The chorus of congratulations from the assembled cultivators only gradually died down after Li Fan flew to Congyun City and personally opened a passage through the protective array.
"Everyone, from this day forward, this shall be our new home," Li Fan said, smiling.
The assembled cultivators voiced their agreement in unison.
"All facilities on the island remain as they were, including the teleportation array, the Tianxuan Mirror, and so on. Fellow Daoists, you are welcome to explore them at your leisure. I won't bore you with a guided tour," Li Fan announced clearly.
Just as some cultivators were already itching to leave, Li Fan watched them, smiled faintly, and spoke again. "The following Fellow Daoists, please accompany me to the Administration Hall."
"He Zhenghao, Gao Yuan, Zhou Qing'ang..."
"Fang Weihou..."
"Jia Jun..."
Like a chef reciting a menu, Li Fan rattled off over a hundred names in a single breath.
Those who had been on the verge of leaving froze where they stood. Understanding broke across their faces, quickly chased by nervous tension as they listened closely.
Those whose names were called were, naturally, ecstatic.
Those whose names were not called dared not show any unusual reaction, but watched the others with hearts full of envy. Having latched onto Li Fan, nominally a Secretary-Envoy, but in reality the Acting Island Master, their futures were now truly boundless.
With that, Li Fan led the hundred-odd cultivators in a grand procession toward the Administration Hall at the city's center.
The cultivators left behind immediately began communicating through divine sense.
"Look at him, so full of himself. Fortune and misfortune are unpredictable. Li Fan may be in power now, but once Island Master Hong Xi returns, it'll all count for nothing."
"I'm not so sure. The Secretary-Envoy clearly has backing. Otherwise, how would a plum assignment like dropping in to govern an entire province ever fall to him?"
"That goes without saying. Could an ordinary cultivator trample a Spirit Transformation puppet underfoot? Even if Island Masters Hong Xi and Zi Yun return, they'll treat the Secretary-Envoy with respect. Fellow Daoist Zhu, I'd advise you to read the situation and avoid making an enemy of him."
"Hmph! You may all fear him, but I, Zhu Yongshou, do not fear this Li Fan!"
Conversations like these broke out in every corner of Congyun City.
No one could be liked by everyone in the world. Li Fan was no exception.
As for the gossip circulating among the cultivators of the Congyun Sea, Li Fan paid it no mind whatsoever.
For now, he focused on assigning the various predetermined positions to those he had gathered.
Afterwards, he reported the personnel appointments to the Myriad Immortals Alliance's headquarters and waited for their approval.
After a full day of busy work, Li Fan finally found a moment of quiet.
He owed much of that ease to capable aides like He Zhenghao and Gao Yuan; without them, managing the city's administrative affairs would not have gone so smoothly.
Seated in a room set aside for him within the Administration Hall, Li Fan closed his eyes and turned his attention inward, sensing the various streams of cultivation feedback, each of different strengths, flowing into his dantian from all directions.
A faint surprise crossed his face.
Someone among my subordinates has broken through already?
Then again, it makes sense. Most of these people were impoverished cultivators scratching out a living in the Congyun Sea. After following me and grinding through half a year of hardship, they've finally gotten what they wanted, leaping straight into the Alliance's ranks, and not in lowly positions either.
In that state of elated excitement, a breakthrough is only natural.
As the saying goes, when one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Every one of them has risen on the back of my patronage.
So of course the Mountain-Sitting Art would receive cultivation feedback from this.
And the intensity of it...
Li Fan concentrated on sensing it and grew increasingly pleased.
It can't compare to the grace of imparting a technique, but it is still life-changing.
Better yet, this path of cultivation is safer and better concealed than imparting techniques, and it operates within the Myriad Immortals Alliance's own system, in full view of everyone.
Right now I'm just a Secretary-Envoy who started late, with no foundation to speak of. But a true master of a province, with disciples and old subordinates spread throughout the Alliance...
The benefits would be unimaginable.
Li Fan's eyes gleamed. He had caught the outline of a brand-new path of cultivation.
As long as I hold the position of Secretary-Envoy, I can rely on these hundreds of trusted followers to advance my cultivation at speed.
Nascent Soul formation is now within sight.
The Five Elements Grotto-Heavens...
Thinking of his original goal, Li Fan's brow furrowed slightly.
Many things in this lifetime had unfolded in vastly different ways from his previous one. The war in Tianling Province, which had originally forced them to relocate the Five Elements Grotto-Heavens, might not even occur this time. And if the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council never came to blows, if peace held, Li Fan would find it difficult to fish in troubled waters.
Train an army for a thousand days to use it for one morning.
It's time to send you out again, Fellow Daoist Zhou Qing'ang.
After a brief pause, Li Fan smiled, and his attention shifted to Zhou Qing'ang.
At that moment, Zhou Qing'ang was surrounded by cultivators on all sides.
Anyone with eyes could see that Zhou Qing'ang, closely tied to He Zhenghao and clearly among Li Fan's most trusted, was headed for a meteoric rise. If someone didn't seize this last chance to build goodwill now, when would they?
Visitors came in an endless stream to pay their respects.
"Zhou Qing'ang" expended considerable effort before finally shaking free of the crowd.
Late that night, he slipped out of Congyun City and headed straight for the rendezvous point.
***
"Administration Hall, Departmental Inspector. How's that for a position, Boss?
"My new authority is considerable—jurisdiction over the region, full power to come down hard on any unlawful conduct. Far more impressive than being some island guardian!"
Zhou Qing'ang addressed the stone-face, barely containing his pride.
"And all that classified information I couldn't get near before? Now it's well within reach. I've truly embedded myself in their ranks!
"Boss?
"Hm? Boss, why aren't you saying anything?" Receiving no response from the other side, "Zhou Qing'ang" asked, a note of puzzlement entering his voice.
Silence.
A faint sense of foreboding rose in Li Fan's chest. He stopped talking.
After a long moment, the stone-face finally spoke. The voice was cold and hard, edged with killing intent.
"You are not Zhou Qing'ang. Who are you, really?"
Li Fan's chest tightened.
He kept his composure and let a look of mild indignation settle onto his face. "Boss, what are you saying? Take a good look—this is the genuine article!
"How can you doubt me? I've done good work for the organization!
"The Myriad Immortals Alliance's entrance exam questions, the top-secret intelligence on the Xuanhuang Unification..."
Zhou Qing'ang, deeply aggrieved, laid out his merits one by one.
"So you substituted yourself for him that early on. Impressive."
The stone-face remained utterly unmoved by Li Fan's defense, its voice as cold as frozen iron.
The previously agitated "Zhou Qing'ang" went still at once.
When he spoke again, it was in an entirely different register, mild and unhurried. "Oh? Where did I slip up?"
"Hmph!"
The face in the stone gave a cold laugh. "Your disguise was flawless. But for all your calculations, you overlooked one crucial detail.
"When Zhou Qing'ang first accepted the mission to infiltrate the Myriad Immortals Alliance, he was given one absolute directive.
"Once he had truly secured a position of influence within the Alliance, he was to immediately shed his identity as a sleeper agent.
"He was to bury himself completely, sever all contact with us, lest he be discovered and all our work come to ruin.
"He was to remain hidden, waiting, until the organization activated him at the critical moment.
"Therefore," the face said, its tone grave, "someone who rushes to contact me the instant he is promoted could never be Zhou Qing'ang himself."