4: Chapter 4 Lin Xiaowan's Father! The Decoration Sect!

Inside the mountaintop main hall.

Lin Xiaowan was meticulously performing her "radio gymnastics."

Coupled with the Qi Induction Pill she had just swallowed, a faint blue vortex of Qi swirled around her. With every step she took, the heavy bluestone slabs emitted a dull, thumping boom.

"One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four!"

The young girl shouted the unknown slogans with a resolute gaze, as if she were performing some kind of sacred ritual.

Wang Yang leaned lazily against the Sect Head's throne, which was missing a corner. He had a piece of dry grass in his mouth, but his peripheral vision was fixed on the System panel.

Current Domain Radius: 120 meters (Covering the main hall, restroom, Pill Furnace, and part of the mountain path).

"120 meters, I finally have a sense of security."

Wang Yang calculated in his heart. Since he didn't have to worry about being snatched by a wolf at his own restroom door, the next priority was to "renovate" this drafty Sect.

After all, as the Revered Master of the magnificent Invincible Domain and the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect, living in a dilapidated temple covered in bird droppings and dust really damaged his image as a cultivation giant.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps accompanied by heavy panting came from the mountain path, breaking the silence.

"Xiao Wan! Xiao Wan, where are you? Dad has come to find you!"

A middle-aged man wearing coarse cloth martial arts attire rushed into the Domain's range, drenched in sweat.

This person was none other than Lin Dahai, the Revered Master of the Lin Family Martial Arts Hall in Qingshi Town, and Lin Xiaowan's overprotective father.

Lin Dahai had discovered that Wang Ergou and the others were gone, so he came to bring his daughter home.

Who would have thought that upon entering the gate, he would see his precious daughter facing a headless statue with a solemn expression... marching in place?

"Dad? Why did you come up here!" Lin Xiaowan stopped her movements, her face full of pleasant surprise.

"Shh! Don't talk!"

Lin Dahai looked around warily, his gaze finally landing on the young man in black-and-gold robes sitting on the throne, whose depth he couldn't fathom.

He swallowed hard, grabbed Lin Xiaowan's arm, and whispered urgently, "Daughter, what kind of place is this exactly?"

Lin Xiaowan wiped the sweat from her forehead, puffed out her chest with pride, and said loudly, "Dad, this is the Hehuan Sect! This is my Revered Master, the Hehuan Sect Revered Master!"

"What?!"

Hearing the name "Hehuan Sect," Lin Dahai reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, nearly jumping out of his skin.

His face turned deathly pale instantly, and his hands trembled as he held Lin Xiaowan. "He... Hehuan Sect? That demonic den of 'Plucking the Yang to supplement the Yin' and rampant debauchery?!"

As a member of the Jianghu, even though Lin Dahai was just a Mortal martial artist, he had heard of the Hehuan Sect's ill repute. That was a demonic cult that everyone wanted to destroy hundreds of years ago! It was said that any woman who entered would eventually become...

"Daughter! You're being foolish!"

Lin Dahai's eyes turned red as he desperately tried to drag Lin Xiaowan out. "This is no place for a human! Come with Dad, quickly! Even if we have to beg for food, we can't stay in this filthy place! If word gets out, how will you ever get married? I won't have the face to see your late mother!"

"Dad! What are you doing!"

To Lin Dahai's surprise, his usually obedient and docile daughter didn't budge an inch.

Having been strengthened by the Qi Induction Pill and the preliminary Awakening of the "Ancient Savage Strength Physique," Lin Xiaowan's feet were like they had taken root.

Lin Dahai's tug not only failed to move his daughter but instead caused him to stumble and lose his balance.

Lin Xiaowan shook off her father's hand, her face serious, even speaking with a tone of disappointment that he didn't know better:

"Dad! You are too shallow!"

"Huh?" Lin Dahai was stunned.

Lin Xiaowan turned around, bowed respectfully to Wang Yang, and then looked back at her father, her eyes shining with the light of wisdom:

"The world misunderstands the Hehuan Sect, thinking it's a place of filth. Little do they know, it's because their Realm is too low to see through to the truths of this world!"

She took a deep breath and declared loudly, "Revered Master taught me: What is 'Hehuan'?"

"'He' means to be like-minded! Everyone coming together for the same dream of immortality and for the sake of all living beings—that is called 'He'!"

"'Huan' means to gather happily! The path of cultivation is long and bitter, but we Cultivators should face it with an optimistic heart and Cultivate happily—that is called 'Huan'!"

Lin Xiaowan became more excited as she spoke, her eyes gleaming. "Our Hehuan Sect Cultivates the Great Freedom and refines the Heart of Joy! it is nothing like what the outside world says! Dad, do not use your secular eyes to insult my sacred Sect!"

"..."

Lin Dahai's mouth hung open, and his broadsword fell to the ground with a "clang."

He was dumbfounded.

Like-minded? Gathering happily?

Is... is this still the demonic cult he had heard of?

Could it be that hundreds of years of rumors were all false?

Or had his daughter's brain gone bad?

But seeing his daughter's righteous expression, as if she were ready to heroically sacrifice herself for the Sect's cause at any moment, Lin Dahai couldn't find the words to argue for a moment.

"This... this..." Lin Dahai stammered as he looked at Wang Yang.

Wang Yang sat above, maintaining a cold and indifferent Grandmaster's air on the surface, while internally he was already blooming with joy.

"Good disciple! I didn't dote on you for nothing! This reading comprehension ability is a perfect score!"

He slowly stood up, his sleeves moving without wind, and a (System-simulated) majestic pressure instantly enveloped the area.

"Hall Revered Master Lin."

Wang Yang's voice was cold and clear, as if it came from the Nine Heavens.

"What Xiao Wan said is exactly right. This Seat has been in seclusion for many years and has reopened the Sect gates to bring a stream of pure water to this murky cultivation world. If you insist on taking her away, I will not stop you. But what you would be severing is her Immortal Fate."

Immortal Fate?

These two words hit Lin Dahai's heart like a heavy hammer.

He looked at the ethereal Wang Yang, then at his daughter, who already showed signs of being "reborn," and his mental defenses finally collapsed.

Thud!

Lin Dahai knelt straight down, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "Se... Senior, please forgive me! This Junior was blind and believed the common rumors! Since Xiao Wan has such a fortune, it must be because the smoke is rising from the Lin family's ancestral graves!"

Wang Yang nodded slightly. Since he had intimidated him, it was time to give him a carrot and handle the business at hand.

"No matter. Mortals have limited vision; I do not blame you."

Wang Yang flipped his wrist, and two round, plump blue pills emitting a dense medicinal fragrance appeared out of thin air in his palm.

"Since Xiao Wan has entered my Sect, and you are her biological father, I shall grant you a fortune."

He flicked his finger, and the two Qi Induction Pills traced a graceful arc, landing steadily in front of Lin Dahai.

"These are Qi Induction Pills. If a Mortal consumes one, it can extend their life and cure all diseases; if a Cultivator consumes one, it can increase their cultivation and break through Bottlenecks."

Wang Yang's tone was flat, as if he had just thrown away two jelly beans. "Eat one yourself, and take the other down the mountain to sell for silver."

Lin Dahai tremblingly picked up the pills. Just catching a whiff of the fragrance made him feel refreshed and his fatigue vanished.

"Immortal Pills! These are real Immortal Pills!" Lin Dahai shook with excitement.

As a martial arts hall Revered Master, he knew the value of such things too well. In a small place like Qingshi Town, one of these pills could be sold for an astronomical price!

"Senior... this is too precious!"

"Mere worldly possessions."

Wang Yang waved his hand, then his eyes narrowed as he pointed at the drafty roof tiles and the dust-covered lintel. "I want you to use the money you get to do something."

"I have been in seclusion for too long, and this Sect's grounds have become somewhat derelict. Find the best craftsmen to come up the mountain, renovate this hall, and clear away these weeds."

Wang Yang paused, his gaze deep as he looked at the rotten piece of wood by the gate stained with bird droppings, his tone carrying an unquestionable dominance:

"Most importantly, I want a brand new Sect plaque!"

"Use the best Phoebe Zhennan Wood, with gold-leafed characters, and carve the words 'Hehuan Sect'!"

"The characters must be large! They must be bold! They must be shimmering with gold!"

Lin Dahai clutched the pills and looked at the overbearing Wang Yang; the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished into thin air.

He gives away Immortal Pills so casually, would he care about the money for house repairs?

This is a true hidden expert!

As for the name "Hehuan Sect"...

Who cares!

If the expert says it means like-minded, then it means like-minded!

"Rest assured, Sect Master!" Lin Dahai tucked the pills away safely against his body.

"I will see to it immediately! One month! No, ten days! Within ten days, I will make the Hehuan Sect look brand new!"

After saying that, Lin Dahai scrambled up, told Lin Xiaowan to "Cultivate well with your Revered Master," and then rushed down the mountain like a gust of wind, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

Watching Lin Dahai's receding figure, Wang Yang slumped back into his throne and took a bite of the remaining half of a chicken leg.

"Settled."

He glanced at Lin Xiaowan, who was still marching in place and looking at him with adoration, and felt a surge of secret satisfaction.

"As long as the money is in place, the renovation is done well, and the plaque is hung up..."

"I don't believe that in this vast Southern Wasteland Region, there won't be a few... good seeds who want to come and be 'like-minded'?"