Qiu Ran collected those Emperor Pills back again, stroking the beard on his chin as he pondered for a moment before speaking. "I wonder how Junior Brother plans to spend such a massive amount of contributions?"
Having too many contributions wasn't necessarily a good thing. In theory, the contributions of an Elder could be exchanged for anything available within the Divine Temple — all manner of cultivation resources, for instance, or advanced cultivation techniques and secret arts. But Yang Kai's contributions were simply too vast, so vast that even Qiu Ran felt a chill run down his spine.
If he really went on a spending spree for resources, the Divine Temple's treasury — built up over countless years — would take a serious hit.
That was naturally not something the Divine Temple wished to see. The Elder's contributions sitting here wouldn't diminish, but if Yang Kai converted them all into physical resources and carried them away, the disciples would have to tighten their belts in the future.
Yang Kai already had a plan in mind. Hearing this, he said, "Senior Brother, you know I have a Lingxiao Palace in the Northern Domain. I've taken in some disciples recently, but Lingxiao Palace's foundation is still shallow and lacks depth. So I was hoping to request the Divine Temple to make copies of some cultivation techniques and secret arts for me to bring back. I hope that's convenient — of course, I can pay for them with my Elder contributions."
Qiu Ran said, "You're an Elder of the Divine Temple. Making copies of some techniques and secret arts is perfectly fine. As long as they're not particularly critical, no contributions are required."
There was such a benefit? Yang Kai brightened immediately. Qiu Ran had previously acted like a miser, and Yang Kai had thought the man was giving him a hard time. Now it seemed he'd misunderstood. He probed further, "Cultivation techniques and secret arts — the more the better, naturally. I'd also like to get my hands on some of the more precious ones."
Qiu Ran said, "You'll need to discuss that with Junior Brother Di yourself. He manages the Technique Pavilion. What requires contributions and what doesn't — he knows better than anyone."
The Junior Brother Di he referred to was, of course, Di Rong. Though Yang Kai's relationship with him wasn't as close as with Gao Xueting, they'd shared drinks together and been punished together before. They weren't strangers.
"That works!" Yang Kai nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Qiu Ran looked up at him.
Yang Kai said, "Additionally, I'd like to borrow some manpower from the Divine Temple."
"Borrow people?" Qiu Ran raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Yang Kai explained, "The disciples who recently arrived at my Lingxiao Palace don't have high cultivation. They need instructors to guide them, so I'd like to borrow some people from the Divine Temple to serve as teachers. Of course, I won't take them for nothing — I can use my Elder contributions to offset their compensation." This was the main purpose of his visit. The hundred instructors from Li Long Palace had already been complaining bitterly, and he needed to supplement the numbers quickly.
"There's no precedent for this, but it could be done. Junior Sister Gao, what do you think?" Qiu Ran turned his head toward Gao Xueting.
Gao Xueting replied, "It's not out of the question. They're not outsiders after all. But I'd like to know — how many does Junior Brother need, and what level of cultivation?"
"Two hundred," Yang Kai answered.
"Mm."
"And Daoyuan Realm?"
"Pfft—" Qiu Ran had just taken a sip of tea and spat it out immediately. He hastily set down his cup, patted the wet spot on his chest, and stared at Yang Kai in shock. "Junior Brother, you want to borrow two hundred Daoyuan Realm cultivators?"
"You heard correctly, Senior Brother. Two hundred Daoyuan Realm cultivators."
Gao Xueting was equally stunned. "What do you need that many Daoyuan Realm cultivators for?" These people were going to Lingxiao Palace to serve as instructors, and instructors typically taught groups. Even if one instructor taught two hundred students, two hundred instructors could teach four thousand.
Did Lingxiao Palace have four thousand students?
"Didn't I just say? I'm hiring them as instructors."
Gao Xueting frowned. "How many disciples has your Lingxiao Palace recruited?"
Yang Kai sniffed. "A hundred thousand or so, give or take..."
Qiu Ran and Gao Xueting both froze, nearly certain they'd misheard. The two exchanged a glance. Qiu Ran sent a voice transmission: "How many did he just say?"
Gao Xueting replied, "I heard a hundred thousand or so. How about you, Senior Brother?"
A hundred thousand. That was right.
Qiu Ran's eye twitched. "What do you need that many disciples for?" The key point was that, from the sound of it, these disciples' cultivation levels were all quite low. A sect's strength wasn't determined by sheer numbers — it was about the caliber of its people.
The Qingyang Divine Temple itself had only three or four thousand disciples, yet it was one of the Southern Domain's premier sects. And now Lingxiao Palace had over a hundred thousand? That was a hundred thousand people, not a hundred thousand pigs. Could he even feed them all? And what use were a hundred thousand people whose cultivation was still low?
No sect in history had ever had this many disciples. It was unheard of, unseen of.
"A helpless decision," Yang Kai said with a bitter smile. He really couldn't explain the details to outsiders — he knew the truth, and that was enough. If anyone found out he'd brought those hundred thousand-plus people from a lower-star domain, the Qingyang Divine Temple might very well try to steal them away.
A hundred thousand disciples and only two hundred instructors — that really wasn't much.
Qiu Ran straightened his expression. "Does Junior Brother know how many Daoyuan Realm cultivators our Divine Temple has?"
"No idea," Yang Kai shook his head. He technically had the clearance to know, but nobody had ever told him.
"Three hundred and fifty-two," Qiu Ran gave a precise figure. "Excluding the Daoyuan Realm disciples stationed at our various assets, only two hundred and eighty-nine remain at the Divine Temple." The implication was clear: you want two hundred Daoyuan Realm cultivators at once — what about us?
Yang Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Two hundred and eighty-nine. The Divine Temple's depth is truly remarkable. That can more than satisfy my needs. Please grant me this favor, Senior Brother."
"..." Qiu Ran nearly snapped at him. He was starting to suspect Yang Kai was doing this on purpose. Those two hundred and eighty-nine people each had their own duties and responsibilities — they weren't sitting around idle. It wouldn't be a big deal to pull a few people out, but two hundred was far too many. He was certain Yang Kai understood this perfectly well, yet here he was, playing dumb while knowing full well.
Qiu Ran took a deep breath. "Two hundred Daoyuan Realm cultivators is out of the question. At most, I can lend you thirty."