Chapter 63 Target Determination

Translator: 549690339

“Alright, alright, thank you, Senior Bai.”

Jiang Cheng hung up the communication talisman.

Without a doubt, Bai Wendao was very reliable. After Jiang Cheng had asked him to inquire about Tongtian Sect and Linlan Sect, Bai Wendao made excellent use of his connections in Wuyue, and within just one day, he had gathered all the information Jiang Cheng needed from various friends.

Jiang Cheng had not simply asked “Which is better, Tongtian Sect or Linlan Sect?”—a question that is subjective and varies from person to person.

He mainly had Bai Wendao inquire about the organizational structure of Tongtian Sect and Linlan Sect.

Based on the organizational structure of an Immortal Sect, one can more accurately judge whether the sect is intense or not.

If an Immortal Sect excels in labor dispatch and the number of core Inner Sect Disciples exceeds that of the ordinary Inner Sect Disciples, then it would be hard for that sect not to be intense.

Fortunately, both Tongtian Sect and Linlan Sect are not adept at labor dispatching. Their disciple divisions mainly consist of two categories: Inner Sect and Outer Sect.

The Inner Sect focuses on cultivation while the Outer Sect focuses on industry, each without conflicting with the other.

However, the organizational structures of these two Immortal Sects are still completely different.

The structure of Tongtian Sect is similar to that of a milk tea shop franchise.

A master would first lead many disciples, and as they grow, some of them inevitably aspire to start their own school. This mitosis, combined with the long-term isolation of schools and the selection and perfection of cultivation techniques, gradually forms other schools and various cultivation traditions.

Tongtian Sect can be considered a large alliance of many small sects that all share the same origin and each possesses considerable strength.

The advantage of this approach is rapid expansion of the sect’s scale, ample room for individual initiative, and not overly strict sect rules.

The disadvantage is that individual small schools have poor risk resistance, and the management of the schools entirely depends on the abilities of their respective masters. The capable are treated to the best, while the less competent have to make do with the worst.

It’s like a milk tea shop on a deserted street; it’s bound to close down due to lack of business. However, the closure of this one shop will not affect the overall strategy and strength of Tongtian Sect, because as a whole it is a huge collective with thousands of milk tea shops.

The structure of Linlan Sect, on the other hand, is more compact than that of Tongtian Sect.

Linlan Sect is more like a gigantic university.

Each batch of disciples has their own designated “master.”

But the “masters” in Linlan Sect are different from the all-around masters in Tongtian Sect; they are more like university counselors.

They are responsible for the newcomers’ daily life in Linlan Sect and also some of the Immortal Law teachings. If there is an issue with the disciples, the master will also bear some responsibility.

If Linlan Sect’s disciples want to learn spell knowledge, they need to attend specialized “schools” within the sect taught by dedicated teachers.

Some schools are open to all disciples free of charge. Some schools are accessible only if certain requirements are met, such as possessing a first-grade Talisman Master Certificate.

And then there are schools that require spending sect Contribution Points to enter and study.

To obtain Contribution Points, Linlan Sect’s disciples must complete tasks or directly exchange Spirit Stones that they can’t use up.

The advantage of Linlan Sect’s structure is its unity, with all parts tightly interconnected. With a call to arms from the Sect Leader, a large number of disciples and sect resources can be mobilized, unlike Tongtian Sect, where there are many small factions and mobilization is difficult.

But the downside is also clear—it is very competitive.

Under Linlan Sect’s contribution point system, outstanding disciples can obtain far more resources than ordinary disciples. Leveraging their initial abundance of Contribution Points, they learn better and stronger spells, which in turn earns them a large number of Contribution Points to continue their studies.

After several rounds of snowballing, they create a substantial gap between themselves and others.

Whereas average or subpar disciples of Linlan Sect barely struggle along the poverty line of just enough Contribution Points. Unless fate takes a fortunate turn, it’s hard to change their destiny.

Having understood the difference between Tongtian Sect and Linlan Sect, Jiang Cheng did not hesitate to choose Tongtian Sect.

The cultivation talent of “extra Jiang Cheng” is not only comparable to losing a limb below the eyebrows but can also be likened to a paraplegic in a vegetative state.

Even Cao Wang, who idles his days away, has reached the fourth level of Qi cultivation.

Whereas the industrious “extra Jiang Cheng” has achieved merely the third level of Qi cultivation.

The disparity lies in their cultivation talent.

If Jiang Cheng were to join Linlan Sect and compete with other cultivation geniuses, it would be akin to Chen Rui touching live wires—it would be shocking.

Therefore, he could only opt for the relatively “friendly” Tongtian Sect.

If he had the good fortune to be taken as a disciple by a wealthy master, Jiang Cheng could look forward to a greatly improved life.

Having decided on the Immortal Sect, there were only two universities left for Jiang Cheng to consider.

Lotus Cloud University and Hundred Peaks University.

Lotus Cloud University had quite distinct advantages, as the school’s “professional skills” were very strong. For example, Talismans, pill refining, and weapon forging, among others.

Hundred Peaks University, on the other hand, leaned towards the traditional cultivating immortality faction, with main courses in spells, swordsmanship, and body refinement.

Without a doubt, Jiang Cheng, with his sole specialty in drawing talismans, had only one choice – “Lotus Cloud University.”

The good news was that at Lotus Cloud University, Jiang Cheng had an acquaintance whom he wasn’t very close to — Yue Linger.

As the senior sister of Lotus University, if Jiang Cheng could establish a good relationship with her in advance, his college life would surely go much smoother.

Now that he had chosen Lotus Cloud University, what Jiang Cheng needed to consider was the university’s enrollment’s practical assessments.

The universities’ practical assessments generally took place at the end of September, starting after the 20th of the month and lasting about seven to eight days. After that, the results were released, and students could start school at the beginning of October.

It’s worth noting that there was no military training in Liang Country’s universities. Students attended classes upon enrollment.

The content of the university’s practical assessments was usually announced fifteen to twenty days in advance, at the beginning of September.

Of course, Jiang Cheng wasn’t going to naively wait until the beginning of September for the schools to announce the assessment details before he started studying for the practical assessments.

He planned to find a way to get hold of the “past exam papers” from Lotus Cloud University and start preparing for the practical assessments two months in advance!

To ensure the first step of his “three-step retirement plan,” to “enter a key Immortal Academy and graduate smoothly,” was foolproof!

“Liu Qing, I’m planning to go out to buy some books, you…”

Jiang Cheng wanted to ask Liu Qing if she wanted to go too, but before he could finish his question, Liu Qing lazily got up from her lounge chair.

Well, that made it clear.

She was definitely going.

In a used bookstore in Wuyue City, Jiang Cheng roamed through the vast arrays of bookshelves, searching for what he needed: the “past exam papers” from previous practical assessments at Lotus Cloud University.

The topics for the practical assessments were published in advance each year and would often be recorded in certain magazines or books by chance.

However, among a mass of disorganized books, unearthing that bit of knowledge was obviously not easy.

Jiang Cheng, at this moment, particularly missed the days when he used to surf the Internet.

When it came to information retrieval, the internet was indeed easier.

“Found them!”

In a corner of a bookshelf, a pile of old magazines was placed.

The name of the magazine was “Dialogue with College Students,” a minor publication unknown to Jiang Cheng.

Naturally, its content included interviews with college students, and it just so happened to contain information about the new student assessments at Lotus Cloud University.

Jiang Cheng quickly flipped through them, picked out a few he needed, and went to pay for them.

About half an hour later, a bookstore employee came to the place where Jiang Cheng had been searching for books, pushing a trolley.

Looking at the neatly stacked pile of books on the floor, she scratched her head and said, “Who organized these scam subsidy magazines so neatly? Aren’t they too free?”

After muttering her complaints, she began her work of loading the stack of fanciful nonsense papers, produced in bulk to scam subsidies, onto the trolley.

The final destination for these nutrient-free, wildly fabricated magazines was the recycling station not far from the bookstore.

Finding this trash among countless bookshelves was no easy task.

If the bookstore hadn’t been complained about for “selling fake books,” the manager wouldn’t have bothered to clear them out.

“Sigh, I hope that no one else gets tricked by these rubbish magazines. I want to get off work early too!” the employee grumbled.