Bei Ming Swings His Ruler at Zhunti—What Is True Pride and Backbone?

Seeing Hong Yun blindly indulge his kindness again, Zhen Yuanzi's expression changed drastically. He nearly sprang up from the ground as he cried out:

"Fellow Daoist, you must not!"

Who present did not know that the Prayer Mats before them held an opportunity? And he was just giving one away like that?

If those two needed to rest, the Main Hall of Purple Cloud Palace was larger than all of Wuzhuang Temple put together. Was there nowhere else they could rest?

If they were truly tired, couldn't they just sit on the ground?

With so many Great Powers present, weren't they all sitting on the ground? Why did those two have to sit in seats?

Hong Yun remained composed, waving a hand to soothe him. "Do not be anxious, Fellow Daoist.

"Throughout my life, I have most enjoyed doing good. Opportunities are but things outside the body. If I can fulfill the wishes of these two, that is also what I desire."

With that, he actually stood and stepped aside.

Zhunti and Jieyin were overjoyed within their hearts.

Yet beneath the watchful eyes of everyone present, they forcibly suppressed their delight and replaced it with looks of overwhelming gratitude.

Zhunti immediately wiped away tears, his voice choked with emotion. "Fellow Daoist Hong Yun truly is a man of great compassion!"

Jieyin pressed his palms together and respectfully said, "Boundless Merit! Fellow Daoist's benevolent heart moves heaven and earth!"

The two echoed each other, showering him with praise and weeping with gratitude as though they had encountered their reborn parents.

Seizing the moment, Zhunti's eyes flickered. He immediately reached out and gave Jieyin a push, sending him onto the Prayer Mat.

Mainly because the five people in the remaining seats all looked difficult to provoke, and most likely did not have anything wrong with their heads.

He could still try to fight for one later, but if it did not work out...

If there was only one seat, Zhunti still hoped that his senior brother, whose cultivation talent was stronger, would take it.

Hong Yun gladly accepted Zhunti and Jieyin's profuse thanks. Seeing Zhunti yield to his senior brother, he thought this Fellow Daoist was especially honest and kind.

After giving up his seat, Hong Yun strode carefreely to Zhen Yuanzi's side and casually sat on the ground, utterly unconcerned.

The other Cultivators in the hall all wore complicated expressions at the sight.

They knew of Hong Yun's kind heart, yet could not help shaking their heads and sighing.

With an opportunity before him, Hong Yun could actually abandon it. He had truly taken being an "Old Good Person" to the extreme.

Fortunately, no one else had a Prayer Mat and all of them were seated on the ground, so there was no further fuss.

Otherwise, if Hong Yun had yielded a seat in the First Row, and the second row had no seats, would he not have had to line up at the very back?

Zhen Yuanzi looked at his friend with a heavy expression and sighed.

"Hong Yun, you should not have yielded it. If heaven grants something and one does not take it, one will instead suffer its blame."

Hong Yun merely smiled faintly, his expression peaceful.

"It is nothing. Do good and accumulate virtue; with Merit upon oneself, opportunities will naturally come in the future."

Watching Hong Yun's actions, Hongjun could not help sighing inwardly. He could only shake his head helplessly.

"Man proposes, heaven disposes."

Now, he could only pray that nothing unexpected happened on Bei Ming's side.

Otherwise, if the two from the West obtained two Saint Positions and rebelled in the future, it would be a heavy blow to the Mystic Gate he had created.

Within the Main Hall, undercurrents stirred because of Hong Yun yielding his seat.

After Jieyin sat down, Zhunti did not settle down. His eyes rolled, and he slowly sidled up beside Bei Ming, his face piled high with miserable sorrow.

He clasped his fists with both hands, half-kneeling and half-bowing, his voice choked with emotion.

"This Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist Hong Yun stood righteous and awe-inspiring. Might you also take pity on us of the West?

"If I cannot listen to the Great Dao, I would rather smash my head to death beneath a pillar of Purple Cloud Palace!"

Before his words had even faded, Zhunti was just about to strike a tragic pose. He even raised himself, intending to adopt an attitude of "threatening with death."

Bei Ming swept him a cold glance. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised a hand and brought out the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler.

The ruler flashed. Accompanied by a crisp smack—, it landed squarely on Zhunti's forehead.

Zhunti's vision immediately went black. His scalp throbbed in pain, and a huge bluish lump instantly swelled on his forehead.

His eyes went blank, his body swayed, and he nearly toppled to the ground. Dazed and dizzy, he could not utter a word.

Bei Ming's expression was indifferent as he said evenly, "Fellow Daoist, one must think thrice before speaking. Disaster comes from the mouth; one cannot be too careful."

Nüwa was the first to speak up, defending justice as she coldly said:

"You there, the two of you have already gained seats by selling misery. Do not let greed know no bounds."

Fuxi turned to look at Hong Yun while also mocking Zhunti and Jieyin.

"Fellow Daoist, giving up your seat to such insatiably greedy people truly means you misjudged them."

Hong Yun was slightly stunned, but his expression soon returned to calm. He neither explained nor struck back.

He knew that he could do good with his own body and give up opportunities that belonged to him;

But making others give up in his stead violated the true measure of "doing good" in his heart.

Such hypocritical "generosity at others' expense" was not his way.

Thus, even when Fuxi mocked him, Hong Yun merely accepted it calmly. He sat quietly beside Zhen Yuanzi without saying a word.

Zhen Yuanzi did not speak up for Hong Yun either. He knew perfectly well that any intervention now would bring trouble in its wake.

Those who could sit upon the prayer mats were almost all deeply accomplished cultivators.

If anyone were forced off because of this, they would surely bear a grudge against Hong Yun.

In any case, a few mocking remarks would cause no real harm. He only needed to endure them.

Zhunti clutched his forehead, where a swollen bump had risen, tears and snot streaming down his face.

After catching his breath for a moment, he began wailing again, his voice heart-rending:

"Fellow Daoists, judge this fairly! This is clearly bullying the West! This is discrimination! Where is justice in Heaven?!"

Zhunti wept miserably, flailing his hands as though he wanted to shake Purple Cloud Palace with his grief-stricken cries.

Yet the cultivators in the hall remained unmoved.

Their faces gave nothing away, but inwardly, they sneered;

If anyone spoke of discrimination, then they truly did "discriminate" against the two people;

That was because Zhunti and Jieyin's earlier disgraceful behavior had already earned everyone's contempt.

Laozi did not care in the slightest about the disturbance unfolding before him;

Only when Bei Ming had brought out the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler had it briefly drawn his gaze;

But soon, he returned to his ancient, placid demeanor.

The corners of Tongtian's lips curled upward as he watched this farce with great interest.

Yuanshi cast a glance over, but said nothing;

Though he despised those Born from wet eggs and Wearing fur and armor, the Merit Golden Light radiating from Bei Ming forced him to take the matter seriously.

Back when Bei Ming had resolved the Sha Qi within Changbai Mountain's Ancestral Vein, the Heavenly Dao had bestowed considerable merit upon him;

A cultivator bearing merit was plainly recognizable to others as one of great merit, so long as he did not deliberately play the pig to eat the tiger and conceal it.

Yuanshi weighed matters silently in his heart.

He had inherited One percent of the Merit of Opening Heaven. Not only was it Great Dao merit, superior in quality to Heavenly Dao Merit, but its quantity far exceeded Bei Ming's;

Yet in the end, it was merely an "inheritance," not something he had won by himself.

The arrogant elevate themselves by belittling others;

Those with proud bones, however, uphold their dignity and remain unwavering in their resolve.

Yuanshi regarded himself as the Orthodox Lineage of Pangu. What he possessed was proud bones, not arrogance.

If the other party were inferior to him in every respect, it would be only natural for him to look down on them with disdain;

But Bei Ming bore merit, which meant he must have rendered service to the Primordial Wilderness. In this, Bei Ming had one victory over him;

Yuanshi had never obtained merit through his own efforts. In comparison, he fell short.

Therefore, when facing Bei Ming, he showed no contempt. Instead, vigilance rose in his heart.

"Recognize others' strengths to spur oneself onward. Only by striving to surpass them can one avoid tarnishing the proud bones of the Orthodox Lineage of Pangu."