And talented individuals were a crucial part of it.

—Previously, the Six Extremes Demon Sect had been ostracized from the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty, trapped in a harsh and barren land. As a result, they couldn’t recruit many outstanding disciples.

Now that they had returned to the Immortal Dynasty, they needed a large number of people, whether it was to honor their agreement with the Frost Moon imperial family by slaying Demonic Fiends and monsters, or to fight against their old "enemies." If they relied only on their own members, their ranks would soon be depleted through attrition.

And because their current situation was perilous, they no longer had the time to nurture disciples from a young age. Recruiting talented disciples from other sects had become imperative.

This was why Mu Huai, Li Feng, and the others had come to a medium-sized city like this one—in fact, it was the main reason.

Neither Law Enforcement Elder Wei Jingcheng nor Sect Leader Zong Chengze would ever have guessed that for the Six Extremes Demon Sect, gathering resources was secondary. Their primary objective was to recruit new members.

Only these small and medium-sized sects would be unable to protect their own outstanding disciples.

In Li Feng’s eyes, Zhong Ming met all the criteria, so he couldn’t understand why his martial uncle had given up so easily.

In response, Mu Huai shot Li Feng a fierce glare.

"It’s all because of you. Your defeat gave Zhong Ming the confidence to believe he can join the ranks of the powerful without joining our Six Extremes Demon Sect."

After glaring Li Feng into submission, Mu Huai snorted coldly and explained why he had left.

"Geniuses are always arrogant and extremely self-confident. Because he defeated you, Zhong Ming’s confidence is at an all-time high right now."

"At a time like this, he’s certain to believe he can become a powerhouse without anyone else’s help."

As he spoke, the sneer on Mu Huai’s face grew more pronounced.

"He has yet to be taught a harsh lesson. But soon enough, he’ll learn that the talent he relies on is nothing before the profound heritage of a sect like ours. In a month and a half, your Senior Brother Chu Yang will pay a visit. At that time, he will use his absolute power to sweep through the younger generation of Jade Lake City."

"I will specifically instruct Chu Yang to go all out and shatter Zhong Ming’s arrogance."

"And you will fight Zhong Ming again then. This time, you absolutely cannot lose!"

Stared down by Mu Huai’s sharp gaze, Li Feng shivered and quickly replied, "I won’t."

"You’d better not. Otherwise, if you lose twice in a row to a disciple from a minor sect, your status as an Inner Sect Disciple will be revoked."

With another cold snort, Mu Huai glanced at the Seven Profound Sect, his gaze fixed in Zhong Ming’s direction. His eyes were now filled with an endless chill.

"Geniuses can’t handle defeat. Once he is crushed by the most decisive and domineering means possible, Zhong Ming will recognize his own strength and status. He will understand that by staying in the Seven Profound Sect, he’s at best just a slightly larger ant."

"Once he understands everything, we won’t even need to extend a second invitation. A heart full of resentment will drive him to come to us, begging to join our Six Extremes Saint Sect!"

"Of course, if he still wants to stay in the Seven Profound Sect after all that, or if he’s so crushed by defeat that he can’t recover, then his mentality is too weak. There would be no need for us to recruit him."

Instead of persuading him with words, the plan was to bring in a top prodigy from the sect to crush Zhong Ming, show him the vast disparity between them, and thus stoke the flames of resentment in his heart.

Li Feng had to admit that this method was cruel, but effective.

This made him sigh as he looked toward the Seven Profound Sect. "Zhong Ming, you’re going to suffer against Senior Brother Chu Yang... I just hope your Sword Heart isn’t shattered to pieces."

...

While Mu Huai and Li Feng were talking, Zhong Ming had already returned to Longxi Peak.

A Celestial-Level cultivation technique wasn’t something you could buy just because you wanted to.

Even though Li Feng had deemed it difficult, or perhaps even impossible, to practice, Zhong Ming would still have to make a Dao Heart oath before reading it—he could only cultivate it himself and was forbidden from teaching it to others.

Furthermore, Zhong Ming would only have one chance to read the Celestial-Level cultivation technique, and the Golden Jade Tower offered no guarantee that he would be able to learn it.

But even with all these restrictions, the price of the Celestial-Level cultivation technique was still astronomical.

To afford him this single viewing opportunity, the sect even had to take stock of its resources, have them appraised, and sell them off.

Because of this, the Seven Profound Sect scheduled the purchase of the cultivation technique for three days later.

While they were taking inventory, Zhu Xin, the Peak Master of Molten Fire Peak, contemplated for a moment before he couldn’t help but ask Sect Leader Zong Chengze, "Sect Leader, are we really going to spend so much to acquire that Celestial-Level cultivation technique?"

Fearing he would be misunderstood, he quickly added, "I support the strategy of putting all our efforts into cultivating Zhong Ming. That boy’s talent is exceptional, and he is both loyal and righteous. The sect won’t be at a disadvantage by investing in him."

"It’s just that the Celestial-Level cultivation technique from the Golden Jade Tower is fundamentally unlearnable. Instead of spending a massive amount of resources to trade for a single chance to read it, we would be better off having him learn an Earth-level top-grade cultivation method and buying him a large quantity of cultivation resources."

Peak Master Zhu Xin of Molten Fire Peak had a point, and everyone in the meeting hall turned to look at the Sect Leader.

Even Law Enforcement Elder Wei Jingcheng did the same.

Being a pragmatic man, he was also unwilling to make such a losing deal.

At this, Sect Leader Zong Chengze let out a sigh.

"I know it’s not the most cost-effective move, but we have to do it."

"The recruitment attempt from the Six Extremes Demon Sect, Li Feng’s taunts, and the invitation to a duel a month from now have surely left Zhong Ming seething with frustration. If we don’t let him study the Celestial-Level cultivation technique at a time like this, it will inevitably cause him to feel estranged from the sect."

As soon as he said this, everyone immediately understood the Sect Leader’s meaning.

If they bought Zhong Ming the chance to read the technique and he couldn’t learn it, that would be a matter of his own fate and aptitude.

But if they didn’t even give him the chance to try, and his cultivation faltered in the future, he would surely resent the sect for it.

Currently, the upper echelons of the Seven Profound Sect already saw Zhong Ming as the hope for the sect’s rise—a fact that had even been "acknowledged" by the Six Extremes Demon Sect.

Under these circumstances, they didn’t want even the slightest rift to form between Zhong Ming and the sect.

"Sigh, it seems this waste of resources is unavoidable."

Seeing everyone’s pained expressions and hearing their sighs, Sect Leader Zong Chengze had to step forward again to console them. "Alright, don’t be so disappointed. It’s not that bad. Zhong Ming’s talent is extraordinary. Perhaps he can actually learn the Celestial-Level cultivation technique..."

Before he could finish, Zong Chengze stopped himself.

Celestial-Level cultivation techniques were inherently difficult to practice due to the profound mysteries they contained, and the one released by the Golden Jade Tower was particularly obscure and abstruse.

Just as Li Feng had said, the Golden Jade Tower’s Celestial-Level cultivation technique was for show, not for learning.

Realizing this argument wasn’t consoling anyone in the sect, Zong Chengze quickly changed the subject. "Ahem, actually, the sect’s losses might not be so great."

"With the Six Extremes Demon Sect here, it’s not just us who will feel the pressure; the other two sects will as well. If we don’t want the Six Extremes Demon Sect to seize too many resources, or even swallow us whole, we must form an alliance."

"But even if we form an alliance, not a single person in their sects can stand up to the Six Extremes Demon Sect."

"But we’re different. We have Zhong Ming... So, after forming the alliance, we can propose that the other two sects contribute funds as well, so we can cultivate Zhong Ming together."

These words made the eyes of the Seven Profound Sect’s upper echelons light up. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"That’s right! We don’t have to bear the cost of cultivating Zhong Ming all by ourselves."

"But I’m afraid the other two sects might not be willing."

"Heh, not willing? That’s because they haven’t yet witnessed the overbearing power of the Six Extremes Demon Sect. Once they truly realize they can’t possibly resist, they will agree."

"That may be so, but we’ll still need Zhong Ming to display his exceptional strength to convince them."

"That’s easy. We just need to find an excuse for a gathering."

The pressure of cultivating Zhong Ming to a level where he could contend with the Six Extremes Demon Sect was too immense for the Seven Profound Sect to bear alone.

Therefore, they wanted to shift the cost onto the Golden Armor Sect and the Mist and Smoke Sect, getting them to contribute as well.

What the upper echelons of the Seven Profound Sect didn’t know was that at this very moment, the Mist and Smoke Sect was also discussing an alliance to resist the Six Extremes Demon Sect.

However, what the Mist and Smoke Sect had in mind was to position themselves as the Alliance Leader and take charge of this new coalition.