A few minutes later, Yan Hong ran back with a contract and a spiritual pen.
The lowest grade of contract paper was five spirit stones each, and the lowest grade of spiritual pen was one spirit stone each. All of their funds had been used up now.
Yan Hong rested on the dining table while writing furiously. Very soon, a "proof of allegiance" was formed.
[Proof of Allegiance: Establishing brotherhood; trusting each other in life and death; helping each other in good times and bad; depending on each other be it fortune or calamity; and supporting each other in times of difficulties…]
Of course, these were all beautiful nonsense, because in the contract, these requirements were clearly stated as single items.
Jiang Li and Yan Hong signed their names at the top, and then went back to let the others sign their names as well.
Other than not deliberately sending them to their deaths, Yan Hong had requested that the people who submitted to him serve them unconditionally for 18 months.
Although this was also exploitation and oppression, it was undoubtedly much better than two years of forced labor.
First of all, the time was shortened by half a year. Even if Yan Hong really took away all their monthly allowance, they could still cultivate.
No matter what, it was better than wasting two years of time.
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with the contract. However, if we have to choose, there are good and bad aptitudes even among the low-grade spiritual roots. I still remember a few names. We can choose them first."
Even if two people had the same low-grade spiritual root, the more they filled the Spirit Testing Bead, the better their natural talent would be. Since they wanted to choose, they had to pick the better ones.
"I know. Wait for my good news." Yan Hong then ran out after saying that.
This time, he went out for a longer period of time. While waiting, Jiang Li also found a table to sit at. Soon, many of the soon-to-be disciples who were indecisive surrounded him and began to enthusiastically chat.
Especially when Yan Fengyue and a few pretty girls surrounded him and kept calling him Brother Jiang. It made him feel comfortable.
Clearly, these people were not going to submit but only wanted some support, but at this time, it was good to raise their prestige.
Several more teams were brought in, and the spacious lounge soon became more lively.
In particular, there was a group of young men and women who were obviously older than them who were wearing simple clothing that had gone through wear and tear.
This should be the group of children who were forced to work two years ago.
Like a flock of quails, they huddled in the corner of the lounge. They did not dare to speak loudly or eat more food. The curiosity and liveliness in their eyes were gone.
There were clearly more than a thousand people, but it was surprisingly quiet. It was a stark contrast to the situation where the people were forming their own groups.
This was a group of people who had been beaten by society and had their edges worn down by the cruel world. Even if they were to become a member of the cultivation world in the future, they would still be a group of people working hard at the bottom.
Come to think of it, in his previous life, he was just such a person.
Where there were people, there would be class. Where there was class, there would be exploitation. Such things would never change no matter where they went.
There was only one way to escape the fate of being exploited, and that was to exploit others…
Yan Hong's plan was a brutal capital accumulation, the first step to achieving class advancement.
Of course, in this world with immortals, devils, gods, and ghosts, everything depended on strength. Without enough strength to protect it, no matter how many spirit stones one earned, they would still be as defenseless as rootless duckweed.
After some time, when Fu Zhong appeared again and everyone set off again, Yan Hong finally arrived.
Behind him were 19 soon-to-be disciples who seemed to have survived a calamity. Among them were 10 males and 9 females.
"This is my brother, Jiang Li. Hurry up and greet him!"
"Big Brother Jiang Li!"
Yan Hong reprimanded them sternly. Nineteen youths bowed to Jiang Li at the same time. They bent over 90 degrees and did not dare to straighten their backs before getting a response.
Jiang Li looked at Yan Hong in surprise. He did not expect this fatty to have such an ability. Could it be that he was also a transmigrator? Did he study human resource management in his previous life?
Yan Hong raised his eyebrows and whispered a few words into Jiang Li's ear before handing the contract to him for safekeeping.
It turned out that this guy came back so late because he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and give these 19 people psychological counseling (brainwashing).
From the way he was behaving, the psychological counseling was really effective.
"Alright, get up." Only when Jiang Li spoke did they dare to stand up straight. However, they still lowered their heads, not daring to look straight at Jiang Li and Yan Hong.
"Come aboard with us first."
The venue of the Immortal Ascension Assembly was not in the Immortal Ascension Pavilion. With the Immortal Ascension Pavilion as the center, a rich mortal city had been established.
Most cultivators did not like the clamor of the mortal world, so every year, the venue of the Immortal Ascension Assembly was set on an island in the middle of a lake behind the Immortal Ascension Pavilion.
Except…
"Jiang Li, are you sure this thing is a ship, and that place ahead is a lake?" Yan Hong pulled Jiang Li along and asked softly. After all, he had his underlings behind him. As a leader, he could not reveal his ignorance.
"Cough, cough. What's the big deal? It's just a little bigger than normal." Jiang Li looked at the flying ship that was at least twenty meters tall and the lake that was surging with waves. He calmly boarded the ship.
He had already sensed that this world seemed to be much larger than Earth in his previous life. It was as if everything had been enlarged.
It was reasonable for a lake to have an island, right?
With over two thousand people present, it was reasonable for a ship to fit all of them in, right?
According to the information Yan Hong obtained from Fu Zhong, the voyage would only last for a day and they would reach the island in the middle of the lake by tomorrow.
Jiang Li had observed that although this ship was huge, it seemed to have used some special technique. The speed of sailing was actually not slow at all. Even then, they still had to sail for a day and night. This lake was indeed shockingly huge.
Due to Yan Hong having a high-grade spiritual root, they successfully obtained a large and comfortable room to stay in.
Jiang Li gathered all 19 of his subordinates. After Yan Hong's session, he started to counsel them again.
"Don't worry. Yan Hong and I are not bad people. Don't worry too much in the future. Work hard with us."
"Look at all of you, and then look at us. We are a young and vigorous group, and we will only get better and better in the future. As long as you listen to our command and are willing to suffer, when the organization becomes big and strong, you will be the first batch of contributors to the organization. We will definitely not treat you badly."
"I'm strict with you now and I want you to work hard."
"This isn't for us, but for all of you. It's for us to seek immortality together. Tell me, do all of you want to become immortals?"
"We do!"
"Do you want to live forever?"
"We do!"
"Good! All of you are great. I don't care about talent or ability. I only care about attitude!"
"Tell me your attitude!"
"We will work hard, we will work hard!"
"Let me see your determination!"
"Fight, fight, fight!"
When they went out later on, all 19 of their faces were red and swollen. However, no one knew why they were all smiling and looking forward to the future.