Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Lin Qingfeng stared at the face before him, a face that screamed "Praise me!", and the opening speech he had prepared caught in his throat.

A memory from the past crashed into his thoughts.

How long ago was that?

He remembered looking at those three hundred or so disciples of mixed quality—a pile of Pseudo Spirit Roots and garbage traits—and casually making a complaint.

'It's over.'

'Don't tell me my junior sister actually took that offhand complaint as a supreme directive?'

Lin Qingfeng turned his neck, his gaze sweeping over the dozen or so survivors.

He extended his Divine Sense over them.

Huh?

'Wait, the results aren't actually that bad?'

'It's just that all the ones with Pseudo Spirit Roots are gone. The ones left seem to be promising candidates.'

'The worst among them have Tri-Spirit Roots, and there are even a few with Dual-Spirit Roots. None of them are saddled with a bunch of garbage traits, either.'

'Especially that one person (Lu Ping). His aura was still deep and steady, and he even had a special trait: [Go with the Flow].'

[Go with the Flow: Requires a special event to unlock.]

'A trait that needs an event to unlock... now that's a rare find.'

The corners of Lin Qingfeng's mouth twitched, a conflicted expression on his face.

'Still, Junior Sister, aren't your screening criteria a bit too harsh and... ahead of their time?'

'Out of three hundred people, you only kept a dozen or so?'

'Are you trying to create a Hogwarts Slytherin House in the Cultivation Realm? Pushing some kind of cultivation pure-blood theory?'

'Or are you trying to copy Grindelwald and have elite cultivators rule the world?'

'The problem is, Junior Sister, aren't you a Muggle... bah, a mortal-born yourself? Is it really appropriate for you to be cherry-picking the elite like this?'

'No, that's not right. Muggles shouldn't have Spirit Roots. So you'd be considered a non-pure-blood yourself.'

'But you don't even meet this standard yourself. Is it really okay to be so demanding?'

'Emmm, although it is quite suitable for the Guixi Sect.'

'But having you do it... something just feels off.'

'And look at your skilled methods of exploitation. You're practically using them like Palus.'

'You've already learned the basics of the Guixi Sect's ways in that regard, but who taught you?!'

'It wasn't those junior brothers from the Beast Taming House in the Spirit Beast Garden on the back mountain of the Guixi Sect, was it? The ones who specialize in taming Palus? Did they give you private lessons behind my back? Look how skillfully you're using these Palus now!'

'In any case, it couldn't possibly be me who was the bad influence.'

'Yes, that's right. It must have been those evil junior brothers in the sect who turned you into this!'

On the surface, however, Lin Qingfeng maintained his profound and indifferent demeanor, while internally, he was roasting her nonstop.

Su Ling'er found it a little strange. 'Why isn't Senior Brother saying anything? Did I not do a good enough job?'

Her heart sank as her mind raced.

'That's it.'

'Senior Brother is a man of incredible stature. This level of screening is probably just the bare minimum in his eyes.'

'He must be displeased that I've spent so much time and still haven't managed to expel these last dozen or so stubborn fools whose hearts lean toward the demonic path!'

'Despite everything, these demonic-hearted fiends still dare to cling on and not leave. It's a disgrace to me as the guide personally appointed by Senior Brother!'

'Or perhaps…'

Su Ling'er stole a glance at her Senior Brother.

She thought of the clattering Spirit Stones in her storage pouch, and her cheeks flushed.

'Senior Brother works tirelessly, exhausting his mind and body day in and day out to fight the supreme Demon Venerable behind the Guixi Sect.'

'And I... I was just feeling smug about this little income of Spirit Stones!'

'I'm such a horrible person!'

'No!'

'I can't let Senior Brother down!'

A wave of guilt washed over Su Ling'er. She took a deep breath, made up her mind, and quickly reached into the storage pouch at her waist.

Lin Qingfeng had been about to lecture her a bit, but then he saw his junior sister pull out a pile of Spirit Stones and dump them all in front of him.

CLATTER—

A huge pile of Spirit Stones poured out, forming a small mountain in front of Lin Qingfeng.

This stunned everyone present.

Lin Qingfeng's eyelids twitched.

'Did this girl go rob someone?'

"Senior Brother!"

Su Ling'er cupped her fists, her voice clear and bright, echoing across the entire plaza.

"These are from the new disciples! They are grateful for Senior Brother's tireless efforts and offer these as a token of their respect!"

"They said that being able to join the Guixi Sect is all thanks to Senior Brother's boundless good fortune! With these Spirit Stones, they only hope to ease your burdens. Even if it's only enough to buy you a pot of Spirit Tea, they would consider it their honor!"

"As your junior sister, I am merely delivering this on their behalf. I haven't taken a single one for myself and dare not take any credit!"

Her speech was delivered with such resonance and was so deeply moving.

If you ignored the sour faces of the "new disciples," the scene could have won the Cultivation Realm's "Most Touching Moment of the Year" award.

Lu Ping: "..."

The undercover agents: "..."

'Who said that?'

'Who the hell said that?!'

'When did we ever say anything like that?'

'You clearly just stole it from us!'

'Buy a pot of Spirit Tea?'

'That's our hard-earned money!'

Several undercover agents from the righteous path were shaking with anger, gritting their teeth so hard they could shatter.

'Shameless!'

'Utterly shameless!'

'So this was all orchestrated by this so-called Senior Brother!'

'That Miss Su is nothing more than his enforcer.'

'The real bloodsucker is this man in dark robes before us, the one who looks so otherworldly and distinguished!'

'As expected of a den of demons! They even use a proxy to do the dirty work of exploiting disciples, all while trying to build a monument to their own virtue!'

Meanwhile, the undercover agents from the demonic path exchanged glances, a sense of awe rising in their hearts.

'This is a truly evil sect. Not only do they work people like animals, but they also make them cough up their money and then thank them for the privilege.'

'This is the art of handling subordinates!'

'This is the style of a true master of the demonic path!'

'It seems our previous methods were far too outdated.'

'We'll have to learn from this going forward.'

Lin Qingfeng looked at the Spirit Stones on the ground, then at Su Ling'er's "praise me, I'm so considerate" expression, and finally, his gaze landed on the disciples who, despite their faces being filled with grief and indignation, didn't dare to step forward and object.

An absurd thought popped into his head.

'Wait a second.'

'These people have been tormented all day, had all their money taken, and are on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.'

'And yet... they still haven't run away?'

'Seriously... Junior Sister is exploiting you this much, and you can still stand to stay here?'

'Not only have you not run, but you don't even dare to say a word in protest?'

'And some of you are even looking at me with a hint of... adoration and fanaticism?'

'Is there something wrong with you people? Are you just holding out so you can offer me tribute?'

He glanced down at the thirty-thousand-plus Spirit Stones in his possession.

'Emmm, alright then. I accept your kind intentions.'

'This junior sister of mine is a god-tier subordinate! Not only can she automatically screen for high-quality employees, but she also makes them incredibly loyal, has them exceed their KPIs, and even gets them to turn in their salaries?!'

'This art of managing subordinates... it's not bad at all!'

Any thought Lin Qingfeng had of lecturing her instantly flew to the furthest corners of his mind.

'Lecture her?'

'Lecture her my ass!'

'My junior sister has clearly and perfectly grasped my strategic directives!'

He reached out and, with a wave of his wide sleeve...

WHOOSH—

...the small mountain of Spirit Stones on the ground vanished instantly.

The motion was swift and stylish.

"Then again, since this is a token of my junior brothers' and sisters' sincerity..."

"...it would be rude of me to refuse."

The undercover agents' hearts turned to ice.

'He actually took them!'

'Without a shred of courtesy!'

'So he's not even trying to hide it, just doing it all out in the open? You could have at least said, "Don't let this happen again"!'

Seeing this, Su Ling'er breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to her face.

'Just as I expected!'

'Senior Brother accepted it!'

'This is his approval!'

'This is the greatest affirmation of my role as their guide!'

'It seems my understanding was completely correct. Senior Brother wants to use this method to squeeze every last drop of value from these demonic practitioners!'

After collecting the money, Lin Qingfeng looked at the disciples, who could barely stand. He mused internally, 'The main issue is that these Palus are hard to replace; they don't just respawn. You can work the common ones to death and they'll just respawn, but the rare ones need a bit of care.'

'This group of disciples should be considered the rare Palu series. You can't just exploit them to death. If they're all worked into the ground in a single day, then my junior sister's grasp of the Palu method is still too superficial.'

'These are promising candidates who come with their own cultivation base and decent aptitude. If they're gone, we'll have to wait for the next batch of newcomers, which is a lot of trouble.'

'We need sustainable development here. They can't be treated like the lowest-tier, consumable Palus. I should probably give my junior sister a few pointers on the Way of the Palu.'

"Junior Sister."

He called.

Su Ling'er immediately straightened her back, her expression solemn. "Ling'er is here!"

Lin Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze distant as he looked toward the fog-shrouded horizon.

"In all things, too much is as bad as too little."

"A bowstring pulled too taut will snap. A cup that is too full will overflow. A moon at its fullest is already beginning to wane."

"While it is important to select those with a firm Dao heart, one must not be too hasty. It must be done step by step."

*(Don't treat them like consumable, low-tier Palus!)*

At this point, he paused and took out a slightly smaller bag, which contained about a quarter of the huge sum from before.

He casually tossed the bag to Su Ling'er.

"Take these. You must understand the principle of alternating tension with relaxation. Proceed step by step. Haste makes waste."

"Remember, a small stream flows for a long time. The Guixi Sect is always behind you, watching!"

Having said all this, Lin Qingfeng felt as though he were radiating a holy light.

'Just listen to that.'

'I'm so considerate of my subordinates. So much better than my junior sister's Way of the Palu!'

His words were cryptic and full of cultivation philosophy.

The group of undercover agents was once again shaken.

'The Senior Brother gave a portion of the Spirit Stones back to Miss Su!'

'What does this mean?'

'Is he saying that as long as you can reach Miss Su's position, you can exploit those below you, offer tribute to those above, and in return receive rewards and a cut of the profits from exploiting the lower ranks?!'

'So this is the law of promotion in the Guixi Sect!'

Meanwhile, Lin Qingfeng looked at Su Ling'er's "I completely understand now" expression and breathed a sigh of relief internally.

'Looks like she really gets it this time.'

'It's great to have a tool... ah, no, a capable junior sister who can make money for me. As long as nothing major goes wrong and she doesn't end up screening out this batch of high-level Palus, it's all good.'

'The leader of a group of Aurors is actually a Muggle junior sister?'

'How interesting.'

And Su Ling'er, once again, understood perfectly!!!

'I was only thinking about using high-pressure tactics to drive away these stubborn fools who are drawn to the demonic path.'

'But Senior Brother sees much further than I do!'

'If I push them too hard, they might either act out of desperation, exposing internal strife within the sect and alerting others, or they might just flee and scatter across the Cultivation Realm. For a group so deeply ingrained with the demonic path, wouldn't that be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains?'

'Even worse, what if making too big of a scene attracts the attention of that supreme Demon Venerable pulling the strings from behind?'

'Senior Brother even gave me a share of the Spirit Stones to show me that I shouldn't have any worries and should just act freely!'

Su Ling'er's resolve hardened.

'That's right! There's no need to rush!'

'As for these stubborn fools who have strayed onto the demonic path, I must make them slowly realize, from the bottom of their hearts, just how wrong and hopeless their decision to join the demonic path truly was!'

'Senior Brother! Rest assured, I completely understand your meaning now. Leave the rest to me!!!'