Chapter 26 Mother and Daughter

Yun Bai was teleported outside the hall, Great Elder Xu Antong's encouragement still ringing in his ears.

He bowed to the inner hall gate and turned to leave.

Just then, a man strode toward him from behind, calling out, "Yun Bai!"

Yun Bai turned to see a tall, burly man waving at him. The white tank top the man wore was soaked with sweat, revealing explosive muscles on his arms.

"Hello, may I ask if you need something?" Yun Bai asked politely.

"Don't you recognize me?!" The burly man widened his eyes. "I am the Management Elder of this Chu Prefecture National Temple. Most people call me Supervisor Zhou, but you can just call me Brother Zhou."

"Great Elder Xu already spoke to me, so I came over to join the fun and show you around." Supervisor Zhou Shengtai laughed heartily. "You kid are something, reaching the First Realm Mid-stage at such a young age. You've barely come of age! You are a treasure of our Chu Prefecture State Religion."

Yun Bai was a little flattered.

He used to know that joining the State Religion was good, but he hadn't expected to attract the attention of so many big shots.

He didn't think reaching the First Realm Mid-stage was difficult... Ever since he got his Cultivation Technique and started to Cultivate, every Breakthrough had felt natural.

While talking, Supervisor Zhou Shengtai quietly watched two other people observing them from afar. Seeing Supervisor Zhou Shengtai and Yun Bai talking, those two paused for a moment before turning away.

"Hmph, General Lin Jian, that dog-nosed guy, came sniffing as soon as he smelled something. Trying to poach talent." Supervisor Zhou Shengtai thought to himself after seeing them leave.

Yun Bai heard Supervisor Zhou Shengtai's low muttering but didn't understand, so he wisely didn't ask.

Supervisor Zhou Shengtai looked back at Yun Bai, treasuring him more and more. The more sought-after he was, the more it proved Yun Bai's value.

"Haha, looking at you, you probably don't know what it means to reach the First Realm Mid-stage at only eighteen, right?" Supervisor Zhou Shengtai patted Yun Bai's shoulder happily.

"Please enlighten me, Brother Zhou." Yun Bai felt the enthusiasm within the State Religion toward him.

"Do you know how many Cultivators our State Religion has?" Supervisor Zhou Shengtai chuckled. "Our Human Race has a population of about one billion, but the State Religion has only three million Cultivators. And among these three million, eight or nine out of ten are First Realm Cultivators. What about the Second Realm? You could say you might not even find one among ten thousand State Religion Cultivators. And the legendary Innate Three Realms? They are even rarer than phoenix feathers."

Yun Bai listened carefully. This information was crucial for him to understand this world.

"Someone like you, reaching the First Realm Mid-stage at just eighteen, can be considered one in a thousand. The State Religion has statistics that show as long as you receive enough training, your chance of breaking through to the Second Realm is ten times that of an ordinary Cultivator."

Supervisor Zhou Shengtai looked down at Yun Bai. "Young man, work hard. The special contract you received is the third-tier Earth-Grade special contract among Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. In this remote Chu Prefecture, this is the highest-level special contract that our local National Temple has the authority to issue."

"Work hard. As long as you are a Genius, Great Elder Xu can apply for even higher-tier Earth-Grade or even Heaven-Grade special contracts from the Holy City. Understand what I mean?" Supervisor Zhou Shengtai glared at Yun Bai. "You are the first person to receive a special contract issued by our National Temple in Chu Prefecture, but you must not be arrogant. Once you reach the Holy City, you will understand the saying that there are always people above people."

"This Junior has been taught." A burning flame ignited in Yun Bai's heart; it was the ambition to achieve something great.

"Due to your special circumstances, you have been assigned to Xinyue Hall. This arrangement will allow you to get better training in battle, and at the same time, your safety will be guaranteed. Once the appointment is finalized, Zhang Huai from the Personnel Hall will contact you."

"Zhang Huai?"

It was him? Yun Bai finally understood why he met Zhang Huai every time he came to the National Temple. It turned out he was responsible for this.

"Yes, you have just joined our State Religion and signed a special contract. You haven't had time to understand things here yet, so you can ask Zhang Huai more. That's all, I have things to do, so I'm leaving first."

Supervisor Zhou Shengtai walked away briskly. Given his status, running over to see Yun Bai in person was already very rare.

Yun Bai checked the time; it was nearing noon. He had to go back to eat with his sister, so he didn't have time to go to the Scripture Pavilion again. He asked for the location of the Personnel Hall and found Zhang Huai there.

Zhang Huai was talking to two people, and when he saw Yun Bai, he greeted him immediately.

"Zhang Huai," Yun Bai said. "Elder Zhou just said my appointment was arranged to Xinyue Hall. Do you know what that's about?"

"Xinyue Hall?" Zhang Huai was stunned. He began to look Yun Bai up and down. "Yun Bai, you are truly extraordinary!"

Yun Bai was confused.

"This Xinyue Hall is directly under the jurisdiction of the Holy City. The Holy City is the core of our State Religion," Zhang Huai said.

In other words, this was equivalent to a central, directly governed special department? Yun Bai thought.

"Xinyue Hall is a special military department responsible for guarding against the Demon Race. In other words, the current Xinyue Hall of our State Religion has replaced the responsibilities of the Demon Suppression Division from back then," Zhang Huai continued. "Inside Xinyue Hall, there are four grades of squads: 'A, B, C, and D'. The higher the grade, the stronger the squad, the more arduous the battles they are responsible for, and the more resources they receive."

"When there are no combat missions, you just Cultivate normally. The State Religion also allows Xinyue Hall squads to carry out unofficial demon hunting missions on their own. Of course, since you are not Loose Cultivators who specialize in taking on jobs, Xinyue Hall squads must not violate the regulations within the Hall when carrying out private, unofficial actions..."

Yun Bai understood. So it was a special forces unit. No wonder Brother Zhou's original words were "get better training."

In this era, the trend was that Cultivation was never about closing oneself off; it was about growing in battle and sustaining oneself through combat.

Zhang Huai roughly introduced the situation of Xinyue Hall, then suddenly changed the subject: "Yun Bai, you mentioned before that you needed a few helpers for your house. I have already arranged it. Considering that it is just you and Yun Qian, I have found these two for you. The two of them will mainly be responsible for cleaning and meals, and they will also take care of Miss Yun Qian for you."

Yun Bai looked at the two people.

Both were women. Yun Bai noticed that their hands were full of calluses.

One was about forty, dressed simply, with sturdy limbs and a smile on her rough face.

The other looked much younger, wearing two braids, with her head lowered and looking somewhat timid. Her specific features were unclear, but at a glance, she looked quite pretty.

Zhang Huai said to Yun Bai: "Brother Yun, they are a mother and daughter. Because their village encountered the Demon Race, the men in their family died, and their house was destroyed. They used to do odd jobs for wealthy families to make a living. Later, they encountered difficulties and were taken in by our National Temple, and they usually help out at the National Temple."

"This mother's name is Yang Peilan. Her daughter, this young lady, is named Shen Qi."

"Both of them are very hardworking and kind-hearted. But I must remind Brother Yun that our State Religion only has an employment relationship with them; the two are by no means anyone's servants." Zhang Huai's expression suddenly turned serious as he said strictly: "Our State Religion was founded on the hearts of the people of the world; we must never bully the weak."

Yun Bai was stunned when he heard this. He hadn't heard the term "equal employment" for a long time since his Transmigration in this Northwest region.

He deeply agreed with Zhang Huai's words.

He and his sister had also come from such poverty. Now that their lives had just improved, he must never do anything to bully others.

In his hometown, equality and respect for others were the most basic qualities.

"People-oriented, I have noted it." After listening to Zhang Huai's instructions, Yun Bai led the two "housekeepers," or rather "nannies," back home.

On the way, the few of them started chatting idly.

Seeing that Yun Bai was easy to talk to, Yang Peilan felt much more relaxed. Although she and her daughter had felt a lot of warmth in the State Religion, she would never forget the cold looks and disdain she had suffered in the homes of the wealthy.

Yang Peilan asked cautiously: "Young Master Yun, it is already late. Today's lunch..."

Yun Bai had already planned it out. He thought of the chicken and fish at home.

That chicken was bought for his sister's dinner before he beat up Chen Qiang and Li Pazi, only to be thrown into jail; that fish was the dinner he had prepared when he moved into his new house last night, but the plan was disrupted by that Zhao Xiang.

Fortunately, this Storage Pouch space could ensure that the food would not spoil.

"Let's cook together at noon. I'll help you," Yun Bai smiled. "I have a chicken and a fish. We can make stewed chicken with mushrooms, and the fish can be steamed."

Cooking was mainly Shen Qi's responsibility. She was surprised when she heard this. This Young Master actually offered to help her?

"Young Master Yun... This, there is no need..." This was the first time Shen Qi had spoken on the way.

Yun Bai smiled: "Miss Shen, there is no need to be so restrained. This is a whole chicken I bought at the market; I didn't have time to bleed and pluck it after I bought it. It's bloody; you can't just leave it all for a young lady to do."

Shen Qi was stunned when she heard this.

She hadn't expected this Young Master Yun to be so considerate.

She remembered the "people-oriented" phrase Yun Bai had said to Zhang Huai, and couldn't help but take another look at Yun Bai.

Someone who could say such things, and was also recognized by the State Religion, shouldn't be too bad.

Thinking of this, Shen Qi finally raised her head, revealing a fair face.

Although she still smiled somewhat restrainedly.

"That's good, thank you."