Longzang

Chapter 835 Pride and Prejudice

Wei Yuan had to admit that the power of preconceived notions and prejudices was extremely strong. Even three days after the selection conference, Wei Yuan still felt that the newly appointed dean of the Academy of Sciences was not quite real.

In contrast, the old Taoist priest, Chu He, came from an agricultural and pastoral background. Raising spirit pets was a professional skill for him, and under his guidance, land reclamation and animal husbandry were developing rapidly. The fact that the people of Qingming could eat meat was largely due to the old Taoist priest's efforts. In a way, the millions of people in Wei Yuan who were channeling their azure energy also owed half their credit to the old Taoist priest.

Therefore, seeing that the old Taoist's way of spiritual pets could get the immortal chicken to stand up for him, everyone gave up their competitive spirit.

After all, the old Taoist priest had overwhelmed everyone with his professional skills. In the default rules, cultivation level and combat prowess only ranked second, and were only used when professional skills were evenly matched. Therefore, although the old Taoist priest's appointment as dean was somewhat unexpected, it was still convincing to the crowd.

But the wind and rain...

Looking at the carefree Feng Tingyu in front of him, Wei Yuan really didn't know what to say. He admitted that Feng Tingyu had won the position of Dean through sheer ability, even surpassing Ji Liuli's exquisite true meaning.

But if it were any other position, it wouldn't matter. This is the Dean of the Qingming Academy of Sciences, and yet a disciple of the Mingwang Palace got the position.
Seeing Wei Yuan's worried expression and silence, Feng Tingyu seemed to understand something. She came up to Wei Yuan, patted her left buttock, and said, "One thousand and twenty-four."

Then, on the right side of the buttocks: "One thousand and twenty-four."

That was fine, but then she lifted her hand to her chest and said again, "One thousand and twenty-four..."

Wei Yuan felt a little dizzy from looking at it, since she was only supporting half of it.

In this way, Wei Yuan finally realized how unfathomable Feng Tingyu was.

Perhaps the only one who can rival Feng Tingyu is Zhang Sheng, who has cultivated to the level of a five-hundred-sword immortal. Now it depends on how many tasks each sword immortal can handle on average; fewer than eight will inevitably lead to defeat, while more than eight will offer a chance of victory.

Wei Yuan was speechless. Then he suddenly realized something. He had been working day and night for the past two years to calculate the orbit of the cave, and his computing power had increased fourfold. He felt that he had become very smart and had few rivals in the world. But in the end, he was not as good as Feng Tingyu's butt.
Feng Tingyu seemed to know what Wei Yuan was thinking. She turned to the side, leaned forward, and bent over, then said, "Are you very angry? Do you want to beat it up?"

……

Wei Yuan walked out of his residence and bumped into a mountain of flesh, which bounced him back into the courtyard.

This mountain is not high, but it is extremely firm and hard, indestructible, and extremely heavy, subtly causing everything around it to deform. It is the true form of the Lord of the Bright King Palace.

Wei Yuan was taken aback and quickly bowed, not understanding why the Lord of the Ming King Palace had suddenly returned.

"Let's go inside and talk," said the Lord of the Ming King Palace with a serious expression.

Wei Yuan then ushered him into the main hall, took a seat at the lower end of the table, and inquired about his purpose.

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace slowly said, "I've heard that Feng Tingyu has just been elected as the Dean of the Academy of Sciences, which is a great thing. But some people are dissatisfied and are secretly slandering him, saying that the disciples of my Mingwang Palace are not worthy of this position. Is that true?!"

Wei Yuan was somewhat guilty, and he truly knew he couldn't defeat the person before him; he had no chance whatsoever. So, Wei Yuan forced a smile and said, "Is there such a thing? This disciple was unaware of it either. But rest assured, Master, this disciple will investigate immediately and will definitely bring to justice those who are gossiping behind my back!"

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace stared at Wei Yuan for a long time before saying, "How come I heard that you were one of these people?"

Wei Yuan's face was righteous and awe-inspiring: "It must be a rumor! This disciple has never said anything like that to anyone!"

Wei Yuan was quite confident about this; he had only thought about it in his mind and hadn't told anyone.

Officially, Feng Tingyu earned her position through honest and fair means, following the rules. Personally, he had a special relationship with Feng Tingyu, so even if Feng Tingyu really messed things up, Wei Yuan had to take responsibility without hesitation and couldn't let Feng Tingyu get hurt.

The Lord of the Ming King Palace was very satisfied with Wei Yuan's attitude, and said, "I was originally going to return to the Northern Mountain Gate, but somehow I ended up here. I heard that Feng Tingyu became that... what's it called, the... department..."

"Academy of Sciences".

"Ah, yes, the Dean of the Academy of Sciences, that's it. Originally, this was a good thing, but I've also heard that someone dared to slander the disciples of my Mingwang Palace in secret. Such audacity! Do you think I wouldn't kill them?!"

Wei Yuan quickly calmed down the Mingwang Palace Master and said, "This disciple will investigate immediately."

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace said, "No need for such trouble. Just give me control of the Zhou Tian Star Array, and I'll be done in three breaths."

Wei Yuan handed over control, and suddenly countless points of light appeared around the Lord of the Bright King Palace, numbering in the tens of thousands. Each point of light was a fragment of an image captured by the great array. The Lord of the Bright King Palace had seen all the images in the blink of an eye, then changed to another batch, and then another batch. In three breaths, he changed five batches of images, totaling more than 30,000 fragments.

Wei Yuan was also captivated and utterly amazed. Only then did Wei Yuan understand what it meant to appear foolish but possess great wisdom.

However, among tens of thousands of video clips, only seven or eight clips found by the Mingwang Palace Master were defamatory towards Feng Tingyu. Most of the dialogues were between two disciples of the Taichu Palace. After all, outside of the Taichu Palace, few people knew what the disciples of the Mingwang Palace did.

Among the images of Feng Tingyu, there are tens of thousands of praises and adorations. Some people even secretly painted portraits of Feng Tingyu, and because they were so lifelike, they were sought after by many at high prices. As a result, many scholars who considered themselves good at painting saw a business opportunity and picked up their brushes to paint portraits of Feng Tingyu, each with a different expression and posture, and they all sold very well.

It must be said that Feng Tingyu is extremely beautiful, with a remarkably outstanding figure. Everyone who sees her for the first time is awestruck. Hearing that she earned her position as dean by fighting her way through countless powerful figures only amplifies their admiration.

The more Wei Yuan looked, the stranger his expression became. Wasn't this the prelude to a great fortune? Moreover, judging from the images captured by the Lord of the Mingwang Palace, Feng Tingyu was clearly extremely popular and his popularity was soaring, and there was no way to stop it.

Wei Yuan then understood the power of public disclosure.

Feng Tingyu won the position of Dean amidst much fanfare, and all the talk about whether he was suitable or capable of the job vanished on its own. The rumors only circulated slightly within a small circle of Taichu Palace disciples who thought they knew the inside story, but they were neither public nor significant. It turns out that as long as everything is brought into the open, gaining the support of the masses is that simple.

This result surprised even the Lord of the Mingwang Palace, but his face was already beaming with joy. He patted Wei Yuan's shoulder forcefully and said, "Forget it, let a few juniors from the Taichu Palace gossip! The arrogance and prejudice in people's hearts are so stubborn, they can't be shaken at all, so there's no need to waste our energy. Like that old scoundrel from the Spring and Autumn Period, he just won't admit he's not as smart as me..."

"Who said I'm not as smart as you?!" Xuan Yue's voice was clearly filled with anger.

Wei Yuan quickly bowed and said, "Master, what brings you here as well?"

Xuan Yue Zhenjun said, "With a great battle imminent, the immortal on the other side could make a move at any moment. If we visit you frequently, his schemes might fall on us. Old Ming and I are lucky; even if the immortal's schemes happen to us, the backlash will be greater than the damage to us. Let him suffer a few losses, and he'll behave himself..."

The Lord of the Ming Palace angrily retorted, "My surname is Xu, not Old Ming!"

"You are the Lord of the Ming King Palace, and you are older than me, so naturally I should call you Old Ming."

Just as the two True Immortals were about to make their move, the Lord of the Bright King Palace suddenly trembled, let out a muffled groan, and his eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, with two streaks of blood flowing down from them.

Without uttering a word, True Lord Xuan Yue rammed into him, actually knocking the Lord of the Bright King Palace away from his original spot and standing there himself.

Then Xuan Yue Zhenjun also snorted, his left arm hanging limply, unable to move. His sleeve had vanished, and his arm was covered in blood, with more than half of the flesh missing, revealing the arm bone that shimmered with a bluish luster.

Wei Yuan was shocked and was about to step forward when he was gently pushed aside by the Lord of the Ming King Palace, who shouted, "The backup plan is not yet finished, do not come any closer!"

In the distant Moon City, Kaguya withdrew her left hand, her index and middle fingers bleeding profusely, her long fingernails nowhere to be seen. Staring at her unstoppable bleeding fingertips, she murmured, "Someone actually took my place; this is rather troublesome."

After a brief stalemate, the Lord of the Mingwang Palace sensed that the terrifying pressure had disappeared, and breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed a handful of medicinal powder and sprinkled it on the arm of the True Monarch Xuanyue, then spat out a mouthful of blood.

The mouthful of blood spat out by the Lord of the Bright King Palace automatically shifted, settled down after finding its place, and then directly transformed into Xuan Yue's flesh and blood! In this way, the healing speed increased dozens of times, but the Lord of the Bright King Palace's aura was also significantly weakened.

After treating Xuan Yue's injuries, the Palace Master of the Bright King Palace roared, "I can definitely withstand the second blow. Your physical body is as fragile as paper. What are you doing here to cause trouble!"

True Monarch Xuan Yue coughed repeatedly and said, "With me here, I can't just watch my fellow disciple take two hits in a row. Although it's only right that you take a few more."

Only then did Wei Yuan have a chance to speak, and he hurriedly came over to check on Xuan Yue's injuries. Xuan Yue Zhenjun impatiently waved Wei Yuan away, saying, "A little injury is nothing..."

The Lord of the Ming King Palace sneered: "A minor injury? Without my blood, you would have needed at least ten years to recover."

Xuan Yue felt a little awkward and didn't respond to that question. Instead, she asked Wei Yuan, "Do you have any new robes?"

"Master, please wait a moment." Wei Yuan turned and went to the bedroom, then retrieved seven robes and presented them together.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun was extremely pleased with himself, and happily accepted the gift. Then he said to the Mingwang Palace Master, "Look at my grand-disciple, and then look at yours!"

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace snorted but did not speak.

After gaining the upper hand in the verbal sparring, True Lord Xuan Yue didn't hold back and said to Wei Yuan, "As expected, it was Heavenly Witch who made the move. It seems that Old Ming and I were right. But his attack from afar comes at a huge cost, and with Immortal Dog Head guarding your Azure Netherworld, the backlash will be even more severe. So even though we are both badly injured, Heavenly Witch is definitely in a worse situation than us and has suffered a great loss this time."

The Lord of the Mingwang Palace added, "Yan Shi asked me to tell you that competing with immortals is no ordinary matter, so don't forget to fish."

Wei Yuan nodded in agreement. It seemed that the effect of fishing with luck was far greater than he had expected.

“Over the next few days, Lao Ming and I will tell you about the daily life of immortals. Since there are immortals on the other side making moves, you should learn more about them, so you can know yourself and your enemy,” said True Lord Xuan Yue.

Having finished discussing the important matters, True Monarch Xuan Yue's face hardened, and he coldly asked, "The three academies have a total of thirty-six academicians, so why doesn't my Azure Heaven Palace have a single one? Is someone targeting us?"

Wei Yuan dared not reply, for he could not openly say that one was not participating and the other was not selected.

(End of this chapter)