Now that the most pressing matter was settled, the next order of business for Ye Wen and Ning Ruxue was to undertake a series of preparations for their goal.

In reality, the first thing the two needed to do was not to make a grand announcement about rebuilding the sect, but rather to find a suitable location for the new sect headquarters.

Otherwise, establishing a sect without a fixed location sounded fine in theory but was impractical; they wouldn't even know how to introduce their sect when greeting others.

In Ye Wen’s memory, with the exception of a very small number of sects, most major martial arts powers and famous grand sects had their fixed ancestral homes. Even wicked cults maintained a permanent base of operations.

This was because only in this way could young people eager to join find a path into the sect. After all, this era was nothing like the one Ye Wen had lived in previously, where contact could be made through a phone or fax even without leaving an address.

In this time, conducting business required paying a personal visit, and for something as serious as apprenticeship, an in-person call was essential to demonstrate sincerity. This held true even for children from prominent families wishing to study under a major sect.

Simultaneously, a sect’s residence served as its foundation, as many of the sect’s assets and operations were rooted in that specific location and the surrounding area.

Both the sect’s revenue and its primary source of disciples depended on securing this base.

Viewed from this angle, managing a sect shared many similarities with a feudal lord managing his fiefdom: both depended on the twin fundamentals of income—money and provisions—and a source of manpower.

Therefore, selecting a suitable sect headquarters was an extremely critical decision for any sect.

However, for the Shu Mountain Sect, which faced reconstruction, the question of which peak to establish themselves on was a non-issue. Neither Ye Wen nor Ning Ruxue gave it a second thought; they agreed their sect could only be founded upon Shushan (Book Mountain).

On this specific point, the two were surprisingly united, without any divergence of opinion.

The only real difficulty now was pinpointing which specific location on Shushan to use...

While Shushan was by no means small, it wasn't the most famous mountain range in this world, yet it possessed considerable grandeur. Its main peak, Shujian Peak (Book Sword Peak), soared into the clouds, incredibly steep, resembling a drawn sword.

Because of this mountainous terrain, most sects established on Shushan situated their headquarters in the lower sections of the main peak, with the highest among them not reaching even a third of the way up. The former Shu Mountain Sect was the same, even settling closer to the foothills.

Other sects, due to their locations, often stationed members or disciples near the base of the mountain, intercepting anyone looking to ascend and seek tutelage. They would then either enthusiastically recruit them or forcibly drag them into their own lineage.

Under normal circumstances, someone seeking instruction would not need much effort to find the Shu Mountain Sect upon entering the mountain. If the former Shu Mountain Sect Master had managed things properly, they shouldn't have been unable to attract a single disciple.

Regrettably, the masters of the last few generations lacked this awareness, content to simply remain in their old home and wait for people to seek them out. But the Shu Mountain Sect had declined severely, its reputation nearly nonexistent. Unlike the renowned major sects, if someone arrived specifically seeking that sect, they wouldn't have to search long. Many people, even after spotting the sect's location, would hesitate slightly before continuing deeper into the mountain to join another faction.

In recent years, as more sects accumulated on Shushan, and with the annual intake of potential disciples remaining static, competition grew fierce, leading to increasing annexations. In fact, the extermination of the Shu Mountain Sect was related to this; besides coveting the sect's name, the advantageous location near the foothills was another major factor many 'neighbors' coveted.

“The only saving grace is that there aren't any truly dominant powers on the entire Shushan. Currently, the strongest one is the Zhengquan Men (Righteous Fist Sect), which seized our original headquarters,” Ning Ruxue explained to her amnesiac senior brother as they journeyed toward Shushan, detailing the current situation on the mountain.

Ning Ruxue didn't feel that telling Ye Wen about these matters was inappropriate. Besides his injury and memory loss, her senior brother had never been one to concern himself with surrounding affairs; he was generally muddled about many things and loathed inquiring further. It was precisely because of this that she had been so displeased when their Master designated Ye Wen as the next sect leader.

After all, a deficiency in skill could be remedied through practice, but how could one possibly lead a sect without even bothering to understand the circumstances vital to its survival? Even if the sect consisted of only two people.

Now, however, Ye Wen’s proactive questioning about the power distribution on Shushan gave her the feeling that, 'Senior Brother has finally understood.' Consequently, her explanation was meticulous, leaving nothing out.

Yet, her expression remained habitually impatient, creating a strange contrast with the sheer detail she provided in every matter, which puzzled Ye Wen for quite some time.

“Zhengquan Men? Are their fist techniques very strong?”

Ye Wen, still slowly processing the influx of information, finally identified who held the debt owed by his predecessor. He was surprised to learn they seemed to be a fist-focused sect. The person who defeated his predecessor that day used a saber, and his palm techniques were also formidable.

He had initially assumed their core skills would be in palm or saber techniques, not boxing. Thinking that his predecessor had been beaten to death on the spot without even fully bringing out the martial arts he was familiar with, he concluded the man must have been truly weak. It was no wonder his junior sister always looked down upon her senior brother—at this moment, Ye Wen resolutely distanced himself from the body's former owner, even though his own skill level was only marginally better than 'weak.'

Ning Ruxue seemed to guess Ye Wen’s thoughts and did not answer his question. However, her expression clearly betrayed some dissatisfaction with her senior brother’s performance that day.

Nevertheless, considering Ye Wen was the head of a sect, especially one who now seemed determined to strive forward, work hard, and actively seek revival, she offered words of slight comfort: “Although Zhengquan Men primarily cultivates fist techniques, because many of the disciples they recruit transferred in with existing skills, the sect members also include many disciples proficient in other martial arts.”

“I see.”

Regardless, Ye Wen felt slightly better. By this time, the two had already reached Shushan and spent some time traversing the mountain paths.

They deliberately stuck to the secluded trails, thus avoiding the disciples from other sects who usually scouted the main routes to snatch potential new recruits. After all, those seeking apprenticeship usually took the main paths up the mountain.

However, after circling for so long, they realized that the better locations had all been occupied by the slightly larger sects. Even the marginally inferior spots had small, struggling factions that had erected a thatched hut, enclosed it with a fence, and planted a sign to claim their territory. But even those struggling groups were better off than the pair; they had at least two or three disciples, far surpassing the nascent state of Head Ye, who was barely above a solitary commander.

Seizing a location by force wasn't impossible, but Ye Wen’s injuries had not fully healed, and while his junior sister was capable, her exact standing on Shushan was unknown. She certainly couldn't be a top expert, otherwise, Ye Wen, as the leader, wouldn't have lost their sect headquarters even in defeat.

From this, it could be inferred that while Ning Ruxue’s skills were superior to his own, she likely wasn't a top-tier master either. Therefore, Ye Wen didn't seriously consider trying to seize a spot to re-establish the sect by force.

Furthermore, according to his original plan, after finding a suitable place to re-establish the sect, his priority wasn't seeking revenge or building a reputation.

The most urgent task was to find an appropriate place to cultivate his martial arts diligently. Once his skills reached a certain level, revitalizing the sect or exacting revenge would be tasks easily accomplished. After all, surviving in this Jianghu, supreme strength was the fundamental prerequisite for everything.

Without strength, people might not even spare you a glance. But once you possessed formidable power, weaker individuals would either obediently bow down before you in submission or be utterly annihilated by your absolute martial force.

Ye Wen understood this principle deeply. Therefore, no matter what he did next, his primary focus had to be enhancing his own strength, not running out to invite trouble while he was still weak.

He hadn't shared this realization with Ning Ruxue, but he trusted his junior sister wasn't foolish; she surely understood what should and should not be done. Compared to her, the original Senior Brother Ye seemed more like an oblivious fool.

Having settled this matter in his mind, Ye Wen and Ning Ruxue spent the next two days thoroughly exploring the lower regions of Shushan, yet they found no suitable location.

Finally, Ye Wen asked with some confusion, "Are there really no suitable places left on Shushan?"

"There are, but the mountain becomes too steep the higher you go, making travel inconvenient. If the sect were established up there, going up and down constantly would be a hassle," Ning Ruxue replied, having grown up on Shushan and being quite familiar with its environment.

Hearing this answer, Ye Wen was overjoyed: “Hassle? What hassle? Once my skill deepens, climbing up and down the mountain—even ascending the peak—will be nothing more than a trivial matter. For now, I can treat it as practice for my Qinggong (lightness skill)!” Before he even finished speaking, he headed uphill, completely unconcerned that the day was already growing late.

Inside his mind, he incessantly chanted: These fools, these unambitious lot! Which grand sect establishes its headquarters at the foot of a mountain? Which truly great sect doesn't build its home high on the peaks? Only this way is there stature, only this way can status be displayed. As for the inconvenience of climbing up and down? Once my Qinggong is mastered or my internal energy profound, will I care about a little trouble? Moreover, I won't need to run back and forth for trivial matters in the future; I can just recruit a few disciples for errands!

With this mindset, he ceased caring how difficult the terrain of their future sect headquarters might be. On the contrary, what mattered to him was whether the environment was sufficiently beautiful and whether the structures, once built, would convey the imposing aura of a major power.