Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Having successfully "guided" Lü Ci and thoroughly enjoyed his newfound mastery, the "Imperial Advisor" returned to Zhang Zhiwei's room and finally couldn't help but reveal an evil smile that was completely different from Zhang Zhiwei's usual demeanor.

"Cool!"

"This is the life I should be living! Hehe..."

The Imperial Preceptor sat in the room for a while, feeling his heart surging with excitement; the novelty of playing the role of the deity had not yet completely subsided.

He felt he couldn't just stay in his room and waste this precious time of freedom; he had to experience everything that a big-faced thief could have.

For example, why not take a tour of the Tiantong Steel Plant, the "empire" that "itself" built?
Upon realizing this, the Imperial Advisor once again adopted Zhang Zhiwei's calm yet somewhat lazy expression.

He pushed open the door, strolled out of his residence, and walked into the brightly lit steel mill.

Upon seeing Zhang Zhiwei arrive, Zhang Wang, a security guard from the Tang Clan and Gao Yingcai's apprentice, quickly came over to pay his respects.

Zhang Wang was a pillar of the Tang Clan in later generations, the second most important figure after Tang Miaoxing, but in this era of the Tang Clan full of talents, he stands like a nobody and is not even ranked.

In the Tang Clan's mission to protect the Tiantong Steel Plant, he wasn't even assigned as a sentry, but rather placed in the open, just like a real security guard.

If it were Zhang Zhiwei, he might have some impression of Zhang Wang, and given his outspoken nature, he might have a good chat with Zhang Wang for a while.

But as for the "Imperial Advisor"... he didn't even want to put on an act for such an unknown nobody. Apart from a few necessary exchanges, he had no communication with Zhang Wang.

Even so, Zhang Wang was still very excited to see the legendary Little Celestial Master.

After "Zhang Zhiwei" asked to visit the factory, he immediately offered to personally show "Zhang Zhiwei" around.

If it were the real Zhang Zhiwei, he would have refused, but the Imperial Advisor did not. For him, having someone serve him was undoubtedly a good thing.

Zhang Wang led "Zhang Zhiwei" on a tour of the factory.

Inside the towering factory buildings, machines roared and furnaces blazed, filling the air with steel and flames.

Countless workers, shirtless, toiled away at their posts, their sweat pouring down their faces, filling the entire factory area with a vibrant and fiery energy.

The Imperial Preceptor, gazing upon this magnificent sight, couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. Although he was born deep within Zhang Zhiwei's consciousness, he had never truly "seen" this mortal world.

The Imperial Advisor mimicked Zhang Zhiwei's usual posture, walking slowly with his hands behind his back. He stopped in front of an old master craftsman who was adding lubricating oil to the rolling mill.

The old man was about fifty years old, his face covered with wrinkles and coal dust, but his eyes were very bright.

He didn't know Zhang Zhiwei, but he knew Zhang Wang. He quickly put down the oil can and bowed somewhat nervously.
"Greetings, Factory Head!"

"No need for formalities." Zhang Wang waved his hand, then looked at "Zhang Zhiwei".

Zhang Zhiwei looked at the worker, speaking in as gentle a tone as possible:

"Master, are you getting used to working in this factory?"

The old craftsman smiled simply: "I'm used to it, I'm used to it! It's so much better than working for landlords in the countryside!"

He started talking: "In the past, we toiled in the fields all year round. After paying the rent, there wasn't even enough left to feed our whole family. The children would cry from hunger. In years of famine, it was even worse. Selling our children was not uncommon..."

"Ever since I came to this steel plant, hey! No matter the wind or rain, there's work every day, and wages are paid on time without any deductions! My wife and kids can finally eat their fill, and the kids can even go to the church-run school to learn a few words! I never dared to dream of such a life before!"

As the old master spoke, his eyes welled up with tears. He wiped his face vigorously and said gratefully, "Praise be to the Heavenly Master!"

Hearing the workers' heartfelt gratitude, especially the last sentence, "Praise to the Lord of Tiantong," the Imperial Preceptor was taken aback. He suddenly felt a complex feeling that he couldn't quite explain.

What does that feel like? Is it... the feeling of being trusted?

It looked at its hands with a blank expression. Was this all it had done?

If I were to become the original, could I do it?
“Praise… to the Lord of Tiantong.” The Imperial Advisor murmured unconsciously, echoing the old worker.

After saying that, he was stunned. How could he have said such a thing?!
The "national advisor" left the steel mill somewhat dejectedly.

Instead of returning to his residence, he inexplicably headed towards the Tiantong Church branch that Wang Ai had established in Chongqing.

The church in Chongqing is in the same vein as the main church in Shanghai, but it is also unique. It is neither a traditional Chinese temple nor a purely Western church.

Its overall structure is built with a mixture of marble and blue bricks. The bottom layer is a thick and solid Chinese-style base with flying eaves, brackets, carved beams and painted rafters, exuding the solemnity and restraint of the East. The upper layer features Gothic spires and arched windows with sharp lines pointing to the sky, making it look magnificent and sacred.

The entire building possesses both the solemnity and sanctity of a Western church and the restraint and majesty of an Eastern Taoist temple, perfectly embodying the inclusiveness and magnanimity of the name "Tian Tong".

The Grand Preceptor stepped inside. The interior of the church was extremely spacious. Instead of rows of seats like in Western churches, there were many cushions and low tables for believers to sit and meditate or listen to sermons. The air was filled with a faint sandalwood scent, rather than the incense commonly found in churches.

The arrival of "Zhang Zhiwei" immediately alarmed the guard team stationed there.

The squad leader, a sharp-looking young man, led several team members to meet them quickly, their eyes burning with fervor, and they bowed respectfully.
"Greetings... Master!"

The Guardian Team is a force of supernatural beings that Wang Ai has developed over the years. Previously, the main force of the temple was the immortals, but in recent years, many supernatural beings have joined and expanded into Wang Ai's temple, becoming his direct subordinate force.

Previously, after recruiting several powerful subordinates into the sect, Wang Ai proposed to Zhang Zhiwei a plan to recruit some independent cultivators into the sect, but Zhang Zhiwei rejected it.

It is foreseeable that with his prestige, if he really starts recruiting rogue cultivators, he will attract a large number of them to join. This will undoubtedly disrupt the structure of the supernatural world and even cause turmoil. Zhang Zhiwei did not establish the Tiantong Church to dominate the martial arts world, so naturally his ambition is not in this regard.

Moreover, most independent cultivators are of mixed quality and unlikely to achieve great things. Even if they were gathered together, they would only be a motley crew.

Regardless of Wang Ai's intentions, Zhang Zhiwei's initial motivation for establishing the Tiantong Church was simply to more easily take over the church schools, orphanages, shelters, and other welfare institutions left behind in Shanghai by the Vatican and Protestants.

No matter how corrupt, hypocritical, and inhumane the Vatican and Protestantism may be, the system they left behind is actually quite functional.

Disassembling and rebuilding it would not only be troublesome, but also likely to cause various problems during operation.

Therefore, Zhang Zhiwei agreed to directly establish the Tiantong Church and continue the old system.

It can be said that he created this primarily for charity, and everything else was secondary.

Therefore, apart from his divine intervention during several crises that threatened to destroy the sect, he did not intervene much at other times.

For this reason, he rejected Wang Ai's proposal to expand and strengthen the Tiantong Church. But as the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way; although Zhang Zhiwei disagreed with the Tiantong Church's expansion in the world of supernatural beings...

However, Wang Ai still found a way to bypass Zhang Zhiwei's ban and thus enhance his own strength.

Previously, under the pretext of seeking benefits for believers, he obtained the authorization to perform the "Hoeing Technique" from Zhang Zhiwei and promoted the "Hoeing Technique" to the believers of the Tiantong Church.

He claimed to his followers that this was a gift from the Lord of Heavenly Tong, and that those who learned it could not only work more efficiently but also improve their health. Of course, Wang Ai was telling the truth.

From then on, the "Soil Cultivation Exercise" was promoted within the Tiantong Church. The "Soil Cultivation Exercise" is a very basic method for cultivating one's life and nature.

Cultivating one's nature and life does not require complicated rituals. For example, Wugensheng did not need any special methods. He only needed to calm his mind, daydream, and empty his mind to accumulate Qi and, along with some tempering of his nature and life.

Therefore, although the basic skill of hoeing may seem simple, it is very fundamental and can lead to considerable achievements if mastered.

However, it is ultimately a method for cultivating one's life force, not a method specifically for obtaining Qi. Therefore, many people rely on it to strengthen their bodies, but few rely on it to obtain Qi.

In fact, even with methods specifically designed to help people obtain Qi, such as the "Three-Cart Power," the chances of ordinary people obtaining Qi through cultivation are not high without hands-on guidance, let alone the "Shoveling the Ground" exercise.

However, because there are so many people practicing cultivation, a considerable number of people still managed to obtain Qi after the process of natural selection.

Those who attain Qi in this way can be said to be exceptionally gifted, and they are very compatible with the "hoeing the ground" method. Their cultivation speed is very fast, and their foundation is very solid.

Wang Ai then took these people into the Tiantong Hall and trained them, which is how the protective squad came to be.

Because they were entirely trained by the Tiantong Church, these team members held Zhang Zhiwei in extremely high esteem, even to the point of revering him as a god.

After all, other gods only exist in mythology, while the "gods" of their own church walk among humans. How could they not revere them?
The Imperial Preceptor, who resided in the temple's space for a long time, was aware of these protective teams, and they held him in high esteem. He nodded slightly.

"No need for formalities, I'm just looking around."

"I'll show you the way!" the captain said quickly.

Even though he tried his best to control himself, the Grand Preceptor still heard a slight tremor in his voice. Clearly, the little guy was very excited, but he didn't say anything. Because, given the Big-Faced Thief's personality, he shouldn't be able to notice these details about the people around him.

Accompanied by the missionary team, "Zhang Zhiwei" began his tour. They walked through the preaching hall, through the meditation corridor, and finally arrived at the most central temple.

The interior of the hall was even more solemn and dignified, brightly lit. Instead of a cross or the Three Pure Ones, it housed dozens of lifelike statues of different sizes, arranged in specific locations.

The Imperial Advisor's gaze was immediately drawn to it. There were many statues, but the most important one was naturally the statue of the Lord of Tiantong Sect.

The statue was about three zhang tall, carved from a single piece of white marble. Its face was identical to Zhang Zhiwei's. It wore a Taoist robe, with one hand behind its back and the other outstretched. Its gaze calmly looked down, exuding an absolute confidence of being in control of everything.

On either side of the main deity, at a slightly lower position, stand two statues of guardian deities.

On the left is the "Left Protector Big-Eared Divine General", which is the image of Zhang Huaiyi. He is wearing golden armor, holding a thunder spear, with unusually large ears and sharp eyes.

On the right is the "Right Protector Golden Light Divine General," which is the image of Tian Jinzhong. He is also wearing armor, holding a magic sword, and has a solemn expression.

Further out are statues of numerous celestial guardians, led by Master Huang Liu and Master Huang Jiu, each with a unique and imposing appearance.

However, the "Imperial Preceptor's" gaze was drawn to a unique statue located behind and to the side of the main statue, a statue that was only slightly smaller than the main statue of the Tiantong Sect.

It was a monkey-shaped statue, clad in golden chainmail, wearing a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown, and cloud-walking boots. Behind it were five large flags fluttering in the wind. Its palms were outstretched, holding a bolt of lightning. Its face showed no trace of evil or eeriness, but rather was full of majesty!

This is precisely the form he most likes to condense when he manifests.

The reason he liked this image of the Great Sage was that it was transformed from the Mind Monkey, and the Great Sage was also the Mind Monkey, so they were of the same origin.

Secondly, it also felt that it, like the Great Sage, was filled with a rebellious spirit. The Great Sage rebelled against Heaven, against the Heavenly Court. And the Big-Faced Thief it wanted to rebel against was also Heaven.

When this ideal form appeared before him as a divine statue, the Imperial Preceptor's heart trembled violently.

"That...that monkey, it's carved quite well."

The Imperial Advisor looked at his own statue and murmured unconsciously, his voice trembling slightly without him even realizing it.

Upon hearing this, the members of the escort team quickly and respectfully replied:

"Of course, this is our church's vice-president. Although we have tried our best to portray him vividly, we still failed to show even a fraction of his majesty. We hope he will not be offended."

“No…he won’t blame you.” The Grand Preceptor looked at his statue and said softly, “You…you did a good job. You may leave now. Let me stay here alone for a while.”

The missionary team left respectfully.

The Imperial Advisor stood in the temple for a long time, his gaze never leaving his own statue, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

So it turns out... the vice leader that Big Face Thief gave me wasn't just empty talk or empty promises.

Is this what he wants me to become?
It is not a dark, cunning shadow that can only hide in a corner and scheme.

Instead, he was the vice-leader who could appear openly and legitimately in front of others, the second-in-command of the Tiantong Church.

and……

The Grand Preceptor noticed that there was no statue of the Nasen Tree in the main hall. In order to suppress and monitor the Nasen Tree, Zhang Zhiwei pulled it into the hall space and appointed it as the vice leader.

This matter had been bothering the Grand Preceptor, but when he saw the statue of the sacred tree in the church, he suddenly felt relieved.

He just stared at his idol quietly, his gaze lingering on every detail.

This statue, more so than the character "Zhang Zhiwei" he portrayed, reflects the person he aspired to be: independent, strong, and radiant, rather than living in someone else's shadow.

Previously, his goal had always been to "steal the show" and "replace the leader," but now, he has suddenly wavered.

Perhaps... I don't need to be obsessed with dominating the body of the big-faced thief and becoming another "Zhang Zhiwei".

Maybe... I should just be myself.

He is who he is; he is not the big-faced thief. (End of Chapter)