A giant stone figure extended its right hand, and Li Fan flew onto its palm. The stone figure then held him there, presenting Li Fan before the crowd.
Li Fan scanned the densely packed cultivators present, his expression solemn. He declared, "Not long ago, I was honored by an elder and appointed as acting island master, tasked with rebuilding Congyun Immortal City. I am by nature a leisurely person, but I have suddenly been entrusted with this great responsibility, and I feel immense pressure. However, I dare not fail the Immortal Alliance and the elder's trust. Therefore, I made a solemn pledge before Young Master Jinglun, promising to rebuild the city within six months."
"Time is short, and the task is heavy. But I believe that with the concerted efforts of us, the cultivators of Congyun Sea, we will certainly achieve our goal. An immortal city of an entire province being abducted is truly unprecedented!" Li Fan pointed at the enormous void below and said, "As long as this ruin exists, it will be an indelible shame on the faces of us, the cultivators of Congyun Sea! I hope you will join me in washing away this disgrace!"
With that, Li Fan bowed deeply to the crowd. The cultivators were all moved, and whether genuinely or reluctantly, they returned his bow.
"On the day the immortal city is rebuilt, I will still be here to reward merits, punish faults, and celebrate with all of you!" Li Fan declared loudly once more after straightening up. His voice resonated throughout the surroundings, its echoes lingering for a long time.
The crowd looked at Li Fan, their expressions varied.
"Gaoyuan!" After a brief silence, Li Fan suddenly called out.
"Here I am!" Gaoyuan flew out, his face flushed with excitement.
"Read out the personnel appointments for the rebuilding of the immortal city!" Li Fan instructed.
"Yes!" Gaoyuan proudly surveyed his surroundings, cleared his throat, and took out a scroll from his storage ring. Infusing his voice with spiritual energy, he began to read with all his might.
"He Zhenghao, Garrison Master of Liuli Island, is hereby appointed Chief Inspector, responsible for overseeing and managing all matters related to material requisition and consumption during the rebuilding of the immortal city. Pei Tuo, Garrison Master of Haitong Island, is hereby appointed Chief Commander, responsible for overseeing all security matters during the rebuilding of the immortal city. Zhou Qing'ang, Garrison Master of Tai'an Island, is hereby appointed Chief Coordinator, responsible for coordinating communication among all departments during the rebuilding of the immortal city."
As each personnel appointment was read out, the expressions of the cultivators present grew subtle. They realized that the cultivators whose names were called were precisely the same group who had just stood up to greet Li Fan. A sudden realization dawned on everyone: "So, you all knew about Li Fan's appointment as acting island master from the start and quickly pledged your loyalty? And Li Fan's actions were truly unscrupulous; he didn't even try to hide his favoritism! Look at He Zhenghao, Pei Tuo, and Zhou Qing'ang—the highest among them were only at the peak of the Core Formation stage. Their positions were even above those of Nascent Soul cultivators. Was this appropriate?"
Although the crowd grumbled inwardly, they also felt regret, wondering why they hadn't been more astute and acted sooner.
After the list was read, Gaoyuan returned to the crowd, and Li Fan smiled, saying, "Rebuilding the immortal city is a vast undertaking. My planning is certainly insufficient. Furthermore, Congyun Sea is rich in talent, and it's inevitable that some have been overlooked. Therefore, I appoint Gaoyuan as Chief Attendant. Anyone willing to volunteer their services for the rebuilding of the immortal city can approach him."
As soon as this was said, the cultivators who had been somewhat disgruntled about missing out on the earlier opportunity immediately became more animated.
"Everyone!" Li Fan concluded. "The Five Elders' Association's sudden attack caused severe losses to our Congyun Sea. The island's Governance Hall, Array Strategy Hall, Martial Arts Hall... they were practically wiped out! This has resulted in many vacant positions, and our Congyun Sea cannot even carry out normal affairs."
At this point, Li Fan paused slightly. He sighed, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said with anticipation, "I hope that with your efforts, the glory of Congyun Sea can be restored as soon as possible!"
Whether Congyun Sea had glory was unclear to the cultivators, but Li Fan's meaning was crystal clear: "Due to the Five Elders' Association's raid, there are many vacant positions on the island! My current group of around a hundred people simply cannot fill all the openings! Those of you who are capable, come forward quickly! This is a rare opportunity; once the immortal city is built in six months, it will be too late!"
A realization dawned on everyone. Indeed, all these current positions were merely 'nominal' roles created for the rebuilding of the immortal city. Titles like Chief Commander and Chief Inspector sounded impressive, but their authority derived solely from Li Fan's 'authorization' as acting island master. On the day the immortal city's reconstruction was complete, these positions would lose their value and significance. Instead, what Li Fan referred to as 'rewarding merits and punishing faults' was the main event. If they could earn merit during the rebuilding process and secure positions within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system...
At this thought, the cultivators' heartbeats immediately quickened. The entrance examination to join was already extremely difficult, and seeking promotion after officially joining the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was even harder. Island Master Li was right! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! At this moment, many eyes secretly turned towards Gaoyuan, as they quietly pondered how to deal with this favored individual in front of Island Master Li.
After offering a few more words of encouragement, Li Fan finally announced that the ceremony had concluded successfully, and the immortal city's reconstruction work would officially begin tomorrow.
Upon seeing this, Tantai Can, who was on the flying boat, simply flew away directly without waiting for the crowd to disperse or even greeting Li Fan. His expression appeared extremely grim. However, most of the cultivators were likely engrossed in fantasies of achieving great deeds, so this scene did not attract much attention.
Li Fan watched Tantai Can's retreating figure and sneered inwardly. As the cultivators present today had mostly guessed, Shenyuzi, Jingxuan, Guangwu, Huangfu Song, and others were all invited by Li Fan through the use of contribution points. As for this rising star from the Tantai family, he had no family ties or connections with Li Fan, and there was even a subtle enmity between them. It was even less likely that he could be bought with contribution points. The reason he was able to come and congratulate Li Fan was, naturally, due to the contract Tantai Can was forced to sign with Jiao Xiuyuan during the previous incident involving the Plain Truth Leaf. He had to agree to three requests within his capabilities. Therefore, even if Tantai Can tried to obstruct things behind the scenes this time, he still had to come and offer his congratulations to Li Fan. A prodigy like him, who held himself in high regard, had been outmaneuvered by Li Fan once again. Such a humiliating matter, of course, would not be openly discussed with others. Thus, in the eyes of some, Tantai Can's contradictory actions appeared very strange.
As for his relationship with Tantai Can deteriorating further, it was entirely outside Li Fan's consideration. Anyway, this identity as a Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator would have to be abandoned sooner or later. A few more debts wouldn't make a difference. The immediate priority was to build the Congyun Immortal City well. Although he had leveraged the situation to win over hearts and solve the problem of a lack of available personnel, there was still another problem, one that remained critical.
Li Fan recalled Jiao Xiuyuan's words: "The quantity of materials on the list is sufficient to successfully build a floating immortal city. However... that's assuming there are no mistakes whatsoever. During the actual construction process, material losses due to mistakes are almost inevitable. Some things are easy to handle; I can sell them to fellow cultivators at a low price through certain channels. But some special materials are strictly controlled by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and cannot be bought even with contribution points."
[24 seconds from now] Chapter 799: Absolute Disadvantage
[1 minute ago] Chapter 493: Unable to say a word
[4 minutes ago] Chapter 2901: Death of Zhifei
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