Profound Yellow Sect.
The three great halls are the main hall, Zhengyang Hall, the side hall, Gathering Sun Hall, and Yingyang Hall.
Inside Zhengyang Hall is a massive stone stele with the characters 'Heaven and Earth,' signifying a respect for the universe instead of deities.
Xu Nian walked out of Zhengyang Hall, setting the player spawn points at Gathering Sun Hall and Yingyang Hall.
More players would surely come in the future, and relying on one spawn point wouldn't suffice. Preparing in advance would prevent any issues.
Soon, the wind chimes hanging at the entrance of the two great halls started moving without a breeze.
The chime sound was pleasant.
It seemed to announce that an important guest had arrived at the entire Profound Yellow Sect.
The next moment, the first figure stepped out of the entrance of Gathering Sun Hall, curiously inspecting the surroundings, looking like a country bumpkin, and touching the buildings.
This sensation!
This visual impact!
Damned clarity.
If he didn't know it was a game, he'd think he was about to transmigrate.
Xu Nian stood at the entrance, glancing at this player.
Immediately, all their attributes displayed before him.
[Player: Evil Queen Morgana.]
[Identity: Profound Yellow Sect Disciple.]
[Equipment: None.]
[Realm: None.]
[Talent: Beauty Brings Misfortune.]
The player's attributes were not many at present, but they were intuitive enough to gauge the player's status.
By the world's standards, a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist was entry-level, qualified to gather a group and establish a faction.
Beyond this, the strongest is a First-Grade Martial Artist!
Above that, Xu Nian wasn't sure, as neither Liang City nor Fengxiang Prefecture seemed to have anyone above a First-Grade Martial Artist.
As of now, Xu Nian himself had not even become a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist.
Soon, more players stepped out from the entrances of Gathering Sun Hall and Yingyang Hall; apart from Morgana, most had no talent.
It seemed this talent was bestowed by the system based on specific conditions.
Out of thirty players, only three or four had talent, a pretty low probability indeed.
"Damn, is this really a game? Are you telling me this is a VR Game?"
"Amazing, even the pain is felt!"
"Black technology, definitely black technology, which godly figure is controlling this game?"
"They promised full freedom, why can't I take off my pants?"
"Is this a wuxia-themed game? It feels like we're in a sect cultivating immortality!"
"According to the official website's storyline, it seems we are all Profound Yellow Sect disciples; are we supposed to take on tasks next? Where are the NPCs?"
"..."
One by one, the players were getting excited, as if everything was overwhelming them.
And this was exactly the effect Xu Nian wanted.
Watching the players wandering around on the mountain, constantly testing the freedom of the game, and acclimating to this world setup, Xu Nian felt much more at ease.
Some players also noticed Xu Nian, curiously observing his situation.
They too could see Xu Nian's details, but in their eyes, they only saw Xu Nian's name hovering above him.
[Xu Nian: Profound Yellow Sect Leader.]
So, he was their Sect Leader?
The players strolled around the entire Profound Yellow Sect.
They climbed trees to raid bird nests, went into the water to catch fish, or were simply trying ways to take off their pants.
Other than not being able to leave the Profound Yellow Sect, they kept exploring the game's freedom.
All thirty players were online.
At this moment, Xu Nian also received a reward from the system.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the task, reward granted.]
A warm flow surged forth.
Xu Nian felt his dantian filled with raging internal energy; he knew then that he had become a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist!
He now was officially a Jianghu expert.
All thanks to the system.
Despite a year of hard work, he had not reached the Ninth-Grade Martial Artist level, but a single reward from the system brought him to this point.
How could this not be exciting?
Suddenly, he sensed something was off.
A Ninth-Grade Martial Artist could detect some danger.
He turned to see the player known as 'Evil Queen Morgana' approaching stealthily with her hands clasped, aiming at his rear.
From her actions, she seemed adept at such things.
Xu Nian was puzzled: ???
This player was crazy, wasn't she?
Did she really intend to unleash the Secret Technique Millennium Kill?
Before Morgana could react, Xu Nian angrily flicked his sleeve, flipping Morgana completely onto the ground.
"Damn, this pain is incredible!"
Morgana got up from the ground, quickly informing the others: "NPCs aren't purely neutral; they actually attack players actively."
Hearing this, the other four players gathered around.
"Is this our Sect Leader? Game Designer, come out, why can't we shape our faces as handsome as his?"
"I demand a set of data; I want to save it for my roommate."
"It's too biased; we design ugly faces but the Sect Leader is so handsome, I'm not convinced!"
"I wonder if face-design data from other games could be used here."
"..."
At that moment, the players gathered in front of the main hall, and under Xu Nian's arrangement, the system enforced a mandatory restriction.
No player was allowed to make any actions.
"We can't move? Did someone trigger the game storyline task?"
"Stop chatting here, let's see the storyline first, so we can complete the tasks later."
"Quiet down, show some respect to our Sect Leader!"
"..."
The players gradually quieted, their eyes fervently fixed on Sect Leader Xu Nian.
For Xu Nian, now that all the players had arrived, it was time to start his plan to cultivate them as chives.
Without proper cultivation, they couldn't be harvested!
The system also seemed to know Xu Nian's needs, immediately issuing a new task!
[Task: Eliminating Mountain Bandits.]
[Description: Black Wind Stronghold is committing arson, murder, and looting; as the leader of the Profound Yellow Sect, you cannot let them run rampant.]
[Objective: Kill all bandits of Black Wind Stronghold.]
[Time Limit: Two days.]
[Reward: Depends on the host's completion level.]
[Note: The host can delegate the task to the disciples for resolution. The task can be freely divided and assigned; the reward is limited to contribution points, and this task reward cannot exceed 100 contribution points.]
Whoa—
This system truly knew his heart!
This task appeared to be meant for him, but he also had the authority to delegate it to the players; if the players completed it, it would be as if he had completed it himself.
In this way, players naturally became workers.
As for contribution points?
They didn't seem to matter to him.
However...
Ordinary players, rushing foolishly to fight blood-stained bandits, had little chance of winning.
Even if they resurrected, they'd just be cannon fodder again.
Xu Nian didn't hurry to issue the task; instead, he started to persuade, needing to stimulate the chives' enthusiasm first...