Chapter 773

"True immortals certainly exist." Ma Wencai saw his father, usually unflappable, grow agitated, and felt a flicker of pride. "But I haven't yet cultivated divine abilities!"

Saying this, he recounted all the details of the chat group.

Ma Fu listened, his spirit trembling with excitement, wishing he could take his son's place.

Whenever he heard something puzzling, he made Ma Wencai explain it again in detail before he was satisfied.

"Foolish! With a chat group like this, why would we need to cooperate with anyone else?" Ma Fu sneered. "Our family can go it alone. My son, our Ma family will produce an Emperor!"

Ma Wencai suddenly understood. "Yes, Father, our family can make ourselves Emperor, become the greatest clan in the world."

"No—the only clan!" Ma Fu shook his head. "With absolute martial power, why would we need any other clans?"

Seeing Ma Wencai's confusion, Ma Fu sneered and explained: "When we were just another clan, we naturally had to cooperate sincerely with others to resist the imperial house; but once we became the imperial house, we must dismantle the other clans to prevent them from controlling court affairs."

"Father is right," Ma Wencai bowed in submission.

Old ginger is always the spiciest—his thinking was far more thorough.

"Besides that, can you tell who's in charge in that chat group?" Ma Fu mused for several breaths, then asked.

Ma Wencai thought deeply: "I noticed the people in the chat group seemed utterly free, as if unbound by rules—but if I had to say who's in charge, it must be the Dao Lord named Zhang Taixuan. All the cultivation techniques, immortal weapons, and elixirs in Shangcheng come from this Dao Lord."

"Exactly!" Ma Fu clapped his hands and stood up. "After all these years of study, how can you still miss the point?!"

"When you enter a temple, which deity do you bow to first? This is crucial—and you've forgotten it?! You've just been chatting away like a fool!"

He gazed at Ma Wencai, exasperated.

"Father, those people don't seem to care at all!" Ma Wencai protested, sounding wounded.

Ma Fu sneered, sweeping his sleeve in fury: "You're driving me to despair! All these years of study were wasted? Did you just memorize bamboo slips mindlessly?"

"Others may not care—but can we afford not to?"

"The Emperor may ignore his ministers' opinions—but can ministers afford not to discern the Emperor's intentions?"

"You're new to the chat group, with no ties to that Dao Lord or anyone else. If you follow their lead blindly, you'll easily offend someone. Our Ma family rose to prominence because our ancestors worked tirelessly, acted with caution, and never slipped up. You must not be careless or make a single misstep."

"Father's teaching is correct."

Ma Fu's angry expression softened into a sigh. "Don't blame me for being harsh—this concerns our entire family's lives and fortunes. Besides, even if those people don't mind, who would ever complain about too much courtesy?"

"Father is right."

Ma Wencai suddenly understood.

Ma Fu made Ma Wencai recount the entire story again, pressing for every detail.

"My son, I must ask you to make a sacrifice. I noticed the group members disapprove of your intention to marry Zhu Yingtai. Drop the matter entirely. We cannot offend anyone in the group over something so trivial!"

Ma Wencai smiled helplessly. "Father, I've never even met Miss Zhu—how could I have such thoughts? Besides, even if she were the most beautiful woman in the world, how could she compare to achieving immortality and wielding supreme power?"

"Well said! A true man's ambition lies beyond romance—he must not be bound by petty emotions!" Ma Fu clapped, beaming with approval. "Now, bring out those Nine Divine Incantations. Let's test them. If they work, focus entirely on your cultivation. As for overturning the world later—we're in no hurry. Once you've cultivated to mastery, it will be as easy as flipping your hand."

"Yes, Father."