Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 407 Struggle and Compromise: A Strange Special Ritual
In the blink of an eye, twenty-three people present had raised their hands in agreement.

Zen Master Jingchen took out paper and pen and spread them out on the table. After looking around, he quickly wrote down the situation in three strokes.

Theoretically speaking, he could write very quickly.

But in reality, he deliberately slowed down and meticulously recorded the name of each vote in favor, even noting that the first person to raise their hand was Zen Master Jinghua.

The voting results for all proposals today will be recorded in detail according to this procedure for future reference.

Zen Master Jingchen was still worried that people might not have noticed this point.

So after finishing writing, he deliberately picked up his pen and looked around again, pretending to proofread it again.

This is one of his little design elements.

The purpose was to tell everyone present that today's voting results would be known to more people in the future, including the younger generations of each family.

If anyone is worried about losing face in the record.

Then you should never maliciously oppose the passage of certain legitimate proposals for your own selfish interests.

Even if someone tries to play dirty tricks, future generations, hundreds or thousands of years from now, can easily discover the shady dealings by looking back at this history and analyzing the voting results.

Of course, if there is a certain kind of true master or Zen master, he doesn't care about his reputation at all.

Then Zen Master Jingchen's design would be useless.

However, he believed that many people present considered themselves to be respectable and would have some reservations.

As long as it has even the slightest effect, then his efforts won't be in vain.

"Next, please raise your hand if you object to this supplementary rule!"

Zen Master Jingchen, holding his brush, looked directly at Xiao Chen.

It is clear that he will also keep accurate records of who voted against it.

However, Xiao Chen did not raise his hand. Instead, amidst the curious gazes around him, he gently shook his head: "Regarding this proposal, I choose to abstain!"

"Of course, I didn't mean anything by doing this."

"It's simply because I don't want to express subjective agreement or disagreement about things I don't understand."

"So you will probably see me abstain many more times in the future."

To put it bluntly, Xiao Chen was just there to join in the fun and, incidentally, fulfill his promise.

He received three gifts, so he will cast three votes in favor.

He will abstain from any proposals other than these and will never interfere unnecessarily.

As for Zhang Shouquan, he originally wanted to express his opposition.

Seeing that almost everyone agreed, they simply started paying attention to Xiao Chen's performance.

Upon hearing this, he also abstained: "Me too!"

Zen Master Jingchen picked up his pen and recorded the result.

The following announcement was made: "The first proposal received 23 votes in favor, 0 votes against, and 2 abstentions."

"I am now pleased to announce that the veto rule is now in effect."

Upon hearing this, the Buddhist monks all smiled.

This is a major positive development for all of them.

If the proposal from the Taoist sect does not align with their overall interests, they can join forces to veto it with eight opposing votes.

Considering there are ten of them, there is even a margin of error of two votes to avoid possible unexpected situations.

For the Taoist community, it was a mix of joy and indifference.

The former would also be happy to see this situation occur, as it represents greater room for negotiation.

The latter did not want to relinquish their rights, but in order to prevent the peace conference from becoming a mere formality, they had no choice but to agree.

After all, none of the people present would naively regard the proposal as an inviolable rule.

To ensure the long-term validity of the peace conference's outcomes, they must align with the interests of the majority of participants.

If you go too far in a certain area, it will inevitably create hidden dangers for the future.

If one proposal runs into trouble, the others will also become unstable.

Instead, it might be better to take a step back, thus ensuring that the meeting's outcomes last longer.

Under this approach, the eight-vote veto becomes the yardstick used to measure whether a proposal is 'too excessive'.

The first proposal was passed so smoothly.

This can be considered a good start.

After finishing his notes, Zen Master Jingchen put down his brush and reached out his right hand to the stack of proposals on the far left.

But before he picked it up, his gaze fell on the contents.

That was about Zen Master Fenghua's proposal to rebuild Kasyapa Temple.

Upon seeing it clearly, Zen Master Jingchen paused slightly.

Then, trying to switch targets naturally, I grabbed the second stack of proposals next to me, which was also the stack with the fewest proposals.

If possible, it's best to avoid bringing up such a sensitive topic in the first place.

Let's start with something that's easy for everyone to understand, and leave the important stuff for later.

"Next, I will read the second proposal, which comes from Layman Iron Fan."

Zen Master Jingchen first identified himself as the proposer before carefully reading the contents aloud.

The proposal itself was very long, and its language was full of allusions and flowery language.

Xiao Chen listened intently for a long time before finally understanding that this was just a plan to clarify the future leadership of the new relics.

Although I wrote several thousand words, the core content can be summarized in one sentence.

From now on, all newly discovered ruins within the Compassionate Sea should be explored by all the major sects present, and nearby sects should no longer interfere.

The reason why Iron Fan True Lord brought this up is because the Cangming Immortal Sect is located in the southwest corner.

In the past, they were often unable to reach new ruins immediately.

Although you can arrive before the ruins open, you'll always see that someone else has already arrived and secured the best spot.

The result is that if you're slow at one step, you'll be slow at every step.

Either the first few companies have already reached an agreement to jointly expel the later ones.

Alternatively, others might use the principle of "first come, first served" to pressure people, forcing the Cangming Immortal Sect disciples to queue at the very back.

Moreover, you'll have to accept their favor in the latter case.

Therefore, Iron Fan Zhenjun decided to try to resolve this problem at this peace conference.

In fact, it wasn't just him; most of the proposals on the table were based on this idea, intended to resolve the problems caused by different forces.

"To supplement the rules, I will now change the order of the questions."

Zen Master Jingchen asked again, "Now, please raise your hand if you oppose this proposal!"

This change is quite reasonable.

If there are more than eight votes against, the proposal can be postponed for further discussion and quickly proceed to the next vote.

Logically speaking, Iron Fan Zhenjun's proposal should not have been difficult to pass.

After all, the Cangming Immortal Sect wasn't the only one that felt it was unfair.

However, the voting results were quite interesting. The Buddhist side, mainly represented by Pudu Temple and Lianhua Temple, all voted against the proposal after a brief period of deliberation.

With the addition of Zhang Shouquan, who was the first to raise his hand in opposition, a total of eight dissenting votes were collected.

So Iron Fan Zhenjun's proposal was put back on the edge of the table and became the last proposal again.

Following the order, Zen Master Jingchen picked up one of the proposals from the third stack: "Now I will read the third proposal, which comes from my fellow disciple Jinghua."

After filtering out irrelevant words, Xiao Chen...

The core message is that although the threat from sea creatures has subsided, a surveillance mechanism targeting the open ocean should be established to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

The necessary human and material resources should be shared by all sects within the entire Compassionate Ocean.

This sounds much more reasonable.

Moreover, it can be said to be selfless, entirely for the overall benefit of the entire Ocean of Compassion.

However, when it came time to vote, they were jointly opposed by the Mozhang Sect, the Tiangang Sect, and the Cangming Immortal Sect.

Furthermore, Zhang Shouquan was the first to raise his hand, which immediately put the matter into the stage of postponing the discussion.

why is it you again?
Zen Master Jingchen frowned and wrote his name into the record.

But as it turns out, recording the names of those who voted against is only useful for respectable people.

If you encounter a rogue cultivator like Zhang Shouquan who doesn't care about his future reputation at all, then it's just like having a decoration.

In the subsequent fourth round of voting, he was once again the first to raise his hand, regardless of the consequences.

The Buddhist community rejected the specific spiritual item trade plan proposed by True Lord Yunwo.

The plan is actually not complicated. It basically means that the trading of several special spiritual items will be opened up in the future.

Every so often, the major sects would exchange fixed portions of their own specialties.

Instead of hoarding their own specialties and spiritual items, they should release some of them instead of keeping even a tiny bit hidden away.

In order to make this proposal easier to pass.

Yunwo Zhenjun even deliberately avoided those spiritual objects of great significance, such as the Purple Gold Bodhi Fruit of Pudu Temple or the Yang-preserving Stone of Mozhang Sect.

Therefore, no matter how you look at it, this should be a proposal that benefits all sects.

However, it was still rejected, and the matter was postponed for further discussion.

This left True Monarch Yunwo completely dumbfounded.

He looked directly in Zhang Shouquan's direction, his furrowed brows revealing a hint of confusion.

Every time, the other party is the first to raise their hand in opposition without hesitation. What the hell are you trying to do?
Not only him, but others have also noticed that Zhang Shouquan is always very proactive in his opposition.

It even raises doubts about whether he had actually thought about the content of the proposal.

They were absolutely right.

Zhang Shouquan was indeed indifferent to the content of the proposal.

His reason for being the first to object was simple: you haven't given me any benefits to vote in favor.

In that case, he would unconditionally oppose all proposals.

If someone wants to change his mind, they must first show their sincerity.

I don't know what others think, but Xiao Chen was shocked—this is possible!
You know what, Zhang Shouquan's current actions have clearly demonstrated a certain degree of value in winning people over.

Such a fixed number of dissenting votes might actually bring more benefits in the subsequent power struggle between Buddhism and Taoism.

However, Xiao Chen did not rush to imitate him; instead, he continued to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

Whether Zhang Shouquan's move will be effective depends on whether a crucial situation arises later where only one vote is needed.

It would only be meaningful if the struggle between Buddhism and Taoism were intense enough.

If everyone compromises and makes concessions, then a mere one or two scattered votes will not be able to shake the overall situation.

Not only could he easily earn a bad reputation, but he would also incur the resentment of others. After all, Zhang Shouquan's intentions were too obvious; he was practically trying to blackmail everyone present using their voting rights.

This is nothing unusual; it's all about maximizing personal gain.

However, the Compassionate Sea has been at peace for a long time, which has made these sect cultivators really unaccustomed to the way rogue cultivators act, taking risks even when there are no real opportunities.

Many people looked at Zhang Shouquan with a hint of hostility and disdain.

Hearing that Zen Master Hai had such a bad temper, he thought to himself: "Hmph, he's practically a reincarnation of a beggar!"
Zen Master Jingchen also felt a little annoyed at this moment.

His initial intention in rejecting the proposal was simply to balance the differences in the number of people on the Buddhist and Taoist sides; he never expected there would be such a problem.

However, it's impossible to change anything just for Zhang Shouquan, so we have no choice but to ignore it and move on to the next proposal.

But unsurprisingly, what followed was a series of events concerning the division of spheres of influence, the control of strategic locations, post-war arrangements, and trade.

All of them were rejected without exception.

Although Zhang Shouquan did not object to any of the three proposals for which he had received bribes.

However, in the end, both Buddhism and Taoism rejected it.

It's easy to veto something with just eight votes.

Therefore, the final situation can only be described as bizarre.

After Zen Master Jingchen read all the proposals aloud in turn.

Apart from the initial rejection of the proposal, no subsequent proposal was successfully passed.

The only effect it had was to make everyone present familiar with and understand the specific content of all the proposals.

The awkward part is...

The only vetoed proposal that passed was actually a supplementary rule for the peace conference.

It exists only in this conference and has absolutely no practical significance or effect on the future situation of the Ocean of Compassion.

In other words, everyone held a big meeting, but achieved nothing.

In hindsight, it was all for nothing.

It's not that it was essentially not open, because it did bring everyone together and successfully wasted everyone's time.

It even gave Xiao Chen the feeling that all the major forces had come together, but it turned out to be just playing house.

What the hell are you doing?
He came to watch the spectacle, but after listening to a long and boring proposal for ages, he ended up seeing nothing.

Moreover, after Zen Master Jingchen changed the order of the questions.

Xiao Chen only needs to stay in place; he doesn't even need to raise his hand or abstain.

He even got a little bored while he was there.

If it weren't for the fact that he still found many of the proposals interesting, he would have left early.

It's worth mentioning that Xiao Chen actually heard Zhang Shouquan's proposal.

His request was that major sects should develop the exchange of mid-grade spirit stones, or at least partially exchange them.

Instead of hiding them all in the sect's warehouse, making them almost impossible to find on the market.

Ostensibly, Zhang Shouquan also claimed that he was speaking out for the independent practitioners of the Quancihai (Compassionate Ocean) community.

"If a rogue cultivator is trying to break through to a higher realm, they can use mid-grade spirit stones to set up a spirit-gathering array."

"Then he has a higher chance of successfully breaking through."

"If a weapon refiner is forging spiritual materials, he may use mid-grade spirit stones."

"Then he can forge better magical artifacts and spiritual weapons, thereby gaining more benefits and bringing more convenience."

"The same principle applies to everything else, whether it's talismans, formations, or anything else."

Objectively speaking, Zhang Shouquan's words do make some sense.

If mid-grade spirit stones could flood the market in large quantities, then independent cultivators would reap substantial benefits.

It is indeed a great thing that benefits all people.

In order to increase the success rate of the proposal, Zhang Shouquan even deliberately played the morality card in the proposal: "Everyone here is a person of high moral character."

"They should also understand that doing so will benefit all the low-level cultivators in the entire Compassionate Sea."

"Therefore, I believe that no one would disregard the reputation of millions of ordinary cultivators for their own selfish gain."

Zhang Shouquan wrote many similar statements in his proposal.

In short, the point is this: anyone who opposes my proposal is a selfish and heartless person.

I ask you, the big shots in your sects, aren't you afraid of being condemned by everyone?

However, even though Zhang Shouquan had done so much, his proposal was still rejected.

The elders from various sects, such as the Crane Cry True Lord of Chongzhen Temple, the Iron Fan True Lord of Cangming Immortal Sect, and the Pure Flower Zen Master of Pudu Temple.

They all raised their hands in unison to express their opposition.

Although the younger generation remained silent, the rare instance of Buddhism and Taoism standing together on this issue made it easy for them to pool their resources and gather eight veto votes.

Zhang Shouquan's proposal touched upon the interests of all sects.

Judging from the voting results, there is almost no point in reconsidering the matter.

Because if only one side of the Buddhist or Taoist sect opposes the proposal, the other side might compromise after receiving certain benefits.

However, a proposal that is opposed by both sides represents the common will of the entire Ocean of Compassion.

Even if there were ten more people, let alone Zhang Shouquan, they might not be able to overthrow him.

Of course, if he has the ability to break through to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, that would be a different story.

After all, throughout history, the cultivation world has always been ruled by the side with the strongest fist.

"Well, since things have come to this, why don't you all take a short rest?"

After thinking for a moment, Zen Master Jingchen decided to adjourn the meeting temporarily: "A lunch has been prepared in the temple. Please move to the Pure Food Altar."

"After we've had our tea and meal, we'll come back here to discuss this again."

His approach was both a last resort and the best solution.

Give everyone some time to communicate privately, and let them say things that are not suitable to be said openly at the peace conference.

Perhaps after lunch, some improved plans that better align with the interests of most sects will emerge.

Of course, it's also possible that many proposals could suddenly be passed without any modifications.

In fact, Zen Master Jingchen's judgment was entirely correct.

There were indeed many people in the morning, purely out of a desire to hear the follow-up proposals, or simply to oppose for the sake of opposing.

The purpose of doing this is quite simple.

Firstly, it allows us to gather sufficient information, especially after understanding what others are looking for.

We need to rethink how to maximize the interests of our own sect from a holistic perspective.

Secondly, by vetoing, some room for compromise can be created.

As the saying goes, they ask for an exorbitant price but try to negotiate it down the street.

You have to ask for a price first, so that you can leave room for negotiation later.

It's worth mentioning that Xiao Chen usually hates haggling.

He had almost never haggled over the price when buying spiritual items, whether at auctions or street stalls.

Even when he was short of money while practicing Qi cultivation, he would always ask the price directly.

If you think it's suitable, buy it; if you think it's too expensive, just leave and go to the next store to ask about the price.

Of course, this only applies when Xiao Chen buys things for himself.

When this situation occurs at a peace conference, it doesn't affect him personally but it can affect others.

And it seems that things will start to tug at each other's throats and compromise with each other.

Xiao Chen, however, began to look forward to the afternoon's conference.

There's a saying that perfectly describes this mentality: "Those who love a good show never want things to get out of hand!"

However, after everyone hurriedly finished their meal and left under the pretense of resting, they actually seized the time to start contacting each other privately.

Xiao Chen, who was practicing the Azure Wave Penetrating Bone Needle technique cross-legged in the side hall, welcomed his fourth guest.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

There were three knocks on the door, followed by a familiar inquiry: "Master Xiao, is this a convenient time to talk?"

Oh?
Could it be that I have some spiritual object to take?

Xiao Chen immediately calmed his true energy: "It's very convenient, please come in quickly, you don't need to close the door."

"Oh, right, coming over shouldn't bother me."

"In addition, I have always been a person who likes to speak my mind and keep my mouth shut."

"So whatever it is, we can talk directly. And I will keep it a secret and never tell anyone else."

Eh?
Master Jinghua, who had just opened the door, was stunned upon hearing this long string of words.

What's happening here?
The information he had previously obtained from Zen Master Fenghua and Zen Master Tinghai was completely different.

Zen Master Jinghua had made preparations in advance, only to find that the information he had obtained seemed to be outdated.

So all the things I had planned to say suddenly seemed impossible to say.

For a moment, he was at a loss and got stuck in the doorway.

Hey?
Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment when he saw him standing there dumbfounded.

What's happening here?
He had heard the same words twice in a row, so he thought he would quickly skip the dialogue and get straight to the point.

Now it seems there might have been some misunderstanding?
So what should we do?

Xiao Chen thought about the previous two times and then spoke again, "Of course it's convenient, please come in and have a seat!"

what?
Upon hearing this, Zen Master Jinghua was taken aback once again.

What's going on? Why did Layman Xiao answer again?
Could it be that the first answer he heard was actually a hallucination?

Zen Master Jinghua's mind was in turmoil, but fortunately he had made preparations before he arrived.

Following the advice given by Zen Master Fenghua and Zen Master Tinghai, he then pushed open the door and closed it behind him.

Then, he politely asked, "Master Xiao, I hope my visit at this time hasn't disturbed you."

what?
Xiao Chen was silent for a moment, then replied, "I won't disturb you. Master Jinghua, is there something you want to say?"

Although he didn't know exactly what the problem was.

However, as long as it doesn't affect future developments, let's just pretend it doesn't exist.

The key point is whether you can get any new benefits in the future.

As long as it doesn't affect my ability to get free spiritual items.

This somewhat familiar dialogue could be considered some kind of strange and special ritual.

(End of this chapter)