A lot of the lower-ranked sects kept losing their trained disciples to other competitors leaving them in a stagnated state. While others turned their own quotas into a marketing scheme.

They'd hawk their quotas to the highest bidders. Organizations would buy those spots from each other so they could get more slots.

Since these organizations were given autonomy on who to send and the Order didn't have a name list of their members, it was easy to sneak a non-member under the Order's nose.

However, in the next three months, the new rules for the quotas will be put into effect. All members in the quota system would have to serve their organizations for 10 years before they could leave or pay the Order an equivalent amount to the resources that were spent on them during those three years.

As for those who sold their quota spots, anyone caught would be banned for 10 years. In pursuant to this effect, the Order even offered a sizeable reward to those who come forward with any information regarding those scalping their quota spots.

The reward was made sizeable enough that anyone turning traitor would have zero qualms about telling on their own organization.

From the brief overview Yang Qing had read, someone from a rank 5 organization would get a free high-rank orange grade cultivation art specifically suited to their skills, 10 high-grade spirit stones, a tailored sky rank artifact, and a four-year training period at the Institute of the Order.

Just a single reward, was potentially more than the total of all the accumulated resources some of those rank 5 organizations had. With such a reward, father would turn against the son and the son against the father.

Yang Qing thought that the spirit of righteousness would surely bloom within these scalping organizations because of those rewards.

…

Seeing Wang Yi's worried look, Yang Qing decided against telling him that Li Feng had most likely abandoned him and the sect.

Even if Wang Yi had said he would be happy if he went someplace else, the sting of betrayal would still be there. Someone with a few months to live didn't need to carry that. Yang Qing sympathized with the old man before him who had already been through so much.

"Where do you want me to pour the blood essence?" Wang Yi asked as he pulled his thoughts back.

Yang Qing didn't miss that brief flash of a glimmer of hope in Wang Yi's eyes as he asked the question.Yang Qing didn't say anything as he removed the heart steele stone from his storage ring. He then guided Wang Yi on what to do. Wang Yi made a small cut on one of his index fingers and then poured a drop of blood on the stone.

The stone lit up just like it did at the Murong family during their evaluation, as a few words appeared on the stone.

Cultivation realm, middle of the fourth stage of the foundation establishment realm

Status, stable

Lifespan, 63 days

Bloodline affinity, null

…

"It's even less than I expected," Yang Qing thought as he looked at the result. He had guessed that Wang Yi had three months left based on his bone age but from the Heart steele it was roughly just two months.

The damage Wang Yi did to his already aging body seemed to have taken its toll.

"63 days isn't bad," Wang Yi said as he calmly smiled. He even looked at the results with admiration like it was some good thing.

Yang Qing silently took out a jar of snow peak ginseng tea. It was made by Jiang Fu though it paled in comparison to his signature oolong tea. However, the snow peak ginseng was still an exquisite tea that would easily go for 15 middle-grade spirit stones.

Its main ingredient, the snow peak ginseng was a sky rank herb even though it was on the lower end of the spectrum. It had the effect of rejuvenating an injured soul with an added refreshing and cooling effect on the mind.

Yang Qing also took out two green bamboo cups and placed them next to the jar as his gaze turned solemn.

"I, Yang Qing, a superior core court judge of the Order, hereby demote the Clear sword river sect into a rankless sect having judged it impossible to maintain its current rank.

A 67-day grace period has been issued in pursuant to the rules and regulations in the article of rankings and evaluations."

Yang Qing added a few words to the scroll draft he had in his hands. The words added were '67 days' on the space that had been left blank before the words 'grace period.'

He then proceeded to ignite the scroll into a white flame as a voice echoed in the room with the words 'received'

He had already drafted the demotion notice on the way over as he felt he would be too uncomfortable to write it when he was at the sect.

"Would you like to share a drink with me?"

Though it seemed like Yang Qing was asking, he had already poured Wang Yi a cup and then himself.

The tea's surface produced a faint white mist while underneath it, was clear like liquid with a whitish hue like the surface of a lake during winter.

Wang Yi's eyes lit up when he saw the tea. His hands even trembled a tiny bit as he picked up the cup.

As a tea enthusiast, he went through the motions of edifying the tea before he finally took a sip.

Just like that young and old spent half an hour in silence enjoying tea. It was only when Yang Qing stood up to live did Wang Yi speak.

"Please take this. It may not be much, but it's the remaining thing I treasure," Wang Yi said as he handed over the painting he had on his wall. It was a painting of the drawing of the back of a cultivator staring at a river.

"Thank you," Yang Qing said as he bowed in thanks.

"It's nothing much. It's just something I drew when I was young and had just started working in the sect master's pavilion," Wang Yi said in nostalgia.

Yang Qing didn't say much as he carefully stored it away.

"Please have this too. It's better in your hands than mine," Yang Qing said as he handed another jar of snow peak ginseng tea to Wang Yi.

"Thanks, master Yang Qing," Wang Yi said as he smiled as he handled the jar like some priced treasure.

Yang Qing didn't add on much after that as he turned into a dark grey cloud of smoke and disappeared from the room.

Wang Yi bowed deeply before he sat down and carefully poured himself a cup of the snow peak ginseng tea with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Farewell, Clear sword river sect," Yang Qing muttered as he floated above the sect. He took one last glance before he made his way to Ellie.