Taoist Master Xuanhuang

"What kind of existence is Master Xuan? He is the Lord of Dao, a true saint, an untouchable existence? We don't need to congratulate Master Xuan for his progress in cultivation because we are not qualified to congratulate him. What do you think is the reason?"

Sun Hui said with a smile.

"Me?" Sun Tong seemed to understand.

"Get it? It's different. Congratulations on entering the second level. First, it is to boost morale. Second, the monk world needs such a ceremony. You can say it is an image project, but you can't deny that it does more good than harm."

Sun Hui continued: "Besides, your identity is so important, you need to give those below you a chance to please you. If you don't even give those below you a chance, do you think this is really good?"

"Huh? It's a bad habit." Sun Tong complained a little.

"You can say it is a bad habit, but bad habits have always existed and have not disappeared. There must be a reason for it. If there is no reason at all, it would not exist. This is for sure." Sun Hui.

"You are quibbling." Sun Tong said.

"No, absolutely not. I said that the main purpose of the ceremony is to boost morale and announce the vigor and vitality of the true practitioners. You should know that such a ceremony, which you said is a bad custom, will motivate countless true practitioners to strengthen their Dao hearts... Different positions will handle many things differently. Your identity and status can play such a role."

"So you think I should agree?" Sun Tong was obviously convinced.

Thinking about it carefully, what my uncle said was very right. The reason why I didn't agree before was that I always felt that even the master had never held such an advancement ceremony, so how could I be worthy of it?

But he was wrong. How could people like him have the right to congratulate Master Xuan on his advancement? He had no qualifications at all.

Only those who are at the same level and have the same fellow Taoists are qualified to congratulate you on your progress. If you are not at that level, what is the point of congratulating you?

"You should agree."

"Okay, I agree, but don't make it too grand." Sun Tong finally agreed.

"Don't worry, it won't be grand. As I said before, if someone wants to congratulate you, you need to be at a certain level. It's impossible for any cultivator to come and congratulate you in person. These people have to be the high-level people from our eight majors and four middle schools, as well as the well-known independent cultivators." Sun Hui said.

"Okay." Sun Tong breathed a sigh of relief. That's good.

What I fear most is that I will be pulled out as a mascot, and people coming to congratulate me whether they know me or not, that would be bad.

"Then I'll do it."

"Ok!"

After the conversation between the uncle and nephew ended, Sun Tong felt a little tired, even more tired than when he was handling the affairs of Qingyun Mountain.

the other side.

When the four major and eight secondary schools learned that Sun Tong had agreed, they each began to make careful preparations.

Individual cultivators or some small forces that are qualified to participate are also preparing.

Even the top leaders of the Evil Suppression Department who came with the four great sect leaders were making preparations.

It can be seen that many people are looking forward to the advancement ceremony of General Manager Sun Tong. This is no longer a simple ceremony, nor is it Sun Tong's own business.

But everyone needs such a ceremony or occasion.

The independent cultivators and small forces wanted to expand their social circles, and the Evil Suppression Department needed to use this as a way to show their arrival, as a debut ceremony.

The four major and eight middle schools also need to take this opportunity to showcase their recent achievements, let the other cultivators see their own strength, see the prosperity of their own forces, and let Sun Tong see the recent efforts of himself and others.

Sun Tong's advancement congratulations ceremony is no longer a simple ceremony.

There are so many things involved.

The morning of the third day.

Qingyun Mountain, which had not seen any large-scale ceremonies for a long time, was particularly lively.

All true practitioners who are qualified to be invited are top-notch practitioners.

A cultivator who likes gossip has made a statistics and found that almost all of them are above the middle stage of Xuanbian. That is to say, if your cultivation has not reached the middle stage of Xuanbian, no matter what force you belong to, whose disciple you are, or whose son you are, you are not qualified to participate at all.

The number of people who congratulate is a decreasing method, not an increasing method.

The decreasing method means that the number of people who congratulate you will only decrease, and will not increase.

Those who are not skilled enough, not famous enough, not controlling enough power, etc. will be eliminated.

It is better to have no one than to have someone of poor quality, and all those who can participate are experts.

Therefore, even if he had reached the middle stage of Xuanbian, his cultivation was eliminated because of his insufficient control.

This time it is truly the elite among the elites, legends among legends participating.

The palace where Xuan Huang currently lives, as well as the Hall of Merit, etc., are all clones of the Palace of All Spirits.

Therefore, there is no problem of insufficient area. Not to mention 3,000 people in a hall, even 30,000 or 300,000 people can be accommodated.

Strictly speaking, this is an official congratulation ceremony.

In addition, there are also folk ways of congratulations.

For example, in Nanshi.

After a few years of changes, Nanshi has changed a lot.

The most intuitive example is that those who had previously entered the middle stage in Nanshi were masters and could form small forces.

Now, the leaders and heads of the forces that can gain a foothold in Nanshi are all extraordinary cultivators. Without extraordinary beings, it is impossible to gain a foothold in Nanshi.

Even some of the strongest forces, their leaders, clan leaders and patriarchs have already reached the middle stage of Xuanbian.

Today's Nanshi is still exceptionally lively, with smiles on everyone's faces and countless stores displaying various promotional slogans.

In general, it is to congratulate the General Manager Sun Tong of the Merit Hall for entering the second stage. This hall XXX...

You see, these businessmen are also participating in Sun Tong’s advancement feast and are also working hard to promote such a ceremony.

Therefore, the congratulation ceremony for Sun Tong's advancement was definitely not her personal problem.

"Fellow Daoist, wasn't this talisman worth three points before? Why is it worth three and a half points today? Why is it so expensive?"

The monk was very confused when he entered the store to buy the talisman. How come it became 3.5 points when it was originally worth three points?

"It's not expensive. How can it be expensive? 3.5 is expensive? Don't talk nonsense. In order to congratulate the head steward Sun Tong of the Merit Hall for entering the second level and celebrate for the whole world, we have lowered the price. It was originally five points, but now it is only 30% off and 3.5."

"You? This?" The thin monk was confused.

I had three points originally, but then I saw the store’s promotion [To congratulate General Manager Sun Tong of the Merit Hall for entering the second level of Tongxuan, our store is offering a 30% discount today].

I plan to buy more just for this.

But, it’s even more expensive?

"What's wrong? Are you dissatisfied with Steward Sun? Is it wrong for us to congratulate Steward Sun on his advancement? Isn't this a festival that everyone should celebrate?"

The shop owner immediately gave him a look that suggested he wasn't going to mess with him.

"No, no, no, I, I..." The monk was shocked. How dare he say that he was dissatisfied?

"No?" The shopkeeper asked again, "So you are dissatisfied with our shop?"

"No, don't get me wrong, I don't have that. I don't dare, I don't dare." The monk responded immediately.

As a casual cultivator, I really can't afford to offend those who can open a shop in Nanshi. They are all people with connections.

Without some connections, it's impossible to run a store in Nanshi.

"What do you mean?" the shopkeeper asked knowingly. "I, I, I don't have enough points, I just came in to ask, just to ask." The monk was sweating.

The shop owner opposite has been suppressing me with an aura that is stronger than mine.

"Have you said hello?" the shopkeeper.

"Uh, hello." Monk.

"Do you want to buy it?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Well, I will temporarily, temporarily..." Monk.

"I see. You don't have enough points. It's okay. You can take a look if you don't want to buy. We are not a black shop that forces you to buy or sell. You can take a look. It's up to you."

The shop owner understood that the man was not there to cause trouble, but was just a poor guy who wanted to make a profit, which was boring.

"Thank you, sorry to bother you, sorry to bother you." The monk felt the pressure disappear, heaved a long sigh of relief, and left immediately.

He didn't curse until he walked out of the store.

"Damn Black Spot, they are so black-hearted. The talisman has always been worth three points, but after a 30% discount, it is now worth three and a half points. Ugh. What congratulations to Manager Sun Tong for his advancement? It's obvious that they are taking this opportunity to make some dirty money. Disgusting."

While cursing, he did not forget to look back to see if the store owner was following him. He looked both bold and cowardly.

"I still don't believe it. If I don't buy it from you, I won't be able to buy the talisman."

This monk really needs a talisman. He learns from his mistakes. If the price here is too expensive, he can go to other stores to buy it.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed.

The talismans have always been worth three points, but today they are all under the banner of discounts and price cuts, but none of them are really discounted. They are all worth 3.5 points, and it’s just that the more you buy, the more discounts you get.

"Haha!" The monk sneered and finally understood.

All crows are black. Even the big and powerful stores like the Four Major and Eight Major Middle Schools openly put up the banner of congratulations, but actually raised prices secretly.

"I don't feel any sense of universal celebration."

The monk said no more.

This is a microcosm of the changes in Nanshi, including the stores.

It’s not that Xuanhuang’s best place has changed, but it has always been like this.

All of Xuan Huang's tenderness was given to ordinary people, definitely not cultivators.

There is absolutely no kindness and mercy, no courtesy and brightness when embarking on these two paths of monks.

This is not suitable for the competitive environment among monks, and such an environment cannot cultivate strong monks. As long as there is no vicious incident that touches the bottom line, the competition in the world of monks is very cruel.

It has always been like this.

At the beginning, neither the monks nor the forces based in Nanshi had gone through the process of developing a force.

They are also ignorant, so it doesn't seem so cruel.

However, as things have developed to this day, those who are not ruthless have long been eliminated, and those who survived are all ruthless, but they all have their own skills, which is why they have been able to survive to this moment.

This is the case with the store, from a newbie who opened the store ignorantly, to the current 'black-hearted' store owner.

Please note that the word "black heart" here is in quotation marks, as the monks call it this.

Strictly speaking, they are not unscrupulous shops.

At least they won't force sales, kill people secretly, conduct sting operations, or ambush people midway.

There is absolutely no such thing as touching the bottom line; this is not allowed.

There have been stores like this before. For example, they sell things to you at a low price, making you think you’ve made a bargain, but they secretly follow you and then kill you.

There were such cases before, but they were eradicated by the new government and have become less common since then.

It is impossible to eliminate it. As long as there are human beings and human hearts are still dominated by human beings, it cannot be eliminated. Human hearts are terrible.

But where ordinary people live, the picture is completely different.

The ordinary people here are well protected and are basically the same as before they experienced the strange resuscitation.

It's nothing more than showing due respect to the strong.

After all, ordinary people are still the largest talent pool for cultivators. Xuanhuang values ​​them, and the cultivators also value them. When everyone values ​​them, no one will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, so they are well protected.

Walking in Nanshi, the current situation is that extraordinary people can be seen everywhere, and those who enter the class, even in the later stage, are still a vulnerable group.

I can only barely survive in Nanshi.

"Is there any news about Fellow Daoist Huang?" Several extraordinary monks gathered in a teahouse.

"No, I can't get in touch with him. There was no response to my message. I guess..." said a sturdy man regretfully.

He can't even contact the scoreboard, so he must be dead.

"Hey, I advised him to stay in Nanshi at the beginning. Although survival is difficult, he can make progress as long as he holds on. He didn't listen and insisted on going home to build a family power. But what can I do? The last time he contacted us, he had not yet entered the extraordinary level, and it was a message asking for advice. Now I think he has..."

The strong man didn't explain it clearly, but everyone understood what he meant.

Not only should Lao Huang be dead, but the power he built is also gone.

If Lao Huang had stayed at that time, his cultivation would have been quite good among his group.

Now, those who were weaker than Lao Huang have all entered the extraordinary stage, but Lao Huang, who couldn't stand the competition and returned home to build a family power, is gone.

All I can say is that things have changed and people have changed.

"Many people don't understand that staying in Nanshi for even one more day is a blessing. Going home to build a power may seem wonderful, but this world is ultimately a world of the strong. If you don't have enough power, it doesn't matter if you build your own power. It will just vanish into thin air."

The strong man added, what he said was all the truth, but many people couldn’t see through it.

After being swept away from Qingyun Mountain, they still couldn't be swept away when they came to Nanshi, and kept retreating. It was acceptable to retreat once, but retreating again meant retreating again, which many people couldn't accept.

Feeling disheartened, he returned to his hometown, intending to start over again there, building up a force or recruiting disciples to establish a sect.

But if it were that simple, why would the legend of Qingyun Mountain be so complicated?

I will never leave if I can stay, because even though this environment is very competitive, it is really progressive.

"It's useless to say these things. Old Huang is not the first one to leave me. Besides, Old Huang has reached the ninth level of cultivation after all. If we are lucky enough to be alive, and Old Huang is lucky enough to make it out of Purgatory, we can still meet again."

The heroic woman in the lead said.

"Yeah, let's not talk about these bad things. Today is the congratulations ceremony for Manager Sun's promotion. Let's celebrate together and talk about something happy." said the sturdy man.

"That's right. Steward Sun is the first one to learn Xuanhuang Daoism from the beginning, and the first one to enter the second stage of true cultivation. She is our goal. As long as we work hard, we will also be able to enter the second stage one day. Come on, everyone, let's drink this cup for Steward Sun's entry into the second stage."

"it is good!"

"Yes, this is not only a glorious day for Steward Sun, but also the hope of monks like us."

"Let's have tea instead of wine. Cheers."

...(End of chapter)