The Dragonmight Faction had the strictest organizational structure amongst the factions. Every time a faction lord was chosen, two vice-faction lords would also be chosen.
Beneath the faction lord were ten halls, with hall lords leading them. Each hall lord had ten thousand disciples under them. Under each hall lord were around ten chiefs, who each ran a chapter of around a thousand disciples. And each chief had ten or so deacons that helped command a hundred disciples each.
That was how things were roughly arranged. Chiefs and hall lords tended to lead respected lives, and it was the deacons who would be extremely busy. Still, having a hundred people to boss around wasn’t too bad.
A deacon was part of the faction’s leadership, and could increase their time in the Deepstar Path. This was how the sect both encouraged people to join factions and incited competition.
The higher you could climb up, the more likely you could reach the Earth Branch, or even Heaven Branch.
“Ordinary disciples just get an hour at the path, while deacons get two hours. Chiefs get three hours, and hall lords get four. With my efficiency, my limit is four hours a day. Beyond that would be useless.”
However, these positions were just pit stops along the way. Becoming a faction lord was still his end goal. Faction lords could freely enter the path without time limits, even if they were the faction lord of the weakest faction.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he wanted to be the number one faction lord, he could simply have chosen a minor faction.
Honestly, becoming Dragonmight Faction’s lord during the faction battles would be difficult. The Human Branch had a deeply rooted system, and every faction lord’s efforts would have made their subordinates loyal by now. It wasn’t something that could be easily undone.
……
The Greenmaple Chapter had a thousand and one hundred disciples. They would regularly congregate together to swap pointers and socialize.
The chief was Gu Qingyao, a beautiful woman. She liked poetry, and her abilities were known far and wide. Many disciples admired her, and some even joined the chapter for her sake. She was a goddess in their hearts.
There was a rather peculiar, but widespread phenomenon. Whenever a hall lord or a hall chief was a particularly beautiful woman, it almost went without saying that there would be many male disciples under her command. Likewise, chapters with handsome men in charge tended to have more female disciples.
“Greetings, senior sister Qingyao!”
“She’s so pretty.”
“She’s absolutely gorgeous. I hope she’ll pay attention to me!”
A beautiful woman garbed in a light blue dress covered in snow fox fur was walking through the long halls of the Greenmaple Chapter. As she passed by, all the men and women smiled at her.
“Hurry up, big sis! Xixi’s been waiting forever for you!”
From the end of the hallway emerged a five or six-year-old youth. His eyes were bright and lively, and his smile was like the blossoming of a flower. In that way, he almost seemed like a girl.
“Xixi came? Is she better?” Gu Qingyao quickened her pace. As she walked, many light blue butterflies flitted about around her, almost as if she was a fragrant flower.
Her snow fox furs actually served as a cape. It dragged across the floor as she moved, making her seem all the more noble and elegant.
“Much better,” the youth said.
As Gu Qingyao entered the main hall of the Greenmaple Chapter, she saw a young woman dressed in yellow seated inside. There were also several young men and women giving her massages, pouring tea for her, and carrying out other tasks.
“Leave us,” Xuanyuan Xixi said lazily.
“Yes, senior sister.” Only then did the young disciples depart, paying their respects to Gu Qingyao as they passed.
“Qingyao, I’ve missed you to death!” Xuanyuan Xixi said.
“How did the Fragrant Jade Cake I gave you work out? Did you get all of your teeth back?” Gu Qingyao asked.
“Enough of that already, alright? Geez. It’s embarrassing!” Xuanyuan Xixi said.
“Senior sister Xixi!” The nearby youth suddenly revealed a look of ferocity. “Has your second brother finished investigating the background of this ‘Lin Feng’ character?”
“Not yet. This person is quite strange. I suspect he managed to somehow slip his way into the Archaion Sect. I didn’t see any records of him in the sect manifest. However, Lin Xiaoxiao entered via the sect examinations.” Xuanyuan Xixi grit her teeth.
“Screw all that. Way I see it, you should just let me go deliver some punishment on your behalf. I’ll cripple him!” the youth said.
“Best to just forget it, Qingyin. You have incredible talent. At age fifteen, you were able to become a third-level empyrean saint. With your talent, you’ll be able to enter the Heaven Branch in just a few years. It’s best for you to focus your efforts on cultivation. I have great expectations of you,” Xuanyuan Xixi praised.
“Senior sister Xixi, I do have some good news for you! Divine Mentor Ji Bei has already agreed to accept me as his disciple. He said that I should be able to get into the Heaven Branch by eighteen, and he’ll personally take me under his wing then.” Gu Qingyin said arrogantly.
“Really? I’m so happy for you!” Xuanyuan Xixi excitedly hugged the young man.
Her fragrance made him feel slightly intoxicated, and he blushed as he looked at Xuanyuan Xixi’s face. “Senior sister Xixi is so pretty.”
“You’re quite the smooth talker, despite your young age,” Xuanyuan Xixi said somewhat embarrassedly.
“Xixi, don’t act so inexperienced when you’re older than my brother by fix or six years.” Gu Qingyao smiled from the side. She was aware that Xuanyuan Xixi’s talent was quite a poor match for Gu Qingyin.
However, the siblings were farsighted. Their parents didn’t have high status in the sect, but they would never have to worry about background again if they could attach themselves to the Xuanyuan Clan.
“Qingyin is quite a cutie. Make sure you keep a watch over him and don’t let him go astray,” Xuanyuan Xixi said.
Gu Qingyao smiled. She knew that this match was as good as sealed if her brother could get into the Heaven Branch. What was a five or six year age gap? Even hundreds of years would be nothing.
Didn’t those old monsters of the Samsara stage often come to the Human Branch and find young girls to be their concubines?
They were still happily chatting when a disciple came in to report. “Senior sister Qingyao, two disciples want to join the faction and even become deacons.
“Do they have the strength of deacons?” Gu Qingyao asked. All of the factions were currently aggressively recruiting for the faction battles; there was no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, large numbers of cannon fodder were needed for the faction battles.
“I’m not sure. One is a sky saint, though he does have quite a lot of arrogance.”
“Well, we have nothing to do anyway. Send them in. What’s their names?”
“One is Li Tianming and the other is Lin Xiaoxiao.”
Xuanyuan Xixi shot to her feet. “Lin Xiaoxiao? Did she come here to die?”
"She probably isn’t aware of our relationship, and especially doesn’t know that you’re here,” Gu Qingyao said. She signaled for the two to be let in.
“Wait!” The young man, Gu Qingyin clapped his hands. “Senior sister Xixi. Didn’t you say you couldn’t find out about Lin Feng? Might he have changed his name, and he’s actually called Li Tianming?”
“Possibly. We’ll know when they come in.” Xuanyuan Xixi’s expression was frosty.
It didn’t take long for a young man with black clothes and white hair to walk in, followed by a young girl.
Xuanyuan Xixi immediately felt her blood boiling. Weren’t they exactly Lin Feng and Lin Xiaoxiao?
Tianming immediately sensed some animosity and looked up to find Xuanyuan Xixi. Tianming turned around and asked Lin Xiaoxiao, “Why is she here?”
“She belongs to the Dragonmight Faction. I didn’t know she had links with the Greenmaple Chapter. Should we pick another?” Lin Xiaoxiao asked. It would be difficult to become a deacon here.
Tianming intended for a smooth admission, and wasn’t there to pick a fight. “Let’s go.”
There were over a hundred chapters; he was too lazy to get into a spat with Xuanyuan Xixi.
“Stop there!” Xuanyuan Xixi shouted. “Don’t let them go!”
It turned out that Xuanyuan Xixi had quite a lot of clout here. Over a hundred disciples rushed out on her command to surround the pair, and at least twenty empyrean saints were in their number.
“What, you want to get beaten up again?” Tianming looked around, annoyed.
“No. Didn’t you just say you wanted to be a deacon in our faction?” Xuanyuan Xixi narrowed her eyes. She exchanged a look with Gu Qingyao, a scheme already forming in her mind. They hadn’t yet determined his background, and her second brother had told her to endure a while longer. However, if Li Tianming served himself up on a silver platter, it wouldn’t be her fault if he got hurt trying to become a deacon, no?
“Yes,” Tianming said.
“Let me do this.” Gu Qingyao pushed Xuanyuan Xixi aside and came to Tianming.
Tianming’s eyes brightened. This girl really was quite the looker, with her beautiful smile and natural grace.
“Li Tianming and Lin Xiaoxiao, do you two wish to join the Dragonmight Faction and contribute?” Gu Qingyao asked.
“Yes.”
“I accept your application. Now, you are members of our faction,” Gu Qingyao said.
“That’s it?” Tianming had been expecting a rejection.
“I even heard that you want to become a deacon?” Gu Qingyao asked.
“Do I have the right?” Tianming asked.
“You have. However, no sky saint in history has become a deacon. Do you have that ability?”
“What’s the requirement?”
“Simple, just defeat a current deacon.”
“Who here is a deacon? Come and accept my challenge,” Tianming called out. He understood clearly now. The other side intended to use this opportunity to bully him. Anything that happened would be brushed off as standard procedure.
Whoever was behind Li Tianming that could scare Fu Yonghuan wouldn’t kick up a fuss over this.
“How arrogant!”
“Moron. He wants to act arrogant in our chapter?”
“How many deacons are here today? Go teach him a lesson!”
“Isn’t this the sky saint who injured senior sister Xixi?”
“He deserves what’s coming for laying a hand on a pretty woman!”
As discussion raged, a young man stepped out from behind Xuanyuan Xixi. Glaring at Tianming, he said, “I, Gu Qingyin, accept your challenge!”