Reaching the pinnacle from Doupo

Chapter 497: Danta and Soul Palace

In a quiet hall on the upper level of the Dan Tower, the smell of sandalwood curls up, and soft light shines through the carved window lattices, forming patches of mottled light and shadows on the ground.

Qinglin has returned to Xiaodan Tower to make final preparations for his retreat.

Lin Yuan sat opposite Xuan Kongzi. On the tea table in front of them, the aroma of tea was overflowing and steam was rising.

"So, this time, the 'Tianjiao Competition' is indeed fully supported by our Danta? The prizes for the conference are also provided by our Danta?"

He picked up the teacup beside him, shook it gently, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a playful smile.

"That's right!" Xuan Kongzi nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of calmness and wisdom.

"In the past two years, the trend of 'competing for the rankings' has been prevalent in Zhongzhou. The enthusiasm of the disciples of various sects, including our Danta disciples, has increased a lot. The tower feels that this is a great opportunity and has decided to do something about it!"

"And the idea of ​​holding a continent-level 'Genius Competition' every few years was proposed by me, and it was decided after discussion among everyone in the tower."

"Lin boy, can you guess what our purpose is besides motivating our disciples?"

Having said that, he put down the teacup in his hand, folded his hands in front of him, and looked at Lin Yuan with interest, with a hint of testing in his eyes.

"Master Xuan, are you testing me? Let me think about it..." Lin Yuan also put down the teacup in his hand, tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and said thoughtfully: "I guess you want to use this conference to expand the influence of Danta and deepen the 'communication' with various sects!"

"With the reputation of our Danta, it is impossible for the major sects to ignore such events."

"In this way, Danta and various sects will have a platform for regular communication, and it will be easier to form alliances in the future!"

Lin Yuan said this, his eyes flickering with thought.

It is human nature to watch strong people fighting each other, and this kind of event is naturally a hot topic.

If Danta is interested in promoting it, events like the 'Tianjiao Competition' will surely become famous and have a very high profile and influence.

In this way, once someone achieves outstanding results in the 'Tianjiao Competition', there is no doubt that he will immediately become famous in Zhongzhou and become a well-known rising star in the continent.

Fame and fortune have always gone hand in hand, whether for individuals or for sects.

For individuals, having a reputation makes it easier to get "investment" from other people and other forces; for a sect, having a reputation makes it easier to attract high-quality disciples, and this can almost determine the development prospects of a force.

If Danta can dominate the course of the event, there will be a lot of room for micro-manipulation!
Although in this kind of competitive competition, the strongest player is almost certain to win the championship, it is not too difficult to eliminate the second strongest player in the first round through some simple operations.

In addition, it is not difficult to stir up some confrontation and hatred through event arrangements.

From a long-term perspective, if the 'Tianjiao Jingfenghui' is managed properly, it can accurately support certain forces, and of course, it can also accurately suppress certain forces.

All that was required was to provide some skills and elixirs - these were insignificant items to Danta!

"Not only that!" Xuan Kongzi smiled gently, but in that smile, there was a hint of solemnity and gloom.

"This conference is actually a grand event to discover new talents with great potential. For those who have shown extraordinary potential in the conference, we will invest resources to win them over and make friends with them in advance, and make some preparations in advance for possible changes that may occur later..."

"An unexpected event?" Lin Yuan was slightly startled, blinked in confusion, and then looked at Xuan Kongzi uncertainly, asking, "Master Xuan, is there any new action in the Soul Palace?"

Xuan Kongzi did not answer directly, but took out a note from his ring and handed it to Lin Yuan, "Lin boy, take a look at this information."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan took the letter and read it carefully.

His fingers slid gently across the page, his eyes changing with the words, sometimes frowning, sometimes looking thoughtful.

A quarter of an hour later, he slowly closed the note, his face shrouded in solemnity, and said: "Compared to before, the Soul Palace's actions have become much more frequent, and they have become more reckless, with less scruples than before, and they no longer just target the 'dead'."

"That's right!" Xuan Kongzi nodded, his face becoming more solemn. "All signs indicate that Soul Palace will make a big move in the future..."

"In the past two years, the Soul Palace has become much more radical in its approach, especially in the past year, when it has become even more aggressive."

"Tian Leizi secretly captured several Soul Palace guardians and learned from them that the Soul Palace leaders had lifted the restrictions on the guardians' 'secret operations' and allowed them to capture souls on a large scale."

"Based on my understanding of the Soul Palace, their plan must be very big!"

"As the current situation continues, Danta and Soul Palace may once again engage in a full-scale war that will last for decades, just like a hundred years ago."

"We must plan ahead and be prepared for this."

"Whether it is to inspire the disciples in the tower to make progress, or to strengthen the relationship with the various sects in Zhongzhou, or to invest in and win over the rising stars with potential in the competition, they are all important parts of our response to the long-term war in the future..."

"Holding a competition like the 'Tianjiao Competition' can basically achieve these goals. So, this decision has been made!"

"When I decided on this matter, you were not in the tower, and I didn't know when you would return, so I didn't discuss it with you."

At this point, he looked at Lin Yuan dimly and said, "Lin, you are the future commander of Danta. You still have to spend some time dealing with the affairs of the tower..."

"Haha, you are worthy of being Master Xuan. You have really thought it through." Hearing Xuan Kongzi's words, Lin Yuan laughed dryly and nodded seriously, "Master Xuan's words, I have taken note! The war with the Soul Palace... So this is what is going on..."

The Zhongzhou branch's style of doing things has become radical, which I think has something to do with the fact that he let Qinglin rob the branch.

As Emperor Hun Tian's injuries are about to recover and the Soul Clan's millennium plan will soon be realized, it is inevitable that the Soul Palace's top leaders will lift restrictions and allow the lower levels to go all out to collect souls.

In fact, outside of Zhongzhou, the Soul Palace went even further.

During Lin Yuan's travels over the past two years, he has seen some Soul Palace guardians who instigated wars in the South, East, and North continents in order to quickly collect souls. For this reason, the Soul Palace has specially innovated technology and developed new secret techniques for efficiently harvesting souls.

After all, although there are not many strong people in the areas outside Zhongzhou, there is a huge population. If managed properly, it is enough to extract an extremely large amount of soul essence.

If nothing unexpected happens, in just a few years, the flames of war will first ignite on the edge of the continent, and the number of casualties will be in the millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions.

"Master Xuan, if we want to launch an action against the Soul Palace, we can't just focus on Zhongzhou!" After thinking for a while, Lin Yuan solemnly reminded Xuan Kongzi, "The Soul Palace has a large number of branches outside Zhongzhou. We must be on guard against these branches..."

Xuan Kongzi was slightly startled, with a flash of astonishment in his eyes. He said in disbelief, "You mean, they would risk the world's condemnation and create bloodshed in the border areas?"

Lin Yuan raised his chin, his expression indifferent, but with a hint of certainty on his lips, "We can't rule out this possibility, right?"

"It's always good to have an extra layer of consideration anyway."

"There are many powerful forces in Zhongzhou, which can more or less restrain the Soul Palace and make them cautious when taking action. But in the marginal areas, even a small Soul Palace guardian is enough to run rampant in many places."

"I suggest that we send a message to the Alchemist Guilds of the bordering countries, asking them to select personnel to come to Danta for further training, and also asking them to assist in investigating and handling matters related to the Soul Palace."

"Many alchemists outside Zhongzhou have the lifelong dream of coming to Danta for further study."

"If we use the qualification of advanced training as bait to get the local Alchemist Guilds to investigate and guard against the actions of the Soul Palace in the local area, they will definitely go all out. I am not afraid that they will not contribute."

"By doing this, we at Danta can not only strengthen our control over the border areas, but also select a group of talented people from them! Perhaps among these people, there are unpolished gems like me and Senior Yao's disciples, waiting for you to discover them with your discerning eyes."

"There should be quite a few geniuses who have outstanding talents but are buried in remote areas due to lack of resources and opportunities."

After Lin Yuan finished speaking, he stood there quietly, waiting for Xuan Kongzi's response.

In his position, he seeks his government.

From the perspective of the future Lord of Danta, he seriously put forward his suggestion - a suggestion that kills two birds with one stone.

On the other side, when Xuan Kongzi heard Lin Yuan's words, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

The first thunder ceremony more than two years ago was like a heavy hammer that hit Xuan Kongzi's heart hard and had a great impact on his mentality.

After all, if Lin Yuan had not joined Danta, at that conference where geniuses competed for supremacy, Danta, the undisputed dominant force in Central China, would not have been able to win the championship, and it could not even send out a single disciple who could compete. It was simply ridiculous and ironic!
Although more than two years had passed, that conference still felt like a sharp thorn, stinging his pride.

After all, he has been in charge of Danta for many years, and many of Danta's affairs are handled by him. He is confident that he can handle them in an orderly manner. However, he did not expect that such a serious problem of lack of successors would arise in the training of younger disciples.

In view of this, after returning from the Thunder Realm, Xuan Kongzi made up his mind to vigorously reform the training system of Danta disciples.

Danta's support for the "Tianjiao Competition" was the result of his vigorous promotion, and one of the purposes of his doing so was to broaden the horizons of Danta's disciples and inspire their fighting spirit.

The suggestion made by Lin Yuan is of great benefit to Danta, especially the fact that it can attract geniuses, which makes Xuan Kongzi particularly excited.

In Xuan Kongzi's opinion, the origins of Danta's disciples have become too rigid, and most of them are descendants of affiliated families and powerful people.

If this continues, Danta’s vitality, innovation and future will be restricted.

It's time for some changes in this regard!
At this moment, he was thinking in his mind that perhaps Danta could rely on the Alchemist Guilds of various countries to establish a system to recruit top talents in the border areas.

After all, parents with powerful bloodlines can only guarantee the lower limit of their offspring.

A person's talent, ability, and understanding, especially the latter two, are completely natural and cannot be controlled at all.

Throughout history, there were many geniuses who were born in humble circumstances but turned out to be extremely amazing. And the top geniuses selected from the tens or hundreds of millions of people in the Border Empire, in terms of qualifications alone, were not necessarily inferior to the younger generations of Danta.

After Lin Yuan opened his mind, Xuan Kongzi's thoughts quickly started to work, and he suddenly discovered that the Alchemist Guilds of countries outside Zhongzhou might have unexpected uses.

Thinking of this, Xuan Kongzi's eyes flashed, and then he nodded to Lin Yuan with attention.

"I will seriously consider this matter!"

"I believe in your judgment!" Lin Yuan nodded slightly, then changed the subject and asked in confusion: "By the way, how often does Master Xuan plan to hold this 'Tianjiao Competition'?"

"Three years!" Xuan Kongzi picked up the teacup in front of him and chuckled, "Starting from this year, it will be once every three years!"

"Ah?! Three years?!" Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he asked in astonishment: "Three years later, isn't that the time for the Alchemy Conference to be held?"

"Haha, wouldn't that be better?" Xuan Kongzi chuckled and said playfully, "The Alchemy Conference is only held once every thirty years. Wouldn't it be interesting to have a competition like the 'Tianjiao Competition' as its opening program?"

When Lin Yuan heard this, he inexplicably recalled that during the martial arts ceremony, he opened the performance with a duel with Yao Tian's alchemist. He couldn't help but smile.

"That's right, the Alchemy Conference held every thirty years is indeed worthy of this weight!"

Stopping his smile, he slowly picked up the teacup, only to find that the tea in the cup had been finished.

"Haha, let me do it!" A sweet laugh sounded, and Cao Ying took two steps forward. After refilling tea for the two of them, she lightly retreated behind Xuan Kongzi. However, her enchanting eyes were fixed on the clear figure opposite.

After more than two years, the 'prey' that I wanted most has finally returned!
And he, Medicine Lord Lin Yuan, really lived up to his expectations and became more "delicious", especially the strange fragrance of the elixir, which seemed to be mixed with some new ingredients and became more tempting than before.

The girl couldn't help but licked her lips, and the air was filled with evil spirit, like a fairy who had fallen into the mortal world.

Sure enough, compared with the person in front of him, the so-called "Zhongzhou prodigies" he had met in the past two years were all disgusting.

Without paying too much attention to Cao Ying's thoughts, Lin Yuan nodded to her politely, then took a sip of the fragrant tea and continued to synchronize a lot of information with Xuan Kongzi.

After three cups of tea, the two finally completed information synchronization and exchanged views on Danta's future policies.

"By the way, this is a little unexpected gain of mine. Let's consider it as a small gift to the three presidents!" Before leaving, Lin Yuan seemed to remember something. He took out three exquisite jade boxes from his ring, gently placed them on the table, and said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)