Chapter 929: Specially Bestowed by the Immortal Emperor, the Myriad Laws Divine Sword
If he weren’t facing a desperate situation, Ban Jinchen naturally wouldn’t want to surrender, wouldn’t want to admit defeat, and wouldn’t want to give up.
But watching his company’s stock price continuously plummet, watching his assets continuously evaporate, and watching his friends block him one by one…
He felt as if a pair of giant hands were squeezing his Dantian and Primordial Spirit, forcing him to watch his Immortal Dao Potential collapse and dissipate bit by bit.
Meanwhile, all the various connections, human networks, and immortal networks he had built up in the past… all abandoned him without hesitation, and even wanted to turn around and bite off a piece of his flesh.
Even when he asked Celestial Inquiry Star how to counter the Law Edict Expiration Date, the other party replied to him: “I cannot answer this question for you at the moment. Let’s change the subject.”
“Even the membership fee was paid for nothing, who else can I trust?”
At this moment, Ban Jinchen completely recognized reality; the situation was already set in stone.
And after pleading everywhere to no avail, Ban Jinchen ultimately thought of Zhang Yu.
“Should I just kill him?”
Murderous intent had also crossed Ban Jinchen’s mind. After all, theoretically speaking… killing someone only required paying a fine, but having his own Law Edict frozen was a catastrophic event that would cost him his entire fortune.
But this thought only lingered in his mind for a moment before he completely cast it aside.
“No, he’s too highly sought after right now. Who knows how many people would protect him? Even if I kill him, there will likely be plenty of people willing to pay to resurrect him, and I’d face a reckoning and retaliation afterward.”
“I still have to find a way to beg him.”
“At the very least, I must beg him before Si Shian does, and beg Zhang Yu to freeze Si Shian’s Four-Hour Workday Law Edict first next year, and freeze my Law Edict later.”
According to the intelligence Ban Jinchen had obtained, for Zhang Yu to freeze someone else’s Law Edict, he first needed to study the underlying technical principles of the Law Edict, and then cover it with his Law Edict True Domain.
If the other party wanted to freeze a Law Edict, he had to study it first and then overlay it, a process that would inevitably consume a lot of time.
“In that case, the order in which the Law Edicts are frozen is quite significant.”
And in Ban Jinchen’s view, dying in Kunxu wasn’t terrifying; what was truly terrifying was not being able to make money or participate in Kunxu’s economic activities. That was true death.
“Even for an Immortal, unless they reach a cultivation realm where all the common people of the world are reduced to a useless class, otherwise… if they stop seeking external resources, stop participating in the governance of Kunxu, and their assets cease to inflate and grow, then they are effectively dead.”
In Ban Jinchen’s eyes, this was the exact same thing as someone practicing Immortal Cultivation refusing to use breathing techniques and rejecting the absorption of the world’s spiritual energy.
The deeper one participated in Kunxu’s economic activities and the more profit they extracted from it, the stronger their body’s ability to absorb nutrients became. Just like having a higher efficiency in using breathing techniques to absorb the world’s spiritual energy on the Immortal Dao, this was the common pursuit of all the people in the world.
Now that the dust had settled and the Law Edict was destined to be frozen, if Ban Jinchen wanted to do his utmost to preserve his own interests, it seemed there was only one way left…
“How should I go about begging Zhang Yu?”
Ban Jinchen’s mind rapidly reviewed all sorts of information regarding Zhang Yu.
He quickly remembered Zhang Yu’s sentimental nature — his care for old subordinates and former classmates, as well as his protection over lower realm cultivators.
Last time, it was precisely because of this weakness that he had chosen to target Shi Yunxiang.
This time, he could also use this same weakness and make a move on Shi Yunxiang again.
Seeing Ban Jinchen first kneel to Shi Yunxiang, and then kowtow to Zhang Yu while calling him Dad, Fu Ji said disdainfully, “You think you can ask for a favor just by kneeling and calling someone Dad? There’s no such cheap bargain!”
Zhang Yu merely gave Ban Jinchen a faint glance, then turned his head to look in another direction.
In his Spirit Realm vision, Si Shian was prostrating himself, shouting loudly, “Grandpa, please save your grandson.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “These guys… really don’t surprise me at all.”
As far as Zhang Yu was concerned, for this bunch of Sect Staff from the upper realm of Kunxu, surrendering, begging for mercy, and selling out their teammates was simply second nature.
With a mere thought from Zhang Yu, his Spirit Realm vision was shared with both parties.
Thus, Ban Jinchen and Si Shian instantly saw each other’s presence: “Why are you here?”
“Didn’t we agree not to surrender?”
“You secretly sought out Dao Monarch Zhang to negotiate terms behind my back?”
Their exchange was completed in an instant. The next moment, Ban Jinchen suddenly lunged forward and hugged Zhang Yu’s thigh: “Dao Monarch! This person’s Four-Hour Workday Law Edict has long stirred up massive public resentment and caused unrest within the Sect; you must freeze him!”
On the other side, Si Shian sneered, “Well played, Ban Jinchen. Hugging thighs? Pretending to be pitiful? You have a lot of nerve. Are you trying to get Dao Monarch Zhang to get things done without spending a single coin?”
As he spoke, Si Shian, who was prostrated on the ground, suddenly transferred 500,000 Immortal Coins and said, “Dao Monarch Zhang! This Ban Jinchen’s Pay for Overtime law has secretly embezzled who knows how many Immortal Coins, earning money that should belong to the Immortal Emperor and the other Immortals. His Law Edict should be the first to be frozen as a warning to others!”
Seeing the two sides instantly break into an argument, tearing each other down, exposing each other, and continuously transferring money to him, Zhang Yu shouted in a low voice and then said, “All of you, stop!”
“I have already reported your transfers. I will not accept a single coin.”
When Zhang Yu said these words, his heart was bleeding.
But he understood that since he had been pushed out by the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor to establish the expiration date for Law Edicts, and was currently the center of attention, he absolutely could not accept money from other Law Establishment cultivators.
“Otherwise, I’d be slapping the Immortal Emperor’s face…”
Sighing in his heart, Zhang Yu said sternly, “I am a loyal subject of Myriad Laws, how could I disregard the Immortal Emperor’s grand plan and help you with the freezing of Law Edicts just because you give me money? Do not mention this matter again. Whoever brings it up again, I will freeze their Law Edict first next year.”
Hearing this, Ban Jinchen was well-prepared and hastily said, “Dao Monarch, I was just being used this time! It was the Full Attendance Immortal, Yun Taizhen, and all the upper-tier cultivators of the Innate Dao Lineage. They wanted to attack you and hinder the grand trend of the Law Edict reform, so they pushed me out as cannon fodder…”
On the other side, Si Shian nodded repeatedly and followed up, “Yes, yes, yes, Dao Monarch Zhang, these people do not love the sect and do not submit to the Immortal Emperor. Each of them harbors malicious intentions. Next year, when you are freezing the Law Edicts, they will definitely try to obstruct you. I can help you.”
Ban Jinchen quickly said, “I can help you too. I am very familiar with the 16th Layer. How those guys’ Law Edicts operate, how they secretly collude, and how they make profits, I know it all clearly.”
Si Shian said with a face full of sincerity, “Dao Monarch, let us help you together. Legal reform and the elimination of the old laws is the general trend. If I am not frozen, who will be? Helping you is our bounden duty.”
Seeing the two chiming in with each other, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Hmph, first they sell each other out and compete to beg me. Then, upon seeing each other, they immediately start competing and rat-racing, but after arguing for just a few sentences, they finish their private communication and team up again?”
Zhang Yu was not surprised by this at all. For senior Void Refinement cultivators like Ban Jinchen and Si Shian, who had struggled in the sect for many years, the ability to quickly adapt to different changing situations was a basic skill required for a qualified Sect Staff.
Zhang Yu wasn’t in a hurry either, merely saying indifferently, “Then why don’t you tell me, how are they planning to stop me?”
Ban Jinchen immediately said, “They want to protect the Dual Cultivation Obligation and the Procreation Obligation!”
Si Shian followed up, “These two Law Edicts are simultaneously uplifting the Full Attendance Immortal and the Immortal Venerable Supreme Truth. They are also related to the Dao Lineage Struggle of sects like Myriad Laws and Celestial Monsters. The matter is of great importance…”
Zhang Yu frowned. Looking at the list of the first batch of Law Edicts to be frozen next year, the Dual Cultivation Obligation and Procreation Obligation were impressively on it. He asked, “Since it is of such great importance, why do you think the Immortal Emperor wants me to freeze them next year?”
Ban Jinchen explained, “It might be that the Immortal Emperor wants to replace the people in charge and take these two Law Edicts into his own hands.”
On the other side, Si Shian’s answer was much the same. No matter how Zhang Yu pressed them, they were unwilling to reveal anything more.
Obviously, if Zhang Yu did not offer them a few more promises, the two of them would not wholeheartedly assist him.
However, Zhang Yu was not in a hurry. Even if he had to clash with factions like Full Attendance, Supreme Truth, and Innate, that would be next year, four months from now. He still had time to gather intelligence.
He simply said faintly, “Don’t even think about buying me off with money.”
Zhang Yu cupped his hands toward the sky and declared, “I, Zhang Yu, am solely loyal to the Immortal Emperor in this life. No matter how much money you throw at me, don’t even dream of making me obstruct the Immortal Emperor’s great cause of legal reform.”
“However…” Zhang Yu changed his tone and added, “The freezing order, the specific timing, the process, and the starting position on the 16th Layer — these indeed need to be carefully studied.”
“Since the two of you are senior Law Establishment Void Refinement cultivators, if you are willing to properly cooperate with me, I will consider your opinions. But bear in mind, none of this has to do with personal profit; it is entirely for the grand scheme of the sect and the interests of the Immortal Emperor.”
Hearing this, Ban Jinchen and Si Shian nodded repeatedly.
Not long after they left, this conversation from the hospital room had already crossed the Spirit Realm and was presented before Dugu Ming in the Heavenly Surveillance Hall.
Looking at the contents of Zhang Yu’s conversation, Dugu Ming snorted, “This kid is quite aware of his own situation.”
And as the Provisions on the Limitation of Law Edicts continued to ferment, the Sect’s public opinion, which had already taken a sharp turn, overwhelmingly supported Zhang Yu like a landslide.
Before Zhang Yu’s eyes, an unknown number of cooperation requests had already appeared for the umpteenth time.
“They’re all just a bunch of guys wanting to profit off my Tax Exemption Certificate.”
Previously, when he was at a disadvantage and besieged by countless people, even if Zhang Yu brought out his Tax Exemption Certificate, not many were willing to cooperate, and even those who did kept the conditions very low.
But now that the situation had drastically changed, a large number of Sect Enterprises immediately sought Zhang Yu out for cooperation, wanting to use his Tax Exemption Certificate to avoid taxes.
“But the conditions still aren’t good enough.”
Looking at the contents of the mails before him, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “A consulting fee of 1,000,000 a month? Who are you looking down on? How am I supposed to pay off my debts with this little bit of money?”
“There’s no need to rush, Zhang Yu. Let’s wait a little longer,” Fu Ji said excitedly. “Your momentum is fierce right now. As public opinion continues to ferment, it will only get fiercer.”
“Aren’t there also rumors in the Dharma Realm saying that a Law Edict Audit Department is going to be established? Your popularity is very high too. If we get to be the top dog, will we still need to worry about not having anyone to cooperate with?”
Immortal Slayer said, “The top position for Law Edict auditing… is unlikely. Zhang Yu’s rank, cultivation, and assets alone aren’t enough, let alone other factors.”
Fu Ji said, “Even if he can’t be the head, just having a position in there is fine.”
Zhang Yu sighed, looked at the debt bills, and said, “But this monthly debt interest is pressing down on me so hard.”
Fu Ji said without hesitation, “Take out a loan to pay off the debt first. Aren’t there so many people inviting you to take out loans?”
“That’s right!” the Sect Examination Clone said. “As long as your strength isn’t exhausted, the loans shouldn’t stop. Endless borrowing truly shows the colors of a hero; using debt to sustain debt makes one a fine man of our Myriad Laws.”
“True sect love is all about working hard to get loans, fiercely trading stocks, wildly speculating on cryptocurrencies, and paying taxes on time. This is the righteous path of the Immortal Dao. You are currently being watched by countless eyes, but if you do this, no one can find fault with you.”
And in the following time, more people sent good news to Zhang Yu.
Magnetic Pole: “The puppet copyrights that were stuck before have started going through the process again. They said it should pass this week.”
Yu Xinghan: “The cultivator who spread our personal information has been caught by a Righteous God. The Righteous God wants to ask for your opinion on how to handle it.”
“Dao Monarch, many of the clients who boycotted us a while ago have paid to renew their subscriptions! They are even willing to order another batch of goods…” Ying Xin said.
Zhang Yu looked at the changes in performance and said in his heart, “This struggle could not have been won without the support of the many Soul Cultivators here. Since the performance has improved, it’s time to raise their salaries.”
Hearing Zhang Yu’s words, Fu Ji angrily said, “What salary raise! This game was won by your courage and bravery, betting everything, plus my resourcefulness and foresight. Why raise the salaries of these dead people?”
The Sect Examination Clone said, “This is all money earned for the Immortal Emperor! You’re going to use it to raise their salaries?!”
The Herald God secretly analyzed in his heart, “Hehe, the Soul Cultivators… are Zhang Yu’s basic foundation. In the future… they will be the intelligent beings most likely to provide him with Thought Tide amplification. Now, using the Immortal Emperor’s money to pay for his own Thought Tide amplification… The key is that the Immortal Emperor, in order to promote legal reform and accelerate the growth of Zhang Yu’s future Law Edict True Domain, will inevitably not mind this matter and will tacitly approve.”
“This Zhang Yu was able to defeat us in the lower realm back then. He is indeed not as simple as he seems. What the Auspicious God said back then still has some merit.”
As the situation completely turned for the better, Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Over the next few days, he released his companions who had been hiding in his Immortal Grotto-Heaven back home.
Shi Huaiyu left the Immortal Grotto-Heaven with a face full of smiles, because by participating in shorting the stock prices of Ban Jinchen and Si Shian’s companies, she had earned quite a lot of Immortal Coins this time.
“Sure enough, if you want your path on the Immortal Dao to be unobstructed, you have to aggressively trade stocks.”
“Moreover, by synthesizing my many years of stock trading experience, I have finally comprehended the ultimate truth of stock trading.”
Shi Huaiyu thought to herself, “Ordinary stock trading is just gambling! True stock trading is a competition of inside information! And the highest cultivation realm of stock trading is creating the news yourself!”
“And although I don’t know any inside information, Dao Monarch Zhang definitely does. He can even create it! As long as I follow Dao Monarch Zhang, whoever he attacks, I will short. Won’t my future path on the Immortal Dao just be ascending to become an Immortal step by step?”
Furthermore, in Shi Huaiyu’s view, this was also her way of assisting Zhang Yu.
“Although I can’t help Dao Monarch Zhang in a head-on clash, how is shorting the opponent’s stocks not a form of combat assistance?”
In Shi Huaiyu’s eyes, this was her fiercely rushing up to tear and bite at the opponent’s assets whenever Zhang Yu fought with someone. Every bite she tore off was providing assistance to Zhang Yu.
On the other side, Ying Xin had started doing outsourcing the year before last, participated in the Sect Examination last year with Bei Wufeng and Jin Jun, and was recruited into the Netherworld Assets Department by Yu Xinghan along with them. Since then, she had been in charge of financial work.
At this moment, however, she was looking at a group chat named Ying Clan Ancestral Hall Group, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Thanks to the policy allowing the circulation of Soul Cultivators between the upper and lower realms, the Soul Cultivators of Ying Xin’s clan were finally reunited within the sect.
Moreover, the soul-nourishing environment of the Former Days Graveyard was inherently very suitable for Soul Cultivators.
In addition, the significantly reduced Calculation Pool rental prices — brought down by Zhang Yu — greatly enhanced the performance of the Soul Cultivators.
For Ying Xin, who was now about to step into the Nascent Soul Realm, had become Sect Staff and was stationed in the Former Days Graveyard working for the Netherworld Assets Department. Covering the operational expenses for her entire family’s Soul Cultivators was no longer difficult.
A Ying Clan Patriarch sighed with emotion, “To think that I can still work in the sect.”
Another Ancestor who had come up from the lower realm said, “Haha, nowadays in the lower realm, Soul Cultivators are also highly revered and have the best employment prospects. We can be considered to be reaping the dividends of this era.”
Ying Xin’s father sighed, “Now everyone says that getting into a vocational college is the best way out for young people.”
After conversing with her family, Ying Xin learned that with the promotion of the policy circulating Soul Cultivators between the upper and lower realms, the admission cut-off scores for various vocational colleges and Soul Cultivator majors had skyrocketed this year, giving rise to the joke that “a good undergraduate program isn’t worse than a vocational college.”
There were even heavenly chosen students from the Ten Great Universities who, after years of fruitless attempts at the Sect Examination, chose to become Soul Cultivators and ascend to the sect to work.
Hearing this, Ying Xin sighed emotionally in her heart, “To think that the academic overachievers of the Ten Universities, the elites of the Lower Realm, are now fighting to die and come up here just to do the lowest level of work in the sect…”
The influx of Lower Realm Soul Cultivators caused a surge in the number of Soul Cultivators in the Former Days Graveyard.
This phenomenon naturally caught Zhang Yu’s attention as well.
“Making the heavenly chosen from the 1st to the 10th layers… who have experienced countless trials, consumed countless resources, and put in countless efforts, fight tooth and nail to come up here and work like beasts of burden, it’s really…”
Immortal Slayer coldly snorted and said, “This is the Immortal Emperor shifting the pressure of reform onto the lower layers. He advanced the sect’s legal reforms without breaking a sweat, but who knows how many people’s lives he altered, forcing countless cultivators down a dead end.”
Zhang Yu knew Immortal Slayer was right. He said in his heart, “Once I climb up there, I definitely won’t be like the Immortal Emperor, who only wants the benefits but refuses to pay the price himself. When the time comes, I will definitely change all of this.”
Fu Ji secretly thought in her heart, He’s starting to say such silly things again.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after reading the Provisions on the Limitation of Law Edicts, Bu Yingshu let out a sigh: “Was the Law Edict restricting my ascension placed in the very last batch?”
“Is it a coincidence? Or is the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor… already suppressing me?”
Bu Yingshu didn’t know. She thought to herself: “If that’s the case, I can only do my best to improve first and wait for an opportunity.”
“If I can become an Ascension Realm cultivator as soon as possible, I definitely won’t be as useless as Bu Yuangui, unable to do this or that.”
And thinking of “improvement,” Bu Yingshu thought of Zhang Yu.
At the thought that she hadn’t sought him out to improve her innate talent for a long time, Bu Yingshu felt an itch in her heart.
“Hmph, it’s been so long, and this guy hasn’t even contacted me.”
“Could it be that seeing the Law Edict restricting me placed in the last batch, he feels guilty towards me and is too ashamed to face me?”
Bu Yingshu smiled faintly: “Forget it, this seat shall personally contact you today.”
While thinking, Bu Yingshu had already sent a message to Zhang Yu: “Didn’t you choose the 16th Layer for the Law Edict Pilot? When are you coming over?”
As soon as Zhang Yu saw Bu Yingshu’s avatar bouncing, his heart also skipped a beat: “The troublesome fellow is here again.”
Zhang Yu asked cautiously, “I’m not sure yet. Is there anything you need, Mystic Monarch Bu?”
Bu Yingshu said, “Can’t I just ask casually?”
Without waiting for Zhang Yu to reply, Bu Yingshu added, “I live on the 16th Layer.”
Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, “Didn’t this girl get promoted to Rank 7 and can go to the 17th Layer? She still lives on the 16th Layer?”
Fu Ji chuckled, “She believes it! She completely believes that we are going to uplift her to achieve immortality! That’s why she wants to continue getting closer to you!”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I’m afraid besides that, it’s also because she feels that cultivating with me can improve her innate talent.”
Fu Ji continued, “Make good use of her, Zhang Yu. A rich person who trusts us this much — if we don’t scam her out of every last penny, wouldn’t we just be letting someone else take advantage?”
Zhang Yu said, “Sigh, you and A-Zhen really… have caused me a lot of trouble.”
“Helping the Immortal Clan achieve immortality… I don’t want to be involved in this kind of thing at all.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Although the Immortals, Immortal Venerables, and Immortal Emperors above are extremely selfish and profit-driven, preventing the Immortal Clan from achieving immortality is indeed beneficial to Kunxu.”
“If I were to make policies in the future, I would definitely strictly restrict the Immortal Clan as well.”
But at this very moment, Zhang Yu also understood that he couldn’t say these things to Bu Yingshu, and could only continue to deal with her superficially.
Zhang Yu simply said, “Fu Ji, you coax her.”
In the Former Days Graveyard, inside the gathering point of the Reincarnation Group.
Kuang Tianqing tossed the two Black Pearls containing Evil Gods to Zhang Yu: “Dao Monarch Zhang, this is the agreed-upon reward.”
According to Kuang Tianqing’s previous promise, as long as Zhang Yu stepped forward to fully support the Immortal Emperor and demonstrated his determination to set up a law edict pilot in the sect layers, he would obtain Evil Gods.
Feeling the rich Evil God Power within them, Fu Ji couldn’t wait as she said, “Enough, enough. Swallowing this will be enough for me to upgrade.”
Just as Zhang Yu was leaving, Kuang Tianqing spoke up, “Dao Monarch, the higher-ups hope that next year, when you freeze Law Edicts on the 16th layer, we can continue to cooperate.”
“Also… congratulations.”
Zhang Yu frowned and did not speak, simply turning around and leaving.
Meanwhile, having swallowed a massive amount of Evil God Power and elevated her divine authority once again, Fu Ji seemed to have reached some critical moment of metamorphosis this time, directly falling into a deep slumber.
Just as Zhang Yu was waiting during Fu Ji’s slumber, another piece of news swept across the entire Myriad Laws Sect like an earth-shattering thunderbolt.
Looking at the news announced to the inside and outside of the sect by the Immortal Ascension Hall, Zhang Yu’s heart swelled with excitement. “Are they going to establish the Law Edict Review Committee?”
Zhang Yu quickly browsed through it, thinking to himself, “The committee will decide whether to approve various Law Edicts through draft votes of the councilors?
“The Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor holds veto power over the committee’s draft vote results.
“As the President, Su Xianchen will coordinate everything and preside over the daily work of the committee.
“Under the committee, there are various departments such as the Periodic Review Department, the Jurisprudence Review Department, the Effectiveness Review Department…
“And I…”
Zhang Yu looked at the appointment list, thinking to himself, “Am I appointed as the Minister of the Effectiveness Review Department?”
“He really got in…” Fa Liuyuan looked at Zhang Yu on the list and thought to himself, “The Periodic Review Department summarizes the opinions of various parties and departments; it’s clearly just a department that goes through the motions.
“The Jurisprudence Review Department seems to be a prestigious department, belonging to the spokespersons of the major factions.”
“This Effectiveness Review Department, which reviews the actual effects since the implementation of the Law Edicts, has the most technical content. It can avoid criticism, touch the front lines, and give Zhang Yu more opportunities to spread Law Edict Expiration Dates. It is indeed the most suitable position for Zhang Yu’s growth.”
Fa Liuyuan knew that in this world of technological tyranny, cultivators who developed along the path of Immortal Dao Technology were the most valued cultivators.
“Moreover, Rank 6 is not high; it won’t let Zhang Yu break through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm too early, so they aren’t afraid of Zhang Yu acting recklessly.”
But when Fa Liuyuan saw the treatment Zhang Yu was granted, a hint of surprise surfaced in his eyes. “Above-standard treatment.”
“A Grotto-Heaven, an Immortal License Plate Shuttle, Void Refinement Soul Cultivator positions, and he will continue to concurrently serve as the Minister of Netherworld Assets.”
“Far exceeding the standards of the same rank.”
Bu Yuangui sighed inwardly, “Coupled with his Law Edict… what kind of favor is this?”
Bu Yuangui could imagine that the Immortal Emperor was creating a role model.
He wanted to have more cultivators learn from Zhang Yu and charge forward for him in the upcoming legal reforms.
But Bu Yuangui soon discovered that this was unexpectedly not over yet.
“Bestowed the honorific title, Myriad Laws Divine Sword.”
“Rewarded with one ‘ten billion immortal sword’, to review on behalf of the heavens, and regulate Myriad Laws.”