162: Chapter 162: Today, I'm in charge of this sect.
"One million!"
As Jiang Ning uttered these three words, the area in front of the mountain gate fell deathly silent.
Everyone was dumbfounded, mouths agape, eyes wide, their minds completely blank.
One million low-grade spirit stones? What on earth was that?
For disciples of the Qingyun Sect, receiving a dozen low-grade spirit stones a year was considered a favor from the Sect Leader. Three thousand was a number they dared not even dream of; it could crush the entire sect.
But one million... that was beyond imagination.
Let alone the Qingyun Sect, it was doubtful whether even all the sects in the vicinity of Black Stone Valley combined had one million!
Manager Qian Tong's fat face turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down.
He wasn't just afraid; his mind was overwhelmed by the chest of spirit stones.
He stared fixedly at the chest of treasures, his eyes full of greed, yet in his heart, he was terrified.
Even a pig should be able to tell that someone who could casually pull out one million spirit stones as pocket money couldn't possibly be an ordinary person.
This was no wealthy relative!
This was a powerful dragon from across the river!
He had actually tried to extort such a deity just now?
At this thought, Manager Qian Tong's legs went weak, and he regretted it bitterly.
"E-enough..." His throat felt as dry as if he were swallowing sand. "Senior... Senior, please don't joke. Three thousand... three thousand is enough..."
He didn't dare ask for interest now; he would be lucky just to keep his life.
"Oh, enough, is it?" Jiang Ning nodded, then seemed to recall something. "However, I like to round things up."
As she spoke, she casually grabbed a handful of mid-grade spirit stones from the chest—about twenty or thirty of them—and tossed them at Manager Qian Tong's feet as if they were mere pebbles.
Those were mid-grade spirit stones! Just thrown on the ground like that?
The hearts of everyone present were bleeding.
What a waste!
"The extra is a tip for your hard work." Jiang Ning's tone remained as indifferent as ever. "The debt is settled, now get lost."
"Yes! Yes! We're leaving! Leaving right now!"
Manager Qian Tong acted as if he had just been granted a new lease on life; ignoring the spirit stones on the ground, he scrambled away down the mountain with his men.
He looked as if a ghost were chasing him.
Once the people from the Money Gang had disappeared from sight, the people of the Qingyun Sect came back to life, and the area in front of the mountain gate instantly erupted into chaos.
"We're saved! The sect is preserved!"
"Junior Uncle Jiang Ning is awesome!"
"Wuwuwu... That's great, we don't have to get kicked out!"
Many young disciples hugged each other and cried, celebrating that they hadn't been kicked out.
When they looked at Jiang Ning again, they didn't see a Junior Uncle.
They saw a deity!
A living Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering!
Sect Leader Lu Yun was also so moved that his eyes reddened. He walked up to Jiang Ning in a few strides and was about to bow deeply.
"Junior Sister, this time... thank you! You've saved the Qingyun Sect once again! I... I, as your Senior Brother, am really..."
Before he could finish, Jiang Ning raised her hand to stop him.
"Senior Brother, don't rush to thank me yet."
Jiang Ning's gaze swept across all the excited disciples present. Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it clearly.
"The money, I've repaid."
"The people, I've chased away."
"But..."
She changed the subject, her tone turning cold.
"From today on, I will run this sect."
The noisy scene instantly quieted down.
Everyone was stunned, looking at each other, not understanding what Jiang Ning meant.
The joy on Sect Leader Lu Yun's face froze, and he looked at Jiang Ning, slightly bewildered: "Junior Sister, you... what is this?"
"It's very simple," Jiang Ning looked at him, enunciating every word. "I want to be in charge."
"What?!"
Once these words were out, the crowd erupted again.
In charge?
This was an attempt to seize the position of Sect Leader!
An old man with graying hair walked out of the crowd, leaning on a cane, his wrinkled face trembling.
"Absurd! Simply absurd!"
This was Elder Sun, the most senior and conservative member of the sect.
"Jiang Ning! I know you saved the sect today, and your contribution is great! But you cannot use your merit to speak such treasonous words!"
Elder Sun struck the ground hard with his cane, his heart aching: "The Qingyun Sect is a legacy passed down by our founding master! The position of Sect Leader has always been passed from the previous generation to the next! By doing this, are you trying to disrupt the rules and become a sinner who betrays their masters and ancestors?"
His words also made some of the older disciples mutter to themselves.
That's right, Junior Uncle Jiang Ning is powerful and wealthy, but how can the position of Sect Leader be changed just like that?
"Betraying masters and ancestors?" Jiang Ning looked at the furious old man, her face expressionless. "Elder Sun, let me ask you, if I hadn't returned today, what would have happened to the Qingyun Sect?"
Elder Sun was choked up; he opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.
What would have happened?
The mountain gate would have been seized, everyone kicked out, and they would have become homeless rogue cultivators.
The centuries-old signboard of the Qingyun Sect would have been completely smashed.
"Is the legacy more important, or is it more important for everyone to stay alive, have food to eat, a place to live, and kung fu to practice?" Jiang Ning's voice rose slightly.
"Let me ask you again, when the founding master left this legacy, did he want to see it get better and better, or did he want to see it in your hands, unable to even protect the gate, and eventually everyone going their separate ways?"
"I..." Elder Sun was rendered speechless, his old face turning the color of liver.
Jiang Ning stopped looking at him and turned her gaze back to Sect Leader Lu Yun.
"Senior Brother, I am not discussing this with you; I am informing you."
There was no room for negotiation in her tone.
"The current Qingyun Sect is a mess. The spiritual veins are almost gone, we're losing money every day, it's managed terribly, and morale is scattered. If you continue to manage it like this, if it's not the Money Gang today, there will be another gang tomorrow. The outcome will be the same."
"You are a good person, but you are not a good Sect Leader."
"Therefore, from today on, you will remain the Sect Leader; the title is yours. However, everything inside and outside the sect, from distributing resources to managing meals, must be done according to my orders."
Everyone present, including Sect Leader Lu Yun, was confused.
"Of course, I won't do this for nothing." Jiang Ning looked at their bewildered faces and threw out an even more shocking condition.
"After I take over, I will cover all the debts owed by the sect. Moreover, I will invest money to renovate the sect from the inside out."
"My goal is not just to keep the Qingyun Sect alive."
In her eyes, there was something everyone couldn't understand, but it was terrifyingly bright.
"But to make it, in the shortest possible time, the most powerful and wealthiest sect within a thousand—no, ten thousand—miles!"
"All of you will benefit from it."
"Now, I'll give you a chance to choose."
"Those who agree, stay and work with me, and I guarantee your future good days will be a hundred times better than anything you've ever dreamed of."
"Those who don't agree, stand up now. I'll take some money from this one million as your severance pay. From now on, you will have nothing more to do with the Qingyun Sect."
"Choose your own path."
After she finished speaking, she fell silent and stood quietly, waiting for everyone's response.
The area in front of the mountain gate fell silent once again.
All the disciples were nervous.
On one side, there were the centuries-old rules.
On the other side, there was a new future with someone wealthy and capable who could lead them to prosperity.
Sect Leader Lu Yun looked at Jiang Ning, his lips moving, and finally, he let out a long sigh, his face actually looking relieved.
He bowed deeply, very deeply, to Jiang Ning.
"Junior Sister, I... agree."
He had figured it out.
As long as it could make the Qingyun Sect better and allow the disciples to live good lives, what was his title of Sect Leader worth?
Perhaps, Junior Sister was right.
He really wasn't cut out to be a Sect Leader.
It was time for the Qingyun Sect to have a new sky.