Chapter 280

Considering human opinions, they added weight based on the vote count, yet the result was unexpected to many Great Luo.

The Kunpeng suffered a blood collapse, because earlier Yuanshi Tianzun's words seemed to have truly influenced the collective human consciousness, subconsciously deeming the game harmful, and thus not very useful in fundamentally enhancing the development potential of humanity and all beings.

So his ranking plummeted, falling directly from fifth place down to seventh.

Meanwhile, the originally seventh Zhunti and sixth Hongyun respectively gained different boosts due to their achievements in the field of teaching and the convenience brought by cloud cultivation.

Just that alone would be fine.

It is interesting.

The boost Zhunti received was relatively greater, allowing him to close the gap with Hongyun.

Finally…… they ended up tied!

What a coincidence!

Three thousand Great Luo, the will of humanity…… With so many complex factors overlapping, the final result turned out like this……

It's simply outrageous.

At this moment, many Great Luo's heavenly intentions wore strange expressions, occasionally whispering to each other, sending voice transmissions nonstop.

They were waiting to watch the show.

Nüwa-led great powers even more so mocked, gazing at Hongjun on the Dao stage, wondering how he would wrap things up?

The rules were established by the Dao Ancestor.

Now a problem has arisen…… after-sales service, naturally we must also seek Hongjun to handle it.

If it is not handled well?

Then everyone would have cause to make a fuss, heavily striking the dignity of the Heavenly Dao.

Hongjun furrowed his brows slightly, scanning the many superficially solemn Great Luo Sovereigns below the stage, fully aware of his own situation in his heart.

But soon, his furrowed brows relaxed, and a light smile appeared on his face.

"I never expected that such an amusing incident would occur at this the Zixiao Palace meeting."

"At the same time, two fellow Daoists have reached the final evaluation standard for the Saint position…… but only one Saint position remains."

Hongjun swept his whisk and said, "What should we do?"

He asked the Great Luo in the the Zixiao Palace.

"We are foolish and shallow, unable to resolve this dispute!"

The myriad gods all said.

Their attitude was very uniform.

No one stood up to voice their own "special" opinion, supporting either Hongyun or Zhunti to become a Saint.

This is indeed very offensive.

It will inevitably lead to a deadly feud with the suppressed party, who will be constantly thought of day and night.

The Dao Ancestor narrowed his eyes, his gaze deep, and also paid no heed.

"Since none of you have a better method, let's listen to my two sentences."

Hongjun leisurely said: "It also happens…… the selection for the Heavenly Dao Saint position has taken into account the ideas of fellow Daoists and the inclination of humanity's will, already striving for fairness as much as possible, listening to differing opinions to the greatest extent."

"Yet after considering all aspects, we are stuck at the final step, neither up nor down."

"But it's still okay."

"I still serve as the spokesman for the Heavenly Dao, able to act as the final arbitrator——you should be able to trust me, after all I am to unite with the Heavenly Dao."

"With such impartial and noble conduct, carrying out arbitration and mediation…… who would dare to object?"

Uniting with the Heavenly Dao is a constraint and shackle upon Hongjun.

But at this moment, it is being used by Hongjun as a linguistic weapon to silence the gods.

The Great Luo divinities beneath the Dao stage glance at each other…… none can easily find words to rebut.

This feeling is quite troubling and worrisome.

Originally many had prepared to find fault, yet Hongjun first placed himself on the moral high ground, employing an invulnerability to all methods.

But this is both his aid and his restraint.

The justification for determining the Saint's affiliation must be basically reliable.

As for this, Hongjun naturally has a plan.

"Teaching is the eternal great plan."

"Precisely for this reason, in the tendency of the collective human consciousness, the bias toward fellow Daoist Zhunti is greater."

"Of course, what the fellow Daoists consider also makes sense——fellow Daoist Hongyun's cloud cultivation can promote the development of the era, and various turnovers can provide a good foundation for all kinds of eternal great plans."

"Each side has sufficient justification."

The Dao Ancestor evaluated it as such.

As for the pitiful Kunpeng…… it has now been ignored.

"However, faced with this complex situation, this humble Daoist ultimately decides to nominate……"

Hongjun paused, then under everyone's curious and attentive gaze, slowly spoke: "Zhunti!"

"For the Heavenly Dao Saint!"

Immediately, the the Zixiao Palace erupted in an uproar.

Even the amiably behaving Hongyun furrowed his brows.

Facing Hongjun's gaze, he gave a slight bow and then asked, "May I ask, Dao Ancestor, why is this?"

"On both sides of the balance, the overall human will and the many Great Luo, this humble Daoist needs to attend to human opinion—that is the first." Hongjun smiled, "As for the second…… it ultimately comes down to some historical lingering issues."

"After all, when the Buddhist sect first established its teachings, it issued a series of great vows."

Speaking of this, the Dao Ancestor seemed somewhat helpless.

Just having a great vow is nothing…… the key is the result it leads to—the Buddhist sect borrowed immeasurable amounts of qi and merit from the human realm, from endless future spacetime.

These qi and merit are investments and loans from the human realm to the Buddhist sect, meant to support the sect in fulfilling its great vow, so that all myriad beings may benefit.

And teaching itself is also one of the important means to realize that great vow.

So, Fellow Daoist Red Cloud… you understand? Hongjun retorted.

Red Cloud fell silent, completely speechless.

Many of the Great Luo present also had nothing to say at this moment.

This reason is too realistic, so realistic that one cannot refute it.

Tsk…… this is the Buddhist sect binding the human realm; to a certain extent, their fates are intertwined!

Fengxi sighed, and whispered to Hougang, 'By doing this, we have influenced the overall situation, even getting Hongjun to come down and show support for Zhunti's ascension to sainthood.'

That's normal. Hougang said calmly, "You owe the human realm 1,800,000 big heads; the human realm is your big boss; you owe the human realm 100,000,000 big heads? Although you can't become the human realm's big boss, you already have the qualifications to negotiate."

If you owe the human realm 108,000,000,000,000 big heads of qi and merit, yet still have repayment capacity in the evaluation and express willingness to repay…… the human realm will surely care for you with utmost attention, fearing any mishap, and will satisfy some of your reasonable requests.

Becoming a saint? What's that even worth?

This time Red Cloud will suffer a loss, and the loss lies in the fact that his binding with the human realm is not deep enough.

Hougang said, shaking his head, 'No… actually, he has long been aware of this problem.'

The various Yunbao activities in his cultivation are precisely the corresponding actions…… but the ambition revealed in this process is too obvious, alerting the utmost top experts.

The Demon Race side, which holds the orthodox authority of heaven and earth—the top experts of the Heavenly Court—are very wary of this.

Who let him have such a huge lever? A principal sum, amplified by the lever to hundreds or thousands of times, thus penetrating every aspect, constructing a virtual empire.

If he were to become fully established and bound together with the human realm…… it would truly be difficult to handle.

Come to think of it, the Buddhist sect's side is still more skilled. Hougang laughed, "Compared to Red Cloud's painstaking maneuvering, in the end he still hasn't succeeded."

They simply draw up pie-in-the-sky promises for the human realm out of thin air, using credit as collateral, bypassing countless blockades and suppressions, achieving everything in one step—others trying to obstruct them can't do it.

In a certain sense, the Buddhist sect's ability is somewhat stronger than Red Cloud's…… in the competition for sainthood, the strong rise, the weak fall, and there's nothing surprising about that.

Hougang said to Fengxi.

Fengxi nodded, 'The reasoning is sound…… but I feel there's actually a hidden agenda here.'

Hongjun's support for Zhunti's ascent is certainly not merely to help the human realm resolve historical leftover issues, prevent the Buddhist sect from collapsing, and make the human realm unable to recover its investment therein.

Hmm…… your suspicion is not without reason. Hougang pondered, "If Hongjun's motive isn't pure…… then likely some deal was reached behind the scenes."

What could the Buddhist sect trade with the Dao Ancestor…… what could they exchange?

Looking at their respective positions…… I was thinking, it should be a matter between the Heavenly Dao and the human realm, right? Fengxi pondered, "The Buddhist sect's meager assets could be worth the Dao Ancestor, who represents the Heavenly Dao, keeping in mind…… that is, their credit pressed upon the human realm, thereby gaining support? Besides qi and merit, what other invisible benefits and preferential treatments?"

Quite possible. Hougang deeply agreed.

Two Wise Men of the Wu Clan, exchanging words one after another, eagerly speculated whether there was any dirty, shady deal behind all this.

Not to mention them.

Even those topmost experts of divine abilities, at this moment their gazes between Hongjun and Jieyin Zhunti are not right, very intriguing.

But one cannot help but say.

The Dao Ancestor's reasoning is still hard to fault or question.

Regardless of whether there is a deal behind the scenes, what kind of deal…… but here, no one can refute this issue.

After all, it's not just about raising objections.

You object?

Sure.

But while you object, you also need to be able to solve the problem.

So, the Buddhist sect's loan in the human realm is a huge lingering issue…… do you want to help resolve it?

In the Purple Azure Palace, among the three thousand Great Luo, is there any capable person who can solve this problem?

Of course there is!

But…… why should we step forward prominently for the sainthood issue between Red Cloud and Zhunti?

Bring our own rations, help Red Cloud work?

With this ability and energy, isn't it better to pursue our own endeavors?

The achievements gained will certainly not be inferior to a mere Heavenly Dao saint…… being a friend of the Three Pure Ones, an old acquaintance of the Four Emperors, a senior of the Nine Luminaries, an honored guest of the Yuan Chen—none of that is particularly difficult.

At this moment, in this place.

Truly, the one who ought to have a headache over this issue is Red Cloud himself.

This topmost expert of divine abilities, brows furrowed tightly, seems to be immersed in difficult thought.

On the Dao platform, Dao Ancestor Hongjun gazing at Red Cloud, feels he too cannot be too unfeeling—others, after all, came in fifth place through fair competition; simply blaming the human realm, although realistic, is also too cold-hearted.

Thus, after consideration, the Dao Ancestor believed one should give people a bit of hope.

"Fellow Daoist Red Cloud," Hongjun smiled, "For the sake of the human realm, in this current sainthood election, I have no choice but to wrong you."

"But, as I speak for the Heavenly Dao…… I still must uphold fairness."

"Your defeat, Fellow Daoist, is truly regrettable. Therefore, I wish to give you an opportunity."

"Since you are tied for fifth place with Fellow Daoist Zhunti, considering the real situation and missing the sainthood by a narrow margin…… you will receive special treatment——"

"By registering your name under the Heavenly Dao here, all welfare benefits can refer to those of a regular saint…… of course, the most important allocation—the Primordial Purple Qi—you, Fellow Daoist, do not have."

"However……" the Dao Ancestor changed tone, "you have a chance to become regular."

"When you feel that, in the long Heavenly Dao educational work, you have obtained great improvement…… then you can submit an application to continue today's competition——with Fellow Daoist Zhunti."

"After passing the human realm's evaluation, if you triumph…… then you will replace Zhunti and take the throne of sainthood."

Saying this, Hongjun laughed, "I suppose you, Fellow Daoist, can also see my purpose…… I, too, do not wish to conceal it."

"It is merely to stimulate Fellow Daoist Zhunti, while in office, to work earnestly, promote teaching, greatly benefit the human realm, and fully realize the Buddhist sect's various great vows."

The Dao Ancestor was very frank, without much concealment.

"Hongyun Daoist, Zhunti Daoist…… Are you willing to accept my proposal?"

Hongjun inquired, "Under the witness of the collective will of humanity."

At this moment, Hongyun and Zhunti, two mighty beings, locked gazes, their expressions inscrutable.

Then Zhunti nodded first, earnestly saying, "I am willing to accept…… I have confidence in doing well the work of educating humanity, improving myself, not fearing competition."

"Victory would be an affirmation of my work; defeat would also bring no complaints, for replacing me with the more capable Daoist Hongyun would be beneficial for humanity."

Zhunti, full of righteousness, selfless and impartial.

How enlightened this is!

Hongyun heard this, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He wanted to speak but stopped, stopped then wanted again, appearing quite torn.

This "backup saint"…… Is he to take the role or not?

But after pondering for a long time, Hongyun ultimately nodded.

Having come all the way to the Zixiao Palace, we cannot return empty-handed.

Being a backup is being a backup, but at least there's still a chance to become official, right?

Look at that Kunpeng!

He doesn't even have a chance to become official!

At least he was the fifth‑ranked figure in the earlier vote of three thousand Great Luo supporters, yet what has he gained now?

Not a single hair.

This is not.

The Great Sage Kunpeng therefore protested, saying he was too unfortunate and also wished for such a "backup" treatment.

However, the Dao Ancestor paid him little heed.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Creation Jade Disc, radiating myriad mystic lights, appeared, magnificent and boundless.

He began the bestowal of the Primordial Purple Qi.

The splendid six‑fold purple light swirled within that jade disc.

At the Dao Ancestor's thought, they floated up in the the Zixiao Palace, flashing the most bewitching light.

"Please, six fellow Daoists, step forward."

The Dao Ancestor spoke solemnly.

Morality, Primordial, Numinous Treasure, Jieyin, Zhunti—the five great saint candidates walked forward with solemn expressions to receive their rightful fruits of victory.

As for Nüwa……

At this moment, she rolled her eyes, dragging her feet, unwilling to shackle herself.

Nevertheless, the situation is as it is, and she cannot change anything.

Finally, the Primordial Purple Qi fell upon the six individuals, linking with the Heavenly Dao and establishing the most sacred covenant——

The Heavenly Dao has saints; they educate the myriad beings!

(End of chapter)