A comprehensive population census.
Primordial Census Jade Slip.
Chen Changsheng's calm voice was like two stubborn stones cast into chaos. It did not stir up towering waves, yet it froze all of time and space.
Before the mountain gate, the ecstatic frenzy sparked by the Dao Ancestor's appointment seemed to have its throat seized by an invisible hand, coming to an abrupt halt.
The fervor on the faces of tens of thousands of Interception Sect disciples froze at the corners of their mouths, turning into a deeper daze mixed with confusion and awe.
A census?
A census of what?
Household registration?
And what was household registration?
To these immortals, who could casually enter seclusion for tens of thousands of years, these terms made of two simple syllables were as foreign as asking them to understand an ant's joys and sorrows.
The flush on Daoist Duobao's face faded at a visible pace.
His Dao heart, skilled in calculation and comparable to an Innate Spiritual Treasure, felt the inadequacy of its "computing power" for the first time.
He instinctively wanted to divine the heavenly secrets contained behind those two terms, only to discover that the secrets of Heaven were a blur of chaos, as if completely veiled by a mist called "Process."
Zhao Gongming forcibly swallowed back his excitement and boldness.
He opened his mouth and looked at Chen Changsheng, his eyes full of confusion.
"Junior Brother Wuwei... what... is a census?"
His question voiced the thoughts of every immortal present.
Chen Changsheng did not answer immediately.
His gaze calmly swept across one bewildered face after another before finally settling on his master.
Sect Leader Tongtian frowned deeply.
He could sense that the karmic entanglements behind this first decree issued by his disciple might be greater than teasing the Chan Sect and confronting the Dao Ancestor combined.
But he did not stop him.
Because he could not understand it.
And what Tongtian had trusted most in his life was his intuition, as well as... this disciple's uncanny nature.
"Senior Brother."
Chen Changsheng turned to Zhao Gongming, his voice as steady as ever.
"A census means learning exactly how many mountains and rivers there are within the Three Realms."
"How many demons and fiends there are."
"How many Beasts with Fur and Horns there are, and how many Moist-Born and Egg-Hatched Beings."
"Where they reside, which sect they belong to, their cultivation levels, the techniques they primarily cultivate, and how much Karmic Cause and Effect they bear."
With every sentence Chen Changsheng spoke, the faces of the immortals present grew a shade paler.
By the time he finished, Golden Ao Island had fallen so silent that a pin dropping could be heard.
Everyone was utterly stunned by the unimaginable grandeur and terror revealed behind this decree.
This... this was going to turn the entire Primordial World upside down?!
This was going to establish records for every one of the countless trillions of living beings within the Three Realms?!
"Th-this is impossible!"
Daoist Duobao cried out in shock, no longer able to maintain his composure.
"Junior Brother! The Three Realms are vast and boundless, and living beings are as countless as the sands of the Ganges! Let alone us, even if a Sage did it personally and spent a million years, they could never complete such a colossal undertaking!"
His words won everyone's agreement.
This truly was an impossible task.
"Senior Brother is right."
Chen Changsheng nodded, unexpectedly agreeing with Daoist Duobao's view.
"By conventional methods, this truly would be impossible."
Then his tone shifted, and a glimmer the others could not comprehend flashed through his eyes.
"But the core of Process is turning the impossible into the possible."
He raised his hand, and the Heavenly Mandate Document rewarded by the system, which recorded Three Realms Affairs, silently appeared in his palm.
The ancient book emitted no radiant light, yet it seemed to bear the weight of the entire world.
"The Dao Ancestor bestowed upon me the position of Immortal Official, along with authority."
Chen Changsheng's voice became solemn and dignified.
"That authority is 'information.'"
He poured a thread of mana into the Heavenly Mandate Document.
Bzzzz—!
The ancient book opened and turned its pages without wind, the pages rustling loudly.
A dusky yellow Light Screen projected from the book and hovered in midair.
Countless Great Dao Runes, fine as dust, streamed across the Light Screen like a waterfall before finally gathering into a clear line of text.
[Please enter search target]
"Master, Senior Brothers, please look."
Chen Changsheng pointed at the Light Screen like a mortal schoolteacher presenting his proudest teaching aid.
At the request of our many readers, we now offer VIP membership with ad-free viewing.
Click to view.
"For example, the East Sea Dragon Palace. The Third Prince. Ao Bing."
The instant his words fell—
The text on the Light Screen abruptly changed.
[Name: Ao Bing] [Race: Five-Clawed Golden Dragon (Rare)] [Affiliated Force: East Sea Dragon Palace] [Cultivation Realm: Early Taiyi Golden Immortal] [Primary Cultivation Technique: Dragon Clan Sea-Quelling Art] [Magic Treasures Possessed: Heaven-Slaying Halberd (High-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasure), Dragon Tendon Rope (High-grade Houtian Spiritual Treasure)...] [Current Location: East Sea, Crystal Palace, side hall] [Recent Major Karmic Ties: Queued outside Golden Ao Island and formed an initial positive karmic connection with the Interception Sect...] [Overall Karmic Assessment: Red with Gold (heavy karmic burden, but carries the Dragon Clan's fortune)]
Those lines of crystal-clear data, detailed enough to make one's scalp tingle, were laid bare before everyone.
Golden Ao Island once again fell into deathly silence.
If the earlier census decree had shocked them with the sheer scale of the undertaking—
Then what this Light Screen displayed now filled them with fear that penetrated to their bones!
So in the eyes of the Immortal Official, all beings in the Three Realms truly were nothing more than lines of data that could be retrieved at any time?
So-called secrets did not exist at all!
Sect Leader Tongtian's pupils suddenly constricted.
He stared fixedly at the Light Screen, his heart churning with waves even more violent than when he had faced Primordial Heavenly Venerate.
He finally understood why the Dao Ancestor had appointed this "Flow Official."
How was this merely organizing processes?
This was clearly patrolling on behalf of Heaven and overseeing the Three Realms!
"Do Senior Brothers still think this is impossible?"
Chen Changsheng's voice pulled everyone back from their boundless shock.
Daoist Duobao and Zhao Gongming exchanged a look. Both saw horror in the other's eyes, and the two of them bowed deeply to Chen Changsheng in unison.
"Junior Brother... no, Immortal Official, your Divine Ability is vast. We... are convinced!"
"There is no need for this."
Chen Changsheng waved his hand, dispersing the Light Screen, while the Heavenly Mandate Document vanished into his body.
"This is the authority of the Heavenly Dao, not the power of one person alone."
He looked around at the crowd, his expression returning to businesslike calm.
"The census remains a vast undertaking. But no matter how great a project is, as long as it is broken down, labor is divided, standards are established, and plans are made, the day of completion will eventually come."
He looked at Daoist Duobao.
"Senior Brother Duobao, within three days, I want to see the first draft of the <Primordial Being Information Registration Standard Form>, Version 1.0. The form must cover every item I just displayed and add sections for 'family relationships' and 'social background.'"
Daoist Duobao jolted and hurriedly replied.
"This disciple accepts the order!"
At this moment, he no longer harbored the slightest doubt. All he felt was the supreme honor of participating in an undertaking of the Heavenly Dao.
Then Chen Changsheng looked at Zhao Gongming.
"Senior Brother Zhao Gongming, immediately select three hundred capable disciples from the Calamity Aversion Department and establish the 'Golden Ao Island Household Registration Census Pilot Working Group.' At tomorrow morning's meeting, I want to see the Working Group's complete roster and a preliminary training plan."
"This disciple obeys!"
Zhao Gongming's voice rang like a great bell, and he felt himself brimming with vigor.
Watching the enormous project that had seemed impossible be broken down into clear, specific, executable tasks in just a few words from Chen Changsheng—
Sect Leader Tongtian stood to one side, stroking his beard as wonder filled his eyes.
He suddenly felt that the Interception Sect's doctrine of "teaching without distinction, with myriad immortals paying homage" seemed... to have finally found the management method best suited to it.
Just as everyone thought this first "Immortal Official Morning Meeting" was about to end—
Chen Changsheng's gaze passed beyond Golden Ao Island and turned toward the majestic East Sea.
"Our census work cannot remain only on paper."
"A pilot program must begin in the most real environment."
He paused before slowly speaking words that made Zhao Gongming's heart leap.
"Senior Brother Zhao."
"Your three-hundred-man Working Group's first census target will not be Golden Ao Island."
Zhao Gongming was startled.
"Then where?"
A warm smile appeared on Chen Changsheng's face.
"We'll begin with our neighbors, the East Sea Dragon Palace."
"Prepare a formal Official Letter and notify the East Sea Dragon King."
"Tell him that the Interception Sect's Calamity Aversion Department has established the 'Three Realms Population Census Office' under the Dao Ancestor's decree."
"Tomorrow, we will send a Working Group to the Dragon Palace to guide and assist them in completing the Dragon Clan's first... household registration."
If you can't find a book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!
Before you continue