Chapter 492: Chapter 349: Wang wants to have a try at this position of the martial arts world leader!
The year 2023, September 30th, Lunar August 13th.
The summit of Mount Tai, shrouded in mist and clouds.
The fiery red sun slowly rises from the eastern horizon, casting an aura of burning fire across the dawn sky.
The day has barely started, but the martial artists from all over the martial world have already begun to climb the mountain, gathering around the plaza outside the Dai Temple. What was once a tranquil Mount Tai, is slowly stirring into commotion.
Groups of martial artists from the martial world gather to chit-chat and boast, with tales of having slain ghosts and zombies single-handedly. Some martial artists, having old grudges, immediately got into fights as soon as they met each other.
The surrounding martial artists cooperated willingly, stepping back to provide both of them some space.
“Hum!”
“The Martial Arts Conference today is a grand event in the martial world. I’ll give you a chance. Next time we meet, your dog head (life) will certainly be mine!”
The two, who originally unsheathed their swords, decided not to duel considering the circumstances. After voicing some threats, they reluctantly sheathed their weapons.
More and more people are gathering.
The vast plaza outside Dai Temple is buzzing with noise.
At the edge of the plaza, outside the entrance of the Dao Palace of Dai Temple, multiple push carts have sprung up, selling breakfast, drinks, fruits, and even some “local specialties” of Mount Tai.
These local specialties, are said to be bracelets made from a particular type of wood from Mount Tai, or amulets made from its stone. Additionally, these items are claimed to have been blessed by the “high priests” of Dai Temple, possessing the ability to ward off evil spirits and disasters.
“Is this as magical as you claim it to be?”
A young martial artist from the martial world picked up one of the amulets and studied it, revealing a hint of skepticism in his eyes. He laughed and said, “These tricks, even modern tourism spots don’t use them anymore. You small-time vendors are blatantly bluffing without considering the current event!”
The Dai Temple disciple, disguised as a vendor, clenched his teeth and forcefully took the amulet back from the young martial artist, rebuking him, “You young fellow, if you can’t afford it, don’t mock it!”
Ouch!
The young martial artist, already running high on adrenaline, got riled even further, shouted, “Who says I can’t afford it?”
The Dai Temple disciple, posing as the vendor, extended his hand: “Pay up then! One for 88 thousand dollars!”
“…”
The young martial artist unsheathed his sword in anger, shouting, “Why don’t you just rob me? Is this crappy thing really worth 88,000 dollars?”
The vendor barely raised an eyebrow and lightly chuckled, “What a greenhorn martial artist barely in the Skin Training Realm, his energy flow probably isn’t even smooth yet… and he dares to draw his sword before me?”
While dealing with the current situation, a middle-aged martial artist let out a pig-like scream beside them –
“A bottle of mineral water for 20 dollars, have you never seen money before?”
Vendor: “Take it or leave it. We’ve clearly marked the price. No deception here. If you can, go fetch some water from the mountain base.”
Similar incidences of dissatisfaction broke out at several vendor stalls, and some martial artists approached Master Taixu, the sect leader, to complain, “Supreme Sage Taixu, these greedy businessmen, taking advantage of this Martial Arts Conference held on your domain of Dai Temple, are egregiously exploiting martial arts practitioners. Will you not intervene?”
Master Taixu sighed and said, “These vendors are also not to blame. You can’t even imagine the effort they put in to transport food and water up here… You’re all martial arts practitioners for whom a few hundreds or thousands of dollars aren’t a big deal, but for these small vendors, it’s their hope for survival… I hope all of you can comprehend.”
An infuriated martial artist replied, “If that’s the case, I will fetch goods from the base of the mountain and set up my own stall!”
Surprisingly, this hot-tempered man actually went down the mountain.
Supreme Sage Taixu chuckled, “That’s fine too. With the vendors charging their prices openly, those of you who don’t mind the trouble can fetch resources from the mountain base.”
Having said that, he turned around and walked into the Dao Palace.
After entering, Supreme Sage Taixu quickly called over a disciple of his and asked, “Did any of you monitor that tall, bearded man? Follow him down the mountain, and make sure he doesn’t return.”
The disciple gestured acknowledgment, sneered, and said, “Master ancestor, don’t worry, I’ll make sure he can never climb Mount Tai in his lifetime!”
Supreme Sage Taixu smacked him, scolding, “How can a Daoist disciple be so violent and kill indiscriminately? What I meant was, knock him unconscious, tie him up, and don’t let him interrupt your junior brothers’ businesses… Our Dai Temple is poor, and we can’t pass up this rare chance to earn money.”
The disciple acquiesced and turned around to leave but was stopped yet again by Supreme Sage Taixu, who instructed, “Remember to put on a mask, don’t let others recognize you.”
After sending that disciple away, Supreme Sage Taixu went to Xu Zhiyuan’s resting room, saw Xu Zhiyuan practicing a Ghost Painting Symbol, and couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “You, as a ghost, why are you always dabbling with this Ghost Painting Symbol?”
Xu Zhiyuan set down the symbol pen and said in silence, “I am the Earthly City-God, duly appointed by the heavens and earth. I enjoy the respect and offerings of the living, befitting a third-ranked immortal of the Heavenly Court and Underworld. I am a legitimate god, how am I a ghost?”
“You’re a god… I know you’re a god!”
Mentioning this matter, Supreme Sage Taixu couldn’t help but burst into complaints, “You must have connections in high places for things to go so smoothly for you after death. I still can’t wrap my head around how you managed to become the Earthly City-God!”
Xu Zhiyuan simply smiled without saying much.
Supreme Sage Taixu misinterpreted that Xu managed to rise to this position with the help of Ancestral Master Xu from the Jingming Sect.
What he forgot was…
Ancestral Master Xu himself was only a second-ranked immortal official. This was simply because he served in the Heavenly Emperor’s palace.
Otherwise, considering Ancestral Master Xu’s own strength, it would have been uncertain whether he could even be a third-ranked immortal in the Heavenly Court.
Not continuing down that thread, Xu Zhiyuan asked, “How are the matters outside?”