“I’m afraid you can’t just get an audience with someone like that, young man,” the elder said. “You will have to use some of your contribution points. Do you have any?”

“Uhh… yes I do,” Alex said and pulled out his nameplate to check on it.

“Different elders cost different amounts of contribution points to bring out. Which one are you looking for?” she asked.

“Uhh…” Alex thought for a bit, but he really didn’t know any important elders’ names.

“Ah, Elder Xuan. How much would it cost to have an audience with her?” Alex asked.

“Elder Xuan?” the elder in front of him got a little confused. “The elder Xuan? She’s the oldest of the Frozen Elders, you know?”

“Yes, how much would it cost?” he asked.

“That… let me check,” the elder said. Since no one ever held an audience with her, the elder had to go ahead and check.

Her eyes went wide when she saw the prince.

“A full 30 thousand contribution points,” she said. A normal core disciple could earn about 100 contribution points a week. If she were to ever want an audience with the elder, she would need about 300 weeks’ worth of contribution points.

That was 5 years’ worth of contribution points on a single conversation.

“I’m sorry, young man. It’s just how–“

“Here,” Alex handed her his nameplate. “Please summon the elder.”

The elder weirdly looked at the nameplate and slowly sent her spiritual sense into it.

When the nameplate activated and she saw the information, her mind went blank for a few seconds.

The name ‘Yu Ming’ was there, along with the date he had joined the sect. However, aside from that, there was nothing about him. No age, cultivation base, nothing.

The only other thing in the nameplate was his contribution points.

The elder had to count 3 times before she realized the number she was reading was right.

Contribution Points: 56,437

“How did you…?” she couldn’t even form a sentence. She looked at the date he had joined and realized it was 10 months ago.

10 month. That meant Alex had earned about 5500 points every month.

Even the best disciples in the sect never earned more than a thousand points a month, and yet the young man in front of her had done so 5 times over.

When she realized that he had done that on top of his daily quota of making pills, her eyes truly went wide.

“Senior?” Alex called out to the woman who wasn’t responding at all.

“Yes, yes, I will do it,” she said and used her authority to use up his points and summon the elder.

“You may leave now,” she said.

“Sorry? You mean to enter, right?” he asked.

“No, leave,” the elder said. “Elder Xuan won’t give you an audience the moment she has been called. She will most likely come out of her cultivation tomorrow.”

“You will be called when she comes out, so you can return for now,” the elder said.

“I see,” Alex said. ‘What the hell? I don’t even get to see her immediately?’

He felt a little dejected and returned back to his room. He needed to wait now, so he waited by cultivating.

5 days remained. Hopefully, that was enough time.

The next day came around, and Alex made the 50 pills as soon as he could to continue waiting for her.

He waited and waited, but it didn’t look like she was going to come out today either at all, so there would only be 4 more days left.

As he was thinking that he had run out of the day, around evening, he received a message on his nameplate. Elder Xuan was ready to see him.

Alex got happy and immediately walked out of the building. He made his way to the Elder’s place as the sun set and arrived there after it went down.

“I am here for my audience with Elder Xuan,” Alex explained while handing over his nameplate.

“Oh, let me take you,” the elder that was on guard for today said and took Alex over to Elder Xuan.

Elder Xuan was sitting in a room, sipping a cup of tea when Alex arrived.

“Ah, you wanted to see me?” the elder asked in a sweet tone.

“Greetings, Elder Xuan. I have a request that I hope you can fulfill,” he said.

“Come inside first. We can talk slowly,” the elder said.

Alex nodded and walked in. He sat in front of the elder and was about to speak when the elder stopped him again.

The old woman went on to take a teacup from next to her and poured a cup of tea for Alex.

“Drink,” she said as she handed over the cup.

Alex thanked her and smelled the fragrant tea before taking a sip. That sip was all Alex needed to realize he was drinking some sort of treasure.

The tea slipped into his throat, and before he realized he was taking the second sip.

Then the third sip and the fourth.

Alex only got back to himself when he finished the entire cup of tea and felt a serene calmness flow over him.

“Have you calmed down?” the elder asked.

“Yes,” Alex said. “Thank you, elder, for letting me drink such a great tea.”

“Haha, we aren’t here to talk about tea, are we? Go on, tell me why it is that you need me,” she said.

“Elder, I want to enter the Dao mountain,” Alex said without beating around the bush.

“Enter the Dao mountain?” the elder asked. “Do you know how that’s possible?”

“Not exactly, no. But I hear that the ones in the True realm that can enter have to be from the sect in some capacity. Doesn’t that mean I can enter too?” he asked.

The elder thought for a moment before answering. “Technically, yes. You can enter. You are a member of the sect and have a cultivation base that is not in the Saint realm yet. By all means, you have the possibility of entering.”

“However, there comes another thing that stops you from doing so,” the elder said.

“Something stopping me from entering? What is it, elder?” Alex asked.

The elder sipped on her tea and said, “Responsibility.”

Alex was taken aback. “Responsibility? Please explain, elder,” he implored.

“Do you know how many Saint realm cultivators are entering?” she asked.

“Umm, wasn’t it 1966?” he asked.

“Good, you know that.” Then she said, “Then do you know how many of those are from the Frozen Heart sect?”

“Umm, around 100?” Alex asked. “There were around 120 elders, so I assume everyone but a few elders would be staying back, I suppose.”

“Ah, only know about the active elders. You do not know how many remain inactive, that’s understandable,” the elder said. “Speaking of just the 120 active elders, the truth is only 50 of them will be going to the Dao mountain this time around.”

“Sorry? Only 50?” Alex was surprised. “Isn’t this quite an important event for a Saint realm cultivator? Why would they want to miss it?”

“Yes, it is important, but there are a few reasons,” the elder said as she sipped her tea. “For example, you might be close to breaking through on a technique you were learning about, or had just learned a Dao and thus have no need for learning another one so soon.”

“However, the main reason they don’t go is that they have responsibilities. Responsibility to the sect, responsibility to the clan, responsibility to their disciples.”

“Saint realm cultivators simply cannot leave their sects or clans without having someone to protect it in their absence. So, many of them don’t get to leave it even when the Dao mountain opens up.”

“We are the same. Of us 9 sisters, only 4 will be going this time around, while 5 of us remain behind. That is because we have a responsibility to protect this sect,” she said. “Do you have a responsibility?”

“Me?” Alex thought for a second. He was about to say ‘no’ when he realized his daily quotas were in a way his responsibility towards the sect.

“The pills I have to make every day,” Alex said.

“Yes,” the elder said. “Because you have to make pills every day, you cannot leave the sect at this time. As such, I’m afraid that you cannot leave at all.”

Alex felt devastated. Was there really no way?

“However,” The elder continued. “Since you spent so many contribution points to speak to me, my saying no would be almost criminal. So, instead, I’ll give you an opportunity.”

“Opportunity?” Alex got curious. “What opportunity is it, elder?”

“The Dao mountain opens in 4 days, and one will be able to remain there for an entire month and return after that month ends.”

“In a sense, if I were to say yes and let you go, you will have wasted a total of 35 days doing nothing for the sect.”

“However, if you can fulfill your responsibility of those 35 days by the evening in 3 days when we leave for the north, I shall give you an opportunity to have an opportunity to enter the mountain,” she said.

“Meaning…” Alex understood.

“You have to make 1,750 pills by the evening in 3 days from now,” the elder said.

1800 pills. 3 days. 600 pills a day.

“Remember, it’s an opportunity for an opportunity for an opportunity,” the elder said. “Will you still accept?”

“Absolutely,” Alex said without hesitation.

“Good,” the elder said. “Go and rest. I will have someone prepare everything required by tomorrow morning when you may start on the journey of accomplishing the impossible.”