Golden Ao Island, Calamity Aversion Department main hall.
The glowing teleportation array slowly dimmed.
Zhao Gongming stepped out, holding two Jade Slips in his hands.
His face bore a complex expression mixed with exhaustion, excitement, and utter absurdity.
Inside the hall, Tongtian, Daoist Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and the Calamity Aversion Department's core disciples had long been waiting.
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him.
"How did it go?"
Daoist Duobao stepped forward, an almost imperceptible tension in his voice.
Zhao Gongming said nothing.
He merely walked forward and respectfully placed the two Jade Slips in his hands on the desk before Chen Changsheng.
The first was a golden settlement statement, upon which the words "ninety-eight thousand Merit" flowed with a radiance that even made Sages take notice.
The second was a silver satisfaction questionnaire.
At the bottom of the questionnaire was a line of large characters written in Dragon Clan essence blood. The handwriting was twisted and savage with its owner's extreme humiliation, stabbing painfully into the eyes of every immortal present.
"Good! Very good! Extremely good! The Interception Sect's service made me feel the warmth of home! I'll come again next time!"
After it was a smiley face drawn with every ounce of strength.
Yet that smile looked even uglier than a sob.
"..."
The hall fell into dead silence.
Even Sect Leader Tongtian's mouth twitched uncontrollably when he saw that line of bloody words.
He looked at his little disciple, who still appeared frail and sickly, as though a gust of wind could knock him over.
He suddenly felt that, as a master, he might need to reevaluate the terrifying destructive power contained in the word "Process"—enough to shatter the Dao heart of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
"Junior Brother."
Zhao Gongming took a deep breath and reported hoarsely.
"I did not fail my mission."
"The East Sea Dragon Clan, a total of three thousand seven hundred and twenty-one dragon descendants, along with one hundred and twenty thousand Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, have all been registered."
"The service fee was ninety-eight thousand Merit, not a bit short."
"Dragon King Ao Guang was... extremely satisfied with our office's service."
When he uttered those last two words, even his own primordial spirit throbbed with pain.
Chen Changsheng nodded calmly.
He picked up the questionnaire stained with the Dragon King's blood and tears, examined it carefully, then put it away with great care.
"Thanks for the effort, Senior Brother."
"This is the first five-star review received by our Calamity Aversion Department. Its significance is immense. It should be framed and hung at the department entrance to inspire those who come after."
Zhao Gongming: "..."
Daoist Duobao: "..."
"Junior Brother."
Daoist Duobao finally recovered from the overwhelming absurdity. With tightly furrowed brows, he raised a crucial question.
"The Dragon Clan is weak and neighboring Golden Ao Island, which is why we could keep them in hand."
"But what if it were someone else? The Asura Clan of Minghe's Sea of Blood, for example, or Demon Master Kunpeng in the depths of the North Sea."
"They would not speak even half a sentence of Process with us."
His concern was everyone's concern.
No matter how good the Process was, the other side still had to be willing to sit down and go through it with them.
What if they encountered reckless brutes who flipped the table at the slightest disagreement?
One disciple responsible for keeping records watched Chen Changsheng nervously, while another looked at the mountain of Merit with glittering eyes.
Yet Chen Changsheng seemed not to have heard Daoist Duobao's question.
He slowly rose and walked to the center of the hall.
He extended a hand.
The Heavenly Mandate Document bestowed by Heavenly Dao, neither gold nor jade, silently appeared.
"Senior Brother's concerns are well-founded."
Chen Changsheng's voice was not loud, yet it clearly suppressed every discussion.
"The Process needs power to defend it."
"And our power does not come from our sect, but from..."
He pointed above his head.
"Heavenly Dao."
As his words fell, he poured all ninety-eight thousand Merit into the Heavenly Mandate Document.
Buzz—!
The entire ancient tome instantly erupted with incomparably dazzling black-and-yellow divine light!
A massive Light Screen projected from the book, shooting into the nine heavens and turning the sky above all Golden Ao Island into a golden sea of Merit!
Countless Great Dao Runes frantically evolved across the Light Screen before finally gathering into lines of cold, majestic text filled with supreme authority.
[By decree of Dao Ancestor Hongjun of Purple Cloud Palace!]
If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author—it may simply have been renamed!
[Flow Official Chen Changsheng hereby promulgates, in order to sort out the karma of the Three Realms and quantify the credit of all living beings—] [<Provisional Measures for Primordial Credit Management>!]
The instant these lines appeared, supreme Heavenly Dao pressure burst from the Light Screen and swept through the Three Realms and Six Paths, the Four Seas and Eight Wildernesses in an instant!
Kunlun Mountain, Jade Void Palace.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, abruptly opened them.
A teacup carved from Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade in his hand shattered with a crack.
The west, Mount Sumeru.
The suffering expression on Daoist Zhunti's face froze instantly. He exchanged a look with Daoist Jieyin beside him, and both saw unprecedented shock in the other's eyes.
Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, Wa Huang Palace.
Saintess Nuwa's beautiful brows furrowed slightly as her gaze pierced through endless void and settled on that dazzling golden light.
Meanwhile, the words on the Heavenly Dao Light Screen continued to evolve.
[Effective immediately, the "Primordial Credit System" shall be formally established within the Three Realms!] [All living beings of the Three Realms, whether immortals, mortals, spirits, or monsters, shall automatically be included in this system and assigned an initial credit score.] [Credit scores shall be closely linked to your fortune, Merit, cultivation, and even your tribulations!] [Those who actively cooperate with the Heavenly Dao census and improve their personal information may increase their credit scores.] [Those who defy Heavenly Dao Process, violently resist law enforcement, or possess unclear karma shall have credit scores deducted.] [Those with excessively low credit scores shall trigger the following penalties:] [First, restriction on drawing upon Heavenly Dao Merit.] [Second, restriction on entering Blessed Lands and Grotto-Heavens.] [Third, increased probability of facing tribulation during a Tribulation.] [Fourth, ...]
Clause after clause, article after article—utterly clear, cold, and merciless.
This was no longer a threat. It was a declaration.
Through Chen Changsheng's hand, Heavenly Dao had issued an entirely new set of iron laws to the entire Primordial World, laws that stood above every power!
When the final line appeared.
[The right of final interpretation of these Measures belongs to the Three Realms Population Census Office.]
The entire Primordial World was struck speechless.
Countless great powers awoke from seclusion, and countless experts turned horrified gazes toward the East Sea.
They finally understood that the Interception Sect's so-called "Process" was not a joke.
It was an invisible net, slowly spreading open, woven by Heavenly Dao to ensnare every living being!
On Golden Ao Island, Daoist Duobao and Zhao Gongming were already dumbfounded, their primordial spirits trembling.
They watched their young junior brother calmly withdraw the Heavenly Mandate Document, feeling that his figure had become even more towering and unfathomable than a Sage's in that moment.
So... this was the true trump card!
First, use the Dragon Clan as a pilot program and obtain startup funds.
Then use those funds to leverage Heavenly Dao authority and announce the legitimacy of the "Process" to the Three Realms!
From now on, cooperating with the census was no longer about giving the Interception Sect face. It was... about accumulating one's own credit score!
"Now."
Chen Changsheng turned around and looked at Daoist Duobao, who had long since been stunned into silence. A warm smile appeared on his face.
"Does Senior Brother still think anyone would dare flip the table?"
Daoist Duobao swallowed with difficulty, then gave Chen Changsheng a deep bow, bowing in complete submission.
"Junior Brother... you are truly a divine man!"
Chen Changsheng waved a hand, signaling that there was no need for such formality.
His gaze fell upon Zhao Gongming once more.
"Senior Brother, the census must continue."
Zhao Gongming jolted and hurriedly bowed.
"Please instruct me, Junior Brother! Is the next target the North Sea Demon Master Palace, or Minghe's Sea of Blood?"
At that moment, his confidence was overflowing. With the Credit Measures in hand, where in the Three Realms could he not go?
"Neither."
Chen Changsheng shook his head.
From his sleeve, he took out a brand-new Official Letter that had long been drafted.
The large characters in the heading of the Official Letter, condensed from Great Dao Runes, made Zhao Gongming's heart skip a beat.
[To: Grand Master Xuandu, First Disciple of the Ren Sect (to be forwarded to Grand Supreme Moral Heavenly Venerate)]
Chen Changsheng gently handed the Official Letter to Zhao Gongming, his voice as calm as if he were discussing something utterly insignificant.
"Our sect has long held grievances with the Chan Sect, so it would be inconvenient to proceed there first."
"The Western Sect is too far away, so we will set it aside for now."
"The Ren Sect is the orthodox lineage of the Mystic Sect. Senior Uncle-Master is pure and effortless, and values reason above all."
"Our Process is the greatest reason in the Primordial World."
"So the next census target shall begin with Eight Views Palace."
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