Brian Clark answered truthfully, saying, “Senior Sister White, didn’t you say we’d be back before nightfall? Was there some trouble on the way?”

“I was catching up with an old friend, so it took a bit longer.”

James White said, “Everything went smoothly. With her help, the official documents and registration have all been properly handled.”

As she spoke, James White handed over the sect leader’s seal of Yuhua Sect, the land deed, and the official document bearing Brian Clark’s name.

Brian Clark took them, glanced over them, and opened his personal panel. His wealth and faction had already been updated.

On the wealth panel, besides gold, silver, and other currencies, there were also categories for magical treasures and elixirs, and the land deed was listed among them. As for faction, Yuhua Sect belonged to the Jiuzhu Mountain branch, defaulting to the Wu Zhou faction, with both merit points and influence at zero.

With this, it was officially recognized, black and white on paper, with records to check—Brian Clark was now the true sect leader of Yuhua Sect.

Chapter Five: The Four Main Professions

After quietly digesting the last two Qi-Ling Pills, Brian Clark took a deep breath and slowly stood up, pacing a bit to loosen his stiff body, then casually added some more firewood.

A quilt was spread in front of the offering table. Not seeing James White, Brian Clark sensibly crawled into the bedding.

There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Given his senior sister’s cultivation and strength, she had long since outgrown such simple comforts. On the contrary, he was weak, helpless, and pitiful—without the protection of a warm bed, he’d probably catch a cold by morning.

“Hmm, it smells so good!”

……

Early the next morning, Brian Clark was woken by a commotion. Getting up, he saw more than twenty sturdy men in the front yard, which startled him into quickly rolling up his bedding and running to the backyard with the small box full of Mo Buxiu.

James White was in the backyard, her face covered with a white veil, accompanied by a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant. Whenever James White pointed something out, the man would take out his ledger and make a note.

“Senior sister, what’s going on?”

“Junior Brother Clark, you’re just in time. Let me introduce you—this is Emei Sect’s Master Foster from Sijing Peak…”

“Master Foster?”

“I am Daoist David Foster. Greetings, Master Clark.”

“???”

Sijing Peak and Sanqing Peak both belonged to the Jiuzhu Mountain branch. The Emei Sect’s base was basically Yuhua Sect’s next-door neighbor.

This Emei was not the famous one—just a name that sounded impressive. In reality, their strength was about the same as Yuhua Sect’s: small fry not even worth mentioning. Judging by David Foster’s worldly appearance, it was clear his real goal in cultivation was to get a strong body, so he could make more money.

Last night, James White had barged into Emei Sect and had a friendly meeting with Master Foster, signing a contract for the renovation and refurbishment of Yuhua Sect.

Normally, being woken up in the middle of the night by an uninvited female powerhouse, having your sect gate broken into, and being forced to sign a humiliating labor contract would be intolerable for any self-respecting Emei disciple. But…

She paid.

The contract may have been forced, but the money was real. David Foster knew that even if this was reported to the Huangi Sect’s Dashengguan outpost, the authorities probably wouldn’t care, and in the end, it would be settled privately.

Given how straightforward James White was with both her money and her sword, David Foster swallowed his pride and showed up at Sanqing Peak at dawn.

Half the other disciples came along for support, while the rest went to Langyu County to recruit workers.

When he met Brian Clark, David Foster was very polite, though his words carried a hint of sarcasm—clearly seeing him as a pretty boy living off a woman.

He looked down on him, but also envied him. Not contradictory at all.

Brian Clark felt uncomfortable under David Foster’s sour gaze. After figuring out the situation, he pulled James White aside under the old tree. “Senior Sister White, why so sudden?”

“It’s not that sudden. For cultivators, wealth, companions, methods, and land are all essential. Since Uncle Grant entrusted you to me, I have to see it through.”

James White frowned and said, “Junior Brother Clark, last night I checked out the surrounding peaks. Sanqing Peak, where Yuhua Sect is located, is the poorest of them all—not a good place for a sect.”

Last night, James White toured all nine peaks of Jiuzhu Mountain and found that Sanqing Peak truly lived up to its name: no people, no money, no spiritual energy. Even the spiritual bamboo that Jiuzhu Mountain was famous for couldn’t be found here.

Its poverty was obvious at a glance—Sanqing Peak’s reputation was well deserved.

No people and no money could be solved, and even the lack of spiritual energy wasn’t a big deal. There were better places nearby; everyone could sit down and talk, or settle it with a contest of strength. It wouldn’t take long to reach a mutually satisfactory result.

Hearing the underlying meaning in James White’s words, Brian Clark’s eye twitched. As expected of a swordsman, she was direct and to the point, not beating around the bush.

I like it!

But…

“Senior sister, harmony is precious. If I offend the neighbors right after taking over as sect leader, how can I ever make Yuhua Sect flourish, or fulfill our master’s last wishes?”

Brian Clark earnestly said, “Besides, our master was highly skilled. Since he chose Sanqing Peak, he must have had his reasons. As his disciple, how could I go against his wishes?”

James White frowned slightly, about to say something, but Brian Clark cut her off: “I know with you looking out for me, it wouldn’t matter if I offended the neighbors on Jiuzhu Mountain. But you can’t take care of me forever—you’ll have to return to Lingxiao Sword Sect sooner or later, right?”

James White nodded, accepting Brian Clark’s reasoning, and didn’t bring up the idea of moving to another peak again.