"Huh? This game is a bit interesting." Lin Fan clicked on the game, reading its description. "You started out as the Sect Leader a sect in a state of decline. It has barely any resources, no industries, barely any disciples, and only five Elders. Your role as Sect Leader is to save the sect from extinction."
"Interesting," Interested, he read on. "The sect and player will face challenges regularly. These challenges are scheduled for every year, every decade, every century, and even every millennium. And they could be anything ranging from an invasion from a foreign enemy, demons, rivals in business, or even a meteor falling onto your head. If a test cannot be passed, it is… Game Over."
After reading the game introduction and understanding the general gameplay, Lin Fan found it even more interesting. Yet the game had no downloads, even in throughout the entire year it has been published. "An entire year since publication and literally zero players. What, did you blow your entire budget on the game?"
Lin Fan chuckled to himself. "Well, lets see if this is a fun game. I might play it on stream tomorrow, boosting your numbers." He clicks to download the game.
Lin Fan a massive gaming streamer and content creator.
He has played hundreds of games and has cleared more than 300 of those he played. And because of his fun and humorous video style, he has more than 3 million fans. He has doing very well for himself. The only drawback is that some time ago, he publicly declared in a high-profile manner that he will never advertise products.
Now he feels a bit regretful...
Other streamers with only hundreds of thousands of followers have luxury cars, big houses, beautiful girls and young models, but his own income is barely at the level of a well-off family.
Ding!
The game finished downloading.
Lin Fan opened the game, and the next second, his vision went dark.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
"Wait, my browsing history hasn't been DELETED YEEEEEEET…"
·····
"Sect Master? Are you awake? Sect Master!"
'Huh?'
Lin Fan stood up and cursed: "Your uncle's...huh?!"
He was confused.
"This is? Where am I?"
Everything around him looked unfamiliar and taken straight from a drama.
'And what the hell is this old man doing standing next to my bed?' Lin Fan looked at the old man, a long white beard cascaded from his face.
Suddenly, Lin Fan experienced a splitting headache.
Memories flooded into his mind, stunning him.
"Fuck!" He cursed.
'It seems like... I have traveled through time!'
This is the Moon Embracing Sect. It was once a first-rate sect in the southwest region of the Divine Martial Continent. However, over the years, it has rapidly lost relevance and territory due to not being able to produce any significant disciples. Now it has fallen such that it is barely a third-rate force.
At its peak, the Sect had millions of disciples and controlled over ten thousand mountains. It even competed with the Holy Land, and although it was thoroughly beaten by the Holy Land, the Sect still had enough power to stand proudly.
But now, all that is left is this one singular mountain, and no part of the former territory remains. Even what it does have, it has it because the few existing Elders have some level of power, otherwise even this mountain would have been taken. And then, let alone becoming a third-rate sect, there would be nothing left, not even the Elders.
The unlucky guy Lin Fan has transmigrated into is also named Lin Fan, and he had just taken over as the Sect Master of the Moon Embracing Sect yesterday. However, the previous Lin Fan's cultivation was only at the Condensing Yuan Realm, and even his talent is mediocre at best.
The only reason why he became the Sect Master was entirely because the five Elders were unwilling to take the responsibility. He knows this because Lin Fan overhead the Elders speaking of this.
"The demise of the Moon Embracing Sect is inevitable. If I to become the Sect Master, and the Moon Embracing Sect is destroyed in my hands, how will I face my Ancestors?" Supreme Elder Su Xinghai told the others. "So, even if the Lan Yue Sect is destroyed, it cannot be destroyed in my hands..."
The five Elders are all cultivators in the Cave Heaven Realm. They are not weak cultivators by any means, more than enough for the leadership of a third-rate sect. Yet they hold no hope of revitalizing the sect in any way.
This made Lin Fan's twitch with annoyance, before focusing on the more amazing aspect of this world, cultivation.
The realms of cultivation in the Divine Martial Continent are divided into Opening Xuan, Condensing Yuan, Profound Yuan, Cave Heaven, Mystic Finger, Knowing Fate, Harmonizing Dao, Breaking Void, and Ascending Immortal.
In the Opening Xuan Realm, cultivators work towards opening the physical body's Xuan or Profound Gate. Cultivators in the Condensing Yuan Realm work towards condensing the world's Yuan Qi. Cultivators in the Profound Yuan Realm work towards transforming their Yuan Qi into Profound Yuan Qi and gathering it within their Profound Gate. And cultivators in the Cave Heaven Realm work towards opening the Cave Heaven within their five internal organs.
At the Mystic Finger Realm the mysteries of the Universe can be gathered on the fingertips. Then, it is about understanding destiny and fate. Going a step further involves comprehending the Dao principles and harmonizing with the Great Way. Afterwards cultivators shatter the void and have sense Immortality. And finally, it is about stepping forwards in the void and reaching Immortality.
Each realm is divided into nine small realms, name Stages.
Memories kept coming back, making Lin Fan more and more speechless. He is just a child in the Condensing Yuan Realm, and not even the later Stages of seven, eight, or nine, but at the very beginning of the Condensing Yuan Realm.
The Elders are all Cave Heaven Realm cultivators that can literally crush him with one finger. Yet they don't want to be the Sect Master because they don't want to be responsible for the Sect's destruction?
How can anyone be so stupid!
'What's even more ridiculous is that... I am actually the most talented among the disciples of the current generation. No, more like in the last three generations!'
Lin Fan, twenty years old in the Condensing Yuna Realm, was not very talented at all. He was at most average. Yet, even with these qualifications, he was still considered the most talented in the last three generations?
Well. Not really. The previous two generations had much better and more talented individuals than Lin Fan, but they were all dead.
Not one has survived.
"Shit."
The current generation of disciples, only numbering at ten. 'God damn it, this sect is doomed.' Except for Lin Fan, they all seem to be completely unsuited for cultivation.
Compared to even any other third-rate sect, the Moon Embracing Sect seems to have less disciples and even the disciples they do have are outrageously weaker than average.
Lin Fan had a lot of thoughts. But in the eyes of the great elder Su Xinghai, he was in a daze, and he couldn't help but remind him. "Sect Master, it's already past midday, why don't you get up quickly and find a way to recruit more disciples, carry forward our Moon Embracing Sect, and restore our past glory?"
"Young people should not be neglectful!" Su Xinghai added with almost literal stars in his eyes.
Lin Fan suddenly felt like an intense rage overcome him while looking at the Supreme Elder, but in the end, he sighed helplessly: "Yes Supreme Elder, you are right." Lin Fan said, pointing towards the door of his bedroom. "Please go down first, I will think of a solution and present it before the Elders in a while."
The Supreme Elder nodded, walking past as Lin Fan walked him out. "We all believe in you, Sect Master! You can definitely lead us back to our past glory!" Once they reached the doorway, the Supreme Elder turned towards Lin Fan, his expression full of sympathy and excitement. "At that time, we will have millions of disciples and thousands of mountains under our control once again. Sect Master, you will be a giant in the Divine Martial Continent. Who wouldn't show you respect? Fairies from all walks of life will serve themselves to you, Sect Master, as long as they take your fancy."
With all that said, the Supreme Elder left, his expression one of happiness. Lin Fan rolled his eyes. 'He was trying to entice me with a grand future. But that sort of future is a lot harder to achieve than just dreaming it.' Lin Fan rubbed his eyebrows, another headache coming on.
"This transmigration happened into the game world. Am I dreaming, or is it real?" He tried pinching his thigh and it hurt. "Fine, not a dream. I'll need to treat it as real, otherwise things might become awkward in the future." Lin Fan sighed.
He still remembers the description of the game, which said that there is at least one minor crisis every year, a major crisis once every ten years, and there is said to be one annihilation crisis every hundred years. Then, every thousand years... is followed by an eclipse. It might not sound dangerous, but the trend seems to suggest otherwise.
"Who the hell wants to travel to a place like this? I was living so happily on Earth. Even if I wasn't advertising sponsors, with my financial resources, I could live somewhat freely by myself." Lin Fan yelled into his room, falling on his knees with anger and despair. "This is a hellish world, and the scenario makes it even more hellish. BASICALLY, GUARANTEEING DEATH!"
Lin Fan kept screaming inside his room. Letting out all his rage, despair and rampant emotions onto his bed, pillows and furniture. After a while, he finally calmed down, letting out deep breaths. "Well, maybe the only upsides are that I can live for hundreds of years, and I am super powerful, right?"
The Divine Martial Continent is rich in spiritual energy, and the maximum lifespan of ordinary people is more than two hundred years old, while in the Opening Xuan Realm it is around five hundred years old.
"But while I can live long, there will still be a crisis every year, decade, century, and millennium." Lin Fan frowned and began to think about how to survive this situation. As the old saying goes, go with the flow. "Ok, I have only one goal, to survive."
"The prerequisite for survival is to make the sect stronger and make myself stronger at the same time. And the easiest way to do that is through a… System!" Lin Fan tried to call out for a system, but it was of no use. After a while, nothing came of it.
"Ok, so no system. But I remember in the game introduction that as long as I develop my sect, I can become stronger, especially if I recruit disciples whose talent evaluation is rated as A or above, I can share their talent and strength..." Lin Fan paced around the room, hand on his chin in thought. "So, maybe I can judge from this point whether I have transmigrated into the 'game' or not and accept a disciple with A rated talent or above to see my if my own talent and strength change."
After finally clearing up his thoughts, Lin Fan couldn't help but complain: "Wait, but…without a system, how do I know who's talent is rated A or above?"
He rubbed his head and almost pulled out his hair in frustration. Hours and hours passed, and he finally came up with an idea. "People with talent rated A or above should normally be people with a protagonist template or Children of Destiny or whatever, right?"
"The sect will open its gates three days from now to start recruiting disciples this year. So, if I want to only get protagonist template disciples, then lets screen these participants by changing the sect recruitment rules." Lin Fan found a scroll and some parchment to write with and started writing quickly.
After almost two hours of writing, at dusk, Lin Fan walked out of the Moon Palace—the residence of the Sect Master—with a confident stride and a large smile on his face. Carrying under his arm a large scroll. However, looking at the state of the sect buildings, Lin Fan's face turned crestfallen, but he didn't let the state of the sect deter him.
The scene in front of him was really different from the Immortal Cultivation Sect he imagined it to be. The dilapidated mountain, the old buildings that were almost falling apart, the deserted Main Square... It was at this time that the Elders started to arrive. Lin Fan followed the sound, but his eyes paused on Second Elder Wu Xingyun.
There are five Elders, three men and two women. The male elders all look like old men, but the two women look young and beautiful. Both are mature and beautiful women no matter how you look at them. Especially Second Elder Wu Xingyun, who is not only beautiful, but also has extraordinary principles.
"Sect Master!" The five Elders said in unison, greeting him with a small bow.
"Good afternoon, Elders."
"Have you thought of a way to help our Moon Embracing Sect?" Su Xinghai clasped his fists and asked.
Looking at this guy's 'sincere' eyes, the corner of Lin Fan's mouth twitched. 'If you want this done so fast, just do it yourself. Why do you have to rushing me!'
Lin Fan coughed dryly "I believe that a large part of the reason why our Moon Embracing Sect is declining and becoming more and more miserable is because of problems with our system and sect rules." He said, looking the Elders in the eye. "Given that our gates will open for recruitment in just three days, I have drawn up new recruitment rules. Please take a look."
Lin Fan shook his hand, and the "New Rules" densely written in small characters floated in front of the five elders.
They looked at each other, and then all looked attentively.
——
Laws for Accepting New Disciples:
1) Applicants with the surnames Xiao, Ye, Shi, and Lin will be given priority for admission.
2) Those who like to talk to themselves with rings and other objects will be given priority.
3) Those who have survived more than three catastrophes and whose fiancées have mysterious origins will be given priority in admission.
4) Geniuses whose engagements have been broken off, those who have fallen, or those whose parents have disappeared mysteriously will be given priority for admission.
5) Those who are targeted and made things difficult for them as soon as they arrive outside the gate will be given priority for admission.
6) Those who like to wear mysterious smiles at the corners of their mouths, and whose enemies also like to smile arrogantly, will be directly designated as direct disciples.
7) Those whose bones have been dug out and who are in danger will be directly designated as direct disciples.
8) He is as timid as a mouse and extremely cautious. He keeps shouting that he will die and is directly designated as his direct disciple.
9) Those with ever-changing personalities, even sometimes male or female, are directly designated as direct disciples.
10) ...