Chapter 278

Fengxi - Wind Dawn

Even if he acts with utmost caution, the outcome is the same.

Saint - Sage

Since he has already been granted the authority to carry out punishments, let him not have the opportunity to participate in formulating the penal code.

The position of the Heavenly Dao Saint, involved in teaching and guiding universal values… If Minghe were to sit in that seat, merely stirring things up a bit, would it entail selfish motives, going overboard?

the Wu Clan - the Shaman Clan

Thus it was predetermined early on that he would encounter numerous obstacles in the Saint's election, making it hard to win people's hearts.

the Heavenly Dao - the Heavenly Way

Throughout the debate, his enthusiasm was never particularly high, lacking the aura of being determined to win.

Purple Azure Palace - Purple Azure Palace

Great Luo - Great Luo

Great Luo Heavenly Will - Great Luo Heavenly Will

Fengxi speculated freely on one hand, while still calmly directing on the other—

Who needs to step forward now to question and inquire about the viewpoints and campaign platforms put forward by several of those ten Saint candidates?

Called an inquiry, it's actually just nitpicking.

Even a morally flawless sage, when viewed through tinted lenses and subjected to malicious speculation, can hardly remain perfect—let alone in this Honghuang realm where black and white blur and gray runs rampant; which great divine being could truly be pure as snow? Such a one would have long been sabotaged and slain by ruthless, black‑hearted rivals.

Such tactics merely heap trouble on the candidates, though they cannot interfere with the clear‑minded Great Luo Heavenly Will's decision.

However, in the Purple Azure there is also a very special existence—the diffuse human consciousness—which can to some extent influence and cause corresponding upward/downward fluctuations in the final vote result.

After all, a Saint's duty is to educate and transform humanity—giving them remedial classes, so we must take their views into account.

Meanwhile, this inquiry process is also meant to wildly throw smoke bombs.

To confuse and deceive the Demon Race's high command as much as possible, making them misunderstand which Wu Clan focus will be pursued next—who to back as a Saint, to forge an alliance, and to boost our odds in the coming great war.

Gripping the assorted cards prepared by Nüwa, Fengxi carefully adjusted, matched and combined them to convey his orders.

The past and history—this moment they have been altered again!

Wu Clan powerhouses, their innumerable incarnations acting, active in ages past, inadvertently scattering bits of minor gossip, secretly tweaking trivial details, odds and ends.

— The great trend remains unchanged; minor aspects can be altered.

Administrators and permission dogs alike now begin their operations, striving to shine and give off heat.

The emergence of the Heavenly Dao Saint cannot be shaken—for it aligns with the collective will, it is the heavenly mandate's great trend forged from the three thousand Great Luo.

But when it comes to deciding who will occupy the Saint position, disputes arise—compared to the great trend, this is a minor matter, leaving room for maneuver.

The Great Luo Heavenly Will refuses to stay idle; they command the authority over time and space—how could they restrain themselves from showing off here and achieving their aims?

Finally.

When the debate among the Saint candidates ended, Patriarch Hongjun announced—"Formal voting begins"—at that moment.

Only then did those countless little maneuvers barely grind to a halt.

The mist shrouding the upper reaches of the River of Time dissipated.

Yet the downstream consequently became hazy.

One top powerhouse after another seated in the front row wore a strange, inexplicable smile, as if awaiting something.

……

"Saint candidates, the debate on the Dao is concluded."

The Patriarch said indifferently, "Now, move on to the next segment."

"Please, all participating Heavenly Wills, cast the votes in your hands, support the Saint candidate whose ideas you endorse, and decide the final destination of the Heavenly Dao Saint seat."

"I hereby solemnly declare—my vote‑counting work this time will certainly follow the principles of fairness and justice, with no concealment or misreporting."

Hongjun faithfully played the role of a mere tool, drawing back the final curtain on this Saint‑seat contest.

In the Purple Azure Palace, first there was an eerily extreme stillness.

Then came a tumultuous surge of divine awareness.

Thousands upon thousands of seats filled, each participant eagerly taking part in this event and treating their vote with utmost seriousness.

Although this is an anonymous ballot, and many Great Luo must follow the arrangements of their behind‑the‑scenes organizations, this does not prevent everyone from making small moves, striving to extract the utmost value from the vote in hand.

For example, while voting, one secretly chats with the Saint candidate being voted for, saying—"Brother, I've cast my vote for you; after you become a Saint, remember this favor and look out for me a bit!"

Etc.

This purpose is not so simple.

They actually turned what should have been a solemn, serious, fair election into an atmosphere of back‑room manipulation and vote‑stuffing, shearing the future Saints of their wool so they'd remember this favor.

Of course those Saint candidates are also adept at playing god, secretly sending a voice back, indicating they've remembered this favor… waiting till I make it big, today's drop‑of‑water kindness will be repaid by a spring‑like bounty.

Everyone mutually benefits, forever good friends!

"Tsk…… this feels quite comfortable."

Fengxi made a round in the voting segment, reaping a bounty of friendship, his mood relaxed and happy.

Although he only had his own vote.

But does this hinder him from receiving promises of return from seven or eight Saint candidates?

No, not at all.

As long as one slightly employs such a little trick… then anyone can reap the same harvest as him.

After all, the vote is anonymous.

Tallying the votes, that too is only displayed and compiled at the end.

So Fengxi, gripping his own vote, went around to several Saint candidates, meanwhile pretending to vote while saying things that would only be appropriate after the actual vote.

Thus, one gains abundant affection.

However, such conduct carries great risk; once exposed… Fengxi's situation will be even worse.

But who let him have premeditated plans?

At the previous Wu Clan internal meeting, in the voting segment's attempt to control votes, Fengxi temporarily opened an anonymous trumpet, in which he expounded his views—to better produce smoke bombs, to confuse the Demon Race's opponents about the Wu Clan's true target.

Each voting member can consider loitering before several Saint candidates, making an appearance of intending to vote, to mislead the Demon Race's opponents.

Fengxi gave his approval.

Then he mixed in with this troupe of drama queens, donning that guise, to seek his own benefit.

Just as Fengxi was alone enjoying this happiness.

Someone patted his shoulder, giving a weird 'hehe' laugh; from the sound you could tell it wasn't a good person.

Fengxi turned his head and looked—

Oh.

It's an acquaintance.

"Hougang, I'm not saying this about you…… you're so sudden, it's easy to scare people."

Fengxi looked at this old friend who had worked together at Kunlun, who, whether in a hurry or not, had attained Daluo before the second Zixiao Palace conference began, honorably becoming one of the administrators of the great Honghuang.

At this moment, he appeared ghostlike beside him, with a startling implication.

As for this, Hougang had no apology at all, merely using a strange gaze to size up Fengxi up and down; after a while he softly said: "I'm just scaring you, I won't take your life… but what about your approach?"

"I think you're easily knocked over by a black brick at any moment."

"What are you saying? I don't understand." Fengxi's face bore a big question mark, blinking his eyes: "Look at my sincere eyes… can you answer my confusion?"

Hougang's gaze was contemptuous: "Just keep pretending."

"No matter how you pretend, you can't hide it from someone as resourceful as me… I can see through your reality and falsehood at a glance, comprehend your schemes, know all the ins and outs here…"

"Oh." Fengxi drew out his voice, then shifted tone: "Well, you know what's going on, so you're not being completely honest… tsk, I recall earlier, someone seemed to have done something similar to me? Even showing up in front of the ten candidates and pausing for a while?"

Speaking, Fengxi's gaze was strange: "Really, between us, you're the boldest… you dare laugh at my fifty steps while you're a hundred steps?"

He said painfully: "Brother, this truly isn't something to be proud of; you can't criticize others from a moral high ground!"

Hougang smiled slightly: "That's not the same…"

"I'm going to contact them; do you think I'm using fake tickets to get something for nothing, deceiving them of their return promises?"

"Wrong… totally wrong!" Hougang said solemnly: "That was a benevolent lie, to give spiritual encouragement to those Dao friends with pitifully few votes, letting them know someone still supports them, rather than being neglected pitiful people."

"Let him fill his spirit with courage, so he can still hope for tomorrow and the future."

"Nothing is greater than goodness!"

At this moment, Hougang's visage seemed to be filled with the two characters 'sacred'; that helpful, noble virtue radiated substantive light.

There really is light!

Fengxi gazed at the mini sun appearing behind Hougang, strenuously trying to bring his drooping jaw back, showing an expression of admiring defeat, shaking his head repeatedly: "I lost… in the race of life's lower limits, I cannot catch up to you."

"You're welcome, you're welcome!"

Hougang feigned humility in response.

But before they could continue disparaging each other on this matter much longer…

Then someone interjected, tone full of playfulness and mockery: "Heh… you think quite well."

"But look at those ten Saint candidates, each with stiff faces… what does that indicate?"

"You've been caught, brother!"

This is the painter.

Back then on Kunlun Mountain, he was the last of the Wu Clan's top three talents.

Now he is reminding, guiding Fengxi and Hougang to look back.

Just as he said.

Those Saint candidates, with smiling faces toward every enthusiastic Daluo supporter, were perfectly courteous… yet, through some details and micro-expressions, Fengxi and Hougang could somewhat understand their inner thoughts.

On the face they grin, but inside… they feel numb.

"Shouldn't it be?"

Fengxi rubbed his head.

In his big eyes lay full confusion.

"Because you guys have too many of this kind of 'talent'." The painter said in a gloomy tone: "I estimate there are about a thousand people who do the same as you."

"Over a thousand!" The painter sighed: "If it were just making fake moves, that would be fine."

"But if everyone is sly and plays this verbal trickery… it's hard not to be exposed!"

"Some top experts and Saint candidates know their own situation all too well in their hearts."

"Before, Daluo cultivators had little to do with this, but now they openly come to vote support—dozens, hundreds, even thousands?"

"As long as you're not stupid, everyone knows there's something wrong." The painter said this, paused, then asked: "Who started it?"

Fengxi straightened his back, but his head shook like a rattle drum: "Not clear… I only know it's someone who concealed his true identity, bearing the title 'Dragon King', bubbling up in the encrypted decision circle, the first to propose the smoke bomb plan."

"But this is merely creating a smokescreen… who exactly first broke the rules, giving rise to the notion of chaotic meddling? How can we investigate that?"

Fengxi muttered: "However, I suspect this might come from the Demon Race side."

"There are also smart people there; upon seeing our situation, they'd instantly guess what's going on."

"Then they imitated it, gourd‑painting style, also set off smoke bombs; moreover, they maliciously disrupted, taking the lead in messing up the market!"

"That seems unlikely?" Hougang listened, his gaze wandering: "Would the Demon Race side react that quickly?"

"That's hard to say!" Fengxi became energized, speaking with conviction: "The Elder Houtu instructed, saying the Demon Race now is not what it once was… after all, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun governs in tranquility, jointly ruling the world with the Demon Race's mighty ones, greatly stimulating their vigor."

"So, many oddities, tossed about from their side, are completely reasonable!"

Fengxi spoke with growing fervor, until even he himself doubted—this must be the truth!

After all, it's a problem of the group's character setting.

The Wu Clan's style… the image they promoted in the past was all straightforward.

Ultimately, the leader—Houtu (Nüwa)—though scheming, is not deep; walking the magnificent righteous path, she deeply influences the entire group.

Although the Wu Clan's field occasionally sprouts a few crooked seedlings—like Fengxi and Hougang.

But from an overall viewpoint, compared to the Demon Race, the Wu Clan is pure goodness itself.

"We've made a start."

Fengxi wore a solemn expression: "The Demon Race is expanding deeply……exactly, that's it!"

"When I get back I'll write an article and submit it to Lord Houtu, exposing this shady secret that cannot see the light!"

"Right, Hougang."

He looked at his close friend.

"By then, you can also share your thoughts—I'll put them into the article."

Hougang wanted to speak but held back, then wanted to speak again.

In the end he said nothing, merely sighing and rolling his eyes.

……

In a ridiculous farce, the voting stage of the Heavenly Dao Saint election drew to a close.

One by one, the Great Luo Heavenly Wills stationed in the Purple Cloud Palace cast their "precious" vote.

At that moment, the Dao Ancestor, who had silently upheld the rules, finally rose again and spoke solemnly.

"Now I announce: we will open the box to verify the votes, rank them, and decide who gets the Saint's position……"

(End of chapter)