After coming to his father's place for a feast, drinking a whole jar of wine, and even making off with three burlap sacks of Enlightenment Tea, the Jade Emperor was thoroughly satisfied.
More importantly, he had established Sect Master Tongtian's status. From now on, whenever Sect Master Tongtian saw him, he would have to call him uncle!
If all living beings of the Primordial Era World saw that scene, it would definitely be spectacular.
Just thinking about it made the Jade Emperor laugh out loud.
Full and drunk, the Jade Emperor glanced at the still-dejected Sect Master Tongtian and grinned.
"Dad, I heard from some cultivator friends that something big recently happened in the Heavenly Court," the Jade Emperor said.
"You have cultivator friends?" Zhang Yifan immediately became interested.
"Yeah, Little Yang cultivates too." The Jade Emperor pointed at Yang Jian.
Zhang Yifan's eyes lit up as he looked at Yang Jian. "Not bad. Leave a couple of cultivation manuals for Grandpa to look over sometime."
Although that damned system had given him plenty of supposedly peerless manuals, Zhang Yifan had practiced and practiced without developing any so-called magic power. It left him quite helpless, and he had no idea why.
In truth, all of Zhang Yifan's magic power had temporarily been taken away and stored by the grand formation around the house.
"Grandpa, my skills are just a few clumsy tricks. I'm afraid those cultivation manuals wouldn't be worth your notice." Yang Jian's face nearly reddened at Zhang Yifan's praise.
Compared to Zhang Yifan, could what he did even be called cultivation?
"Enough. If I tell you to leave them, leave them." Zhang Yifan did not want any polite refusals. Then he asked the Jade Emperor, "What big thing happened? Did the Jade Emperor secretly go down to the mortal world to steal some woman, then get caught by the Queen Mother?"
The Jade Emperor: "..."
"Dad, don't talk nonsense. Is the Jade Emperor that kind of person?" The Jade Emperor's mouth twitched. If Queen Mother found out about this, there would be no end to the trouble.
Yang Jian could not help wanting to laugh, so he stepped in to smooth things over. "Grandpa, I know. I heard that the Heavenly Emperor executed the Lord of Fire and reclaimed the authority to appoint and dismiss the Heavenly Court True Gods, directly ignoring the Investiture of the Gods List!"
"Oh?" Zhang Yifan found that rather interesting. This Jade Emperor seemed somewhat different from the one he knew.
"And, at Lingxiao Palace, the Jade Emperor even had Taibai Jinxing slap Great Master Guanyin across the face several times, beating her lips into sausages!"
"That's intense!" Zhang Yifan listened with great interest. Taking a sip of wine, he said, "Go on, go on. What else?"
"Also, the Journey to the West team has been pinned down at Lion Camel Ridge and cannot advance even half a step. I also heard that the Jade Emperor plans to wipe out the Journey to the West team."
"Good! This Jade Emperor is somewhat interesting." Zhang Yifan was immediately pleased to hear that the Jade Emperor had also halted Journey to the West.
Before that damned system ran away, it had said that after the Primordial Era World successfully advanced, he would naturally see his wife again.
Now that Journey to the West had been suspended and the Jade Emperor had changed as well, it seemed that something had shifted in secret.
"So, Dad, isn't this Jade Emperor handsome?" Seeing Zhang Yifan approve, the Jade Emperor immediately jumped out to praise himself.
"Not bad. I just don't know whether he can withstand getting ganged up on by Saints." Zhang Yifan nodded.
"Hahaha, I knew this Jade Emperor was truly handsome! Dominating! This is how the ruler of the Three Realms should be!" Having won his father's approval, the Jade Emperor became even more enthusiastic.
"Oh, give it a rest. That idiot Jade Emperor might get slaughtered by Saints the moment he walks outside. Besides, could he possibly be more handsome than my son?"
"Of course. Your son is the most handsome." The Jade Emperor grinned.
Even Sect Master Tongtian could not help looking down on the Jade Emperor after hearing that.
"It's because your old man's genes are good." Zhang Yifan laughed and scolded him.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dad, what do you think of Sect Master Tongtian?" the Jade Emperor asked again.
Yang Jian also looked up. He was very interested in discussing great figures of the Primordial Era World and its hidden secrets.
Sect Master Tongtian also looked at Zhang Yifan.
Although he did not know what the Jade Emperor was trying to do, he was also curious how Zhang Yifan, this reclusive great expert, would evaluate him.
"I don't know him, so how would I know? I just want to bask in the sun every day, have a little drink, and be a couch potato. I'm not interested in those Saints."
Zhang Yifan held a small plate of peanuts in his hand as he drank, afraid that these starving ghosts would snatch them all away again.
"When are you and Little Wang going to give your old man a grandson? Then I won't ask for anything else."
"Uh, we'll have one, we'll have one. Dad, just tell us."
"That's right, Grandpa. Tell us. Your grandson also loves hearing stories about these immortals."
"You all like hearing this?"
Zhang Yifan looked at Yang Jian, then at Sect Master Tongtian.
Both nodded.
"Fine, then I'll just say a few things." Zhang Yifan tossed a peanut into his mouth.
Seeing that a Great Dao Saint-like existence such as Zhang Yifan was about to comment on him, Sect Master Tongtian quickly straightened his posture.
In the Primordial Era World, Tongtian considered himself the leader of the Jie Teachings. As Saint Tongtian, his reputation was revered by all beings and admired by all gods.
The Jie Teachings had once received ten thousand immortals and ten thousand races in homage. It had been the Primordial Era World's greatest sect, unrivaled in prestige.
On top of that, he was born from Pangu's Primordial Spirit and was one of the six great Saints. Who would not revere Tongtian? This evaluation would surely be extremely high!
"If you ask me, Sect Master Tongtian is the Primordial Era World's greatest good-for-nothing."
Sect Master Tongtian: ???
The Jade Emperor: ???
Yang Jian: ???
No way?
What was going on?
Sect Master Tongtian suspected that he had misheard.
How had he become a good-for-nothing, and even the Primordial Era World's greatest good-for-nothing?
The Jade Emperor was also puzzled. Although he did not want to hear his father praise Tongtian too much, he had never expected an evaluation like this.
A good-for-nothing?
A dignified Heavenly Dao Saint was actually a good-for-nothing?
And the Primordial Era World's greatest one at that?
"Isn't he a Saint? He is revered by all living beings of the Primordial Era World. Why call him the Primordial Era World's greatest good-for-nothing?" Yang Jian was extremely curious.
How had an untouchable existence like the Three Pure Saints become a good-for-nothing?
"Exactly, how did I become a good-for-nothing?" Sect Master Tongtian was also unconvinced. It would have been one thing if the evaluation was not flattering, but how had he become a good-for-nothing?
"Hmph. Tongtian was born from Pangu's Primordial Spirit. He had an excellent foundation, great talent, and a head start. Of course he cultivated quickly. What's there to praise?"
"Don't tell me he's a Saint and therefore impressive. Impressive my ass. If he were so impressive, why didn't he become a Saint through his physical body? Becoming a Heavenly Dao Saint was his greatest mistake."
"Later, Sect Master Tongtian established the Jie Teachings and accepted everyone, furry or hairless, turning it into the Primordial Era World's greatest sect with unmatched prestige. Forget that he never sought to unify the Primordial Era World—he even let himself be plotted against, leading to the Three Pure Ones splitting apart, Pangu's true body having no hope of appearing again, and the Primordial Era World declining into mediocrity."
"What makes him even more contemptible is that during the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, because the most disciples placed on the Investiture of the Gods List were his, he became dispirited and never recovered, accomplishing nothing afterward. He crumbled after such a minor setback. If that doesn't make him a good-for-nothing, what does?"
"You should know that every cultivator in the Primordial Era World works a hundred or a thousand times harder than Tongtian. Every cultivator blasts through mountains when they meet mountains and builds bridges when they meet water. If there's a problem, they solve it. When facing hardship or adversity, if there is no solution, they create one and solve it anyway!"
"But Tongtian? Hmph. There were so many methods right in front of him, yet he did not use any of them! All because he cared about that so-called pride and reputation. He's simply a spineless coward."
Sect Master Tongtian: "..."
Sect Master Tongtian felt like crying without tears. Fine, scold him if you wanted, but a few insults would have been enough. Why did you rattle off so many accusations?
"Senior—no, Grandpa, I have something to say." Sect Master Tongtian wanted to defend himself.
"Go ahead."
"Over a million disciples died or were injured. Wasn't it normal for Sect Master Tongtian to be depressed for a while?" Sect Master Tongtian was saddened.
"Damn, did a million of them really die? Weren't they all placed on the Investiture of the Gods List?"
"...! Once they were on the Investiture of the Gods List, they could no longer advance in this life. Their futures were hopeless."
"Foolish! This was clearly an enormous blessing, yet you call it a bad thing."
"How was that a good thing?" Sect Master Tongtian did not understand.
The Jade Emperor and Yang Jian were also very curious.
How had it become a good thing?
During the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, no one wanted to be placed on the Investiture of the Gods List!
"Let me ask you this. After the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, how were those who had originally been about as strong as the Jie Teachings disciples doing now? Did their cultivation improve? How much did it improve? How are the Chan Teachings' Twelve Golden Immortals doing now?"
"Did they live easier lives? Were none of them killed by others? Were none of them mocked? Did they have brighter futures?"
Uh...
Faced with Zhang Yifan's string of questions, Sect Master Tongtian, the Jade Emperor, and Yang Jian were all stunned for a moment.
The three of them began to think back.
Before you continue