Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

  This golden seal has sent the two Elders into great shock.

  “H-How could it be!?” Fang He fully widened his eyes as he examined the image of the talisman for an umpteenth time, yet there was only one conclusion: the words on the seal were not fake, and the meaning was simple and plain.

  Wang Lu’s Wisdom Sect has passed the qualification certification and formally joined the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, becoming one of its members!

  How could it be!? No, such sentence couldn’t completely convey the shock in Liu Xian’s and Fang He’s hearts. The correction expression should be…


  How the f*ck could it be!?

  Even when they were surprised to hear that the Sect Leader Daoist Master Feng Yin has a sixteen years old daughter, at that time, the two Elders weren’t this stupefied. For a time, Fang He couldn’t even think that there was actually something suspicious in Wang Lu’s face when he revealed this seal just now. Fang He only felt that the confusion in his heart was like a crack on the ground that led to the abyss, which continued to tear, unable to be smoothed out.

  How could it be? How could it be!? How could it be!!??

  For a time, there were countless of words in Fang He’s mind, but all the words were stuck in his throat! Any sane person could see that the Wisdom Sect was an out-and-out cult, and only Wang Lu, an astonishingly thick-faced Non-Phase Peak disciple, could flatly deny it. During the last three days, Fang He and Liu Xian witnessed the use of Heaven Burning Blood Technique and also confirmed the over a million followers, which were absolutely consistent with the characteristic of a cult.

  Why would the two Elders be so angry at the first place? Because whether it was to the Spirit Sword Sect or Wang Lu himself, operating a cult would bring a serious negative effect. Particularly to Wang Lu. Once the news of him being the leader of a cult was widespread, Wang Lu would be condemned by everyone, and he would never find a foothold in the entire Nine Regions! The issue was the definition of the cult. In the internal specification of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, a cult was second only to an evil cult; this was indisputable! So, you said you have the official recognition from the Great Ming Country? The problem would only get bigger—the entire Great Ming Country could collapse in a night! Using the Great Ming Country’s official recognition to cover up the fact that it was a cult was like using a piece of dried leaf to deal with woman’s menstruation; overestimating one’s ability should also have its limit! As for the World’s Ascension or liberation of productivity… just explain it again to your skeleton when you’ve reincarnated!

  Therefore, even if Wang Lu had shown amazing resilient under the Sword of Truth’s interrogation, which showed his amazing strength as a Successor Disciple, Fang He still couldn’t let him pass; this time’s indulgence would only destroy his future!

  At this time, however, the glittering seal was such a huge taunt that crushed the two Elders’ previous anger and doubt.

  Wisdom Sect is a cult? What a joke! The certification seal from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals was already here, who dared to say it was a cult!? If the official recognition from the Great Ming Country was not enough, then the certification from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals was more than enough! Was there an organization that was more authoritative than the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals? Of course not!

  However, on the other hand, Fang He and Liu Xian didn’t feel that what they saw in the last three days was just an illusion—the cult characteristics of the Wisdom Sect was not false!

  Therefore… How the f*ck could it be!?

  After a long time has passed, the two Elders still couldn’t figure out the truth. Wang Lu himself didn’t offer an explanation; he just mysteriously smiled as the two Elders were drowned deeper and deeper in confusion. Finally, Liu Xian sighed and took the initiative to speak, “How did you do it?”


  Wang Lu said with a smile, “Actually, it’s very simple. I just spent a huge sum of money to bribe the Elder in charge of registering the sect into the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals.”


  Puff!

  The two Elders were frozen on the spot. They stood there stiffly without moving a muscle. Yet, the sound of their Primordial Spirit spurting out blood could be heard!

  Wang Lu spread out his arms and laughed. “That’s why I said a lot of people don’t really understand the essence of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals. They’re not so much as the Immortal Cultivation Alliance to maintain the order in the Nine Regions… But more accurately, a high end, top grade bureaucratic organization, nothing more. Since it’s a bureaucratic organization, there is a flaw that any bureaucratic organization is doomed unable to avoid: corruption. Of course, as its beneficiary, I have to applaud: corruption is good!”


  “…” The two Elders struggled to keep their jaws from falling off.

  “As for the specific on how it went, it’s also very simple. It’s two million spirit stones for the most basic alliance member seal. Since it’s inception, this is the biggest transaction that Wisdom Sect had ever dealt, and I think we came out with profit in this.”


  Two million spirit stones!

  Liu Xian and Fang He looked at each other, and inwardly, they began to understand what was going on.

  Towards a big sect, two million spirit stones were like a drop in a bucket. However, for an individual cultivator, this was astronomical! Didn’t Spirit Sword Sect’s Fifth Elder only earned around several hundred spirit stones each month and thus, her total income for a year was no more than ten thousand? Of course, this was because her contribution to the Sect was too low and would often cause trouble, therefore, her earning was far less than the other Elders. For example, Liu Xian, who had spent a lot of effort for the Sect, had a one-year income of hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. While the best one was the sixth Elder Lu Li, who was known to have a net worth of tens of millions…


  However, that’s the worth of the Elders from one of the Five Unique of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals. For an Elder in charge of registering a sect into the union, two million spirit stones were worth dying for; even if that Elder divided it with his subordinates in his department, it was more than enough. Thus, this huge amount of bribe in exchange for a certification seal didn’t appear to be unthinkable, especially since the union branch in the Blue River Region was bloated with corruption. Usually, the Spirit Sword Sect maintained a low key and aloof stance and didn’t deal with this institution. The Elders, whose impression of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals were still stuck at its headquarters—which has a much better environment, suddenly could not respond. Now that they have understood all of that, this glittering seal wasn’t so incredible after all.

  The only problem was that…


  Although its development momentum was quite vigorous, how could a small sect like the Wisdom Sect able to accumulate two million spirit stones in just eight months while at the same time it was also energetically building infrastructures; from where did these two million spirit stones came from?

  Wang Lu was able to see the doubts in the two Elders’ eyes; he somewhat proudly explained, “Of course by asking for an investment.”


  “… Investment?”


  “Yes, it’s the result of my sect’s strong communication with the Mysterious Sky Mansion—when it comes to asking for money, what institution is more suitable than the Mysterious Sky Mansion in the Nine Regions?”


  Liu Xian was puzzled. “How could the Mysterious Sky Mansion lent you so much money?”


  “Because my Wisdom Sect’s ability to earn money is sufficiently maddening. Although the investment in the early period is too large and the cost of operation is extremely high, resulting in the not too much net surplus, but from the income point of view, Wisdom Sect’s annual revenue is almost one million spirit stones, which exceeded many low-rank members of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals. Moreover, my sect’s future development is immeasurable; after all, Wisdom Sect has only occupied a single country, the Great Ming Country.”


  Liu Xian was stunned for a moment, but then he quickly understood. Even though an annual revenue of less than a million seemed not much, for an Immortal Cultivation Sect, twenty years would come in a flash, which meant their profit would be tens of millions!

  “Did you let the Mysterious Sky Mansion join the management?”


  “How could I let them?” Wang Lu sneered. “They can receive the dividend, but to let this group of corrupt businessmen who only believe in money to run the Wisdom Sect would only ruin this sect.”


  “If you don’t let the Mysterious Sky Mansion participate in the sect’s operation, how come they were willing to invest their money in you?”


  Wang Lu said, “That’s why I’ve signed a deal with them to give them high dividend in ten years. If the dividend for the Mysterious Sky Mansion reaches a certain amount during these ten years, then they can’t meddle in the sect. If not, I have to willingly offer Wisdom Sect to them to do as they please. Whether they want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs or let the stream of income continues, that is entirely up to them.”


  Liu Xian was still somewhat in disbelief. “Even so, with your Wisdom Sect’s existing scale, to be able to persuade them to invest two million, that’s really…”


  Wang Lu laughed. “It’s the efficient work of the Public Relation Department Head, that’s all.”


  Thinking of that charming woman on the other side of the Psychic Jade, Liu Xian furrowed his brows. Inwardly, he more or less understood that the Mysterious Sky Mansion’s transaction was dirty.

  At this time, Wang Lu’s whole plan was finally clear to them: They struck a big deal with the Mysterious Sky Mansion to invest in Wisdom Sect and then put that investment money to bribe the official of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals in charge of registering the sect to get a certification seal. Thus, changing black into white, reversing the heaven and the earth, turning a cult into a member of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals!

  These steps were very simple, however, within it, there were all sorts of unimaginable things that were too numerous to mention. Even though the two Elders have been silent for a long time, it was still hard for them to lift the shock from their hearts.

  If Wang Lu, just now, a level six Qi Cultivating Stage disciple, used the arrays and Feng Shui lines to resist the Sword of Truth’s interrogation could be called a miracle, then turning a cult into a sect was beyond a miracle!

  If Wang Lu was not one of the Sprit Sword Sect’s Successor Disciples, with his status as the Sect Leader of a member of Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, in theory, he was on equal footing with Liu Xian and Fang He! Despite his level six Qi Cultivating Stage!

  Thinking to this, Liu Xian couldn’t help but sigh. Just now, Wang Lu had asked him how was his gain compared to the other two Successor Disciples. Liu Xian had to admit that despite Wang Lu was slightly inferior to the other two in the gains with cultivation, if added his Wisdom Sect, even those two combined perhaps couldn’t be compared to him!

  Fang He’s mind was even more tangled. Although there were many words hidden in his heart, he couldn’t express even one of them. Until Wang Lu smiled and asked him, “Uncle, do you have anything to say to me?”


  Fang He was silent for a long time. “I have nothing to say.”


  Rationally speaking, although Wang Lu’s method on doing this was beautiful, it would always have a problem with light, especially since he got the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals’ member certification through a large amount of bribery. Any cultivator with a sense of justice would unlikely to accept it.

  However, Fang He wasn’t just a messenger of justice. As the Disciplinary Elder of the Spirit Sword Sect, even without having to care for the rules of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, he needed to guard the sanctity of the Sect rules. But the rules of the Spirit Sword Sect did not restrict the members from bribing an outsider…


  In addition to the prohibition of indiscriminate killing, rape, theft, and other principled outside regulations, the Spirit Sword Sect didn’t have many regulations for interacting with outsiders; this was the so-called tight in the inside but loose on the outside. From the method alone, although Wang Lu’s action had overstepped a limit, he did not clearly violate the sect rules! Even if measured with a strict standard, at most, Wang Lu would just need to write several points of self-criticism and deduct some Sect credit—a fundamentally superficial punishment.

  Thinking to this, Liu Xian couldn’t help but ask, “Since you have arranged for this, why would you ask for the Sword of Truth to claim your innocence?”


  Wang Lu reluctantly said, “Because according to the initial plan, the plan to register would only start in a few months. Unfortunately, the two Uncles came too soon, forcing me to start the plan in advance. Because we have already laid out the groundwork, the super efficient work of the Public Relation Department Head, coupled with Wisdom Sect’s willingness to pay the price at all cost, we can work it out. Despite that, the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals needed at least three to five days to go through the process of issuing the golden seal. And to get this three to five days, I have to fight for it myself.”


  Liu Xian wryly smiled. “Therefore, you proposed to grant you the Sword of Truth and requested three days time to prepare?”


  Wang Lu honestly said, “In addition to this, if necessary, I can let myself be seriously injured so that I can get rest for three to five days. In any case, it’s just to delay time.”


  “… That’s why you needlessly went all out!?”


  “In any case, I am sure Uncle will not stay silent seeing me at the critical moment.”


  Liu Xian gritted his teeth, thinking that he should’ve let this darn kid die!

  At this time, Fang He also said, “Just now you pestered me on whether I could stretch out the rules and about the definition of a cult… was it to use my words against me?”


  Wang Lu readily admitted it with a nod. “Although a member certification seal from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals is a good card, it’s not an insurance. Without your confirmation, Uncle, I can’t hastily turn out this card.”


  Fang He sneered a few times, but it was more to ridicule himself. “What a character, what a method!” He then paused for a moment to remember something. “No wonder Fifth Junior Sister never seems to worry about you from the start and she has that indifferent look; moreover, she even insisted that this is an independent entrepreneurship. It seems like she has already expected this.”


  Wang Lu didn’t deny it. When he met with his Master at the Inn three days ago, he determined that she had already correctly guessed his plan. Because the two of them have already too much in common, if they changed places, she would’ve also used this method. Thus, using judging others by judging oneself method, it was easy for Wang Wu to speculate Wang Lu’s means.

  Wang Lu asked, “Then, I think the two Uncles shouldn’t have a problem with this, right?”


  Fang He was silent for a long time before he shook his head to indicate that he had no problem with it.

  Liu Xian then said in a sinking voice, “I have only one question, how long are you going to keep managing this sect?”


  During these words, his eyes became stern again.

  In theory, even though Wang Lu was currently a sect leader, as a disciple of the Spirit Sword Sect, he was still subject to the Spirit Sword Sect regulation. And according to the Spirit Sword Sect rules, after this experiential learning was over, he would have to return to the mountain to continue his cultivation, until he reached the Jindan Stage where he could freely leave the mountain and wander around the Nine Regions.

  However, on the other hand, what if at this time he declared that he was no longer one with the Spirit Sword Sect? Then the sky would be his limit! With over a million followers, his future power and influence were boundless! Although he would be regarded as a dishonorable renegade by the Spirit Sword Sect, he would not be hunted down to be killed. With the Spirit Sword Sect’s consistent attitude, it would not hit Wang Lu when he was down, therefore, the price to separate from the Spirit Sword Sect was completely affordable to Wang Lu.

  That was why Liu Xian had to ask Wang Lu: what do you want?

  Upon hearing this question, Wang Lu’s smile turned even more brilliant.

  “Uncle, I am a professional adventurer and one of its most basic qualities is focus. I never forget the main purpose of establishing this Wisdom Sect, therefore, there’s no need to ask this question.”


  Four months later, Wang Lu returned to the Spirit Sword Mountain.