Chapter 703: Dao Title: Master Dinghai Zhenjun Chengyang

Taking advantage of this sudden realization before it fully faded, Jiang Ding hurriedly recorded it.

Using his divine sense as a pen and his sea of consciousness as paper, he constantly wrote and drew within it; for over a month he did nothing else, filling a vast area of his sea of consciousness with a chaotic jumble of things.

Looking closely, there was the Sword Dao, there were Metal-attribute magic techniques, and there were some principles of the Sun-Extinguishing Heaven Lord's unique "Sun-Breath Sky-Chasing Soul-Locking Art".

There was also a great deal of other nonsense: certain plants within the Immortal Gate realm, minerals, a scene he had seen in his childhood, and some knowledge regarding electromagnetism...

If a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun were to enter this sea of consciousness, he would instantly feel dizzy and confused, tormented by various conflicting pieces of information, so uncomfortable he would want to vomit blood.

"... I don't understand it either."

After Jiang Ding finished writing and viewing the formulas, data, and realizations floating and accumulating in this sea of consciousness, he felt ashamed.

This mess looked like falling into a garbage dump.

Unlike the prototype of the Metal-Extinguishing Sword, this was simply a nonsensical fantasy; it was hard to say how much value it held.

"Send it to the Sun-Extinguishing Heaven Lord; perhaps it will inspire something, and then I can get credited as a second or third author or something."

Jiang Ding sighed, stored this sea of consciousness, packaged the information within it into a bundle, copied it, and sent it over via the Immortal Gate network.

There was no response.

At this point in time, the Sun-Extinguishing Heaven Lord should still be undergoing re-education labor; it wasn't entertainment time, and the network was inaccessible.

"The first Sword Intent cultivator has been born; the second, third... and even dozens more will soon appear like bamboo shoots after a spring rain."

"This is inevitable, a natural law; accumulation erupts forth."

"My Dao will flourish greatly..."

Jiang Ding closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling massive amounts of heavenly and earthly spiritual Qi and the essence of the Great Sun, entering a cultivation state.

"Ding ding ding..."

The moment he closed his eyes, a phone call came in, the ringtone piercing.

Jiang Ding wore an expression of helplessness.

The only people who could directly call him while he was in seclusion were his mother, his sister, and a handful of others.

It was Zhang Zhang Junsheng.

"Jiang Ding!"

"Jiang Ding, Jiang Ding, hurry and turn on the TV!"

When he answered the call, Zhang Zhang Junsheng's voice conveyed an expression of barely suppressed joy, yet he refused to say anything, urging him repeatedly.

"Alright."

Jiang Ding glanced around and roughly guessed what had happened.

After rummaging for a while in his storage jade pendant, he pulled out a large-screen television with its own power source and placed it before him.

"You've had this TV for quite a few years, haven't you?"

"I bought it when I was in the mining district dormitory; I haven't used it in many years. Back then..."

Complex emotions arose in Jiang Ding's heart, but he controlled them himself.

"Over a hundred years; I wonder if the parts inside have rusted or broken?"

Jiang Ding scanned the television with his divine sense for a moment and indeed found that the insulation in many places had become extremely fragile; much of the rubber would turn to powder with the slightest touch, and rust was everywhere.

His storage jade pendant was of a higher grade, capable of storing living things, so there was oxygen inside.

"Crooked merchant."

Jiang Ding cursed.

This was unjustly blaming the other party.

At that time, he had simply chosen an electronics shop on the streets of Immortal Capital at random; the grandson of the shopkeeper who sold it was probably already ash by now.

This TV was originally meant for mortals; its lifespan could not possibly exceed a hundred years without breaking, especially since it often went ten-plus years without being turned on. No quality could withstand such treatment.

Breaking was normal; it was far beyond its designed lifespan.

"Fix it quickly!"

"Don't dawdle! Time is passing!"

Seeing him act this way, Zhang Zhang Junsheng immediately grew anxious and urged repeatedly: "Or just connect your divine sense to the network; quickly open an Immortal Gate terminal and watch the news."

"No, that lacks a sense of ritual."

Jiang Ding refused.

He scanned the various parts of the television before him with his divine sense, analyzing their composition and the elements they contained.

"Copper, iron, silicon, polyethylene..."

As Jiang Ding recited the components appearing in his divine sense, he raised his hand, and a small mountain of copper ore, iron ore, silicon, and other materials appeared before his eyes; these were the leftover materials from refining flying swords over the years, more than sufficient.

He spat out eldritch fire, using his divine sense and magic power as a furnace, and began refining.

A Nascent Soul-level divine sense could be called a chosen worker, with extremely high efficiency.

In a short while,

a copper and aluminum wire appeared, followed by wire insulation, a cathode-ray tube, a TV screen, and so on; one by one they appeared, replacing every part of the television before him, looking exactly the same as the original on the outside.

"It should work now."

He turned it on.

A sliver of light flickered, and immediately the picture appeared; no crash.

"Ding dong, ding dong ding dong..."

He had just made it to the start time of the news; the familiar melody echoed in his ears, unchanged for ten thousand years.

"Good evening, viewers and friends. Today is Friday, the lunar calendar..."

Two hosts dressed in formal Immortal Gate attire began speaking, while a stream of information scrolled below.

"Teacher, can you say what has happened?"

Jiang Ding asked.

"Soon, don't rush. Young people must have patience..."

Zhang Zhang Junsheng wore an expression of reserve, refusing to speak.

"Alright."

Jiang Ding smiled and waited quietly.

A Jin Dan cultivator's patience was terrifyingly strong; having waited merely fifteen minutes, halfway through the news broadcast, Jiang Ding's pupils began to gather.

"The 274th Immortal Gate Citizen Assembly has been successfully convened..."

"... The Immortal Gate Ruler, Yuan, has bestowed Dao titles upon twelve Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun to commend their outstanding contributions in their respective fields.

They are, first, Professor Yu Sheng Chao of Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou University. Professor Yu made outstanding contributions in communication divine sense waves, winning the Immortal Gate Centennial Science Award, and receiving the Dao title Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun..."

The first was a professor from the Communication Research Institute at Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou University.

"Professor Yu is indeed a man of extraordinary talent."

Jiang Ding showed an expression of admiration; he had heard of him and had read this senior's articles.

Simply put, this senior and his team, building upon the Immortal Gate's absolute advantage in domain Immortal Dao information technology, climbed even higher, improving efficiency by another two percent.

This meant that on the battlefield, the Immortal Gate's search, communication, and other capabilities received a two percent boost.

In the Northern Plains, Jiang Ding could easily block the divine sense signals transmitted outward by Ran Gu Master Dinghai Zhenjun and Yin Jiu Master Dinghai Zhenjun, largely relying on the tireless exploration of these seniors.

"That's right, that's right!"

Zhang Zhang Junsheng's face bloomed with a smile: "This is an award ceremony held only once every hundred years; only twelve people in a century receive this honor. Mustn't they be the top domain talents, dragons and phoenixes among millions, geniuses of an age?"

"So it is."

Jiang Ding agreed.

The Immortal Gate's standards for bestowing Dao titles are extremely strict; only the twelve most outstanding talents within each century qualify.

Do not think that Dao-title Master Dinghai Zhenjun are common in various universities; that is because their positions are ones only the most top-tier talents can hold. Only those possessing a Dao title can reach such a position, reflecting the Immortal Gate's extreme emphasis on education.

"Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun, congratulations to you."

Yuan personally hung a gold-threaded medal, an Infant Treasure capable of withstanding a single Soul Transformation-level attack, around Professor Yu Sheng Chao's neck, then extended his right hand.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Senior Yuan!"

Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun's eyes turned red; he gripped Yuan's hand tightly with both hands, shaking it incessantly.

This achievement was almost the crystallization of a thousand years of his research.

Starting from the ignorant Foundation Establishment realm, he devoted his entire life to this project; those around him constantly died in battle, grew old, or advanced, yet he persisted on this path.

Finally, his wish was granted.

Alongside the bestowal of the Dao title, the opportunity for Soul Transformation had also been secured; he simply needed to queue up to enter the Chen Mian Mi Jing.

"The second, Mulan University..."

Another elderly woman with gray hair walked out from behind the curtain.

Jiang Ding watched intently, observing yet another Immortal Gate talent.

"Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun is one thousand and twenty years old this year."

Zhang Zhang Junsheng suddenly said.

"Hmm."

Jiang Ding, not understanding why, looked at him.

"He is about to enter the Chen Mian Mi Jing. After the award ceremony, he will bid farewell one by one to colleagues, friends, family... oh, he has none of those; he's been a thousand-year-old shut-in.

Then he will fall into slumber, waiting two thousand years until the Soul Transformation opportunity's queue reaches him."

Zhang Zhang Junsheng's expression was complex.

"His position in the queue... is quite far back, even worse than mine, still more than two hundred places behind me."

"Two thousand years, perhaps still not..."

He stopped speaking, sighing melancholically.

Jiang Ding was also silent.

Is Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun strong? Is his talent superior? Is his experience insufficient?

Of course he is strong!

He is a formidable figure who pushed the Immortal Dao inheritance of the domain hegemon one step further!

But, there are simply more people like him in history, even more formidable ones; they are all queuing up, so Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun can naturally only be thus.

The Immortal Gate's Immortal Dao education is too advanced.

This is not surprising; the reason there are so many extreme hawks in every industry is that, without wars, they would find ways to create various great wars to fight. Death is not a matter at all; it is something that was bound to happen anyway.

If not for the Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun above and the Central Array Spirit Computer holding them back, the Immortal Gate would have exploded long ago.

"The sixth, Qingfeng Qingfeng Beidou University, Professor Zhang Zhang Junsheng, specializing in the emergency excavation of the Great Sun Ruins!"

The host's voice was impassioned.

"In the process of excavating the Great Sun Sword Pavilion ruins, Professor Zhang Zhang Junsheng rescued many techniques on the verge of being lost, greatly strengthening the Immortal Gate's Immortal Dao foundation, even facilitating the birth of domain-level achievements, saving millions of Immortal Gate soldiers, and making an undeniable contribution to the expansion of the Immortal Gate's Shi San Xiao Gao Jie."

"Furthermore, Professor Zhang's publication in the 'Cultivator' newspaper..."

The host listed the award recipient's various contributions in detail.

In the broadcast, Zhang Zhang Junsheng's expression was calm and indifferent; he strolled onto the stage, stood before the Immortal Gate Ruler Yuan, and bowed respectfully.

"Look, this is what our mentor is like."

Jiang Ding exclaimed: "Not rejoicing at external gains, not grieving at personal losses; he has reached the realm of ancient sages."

"Too modest, too modest."

"It's all trivial matters. You young people just need to learn more and temper yourselves more, and you can reach my level."

Zhang Zhang Junsheng spoke with restrained dignity over the phone.

"To honor Professor Zhang Zhang Junsheng's contributions, the Immortal Sect has conferred upon Professor Zhang the title of Chengyang Master Dinghai Zhenjun of the Immortal Sect!"

"Chengyang Master Dinghai Zhenjun, congratulations to you."

The Immortal Sect's ruler, Yuan, hung the Infant Treasure medal around Zhang Zhang Junsheng's neck and said, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Senior Yuan..."

Zhang Zhang Junsheng could no longer maintain his expression; tears dripped down, he sobbed without words, and covered his eyes with his hand.

He was even worse off than Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun of Qingfeng Beidou University!

At least Ci Yuan Master Dinghai Zhenjun was a professor in the popular field of Divine Sense Communication, with top-tier treatment in every aspect.

His own emergency excavation of the Great Sun Ruins was the most obscure of obscure fields; treatment in every aspect was so low it was infuriating, and opportunities for Soul Transformation were practically non-existent.

He was also not very skilled at fighting on the battlefield, far inferior to his dormitory brother, Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun.

Whenever night fell and all was silent, he would think of his death in twelve hundred years, with no hope of reaching Soul Transformation for all eternity, and weep in secret.

"Congratulations,"

"Congratulations, Chengyang Master Dinghai Zhenjun!"

Jiang Ding bowed solemnly and with utmost reverence to the elder on the other end of the phone.

"May you, Chengyang Master Dinghai Zhenjun, one day in the future, break through to Soul Transformation, step into Void Refinement, and glimpse the True Immortal Dao!"

"May your name be renowned throughout the eternal ages of the Immortal Sect!"

The name Chengyang is truly deserved!

Without the "Great Sun Seed Sword Sword-Refining Method," without the "Great Sun Golden Core Secret Art," without year after year, day after day of excavating and translating the legacy of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion...

Without these, how could there be today's Immortal Sect Sword Dao?

(End of this chapter)