Free Web NovelChapter 209: Chapter 202: The Sect Grand Competition?
Zhou Wenqiang watched as the people handed over all their worldly possessions. Clutching what they’d received in return, they squeezed their way out of the crowd.
He took from them their grain for the winter, the seeds for next year’s planting.
What he shoved into their hands was a poison that would let them rot away with a smile, lost in delusion.
Using this method, he went from one town to the next.
In his wake, the foundations of a town were hollowed out.
Before him lay the next wheat field, waiting to be harvested.
The copper coins in his carriage were traded for silver ingots, and the silver ingots piled up into gold bars.
And while his [Evil Value] had increased, he hadn’t engaged in wanton slaughter. The [Evil Value] he’d accumulated wasn’t even enough to land him on the [Bounty Board].
He no longer visited dusty marketplaces. His carriage began stopping before grand manors with stone lions guarding their gates.
Across the table sat a man in a python-patterned robe, its colors faded with age.
His hands trembled as he pulled the gold bars into his arms.
He was once a Prince, but he had lost everything in a power struggle.
Zhou Wenqiang didn’t speak of military strategy or promise positions of power.
He simply looked at the man’s deeply sunken eye sockets, the light within them long extinguished.
To ensure the success of his mission, this time he even used the skill [Heart of Turmoil].
"Prince, you have not lost. Heaven intends to gather ’Dragon Qi’ for you in this place, so that you may soar to the heavens. What you lack is not opportunity, but the resolve to bet everything you have!"
The Prince’s pupils contracted, and light returned to them.
He smashed his wine cup, decades of pent-up frustration erupting from his lips.
He stood up, straightening the back that had been stooped for years, and bowed deeply to Zhou Wenqiang.
He became Zhou Wenqiang’s man, knocking open the gates of the Imperial Palace for him—the entrance to the pinnacle of power.
And with his arrival and the completion of the promotion mission, [Deceiving the Masses] was upgraded to [Court Disorder]!
...
A few days later, a royal decree was issued from the palace and proclaimed throughout the land.
Zhou Wenqiang shed his commoner’s clothes and donned the black-and-gold-trimmed robes of the National Preceptor, taking his place before all the civil and military officials.
He had ascended to the position of National Preceptor, second to one man, above all others.
...
「Back to the present.」
In the National Preceptor’s residence, the beams and pillars were gilded, gleaming from every corner.
Zhou Wenqiang lounged on a throne draped in tiger skin, flanked by beautiful women.
Dozens of followers knelt at his feet.
Among them were merchants, once wealthy enough to own a region, now in tattered clothes that barely covered their bodies, yet their eyes burned with fire.
There were also nobles from prestigious families who had now exhausted their fortunes, begging only to be closer to the National Preceptor.
"The National Preceptor is merciful! My son died of illness yesterday—this is a test from the heavens for me!"
"It was because my heart wasn’t sincere that he wasn’t blessed! I’m willing to offer my ancestral home and beg the National Preceptor for another chance!"
"The National Preceptor is right! The drought in my hometown is because my virtue is insufficient! I am not worthy of those fields! I offer them all to the National Preceptor. Please, sever my karmic hindrances for me!"
Outside the hall, on the capital’s streets, the scene was different.
Beggars were everywhere. They had all once been Zhou Wenqiang’s followers, abandoned on the streets after being squeezed for their very last copper coin.
They, too, believed it was their own "lack of fortune" and "insincere hearts" that had brought about their misfortune.
Occasionally, someone who had seen the light would shout in the streets, exposing the National Preceptor’s scam.
"How many innocent people die in a single natural disaster, a single earthquake?"
"Have you ever hated the heavens or the earth? If you haven’t, then why would you hate the National Preceptor?"
Before the guards could even step forward, the surrounding followers, still dreaming their dreams of "success," rushed in and broke the "traitor’s" bones, splattering blood on the spot.
They believed that as long as they offered up everything, they would one day be as successful as the National Preceptor, and could even be reincarnated as immortals after death.
Zhou Wenqiang savored it all. In the game, he had once again become a revered figure, just like in reality.
He held power, possessed immense wealth, and relished the taste of toying with people’s minds.
At that moment, a woman in courtly attire walked before him and knelt.
"Venerable One, I am ready."
He nodded, ready to accept her "offering."
"ACHOO—!"
Zhou Wenqiang let out a sneeze that shook the great hall, and the woman in his arms stiffened.
He rubbed his nose, a wave of heat and a sudden palpitation rising in his chest.
’What’s going on?’
’Who’s talking about me?’
A figure emerged from the depths of his memory, making his scalp tighten.
’Could it be that accursed disciple with [Strong Luck]?’
’Back then, I had taken on this accursed disciple precisely because of his [Strong Luck] trait, and for a mission to upgrade my own skill.’
’But I discovered I couldn’t control this person. The disciple seemed genuinely grateful to me, yet he always ended up pushing me into the abyss!’
’The foundation I’d built in the Daqian Dynasty had been destroyed by him time and time again!’
So, he stopped fixating on this accursed disciple with [Strong Luck] and decided to use him for something else.
He led Dong Changsheng to Qingxu Temple.
’I couldn’t get into the Celestial Furnace Sect, so I chose to join Qingxu Temple on Qingxu Mountain, near Anhe City.’
’My aptitude was low, so I only made it into the outer sect. And that Xuanyuan only made promises without teaching any real techniques. The missions he gave me were, nine times out of ten, just a prelude to having me silenced afterward!’
’So I used a mission down the mountain as a chance to escape. Since my life tablet was with Sect Leader Xuanyuan, I even had to let myself truly die once, which drastically reduced my game time.’
He had sent Dong Changsheng there precisely for revenge against Xuanyuan!
"Accursed disciple, oh, accursed disciple,"
"Your master has already pointed the way for you. You must never forget the great debt you owe to Qingxu Temple!"
He muttered under his breath, then pulled the beauty in his arms even tighter.
But even so, the palpitation in his heart hadn’t completely subsided.
’As a "gray-listed" individual, I’ve already met the special prerequisite to obtain the second-generation "Life Seed" restoration serum.’
’Now, all I have to do is wait for the serum to be officially developed.’
...
「Meanwhile, in the Guixi Sect.」
Dong Changsheng was sweeping the grounds with a broom.
In his heart, he too was planning for his future.
’After I repay the great debt I owe the Sect Leader of Qingxu Temple, I should go find my honored master.’
’Miss Su’s strength is extraordinary now, and Mr. Wang... well, the "wife" backing him is even more unfathomable.’
’Perhaps, when the time comes, I can ask them both to help me find Master.’
’Then, I can properly repay my honored master for the gift of a new life!’
...
Amidst a tedious, complicated, and almost numbing atmosphere, the day of forced labor finally came to an end.
Lin Qingfeng looked at the sect panel, saw the progress bar finally fill up, and let out a long sigh of relief.
[Sect Contribution (NPC): 500000 / 500000]
[Condition Met!]
The next moment, a grand system announcement echoed in the ears of all Guixi Sect players:
[Sect Advancement Mission [Guixi Secret Realm] is about to begin!]
[All players may enter. NPCs must enter via a special selection process. Quota: 4 people.]
[Detected... Current number of NPCs in the sect is 15. The [NPC Sect Grand Tournament] will automatically commence to determine the final candidates.]
Lin Qingfeng stared at the message, stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh.
"Holy crap! I knew it! I knew something was missing before the secret realm opened!"
"Isn’t this the sect tournament?!"
"What kind of fantasy Cultivation story opens a secret realm or sends people out for training without holding a big sect tournament first to liven things up?!"
