Chapter 990: Tenfold Salary Raise
The appearance of the Immortal Foundation Chapter in the Feather Book filled Zhang Yu with a surge of excitement.
Particularly because of the mutual checks and balances between the two Immortal Emperors, as well as Immortal Emperor Supreme Truth’s obstruction, Zhang Yu realized that this was very likely a trump card the Immortal Emperors had not yet grasped.
“If I specialize in the World-Domain Dao Lineage on the surface while secretly preparing other Dao Lineages in the shadows… it might not be impossible for me to do something beyond the Immortal Emperors’ calculations when the time comes to achieve Ascension and establish my Dao.”
Thinking of this, Zhang Yu could not help but feel secretly fortunate. “If it had been like the previous fusions with the fist technique book and breathing technique book, where their original functions were merely integrated as modules, who knows how long I would have had to cultivate bitterly just to complete my parasitism of the World-Domain Dao Lineage.”
“Fortunately, while merging the two volumes of the Feather Book this time, I also upgraded the Feather Book. Only then did I obtain the function to absorb Great Dao Essence and accelerate my Dao-Seeking Progress.”
At this thought, a conjecture surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind: “If there hadn’t been another volume of the Feather Book to merge with when upgrading the Feather Book, would this Immortal Foundation Chapter have still appeared?”
Zhang Yu shook his head. “Maybe it would have been other chapters, other functions… like some new Chain Formation Diagram, a new Dao Seed Register…
“So the upgrade effect of the Feather Book isn’t fixed? Instead, it automatically adjusts based on the current situation to find what suits me best?”
While Zhang Yu was sensing the changes within himself and constantly pondering in his heart, Fu Ji was also observing everything.
She thought to herself, “It seems that under my stimulation and guidance, Zhang Yu’s strength has advanced by leaps and bounds once again.”
Especially sensing that Zhang Yu was in a good mood right now, Fu Ji couldn’t help but hatch an idea: “Now is the best time to ask for a raise!”
Fu Ji thought to herself, “It’s been so long since I became 1000-wages ancestor… Zhang Yu’s income has increased by more than tenfold, and his subordinates like Yu Xinghan, Magnetic Pole, Gao Chongguang, Ye Xingli… every single one of them has been promoted or gotten a raise. No matter how you look at it, it should be my turn now.”
Although the salary Zhang Yu gave the Evil Gods was merely an allowance for buying antiques and couldn’t be spent freely on anything else, it didn’t dampen Fu Ji’s yearning for a raise at this moment.
She spoke up, asking, “Zhang Yu, the effect of the potential enhancement is pretty good, isn’t it?”
Zhang Yu nodded, remaining immersed in his contemplation of the Feather Book.
Fu Ji added, “The antiques I bought recently… somehow feel a bit subpar in quality.”
Hearing these words, both the Herald God and the Auspicious God were stirred.
The Auspicious God thought to himself, “That Fu Ji! Does she want a salary raise? To bring it up to the Boss right in front of everyone — she’s really got some nerve!”
On the other side, the Herald God thought secretly, “This Zhang Yu… is wildly ambitious, with aspirations of ascending to the Supreme Seat. Ever since his university days, he knew how to build a persona and win people over, and after entering the sect, he took to it like a fish to water…”
“Back then, wielding the power of the Salary Raise Authority, he used sect assets to win over the populace, not even sparing the soul cultivators. Afterwards, repeatedly incited by him, they turned into a free internet water army, exploited by him time and time again without pay.”
“As for us evil gods, he squeezes us relentlessly, squeezing every last drop of our wisdom and memories to put them to use…”
“One could say… that the Sect Examination Clone is the true reflection of his nature. If he ascends to the imperial throne one day, I fear he will be even more of a monster than the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor.”
The more Herald God interacted with Zhang Yu, the more he felt the man’s unfathomable depths, sensing his boundless ambition.
“Yet even when facing such a being… Fu Ji still marched forward fearlessly and demanded a raise.”
At this moment, Herald God felt Fu Ji’s figure suddenly tower with greatness.
“Fu Ji, I admit I underestimated you before. You have far more grit and courage than I imagined.”
However, after Fu Ji finished speaking, Zhang Yu fell into silence.
Feeling this silence, Auspicious God only felt the air around Zhang Yu grow intensely oppressive.
Auspicious God instantly grew nervous as well: “It’s all Fu Ji’s fault! Why did she have to bring up a raise out of nowhere?! Is Zhang Yu about to get angry?”
Herald God thought to himself: “Silence? No, they must be in a private chat! A salary raise is definitely discussed one-on-one. In the brief moment we perceive silence, the two of them might have already clashed in secret for countless rounds!”
Fu Ji thought to herself, “Was my hint not obvious enough? Did Zhang Yu not catch on?”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu pondered in his mind, “Besides the World-Domain Dao Lineage, which other Dao Lineages… could I try to parasitize?”
At the same time, he spared a shred of attention to reflect on what Fu Ji had just said: “The quality of the antiques isn’t very good? Did the merchants scam her?”
While he was pondering, his Sect Examination Clone remarked, “She wants a raise.”
“A raise?” Zhang Yu thought, “My income has increased more than tenfold, so I might as well increase Fu Ji’s tenfold as well.”
Zhang Yu then spoke, “Fu Ji, starting next month… your quota for purchasing antiques will be raised to ten thousand Immortal Coins.”
Hearing this, the Herald God, the Auspicious God, and the group of nameless Evil God minions were all instantly struck with shock.
The Auspicious God thought in disbelief, “A ten… ten-thousand coin salary? Fu Ji has become an 10000-wage ancestor just like that? On what grounds?! She literally just slacks off all the time, constantly outsources her work to us, yet her monthly salary is now higher than that of many Sect Staff members?!”
Herald God thought to himself, “Ten times? Fu Ji’s salary actually increased tenfold?”
To Herald God, such a tenfold salary increase was simply terrifying.
After all, in Kunxu, it was completely normal for various bosses and leaders to see their income increase tenfold.
However, for an employee’s salary to suddenly increase tenfold belonged to the realm of legendary rarities.
“A worker’s salary increasing tenfold is harder than a company’s revenue increasing a hundredfold! And Fu Ji actually managed to do it just like that?”
“What on earth did the two of them say in secret just now? What kind of clash took place between them?”
Meanwhile, a flash of regret crossed Fu Ji’s mind: “Zhang Yu agreed so easily. If I’d known, I should have asked for more!”
However, Fu Ji knew… she could no longer ask for more. She could only propose other suggestions, trying to replicate more of Zhang Yu’s power and influence, and play a greater role under his command.
“Zhang Yu, we have so many Evil Gods under our command now. Keeping them by our side is a waste; we can totally send them out to do business.”
“As long as we use rituals to keep them under control, there won’t be much of a safety issue.”
For Fu Ji, being able to control the Evil Gods under her command and dispatch them to handle projects was the only way she could grasp more real power under Zhang Yu’s banner.
Hearing this, Herald God and Auspicious God also grew slightly excited, looking at Zhang Yu with anticipation.
Zhang Yu, however, said indifferently, “We’ll discuss this matter later.”
Over the next few days, Zhang Yu cultivated while testing the power the Immortal Foundation Chapter had brought him, continuously adapting to the advancements in his Spatial Technology after his Dao-Seeking Progress in the [World-Domain Dao Lineage] reached 36%.
This continued until this morning, when Dugu Ming sent Zhang Yu a message.
Dugu Ming: “Have you mostly gotten used to the Feather Book?”
Zhang Yu’s eyes flickered, knowing that the real business had arrived.
Inside the Dharma Realm office of the Heavenly Surveillance Hall.
Watching Zhang Yu’s projection descend, Dugu Ming said, “Profound Monarch Zhang, since you have been chosen as this sect’s Book-Wielder, you will have to trouble yourself considerably with the upcoming plan to confiscate the Books of the world.”
Wearing an expression of utter loyalty, Zhang Yu cupped his hands and said, “This is only my duty. Since the Immortal Emperor has chosen me to suppress the books and serve as the Book-Wielder of our Myriad Laws Sect, I will naturally spare no effort and shrink from no sacrifice.”
Dugu Ming nodded and continued, “Although the plan is to collect all the Books of the world, there is still a priority in sequence.”
“First are the newly born Books each time… Regarding this, the ten Immortal Emperors reached an agreement long ago. Each sect sends their own people, and whoever obtains it in the end keeps it.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu’s interest was piqued. “Can it be fought over with martial force?”
Dugu Ming replied, “Martial combat… sometimes happens. But whenever a Book is born, it selects its owner according to different mechanisms. So in many cases, having greater strength does not guarantee obtaining the new Book.”
“Moreover, under the deliberate control of the ten Immortal Emperors, and combined with the fact that Books have limited use for Immortals, the contention over new Books often takes place below the level of Immortals, and the intensity of the struggle is kept within certain limits.”
“In my experience, compared to martial combat, it involves more contests of wealth, power, and martial duels…”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, but thought of his own situation in his heart: “Then what about my own Feather Book… Was it born along with me? Or did it choose me because of some mechanism?”
Dugu Ming continued, “Having discussed new Books, next comes old Books. Confiscating old Books… is the real main event.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu’s expression grew solemn as well.
After all, as far as he knew, although the sect had never made much information about Books public, it had always been relatively lenient toward cultivators who possessed Books.
Could it be that confiscating the world’s Books meant forcibly snatching them away from numerous cultivators?
Dugu Ming said, “Old Books can also be divided into two categories: those within the sect’s jurisdiction, and those outside it.”
“As for old Books outside the sect, later on… probably within a year or two, the Immortal Emperor may arrange trades and competitions, but for now we won’t concern ourselves with them.”
“Meanwhile, the old Books within the territory controlled by our sect… are our primary targets at present.”
Dugu Ming sighed. “After all, the number of new Books is extremely limited; one might not even be born in several years. Furthermore, possessors of other Books outside the sect are often sheltered by other sects. Acting rashly could easily trigger conflicts between sects, or even a Dao Lineage Struggle.”
“So for now, our primary targets for confiscation are the old Books within our sect’s sphere of influence. While the actual circumstances surrounding these old Books are very complex, generally speaking… they can be divided into two categories.”
“One category… can be directly seized by force.”
“The other primarily involves transactions, where it is best to encourage them to willingly offer them up.”
At this point, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Dugu Ming’s mouth. “You can probably guess who can be seized by force. They are nothing more than some lower realm cultivators, or marginalized people in the sect with no background to speak of.”
“In the past, the Immortal Emperor was lenient, allowing them to gain fortuitous encounters, acquire Books, and use those Books for personal gain.”
“But times have changed, and Books must now be strictly regulated. Such people are few in number, possessing neither power nor influence. Even if they are ruined and forced into reincarnation, it won’t harm the business environment, nor will it have much impact on the sect. Naturally, they can be forcibly confiscated.”
Zhang Yu sighed inwardly, “If I hadn’t climbed to my current position and the existence of my Book were exposed, I’m afraid I would also be among those forcibly confiscated.”
Dugu Ming continued, “As for the other group of people, that’s where things get a bit troublesome.”
Dugu Ming sighed with emotion. “They either have deep backgrounds, sometimes even with backers at the Immortal level, or they hold key posts themselves, where their every move has an enormous impact on the sect. There are even those who have continually used the Book’s abilities to bring benefits to the sect, earning hard-won merits with their sweat and blood… None of these people can be dealt with through brute force, or it could easily trigger turmoil within the sect.”
Fa Liuyuan’s figure suddenly surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind. He thought to himself, “Fa Liuyuan must be one of those people, right? He holds an important post himself, and he has an Immortal backing him. I wonder what method the Immortal Emperor used to make them willing to hand over the Feather Book.”
Dugu Ming concluded, “My suggestion is that you first familiarize yourself with the work, and then target those lower-tier cultivators who lack background. Once you’re familiar with the workflow and have accumulated a certain amount of strength, you can consider moving against those with seniority, slowly finding a way… to retrieve the Books from them.”
Hearing this, Zhang Yu could not help but sigh inwardly at the complexity and trouble involved in confiscating the Books.
Just then, Dugu Ming reminded him again, “By the way, I also have a list here. The people on it… do not touch them.”
Looking at the names of the cultivators on the list, Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Tai Yuebai? Big Brother Tai is on it too?”
Zhang Yu asked curiously, “This is…?”
Dugu Ming explained, “These are the people the Immortal Emperor does not wish to touch. Just pretend you haven’t seen the books on them.”
Zhang Yu was not surprised by this in the slightest. They claimed to be collecting all the Books of the world, but with so many people possessing books, how could they possibly treat everyone equally?
Yet looking at the list in his hands, he could already feel how difficult collecting the books would be.
Zhang Yu sighed inward, “The Immortal Emperor has people he doesn’t want to touch, but do the other Immortal Venerables and Immortals not have people they want to protect? This book collection process… I’m afraid it will be fraught with resistance.”
As if sensing Zhang Yu’s thoughts, Dugu Ming spoke, “If you have any requests, you can make them, and you can come to me with any difficulties you encounter.”
Zhang Yu said, “As for the specifics… I will need to get a better understanding of the situation first, but in terms of manpower…”
Dugu Ming cut in directly, “The cultivators originally responsible for this work will continue to serve under you. If you need anyone else, you can ask for them directly.”
Zhang Yu understood that this was meant to be support and a perk for him. Without standing on ceremony, he said immediately, “I want to bring a few people over.”
With that, he provided the profiles of Yu Xinghan and Magnetic Pole.
In Zhang Yu’s view, now that the two had advanced to the Void Refinement stage, they were ready to follow him onto a larger stage and plan for their future promotions.
Although this mission to confiscate the Books of the world was fraught with difficulties, it also presented boundless opportunities. In Zhang Yu’s eyes… it might just be the chance for the two of them to climb even higher.
Moreover, once Yu Xinghan and Magnetic Pole vacated their current positions, they could leave those posts open for others.
“Tu Lishan, and Senior Sister Ye Xingli… can both seize this opportunity to move up another step.”
Especially Ye Xingli — Zhang Yu had already planned to nominate her as the new Minister of the Netherworld Assets Department after Yu Xinghan left the Former Days Graveyard, making her his new assistant in controlling the graveyard.