Volume 1, Chapter 46: The Commencement of the Ascension Assembly

Soon, Zhou Xiao followed a large group of beggar children to the center of the city. There, a spirit boat was parked, and below it stood a group of cultivators dressed in white robes.

The more Zhou Xiao looked at these white robes, the more familiar they seemed. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he cursed inwardly,

"Damn it, aren't these disciples of the Great Desolation Immortal Sect?!"

Currently, Zhou Xiao was weak and powerless, and his first instinct was to hide. But then he remembered that he was Zhou Xiao now, not Mo Jiuyou, so what was he afraid of?

With this thought, he stood his ground calmly, though unfortunately he was too short to see what was happening in the middle.

Helplessly, he asked a fellow beggar child beside him,

"Hey, what is the Great Desolation Immortal Sect doing here?"

The child glanced at Zhou Xiao and retorted, "What? You don't know about the Great Desolation Immortal Sect's Ascension Assembly?"

Naturally, Zhou Xiao shook his head. Seeing this, the child patiently explained,

"The Great Desolation Immortal Sect holds an Ascension Assembly every year, and beggars like us are allowed to participate."

"If spiritual roots are detected, we can join the Great Desolation Immortal Sect directly and become outer disciples. The monthly stipend is higher than you can possibly imagine."

"Even if no spiritual roots are detected, you can choose to stay in the Great Desolation Immortal Sect as a handyman, and the monthly stipend is still very generous."

"Furthermore, even without spiritual roots, if you don't want to stay, the Great Desolation Immortal Sect will still provide traveling expenses for you to go home."

"You could say there are no disadvantages to going to the Great Desolation Immortal Sect. It's always worth a try."

Hearing what the child said, Zhou Xiao thought it over and ultimately decided to join the Great Desolation Immortal Sect.

The reason was simple: become an undercover agent, infiltrate the upper echelons, and then wait for an opportunity to annihilate the Great Desolation Immortal Sect in one fell swoop.

Moreover, the Great Desolation Immortal Sect had just emerged from a major battle, and many people must have died within the sect, leaving behind a heavy accumulation of grievances and resentment.

Those grievances alone would be enough for him to recover his cultivation!

"The person who killed me also seemed to be from the Great Desolation Immortal Sect..." Zhou Xiao suddenly thought of Lin Yang, and a chill crept into his heart.

After all, Lin Yang had killed him—a cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage—with a single sword strike. How could he not be terrified?

"Forget it, I have already changed bodies now. No matter how profound his cultivation is, he will surely never see through my current identity."

With this thought, Zhou Xiao finally managed to set his mind at ease.

***

Three days later, atop Crimson Sun Peak, Lin Yang sat cross-legged in the tea room with a troubled expression.

"Where on earth can I rustle up some Fiery Grudge or Demonic Fire..." Lin Yang felt deeply distressed. He had been troubled by this matter for several days now.

Whether searching for the Netherworld or looking for the legendary Body of Divine Grievance, both were akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.

Lin Yang himself could certainly afford to wait, but Zhang Xianfeng could not.

Having lost his cultivation, Zhang Xianfeng had completely turned into a mortal, and his lifespan had naturally vanished with it.

In other words, Zhang Xianfeng was now an elderly man on the verge of twilight, and he might die at any moment.

Indeed, because he felt unwell, he hadn't handled any sect affairs over the past two days, dumping all the work onto Wang Zide.

Lin Yang grew increasingly worried. After all, time was life right now; if he couldn't find one of these two types of fire, Zhang Xianfeng might genuinely die.

Just as Lin Yang was fretting, the door to the tea room was pushed open, and Wang Zide walked in.

Wang Zide's eyes were filled with exhaustion. He yawned and spoke listlessly to Lin Yang,

"Peak Master Lin, it's time to attend the Ascension Assembly."

Lin Yang nodded. Then, looking at the exhausted and frail Wang Zide, he asked in confusion,

"Tell me, Peak Master Wang, which spirit beast or monster did you battle with? Why do you look so drained?"

Wang Zide waved a hand, sighed helplessly, and explained,

"Don't even ask. It's all because of that old man, the Sect Master."

"These past few days, the Sect Master handed all the sect affairs over to me to handle. How could I possibly finish it all by myself?"

"But there's no help for it. Since it was the Sect Master's order, I had no choice but to obey."

"I've been dealing with sect affairs for the past three days. Staying awake for three days and nights without sleep isn't too bad, but handling paperwork is truly mentally and physically exhausting."

"I've been working straight through until now without closing my eyes, and even so, there's still a huge pile left unfinished."

Watching Zhang Xianfeng's fatigued state, Lin Yang found it both amusing and pitiful.

After all, the once imposing and heroic Wang Zide had been relentlessly worn down into a decadent shell of his former self by the grind of sect administration.

At the same time, Lin Yang felt a lingering fear, feeling fortunate that he had not agreed to Zhang Xianfeng's request to become the Sect Master.

"It's a good thing I didn't listen to old man Zhang's coercion into making me Sect Master. If I had to deal with paperwork every day, when would I ever have time to sleep?"

Wang Zide was exhausted in both body and mind. Lin Yang had spoken in a very low voice, and Wang Zide could only catch vague murmurs.

"Peak Master Lin, what are you muttering about?" Wang Zide asked curiously, pricking up his ears.

Coming back to his senses, Lin Yang offered an awkward smile and explained,

"Nothing, nothing. I just meant that the Sect Master is trying to temper you."

"After all, to become the Sect Master, having sheer strength isn't enough; you also need top-tier administrative capability."

"Peak Master Wang, you're only this tired after handling affairs for three days and nights. Think back to the previous Sect Master; he handled affairs for a full thirty years without ever uttering a single word of complaint about being tired."

Wang Zide twitched the corner of his mouth and added, "Of course he didn't. The previous Sect Master literally died in the middle of handling sect affairs, so even if he wanted to complain, he couldn't."

Lin Yang stood up, patted Wang Zide on the shoulder, and said solemnly, "Look at you, Peak Master Wang. It seems your ideological awareness still needs some improvement."

"Alright, enough talk. Let's go attend the Ascension Assembly."

With that, Lin Yang walked out of the tea room. Wang Zide, having been tortured by sect affairs for three days and three nights, no longer had the energy to endure Lin Yang's psychological manipulation and merely curled his lip.

"You have such high ideological awareness. If your awareness is so high, why don't you handle the sect affairs yourself?"

***

Soon, the two arrived at the seats for the Ascension Assembly. The peaks' masters and elders, seeing them arrive, stood up and bowed with cupped hands.

Wang Zide went without saying—as the Peak Master of Sword Peak, though he had lost one arm, he was deeply favored by the Sect Master and was the most likely candidate to be the next Sect Master.

As for Lin Yang, in the past he would have been a target of ridicule, but now that he had fully displayed his strength, naturally no one dared to underestimate him anymore.

After all, when facing the strength of the peak Manifestation Realm, even if one wanted to look down on him, they had to check if they had the capital to do so.

Clearly, not everyone possessed the capital to look down upon the peak Manifestation Realm.

Wang Zide took his seat in the Sect Master's chair, while Lin Yang's seat was moved from the edge to right beside the Sect Master's throne.