Within a certain palace, figure after figure took their seats, more than a dozen in total. These individuals had various identities: regional overlords, sect elders, and old ancestors of ancestral clans. All were powerhouses at the Fusion Stage.

“You all probably know the reason you’ve been summoned,” the master of the palace, the organizer of this gathering, addressed the group slowly.

“Isn’t it because those two juniors, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, threatened us with their newspaper, making us restrain ourselves in battle?!” one of the powerhouses said indignantly. He had been forced to stop mid-fight, unable to exert his full strength.

“It’s not just about the newspaper. Those two juniors have also mastered some unknown forbidden technique. Rules are ineffective against them.”

“The younger generations are redoubtable indeed.”

“Even the old Taciturn scoundrel wasn’t capable of this back then. The disciple has surpassed the master.”

“We can no longer treat them as mere Divine Transfiguration juniors.”

“Does anyone have any good ideas? How can we allow ourselves to be threatened by mere juniors?!”

“How about we get serious? We’ll teach these juniors to respect their elders and absolute strength!”

“The problem is that we can’t seem to defeat them, especially when they put on those golden arhats. Although the sight is bizarre and sinister, their defense is no joke. Even with all our strength, we can’t penetrate it.”

“Then let them report whatever they want. We’ll just insist their newspaper is spreading false information!”

“I don’t think that would work. The commoners trust what’s in the newspaper.”

“What kind of rotten idea is that? There’s no way it’ll work. So what if we insist on something? Who would know what we said? Does anyone have a way to broadcast our voices across Great Xia?”

“Then how about we start our own newspaper too?”

“That’s no use. The other four great immortal sects and the imperial court have all started newspapers. But look, isn’t the best-selling one still the Dao-Seeking Sect’s?”

“You don’t say. I’ve heard the Dao-Seeking Sect also possesses a special method for printing newspapers that is far more efficient than any other faction’s, and they keep the method a secret.”

After one round of discussion, the group exchanged glances and realized that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were like hedgehogs—untouchable and more thorny than the Taciturn Daoist Priest.

~~~

Perhaps it was because Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were happy to help others and frequently stepped in to dissuade cultivators from fighting, news of their deeds spread—or perhaps it was because too many incidents occurred during that period.

In any case, after the two returned triumphantly from their missions, the number of large-scale missions at the Mountain-Moving Sea-Filling Sect decreased significantly and no longer warranted their personal involvement.

Sect Leader Kong thought he finally had time to teach the two some minor techniques that they could use after enlargement. However, he discovered that they had already become quite proficient in Heaven-Earth Dharma Manifestation and the Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation through their missions. All that remained was more practice; his minor techniques were completely unnecessary.

The missions had encompassed various applications of Heaven-Earth Dharma Manifestation and the dharma manifestation, providing ample training. Even if Sect Leader Kong personally designed a training regimen, he couldn’t have devised such a perfect plan.

“It seems the two of you indeed have good fortune.” Sect Leader Kong sighed with emotion. Perhaps this is what it means to be prodigies favored by fortune.

“One more thing. The sect may not be very peaceful soon. Be careful.”

“Not very peaceful?” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were perplexed. What could possibly happen at the Mountain-Moving Sea-Filling Sect?

“Little Jin said he has an ominous feeling; he thinks something will happen to the sect. He even bought full insurance. As for where this ominous feeling comes from, he didn’t explain clearly.” Sect Leader Kong’s tone was steeped in worry. Out of trust for his eldest disciple, he hadn’t pressed Fang Jin for details.

“Alright. We’ll be careful.” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou bowed to thank Sect Leader Kong for his concern.

~~~

Over the next few days, the cultivators of the Mountain-Moving Sea-Filling Sect often saw two imposing figures walking around the sect. The two could even levitate an entire river with their magical power, without a single drop spilling. Their control over their strength and power grew increasingly refined.

Fang Jin watched from the side in awe. My talent in Heaven-Earth Dharma Manifestation is already considered high, yet even I can’t progress as rapidly as Lu Yang.

He smiled and walked over to greet them. “Junior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Meng.”

“Senior Brother Fang, is something the matter?” The two set down the river and walked toward Fang Jin.

With each step Lu Yang took, dense spirit energy that was thick enough to form white mist hissed out behind him, and his form gradually shrank.

By the time Lu Yang reached Fang Jin, he had returned to his original size, the white mist of spirit energy behind him lending an air of mystery.

Fang Jin hesitated, then stated the purpose of his visit. “Here’s the thing. I heard from Shifu that the two of you have the gift of the gab and that you’ve persuaded many cultivators to abandon their battles, greatly reducing our sect’s workload.

“Shifu has also tried dissuading them in the past, but it was futile. I had similar thoughts before, but hearing that he hadn’t succeeded, I also gave up on the idea.

“But now, with you two as examples, I was wondering if I could learn from your methods of dissuasion and get myself some directions.

“Currently, I have a mission scheduled. Two Divine Transfiguration cultivators are about to fight. Junior brothers, could you go and counsel them and allow me to observe from the sidelines and learn?”

“Umm...” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou hesitated. It doesn’t seem like Senior Brother Fang can learn our methods.

But it will hurt his self-esteem if we say that, won’t it?

Over the past month, Senior Brother Fang Jin has treated us kindly, doing his best to accommodate our every request. Refusing him directly would be discourteous.

Meng Jingzhou gritted his teeth. “Very well. We’ll give it a try. But our methods don’t always work. Please be mentally prepared for that, Senior Brother Fang Jin.”

“Of course.”

Since there was nothing to prepare, the three set off immediately. On the way to the location, Fang Jin elucidated the situation in detail.

“The two parties are Divine Transfiguration cultivators: Chen Yachong and He Wu. Chen Yachong is a gambling addict who owes a lot of money, to the point where he lacks even cultivation resources. He borrowed a million spirit stones from his good friend He Wu.

“Unsurprisingly, when the deadline came, Chen Yachong couldn’t repay the debt, so he proposed that He Wu treat him like a punching bag as repayment. If one beating wasn’t enough, He Wu could beat him a few more times.

“He Wu felt that simply beating him wouldn’t be enough to vent his anger. He insists on pinning Chen Yachong to the ground and dragging him into a river to beat him there. That’s why he submitted a request beforehand to ask our sect to clean up the aftermath.”

Lu Yang found this tricky. He could tell that Meng Jingzhou was similarly troubled.

This doesn’t seem like a conflict that ordinary dissuasion methods can resolve. It’s not as if I can just get Old Meng to pay off Chen Yachong’s million-spirit-stone debt for him. How could that serve as a demonstration?

Meng Jingzhou was furious. “Why are you not forking out the spirit stones?!”

Lu Yang was stunned. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“It’s written all over your face, you brat!”

“I’ll be more careful next time.”