162: Chapter 162: Qiongfeng Alliance Signs Contract

The backyard clearing of Hengchuan Peak was usually used for drying recycled scrap spiritual iron. Today, however, it was occupied by several old square tables pushed together.

The cold wind swirled the dust on the ground, making the thin 'Joint Execution Agreement' on the table rustle loudly.

Seated around the table were several Peak Masters who usually had no presence at the Sect's general assemblies. There was Luoxia Peak, Danxia Peak, and two other small peaks whose names weren't even well-known. Their postures were somewhat stiff, and their expressions were even bleaker than the late autumn wind.

Opposite them, Shen Xingzhou sat upright, a cup of cold spiritual tea placed before him.

Although the setting was as crude as a signing ceremony at a rural market, in Shen Xingzhou's vision, the System had bestowed this meeting with an unprecedented sense of solemnity.

[System Prompt: Ceremony Loading]

Event: Signing of the Poor Peak Temporary Alliance

Version: War Debt Liquidation Month Edition

Core Terms Highlighted:

Unified Command: All missions will be accepted and distributed uniformly by Hengchuan Peak.

Revenue Distribution: Secondary distribution will be conducted based on 'Battle Loss Ratio' and 'Contribution Degree,' no longer intercepted by the Elders of each peak.

Personnel Affiliation: During mission execution, Alliance Disciples will be temporarily incorporated into the Hengchuan Peak chain of command. The power of life and death belongs to the commander.

Shen Xingzhou's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop.

"Once you sign, your Disciples belong to Hengchuan Peak," Shen Xingzhou said, looking at the hesitant Elders opposite him. "Though they are still your soldiers in name, if anyone dares to run off on the battlefield or throw their life away for greed, my blade won't care which peak they're from."

The Peak Master of Luoxia Peak bit her lip as she looked at the agreement. It wasn't an agreement; it was clearly an Indenture. But between 'selling oneself' and 'the destruction of the peak,' she had no choice.

"As long as we can survive this month..." With a trembling hand, she grabbed the brush and signed her name at the end of the agreement.

Then came Danxia Peak, followed by the other two small peaks.

As the final name was written, on the System interface, those few lonely square icons were instantly connected to the core icon of Hengchuan Peak by several gray dashed lines. A faint but tangible sense of connection was established at the data level.

[System Update]

Alliance Status: Signed

Participating Peaks: 3

Total Alliance Disciples: 482

Note: A group of weaklings huddling together for survival.

As the signing ceremony ended, the more practical 'reorganization' followed immediately.

Outside the courtyard, the hundreds of poor Disciples drawn from various peaks were lining up. They wore worn-out standard Daoist robes and held frayed Magical Artifacts, their eyes filled with both confusion about the future and fear of their new environment.

Senior Sister Xie Handeng stood at the front of the line, the long sword behind her still wrapped in tattered cloth.

She didn't give an impassioned speech like other instructors, nor did she even spare these new Disciples a second glance. She simply scanned the group coldly, her voice not loud but drilling clearly into everyone's ears.

"Follow orders, and you live."

Senior Sister Xie Handeng paused, her hand resting on her sword hilt. "Disobey orders, and you might die."

"Those are the rules of Hengchuan Peak."

No one in the line spoke; no one even dared to breathe loudly. That Killing Intent, as if crawled out from a pile of corpses, made these Disciples—who usually only dared to do chore missions—instinctively shrink back.

Shen Xingzhou stood not far away, watching the scene.

The System marked a golden tag above Senior Sister Xie Handeng's head:

[Key Behavior: Discipline Binding]

Statement: "Follow orders, and you live. Disobey orders, and you might die."

Effect Evaluation:

Suppressed the wishful thinking of the new recruits.

Unified battlefield survival expectations.

Battlefield Execution Predictability: +10%.

"Simple and crude, but effective," Shen Xingzhou commented in a low voice.

Wen Xi was currently holding a stack of newly registered registers, her fingers dancing rapidly between an abacus and the System interface. She was inputting the names, cultivation bases, and specialties of all these new Disciples into the 'Poor Peak Alliance Model.'

As the final data entry was completed, a surprising curve comparison popped up on the System interface.

[Survival Rate Simulation: Recalculated Results]

Subject: 482 newly joined Alliance Disciples

Comparative Analysis:

Original Peak Environment:

Mission Nature: Unprotected high-risk chores / Cannon fodder missions forced upon them.

Three-year Expected Survival Rate: 42% (Extremely Low).

After Incorporation into Hengchuan Peak Command System:

Mission Nature: Digitally coordinated border defense lines / System-evaded high-danger zones.

Three-year Expected Survival Rate: 60% (Error ± 6%).

Analysis Conclusion:

Even on the crude Hengchuan Peak, as long as they follow System commands, the survival chances of this group of 'trash' have increased by nearly 20%.

Wen Xi pushed the crystal glasses on the bridge of her nose. Looking at the fluctuating numbers, a very faint cold smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Welcome to Hengchuan Peak."

She looked up and said to the trembling Disciples, "This isn't heaven, but it's a little bit harder to die here than in the pit you came from."

Even if it was just 'a little bit,' for those struggling at the bottom, it was already their only life-saving straw.

However, not everyone chose this difficult path.

Shen Xingzhou's System interface split in two. On the left was the cold and windswept Hengchuan Peak; on the right was the magnificent Lingjian Peak.

At this moment, in front of the mountain gate of Lingjian Peak, drums and music blared, and it was exceptionally lively.

To deal with the 'Battle Loss/Revenue Ratio' assessment, Peak Master Zhao Lie was throwing down huge sums of money to recruit external Loose Cultivator experts from all over the Nine Provinces.

"Anyone with a cultivation of Late Stage Foundation Establishment or higher who joins my Lingjian Peak will be paid five thousand Spirit Stones immediately! If you can slay a Yao Beast, there will be additional rewards of top-grade Medicinal Pills!"

Beneath that flashy recruitment stage, Loose Cultivator experts with fierce eyes and strange attire were rubbing their hands in anticipation. They only cared about money and killing; they didn't care at all about the survival of the Sect.

On the System interface, Lingjian Peak's data panel was showing a weird state of 'artificial bloating.'

[Lingjian Peak Strategy Analysis]

Method: Using money to win over external high-combat-power Loose Cultivators.

Surface Data:

Overall Combat Power Rating: Soaring (Significant short-term increase).

System Implicit Warning:

Internal Management: Chaotic (Discord between Loose Cultivators and native Disciples, broken chain of command).

Probability of Post-Death Battle Loss Registration: Unknown (If Loose Cultivators die in the wild, no one will report it for them, leading to a more serious 'data black hole').

Risk Assessment:

A striking line of red text was quietly emerging amidst Lingjian Peak's data stream:

[Introduction of High Combat Power ≠ Increase in Survival Rate]

Note: Peak Master Zhao Lie is buying 'killing machines,' not 'soldiers.' This will make Lingjian Peak's short-term reports look good, but once they encounter uncontrollable battle losses, those Loose Cultivators will flee immediately, leaving behind a total mess.

Shen Xingzhou looked at the excitement over there and shook his head.

"So these are the so-called 'elites'," he sneered. "Still dreaming of buying lives by buying people."

He withdrew his gaze and looked at the group of poor peak Disciples before him, who, despite their ragged clothes, were beginning to show focus in their eyes.

With the registration of the last Disciple completed, the icon representing the Alliance on the System's main screen finally stabilized completely.

[System Final Update]

Project: Poor Peak Alliance

Status: Signed

Participating Peaks: 3 (Luoxia, Danxia, Yaowang)

Total Alliance Disciples: 516 (Including original Hengchuan Disciples)

Comprehensive Evaluation:

Worker Satisfaction: From 28% → 36% (Low, but seeing hope).

"Sense of having a way out": Slight increase (No longer headless flies).

The image froze on this data chart that seemed stable but was actually fragile.

At the very bottom of the main screen, a brand-new indicator bar lit up—a very thin green progress bar full of unstable factors.

[New Indicator: Alliance Stability]

Current Value: 63% (Initial Value)

Status Description:

This is a loose Alliance based on tied interests. Current trust is only maintained at the baseline of 'staying alive'.

In the shadow of this line of data, a tiny, curse-like line of red text was slowly flashing, as if foretelling the coming storm:

Warning:

If the first battle is lost, this number will be cut in half.

If the first battle is won... perhaps, this will be the start of a new order for the Qingheng Sect.