Chapter 150: Rewards But No Punishment

“Having rules and order, with both rewards and punishments; that is what makes a real sect!”

Amid the crowd of disciples staring back with expressions of shock, confusion, and anxiety, Fang Cun had already thoroughly read their collective mood. He swept his gaze unhurriedly over the disciples gathered below the Lecture Boulder, cleared his throat, and declared, “The Divine Nether Body Tempering Art has been recovered, but it cannot be lightly imparted. As an Elder of the Shoushan Sect, I have my own suggestions regarding its instruction. Due to differences in Merits, imparting knowledge naturally has its order of priority!”

As he spoke, he took the Ledger of Merits from the arms of Elder Green Pine. It was the new one he had ordered prepared earlier. The ink stains were still damp, and less than two pages had been filled. With just a cursory glance, he stated expressionlessly, “Now, it has been about ten days since I instructed you all to study arts and build Merits. But looking at this Ledger of Merits: the Shoushan Sect has seventy-eight disciples. Yet, those who have accumulated over a thousand Merits are a mere three. Those with over five hundred? Only twelve. The efforts of the others can almost be ignored… and eight have built no Merits at all.”

Silence instantly fell over the disciples below. Some eyes began to flicker down uneasily.

Building Merits required actual skill; it meant descending the mountain and striving diligently. But earlier, who knew the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art was on the line? Who felt like running down the mountain? Only a handful of the newest disciples dared not question Fang Cun too much, making a few trips down the mountain and accumulating some Merits. The older disciples, the more worldly-wise ones, couldn’t be bothered…

Of course, most, even if they didn’t take it seriously inside, still went through the motions to scrape together some Merits.

Yet, among them, there were definitely those dissatisfied with Fang Cun, who completely ignored his instructions…

Previously, nobody treated this as important. It was unexpected Fang Cun brought it up now.

Suddenly, fear pricked everyone’s heart.

…

Amid the varied stares, Fang Cun paused briefly, then continued speaking calmly, “According to Merits, there should be rewards and punishments. Since this Elder has only recently joined the sect, today, I will speak only of rewards, not punishments. Therefore, the three on the Ledger who have accumulated over a thousand Merits may be the first to receive instruction in the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art. Additionally, each shall be rewarded with one Dragon Stone and thirty Spirit Pills, recompensing their achievements…”

“Ssshh!”

Instantly, chaos erupted among the disciples below.

Dra… Dragon Stones?

Not only could they immediately learn the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art, but they would also be rewarded with Dragon Stones?

Those things… they were impossible to buy, no matter how much money you had!

Amid the general astonishment, the three fortunate souls were simply stunned, standing there as if still in a dream.

Ignoring everyone’s expressions, Fang Cun proceeded:

“The seventeen with over five hundred Merits shall receive instruction in the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art, rewarded with twenty Spirit Pills each.”

“Those with fewer than five hundred Merits must achieve ten times more Merits than the disciple currently holding the top spot on the Ledger to earn the instruction.”

“As for those with zero Merits… hmmph… I will also give you a chance…”

“Provided you achieve one hundred times the Merits of the disciple currently ranked first, I may impart the body tempering art to you as well.”

“Whoosh!”

Hearing this, countless disciples’ faces instantly turned ashen with terror.

Some ranked near the top felt dizzy, almost overwhelmed by this unforeseen joy. Their top ten positions were incredibly flimsy. The tallying of Merits in various sects generally followed a unified standard, said to have been established since the founding of Great Xia. Saving one commoner meant one hundred Merit points; slaying a demonic creature meant a thousand points…

Given that most sect disciples here were at the Foundation Building Realm, accumulating a thousand Merits shouldn’t have been difficult. One young Disciple hadn’t even considered it a big deal when, while visiting family, he helped them dispel a ghost haunting their ancient well. He’d gotten his praise and recognition and thought little more of it.

Upon returning to the mountain, when a Steward inquired, he mentioned it casually just to list something, expecting about a thousand Merits recorded. Yet, precisely because so few had bothered to build Merits, he’d managed to squeeze into the top ten…

And now? This landed him among the first to receive the Divine Nether Body Tempering Art, plus a Dragon Stone and Spirit Pills?

Meanwhile, the eight disciples at the very bottom, those with zero Merits, looked utterly petrified.

How many Merits did Fang Cun’s rule require them to achieve?

The one currently ranked first on the Ledger was a female disciple from Yuxiu Peak, with twelve hundred Merits!

Ten times hers… would be twelve thousand Merits…

One hundred times… that meant… one hundred and twenty thousand Merits?!

The message was clear: you never intended to teach us the Treasure Body Method, did you?

Saying today was only for rewards, not punishment… yet this “reward” hurts far worse than any punishment!

…

“Elder Fang, regarding this matter…”

The implications were glaringly obvious. Everyone instinctively did the math.

Not only did the disciples’ faces shift dramatically once they calculated, but even the Elders, including Young Sect Master Xu, suddenly grasped the issue, their expressions turning troubled and grim.

Elder Cold Stone, alarmed, hurriedly moved closer to Fang Cun to whisper a reminder.

Logically speaking, even if they obtained the Treasure Body Method, they wouldn’t casually impart it to every disciple either. They’d have specific criteria. Yet, if they were setting the rules, they would likely privately discuss which disciple had better background, higher potential, served the sect longer, or benefited the sect most – determining the order based on these factors, rather than purely by Merits.

“Does Elder Cold Stone think this arrangement is inappropriate?”

Fang Cun looked at Elder Cold Stone with a smile.

Elder Cold Stone paused briefly, then declared loudly, “Well said! I’ve long wanted to do it this way…”

Fang Cun nodded in satisfaction, mentally noting he should consider increasing Elder Cold Stone’s monthly stipend later…

This was something he had to do!

First, for his own Merit dividends. Judging by previous indications from the Celestial Merit Record, if the Shoushan Sect used his rules to determine which disciples received the Treasure Body Method instruction, it would inevitably trigger a frenzy among disciples striving desperately for Merits. He stood to gain a significant share of those Merits. Second, various sects across Qingjiang Prefecture had largely abandoned rewarding disciple treatment based purely on Merits, or had secretly altered how Merits were calculated. Therefore, he intended to use the Shoushan Sect as a testing ground for a certain idea of his!

Meanwhile, upon hearing Fang Cun’s words, the disciples reacted differently. Those at the top remained relatively calm, but those at the back, especially the bottom eight, pale-faced with shock and fury, could no longer restrain themselves.

They rushed forward anxiously: “Elder Fang, we beg your pardon for any disrespect, but you only told us to build Merits previously. You didn’t say the Treasure Body Method would be taught based solely on Merits counted. How suddenly is this rule established? Moreover, if we must go by Merits… fine, we will work diligently to make up our Merits. But… Elder Fang’s calculation method… does it not seem… deliberately designed to make things impossible for us?”

Fang Cun glanced at him, recognizing him. He smiled slightly. “You may think so if you wish.”

The disciple choked, finding he suddenly had nothing more to say.

As Fang Cun anticipated, the eight disciples at the very bottom were unsurprisingly the ones he had previously observed being close friends with Zhou Huai. He understood well that after he publicly crippled Zhou Huai, deep resentment must have festered among the disciples. After all, they were young, prone to blind notions of loyalty. Since Zhou Huai had been their friend, they naturally held inner opposition towards him. They might not dare oppose him openly, but refusing to participate in these Merit-building tasks was entirely predictable.

Perfect!

While Fang Cun had only publicly punished Zhou Huai the other time, that didn’t mean he had forgotten. Zhou Huai wasn’t the only one singing that mocking rhyme that day. Later, when he encountered disciples in the sect muttering it behind his back, it hadn’t been just one either.

As an Elder, it wasn’t proper to punish too many at once. But now… he’d essentially gathered them all up.

Admittedly, this approach wasn’t ideal. He was, after all, an Elder; he shouldn’t engage in such calculated targeting against ordinary disciples…

…But who told him that was simply who he was?

…Maybe it was a bad habit, but it wasn’t one he planned to change!

…

“Building Merits is not that difficult, especially for all of you!”

Lifting his head slightly, Fang Cun met the mixed expressions of the disciples below the Lecture Boulder and stated coolly, “Though you all stand before me, as timid as field mice right now, I know most of you are cultivators at the Foundation Building Realm, some even higher. Flying through the sky, traversing the earth, capturing demons, and eliminating ghosts – such feats should be easy for you. In the eyes of ordinary mortals, you might as well be called immortals. Wanting to build Merits should be the simplest of tasks. Simply venture into the mortal world more often, offer help a few times, and Merits will roll into your hands effortlessly. Accumulating a few thousand, even tens of thousands? What is that?”

“So I say once more: even venturing into some… ahem… entertainment establishment down the mountain to redeem someone could earn you Merits. It depends on whether or not you are willing to act!”

“You may think my rules unreasonable. You may even think I’m deliberately targeting certain people. It doesn’t matter. Your opinions have no effect on me. Not yours, nor your families’. If you wish to learn the Shoushan Sect’s secret art, you must follow my rules. Of course… you can also completely ignore me…”

Fang Cun paused deliberately, then continued, “After all… according to the sect’s old rules… those who build not an inch of Merit for a long duration can be banished from the sect!”

“Shhh!”

Upon hearing this, the faces of the assembled disciples grew heavy, as if tangible pressure had just descended.

Those ranked near the front, having quickly done the mental calculation, breathed small sighs of relief. They dared not speak further, merely bowing respectfully, putting on expressions of having received valuable instruction. Even the disciples at the back, filled with lingering resentment and unwillingness, found they couldn’t voice a single word of rebuttal.

After a long moment, a respectful voice finally rose from the crowd: “We respectfully obey the Elder’s decree…”

Led by this voice, more and more disciples hurriedly bowed deep, echoing in unison: “We respectfully obey your decree!”