Chapter 129: Trial Screening

When Han Qi uttered the words "Zheng Shidi," the tall, thin man beside him tensed slightly.

Not just him—even several senior brothers nearby who had overheard their chatter also grew strangely reverent.

Lately, a rumor had been quietly circulating throughout the marketplace:

Zheng Fa, Zheng Shidi, had become the sect leader's disciple.

This rumor had first emerged from the faction of True Person Pang.

Originally, few in the marketplace believed it.

What kind of good people could come from True Person Pang's line?

Always spreading false rumors!

Yet neither Zhang Shijie nor Zheng Fa had appeared to deny it.

True Person Pang's disciples themselves described it in vivid detail—most importantly, they claimed their own master had been humiliated, failing to take Zheng Fa as a disciple.

That raised the credibility significantly!

The rumor grew louder and louder, nearly becoming an unspoken truth among everyone.

As a result, Han Qi and his two companions now found themselves in a delicate position—throughout the entire marketplace, only they three were truly Zheng Fa's people.

Others had once followed Zheng Fa's orders, but only because Zhang Shijie had entrusted him with important tasks.

Watching the surrounding senior brothers' glances—partly envious, partly distant—Han Qi couldn't find words to describe his own feelings:

Who could have imagined that just recently he'd been thinking about when this marketplace would become Zheng's?

Who could have thought that now, Jiushan Sect was almost becoming Zheng's!

You say I just wanted to follow Zheng Shidi and make some money.

How did I end up as a future sect leader's confidant?

Seeing the senior brothers around them subtly watching the three of them, Han Qi pressed his lips together and led his two followers out of the crowd.

"Senior Brother, why do I feel these senior brothers aren't as warm as before?"

The tall, thin man asked softly.

"Because Zheng Shidi has become the sect leader's disciple," Han Qi replied quietly. "But Zhang Shijie… she was long considered the undisputed next sect leader of Jiushan Sect."

"... Will Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie split?"

"... Hard to say, but this is the sect leader position—brothers turning against each other is common," Han Qi sighed softly. "Those senior brothers are probably just watching the situation."

"... Then they should've figured it out by now."

"Figured out what?"

"Look!"

The tall, thin man pointed toward the distance.

Zheng Fa was walking toward the new building.

On his left was Zhang Shijie, the Baixian Alliance's prodigy, smiling as she chatted back and forth with Zheng Fa.

On his right was Zhou Qianyuan, True Person Pang's famed disciple, watching them intently, as if afraid to miss a single word they spoke.

"Isn't the situation obvious?"

"..."

Amid a mix of overt and covert observation, Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie entered the new theater.

"So your idea is, for this trial screening, we don't charge any spirit stones, but we collect feedback from Jiushan Sect disciples?"

Zhang Shijie said as they walked.

"It's our first play," Zheng Fa explained. "Their acceptance might still be low—better to make it free."

Zhang Shijie nodded, offering no objection.

Inside the new theater, the sect leader stood pacing, inspecting the space.

He seemed to be evaluating how well the Lüzhong Tian Di technique would work here.

"Master." Zheng Fa hurried to bow to his own master—he hadn't expected the old man to bother coming out in person.

Clearly, this trial screening of "Saving Saving Saving Xiao Xiu Pang Qian" meant a great deal to him.

The sect leader nodded to the three of them and asked, "What were you discussing?"

"Zheng Shidi suggested that for this first trial screening—since it's for Jiushan Sect disciples—we don't charge spirit stones, and we should collect the disciples' post-viewing impressions."

"Collect impressions?"

"Mainly to see what criticisms the disciples have."

"Hmm… yes, we should remember those foolish disciples," the sect leader nodded, as if he understood.

Wait, are you planning to jot this down in a little notebook?

"... We're using those opinions to revise our play," Zheng Fa explained after a pause. "After all, theater is a new thing, and it must face the public—we must observe audience reactions and make gradual adjustments."

In the modern world, this was hard to do—a film's production cost was already high.

To make changes meant additional funding and actor scheduling.

That was even harder.

But in the Xuanwei Realm, you could change it however you wanted!

This old man before him could, with a single thought, alter not just faces, but even heaven and earth.

Zheng Fa valued these disciples' opinions for the same reason—he was from two different worlds.

In the modern world, even two nations had different popular cultures.

At least for the first few plays, Zheng Fa still wanted to gauge this world's audience's aesthetic and acceptance.

The next evening, the first trial screening of "Saving Saving Saving Xiao Xiu Pang Qian" began.

To the slight disappointment of Zheng Fa and the others, the theater was not crowded tonight.

Of the ten thousand-plus seats, sparsely scattered, fewer than a thousand were occupied.

"Many disciples heard attendance was not mandatory and preferred to return home to cultivate." Yuan Shijie, standing nearby, seemed to read his expression and whispered comfortingly, "Most disciples of the Jiushan Sect do not much enjoy amusement."

Zheng Fa nodded.

Many disciples of the Jiushan Sect, whose lives were not particularly affluent, were like this.

They were busy with their livelihoods during the day, only able to spare time for cultivation at night—though a night's cultivation might not greatly aid their cultivation level.

But this matter was like sitting in a classroom.

You also know that reading and practicing problems isn't of much use.

But when you see your desk mate reading during breaks—you can't help but pick up a book to pretend.

This might do a disservice to your brain, but it satisfies your conscience.

Nearby, Zhou Qianyuan held back his words for a moment before speaking: "Also, it seems our Sect Master has forbidden senior brothers of our lineage from watching this..."

As he spoke of this, Zhou Qianyuan's face showed some confusion, and he added, "Actually, many of my senior brothers wanted to come, but... Sect Master's expression was truly very unpleasant."

"..."

This matter was one hundred percent the fault of the Sect Master!

The expressions of Zhang Shijie and the other nearby were also strange.

They seemed to have also thought of why Elder Pang had acted this way.

"Senior Zheng Shidi, do you know why my Sect Master is so angry?" Seeming to read the expressions of the three, Zhou Qianyuan pressed further.

"Junior Brother Zhou, knowing too much is not good for you." Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Then do you want to return first?"

Zhou Qianyuan nodded and said regretfully, "I cannot not return; Sect Master specifically instructed me to go to him today for teaching, and I absolutely must not break the appointment—I originally thought I would sneak a peek."

Watching Zhou Qianyuan's departing figure, a puzzled voice suddenly came from beside Zheng Fa: "Why did he leave?"

Looking at the Sect Master beside him, whose face showed confusion, Zheng Fa said nothing, staring directly at the old man.

"Why are you looking at me?" the Sect Master frowned, asking, "Could it be that because I arrived, he was scared away by me?"

As the time for the screening arrived, the Sect Master waved his wide sleeve.

Zheng Fa could see ten spiritual talismans flying out from the Sect Master's sleeve.

In an instant, the vast theater seemed to change into another world.

The sounds of talisman explosions, cultivators' roars, and screams rang in the ears of everyone in the theater.

For a moment, the many audience members who had never seen this kind of play were in disarray, and some even pulled out spiritual talismans, intending to throw them outward.

"It is all an illusionary realm; there is no need to panic."

Zhang Shijie's cold voice echoed throughout the entire theater; she had long held authority within the sect.

Those panicked disciples then calmly returned to their seats.

Zheng Fa also immersed himself in the plot.

He had watched this play three times already.

First, the Sect Master's original version.

Then, the version he had modified based on his memory.

Later, when he went to the modern era, he watched the original film again.

Upon returning, he integrated the Sect Master's ideas and modified it into another version.

Comparing the two versions side by side, he admitted that perhaps the original film's narrative technique was slightly more mature.

But he still felt the Sect Master's version was better—

The Sect Master's Art of the World Within the Hut even possessed effects beyond mere holographic projection.

Within the illusionary realm, Zheng Fa could not only perceive the characters and environment of the play through hearing and sight.

He could smell the bloodiness of the battlefield at his nose.

He could feel the sticky blood dripping from his companion beside him with his fingers—especially after understanding the concept of perspective, the Sect Master seemed to have mastered everything through one principle, deliberately crafting this illusionary realm with greater immersion.

This sense of being present was far beyond what modern film technology could achieve.

Adding the two viewings of the original film he had seen.

Zheng Fa had now watched this story five times.

Yet he remained engrossed in this screening until the story's end.

The illusionary realm gradually vanished.

Yet within the theater, there was absolute silence.

No one spoke.

Zheng Fa raised his eyes to look at the audience in the hall; they sat in their seats, seemingly still immersed in the screening, their gazes vacant, their expressions lost, some with eyes still slightly moist.

Zheng Fa gave Zhang Shijie a glance, and Zhang Shijie spoke:

"The play has ended; please everyone to exit."

"If anyone has ideas or opinions for improvement, you may collect a questionnaire at the entrance and write your opinions on the questionnaire."

Glancing at the Sect Master, she added, "Anonymous! And not mandatory!"

Hearing that she was speaking, the disciples present all obediently stood up and walked out in groups of three or five.

To the surprise of Zheng Fa and the others, almost every disciple collected a questionnaire upon exiting the door, and each picked up a pen nearby to write their opinions on the questionnaire.

In front of the table distributing the questionnaires, a long line had even formed.

This scene surpassed the previous expectations of Zheng Fa and the others.

"So many opinions?"

Sister Yuan blinked her eyes, dazedly saying, "I think it looks quite good!"

By the time the audience had all left, the feedback forms on that table had already piled up beyond capacity.

Sister Zhang waved her hand, and those papers bearing opinions flew toward the group one by one, arranging themselves neatly before everyone.

Sister Yuan, whose temper was the most impatient, picked up a sheet first, glanced at it, then grabbed another from beneath to read.

Her expression seemed to freeze for a moment; her hand simply started rummaging through the papers, scanning the opinions on them at great speed.

When she raised her head, she found the others all watching her actions.

"No need to look."

"What's wrong?"

"They have only one opinion—it's too short!"