A piece of news, or rather, an established fact, quickly spread among the nearly one hundred cultivators of Luo Tian Society.
A new "director" had been appointed! This was a new position distinct from hall leaders, elders, stewards, and even junior managers. Yet, despite its novelty, the title was quickly accepted by everyone.
The title "director" literally meant " directing and making final decisions on matters."
The emergence of such a position was not surprising. In a cultivation family, this would be the equivalent of a family head, second only to the patriarch. In a sect, it would be akin to the sect leader, second only to the sect's supreme elder.
Its primary role was to handle and make decisions on all affairs on behalf of the true leader of the organization. Luo Tian Society had simply chosen a more straightforward and understandable title.
What surprised many was that the role of director did not go to the well-known Murong Qinglian or Qin Liangchen, who held a nominal position but had little to do other than maintaining a close relationship with the president.
Instead, it went to a female cultivator from the Gold Hall—Sima Huiniang!
Everyone was quite familiar with her. She was the key figure in the well-known rogue cultivator trio of Dahe Market, one of the three Sima.
She had always carried a strong reputation, was composed in her dealings, knew how to advance and retreat strategically, and had both a flexible and firm approach when needed. After joining Luo Tian Society, she became one of the four female cultivators at the ninth stage of Qi-Refining and naturally attracted significant attention.
Among the four, Granny Yuan was too old, and Murong Qinglian was already spoken for. The Gold Hall Leader, Gu Caiyi, had close ties with the president, making her off-limits to any suitors.
That left Sima Huiniang, capable, strong, yet without a major position, constantly drawing attention from the male cultivators.
Previously, people wondered why the other two brothers in the Sima trio had become an elder and a stewards, while the most competent among them, Sima Huiniang, remained idly in the Gold Hall.
But no one expected President Luo to be so decisive.
He directly elevated her to the position of director.
With this, her status in Luo Tian Society instantly became second only to Luo Chen, ranking above everyone else. Even the four hall leaders, with Granny Yuan being the deputy leader of the Alchemy Hall, had to take orders from her.
All major and minor affairs that previously required Luo Chen’s approval now had to be reported to her, and it was she who would make the decisions.
Such a meteoric rise naturally became a topic of discussion.
Before long, the news spread throughout Luo Tian Society.
However, unlike the low-ranking cultivators who gossiped, the senior members of Luo Tian Society remained silent on the matter. In fact, instead of reporting to Luo Chen, all matters were now being directed to Sima Huiniang.
Luo Chen, observing in secret, paid close attention to how everyone reacted.
Seeing that no chaos erupted, he sighed in relief.
Elevating Sima Huiniang to a role akin to a sect leader while positioning himself as the supreme elder was, admittedly, a risky move. After all, the Luo Tian Society was still a young organization. But for the sake of cultivation, this was a necessary step. Otherwise, being entangled in countless affairs, even someone with a heavenly spirit root would be worn down.
Luo Chen had carefully considered his choice before selecting Sima Huiniang.
First and foremost, her abilities were undeniable.
In this stage, anyone who could lead two brothers, travel across the land, and stand on their own was undoubtedly capable!
Second was her character. If she were ungrateful or purely profit-driven, Luo Chen definitely wouldn’t trust her.
However, Luo Chen had a good grasp of Sima Huiniang’s character.
She treated low-tier cultivators with kindness while she showed no undue deference to stronger cultivators.
Before summoning Sima Huiniang, he had consulted Gu Caiyi and Zeng Wen to learn more about her. She was socially adept and had quickly built good relationships with her colleagues after joining the Gold Hall. Also, when dealing with difficult customers, she never backed down without reason. Someone who could maintain internal harmony while not fearing external conflicts was ideal for such an executive role.
Finally, there was her background.
Yes, this was something Luo Chen valued highly. She was not an old member of the Poshan Gang nor was she one of Luo Chen’s closest friends. She was merely an outsider, a rogue cultivator, with no backing in Luo Tian Society except for her two brothers.
Placing someone like her in a position akin to a sect leader had many advantages. The benefits were numerous.
She wouldn't become too powerful, nor would she be constrained by too many internal connections. Most importantly, she could serve as a role model for low-tier cultivators.
It showed that the president promoted talent based on merit rather than personal ties. If someone had the ability, even an outsider could rise to an absolute position of power!
Considering all these factors, Luo Chen finally made his decision.
Once the appointment was announced, Luo Tian Society, which had previously been somewhat chaotic, running around like headless flies, underwent a tangible transformation.
The three hall leaders no longer ran to the Alchemy Hall over every little matter. For important decisions, they no longer had to wait outside, hesitant to disturb Luo Chen while he was refining pills. They only needed to report to Sima Huiniang, and after discussion, decisions could be made swiftly.
Luo Tian Society's operations became increasingly efficient. The use of manpower and resources reached an optimal balance.
Most importantly, Luo Chen was finally freed from trivial matters. Aside from alchemy and cultivation, no one would bother him unless it was a major issue.
Moreover, he had no concerns about being sidelined by Sima Huiniang. After all, Luo Tian Society had been built and developed entirely by him. Every key position was occupied by people he trusted.
As time passed, Luo Chen discovered another advantage of appointing Sima Huiniang as director.
She took on the role of offending people!
All this time, Luo Chen had always treated the cultivators of Luo Tian Society with kindness. He rarely reprimanded or punished anyone.
This was related to the composition of Luo Tian Society's members.
After all, many within the organization were either his old subordinates or his personal friends. It wasn’t appropriate for him to scold his friends over trivial matters.
In the short term, this was fine, but over time, it could negatively impact the healthy development of the organization.
Luo Chen understood this, but he found it difficult to change. It was like how founding emperors, after conquering the world, would always be criticized for executing meritorious officials.
But now that Sima Huiniang had taken over as director, things were different.
She was an outsider with an unstable foundation, so she naturally leaned toward a stricter approach in handling matters. Though she didn’t go as far as making severe examples of people, she did change the culture of idleness among many.
Take Luo Chen’s old friend Zeng Wen, for example.For repeatedly neglecting his responsibilities in the Gold Hall, he was reprimanded by Sima Huiniang and even had his salary docked.