Chapter 285: Meaning You Want to Fight?

In the end, aside from the mission rewards and the healing pills that Tang Luo ate up entirely.

Tang Luo and the others obtained some cultivation methods from the Joyous Monastery side, as well as a few magic treasures that were not equipment.

This made Kong Ming quite regretful; if they were equipment, their value to their God-Demon Walk would be entirely different.

But they were merely magic treasures, so their value dropped greatly; everyone could use them, but the power exerted was only about eighty percent of what a cultivator could bring forth.

After all, they were not proper cultivators in the true sense, and had not genuinely cultivated true elemental power.

Activating magic treasures consumed their own strength — physical stamina, qi and blood, internal force, and the like.

In terms of extra gains, it could not be counted as any great surprise.

But overall, they had completed a branch mission that should count as fairly important within the main mission, taking another step toward completing the whole mission.

When Tang Luo received the mission, Kong Ming also received a mission.

But his mission was not simply to weaken the Joyous Monastery; weakening was secondary, maintaining stability was primary — it was a stability-maintenance mission linked to Tang Luo's mission.

Right now it is still at the edge of completion, probing wildly.

Three days have passed since the Joyous Monastery's destruction.

In these three days, the visible surface change is that Great You directly labeled the Joyous Monastery a heretical cult, utterly ruthlessly.

Former supporters of the Joyous Monastery — those to be investigated were investigated, those to be dismissed were dismissed, those to be imprisoned were imprisoned, and one or two were beheaded after the autumn assizes.

They were all idle, rice-bowl-warming officials, even tyrants who preyed on the common people — after all, such people got along with the Joyous Monastery.

Upright, righteous court officials also looked down on the Joyous Monastery.

With the Joyous Monastery not yet dead, the remaining hundred-plus inner and outer disciples all became wanted criminals of the Great You Dynasty.

Across the whole of Great You, wanted notices were issued, making them street rats that everyone shouted to beat — in the coming period of time, one must know, dissemination also takes time.

Coupled with the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate joining the pursuit wholeheartedly, the Joyous Monastery's remnants basically had no possibility of stirring up any waves.

And the vast wealth the Joyous Monastery had plundered over the years did not produce a "Joyous falls, Emperor eats his fill" situation.

This money did not enter the inner treasury, but went into the state treasury, earmarked for disaster relief (demon calamities, etc.), bridge and road repairs, and all kinds of infrastructure, to be used for strengthening the whole of Great You.

Jointly supervised by several veteran officials in the court who never fall from power.

These people were each old, crafty, and cunning; not corrupt officials, but more "sinister" than corrupt officials. They were also old in years, sought no profit, only pursued a name, hoping to leave a good reputation in the history books.

They dared to face the Emperor's glaring eyes and let out a long howl to the heavens: "Late Emperor, this old minister is incompetent..." and after howling would ram their heads against the coiled-dragon pillars in the Hall of Supreme Harmony (the morning court venue) to kill themselves.

The Emperor hated to see this old goods ram himself to death, yet had to hold him back: "Lord X, why go to such extremes? It is We who are at fault."

These people cannot guarantee that not a single fen will be diverted for other uses, but they are at least a strong guarantee.

There will not be a situation where layer upon layer of exploitation occurs — the top allocates a thousand taels, but in the end only a hundred taels are truly used for the intended purpose.

After the Joyous Monastery fell, it was a gluttonous feast of carving up the spoils.

However, those who could "eat" all ate with some trepidation.

The reason was none other than the person who brought down this colossus of the Joyous Monastery — Master Xuanzang.

"Here, the healing pills you wanted." Kong Ming handed several bottles of pills to Tang Luo, "The Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate can be said to have bled once this time."

According to Tang Luo's intention, the magic treasures obtained from inside the Joyous Monastery, as well as some secret manuals of techniques, were all exchanged with the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate for these pills.

And the value of the pills the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate gave exceeded the value of what Tang Luo and the others gave by more than half.

That is why Kong Ming said the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate had bled once.

"This bottle for you." Tang Luo gave Kong Ming one bottle; he only handled the salvation rites, while Kong Ming ran back and forth busy, so he deserved to get it.

Kong Ming did not stand on ceremony either, directly putting them away; many of these pills were "props" that could be freely brought in and out of mission worlds, genuine hard currency.

"Today the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate is probing again, and also the Right Minister is asking whether you are willing to serve as Left National Preceptor; what thoughts do you have?" Kong Ming said.

After single-handedly destroying the monastery, the Great You court and the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate are both waiting for Tang Luo's next move.

What will this unfathomable Master Xuanzang do next?

On the Great You court side, just as Kong Ming said, they absolutely will not take revenge on Tang Luo because of the Joyous Monastery's destruction; they will only try to win him over.

They hope Tang Luo will assume the post of Left National Preceptor of Great You.

The so-called Left National Preceptor is a National Preceptor whose status is even higher than that of the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate's sect master, Yu Xuanzi.

Similar to the Left and Right Ministers, in Great You, left is slightly higher than right.

Originally the National Preceptor naturally had no left-right distinction; the meaning of this move by the Great You court is also quite obvious — they want to continue suppressing the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate, forming a checks-and-balances situation.

It counts as a fairly basic maneuver.

Demons and monsters appear in the world; the Great You court and the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate cooperate closely to curb the occurrence and spread of demon calamities.

Later they let the Joyous Monastery grow, striving to press down the Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate.

When the Joyous Monastery showed signs of becoming too powerful to control, they wanted to press down the Joyous Monastery again.

Now the Joyous Monastery is destroyed, the Great You court naturally pins its hopes on Tang Luo.

No matter how you put it, that Master Xuanzang is a true "person beyond the world", with no heart for proselytizing or preaching; who knows, one day he might suddenly return to seclusion.

He is absolutely a good choice; moreover, with the other party's strength, even if Great You is unwilling, if he wants the position, Great You has no choice but to agree.

Unless they have the courage to wage a tragic "one man against a nation" war, it is better to be straightforward and invite Master Xuanzang to take the post.

The "art" of checks and balances and compromise is fully displayed at this moment.

However Tang Luo shows little interest, making the Great You court side somewhat panicked — don't even want the Left National Preceptor? What do you want?

The Dragon Abyss Daoist Gate side is in much the same situation, wanting to figure out Tang Luo's thoughts.

Just as Yu Xuanzi's puzzlement: Tang Luo established earth-shaking merit in the Northern Plains, which is fully enough to enter the Great You core, obtain high position, and gain mysterious qi to assist cultivation.

If one says that at first keeping it secret was to lure the snake out of its hole and destroy the Joyous Monastery.

Now one should also acknowledge that it is time to harvest the fruit, right?

Why still "hold troops unmoving"?

You acting like this makes us very panicked; are you enemy or friend, at least express an attitude.

In truth, special Xuan Qi assistance was of no real use to Tang Luo.

In his eyes, what was the Left State Preceptor compared to merit?

Tang Luo had no intention of staying in the capital to engage in intrigue and suppress the Longya Dao Gate.

That sort of thing didn't suit him; he preferred and excelled at charging straight through until it was you die or I live.

These past few days he had been planning a route for the salvation journey that was both good and fast, based on the relevant information Kong Ming had gathered.

Once the planning was complete, he could leave the capital and begin the salvation journey; a Yuyi Tiqi identity token granting discretionary authority would be enough.

"Nothing much. I'm starting the salvation journey in a couple of days. By the way, does the Longya Dao Gate have any intractable demons and monsters? I'll make a trip and can help others for joy." Facing Kong Ming's question, Tang Luo said, and at the thought of the "greater utility" the Longya Dao Gate could serve, he was eager to head for Chengtian Pavilion.

"What about the Left State Preceptor?" Kong Ming stopped Tang Luo. Does initiative have to be this strong?

"Why don't you take the post?" Tang Luo said. He had no interest, but the position came with plenty of benefits.

Kong Ming's eyes narrowed slightly; it seemed like a not bad choice as well.

Just like the Longya Dao Gate's sect master and the State Preceptor — their personal strength wasn't the strongest; the powerful force behind them was the Longya Dao Gate.

Kong Ming could also serve as Tang Luo's representative, hold high office legitimately, and it would definitely help everyone's future actions.

"A good choice." The two hit it off immediately, and Kong Ming readily nodded in agreement. "Come, follow me."

"Where to?" Tang Luo asked.

"To have an audience with the Emperor." Kong Ming said.

The "audience with the Emperor" went smoothly. The Emperor, with true dragon Xuan Qi swirling around him, slightly sunken eye sockets, and looking somewhat fatigued, along with the attending high ministers, all treated Tang Luo and Kong Ming with great courtesy.

The two sides held an important meeting in the Imperial Study.

The Dayou Emperor pointed out the need to strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two sides and enhance friendship.

Master Xuanzang expressed high affirmation of Dayou's various new measures to strengthen national power, deeming him to possess the bearing of a wise ruler.

The two sides exchanged views on the current new landscape of Dayou and the matter of Kong Ming assuming the post of Left State Preceptor, and reached a consensus.

All unanimously agreed that upholding the spirit of friendly cooperation to achieve Dayou's long-term stability and healthy, sustainable development was the shared responsibility of both parties.

After the meeting, amid warm farewell applause, Master Xuanzang and his delegation left the palace and did not dine in the dining hall.

Because the two-person delegation still had to pay a friendly visit to the Longya Dao Gate.

"Didn't expect you know this routine too." On the way to Chengtian Pavilion, Kong Ming walked beside Tang Luo and said.

"I used to be a master actor." Tang Luo said. "Haven't you been told?"

"No." Kong Ming said.

"Now you know." Tang Luo said.

"Then I'm not going to Chengtian Pavilion." Kong Ming seized the chance to shirk the burden, and as he said this, he felt a refreshing pleasure throughout his body.

The feeling of slacking off is great!

"Mm." Tang Luo said. "Then help me replan the route map. Once I get the relevant intelligence on 'difficult and complicated demons and monsters' from the Longya Dao Gate, you add it in."

"Okay."

Kong Ming instinctively nodded in agreement, then suddenly realized something was wrong!

What's going on? He clearly wanted to go back and slack off for a rest, so why did he just add another burden onto himself?

Could it really be the influence of his fate format?

But his fate format, while it was Zhuge Kongming, wasn't the Chancellor from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* who worked himself to death; it leaned more toward and was closer to the Zhuge Liang from the *Three Kingdoms* arcade game.

However, he forgot that arcade games can't be paused — you have to play from start to finish.

Destined for a life of toil.

Chengtian Pavilion.

"It's you!" A man who looked like he'd been seen somewhere before, fairly young, looked at Tang Luo with a rather complex expression.

"It is this poor monk." Tang Luo admitted it first, then looked at Yu Xuanzi and asked, "This one is…"

"You don't recognize me?" Yu Xuanzi was about to introduce him when the man's face fell and he asked.

"This poor monk knows the Daoist is a disciple of the Wuyi School." Tang Luo said. "But exactly which one, I'm not clear on."

Without a doubt, this person was definitely a former disciple of the Wuyi School.

"This poor Daoist is Haotian." The Haotian Supreme Elder, who had already emerged from seclusion, said. This time you should remember.

The one who instigated several disciples to go test you back then was me — of course, that can't be said out loud.

"Oh." Tang Luo nodded, the pleasantries done, time for serious business. "State Preceptor, in all these years the Longya Dao Gate has been in Dayou, have you encountered any powerful, hard-to-deal-with demons and monsters? Why not hand them over to this poor monk?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Ignored once again, Haotian was furious. With such an attitude of looking down on everyone, this monk means to fight?