Thunk!

  Ye Quanquan dropped the book she was reading and shot up in bed. She looked around the room a few times in an effort to find the source of the loud noise she'd just heard. Finally, she noticed a stone tablet on her desk that hadn't been there earlier.

  "Hello?" she called out uncertainly, but there was no answer.

  She cautiously got out of bed and walked over to her desk. Once she got closer to the stone tablet, she noticed that words had been etched into the stone.

  [I asked schor Feng Jin to recommend a teacher for young children.]

  [He spoke of you extremely highly.]

  [I am starting a small martial arts sect and am in need of capable assistants to help raise the first batch of young disciples.]

  [If you accept, you will be in charge of four female students, each about five years old, and will act as both their teacher and their caretaker.]

  [Food and housing will be provided.]

  [Your sary will be one gold coin per week.]

  [Additional benefits will be given depending on your performance.]

  [If you have any questions or need time to decide, just speak out loud.]

  "I accept!"

  Ye Quanquan yelled out her answer at the top of her lungs as soon as she read that her payment would be one gold coin per week. Her father had been directly employed by the city magistrate for almost twenty years, and he barely earned three gold coins each year! Now, at only fifteen, she would be making almost twenty times as much as her father. She felt like she was going to pass out from excitement.

  In fact, her mind had bnked out as soon as she'd seen the ludicrously high payment, so she had to go back and read exactly what she was signing up for all over again.

  Thunk!

  A second stone tablet fell next to the first, causing her desk to creak ominously. The two tablets then disappeared, only to reappear a moment ter, though significantly thinner and lighter this time.

  [Excellent! When will you be ready to leave?]

  "I need to pack some things and talk to my parents. Is two hours okay?"

  Her voice quivered a bit when she asked, as she was starting to feel extremely nervous. Her initial confusion and the excitement that had quickly followed had already started to fade, and she now realized that she must be communicating with a powerful immortal.

  'I'm being hired by an immortal? This is crazy!'

  Thunk!

  The first two tablets vanished and were repced by a third.

  [I'll be back in two hours to pick you up. Use this money to buy anything you want to bring with you.]

  A small wooden box nded next to the tablet, its contents emitting a metallic jingle.

  Ye Quanquan quickly stepped forward and opened the box, only to find that it was full of dozens of gold coins.

  "Yes!" she screamed excitedly, though it was unknown whether she was answering the immortal or shouting in excitement over her newfound wealth.

  After grabbing the box, she quickly raced out of the room while shouting for her mother.

  ~-o-O-o-~

  "That's one down, Fluffytail. I'll need to hire a whole pack of schors to teach and take care of newly recruited disciples eventually, but it's a start."

  Fu Anwen scratched the little deer's ears and stroked her fur while he talked.

  Queen Fluffytail, who was already used to this strange and noisy creature who occasionally brought her delicious berries, closed her eyes in contentment.

  All Fu Anwen needed to do now was pick up some little girls.

  ~-o-O-o-~

  "...and the children just need to sit down on the stone ptform and close their eyes," Ye Quanquan expined to the skeptical matron of the Red Street Orphanage.

  In the backyard of the orphanage, Ye Quanquan was expining to an old woman how the immortal master's test would be performed. Off to the side was a raised stone ptform about fifteen feet long on each side. Three of its sides were closed off by a small fence, while a set of stairs led up the open side.

  Unbeknownst to the people standing around the ptform, below its surface were seven yers of an intricately complex Illusion Formation stacked with a Mind Dampening Formation and various other simple formations to dispy the test results. However, even with its extremely high level of overall complexity, Fu Anwen wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the worst Illusion Formations ever made.

  While he could technically create formations at the level of a skilled Foundation Establishment cultivator, he by no means had the same level of strength as one, much less a cultivator's ability to manipute qi. On top of that, the only materials he'd had to work with were stone and a small supply of precious gems.

  A good Illusion Formation would contain one or more spirit stones imbued with a cultivator's mental power and carefully crafted imagery. These scenes would then be dispyed to anyone who fell into the illusion.

  Fu Anwen's formation, however, clearly didn't have any spirit stones in it. Instead, his illusion had been crafted using thousands of tiny and intricate stone carvings. While this method worked, anyone possessing a strong will would instantly see through the illusion and break out of it, which included practically every martial artist and cultivator.

  He only hoped that his terrible formation would be sufficient for testing small children.

  "And no harm will come to the children?"

  "Of course not," Ye Quanquan insisted. "The immortal is looking to recruit sect members. He has no intention of hurting any children."

  After thinking for a while, the matron still couldn't make a decision.

  "Would it be alright if I tested the formation first?"

  Thunk!

  The matron jumped, then turned and read the text carved into the huge stone obelisk that had just appeared on the ground next to her.

  [Of course. It only contains a small and simple test suitable for children.]

  The matron offered a slight bow to the rge stone obelisk, then slowly climbed up the ptform, sat down, and closed her eyes.

  A blue light suddenly enveloped her body.

  Ye Quanquan watched for a few minutes before the blue light vanished, at which point a green light took its pce.

  The orphanage's matron opened her eyes and blinked a few times before standing up and walking down the steps.

  "That was the entire test?"

  She sounded a bit incredulous.

  Thunk!

  A new obelisk repced the first one.

  [Yes. It's a very simple test to see if young children are suited for my sect.]

  [A green light indicates passing.]

  [Though that only applies to young children.]

  She nodded slowly.

  "And what does this sect of yours do, exactly?"

  Thunk!

  [We are the Farming Sect.]

  [Our disciples learn how to read and write, practice farming techniques ranging from the simplest to the most complex, and eventually master martial arts, all of which are tailored to assist in the farming process.]

  [With sufficient training, a single disciple will be able to feed tens of thousands of people.]

  [Disciples with the appropriate talents will also master pnt-reted skills, such as cooking or making medicine.]

  The matron nodded again, understanding the purpose of the strange test a bit more after hearing the expnation.

  "Your sect certainly sounds more noble than any others I've heard of. The sole motivation of those sects seems to be finding the best way to gain enough strength to kill their enemies. I truly hope you find success. Wait a moment while I fetch the children."

  Once she finished talking, the matron turned and walked into the orphanage.

  ~-o-O-o-~

  Twenty-seven children between four and seven years of age were sitting cross-legged on the testing ptform, each surrounded by a blue light.

  Over time, the blue lights began to be repced by red and green lights, though one little boy was surrounded by a bright white light. Soon, the children began opening their eyes. A small stone medallion plopped into the ps of the first four girls whose lights had turned green.

  Thunk!

  A rge stone plopped down next to Ye Quanquan. After reading it, she turned to the children with a smile and began announcing the results.

  "The four of you who received a medallion have been chosen to become the immortal's disciples today. The rest of you who have a green or white light around you have also passed the test. Please come over here."

  One young boy and eleven young girls excitedly hurried down the steps and clustered around the young schor.

  She looked down at the boisterous children with a smile.

  "The immortal is only selecting four new disciples today, but since the rest of you have already passed the test, you will be taken to the sect ter on. You may have to wait a few months, though."

  If anything, the eight children without medallions became even more excited when they heard that they would also become an immortal's disciples. Even if they ended up having to wait for many years, that was still countless times better than remaining at the orphanage, where their future prospects would be very poor.

  "Those of you without medallions, run along. I need to talk to the other four now."

  "Okay!"

  "Thank you, dy!"

  "Don't forget to come back!"

  The kids said their goodbyes before running off, with one of the little girls even running up to give Ye Quanquan a hug. The children who had failed the test could be seen chasing after those who passed and asking questions.

  Now that she was alone with the four new disciples, Ye Quanquan crouched down and smiled at them.

  "If you have any belongings to gather or people you want to say goodbye to, go ahead and take care of that now. We'll be leaving in one hour. Don't make the immortal wait!"

  "I won't!"

  "Yes!"

  "Thank you!"

  The fourth little girl simply nodded, and all four of the girls ran into the orphanage. In the background, conversations could be heard.

  One of the boys who had failed the test asked, "So we weren't supposed to try to catch the deer?"

  "I don't think so. I fed it one of my dumplings," replied one of the girls whose light had turned green.

  "I gave it both of mine," said the boy who had passed with a white light.

  The other boys were all upset. Every single one of them had tried to catch the deer so that they could eat it.

  The one girl who had failed the test compined, "That test was too hard! What starving person would willingly give away their food to some dumb animal?"

  Fu Anwen was listening to the children's chatter while lying on the ground next to the sleeping Queen Fluffytail.

  'A good person,' he mentally answered the little girl's question, disappointed that so many of them had failed his easy test. 'Anyone who would let this little cutie starve has no pce in my sect.'

  The illusion had been designed as a perfect test of a person's character.

  A starving child was gifted two dumplings by a friendly neighborhood aunty. After the child ran off and sat down next to a tree to eat the dumplings, a baby deer walked out from behind the tree on shaky legs.

  "Maaaah!"

  The hungry deer's cry sounded extremely pitiful.

  The test's results had surprised him, to say the least.

  At this point in the test, the children were supposed to give either one or both of their dumplings to the baby deer. The true test wasn't to see whether the children would give the deer any dumplings or not. It was to see how long they had to think before they did it.

  Did they immediately give a dumpling to the deer without having to think about it first? That automatic selflessness was a sign of a pure heart, and a person like that was perfectly suited to join the Farming Sect.

  Did they wait a long time, pondering over their options and weighing the pros and cons before finally giving the deer a dumpling? In that case, they might not be suited to a sect where the pros were mostly feeling good about helping others, while the cons were working hard to benefit others.

  Honestly, he had only added a failure condition to the formation in order to weed out any errors caused by using low-grade materials. When he heard the boys talking about how they had tried to catch and eat Queen Fluffytail, he had been shocked and appalled.

  People like them could never join his sect. They would never farm for the benefit of others.

  Luckily, everyone who had passed the test had taken about the same amount of time. If there had been enough spots avaible, he would have accepted them all right away.

  The boy who had earned a white light by giving all of his food to the hungry deer had been a pleasant surprise. That boy was suitable to join Fu Anwen's Medicine Sect as soon as it was up and running. For now, though, he could go ahead and join the Farming Sect. For new disciples, there wasn't much of a difference between the two sects, anyway.

  For the next hour, Fu Anwen occasionally participated in the conversation Ye Quanquan was having with Matron Baijue, though his contributions were always punctuated by the loud thunk of heavy stones hitting the ground.

  Before he left, he buried a Protection Formation beneath the orphanage. As long as they were on the premises, nobody would be able to harm the matron or any of the children unless they exceeded the Foundation Establishment realm.

  After blinking the four new disciples and Ye Quanquan into his inner space and blinking a small box of gold and silver coins into the matron's bedroom, Fu Anwen left Valiant City. It was time to bring the disciples to the sect.

  ~-o-O-o-~

  The return trip was a lot more leisurely than his trip to the city, which had been a flurry of rapid blinks so fast that they'd prevented Fu Anwen from even seeing his surroundings.

  He wanted to take some time to explore a bit while chatting with the young dy and little girls who had just become part of his sect, especially considering the fact that they were the first human visitors he'd brought into his inner space.

  Of course, his chatting still took the form of words carved into rock. Letting them know that their new sect master was six years old and two feet tall didn't seem like a good idea. He had a feeling that any trust they'd developed in him would instantly disappear, and reasonably so.

  For now, at least, nobody could know what he was doing. His mother would probably spank his butt bloody if she found out that he was going around dragging young girls out of their homes to join some farming sect.

  The whole idea of a six-year-old creating a sect and recruiting disciples was pretty crazy, to be honest. However, Fu Anwen wasn't an ordinary six-year-old. Between his special ability and his powerful formations, he had a feeling that he was even stronger than his father, and his father ruled the entire kingdom!

  If his father could run a kingdom, why couldn't Fu Anwen, who was stronger, run a measly little sect?

  And it's not like anyone was losing out, anyway. The education and training the sect provided for its disciples was free, and it was also much higher quality than what they could receive anywhere else.

  Fu Anwen's visitors were all fascinated by his inner space, especially when they saw the numerous Luminous Pearls floating in the air like artificial stars. The area they were in contained buildings just like the ones they'd be living in along with many different kinds of pnts, but it was surrounded by high stone walls that prevented them from seeing any other parts of the space.

  [For now, just start teaching them to read using the fshcards I showed you earlier.]

  [There's also a set of the sect's introductory books for each of you in your new house's library.]

  [Once you've had a chance to read them, you can spend some time each day teaching from those as well.]

  Fu Anwen was having a stone-based conversation with Ye Quanquan while the four little girls excitedly searched through the house after learning it was the same as the one they'd be living in.

  "Yes, sect master."

  During their conversation, he noticed that Ye Quanquan had a very impressive physique. He wasn't sure whether the young dy exercised frequently or if she simply had a naturally athletic body, but she was clearly in excellent physical condition. Her body was practically built to practice martial arts.

  While she wasn't a true member of the Farming Sect and wouldn't be given the sect's unique martial arts techniques, if she proved to be a person of good character and did a good job, he would be happy to pass along some suitable martial arts to her.

  Maybe he could even create a special defender role in his sect for those who looked after the children. They could even have their own customized martial arts path that focused on defensive moves.

  He would need to think further on the idea, but he was already feeling an itch to get started creating a new custom set of Body Refining and Internal Energy arts.