Chapter 771: Promotion and Ascension Conditions
Hearing Luo Wuji’s work directive, the cultivators present had varied reactions.
The group leaders of Martial Dao Group One and Two felt the most resistance.
To them, having Zhang Yu come over to guide their performance was nothing short of an encroachment on their authority. It would also bring them greater performance pressure and increase their “work costs.”
Under the risk of reduced authority and increased costs, there was no mention of a possible salary increase…
“Is he trying to treat us like outsourced contractors?”
For the two group leaders, this was an act of Dao Obstruction, a grudge that would weaken their Immortal Dao potential.
Although neither dared to openly confront Minister Luo Wuji during the meeting, their gazes toward Zhang Yu were already filled with hostility.
Xiao Zhi, the leader of Martial Dao Group One, spoke up: “Minister, Zhang Yu is, after all, newly arrived at the sect from the Lower Realm. He has been here for too short a time and has limited understanding of our two groups’ situations.”
“Martial Dao Group One and Two have been operating stably for so many years. A rash change might cause adverse reactions, which would then affect the review pace and accuracy of all martial dao techniques.”
Hearing these words, the group leaders of the other cultivation art review groups — such as Daoist Arts, Artifact Refinement, Talismans, and Body Refinement — all nodded inwardly.
Like Martial Dao, Daoist Arts was a broad category review group.
Artifact Refinement, Talismans, and Body Refinement, on the other hand, were specialized cultivation art groups that branched off from these broader categories. The techniques they handled were not reviewed by general groups like Martial Dao or Daoist Arts.
In the eyes of these group leaders, Zhang Yu’s greatest defining trait was his origin from the Lower Realm.
This label naturally made these sect cultivators trust him less.
After all, what could a Lower Realm native possibly know about Immortal Cultivation? This wasn’t discrimination; it was simply their perception of Lower Realm natives.
No sect member would consider this discrimination. “Aren’t Lower Realm natives just like that? This is the conclusion drawn from statistical data and Immortal Dao analysis. How could it be called discrimination?”
As for the Martial Dao groups being pressured to improve their performance in this manner, the other groups felt a sense of shared vulnerability, and a subtle opposition began to stir in their hearts.
Xiao Zhi, the leader of Martial Dao Group One, continued, “The model Zhang Yu is currently using in Martial Dao Group Three hasn’t been tested over time. We don’t know if it’s universally applicable, let alone how many risks and flaws it contains.”
“I suggest… we wait until Group Three’s situation has stabilized for a year or two before making any decisions.”
The leader of Group Two chimed in, “Group Leader Xiao’s words are wise and prudent. This matter is of great importance and requires careful consideration.”
Minister Luo Wuji nodded and said calmly, “If there are any other opinions, speak now. Vice Minister Lu, you’ve overseen the Martial Dao groups for many years. What are your thoughts?”
Lu Hengzhang, who had been called upon, replied composedly, “Group Three’s performance increase is a good thing, but the extent of the risks involved is still unclear.”
“I suggest we first make all of Group Three’s work processes and logs public for all groups to study together.”
Group Leader Xiao Zhi added, “Exactly. Let’s have Zhang Yu and his team contribute their memories as model work memories. We can all analyze them together to identify any risks or shortcomings…”
As he spoke, he turned to Zhang Yu with a broad smile. “It’s the perfect opportunity to help you identify and fix any shortcomings.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu’s brow furrowed slightly. The idea of contributing his memories was, of course, absolutely unacceptable.
Sensing the hostility in the other man’s gaze, Zhang Yu thought grimly, “They’re singing the same tune. This Xiao Zhi… he must have already allied with Lu Hengzhang to target me.”
Nearby, Qu Yizhi was even more furious.
“Contribute memories? Isn’t that just blatant robbery?”
How could he tolerate his and his team members’ memories being handed over for free?
“First, they demand free memory donations. What’s next? Free bloodline memory donations? Direct seed donations?”
Qu Yizhi vividly remembered the “Free Seed Donation” campaign from the past, which had led to an incident where a cultivator was literally drained to death.
“If we contribute our memories now, won’t they be able to find any excuse to rifle through them whenever they please in the future?”
Qu Yizhi immediately spoke up, “Whether it’s Zhang Yu’s experience or any other guidance, we are willing to provide it for free. We can even offer assistance during work hours.”
“Over the past month, to increase our performance by 30%, our entire group poured in money and manpower, even consuming a large number of Soul Cultivators, just to scramble and meet the target before the end of the month.”
Qu Yizhi felt a pang of heartache as he recalled the Soul Cultivators he’d expended and the Immortal Coins he’d spent just to meet the performance quota before receiving Zhang Yu’s guidance.
“For the sect, we’re willing to spend any amount of money and endure any hardship. But I just don’t understand, we’re all working for the sect, so why is it that the more you contribute, the more grievances you suffer?”
Just as the three Group Leaders were about to start arguing, another person spoke up, silencing them.
“Everyone, please hear me out.”
“Zhang Yu’s experience is indeed worth promoting. If all three Martial Dao Review groups could increase their performance by 30%, I believe the ever-growing backlog of cultivation arts awaiting approval could gradually be cleared.”
“As for the memories… have you all forgotten the Fu Xiantian incident from over two years ago?”
At the mention of “Fu Xiantian,” the expressions of many cultivators present darkened slightly, as if recalling that turbulent era, a time filled with disputes, bankruptcies, and everyone desperately trying to avoid any association with Fu Xiantian.
They immediately understood the implication of the speaker’s words.
Rumor had it that Fu Xiantian had gone mad precisely because he had absorbed too many memories from Lower Realm Natives. His consciousness had become saturated with Lower Realm concepts and ideas, ultimately driving him insane.
Thinking about how Zhang Yu’s memories must also contain various instincts, concepts, and ideas from the Lower Realm, the cultivators’ gazes toward him instantly filled with a trace of disdain. A single thought surged through their minds.
“Don’t touch Zhang Yu’s memories, or you’ll be tainted by the stench of the Lower Realm.”
Even Qu Yizhi, standing beside him, was momentarily stunned. He thought to himself, “I’ve been exchanging thoughts with Zhang Yu so much… Have I already picked up the stench of the Lower Realm?”
After speaking, the man smiled at Zhang Yu and added, “I didn’t mean any discrimination with my words just now. I’m a Lower Realm Native myself. We Lower Realm Natives really aren’t up to much.”
Zhang Yu looked at the speaker and thought, “The other Deputy Minister, in charge of artifact refinement techniques… Gu Qingya.”
Meanwhile, from Qu Yizhi’s earlier introduction, Zhang Yu also knew what made this Gu Qingya special.
“He’s a graduate of Myriad Laws University.”
“And he’s from the 10th Layer.”
Although Gu Qingya shared the same “Lower Realm Native” label as Zhang Yu, which theoretically meant they should stick together, Zhang Yu recalled Qu Yizhi’s words.
“But according to Qu Yizhi, Gu Qingya is ashamed of his Lower Realm origins. Among all the Deputy Ministers, he treats outsourced employees from the Lower Realm the worst and has the highest bankruptcy rate among his subordinates.”
At this moment, however, Zhang Yu could sense goodwill radiating from Gu Qingya.
He thought to himself, “Is it because… Minister Luo supports me?”
After a flurry of discussion among the cultivators, Luo Wuji summarized their opinions and made the final decision: Zhang Yu would first teach Martial Dao Groups One and Two, imparting his review experience.
Hearing this, Xiao Zhi, the leader of Group One, grew nervous. “Will the classes be after work, or during work hours?”
He prayed fervently that the classes would be held after work, so they wouldn’t cut into their precious work time.
When Xiao Zhi heard Luo Wuji announce the classes would be held after work, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After the meeting, Qu Yizhi sent a message to Zhang Yu: “The classes are likely just a warm-up, to let you get a feel for the situation beforehand.”
“The Minister is very pleased with your performance this time. But your rank is still too low, and you’re a Lower Realm Native, so you might not command enough authority to directly supervise them right now. I expect that after the performance reviews are over, you’ll be promoted to the Second Rank. Then it’ll be much easier for you to guide the review work of Groups One and Two.”
“Let me be the first to congratulate you.”
Zhang Yu replied, “Don’t worry, Group Leader. The top performance spot will always belong to our Martial Dao Group Three.”
Hearing this, Qu Yizhi immediately broke into a smile, the last trace of worry in his heart temporarily vanishing.
At the same time, Qu Yizhi turned to the leaders of the other two groups and said arrogantly, “You two, your groups’ performance improvements are far too slow. You’d better cooperate fully with Zhang Yu and organize all your members to attend his classes.”
Whether it was his speech during the meeting or his confrontation with the two group leaders now, Qu Yizhi, as a sect disciple, was not acting purely for the sake of showing off.
Or rather, for him, showing off wasn’t about emotional gratification. It was a strategic move to enhance his presence, increase his authority, expand his influence, and leave a deeper impression on his superiors.
Qu Yizhi knew that within the Myriad Laws Sect, countless powerful cultivators were endlessly glorious and renowned throughout the world. This fame boosted stock prices and currency values, driving further asset inflation that, in turn, fueled their cultivation growth.
Not to mention that during every Ascension Selection, the candidates’ promotional campaigns and advertisements were so overwhelming they seemed poised to engulf the entire Sect Layer.
Qu Yizhi knew his actions today were nothing compared to those truly favored sons of heaven at the peak of their glory.
Meanwhile, Xiao Zhi glared back at Qu Yizhi and Zhang Yu without showing any weakness. “Review work isn’t done through brute force like you two do it. The more you do each month, the higher the chance of error. Be careful you don’t work yourselves to death.”
As the monthly meeting concluded, the performance results for each group in February were announced.
Martial Dao Group Three’s drastically improved performance once again shocked a large crowd.
In the office area of Group One, Shen Qingyun was extremely satisfied with her performance last month. Reaching a full 166 points gave her the confidence to look down on everyone else.
Whenever she recalled the looks of complete resignation in her group members’ eyes, watching her submit report after report, her performance climbing higher and higher while they repeatedly failed to catch up, Shen Qingyun felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
As the elite who had ranked first in both the re-examination and the interview to enter the Edict Pavilion, she thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of surpassing others, watching them struggle desperately only to fall further behind.
She had even purchased the memories of these failures just to savor the despair they felt whenever they thought of her.
“This feeling is even better than dual cultivation.”
Today, filled with anticipation of reclaiming the top spot, Shen Qingyun strolled leisurely to her desk, awaiting the announcement of the cross-group performance rankings.
But when she saw Zhang Yu’s name at the top of the list, followed by a staggering performance score of 198, Shen Qingyun froze in stunned disbelief.
“Impossible!”
“How could he be so much higher than me?”
And when Shen Qingyun saw the performance scores of the other members of Martial Dao Group Three, her astonishment grew even greater.
“The entire group improved by this much? All of them by over 30%?”
At this moment, Shen Qingyun was no longer just shocked; she was intensely curious. She desperately wanted to know what method Zhang Yu had used to improve the performance of so many people.
When she heard that Zhang Yu would be teaching them after work next week, Shen Qingyun’s eyes lit up.
“I’ll learn from you, then surpass you step by step.”
Meanwhile, Ye Xingli’s face showed a hint of worry when she learned that Zhang Yu might be guiding all three Martial Dao Groups — One, Two, and Three — in the future.
“The combined workload of three groups… I’m afraid the work will be too much and the performance requirements too high. Junior Brother, you might suffer a Karmic Backlash.”
Having worked in the sect day after day, Ye Xingli had heard many stories of cultivators who initially soared through the ranks under the pressure of ever-increasing performance demands, only to eventually suffer a backlash. They would be caught by the overtime line, forced to pay for overtime every day, and end up unable to save a single coin.
But Zhang Yu remained calm. “Don’t worry, Senior Sister. I can handle three groups.”
Sensing the sixteen Monsterfolk Clones within his body, Zhang Yu understood that combining the Formless Martial Art with the Third Eye Mystic Power was already his optimal method for reviewing cultivation arts.
But if he activated more clones to simulate the arts, he could become even faster.
Fu Ji chuckled, “Haha, in the future, you’ll control all the workhorses in the three Martial Dao Groups. Everyone’s performance will be in your hands. Whoever you want to fall behind will fall behind. Collecting protection fees will be a breeze, won’t it? You’ll be raking it in!”
Zhang Yu had no intention of collecting protection fees, but he figured if his group members wanted to give him gifts to improve, he had no reason to refuse. He couldn’t just crush their filial piety, after all.
At the same time, Zhang Yu recalled the content of today’s meeting. “After this performance review, Minister Luo will probably break through to the Void Refinement realm, right?” he thought.
“But even after he breaks through, it seems he still wants me to keep boosting the performance of the Martial Dao Groups.”
Immortal Slayer replied, “Of course. When you rise, you boost Luo Wuji’s performance. Because when he rises, he has to deliver results to those even higher up.”
Fu Ji muttered, “Hehe, the credit of subordinates belongs to their superiors, while the mistakes of superiors are borne by their subordinates. That’s just how it is.”
Immortal Slayer added, “To put it another way, the fruits of a subordinate’s labor are shared by their superiors, while the costs of a superior’s actions are paid by their subordinates.”
“As long as you’re within the Kunxu system, you can never escape this cycle.”
“The only way out is to climb higher, to a position high enough…”
Zhang Yu asked, “How high is high enough?”
Immortal Slayer sighed. “Ascend to immortality. Once you become an Immortal… at least you personally will face very few restrictions.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu sighed in turn. “Ascension… that’s only possible after reaching the 9th Rank, right?”
Immortal Slayer calmly explained, “Break through to the Ascension Realm and reach the 9th Rank, achieve a Dao Heart of level 80, and accumulate one billion Magic Power. Then you become an Immortal Candidate. Pass the Ascension Selection, and you can ascend to immortality.”
Listening to Immortal Slayer’s words, Zhang Yu felt a surge of longing, but he knew this path was still far beyond his reach.
Nevertheless, Zhang Yu believed that as long as he climbed step by step, the possibility of ascending to immortality in the future was definitely not zero.
His fighting spirit rekindled, Zhang Yu refocused on his work.
Although his performance had skyrocketed in February, he had barely had a moment’s rest while subduing the various members of Group Three.
In terms of personal cultivation, his Nascent Soul Sacred Body hadn’t advanced at all, remaining stuck at the 14/14 level.
“Once I bring the Martial Dao groups under control, I should have a period of peace to focus on improving my cultivation…”
At that moment, Zhang Yu was browsing the cultivation art archives in the Internal Dharma Realm.
“Unfortunately, at my current rank, I can’t access the full content of Immortal Sect Techniques. At most, I can only view brief summaries of their principles for reference.”
Of all the cultivation arts in the Myriad Laws Sect, Zhang Yu was most interested in the Immortal Sect Techniques, especially those that could form his Chain Formation Diagram.
But he knew that 1st to 3rd-tier Sect Staff in the Edict Pavilion were forbidden from freely viewing the original texts of Immortal Sect Techniques.
The only chance to do so was if they were assigned to review an Immortal Sect Technique.
“The opportunity to participate in an Immortal Sect Technique review is rare and unpredictable, not something I can control.”
“For now, I’ll just keep accumulating resources and save up to buy an Immortal Spirit Root. As for Immortal Sect Techniques… I’ll steal one if I get the chance. If not, I’ll just have to keep saving up Immortal Coins and Dao Merit to buy one.”
As Zhang Yu pondered this, a notification appeared before him.
“Re-review request?”
Zhang Yu knew this was a re-review request filed with the Edict Pavilion’s Review Department by an applicant whose cultivation art copyright submission he had previously rejected.
Clearly, the applicant disagreed with Zhang Yu’s judgment, believing their cultivation art possessed novelty, creativity, and practicality, and therefore deserved copyright protection.
As Zhang Yu glanced over the details, he recalled the cultivation art in question.
“Is this the Spirit Refining Art?”
Shaking his head, Zhang Yu rejected the application again, just as he had before.
Over the next few days, Zhang Yu’s position in Martial Dao Group Three became increasingly secure.
First, with the arrival of his salary and bonus, his account balance surged to 5,000 Immortal Coins and 60 Dao Merit.
Second, Qu Yizhi now presented Zhang Yu with all the tasks available to Martial Dao Group Three, allowing him to pick and choose as he pleased. Zhang Yu could select any task he wanted to complete and even assign tasks on Qu Yizhi’s behalf.
Meanwhile, the other group members, as if having received some unspoken message, began showering him with gifts.
Chu Wangji arrived at Zhang Yu’s dormitory carrying a large box of Spirit Awakening Incense. “True Monarch Zhang, a small gift to show my gratitude for your guidance. It’s nothing much, really.”
Wen Zhiwei followed. “True Monarch Zhang, didn’t you mention you were running low on Enlightenment Essence at home? I brought you this box…”
Before he knew it, Zhang Yu had become the core figure of Martial Dao Group Three.
Meanwhile, he also began to notice a sudden sharp decrease in the number of contract workers in the group. After inquiring, he learned that half of them had been laid off.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Is this because of me? I improved performance, but it reduced their workload.”
Immortal Slayer’s voice echoed in his mind: “One Immortal’s success means ten thousand are dismissed. To climb higher, to become an Immortal, you must advance Immortal Dao Technology and enhance work efficiency. This path is inevitably littered with those left behind by your progress, even if it’s not your intention.”
“Only by remembering this, accepting it, yet never changing your true nature, can you possibly achieve what you desire.”
Zhang Yu remained silent, his gaze deepening as he looked out at the somewhat empty office area.
As the Sect’s March evaluation concluded, Zhang Yu’s name appeared on the Edict Pavilion’s promotion list. He was set for a seven-day public display period before officially becoming a 2nd Rank Sect Staff member.
But while his colleagues in the group showered him with congratulations, Lu Hengzhang sat in his own office, staring at Zhang Yu’s name on the display list. He spoke slowly into the Dharma Realm: “Prepare to make your move.”