The morning sun rose over the white marble plaza outside the Taichu Myriad-Blessings Mall, turning the sparkling fountains into shimmering sheets of gold.
A vast crowd of more than one hundred thousand cultivators stretched across the plaza in fifty orderly, disciplined columns. They were not ruthless raiders or proud sect masters looking for blood. They were the true backbone of the Eastern Prefectures: soot-stained forge smiths, sun-baked herb farmers, quiet talisman scribes, and junior clinic healers who had spent decades being kicked around by arrogant sect elders.
Standing before the plaza were fifty glowing arches carved from white spirit-jade. These were the eighty-point Morality Gates, humming with warm golden array light and humming crystal resonance.
Behind the central registration desk stood Su Wan in a crisp charcoal blazer, her jade pen poised over a tall stack of gold-embossed employment contracts.
Beside her, Chief Legal Counsel Shen Qiaoqiao adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, her dimpled smile bright and professional as she organized the municipal registration seals.
And standing on a high wooden podium with a whistle around his neck was reformed young master Qin Haoran, wearing a tailored gray business suit and a bright red “Taichu Human Resources” armband. His Goodness score hovered proudly above his head like a bright halo: 81.5/100.
