City Wall.」

The members of the Hill and Valley Wang Family and the Jiangbei Chen Family stood on the ground, anxiously awaiting their fate.

"Oh, right."

"Last night, Xiaoyu used Cloud Cloth to fashion ten long robes. There’s a custom-made one for each of you. Go get them from Xiaoyu."

Having done all that, Chen Fan stretched lazily and headed into the camp.

The basic framework of the Mortal Realm was now in place.

He needed to go catch up on his sleep.

He hadn’t slept well at all during the rainy season, constantly on edge. Now that it was over, he could finally get some decent rest for a few days.

In the past few days, not a single Ghost Object had charged the camp.

After the rainy season, the Ghost Objects generally stopped attacking the Ghost Fire.

...

"Hehehe... hehehe..."

Wang Kui stood outside the City Wall, gazing at a copper mirror hanging on the cliff face and admiring his new attire with deep satisfaction. It had been made by the Logistics Pavilion.

A long robe made from Cloud Cloth.

It was entirely crimson.

The chest was emblazoned with the words "Celestial Granary Pavilion" and the Mortal Realm Banner, signifying his position as the Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm’s Celestial Granary Pavilion. The Mortal Realm now had standardized uniforms.

Only Pavilion Masters were allowed to wear crimson robes.

Their subordinates all wore black.

Chen Fan wore cyan.

These were official robes. While someone like Shao Qiu also had one, he obviously wouldn’t wear a bright crimson robe to carry out an assassination.

Winter had arrived, and the temperature had begun to drop.

Yet, wearing the robe, he felt no chill. It wasn’t heavy, either; he could barely feel its weight. He glanced down again at the Celestial Granary Pavilion Master’s Identity Token in his hand.

He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

’The Mortal Realm is on the right track.’

’And I’ve finally gotten my wish.’

’This is a fine look.’

He began to look forward to the auction a month from now. That would be the day of his official public debut. From then on, he would have his own proper title in the martial world.

Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm’s Celestial Granary Pavilion.

A fine, resounding title.

No longer a lowly title like "Manager of the Hill and Valley Wang Family Site No. 17."

...

Qi Chong and Ah Le walked side by side outside the camp, pacing back and forth before a crowd of people, putting on a show of selecting suitable subordinates.

In reality, they just couldn’t resist showing off.

Before, at the Pingtian Commerce Association, the two of them had been at the lowest rank, farming land and raising pigs.

They’d had the lowest status.

Now, they had undergone a complete transformation.

They had become men of status.

"Huh?"

Ah Le suddenly noticed a middle-aged man in the crowd trying to avoid his gaze. He couldn’t help but break into a wide grin. "Well, well, Supervisor. Fancy seeing you here."

"Pavilion Master Qi, I want this man. I think he’s perfect for raising pigs."

"Fine. He’s yours."

Hearing himself addressed as "Pavilion Master Qi" made Qi Chong practically weak in the knees. He beamed and immediately agreed. ’That has a nice ring to it, Pavilion Master Qi.’

’So satisfying.’

’Hearing it just makes you feel good all over.’

...

"..."

Shao Qiu wore a grim expression as he inspected the physique of each person, one by one. He was impatient to assemble the Dark Pavilion and carry out the Mortal Realm’s first assassination mission to prove himself.

But—

The potential of the people before him was just too poor.

It wasn’t that their Cultivation was low.

A low Cultivation level wasn’t an issue. With the Yunling Pavilion and the Domain Lord’s willingness to invest heavily, he could quickly raise their levels. The problem was that they were all too old.

There were hardly any young people.

The ideal candidates for the Dark Pavilion were young people, not these "old men" in their thirties and forties. He acknowledged that these men might have been skilled site managers, but they weren’t suitable to be trained into assassins who could successfully complete their missions.

’None of them are any good.’

’They’re all too old, with no potential.’

He looked around in frustration, at a complete loss for how to choose. He wanted to pick the best of a bad bunch, but there was no "best" to be found. They were all uniformly mediocre; not a single person stood out.

Just then—

The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage returned.

Xiaoyu returned with the members of the Wild Wolf Gang.

Shao Qiu froze for a second, then his eyes lit up and he strode forward to greet them. These people were all young—all good prospects. Picking ten of them would be easy.

Soon, he found an excellent candidate.

It was a skinny youth who looked a little nervous. His gaze was evasive, and he wasn’t powerfully built.

"Excellent."

He nodded in satisfaction, pulled a sticker bearing the words "Dark Pavilion" from his robes, and slapped it onto the young man’s chest before waving him off. "Go on."

This was the kind of person he wanted, not like the others who were already set in their molds.

Today was the day for picking personnel.

Whenever a Pavilion Master saw a suitable candidate, they could place their corresponding sticker on that person. If someone ended up with stickers from two different masters, the matter would be settled through negotiation later.

The goal was to make the best use of everyone’s talents.

...

"Uhm..."

Lame Monkey was alone in the camp, comparing the family rules of the Jiangbei Chen Family, the regulations of the Hill and Valley Wang Family, and the precepts of the Pill Sect, preparing to draft the first version of the Mortal Realm’s own rules.

He was the Punishment Pavilion Master, possessing the right to supervise other Pavilion Masters.

In other words.

Chen Fan had all but announced to everyone that Lame Monkey was his most trusted confidant.

This display of importance and trust filled him with an extraordinary passion for his work.

...

The entire Nameless Mountain had never been so lively.

Even Hey Hey, who had initially been hiding due to its social anxiety, had now emerged. It lay just outside the City Wall, its tail thumping excitedly against the ground.

Everyone was bustling about, busy with their own affairs.

Only Chen Fan...

...was currently in his room, catching up on his sleep. He slept soundly, as if lost in a sweet dream.

These last few days had been exhausting.

He needed to get some good sleep. The rest could be left for Lame Monkey and the others to handle.

...

ps: Qidian is running a new year-end event. If you reach a fan score of 3,000 for any of my books, you can claim my author fan title. Any eligible readers who are interested can go check it out.

I wasn’t originally going to mention this.

You can only choose one author’s fan title.

I assumed everyone would choose the bigger authors instead of me.

I was surprised to see that a dozen or so people chose me... I’m really touched. Thank you all so much.