For most ordinary people living in Qian City, becoming immortals was not a primary concern. Those like Luo Congwen, who spent their days fixated on cultivation and seeking the Dao, were a minority. Most people simply wanted to be well-fed, warmly dressed, and earn money.
Ever since the Beggar Gang arrived, the people of Qian City had been living in happiness and joy. In the past, beggars always asked for money, but after the Beggar Gang's arrival, the beggars started distributing money instead. No one disliked these beggars. As for the advertisents plastered on their walls, who cared? A wall that brought in money was a good wall.
The mbers of the Beggar Gang were too busy cultivating, soliciting business, and advertising to bother the common folk. Consequently, the townspeople felt only affection for them, with no resentnt.
The Players, hailing from the real world, were teeming with talented individuals who excelled at marketing and promotion. Moreover, most of them had been influenced by Lin Bai during their ti in Jiamucheng, so they could handle matters perfectly without Lin Bai needing to worry. Their generous backers had plenty of money, and a small-scale event would inevitably leave them dissatisfied. Thus, whether it was the job fair or Lin Bai's Defect Exhibition, the venues were arranged with considerable luxury and exquisite detail.
Advertisents for the first job fair in the Cultivation World had been disseminated the mont the Beggar Gang received the news. What the Beggar Gang desired was fa. Only with fa could business flourish. The job fair was planned to be livestread on the day of the event, so naturally, the grander the scene, the better.
Within a few days, the reputations of key figures in the Beggar Gang, such as Gang Leader [Crispy Rice], [Artifact Refining Master], and [Crazy Man], had surpassed Lin Bai's. Not only Sects like the Hundred Flower Valley but also the citizens of Qian City ca to know their nas. So martial arts schools, rchants, and even family clans considered sending their younger mbers to the Beggar Gang for training. The Beggar Gang welcod all cors. Lin Bai wanted to be a hands-off manager, and Crispy Rice and the others were no different. With locals volunteering to join, it was an opportunity not to be missed.
As the Beggar Gang continued to grow and Crispy Rice's fa expanded, missions from the Chief supporting role system were completed one after another. Lin Bai's Luck Value soared.
By this ti, the primary gang was considered fully established, having embarked on a path of automated operations, no longer requiring Lin Bai's constant attention.
After a few days of buzz, almost every citizen in Qian City knew that Cultivation Sects were recruiting and knew of the existence of the Heaven-Blessed Individuals. Under the Beggar Gang's operations, the mysterious veil of the lofty Cultivation Sects was lifted for the common world for the first ti.
Clever businesspeople began setting up stalls outside the job fair venue. Hopeful individuals saw an opportunity, thinking of joining the ranks of the Heaven-Blessed Individuals to see if they could enter a Cultivation Sect. There were also prominent families who, recognizing the Beggar Gang's marketing prowess, proactively approached them for product endorsents.
In short, as the job fair approached, Qian City instantly burst into a hub of activity.
「The next day.」
The job fair was unveiled.
A giant banner stretched across the entrance, reading: "Shunrou Shampoo's First Qian City Job Fair for the Heaven-Blessed."
Hot air balloons made from sheepskin, trailing long banners, floated outside the job fair venue. Each banner bore a sponsor's na:
"Mu Ming's Naturally Nutritious Milk: Wishing the Job Fair Great Success!"
"Grandeur & Roadline Twin-Engine Family Cars: Wishing the Job Fair Smooth Sailing!"
"Langyuan Liquor Industry Wishes the Qian City Job Fair a Successful Event!"
"Heavenly Peanut Oil, Traditionally Crafted: Wishing the Job Fair a Grand Opening!"
"Morning Yuan Sword Sect Welcos Every Heaven-Blessed Individual!"
"Hundred Flower Valley..."
Not only that, but there were also many local advertisents on the banners:
"The Safest Tiger Escort Bureau Wishes the Job Fair Complete Success!"
"Zhou Family Silk and Satin Workshop Wishes the Job Fair a Successful Event!"
Thanks to the relentless efforts of the Beggar Gang Disciples, their advertising business had finally expanded to the local community. With local wealthy rchants joining the advertising ranks, the Beggar Gang's financial situation beca increasingly healthy. With projects and sources of inco, it was a true win-win.
Moreover, the money secretly offered by the Hundred Flower Valley and the Morning Yuan Sword Sect to ensure the Beggar Gang Disciples' utmost dedication allowed every Disciple to earn handsoly, their faces constantly wreathed in smiles.
Lin Bai, as a matter of course, damaged every banner; after all, every little bit counted. Damaging one item ant an extra day's worth of inner strength. In those few days, the items he damaged at the job fair and the exhibition alone had granted him an additional forty to fifty years of inner strength.
At Lin Bai's instigation, every chair at the exhibition was damaged. The Beggar Gang prepared damaged souvenirs for every Player attending the job fair, even printing large quantities of damaged flyers for promotion in Qian City, alongside deliberately damaged exhibits at the exhibition. Truly, there was strength in numbers.
With the mass production of damaged items, Lin Bai's inner strength soared. Coupled with the daily inner strength contributed by Dumbelldore, his total inner strength was now on the verge of breaking through two hundred years. He could essentially use all his Martial Arts extravagantly, without worrying about depleting his inner strength.
The patrons gained popularity, the Beggar Gang obtained money, while Lin Bai gained growth and inner strength. The major Sects garnered Heaven-Blessed Individuals as recruits, the City Lord of Qian City saw increased tax revenue, and the people of Qian City enjoyed considerable delight and new job opportunities. Everyone got what they needed. The large-scale job fair had stimulated a powerful economic flow, benefiting countless parties.
Of course, where there were winners, there were also losers. Return to Dragon View, who had ruthlessly attacked Lin Bai, failed to display even a single advertisent. Watching the other bustling Sects, Daoist Qingling's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. With his pride and arrogance, he naturally disdained creating a banner himself to hang outside the job fair; he couldn't bear the sha.
The Players acted as they pleased, caring little for the Heavenly Dao Sect or Return to Dragon View. If you dared to lay a hand on Lin, the Storekeeper, you had to be prepared for retaliation. They even planned to rally and overthrow Return to Dragon View once they grew stronger!
Players from Jiamucheng would take less than two days to reach Qian City; the journey from other basic cities was similar. Thus, the large-scale arrival of Players was expected on the second day.
Lin Bai blended into the crowd of Players, eavesdropped on so insider news, and then calmly returned to the Beggar Sect Branch with Little Fox to upgrade his power-storing bracelet.
The System's rewards were always complete. Having conquered the most difficult formation diagram, the rest was repetitive craftsmanship. Most of the Beggar Gang Disciples were busy at the job fair and exhibition, leaving the Beggar Sect Branch much quieter, with only a few individuals of high Martial Power standing guard. Free from noisy disturbances and with an abundance of high-level materials provided by various Sects, Lin Bai easily crafted a second power-storing bracelet. Then, he took out the six-piece Artifact Refining set and upgraded the first power-storing bracelet. With a sixty percent success rate, augnted by his extrely high Luck Value, Lin Bai effortlessly upgraded the bracelet to the thousand-person capacity level.
The increase in Players ant an increase in uncontrollable risks. Who knew what kind of troublemakers lurked among them? Taking precautions in advance was always a wise move.
「City Lord's Mansion.」
Guo Yuan sighed, "Old Zhao, Lin Bai is truly a lucky star!"
The Scholar from the Supervisory Immortal Office, who had the most contact with the Beggar Gang, lanted in agreent, "It's not just Lin Bai, but also the Heaven-Blessed Individuals of the Beggar Gang. Each of them has so many ingenious ideas. If they could be guided to serve the country, it would be greatly beneficial to the Taiyi Country. Unfortunately, most of the Heaven-Blessed Individuals aspire more towards cultivation. Whether this is a blessing or a curse for the country, it's hard to say. Your humble subordinate can no longer foresee where the future is headed."
"There will always be so who are unwilling to join Cultivation Sects," Guo Yuan said, stroking his beard. "Those are the ones we must try to win over. As for those who enter the Cultivation World, let them be. The Heaven-Blessed Individuals are a test for us, and are they not also a test for those Cultivation Sects? Sooner or later, these Heaven-Blessed Individuals will stir up a new great war between the righteous and demonic, and the fall of the Cultivation World might not necessarily be a bad thing."
"Your Lordship speaks with great wisdom," the Scholar replied, looking up at the City Lord and nodding with a smile.
The major righteous Sects held themselves above the laws of the nation. The royal families of both the Taiyi Country and the Taichu Country had long been dissatisfied with them. However, the Cultivation World and the royal courts were too deeply intertwined, and Cultivators possessed vast Divine Skills, making them impossible to eradicate. This ti, with the Heaven-Blessed Individuals entering the mortal world, the royal family had certainly considered leveraging their power to change the aloof and superior status of the Cultivation World.
Actually, it wasn't just the Scholar. In this world, no one could truly see the future's course. Everything they did was, in essence, a shot in the dark.
「The second day.」
Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the recruitnt fair and the exhibition started simultaneously.
Lin Bai, fully equipped, arrived early at the recruitnt fair. When he got there, the venue was already packed with spectators. That's right; the Beggar Gang, to generate inco and maintain order, had added spectator seats to the recruitnt fair and even sold tickets. Even so, it couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of Qian City's citizens. Even with a "Sold Out" sign posted, people still sward the outside, forming a dense crowd. Fortunately, Guo Yuan had promptly dispatched the City Guard Army to maintain order, so no one dared to try and force their way into the venue.
As for the Exhibition of Defective Goods across the way, per Lin Bai's request, there were no admission tickets. Those who couldn't get into the recruitnt fair naturally drifted towards the free Exhibition of Defective Goods. The required number of people for his task was t in no ti.
Lin Bai easily reaped a new reward: the Great Demon Solution Book — Art of Separation.
The Everything has shortcomings system promptly issued a new task: [Spread the glory of defects, make 49 people into defect promoters... Reward: Great Demon Solution Book: Technique of Separated Hand.]
Technique of Separated Hand? Is the System trying to dismber ?! Lin Bai was speechless at this reward from the Everything has shortcomings system. After receiving the Art of Separation, he understood what it entailed. It was similar to Shen Gongbao's Flying Head Technique, allowing the head to move independently—a rather useless Cultivation Technique.
After all, his head didn't know any Martial Arts. If it flew off, apart from biting people, it would be utterly useless, and it would be troubleso if caught. A headless body, though still commanded by the head, would be useless without vision to navigate. Unless he later acquired Xingtian's abilities, using his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth, or perhaps if he learned a Spell like the Seventy-Two Transformations that allowed his body to regrow a head, only then might this Art of Separation have so use.
By similar reasoning, the Technique of Separated Hand should be similar to the Art of Separation. However, sending a hand out independently within his field of vision did seem to have so potential uses. The Blacksmith's Hamr, which destroyed ninety percent of an enemy's Magic Treasure, was a close-combat weapon. But if the hand could be separated, it would be different; the Blacksmith's Hamr could instantly beco a ranged weapon...
Lin Bai suspected that a full set of the Great Demon Solution Book could allow him to disassemble his body into pieces: separated head, separated hands, separated feet, separated torso, separated... well, other parts too.
As the Cultivation Techniques rewarded by the Everything has shortcomings system grew increasingly bizarre, Lin Bai felt his own combat style was becoming progressively stranger. However, the recruitnt fair was clearly not the right place to complete tasks. It wouldn't be too late to do the task after dealing with the day's events; finding over forty defect promoters would be extrely easy.
The recruitnt fair venue was very large. The Morning Yuan Sword Sect, dicine King Valley, Hundred Flower Valley, and other Righteous factions occupied one side; the Blood Shadow Sect, the Xuanli Sect, and other villainous factions occupied the other. The two sides were clearly demarcated and ignored each other, though occasional glances exchanged between them were filled with provocation.
Behind the Morning Yuan Sword Sect was a huge ink painting: in it, a figure soared on a sword, ethereal and transcendent like a Sword Immortal. Behind him, ten thousand swords flew, obscuring the sky and sun.
It was accompanied by a description:
"The sword is for attack. When a sword is drawn, nothing can stand against it. Slay immortals, slay demons, slay monsters, slay the injustices of the world.
With one strike, sunder mountains and part seas.
One sword to cut down the sun, moon, and stars."
Tong Cha frequently glanced at the ink painting behind him, his satisfaction evident. He would stroke his beard from ti to ti, as if he himself were the Sword Immortal in the painting.
Zhao Yi's face, however, was sowhat flushed. He said, flustered, "Senior Brother, 'one sword to cut down the sun, moon, and stars'… isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"What do you know? This is the highest realm of the Sword Dao!" Tong Cha glared at him. "Lin, the Storekeeper, actually said that a single blade of grass could cut down the sun, moon, and stars—now *that* was boasting! This description is more than enough. The Wind-breaking Sword was not given for nothing. When we return to the Sect this ti, I will ask Master to engrave these words upon the Sect gate, to display the grandeur and splendor of our Morning Yuan Sword Sect!"
dicine King Valley:
"Do you want to gain the profoundest Spiritual Power in the shortest ti?
Do you want the most effortless way to cultivate?
Do you want to be revered by the world?
Do you want to possess substantial wealth?
Co to dicine King Valley; here, we have everything you desire.
Cultivate with pills...
Achieve immortality with ease."
Spirit Artifact Pavilion:
"Though you wield countless magical powers, I can break them all with a single treasure.
Enter the Spirit Artifact Pavilion, and you will possess the coolest personal Magic Treasures.
While others toil at their practice, you can already enjoy the pleasure of smashing foes with Magic Treasures!
With the sun and moon as the fire, and mountains and rivers as the furnace,
Why can't an Artifact Refiner beco the greatest in the world?"
Hundred Flower Valley:
"Among a hundred blooms, many are beauties, their faces like jade.
Are you dissatisfied with your appearance? Co to Hundred Flower Valley, and we will grant you the perfect physique.
Action speaks louder than longing for a new 'form'!
For is not beauty itself a form of allure?
Enter the Hundred Flower Sect, and a beautiful senior sister will personally wake you each morning.
Co to Hundred Flower Valley; you may not conquer the world, but here, you will surely find love!"
Blood Shadow Sect:
"Blood is the guide.
Let the world feel pain."
Mysterious Darkness Cult:
"Enter my Mysterious Darkness, and no foe shall stand before you."
For every Sect, the Beggar Gang Disciples had thoughtfully designed promotional slogans that best fit their Sect's character, each line striking a chord, making anyone who saw them eager to sign up imdiately.
Only the table in front of Return to Dragon View bore a solitary, forlorn sign: "Return to Dragon View Disciple Recruitnt Station."
Behind the sign was Daoist Qingling's ashen face, his hands visibly strained with bulging veins, and his cold, chilling gaze. The Heavenly Dao Sect, the power behind Return to Dragon View, was supposedly the world's number one, yet at the recruitnt fair, Return to Dragon View had been reduced to the most inconspicuous Sect. The Taoists behind Daoist Qingling all hung their heads, too ashad to look at anyone. It was utterly humiliating.
Beyond these two factions were the recruitnt booths of the Governnt Office and the Beggar Gang.
The Governnt Office's slogan was simple and unpretentious: "Those uninterested in cultivation may join us. We may not be domineering or mighty, but here, you have an entire nation backing you."
As for the Beggar Gang's recruitnt point, it was just like Return to Dragon View's: an empty table with a few words written on it: "Beggar Gang Disciple Registration."
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