Looking at the panel, Aotian pressed his lips together but didn't rush to curse the system.

[Epiphany Points: 4639]

The sect had a total of 13,919 disciples, and aside from his main body, all of them had entered epiphany at that moment.

Even after seeing so many points, the feeling of being robbed was horrible, and he truly felt an urge to confront the system in anger.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Aotian quickly suppressed such a self-destructive impulse.

First of all, the system had already helped him greatly and had always been fair. Even the sect-level-up missions were not difficult. If it weren't for Aotian wanting to quietly and carefully build an ideal sect, he could have completed them long ago.

Secondly, he didn't know what the system was, where it came from, or its purpose in helping him, so it made no sense to act like those foolish protagonists he used to read about, who, at the first setback, started cursing their systems as "dog system" or "useless system."

Cursing the system was not only ungrateful but also stupid — and Aotian did not consider himself stupid.

'System… why were the Epiphany Points discounted?' he asked calmly and composedly.

Ding!

[Host, the disciples' epiphany this time occurred due to external interference, through a blessing from the will of the world.]

[Despite the host's speech being excellent, it would not have been capable of inducing a mass epiphany like this. At best, with luck, ten disciples might have entered natural epiphany with such a speech.]

[Because it was a mass epiphany induced by the will of the world, the EP gained was reduced to one-third.]

Aotian blinked and scratched his chin, frowning slightly.

'System… does this forced epiphany by the will of the world have negative effects?'

He asked worriedly, because besides the disciples, his beloved wife had also entered epiphany. And since she had two bodies, it had been a double epiphany.

If there were side effects, he would rather that no epiphany had occurred, even if it meant not gaining any points.

Ding!

[The will of the heavens is an extremely high entity, and its blessings upon living beings bring no negative repercussions, but the number of times it can bless a living being is limited.]

Upon hearing the system's statement, he finally sighed in relief — but then noticed something strange.

'System… you're willing to answer the things I ask now?' he asked, bewildered.

Before, whenever he asked questions, the system would say it didn't have enough data to answer.

Ding!

[The system gathers data as the host grows. It provides avatars with abilities that will help the host forge his path in the world, but it cannot answer everything, for it is up to the host to explore.]

[However, certain data concerning the disciples and related matters, to assist the host in sect management, can be provided.]

Hearing the system's honest reply — even though its voice was robotic and emotionless — Aotian felt more at ease.

Although he still didn't fully understand its intentions, at that moment he had no desire to get rid of it. After all, the system was a helper that didn't grant power directly, but rather provided methods for him and his disciples to acquire it — so he wasn't completely its hostage.

Because of that, he still had great confidence in this partner who had accompanied him since the beginning of his journey. If it weren't for the system's help, he probably wouldn't have survived as a mortal in a cultivation world. He was already dead in his past life, and everything after that was a bonus.

Besides, in most of the stories he had read in his past life, there were rarely truly evil or destructive systems toward their hosts; and when there were, they were those with eccentric personalities that gave absurd missions.

His system, on the other hand, was much calmer and friendlier, never forcing him to do anything except build a powerful sect — and even that wasn't mandatory. If he wished, he could abandon the sect at any time and leave with his avatars.

After thinking deeply, now calmer, he began calculating what he would do with his EPs, without mentioning again the deduction that had occurred. He was already lucky enough to earn so much with a single lecture, so he decided not to complain out of greed.

The disciples, even though their epiphanies had ended, were still sitting with their eyes closed, processing their gains, and would need some time before awakening.

[Epiphany Points: 4639]

[Avatar Shop: Outer Elder - 1 EP Inner Elder - 10 EP Sect Leader - 5000 EP [Not Purchasable] Ancestor - 1000 EP]

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'Hmm… I guess the problem with the female elders will finally be resolved, though I'm not sure how I feel about it…' he pondered with a nervous smile, thinking about technically having a second gender soon.

Finally, he took a deep breath and steadied his heart.

'In terms of the number of enlightened minds, workforce, and talent, investing in regular elders is more advantageous, but in terms of strength and potential, ancestors have much greater appeal.'

Tapping his finger on his chin, he thought for a moment and made a decision.

'Let's go half and half, partly following the previous mission configuration set by the system back when the sect was at the Golden Core level.'

'1 ancestor, 20 inner elders, and 50 outer elders… that makes 1,250… hmm, I can still invest more.'

'How about… 2 ancestors, 50 inner elders, and 500 outer elders, totaling 3,000 points. No, I still have plenty left…'

With his multiple minds, Aotian could calculate expenses instantly, but his hesitation didn't come from the math — it came from uncertainty about what to do with the points: invest in ancestors, in elders, or save them for emergencies.

'Saving too many points makes no sense. It's better to invest in strength at this stage, which will expand the sect's capabilities… Aotian! Stop hesitating…'

Scolding himself, he clenched his teeth, and his eyes grew determined.

'System, follow the sect's current configuration… I want 3 ancestors, 59 inner elders, and 600 outer elders. Set the gender of all to female.'

Ding!

[Would you like to configure the avatars' appearance manually?]

Aotian's mouth twitched at the question. Even with his many minds, configuring the appearance of so many avatars would still be a major headache, and he feared he wouldn't have enough creativity to design them organically without them ending up looking too similar in certain traits.

'No, you do it yourself. The only requirement is that they don't look strange,' he requested.

Ding!

[Congratulations! Your purchase has been successfully completed!]

[Purchase: 3 Ancestors; 59 Inner Elders; 600 Outer Elders.]

[Requirements: Gender: Female. Appearance: Beautiful.]

[Cost: 4290] [Balance: 4639] [Remaining Epiphany Points: 349]

Ding!

[You have avatars available for summoning. Would you like to summon them now?] [[Yes] [No]]

'Not for now,' he replied mentally.

He hadn't expected to profit so much that day, so he didn't even have female clothing prepared for the elders. Thus, he decided to delay summoning them until the equipment was ready.

Aotian also wanted to prepare himself a bit more psychologically before summoning them.

While he was lost in thought, he felt a gaze fall upon him.

Instinctively looking to the side, Aotian met eyes with Lei Yun, the first to awaken from meditation, who was observing him with slight surprise.

After staring for a few moments, the former Mahayana cultivator simply nodded politely and looked away.

But in his mind, Lei Yun was quite curious about this strongest and most mysterious disciple of the sect.

'This sect… it truly isn't ordinary. Thousands of disciples entered epiphany together,' he thought, somewhat stunned and terrified as he clenched his fist.

Feeling the energy that had reached the peak of the 7th level, even he — a former Mahayana — felt like he was dreaming.

In just five months since joining the sect, he had leapt from Foundation Establishment to the late stage of Golden Core, and with a foundation several times sturdier than in his past life at the same realm.

Not to mention his combat power — he could crush his former self from back then as if he were nothing.

'Two epiphanies in five months… two epiphanies. I think that must be unprecedented in the world. At least, in my former world it was… not to mention within five months — even tribulation transcenders rarely have more than one epiphany in their entire lives. I myself never had a single one in my past life.'

'If I had, perhaps I wouldn't have fallen in the end,' he pondered, sighing lightly, though without regret.

Lei Yun felt that dying and arriving at this sect full of wonders to restart his cultivation journey had not been a loss, but rather an immense gain.

Not to mention the epiphanies and cultivation techniques — just Elder Lie Zheng's words and now Elder Wen Tai's lecture made everything worth it. Many doubts he hadn't even realized he had in the past were now answered.

And now, he had yet another surprise.

'This so-called Senior Brother Long… aside from his arrogant name, he's anything but simple. I had an epiphany just a few months ago, so the gains from that one didn't take long to process. Even so, I wasn't the first to wake up — he was.'

Lei Yun thought seriously. It had already been some time since he woke up, and after struggling to calm himself and return to his senses — still shaken by the mass epiphany — he happened to see the disciple Long Aotian sitting calmly, as if it were just another normal day and not an unprecedented event in the world.

'Unless he didn't enter epiphany, which I doubt, considering all disciples did, he must have experienced one recently, just like me… though that doesn't explain his calmness. Even I, a former Mahayana, can't calm down like that.'

He pondered, his heart still racing, but didn't dwell on it for long.

Although he found Aotian somewhat mysterious, the sect was countless times more mysterious, and his gaze shifted to his partner, Mu Luyin, who was still processing her gains.

The aura emanating from her body was that of the 4th level of Nascent Soul. Considering that she had been a hair's breadth away from breaking through to that level even before joining the sect, her progress might have seemed insignificant.

But Lei Yun, as her Dao companion, knew better.

When they left Dragon Lake, although she could have broken through at any time, she chose not to, wanting to calm herself first before continuing.

But after receiving the sect's techniques and being shocked by their potential, she had focused frantically on refining her foundation, which had been poor compared to what it could be.

Outside, she had been considered a genius with a solid foundation, but within the sect, she was no different from those weak cultivators who relied on pills to advance.

After five months — along with the day's epiphany — her foundation had been refined countless times over, and she had finally reached an acceptable level to advance, which made Lei Yun happy for his wife.

His gaze then moved across the disciples and fell upon the only female elder of the sect, who sat in a seat reserved for elders — the only one there.

That woman had a cultivation lower than Mu Luyin's but possessed a stable and strong mentality, like a sheathed sword, and Lei Yun had to admit she was quite suitable as an elder.

'Jian Huiyin… she's a woman who has been in the sect almost since the beginning. She comes from a common background, being a former sect leader of this continent, invited by the sect master to bring some feminine presence to the leadership.'

He recalled what Luyin had told him.

The two, Jian Huiyin and Mu Luyin, were around the same age and both women with Spiritual Physiques, who ended up getting along very well and becoming friends — which was why Lei Yun knew so much about her.

'She also entered epiphany during the lecture, being the only elder to do so. Truly, in a sense, she's just an ordinary cultivator compared to those powerful elders of mysterious origin. But at least she's improving.'

'From what Luyin told me, she was at the 8th level of Golden Core before, but now, with the epiphany, she has perfected her realm… just like the disciple Liu Rihai beside Long Aotian. They could both advance to Nascent Soul at any moment.'

His thoughtful eyes then shifted to the blonde girl beside Long Aotian, who emitted a heavy and powerful aura, strong enough to make him wary.

'The Infinite Dao Sect is truly filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons…'

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