The gates of Zixiao Palace silently swung open to either side!
Strange!
Too damn strange!
The bloody scene everyone had imagined—myriad immortals fighting to cross, smashing their heads bloody over a single cushion, divine abilities and magical treasures flying everywhere—never appeared at all!
Instead, a crowd of Primordial Great Powers holding jade tokens of various colors lined up and filed inside in perfect order, like mortals attending a market fair!
The "admission tickets" Xuanzheng had handed out had now apparently become "civilized passes" for entering the Saint's Dojo!
"Hmph! Playing tricks!"
Several dense streams of Demonic Energy shot into the sky like beacon smoke as a group of demon commanders, accustomed to throwing their weight around even among the demon race, descended upon the place.
When they saw this spectacle, practically a marvel of the Primordial World, their faces were filled with naked contempt and mockery.
"Do you think such lowly tricks from the witch race can stop our sincere pursuit of the Great Dao?"
One demon commander with a vicious tiger head let out a chilling sneer.
He did not spare a glance for those cowards obediently "buying tickets to enter." With a surge of demonic power, he transformed into a streak of black light and shot straight toward the six cushions before the hall that radiated boundless profound mysteries!
Hehehe! Another thickheaded fool had volunteered to come boost my performance! Not bad, not bad—today's KPI would be exceeded!
Xuanzheng was currently mingling among a group of Great Powers holding "standing-room tickets," his hands tucked into his sleeves as he lounged about leisurely.
The faint curve at the corner of his mouth made him look exactly like a hunter watching a Fat Sheep leap willingly into a trap.
Just as the tiger-headed demon commander's claw was about to touch the edge of a cushion!
"Hey! You demon! Stop right there!"
"Fellow Daoist! Please make up your ticket fee! Maintaining the sacred order of Zixiao Palace is the responsibility of every cultivator!"
Two furious roars rang out like heavenly thunder!
The voices sounded somewhat simple and honest at first, yet were brimming with force upon closer hearing, carrying an unquestionable dominance!
Two "ordinary listeners," who had quietly stood in line until now, broad-bodied and so reserved in aura that they resembled sealed jars, suddenly stepped forward without warning!
The knotted muscles on their bodies were more exaggerated than if they had been cast from black iron!
Fists?
No!
They were weapons of murder, each larger than an ordinary creature's head!
Though the vitality and blood around them remained hidden, they exuded a heart-palpitating ancient savagery and dominance!
They were the witch race's top Great Witches, specially "hired" by Xuanzheng to disguise themselves as ordinary listeners and "maintain order"!
"Get the hell out of my way!"
The tiger-headed demon commander flew into a rage. His demonic power erupted without reservation as he attempted to blast these two blind obstructions into dust!
Boom—!
Crack—!
What answered him were two iron fists carrying terrifying force!
And a crisp, tooth-aching explosion of shattering bone!
The once-arrogant tiger-headed demon commander did not even manage to let out a complete scream!
Like a tattered sack slapped head-on by an ancient ferocious beast, he flew backward even faster than he had arrived!
While he was still in midair, blood sprayed wildly from his nose, his eye sockets darkened, and a gleaming tiger fang mixed with a mouthful of bloody foam traced an arc through the gray chaos.
Thud!
He slammed heavily into the ground, his life and death unknown!
As for the other demon commanders who had also intended to fish in troubled waters and force their way in, before they could react, several other "helpful bystanders" charged indignantly from the crowd and pinned them firmly to the ground in the glorious name of "assisting the Dao Ancestor in maintaining order at Zixiao Palace and eliminating black sheep"!
The scene was nothing short of a one-sided, utterly unsurprising beating!
Screams?
There were none!
Only the dull thuds of fists striking flesh and the mournful creaks of dislocated bones!
A moment later.
The demon commanders who had been swaggering about moments earlier now all wore faces swollen worse than Pig Heads, bruised and battered, their clothes in tatters.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, they slunk over to the "temporary ticket-upgrade counter" specially set up by Xuanzheng—a broad-shouldered Great Witch with an honest smile—and tremblingly pulled out their most treasured spiritual materials.
All to exchange them for several jade tokens that Xuanzheng jokingly called "Zixiao Palace Corner Add-On Tickets for Contemplating Life."
Then, each filled with venomous resentment yet daring not to speak out, they shrank into the most inconspicuous corners of the hall and began drawing circles.
The entire place fell into Deathly Silence!
A pin drop could be heard!
Every Primordial Great Power who witnessed this had been utterly stunned by this unexpected stunt!
At that moment, Xuanzheng once again ground their worldview into the dirt and rubbed it back and forth!
This damned ticket scalper even came with his own security detail?!
And that security detail was ridiculously powerful!
How was anyone supposed to survive this?!
Who would dare skip the fare at Zixiao Palace from now on?!
Soon, amid an atmosphere that was strange yet somewhat comical, the six front-row cushions symbolizing supreme opportunities each found their owner.
The Daoist Three Pure Ones of Kunlun Mountain sat cross-legged side by side. Grand Supreme Elder's expression was as calm as an ancient well, Primordial Lord of Heaven's face was as dark as water, while Sovereign of Heaven surveyed his surroundings with great interest, a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth.
Empress Nuwa was serene and composed. With her elder brother Fuxi's help, she steadily claimed one seat.
Meanwhile, Jieyin and Zhunti from the west righteously occupied two cushions by relying on the Unilateral Clauses in the "Sainthood Opportunity Targeted Investment Loan Contract" they had signed with Xuanzheng!
The trademark bitter expressions on their faces remained so intense that they seemed impossible to dissolve, as though the entire Primordial World owed them several hundred Innate Spiritual Treasures.
Yet deep in their eyes lay a trace of secret delight and pride that they could not hide no matter what!
As for Hong Yun, the Primordial World's foremost good old man, he was currently lounging comfortably in the "Zixiao Palace VIP Supreme Luxury Private Room" Xuanzheng had specially built for him.
That so-called private room was actually just a small compartment temporarily assembled in a corner from several soundproof jade walls that emitted a faint fragrance.
Inside were not only soft, comfortable cushions and a delicate low table, but even an exquisite tea set placed upon it. Wisps of Enlightenment Tea fragrance drifted gently into the air.
With the relief of someone who had survived a disaster written all over his face, Hong Yun lowered his voice and muttered to the bewildered Zhenyuanzi beside him:
"Brother Zhenyuan, Brother Zhenyuan! Fellow Daoist Xuanzheng really is a good man!"
Zhenyuanzi: "..."
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, only to realize that words had failed him.
His mind was blank. He only felt that everything unfolding before him was more inconceivable and absurd than all the strange tales and bizarre events he had witnessed over his countless years traveling the Primordial World combined!
Amid this strange yet "harmonious" atmosphere!
Buzz—!
A brilliant radiance suddenly filled all of Zixiao Palace!
Boundless Dao rhythms flowed as Purple Qi Coming from the East stretched thirty thousand miles!
Upon the cloud bed atop the high platform, a blurry yet majestic figure slowly manifested within a haze of chaotic light and shadow.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun!
His eyes, as though they contained the Three Thousand Great Daos, lowered expressionlessly as he looked over the countless "Dao lecture attendees" below.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had originally thought that, upon opening the palace gates, he would witness an intense battle.
He had expected countless Great Powers to disregard their status and fight fiercely for those mere six cushions, blood splashing across the dojo and perhaps even several unlucky fools dying on the spot.
After all, this had been an Open Scheme personally arranged by him, meant to select and test them!
But then...
What did he see?
Other than the figures sitting on the six cushions, who were still relatively normal, what exactly was that vast black mass behind them?!
Some sat cross-legged in proper order.
Some could only squat reluctantly because there was not enough room.
Some had nowhere to go at all and could only stand against the walls.
There were even...
Damn it, people who had brought their own little stools and were leisurely cracking sunflower seeds!
And the most outrageous thing!
The thing that nearly caused his Dao heart to collapse!
Was that so-called "private room" in the corner, enclosed by several shabby jade walls and wafting with tea fragrance!
Dao Ancestor Hongjun's eyelids twitched violently, uncontrollably, three times!
An unprecedented sense of absurdity crashed straight into his saintly heart!
His saintly consciousness, omnipresent like mercury flooding the ground, swept through every corner of Zixiao Palace in an instant, as though he had activated a full-map scanning cheat!
Those so-called "additional seats"!
Those bizarre "standing tickets" and "hanging tickets"!
Even that absurd "private-room ticket"!
Every single one actually circulated with a thread of Heavenly Dao Merit—weak, yet genuine and undeniable, impossible to falsify in the slightest!
The entire Zixiao Palace!
Not only had it failed to descend into the chaos and endless conflict he had expected!
Instead, because of this "orderly" Dao lecture crowd with its "luxurious lineup" and "complete configuration," the "coverage rate" and "transmission efficiency" of the Great Dao he was about to impart seemed... seemed to be even slightly higher than he had anticipated?
It felt as if the script he had painstakingly written had been forcibly "optimized" into an unrecognizable mess by some wild director who had appeared from nowhere!
This left Hongjun silent for dozens of breaths.
Hehehe! I overturned your understanding, didn't I, you old antique? Stunned, weren't you, country bumpkin?
This is called the Market Economy. Do you understand user experience? Paying to attend lectures is perfectly natural! I'm even helping you expand enrollment and improve teaching quality!
Besides, if you don't say anything, I'll take it as approval! Even the Heavenly Dao gave me an award—what more do you, its spokesperson, want?
Xuanzheng's inner monologue was unbearably arrogant at that moment.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun's gaze pierced through the void like two invisible swords before locking with absolute precision onto Xuanzheng, who was blending in with the "standing-ticket audience" while shamelessly occupying a "prime freeloading spot" with an excellent view and the perfect distance from the platform.
That bastard!
That damned witch!
At that moment, he had his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking honest, simple, and harmless as he glanced around. Every now and then, he nodded warmly at the "enthusiastic" listeners around him and revealed a "bashful" smile.
As though he truly were just an utterly ordinary, studious young witch from the witch race who had come to Zixiao Palace in pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement!
Dao Ancestor Hongjun was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. His Three Corpses raged wildly, and even his primordial spirit faintly ached.
He wanted to slap this audacious witch brat—who had disrupted his plans and ground his dignity into the dirt—directly to death inside Zixiao Palace!
However!
Just as his killing intent was about to rise!
The Heavenly Dao Will in the unseen depths sent him a faint, almost imperceptible sense of "approval."
As though it were telling him in an unquestionable tone:
"Hongjun, this young man has done quite well! Look at the classroom discipline, the enthusiasm for listening, and the KPI for spreading the Great Dao—hasn't he raised them all for you? You need to be flexible and encourage innovation!"
Pressure!
From the lofty Heavenly Dao Will!
From the hall full of "paying users" with fiery gazes, terrified that he might refuse to begin lecturing!
From Xuanzheng, who stood there with his hands tucked away and an innocent face, as though he were the victim!
Layer upon layer, it weighed upon Dao Ancestor Hongjun's heart!
In the end.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun expressionlessly withdrew his gaze, which had nearly begun to spit fire.
His voice was as indifferent as eternal black ice, devoid of even the slightest hint of joy or anger.
"The time... has come."
"I shall... begin... explaining... the Great Dao!"
These four words were practically squeezed out from between Dao Ancestor Hongjun's teeth, one word at a time!
Every word represented his...
Helpless acceptance of Xuanzheng's Zixiao Palace ticket-office stunt, one worthy of being recorded in Primordial World history!
Inside the hall, all the Primordial Great Powers now looked at Xuanzheng with none of their initial ridicule or anticipation of a joke.
What replaced it was deep, heartfelt admiration!
And a trace of... bone-deep wariness!
I've learned! I've learned! So the Great Dao can be sought this way, and opportunities can be seized this way! It's just that none of us could ever match even one ten-thousandth of Fellow Daoist Xuanzheng's thick skin and terrifying strength, no matter how hard we tried!
This was the truest reflection of what most of the Primordial Great Powers present were thinking.
Meanwhile, Chief Consultant Xuanzheng happily opened his little ledger in his mind and began tallying the abundant gains from this trip to Zixiao Palace.
Hehe! Massive amounts of Innate Spiritual Materials in hand! Several high-quality Innate Spiritual Treasures added to the account! A tidy sum of pure Heavenly Dao Merit safely pocketed!
Most importantly, that stack of 'Karmic Debt Claim Certificates' stamped with the true-spirit marks of the Primordial World's top Great Powers! Hehehe, these would be the original capital for my great witch race to dominate the Primordial World, build infrastructure, and pursue development in the future!
Oh, right! The repair reward from the Primordial World Bug Fixing Manual has arrived too—Heavenly Dao Special Authorization: Zixiao Palace Order Maintainer Gold Badge (Unique)! While wearing this gold badge during the three Zixiao Palace lectures, I am the Heavenly Dao Certified discipline monitor!
Whoever dares to cause trouble should first ask whether my fists and the Heavenly Dao's reputation will allow it! And I can even have a small chance of intercepting someone else's merit? Wonderful! Wonderful! Old Man Hongjun's Defense System still has far too many bugs. Looks like I'll have to help him "maintain" it more often in the future!
Xuanzheng rubbed his chin in satisfaction, a bright, sunny, harmless, almost "pure" smile appearing on his face.
This trip to Zixiao Palace!
He had made an absolute killing!
He had profited beyond his wildest dreams!
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