Chapter 49: Grand Founding Ceremony

The grand ceremony was not held in the main hall; with too many guests, the original main hall of the Danxia Gang could not accommodate them, so it was held in the large square.

Shen Tang sat high in the main seat, with Lu Xingzhou seated beside her.

One glance nearly made the guests laugh to death; they spoke of a vibrant new generation, yet here were two people in wheelchairs, quite a match.

The first guest seat was occupied by the newly appointed city lord, Sheng Yuanyao; at least this made the guests mind their manners, hiding the mockery in their eyes and offering hollow congratulations before taking their seats.

Shen Tang seemed not to notice the guests' sarcasm, welcoming them and returning their greetings with an impeccable smile, while Lu Xingzhou was transmitting a curse to Sheng Yuanyao: "Did you tamper with my ranking?"

Sheng Yuanyao held A'nuo in one hand, rubbing her, without looking sideways: "The ranking was set by the General Office; what does it have to do with me, a county commander?"

Lu Xingzhou was momentarily dazed; he felt that in this world there should be no such thing as calling someone a "shameless woman," nor even a Women's Day; could it truly be a coincidence?

But seeing that dead girl holding back a look of absolute refusal to laugh, why did it feel so strange... Never mind; anyway, once today passed, the ranking would change.

No, it would take half a year to change...

Human statistics are inconvenient; why not have a real-time Heavenly Dao ranking board, flashing with golden light, how high the prestige.

Sheng Yuanyao was too lazy to care what he was thinking; she observed the Tianxing Sword Sect, feeling quite relaxed. Though the Tianxing Sword Sect was in ruins, withered and fallen compared to its peak, compared to Xiazhou it was still a dominating force.

The highest was Shen Tang's fourth grade. Additionally, there was the Head of the Sword Blade Hall, Jin Mingxiu, also a fourth-grade upper-level sword cultivator, very formidable—he was leading a group on a different mission outside when the disaster struck, avoiding total annihilation, and had only just returned to the sect with his troops the day before yesterday. His loyalty was questionable; Lu Xingzhou even suspected he might have known something at the time of the incident and deliberately stayed outside; this unproven suspicion would be set aside for now.

Tang Yunzhong and others were not originally true high-level elders; the high-level leadership was almost entirely wiped out. They were deputy or idle positions who had luckily survived in various halls, mostly fifth-grade cultivators or even only sixth-grade. Shortly after arriving in Xiazhou, Bai Mao had killed eight of them with a single sword strike, and now they were even more withered.

Two fourth grades, three fifth grades, seven sixth grades; these were all the middle three grades of combat power currently in the Tianxing Sword Sect. As for the factions in Xiazhou, the strongest were only fifth grade, and there were not many of them.

After all, it was just a county town with thin spiritual energy.

It seemed this grand ceremony would not cause any trouble.

But Sheng Yuanyao forgot that Xiazhou being weak did not mean the surrounding areas were weak; there were many spiritual mountains and beautiful landscapes nearby. Though there were no top-tier powerful sects, there were indeed quite a few third-grade and fourth-grade sects and gangs.

The famous alchemy sect, the Incense Burning Tower, was a third-grade sect; the number of fourth-grade experts within it was not less than the total number of middle three grades on Shen Tang's side. Moreover, the Incense Burning Tower produced many alchemists, spread across major gangs and factions in the prefectures and commanderies, with extensive connections.

"Bai Zhanglao of the Incense Burning Tower arrives~" The chanting of the guard disciples came from afar, and the large square, previously whispering, instantly grew several degrees quieter.

An old man with a white beard, accompanied by two guards, with Bai Chi following behind, the four slowly walked into the arena.

The white-bearded old man was Bai Jingtian, an elder of the Incense Burning Tower and Bai Chi's grandfather; his alchemy strength reached the fourth grade, making him a highly renowned alchemist. His cultivation was not well known to people, but everyone knew that alchemists' cultivation was built on pills, lacking practical combat ability, so he still carried two people for protection, both likely fourth-grade Dao cultivators.

Many people knew of the grudge between Shen Tang hiring Bai Chi and Bai Chi being poached before he even settled in Xiazhou; now it seemed the poaching behind the scenes might have been the Incense Burning Tower's scheme to devour the Danxia Gang's entire inheritance, only for the Danxia Gang to be intercepted by Shen Tang. The grudge between the Bai family of the Incense Burning Tower and Shen Tang and Lu Xingzhou was now laid bare; this congratulation would only carry malice.

Sheng Yuanyao's eyes rolled, looking back and forth between the two wheelchair-bound people in the main seat and the approaching Bai Chi.

"If this pair in wheelchairs can succeed, would the primary merit count as Bai Chi's?" Sheng Yuanyao quietly asked while pinching A'nuo.

"Yes." A'nuo rubbed her face resentfully; she didn't know when she had become the city lord's sister's private pet, when clearly before she had cheated her out of silver.

"Then today your master shouldn't be dealing with Bai Chi; he should kowtow to him."

"... You should say Bai Chi shouldn't be dealing with my master! They are standing there, eyes sparking with fire, didn't you see? City Lord, go mediate!"

"Does your master fear them? Pfft." Sheng Yuanyao grabbed the back of A'nuo's collar as she tried to run: "Don't run, stay here and keep sister company while she watches the drama."

Over there, Bai Jingtian walked to Shen Tang, bowed somewhat arrogantly: "The Incense Burning Tower congratulates the Tianxing Sword Sect on the joyous founding of the sect."

Shen Tang smiled faintly: "Thank you, Bai Zhanglao. Speaking of which, when this seat went to the Incense Burning Tower to seek an alchemist, it was Bai Zhanglao who recommended Mr. Bai Chi; this favor this seat has recorded."

Lu Xingzhou narrowed his eyes slightly.

Judging from Bai Chi's intention to devour the Danxia Gang's entire inheritance, did they originally intend to devour Shen Tang's entire inheritance? It was just that Shen Tang initially did not flaunt her wealth; when Bai Chi arrived in Xiazhou, he discovered the Danxia Gang was far wealthier than Shen Tang's family estate, and coincidentally, he was familiar with Liu Yan'er from childhood; they immediately hooked up like dry wood meeting fire, and directly switched targets.

So Shen Tang's words "recorded" were spoken through gritted teeth.

"Chi'er's cultivation is insufficient, making Sect Master Shen laugh." Bai Jingtian perfunctorily said, his gaze falling on Lu Xingzhou: "Is this Mr. Lu Xingzhou, Lu Xingzhou, ranked thirty-eighth on the New Alchemist Rising Star List?"

Lu Xingzhou simply ignored him, smiling at Bai Chi: "I originally thought Brother Bai and I were not far apart, and wanted to continue our fate on the rankings; I never thought I searched the entire list and did not see Brother Bai's name; it seems there is no fate."

"You!" Bai Chi burned with anger.

He was only twenty years old; if he had successfully certified as a seventh-grade alchemist before, he would surely have made the Rising Star List. Unfortunately, Lu Xingzhou ruined it; stuck at eighth grade, of course he could not make any list. He specifically ran to a small place like Xiazhou to certify, thinking he could exploit a loophole, never expecting to run into a ghost even with such a small scheme.

However, he now knew he was not easy to compare with Lu Xingzhou; the reason Lu Xingzhou could rank as high as thirty-eighth was not just because of seventh grade, but because of seventh-grade upper level. The alchemist profession places extreme importance on experience; at Lu Xingzhou's age, he was a definite genius, comparable only to the chosen ones of top-tier sects.

He took a deep breath and still managed to maintain a smile: "Meeting Brother Lu that day, I learned much. If fate permits another day, I will seek your guidance."

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "It has been some time; Brother Bai's illness is actually cured; it seems there is indeed some progress."

Bai Chi turned green-faced and said nothing. Bai Jingtian's face sank like water, because he was the one who cured it: "Young people relying on talent are arrogant and very rude. Sect Master Shen, is this your way of controlling subordinates?"

Shen Tang also smiled, watching Lu Xingzhou mess around, and only then said: "I only saw my guest elder caring about Brother Bai's health; originally, is this also rude?"

Bai Jingtian snorted coldly, swept his sleeve, and entered the guest seats: "I hope the two of you can keep smiling happily."

After all, the city lord was here; the ceremony had not even started; it was not the time to cause trouble... once everyone arrived, there would be a reckoning.

Sheng Yuanyao quietly said to A'nuo: "He is causing trouble, she is laughing; so doting..."

A'nuo: "I hope sister also keeps smiling happily."

The guard chanted again: "Sect Master Wu of the Cangshan Sword Sect arrives~"

"Vice Gang Leader Wang of the Dongjiang Gang arrives~"

"True Person Xuanhe of the Lingyun Gate arrives~"

With these chants, the square grew even quieter; Sheng Yuanyao finally could not smile.

These were not Xiazhou forces; they were all from farther away. The Dongjiang Gang was the number one gang in the Dongjiang Prefecture; the Cangshan Sword Sect and the Lingyun Gate were even powerful sects located in spiritual, beautiful immortal mountain treasures, almost unrelated to local affairs; each was a fourth-grade force.

These, plus the Incense Burning Tower, meant the forces in the arena would outweigh the hosts significantly. If originally Sheng Yuanyao felt the Tianxing Sword Sect could still suppress Xiazhou forces from causing trouble, now she had no confidence at all; even her own authority as city lord was barely visible...

Why should external sects give face to you, the city lord of Xiazhou?

Shen Tang seemed not to care at all, still carrying a calm and elegant smile as she greeted the newly arrived people, then looked at the sky, her voice transmitting to the whole arena: "The auspicious time has arrived; those who have not come will not be waited for."

"Our sect unfortunately suffered a great disaster; fortunately Heaven did not abandon us, and the Holy Emperor took pity, allowing us to re-establish ourselves in Xiazhou. That you do not disdain our rudeness and come to celebrate our sect's ceremony is truly the honor of the Tianxing Sword Sect. I hope all fellow Daoists will offer more help in the future; Shen Tang thanks you all here."

Originally, there were more formalities to say, such as how the Tianxing Sword Sect would repay the countryside in the future, etc.; afterwards, there would be a display of the sect's atmosphere, such as ten thousand swords firing simultaneously to boost the momentum, then everyone would eat and drink well, just a normal ceremony procedure.

But before Shen Tang could even start her subsequent formalities, a discordant voice came from the arena: "Sect Master Shen, there is no need for many words; what the neighbors want to know more is on what basis your sect stands... Now that your sect has inherited the former Danxia Gang, will you continue to engage in medicinal herb planting and sales?"

Interrupting someone's founding speech was an extremely rude act, equivalent to stepping the Tianxing Sword Sect and Shen Tang's face into the mud.

Sheng Yuanyao turned to look and saw it was Bai Jingtian; a burst of anger rose up.

Lu Xingzhou did not cause trouble; it was indeed you bastards who wanted to cause trouble!

Shen Tang's ever-warm and elegant smile vanished; her expression darkened slightly, and her eyes turned sharp.

In the hearts of the tens of thousands gathered in the square, a jolt occurred... This woman looked beautiful and dignified, yet the moment she frowned, her pressure was immense!

A fourth-grade sword cultivator, after all, has some real skill.

Yet Lu Xingzhou spoke leisurely from beside her: "The planting and selling of medicinal herbs is a widespread business among the neighbors of Xiazhou. Our Tianxing Sword Sect practices sword cultivation and is not skilled in this; therefore, we withdraw from this industry. We will not compete with fellow Daoists here, which we consider our first measure of harmony with our neighbors since establishing the Li Sect."

These words made the expressions of the vast majority of Xiazhou factions in the square much more pleasant. If this were truly the case, the establishment of the Tianxing Sword Sect would be better for everyone than the former Danxia Gang, as it meant one less competitor possessing vast medicinal mountains.

Lu Xingzhou continued: "Even regarding the pill-refining industry that the former Gang Leader Liu attempted to enter, our Sect has mostly withdrawn..."

As if having found a flaw in his words, Bai Jingtian sneered: "What do you mean by 'mostly'?"

"Naturally, those low-grade pills; we will not make them, similarly not competing with our neighbors, for harmony brings wealth..." Lu Xingzhou said lightly, but his tone gradually turned sharp: "However, those sixth-grade pills, especially those like Rongxue Guiyuan Dan, our Sect will still produce."

Bai Jingtian paused for a moment, then the entire square erupted in uproar.

Rongxue Guiyuan Dan, a famous treasure pill of the Incense Tower, simultaneously restores blood and Qi, serving both for healing injuries and replenishing energy; it is one of the lifelines of the Incense Tower.

This Tianxing Sword Sect, showing goodwill to a group of neighbors of quite low grade, yet immediately declares war on the third-grade sect, the Incense Tower!

(End of this chapter)