Being the Sect Master Is No Easy Task

"Eh? This game is quite interesting." 

Lin Fan clicked his tongue in amazement. 

"The game starts with a declining sect on the brink of collapse, barely held together by a few old geezers. The disciples are all money-losing investments, either mediocre in talent or destined to die young. The sect's resources are nearly exhausted, and it's on the verge of annihilation.

"Players assume the role of the new sect master, tasked with saving the sect from disaster.

"And slacking off is not an option. There's a minor evaluation every year and a major one every decade? The assessments could range from external invasions to old enemies seeking revenge, or even outer-world demons or falling meteorites. Failing to pass them... what?"

After reading the game introduction and getting a rough idea of the gameplay, Lin Fan found it even more intriguing.

"A game like this should attract players with a bit of promotion. Why has it been online for a year with zero engagement?

"Could it be that the company went bankrupt and couldn't afford advertising?

"Well, let me be the first to give it a try. If the game is good, I'll definitely give it a boost."

Lin Fan was a popular game reviewer.

He had played at least 8,000 games, if not 10,000, and had completed over 3,000 of them. His humorous and witty video style had garnered him over three million followers, making him quite a notable figure in the gaming community.

The only downside was that he had publicly declared he would never endorse products.

Now, he regretted it somewhat. Other content creators with just a few hundred thousand followers were already living in luxury with mansions, fancy cars, and beautiful models, while his income was just enough for a comfortable life.

Ding.

Download and installation completed.

Lin Fan clicked on the game, and the next second, everything went black.

Damn, this game is toxic!!! 

I haven't even cleared my browsing history and study materials yet!!!

***

"Sect Master, Sect Master?"

"..."

Swoosh!

Lin Fan flipped over and climbed up, cursing, "Damn it... huh?!"

He was stunned.

"What is this?"

Everything around him was completely unfamiliar.

And who was this old man with white hair and beard, yet a ruddy face, standing by his bed?!

Suddenly, his head felt like it was splitting.

Memories flooded into his mind.

Lin Fan was dumbfounded.

"Damn it!"

He cursed.

It seemed he had... transmigrated!

This place was the Moon Grasping Sect, once a top-tier sect in the southwestern region of the Immortal Martial Continent. But in recent years, it had fallen into decline, with no promising successors, now reduced to a third-rate force.

At its peak, the sect had over ten million disciples and more than ten thousand spiritual mountains. How grand it was!

It had even contended with holy lands, although it was almost obliterated in the process...

But at least it had shown some backbone!

Now, only one mountain remained, with less than one ten-thousandth of its former territory, all of which had long been seized by others.

Even this was only preserved because a few of the remaining old geezers had some skills. Without them, even the last bit of foundation would be lost. The sect wouldn't even qualify as a third-rate power and might face complete extinction!

The unlucky guy Lin Fan had transmigrated into was also named Lin Fan and had just been appointed as the sect master of the Moon Grasping Sect yesterday.

His cultivation was mediocre, and so was his talent.

He became the sect master solely because none of the old geezers wanted to take the responsibility.

As Lin Fan overheard, "The downfall of the Moon Grasping Sect is almost certain and nearly irreversible. If I become the sect master and the sect perishes under my leadership, how could I face our predecessors in the afterlife?"

"So, even if the Moon Grasping Sect is to be destroyed, it won't be under my leadership..."

The five elders, all seasoned cultivators at the fourth realm, the 'Cave Heaven' stage, were not weak. At least within a third-rate sect, they were considered quite formidable. Yet, they were unusually united in their thinking.

This made Lin Fan's mouth twitch uncontrollably.

As memories continued to flood in, Lin Fan felt increasingly speechless.

He was merely a small fry at the Condensing Primordial Energy stage, and he had just entered it.

Any one of these old geezers at the Cave Heaven stage could crush him with a finger, and they were all 'ancestor' level figures!

Yet, they didn't want to be sect master and pushed the position onto him?

How ridiculous is that!

Even more absurd... he was actually the most talented among the current and the past two generations of disciples!

A handsome twenty-year-old at the Condensing Primordial Energy stage. His talent was mediocre, but it was enough to outshine three generations???

Oh, right, there were more talented ones in the previous two generations, but they were all dead.

Not a single one left.

Lin Fan: "..."

There were only seven current disciples left, besides him. They were all complete trash, barely able to get through daily life.

Expecting them to be sect master was indeed too much.

At this moment, Lin Fan finally understood just how thorough the term 'decline' was.

Even any random minor sect had more disciples and stronger ones than the Moon Grasping Sect!

Lin Fan's mind raced.

But in the eyes of the Grand Elder, Su Xinghai, he was just in a daze. The elder couldn't help but remind him, "Sect Master, it's already late in the morning. Shouldn't you get up and think of a way to recruit more disciples, to revive our Moon Grasping Sect and restore its former glory? Young people must not slack off!"

Lin Fan felt as if ten thousand alpacas were running through his mind, but he finally sighed helplessly, "Alright, Grand Elder, you go ahead. I'll think of something."

"Time waits for no one, Sect Master. We all believe in you! You can definitely lead us to restore our former glory!! By then, our Moon Grasping Sect will have millions of disciples and ten thousand spiritual mountains. Sect Master, you will be a great figure in the Immortal Martial Continent. Who wouldn't respect you? Any fairy you fancy, who would dare refuse?"

The Grand Elder left, but his face was full of 'Ganbare' expressions.

Lin Fan rolled his eyes.

He was making empty promises!

Still trying to motivate me!

The most crucial thing was that he was so insincere!

Su Xinghai left.

Lin Fan rubbed his temples, feeling overwhelmed.

"Transmigration, and it matches the game introduction exactly. Is it the game's problem that forcibly transmigrated me, or did I get electrocuted and become a vegetable, and all this is my dream and fantasy?"

He tried pinching his thigh, and it hurt.

"Sigh, whatever the case, let's treat it as a real transmigration. Otherwise, I won't be able to handle it."

Lin Fan sighed deeply.

What if it's real? If he slackened, wouldn't he really be doomed?

He still remembered the game's introduction, with at least one minor crisis per year, a major crisis every ten years, and supposedly an apocalyptic crisis every century. For the millennium... it was ellipses, but anyone could imagine it was definitely worse than the century crisis.

"Who the hell wants to transmigrate to such a place? I was living so well on Earth. At worst, I could shamelessly endorse products. Even without endorsements, with my current wealth, I could save impoverished girls until I was eighty, and never repeat a day!

"Coming to this godforsaken place, starting straight in hell mode, really...

"Sigh, perhaps the only advantage is the extended lifespan?

The Immortal Martial Continent was rich in spiritual energy, with an ordinary person's maximum lifespan exceeding two hundred years, and those at the Condensing Primordial Energy stage living up to around five hundred years.

"Assuming I can survive that long, given the yearly crises."

Lin Fan frowned, contemplating how to break the current predicament.

As the old saying goes, life is like being forced; if you can't resist, then try to enjoy it.

So, my only goal is to survive. And the prerequisite for survival is to make the sect stronger, and at the same time, make myself stronger.

"System?!"

Lin Fan tried to summon a golden finger, but to no avail. After a long time, nothing happened.

"However, I remember from the game introduction that as long as I develop the sect, I can become stronger, especially by recruiting disciples. If their talent rating is above A-level, I can share their talent and power...

"So, whether I've transmigrated into the 'game' or not can perhaps be determined by this. I'll recruit a disciple with an A-level talent or above and see if my talent and power improve. If they do—"

Goddammit!

Having finally sorted out his thoughts, Lin Fan couldn't help but complain, "Without a system, how am I supposed to know who has A-level talent or above?"

He rubbed his head, almost pulling his hair out.

After a long time, he finally calmed down, slowly piecing things together using his professional knowledge and the countless fantasy novels he read in middle school to summarize a pattern...

"Since this is a world of xianxia and fantasy, with countless cultivators, there must be those with the destiny of a protagonist or a chosen one, right?

"I can't tell what level their talent is, but I refuse to believe that someone with a protagonist's template or the destiny of a chosen one would have poor talent!

"So, I'll screen them from this angle."

Lin Fan grabbed a pen and paper, writing furiously.

"I remember that three days from now is the Moon Grasping Sect's annual disciple recruitment day. Time to amend the sect rules!"

By evening.

Lin Fan finally walked out of the Moon Grasping Palace—the sect master's residence and cultivation place.

Looking at the small sect, Lin Fan's face darkened once again.

The scene before him was vastly different from what he had imagined a cultivation sect to be.

A dilapidated mountain, a few shabby buildings, and a deserted sect square...

At this moment, the five elders approached.

Lin Fan turned his gaze, his eyes lingering on the Second Elder, Wu Xingyun.

Of the five elders, three were men and two were women. The male elders all looked like old men, but the female elders appeared young and beautiful, mature women, especially Wu Xingyun, who was not only beautiful but also had extraordinary wisdom.

"Sect Master. Have you thought of a way to revitalize our Moon Grasping Sect?" Su Xinghai cupped his fists and asked.

Looking at his 'sincere' eyes, Lin Fan's mouth twitched.

He wanted to curse!

You all refused to be the sect master and pushed it onto me, and now you keep urging me?!

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, "I believe that one of the main reasons for our sect's decline is our outdated rules and regulations. As the disciple recruitment day is in three days, I have drafted new rules for you to review."

With a flick of his hand, a densely written 'new rules' sheet fluttered before the five elders.

They looked at each other, then focused their attention on the paper.

Ironclad Rules for Disciple Recruitment:

1. Those with the surnames Xiao, Ye, Shi, or Lin are given priority.

2. Those who like to talk to rings or other objects are given priority.

3. Those who have survived three life-and-death situations and have mysterious fiancées are given priority.

4. Those who have been divorced, fallen geniuses, or have mysteriously missing parents are given priority.

5. Those who are targeted or harassed upon arriving at the sect gates are given priority.

6. Those who like to keep a mysterious smile on their faces, and whose enemies laugh sinisterly, are directly accepted as personal disciples.

7. Those who have been dug for their bones and are in critical condition are directly accepted as personal disciples. Those who are extremely timid, cautious to the extreme, and constantly proclaim their impending death are directly accepted as personal disciples.

8. Those with changing personalities, sometimes male, sometimes female, are directly accepted as personal disciples.

9. ...