Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

You look back at your history, thinking about what has led you to this state.

While much of your history is lost in the mists of the past, the most formative event in the last five thousand years was that of the Jin Empire. A mountain empire ruling a mere five million mortals, barely worth mentioning. It existed in territory that had once been nearer yours, as you had been driven from the best part of the plains to the southern end of the plains to the mountains - not yet into the desert. Nowadays it is held by the Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect, who were part of the coalition that drove you out of the mountains and into the desert.

The Abyssal Demon sect assaulted the Jin Empire, the first year they had bred their terrible Devil Bees. The Seven Divine Saber Palace chose not to fight them, and you drove the Abyssal Demons out. Old Abyssal Demon himself was killed, though this was in a time where you had four Nascent Soul cultivators, and the Abyssal Demon Sect two. You were prepared to destroy the Abyssal Demon Sect entirely, but your expedition left three of your Nascent Soul cultivators wounded, and weak.

It was your master's master who was the youngest Nascent Soul at the time, the only one unwounded. It was your master's master who saw the Seven Divine Saber Palace lead a coalition against you, ostensibly for invading and oppressing mortals - in truth because you were weak, and they coveted your blood and wealth. The Righteous Path united against you, and three of the Nascent Souls fell. Your master's master retreated into the desert, unifying the clans and empires there underneath him. Content to let him lick his wounds, the Righteous Path gained much, and the Sorrowful Blacksmith Sect came into existence, as a civil war among the Divine Blacksmith Sect saw them split in two over different inheritances left by the old Divine Blacksmith.

The Abyssal Demon Sect renamed themselves the Abyssal Devil Bee Sect due to the death of their old master, and sought your end in part due to your role in the death of Abyssal Demon - and the humiliation it caused them.

Worse than that, the luck of the Sect struck once more, and the Clan's old enemy, the Raging Fury Sect, left an inheritance of blood path in the desert. In it was a single sliver of will that possessed the founder of the new Sect, the Battle Blood Cannibal Sect. This Sect was a pile of loose sand in terms of unity, but blood path is incredibly strong, and while blood path devotees had little use for your bronze bodies, they had much use for the mortals under you. Their attacks are constant nowadays, and your enmity with Battle Blood Cannibal Sect must be resolved if you are to survive.

On this, you think about your Clan organisation, and how it must be to survive.

You treat outsider cultivators...

[ ] Equally.
+ Gain additional wandering cultivators of varying talent from low to extremely high. Lower cost to retain them.
- Significantly higher likelihood of betrayal

[ ] As Guest Elders or Guest Cultivators
+ Gain additional wandering cultivators of varying talent from low to very high. Considerable cost to retain them.
- Moderate likelihood of betrayal

[ ] As mercenaries
+ Very high cost to hire wandering cultivators, cannot induct them into the clan except in rare circumstances
- Betrayal likelihood non-existant

What manner of disciple do you prefer?

[ ] Resoluteness

The strongest Dao-heart is the strongest cultivator. If your disciples never falter even when fighting across realms you shall be satisfied.

[ ] Talent

What are all other means before talent? Pick those who will grow the fastest, become the strongest.

[ ] Loyalty

Choose the most loyal, the most obedient. The least likely to question your will.

[ ] Viciousness

Against their friends, they are as meek as lambs. Against their foes they tear out eyes, consume blood, smash groins. There is no room for mercy against foes.

What is your greatest Array?

[ ] Hidden Mirage Array

You can't hit what you can't see. The centre of your Clan is hidden behind illusions and mirages, nobody truly knows where it is. If your enemy could find you, they could easily overwhelm you, but who could find you?

+ More attrition. MORE!
+ Low cost to operate
-- Highly vulnerable to betrayal

[ ] Sand Giant Array

Your entire capital can transform into a massive giant, sandstorms billowing from its immense fists. While slow, and unable to travel far, it can fight enemies besieging it directly.

+ More defense, can do significant damage to enemy armies, not merely a passive defense.
- Massive use of Spirit Stones when activated.

[ ] Shattering Glass Spear Array

Your array summons sand, the heat melting it into massive glass spears. These can be shot anywhere in your territory, killing individual cultivators below Core Formation with little effort, and those in Core Formation with some cost. However, it cannot be fired constantly and is relatively slow to reload. It is excellent when picking off individual enemies from range, or assisting you in battles away from your clan core, but subpar against major assaults on the clan itself.

+ More territory control, able to kill enemies without sending cultivators. Shores up your speed weakness.
- Very low use versus a siege.

What is your greatest Formation?

NB - You will possess all three of these formations and more, but the one you choose will be your Primary Formation, which all your Core Formation cultivators will be trained in, as will the majority of your Foundation Establishment cultivators. If a Nascent Soul shows up to fight, this is the formation your clan uses (and the only one they can use) to assist you in battle. You have the highest attainment in it, and it's the most effective.

[ ] Hoplite Formation

En masse, your cultivators can summon a shadowy figure of a man holding a spear and shield of purest bronze. While the man is a shadow, the spear and shield are real, and can fight against cultivators who the individuals might not be able to. Strong on both attack and defense, the weakness of the Hoplite Formation is that it requires a strong Dao-Heart - if cultivators within the formation start to fear, it can shatter.

[ ] Kataphraktoi Formation

Your formation summons a great bronze-clad horseman, with lance and helm. He charges at staggering speed, the lance able to strike with far more power than one might expect. However, once the charge is spent, so will the formation mostly be - it is one grand strike, and after that the horseman can only fire mere arrows of moderate power.

[ ] Two-Headed Eagle Formation

The bronze two-headed eagle serves as a transport for many cultivators in an emergency. When it is summoned, a great eagle appears, powered by the Qi of the cultivators. It can shield cultivators with its wings, fly quickly, and peck at enemies. It is, however, much less forgiving than other formations - while the Hoplite and Kataphraktoi Formations can admit those even without the clan's bloodline to an extent, the Two-Headed Eagle is a proud beast and will serve no master who does not have blood of bronze.