"Ziyuan, well done." Jiuyou, exhausted and supported by his senior disciple, had his purple Taoist robe drenched in blood.
"This is what I should do as your disciple," Ziyuan said with a smile, though his heart was bleeding.
Jiuyou truly had no fallback plan. The mont earlier was the perfect opportunity, yet a brief hesitation ruined the chance. All that effort up to now—wasted.
"Summon everyone back."
The Cloud Dispelling Envoy had almost been annihilated. Song Lin collected a hundred Yin rit and hurried back to the Taoist temple.
Along the way, the number of people dwindled significantly. By the ti he reached the Dharma Assembly site, the surroundings felt eerily deserted, with less than half the original number remaining.
"The Taoist temple had a total of 156 Taoists, and now only 85 remain. Seventy have perished."
The casualties were grievous—nearly half were gone.
The Xuanke Temple employed thousands of servant Taoist disciples and held jurisdiction over tens of thousands of tenant farrs, but the core Taoists numbered only slightly over a hundred.
After all, this was just a county-level Taoist temple, managing a population of rely a million.
The county’s resources were already stretched to the limit to support over a hundred Taoists.
"Ziyuan, you’re responsible for tallying the Yin rits. Taixuan, you’ll handle promotions and distribute rewards. Youyun, record the immortal position roster."
The three individuals held distinct positions: Grand Commissioner, Capital Managent, and lastly the young female disciple, who was the dean of the Capital Institute and had only recently been appointed.
"Understood!"
The crowd stepped forward one by one to hand in their items.
"Tongshou! Killed 115 Cloud Dispelling Envoys, earned 201 Yin rits!"
"Zhang Qingshan, earned 118 Yin rits!"
"Hai Chuan, earned 115 Yin rits!"
"Wuj Ji, earned 221 Yin rits!"
...
Below the three deans were the Eight Deacons; nearly every one of them scored over a hundred rits. These individuals were highly skilled, with not a single loss among them.
The managers overseeing lower ranks, however, suffered far graver casualties.
The Three Heroes, who had entered the Three Passes alongside Song Lin, survived. Wang Ziye earned 56 rits, and Chi Yang 61.
"Shi Yinhua earned 99 rits!"
As Ziyuan called out nas, everyone turned to look at the pale, corpse-like young man.
He was Jiuyou’s last disciple, accepted after breaking a century-long tradition. No one could say what kind of True Qi he cultivated, but even a single glance at him evoked a feeling of plunging into an icy abyss.
This ti, he managed to score 99 rits, showcasing combat proficiency rivaling even the deacons.
"Song Lin! Earned 100 Yin rits."
Ziyuan couldn’t help but smile, his frustration from losing two disciples washed away in an instant.
All eyes turned toward Song Lin.
"This man is last year’s Three Passes Leader, Song Lin, skilled in both alchemy and refining soldiers."
Tongshou eagerly introduced him to the crowd.
"Ah, another remarkably talented individual who rises from obscurity?"
Setting aside all else, the hundred Yin rits alone were sufficient testimony to Song Lin’s strength.
Song Lin t the crowd’s gaze and calmly returned to his seat.
This was intentional.
He wanted to manifest his brilliance in public, to shape the perception that he was a prodigy—a truly rare talent in the path of Refining Rampant Skill.
After realizing Ziyuan’s incompetence, Song Lin had already begun strategizing his future exit.
He planned to make himself invaluable, ensuring that others dared not easily challenge him.
From that mont onward, Song Lin understood his true enemy wasn’t Wuj Ji or anyone within the senior disciple faction.
It was Ziyuan.
Not that Ziyuan would target him—without evidence of his involvent in Gum Qingfeng’s death, there was no reason to escalate tension.
Besides, given Ziyuan’s personality, even if proof were discovered, as long as Song Lin didn’t initiate a confrontation, he wouldn’t avenge his deceased, useless disciples.
However, Ziyuan had beco an enemy nonetheless. He was the most dangerous kind—the ally liable to betray you at the worst possible mont.
Imagine if Song Lin followed Ziyuan’s lead into battle again, only for this fool to falter mid-way. That would an certain death for Song Lin.
Ziyuan’s sudden deploynt of ghost soldiers, coupled with today’s unusual behavior, clearly indicated further sches brewing beneath the surface.
With a hundred Yin rits and another hundred Taoist rits, Song Lin had grown rich overnight. Accumulate a bit more, and he’d be able to cultivate another Dog-headed Taoist.
Later, he approached Taixuan. Taixuan smiled warmly and said, "Well done, hand over the talisman."
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Song Lin handed over the talisman.
Taixuan took a jade brush, erased his previous rank, and inscribed the new one: "Secondary Eighth Rank North First Official, Investigation Enforcer commanding five hundred troops."
As the first individual of his generation to achieve Secondary Eighth Rank, Song Lin stole the spotlight.
Yet he exhibited no outward excitent, displaying an equanimity that earned silent approval from others.
From this point forward, the Taoist temple no longer recognized the Three Heroes. Instead, Song Lin and Shi Yinhua were lauded as the Twin Legends.
Song Lin’s goal of establishing his reputation had been achieved.
Everyone dispersed to their own quarters.
Ziyuan, however, urgently summoned the remaining mbers of his faction. Except for two archivists and Murong Feng from Patrol, everyone else was present. Among the core personnel, only Gum Qingfeng and Ming Yue had died.
"This failure lies with —an error in judgnt." Facing the disappointnt in their eyes, Ziyuan added, "Don’t worry, there will be another chance."
"This Flood Control Grand Ceremony has inflicted heavy losses on the Taoist temple—half the Taoists dead, along with two hundred servant disciples. Even the temple master has been injured. Next ti, we’ll plan with greater caution."
"What about the temple master..." Tongshou asked hesitantly.
"No need to worry—the temple master won’t suspect . Even if he does, what can he do? Would he risk splitting the Taoist temple to eliminate ?"
Ziyuan wasn’t concerned about the temple master taking action.
What worried him was the old man’s potential desperation—passing the mantle to the senior disciple prematurely. If i Mountain’s Dharma Seal arrived, it would truly be an irreversible situation.
"Dismiss for now—Song Lin, stay behind."
Everyone else departed.
In the dim chamber, only Song Lin and Ziyuan remained.
"You possess a gift for refining soldiers; such talent should not be wasted. I want you to succeed to the position of Yin Yang Altar overseer."
"?"
Wasn’t this Wude’s position?
Wude’s death created a vacancy.
"The dharma altar’s manager was killed. By coincidence, you’ve earned great achievents this ti—I’ll recomnd you to the higher-ups as his successor."
Ziyuan deliberated briefly before speaking again:
"Though Wuj Ji controls this departnt, there’s no need to fear. Just follow my orders. I need you to master all the Refining Soldiers Skill within a year. Are you confident?"
"Of course."
Song Lin thought this position suited him well, and it’d be an opportunity to study the refining thods extensively.
Just as he prepared to leave, Ziyuan let out a deep sigh.
"Do you think I lack ambition? Wondering why I cling to the position of a re county-level Taoist temple master?"
"I wouldn’t dare."
"Haha. Many young Taoists thought so too. But in ti, you’ll understand—the truly invaluable prize is the Upper Pure Three Cave Five Thunder Scripture."
"Only those who receive this scripture can access higher-level Daoist knowledge, participate in the Taoist Heavenly Masters’ debates, study the greater Dao. Rember this—do not be tempted by transient wealth and glory."
"From the mont you step into the Taoist School, your ultimate goal should be to ascend! To seek enlightennt!"
"I am enlightened by your teachings."
Song Lin bowed deeply. No matter Ziyuan’s personality, at least in this mont, he genuinely felt the purity of his pursuit of the Dao.
At the sa ti, Song Lin etched those words into his heart.
This temple, this county, this province—they were all too small. He wouldn’t be constrained here; with the Otherworld’s Daoist Skill at his disposal, his future held limitless possibilities. He needed to aim higher.
His ultimate target wasn’t a trifling position but a chance to debate the Heavenly Masters of various Taoist schools, to discuss the true essence of the great Dao.
"Restore yourself for now. In a few days, collect the Yin Yang Altar seal."
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