[Important Document No. 168]
[Notice Regarding the आयोजन of the Mount Longhu Luotian Grand Ceremony]
[In the name of the company and Perfected Lin, the newly appointed Ten Elder, summon Otherworlders from across the land to Mount Longhu for the Luotian Grand Ceremony!]
[The Luotian Grand Ceremony will be hosted by Tianshi Mansion of Mount Longhu and funded by Ten Elder Lu Jin...]
The moment the news spread across the Otherworlders' exclusive forum, it instantly caused an uproar.
"A Luotian Grand Ceremony to select the next Celestial Master? Why are outsiders being allowed to participate?"
"I heard it was the result of a Ten Elders Council meeting. Supposedly, it's all for some guy named Zhang Chulan and the Eight Extraordinary Skills behind him."
"It's not just the Qi-State Origin-Flow. This time, Senior Lu Jin is even offering up the Connecting Heaven Talisman as a reward."
"So what exactly are the Eight Extraordinary Skills?"
"Holy shit, Zhang Chulan carries that much weight? So many big shots are tangled up with him, and even the company has entered the fray."
"Kid above, your news is outdated. Zhang Chulan isn't with the company. After exchanging a few moves with Perfected Lingyu, he was supposedly recruited by the World Association. Feng Zhenghao and that newly appointed Ten Elder are backing him."
"Am I the only one paying attention to the Ten Elders list?"
"The Wang Family? Where did Wang Ai go?!"
"The weather has turned cold. Let the Wang Family go bankrupt."
Feng Zhenghao sat in the chairman's office chair with his fingers interlaced, the lenses of his glasses glinting faintly. Looking at the fallen leaves carpeting the ground below, he calmly said, "Wang Ai is no longer one of the Ten Elders."
"Father, are we really letting the Wang Family off just like that?" Feng Shayan asked, her face full of disbelief. "What they did to Great-Grandfather back then..."
"No matter what, the Wang Family spared my grandfather, Feng Tianyang, back then." Feng Zhenghao smiled kindly. "Naturally, the Wind Family will not wipe out the Wang Family completely."
Feng Shayan froze slightly. She could not remember her father ever being softhearted toward anyone outside the family.
"Let them off? My dear niece." Zhang Chulan, sprawled carelessly across the sofa, chuckled. "President Feng hasn't let the Wang Family off."
"Who's your niece?!" Feng Shayan glared at him furiously.
"Sis, calm down, calm down." Feng Xingtong hurriedly grabbed her and soothed her. "There's a generation between you two, a generation. Senior Zhang Xilin and our great-grandfather Feng Tianyang were sworn brothers. Technically, we're the juniors."
"This is the benefit of marrying late and having children late," Zhang Chulan muttered.
"Don't spout nonsense just because you're from an older generation." Feng Shayan's face turned cold. "The Wang Family members are all still alive. How does that count as revenge?"
"Revenge? You have no idea how miserable the Wang Family is." Zhang Chulan sprang upright from the sofa and leisurely said, "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. Taking a capitalist's property hurts worse than killing him."
"What does it mean to be better off dead? This is what it means to be better off dead."
"Make those young masters who never so much as touched a drop of household water go out and work for a living. Make Wang Family members who once threw money around argue until they're red in the face with vegetable-selling aunties over a few bucks."
"Now that's killing without spilling blood."
"Take a look."
As he spoke, Zhang Chulan pulled out his phone and showed it to the members of the Wind Family. It displayed news reports from the Inhuman World, and the top headline read: [Shocking! Wang Bing, once a young master of the Wang Family, has fallen so low that he robbed ordinary people!]
Scrolling down revealed report after report about Wang Bing. One official report was a detention notice from the company: Wang Bing and several Wang Family members had attacked ordinary people, were reported, and were caught on the spot.
"Wang Bing?" Feng Shayan fell into thought. She knew of him. He had a poor reputation in Otherworlder circles; although he was fairly strong, his character and conduct were atrocious.
But having poor character did not mean he was stupid. Did Wang Bing really dare attack ordinary people—and get discovered and arrested on the spot afterward?
"For an Otherworlder to attack ordinary people, that's a serious crime." Feng Xingtong sighed, the smile in his eyes never fading.
"Falling from Heaven into Hell—the difference in treatment is like clouds and mud." Zhang Chulan said meaningfully, "The psychological shock brought by such an enormous contrast makes it easier for people to go to extremes. President Feng, wouldn't you agree?"
Feng Zhenghao's expression barely changed. He merely stuffed a report about ordinary World Group employees being attacked by Otherworlders surnamed Wang into a drawer, then stressed in a grave tone, "It truly is unexpected that such Otherworlders would emerge from the Wang Family. As one of the Ten Elders, I too am deeply grieved."
"Shayan, Xingtong, Chu Lan, remember that obeying the law is every Otherworlder's social responsibility and moral obligation."
"As disciples of the Ten Elders, you must set an example all the more."
"You're absolutely right!" Zhang Chulan laughed heartily, then his expression suddenly turned solemn. He raised his fist and shouted, "All evil shall be brought to justice!"
"All right, you may all leave now." Feng Zhenghao nodded and looked toward Lin Xian, who was playing five-in-a-row with Feng Baobao in the lounge. Smiling kindly, he said, "Perfected Lin and I have matters to discuss."
The Wind Family siblings nodded and withdrew, with Zhang Chulan following right behind them. Looking at the two figures playing chess, he fell into thought.
Before those two came to the World Association, the Wind Family and the Wang Family had been evenly matched. After they arrived, the Wang Family instantly plummeted, with trouble breaking out everywhere and leaks springing up on all sides.
Was this a coincidence?
"This is a coincidence," Zhang Chulan murmured. Status determined one's stance. He was now a shareholder employee of the World Association, so naturally he had to believe the Wang Family's misfortune was punishment sent by Heaven because it could no longer stand the sight of them. It was all just a coincidence.
"Stop staring, Uncle Zhang. My dad is going to pass Spirit Summoning and Dispatching on to Perfected Lin." Feng Xingtong stepped forward and pulled Zhang Chulan away from the doorway, chuckling. "Unless you become my dad's son-in-law, he won't teach it to you."
"Xingtong..." Feng Shayan's sinister voice rang out. The three of them immediately descended into chaos and ran downstairs.
"They didn't even close the door."
Feng Zhenghao shook his head and apologetically said to Lin Xian, "I've made a fool of myself before Perfected Lin."
"It's normal for youngsters to fool around. President Feng, let's begin."
Lin Xian took a deep breath and looked at the clusters of black, smoky spiritual energy behind Feng Zhenghao. That was Spirit Summoning and Dispatching, one of the Eight Extraordinary Skills.
Ever since arriving in this world, he had devoted himself to combining the Qi-State Origin-Flow with the Shrouding Method, nurturing something that belonged to him alone. He sought the common laws of the Immortal Dao in both worlds, exploring the earliest origin.
Then, not long ago, a conversation with Xu Xiang had allowed him to see his true nature and strengthen his Dao and heart. Thus, he pierced through the fog and pushed open the gate to the Divine Bridge realm.
Though he had not entered that realm, this still allowed him to see some of the truth behind the Eight Extraordinary Skills and find the most essential thing within the Qi-State Origin-Flow—Primordial Qi!
He had conducted an experiment on Xu Xiang and received obvious feedback.
Xu Xiang, who had originally been able only to lie in bed and await death, relying on divine power to prolong his life, suddenly became full of vigor. It was as if he had lived a Second Lifetime and returned to the pinnacle of his life.
Although that peak lasted only an instant, fleeting as an epiphyllum bloom, Xu Xiang still died without any surprise after that brief moment of brilliance.
Yet there was no denying the state he had reached in that instant.
Thus, Lin Xian had come here. Spirit Summoning and Dispatching was not his Dao, but it could help him find resonance.