Let You Be the Sect Leader, But You Only Recruit Protagonists? - Chapter 1
"Let You Be the Sect Leader, But You Only Recruit Protagonists? - Chapter 1: Being a Sect Leader Is Hard Work"
Chapter 1: Being a Sect Leader Is Hard Work
"Huh? This game seems kind of interesting."
Lin Fan muttered in amazement: "You start off with a destitute sect, struggling to survive, barely held together by a few old-timers. The disciples are either useless or short-lived, and the sect's resources have nearly been depleted. It's on the verge of extinction."
"The player takes on the role of the new sect leader, tasked with saving the sect from ruin."
"And you can't just slack off either—there's an annual minor 'test' and a decade-long major 'test.' These tests could involve external invasions, vengeful enemies, extraterrestrial demons, or even meteor strikes. If you fail... well, it's game over for you!"
After reading through the game introduction and understanding the basic mechanics, Lin Fan found himself increasingly intrigued.
"This type of game should theoretically attract players after some promotion, right? Why has it been out for a year already, and all its stats are still at zero?"
"Did they go bankrupt and couldn't afford advertising?"
"Well, let me be the first to try it out. If the game turns out to be good, I'll definitely give it a shout-out!"
Lin Fan was a gaming content creator.
He had played thousands of games—maybe even tens of thousands—and completed over three thousand of them. Thanks to his humorous and witty video style, he had amassed more than three million followers, making him quite successful in the gaming community.
The only downside was that he had once publicly declared, in a rather high-profile manner, that he would never promote products.
Now, he somewhat regretted that decision...
Other creators with just a few hundred thousand followers were already living in luxury homes, driving fancy cars, and surrounded by beautiful models, while his income was just enough to maintain a modest lifestyle.
Ping.
Download and installation complete.
Lin Fan clicked to start the game, and the next moment, everything went black.
"Holy crap, this game is toxic!!"
"I haven't even deleted my browsing history and study materials yet!!!"
"..."
***
"Master, Master?"
"..."
Whoosh!
Lin Fan flipped up, cursing: "What the hell... Huh?!"
He froze.
"What is this?"
Everything around him felt utterly unfamiliar.
And what was this white-haired, rosy-cheeked old man standing by his bed?!
Suddenly, a splitting headache struck.
Memories flooded into his mind.
Lin Fan stood there, dumbfounded.
"Damn it!"
He cursed.
It seemed... he had somehow... traveled through dimensions!
This was the Lan Yue Sect, once a top-tier sect in the southwestern region of the Xianwu Continent, but now it had fallen into decline due to a lack of successors. What was once a glorious sect with millions of disciples and thousands of spiritual mountains had now dwindled to just one mountain peak, barely clinging to existence as a third-rate sect.
At its peak, the Lan Yue Sect boasted millions of disciples and thousands of spiritual mountains. How majestic it had been! It had even dared to compete with the Holy Lands, though it had almost been obliterated in the process...
But at least it had been bold back then!
Now, however, only one mountain remained, and even that was thanks to the remaining elders who still had some strength left. Without them, the sect would have long since perished, its legacy wiped out entirely.
The person he had replaced, also named Lin Fan, had just taken over as the sect leader yesterday.
His cultivation wasn't great, nor was his talent particularly impressive.
The reason he became the sect leader was simply because none of the five elders wanted to take responsibility for the sect's inevitable downfall.
As Lin Fan had overheard one elder saying: "The decline of the Lan Yue Sect is already a foregone conclusion—it's almost impossible to reverse. If I were to become the sect leader and watch the sect crumble under my watch, how could I face our ancestors when I die?"
"So, even if the Lan Yue Sect's legacy is destroyed, it must not happen on my watch..."
The five elders—all at the fourth realm of cultivation, the 'Cave Heaven' stage—were not weak by any means, at least not for a third-rate sect. But their mindset was eerily unified.
This made Lin Fan's jaw twitch uncontrollably.
In the Xianwu Continent, the cultivation stages were divided as follows: Opening the Mystical Gate, Condensing Essence, Mystical Origin, Cave Heaven, Finger Mysticism, Understanding Fate, Merging with the Dao, Breaking the Void, and Ascending to Immortality.
First, cultivators opened their body's Mystical Gate, condensed the world's essence, transformed it into Mystical Origin energy, and gathered it within their Mystical Gate. Then, they opened the Five Viscera's Cave Heavens. After that, they comprehended the Dao's principles, where all mysteries converged at their fingertips—this was known as Finger Mysticism.
From there, they understood fate, merged with the Dao, shattered the void, and finally ascended to immortality.
Each stage was further divided into nine sub-stages, often referred to as the "ninth level" or something similar, like the "eighth Mystical Gate" or "ninth Cave Heaven."
As memories continued to flood in, Lin Fan grew increasingly speechless.
He was nothing more than a measly novice at the Condensing Essence stage, barely scraping by.
These Cave Heaven-stage elders could kill him with a flick of their fingers, and they were all from the "Grandmaster" generation!
Yet, they refused to take on the role of sect leader, leaving it to him?
How messed up was that?!
Even worse... he was supposedly the most talented disciple in the current generation—or rather, the past three generations!
A twenty-year-old guy at the Condensing Essence stage? Sure, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly groundbreaking either. And yet, this was considered the best talent in three generations???
Oh, wait—the previous two generations did have people more talented than him, but they were all dead.
Every single one of them.
Lin Fan: "..."
The current generation of disciples? Well, there were only seven left, including himself. As for the others... they were absolute trash, completely useless. They couldn't even manage their daily lives properly.
Expecting them to lead the sect was asking too much.
Only now did Lin Fan fully grasp just how dire the situation was.
Even the lowest-tier sects had more disciples—and stronger ones too!
Lin Fan's thoughts swirled.
But to Elder Su Xinghai, it looked like he was spacing out. He couldn't help but remind him: "Master, the sun is already high in the sky. Shouldn't you get up and think of ways to recruit more disciples, revitalize our Lan Yue Sect, and restore its former glory?"
"Young people shouldn't slack off!"
A herd of alpacas stampeded through Lin Fan's mind, but ultimately, he sighed in resignation: "Alright, Elder Su, you can leave for now. Let me think of a plan."
"There's no time to waste, Master. We all believe in you!"
"You will surely lead us to restore our former glory!"
"When that day comes, the Lan Yue Sect will have millions of disciples and thousands of spiritual mountains again. You, Master, will become a towering figure in the Xianwu Continent. Who wouldn't respect you? Any celestial maiden you set your eyes on—no one would dare defy you!"
Elder Su left, but his expression was full of encouragement.
Lin Fan rolled his eyes.
He was feeding him empty promises!
Still trying to CPU him!
And worst of all, he kept being so inappropriate!
After Elder Su left, Lin Fan rubbed his temples, feeling like his head was about to explode.
"I've traveled through dimensions, and it matches the game description perfectly. Is this a game issue that forcibly sent me here, or did I get electrocuted and become a vegetable, with all of this being a dream or hallucination?"
He pinched his thigh—ouch.
"..."
"Sigh, whatever the case, I'll treat this as a real dimension travel. Otherwise, it'll be hard to deal with."
What if it was real? If he slacked off, wouldn't he really die?
He remembered the game introduction: at least one minor crisis every year, one major crisis every decade, and supposedly one apocalyptic crisis every century. As for every millennium... there was an ellipsis, but it didn't take a genius to figure out it would be worse than the century-level crisis.
"Who the hell wants to end up in a place like this? I was living comfortably on Earth. Worst case, I could've swallowed my pride and promoted products. Even without that, with my current financial situation, I could've saved poor girls every day until I turned eighty, and not repeat anyone!"
"But here, it's a straight-up hellish start. Truly..."
"Sigh, the only upside might be the extended lifespan?"
On the Xianwu Continent, the average lifespan of ordinary people exceeded two hundred years, while those at the Condensing Essence stage lived around five hundred years.
"Assuming I live that long, given the annual crises."
Lin Fan furrowed his brows, starting to consider how to break the deadlock.
An old saying came to mind: life is like being forced into something—if you can't resist, try to enjoy it.
"So, my only goal is survival."
"And the prerequisite for survival is making the sect stronger, while also strengthening myself."
"System?!"
Lin Fan tried calling out for a cheat system, but to no avail. After much effort, nothing happened.
"Though I remember the game introduction mentioned that developing the sect would make me stronger, especially recruiting disciples. Disciples with talent rated A or higher—I can share their talents and power..."
"So, am I inside the 'game'? Maybe I can test this theory by recruiting a disciple with A-level talent or higher and see if my own abilities improve."
"Damn it!"
After finally organizing his thoughts, Lin Fan couldn't help but vent: "Without a system, how am I supposed to know who has A-level talent or higher?"
He tugged at his hair, nearly ripping it all out.
After a long, long while...
He finally calmed down, dissecting the problem step by step. Relying on his professional expertise and countless fantasy novels he'd read during middle school, he summarized certain patterns...
"In a xianxia or fantasy world, with countless cultivators, there must be protagonists or chosen ones, right?"
"I may not be able to discern their exact talent levels, but I refuse to believe that someone with a protagonist template or destined fate would have mediocre talent!"
"So, I'll screen candidates based on that."
Lin Fan grabbed pen and paper, scribbling furiously.
"I remember that in three days, the Lan Yue Sect will hold its grand recruitment event. First, I need to change the sect rules!"
By evening.
Lin Fan finally stepped out of the Lan Yue Palace—the place where the sect leader both cultivated and resided.
Looking at the... small sect, Lin Fan's face darkened again.
The scene before him was far from the image of a flourishing cultivation sect he had imagined.
A dilapidated mountain peak, crumbling buildings, and a desolate sect square...
Just then, the five elders approached.
Lin Fan turned toward the sound, his gaze lingering on Second Elder Wu Xingyun.
The five elders consisted of three men and two women. The male elders all looked like old men, while the female elders appeared youthful and beautiful, resembling mature beauties. Second Elder Wu Xingyun, in particular, was not only stunning but also full of profound wisdom.
"Master."
"Have you thought of a way to revitalize our Lan Yue Sect?"
Elder Su Xinghai bowed and asked earnestly.
Looking at his "sincere" gaze, Lin Fan's jaw twitched.
He wanted to curse!
You guys didn't want to be sect leaders, so you dumped this responsibility on me, and now you keep nagging?!
"Cough."
He cleared his throat: "I believe the main reason our Lan Yue Sect has declined so drastically is due to problems with our system and rules."
"Coincidentally, in three days, we'll be holding our disciple recruitment event. I've drafted a new set of rules. Take a look."
Lin Fan waved his hand, and a densely written document titled "New Rules" floated toward the five elders.
They exchanged glances, then focused intently on the text.
***
Recruitment Iron Laws:
- Those with the surnames Xiao, Ye, Shi, or Lin will be given priority admission.
- Those who like talking to rings or other objects will be given priority admission.
- Those who have narrowly escaped death three or more times and whose fiancées have mysterious origins will be given priority admission.
- Those who have been jilted, fallen geniuses whose parents have mysteriously disappeared, will be given priority admission.
- Those who are targeted or harassed as soon as they arrive at the sect gates will be given priority admission.
- Those who smile mysteriously and whose enemies laugh maniacally ("Jie Jie Jie") will be directly promoted to personal disciples.
- Those who have had their bones gouged out and are on the brink of death will be directly promoted to personal disciples.
- Those who are cowardly, overly cautious, and constantly proclaiming their impending doom will be directly promoted to personal disciples.
- Those whose personalities change frequently, even switching between male and female, will be directly promoted to personal disciples.
- ...