These invaders aren’t really a bad thing. The easiest way to unite multiple factions is to introduce a foreign enemy. The quasi-immortals and weaker disciples flocking in from the door in the sky are a perfect catalyst to achieve a unified mindset amongst my subjects. Ten thousand contribution points may seem like a lot to give away just for one head, but it honestly doesn’t matter; after all, the contribution points flow back to me in the end. These spiritual materials were meant to raise immortals, and I’m putting them to use now. It’s convenient our sect is a bit evil; I don’t have to worry about losing resources if someone I invested in dies. I can just harvest their corpse to create weapons, their soul to imbue in formations and tools.

“Auntie Ilya! Guess what we got!”

It’s Sophia. What is she doing over here? Isn’t it her bedtime? I suppose she doesn’t have a bedtime anymore now that she’s a cultivator. “What did you get? A new teacher?” Lucia strung up the previous archery teacher on a flagpole. I didn’t know the bow I gave Sophia had an auto-aiming feature; technically, it might’ve been my fault he was strung up there. Then again, I don’t care if it is.

“No! Even better!” Sophia pulled a severed head out of her pouch. It was a bit mangled but still easily recognizable. “Ri killed an invader! She can get ten thousand contribution points now, right?”

“Alright. Hand me your sect token.”

Ri, who was standing behind Sophia while looking at the ground, shuffled forward and untied the sect token around her waist. “Here.”

Sophia looked at me as I added ten thousand contribution points. It’s really simple to add. All I have to do is touch it with a sect elder token to add points onto it. I didn’t even have to create this system myself; the Shadow Devil Sect already had it in place. “Auntie Ilya,” Sophia said and tugged on my robe. “You’re not going to ask how she did it?”

“I don’t care how things are done; all I care about are the results.” Results are the only things that matter. Some people may call me immoral? Well, there’s an ancient saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions; clearly, the people from olden times agreed with my logic. “Good job, Ri. If you spend your contribution points wisely, you won’t have any bottlenecks up to the peak of the earth realm.”

“Thank you, Principal Pentorn,” Ri said and bowed at me, taking the token from my hand. At least she has manners, and she doesn’t seem as explosive as her distant cousin, Hong Tian Ji. “D-do you have any tips on how I should proceed with my cultivation?”

She’s scared of me, how cute. Well, since she’s Ri’s friend, I’ll help her out. Besides, if she ever becomes a top expert one day, it won’t hurt to make a good impression on her—ignoring the fact I basically had her clan exterminated. “Bribe the librarian with some contribution points and ask for permission to enter the second forbidden floor. There’s a few techniques involving vermillion bird bloodlines there.” Why are there forbidden floors in a library? Simple, in all the stories I’ve read, there’s always a forbidden floor or two. It probably adds a veil of mystery to the sect or some nonsense like that. Personally, I believe knowledge should be freely shared.

“Doesn’t it require contribution points to enter the forbidden floors?” Ri asked. “Why do I have to bribe the librarian to let me in?”

“It cultivates bargaining skills. Everyone should know how to haggle.” That’s right. Bribing Mrs. Feathers costs less than what it normally takes to enter the forbidden floors, but if they get caught, then they’ll be fined. It’s proven that risk takers are more likely to reach immortality. Everything in my school has been carefully designed to improve one’s chances at becoming an immortal. Of course, there’s going to be a lot of deaths during the later years when the students get sent off to war, but as I’ve said, only the results matter.

“Bargaining…,” Ri mumbled while looking at the ground. “Okay.”

“Alright, is there anything else you two need?” Contrary to these children’s beliefs, I’m a very busy person. However, I can’t just brush off Sophia unless I want to face the wrath of Lucia. “If you obtain more heads in the future, you can turn them in at any of the sect’s contribution centers.”

“Um, no, that’s it,” Sophia said. She turned to leave but paused, her tail twitching. She turned back around. “Wait, here.” Sophia held something out to me. It seemed to be a half-eaten plate of food. “You can have this.”

“Oh, thanks.” Why would I want this? Despite being Lucia’s child, Sophia is a picky eater. No, maybe she’s a picky eater because she is Lucia’s child; after all, Lucia is a barbeque-is-greater-than-all-other-foods nutcase. “You gave this to me because you don’t have time to get rid of it yourself, right?”

“Yes.” Sophia bobbed her head up and down. “You’re the best, Auntie Ilya.”

“I know, but don’t let your mom hear you say that.” If Lucia thinks Sophia likes me more than she does her, I’ll be locked up in a basement somewhere. I’m planning on catching a ton of quasi-immortals from the immortal realm; I can’t afford to be held captive at the moment. “Also, tell your mom there’s a really rare fruit that tastes delicious in Thunder Tree City.” That’s where I’ll be using Bloodmoon as bait. Lucia won’t prioritize my plan, so I have to convince her to go in a different manner.

“A rare fruit in Thunder Tree City, got it,” Sophia said. I’m so glad she’s not like Lucia, incapable of remembering anything. She actually listens. I wonder if that’ll change once she gets older. Squirrels as a whole were supposed to be Lucia-like. I hope that won’t be the case in the future; one Lucia is enough for the world.