Evergreen Mountains, Qingling Sect.

Li Sheng lowered his head, his expression serious as he cast three copper coins down. The coins flipped and clashed on the divination board—this was his final toss.

"Gen below, Kun above."

"Qian hexagram! Great auspicious hexagram!"

He let out a breath of relief. The sect master had fallen recently in the demon cave, and the sect was in turmoil. The question he had asked was about the future, and fortunately, the half-baked divination skills he learned online in his past life hadn't completely escaped him, yielding a great auspicious hexagram.

He still believed in this hexagram to some extent. Before he crossed over in his previous life, he had drawn a great auspicious hexagram. Later, on his way home from work, he saved someone who had fallen into the water, but he ended up drowning himself from exhaustion, which led to his crossing over.

"Li Deacon, the Grand Elder has summoned everyone to the Transmission Hall for a meeting. Please hurry." A black-clothed disciple hurried over, but secretly scoffed.

"Ten years in the sect and still stuck at the Body Refinement stage? What a useless waste! Only clinging to the sect master's leg. Now that the sect master has fallen, ha..."

"Hmm, got it," Li Sheng nodded in acknowledgment.

Inside the Transmission Hall, as Li Sheng arrived, the black-clothed elder at the head spoke up:

"The sect master has tragically fallen. We, the disciples, are heartbroken. However, the sect cannot be without a leader for even a day. We have gathered everyone here to elect a new sect master; capable individuals may take the position."

"Elect a new sect master?"

Once he realized this had nothing to do with him, he leaned back to enjoy the spectacle, expecting an intense showdown.

Hmm, Elder Feng is the oldest, while Elder Xiong and Elder Lu are at their prime—who will ultimately win? Li Sheng remained outwardly calm but secretly anticipated the outcome.

As Elder Feng finished speaking, the atmosphere grew eerily silent. He then leisurely continued, "I, being old and frail, know I am unfit for the position of sect master, so I will abstain. Do my junior brothers and sisters have any intentions?"

"Elder Feng is actually abstaining?"

As a third-tier sect, although the sect master had fallen and there were no sixth-grade experts to hold the fort, the sect, sitting atop spiritual veins with resources like spirit pools and bamboo, still had a good chance of making it through this ordeal. How wonderful it would be to become the sect master afterward.

"What is this old man scheming?" Li Sheng felt puzzled.

Hearing the inquiry, Elder Xiong scanned the room and grunted, "I abstain too!"

Elder Lu twirled her long hair around her ear, a hint of charm in her gaze. Though over forty, she appeared graceful.

"Are they secretly reaching an agreement? It seems Elder Lu has the upper hand," Li Sheng sighed inwardly, realizing the anticipated showdown was not happening.

He then glanced at the beautiful young woman sitting opposite him, Lu Qinghong, who bore a striking resemblance to Elder Lu.

Noticing Li Sheng's gaze, Lu Qinghong flashed him a smile.

The smile caught him off guard, feeling strangely bewildered. In his memory, she often looked down on him and would humiliate him in front of the other disciples, only easing up when the sect master returned.

"I've heard rumors that this mother-daughter pair has unclear ties with the two-star sect, Windstream Valley. I wonder if there's any truth to it," Li Sheng pondered, waiting for Elder Lu to announce her appointment as the sect master.

"I abstain too!" The charming voice echoed through the hall.

Li Sheng's serious expression finally broke, shock washing over him.

"Elder Lu abstains too?"

"Could it be..."

Connecting the dots with Elder Feng's words about capable individuals taking the position and Elder Xiong's unwillingness, everything began to make sense. "This is to pave the way for Lu Qinghong?"

Li Sheng recalled Lu Qinghong's earlier smile and fought the impulse to glance her way.

"That wasn't just a smile; it was clearly saying, ‘You're done for!'"

A chill ran down his spine:

"The great auspicious hexagram helped him escape from the pressure of 007 in his past life. Though his talent is poor in this life, he's been living quite leisurely."

"Now, what's going on with this hexagram... is it no longer effective?"

At that moment, Elder Feng spoke up, "All three elders have abstained. Now, the position of sect master will be filled among you disciples. There are a total of forty-six disciples, and each will cast one vote."

As soon as he finished, a disciple entered with paper and pen. With the three elders abstaining, it was left to Li Sheng and Lu Qinghong.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He gave up any struggle and casually wrote down Lu Qinghong's name. In his view, everything seemed to be set in stone; it would be better if they just announced it.

"What a farce," Li Sheng complained as he contemplated his future.

In less than a stick of incense's time, the disciples outside finished casting their votes.

Then Elder Feng flipped through the votes, saying slowly, "Voting has concluded; the results cannot be changed. Next, I will announce the vote counts."

"One abstained."

"Lu Qinghong, one vote!"

"Li Sheng, forty-seven votes!"

"I declare that from this moment on, Li Sheng is the sect master of Qingling Sect!"

Hearing the vote counts, Li Sheng was completely stunned, echoes ringing in his mind.

"Li Sheng, forty-seven votes... forty-seven votes... seven votes..."

Li Sheng never expected to become sect master; with his talent lingering at the Body Refinement stage for ten years, how could it possibly be his turn?

He had been expecting to enjoy the drama, analyzing who would most likely become the sect master, only to end up being the one!

"So this is the power of the great auspicious hexagram... to turn the tide, change hearts—terrifying!"

While Li Sheng was in shock and lost in thought, Elder Feng's voice interrupted him:

"Li Sect Master."

"Elder, you say." Regaining his senses, Li Sheng quickly responded, not daring to act high and mighty, as Elder Feng was a seventh-grade Bone Refinement expert.

"I am old and have long desired to retire. Taking this opportunity, I will leave the sect and return to the mountains."

"Elder, you jest. You are still in your prime..."

Before he could continue persuading, Elder Feng rose to leave. Before he could think further, Elder Xiong, Elder Lu, Lu Qinghong, and the disciples outside all raised their voices:

"We resign from the sect, and from today onward, we have no ties to Qingling Sect!"

Listening to the deafening cries around him, Li Sheng's face turned pale. It finally dawned on him that he had been played.

All that talk about the sect not being without a leader for even a day.

All that about electing a new sect master.

It was all nonsense; this was a trap, a plot set by everyone for him.

At the same time, a deep sense of confusion rose within him. He didn't think he was worthy of having everyone set a trap for him.

As the elders departed, the hall grew cold and empty. Watching Lu Qinghong's figure about to leave, Li Sheng asked hoarsely, "Why did you set a trap for me?"

"Set a trap for you?"

"Do you even have the right to say that? The sect has long been in financial trouble; only dissolution is left. Setting a trap for you is merely giving the garrison disciples a legitimate reason."

"A waste who has been cultivating for ten years and is still at the Body Refinement stage—your life is worth less than grass. Using a worthless life like yours to trade for the elders' peace of mind can also save some resources. Why not?"

"What a life worth less than grass!"

"What a sense of peace!"

Watching her retreating figure, Li Sheng's fists clenched tightly, a surge of hatred rising within him, but more so a sense of powerlessness.

In the end, it all came down to lack of strength. If he were at the seventh grade, would they dare to treat him this way?

Thinking of what she mentioned about the garrison disciples, Li Sheng finally understood his predicament.

The world was harsh. With the invasion of abyssal monsters, Tianxuan Continent was in deep turmoil.

Many factions formed alliances to resist the monsters, and the battles were brutal. Countless sects vanished in the waves, including some top sects, holy lands, and dynasties—countless small sects fell as well.

The treaties were overseen by the dynasty and the alliance, with violators facing joint execution.

The treaty the third-tier sects followed required them to send one sixth-grade warrior to garrison or provide equivalent resources each year.

Now that the sect master had fallen, they had three years of protection under the treaty but still had to deliver resources each year.

"These old guys cherish their own skins, even willing to throw the thunderbolt onto me... how despicable!"

"Only by submitting to the garrison can we take the path of dissolution... but those people in the garrison..."

Thinking of those guys, Li Sheng felt a chill in his heart.

Who doesn't know the nature of those vultures in the garrison? They pick bones and suck marrow, greedy to the core.

"But submitting to the garrison requires passing this hurdle. I can only leave it to fate..."

"Damn great auspicious hexagram! Damn it, I..."

Before he could finish his curse, a ping echoed, and a line of subtitles appeared before his eyes:

"Detected a sect deeply bonded with the host; it meets the binding conditions. Would you like to bind?"