Chapter 309 Group up to Participate in the Competition!
Chapter 309 Group up to Participate in the Competition!
Ruan Hongling went straight back to Tiannan City. When she returned to Li Yundong's home in New Hongsheng District, she arrived to find that Li Yundong and the others were talking happily in the room.
Ruan Hongling rushed into the house from the balcony. No sooner did her feet touch the floor than she burst into tears and jumped into the arms of Zi Yuan.
Li Yundong, Zi Yuan, and the others were shocked and stood up one after another. "What happened?"
Normally, Zi Yuan would have reprimanded Ruan Hongling for having such a loose grip on her emotions as a cultivator. However, she could see that Ruan Hongling was distraught and her reddened face was full of anger and grievance. It was obvious that she had suffered some sort of humiliation. Zi Yuan's heart tightened. She placed her hands on Ruan Hongling's shoulders and asked in a low voice, "Hongling, what happened?"
Ruan Hongling cried and told them everything that had occurred, inciting the others' fury.
Li Yundong said angrily, "The Zhengyi School has crossed the line. It looks like they're sh*tting down the Linggong Sect's necks!"
The look on Zhou Qin's face was as cold as ice. She said nothing, her eyes fixed on Li Yundong as if awaiting his decision.
Su Chan also said angrily, "Is this the so-called decent sect? How could they be so overbearing! What's the difference between them and bandits?"
Li Yundong hurled a torrent of abuse for a while. Then, he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Zi Yuan, "By the way, when did you take in the souls of Deng Yu and Deng Jiao? Why didn't I know about it? Those b*stards from the Zhengyi School dared to snatch the reborn souls of Deng Yu and Deng Jiao. If anything bad happens to Deng Yu and Deng Jiao, I will show them no mercy!"
Although the others were visibly filled with righteous indignation, Zi Yuan remained very calm. After thinking for a while, she simply said, "Let's talk about this later. Although the Zhengyi School is being excessive, they are not devils. I know the temper and character of the The Lady of the Earthly Fire. She is strong-willed, but she is still a decent person. She won't do anything bad to the sisters."
"I heard that the leader of the Zhengyi School, Celestial Master Zhang, has been trying to rebuild the Three-death Sword Formation. The formation consumed a huge amount of manpower and material resources, and now it needs two powerful psychic sword spirits. No doubt The Lady of the Earthly Fire was thrilled to discover them and took them to cultivate into sword spirits."
Speaking up to this point, Zi Yuan sighed slightly. "If that's the case, this is also an unexpected blessing for them."
Ruan Hongling raised her head, her eyes full of indignance and resentment as she said, "Sister Zi Yuan, are you going to bear their insult again? They sealed our Linggong Sect!"
A hint of anger flashed through Zi Yuan's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "The reason they sealed the Linggong Sect was to force me to yield to them. Now, the undercurrents in the cultivation world are surging, and there are constant conflicts between the Inner Elixir School and the External Alchemy. Outwardly, The Great Six are cooperating with the Zhengyi School, but in actual fact, they are secretly competing for the leadership of the cultivation world. Now that the Great Six have united, their power is equal to that of the Zhengyi School. Zhengyi School are thinking about annexing our Linggong Sect to expand their power."
Zi Yuan said sneeringly, "Maybe they can seal the Linggong Sect, but how can they seal the mouths of all the cultivators in the world? Hongling, it's a good thing that you didn't go directly to make trouble with them. If you had, you'd have been playing directly into their hands! In our current situation, if we went to find trouble with the Zhengyi School, it would be like hitting a stone with an egg. We can only swallow our anger and bear the humiliation for now."
"After half a year, Linggong Sect will hold the inauguration ceremony for the Leader of the sect, and it will be hosted by the Zhengyi School. By then, in the hope of legitimizing their annexation of our sect, Zhengyi School will sent golden invitations out, inviting the Leaders of the Cultivation sects across the world to attend the ceremony. When that happens, we can ask the Leaders of these sects to uphold justice for us."
After hearing this, Li Yundong immediately said, "I dare not say anything else, but I, Li Yundong, will be the first to support you! Our Fox Zen School also fully supports you!"
Su Chan had always been very grateful for the help Zi Yuan's had given Li Yundong. She herself had guided Li Yundong on his Cultivation path, but Zi Yuan was the person who had helped him make great progress. If it hadn't been for Zi Yuan, Li Yundong wouldn't have such powerful abilities. She nodded firmly and said, "Sister Zi Yuan, I support you as well!"
Zhou Qin opened her mouth and wanted to say something. Before any words escaped, however, she swallowed them back down, keenly aware of the fact that she was just a normal person and didn't know Cultivation as well as the Shentong. However, determination flashed in her eyes.
Zi Yuan smiled lightly. "Thank you for your kindness. However, if you all openly support our Linggong Sect, we'll be able to confirm their crime."
Ruan Hongling jumped up and said angrily, "Just do it! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Li Yundong also said unhappily, "Because people all over the world say Fox Zen School is a place of evil and home to devils, I have to put in a lot of effort to make the Fox Zen Sect famous and decent! Not everyone is born to be a bad guy. Even if someone is born bad, wouldn't they also have the right to become a good person in the future?"
Seeing that Li Yundong was angry, Zi Yuan smiled apologetically at him. "You're right. I'm just being stubborn."
Li Yundong's anger then turned to joy. "That's right! Don't worry, I will definitely stand up for you at the inauguration ceremony for the Sect Leaders in six months!"
Zi Yuan smiled slightly and thought to herself, "Li Yundong only got into cultivation half a year ago. Although he is already a top-notch expert among the younger generation, the gap between him and the cultivation level of the older generation is still very big. When the time comes, I will have to find a way to persuade him not to stand out, otherwise, he may be besieged by the Heads of various other sects, which could only spell trouble."
Having made up her mind, Zi Yuan dropped the matter. She turned to Ruan Hongling and said, "Let's put this issue aside for the time being. For now, the biggest problem is attending the competition and winning the money so we can make a life here. Have you brought the tea and tea set?"
Ruan Hongling wiped her tears, took out a small pouch, and tore it open gently. Li Yundong and the others only saw a ball of colorful light emerging. Ruan Hongling stretched her hand out into it, and then took out a teapot and tea set.
Li Yundong saw that the tea set was made of magnificent-looking purple sand, but the teapot looked ordinary. He asked, "How long have the tea leaves been in here? Are they moldy?"
Ruan Hongling was so angry that she rolled her eyes at Li Yundong. "Don't blather on about things you don't understand! This is a porcelain jar that sister Zi Yuan sealed with spiritual energy. Even if the highest grade Huangshan Maofeng Tea had been sitting in there for two years, it would still be fine!"
Li Yundong didn't take Ruan Hongling's rude words seriously and said with a smile, "Let's discuss it now. There must be a procedure for the competition."
Then, he turned to look at Zi Yuan and said, "Do you need anyone's help in the tea art competition?"
Zi Yuan thought for a moment before replying, "I don't need anyone's help. I'm fully capable of handling it alone."
Li Yundong smiled and said, "Well, then we will be cheering for you from the stands."
Ruan Hongling couldn't help teasing Li Yundong again. "Idiot, do you think it's a sports meet? Shout and cheer? Are you kidding me? Tea art shows are based on the pairing of activity and inertia. The core of it is that you should watch the process of making a cup of tea silently and then savor the tea in a state of complete tranquility!"
Li Yundong knew that Ruan Hongling's master had met with misfortune, so he didn't argue with her. He made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest before saying with a smile, "You're so experienced and knowledgeable, Perfected Immortal Ruan. I admire you so much!"
Ruan Hongling raised her head and said, "Of course!"
Turning to Su Chan and Zhou Qin, Li Yundong said, "Hurry up and have a good rest. We'll set off for Dongwu City before tomorrow morning before the sun rises."
After Li Yundong had finished speaking, Su Chan and Zhou Qin went back to their respective rooms. Fortunately, Li Yundong's place was large enough, with three rooms and two living rooms. Su Chan slept in one room and Zhou Qin used another. Ruan Hongling and Zi Yuan went back to their rooms. Li Yundong himself remained sitting in the living room meditating and practicing Qi.
At four o'clock in the morning, Li Yundong roused himself from his meditation. He took a long, deep breath and let out a soft groan.
Although this groan was not loud, Zi Yuan heard it immediately and also woke up from her meditation. She walked into the living room and said with a smile, "Even though the saying is that people who don't have money usually have no desire to cultivate, you still keep at it despite being penniless. The burden of handling our living costs is on your shoulders, but it seems like you aren`t worried about it. You can still make such progress in your cultivation?"
Li Yundong smiled and said, "What the president said is right. What should be yours is yours, what should not be yours is not yours. As the saying goes, there must be a road before a car can come to the mountain!"
The expression on Zi Yuan's face was one of shock. "Which president said that?"
Li Yundong smiled and said, "Chairman Mao!"
This did nothing to relieve Zi Yuan's surprise. "Did Chairman Mao really say something like that?"
Li Yundong waved his hand. "It was actually the chairman of the pornographic film committee!"
Zi Yuan almost coughed up blood upon hearing this. She rolled her eyes at Li Yundong fiecely and said, "I'm going to wash up!"
At this time, Ruan Hongling, Su Chan, and the others had also been awakened after hearing the voices of Li Yundong and Zi Yuan. Zhou Qin was the last to rouse herself, looking sleepy. However, the Yuanqi in her body was extremely vigorous, and after a while, her spirits lifted once again.
After washing up, they flew to Dongwu City before dawn. On the way, Li Yundong flew with Zhou Qin and said with a smile, "It's fortunate that we can fly. Otherwise, I would have been vomiting blood just for the ticket!"
Zhou Qin took in the magnificent sight of the rivers and mountains of the motherland from high in the sky and sighed, "I really never expected that I would be able to fly in the sky one day."
Li Yundong smiled and said softly, "One day, you will be able to fly alone."
Zhou Qin glanced at him with a gentle smile on her face, but she thought in her heart: "I wish you would always be here to take me flying."
By the time Li Yundong and the others arrived in Dongwu City, it was already around nine o'clock in the morning. Li Yundong went straight to the Cultural Palace of Dongwu City, which was written on the propaganda list as the venue of the competition.
The Cultural Palace of Dongwu City was situated next to Renmin Road, on the main line. There was a large square inside, which was surrounded by all sorts of rockery, strange stones, flowers, and trees. The environment was undeniably elegant.
Li Yundong looked around and pointed to a well-positioned registration office. He said with a laugh, "Found it. It's over there."
Li Yundong led everyone to the registration office. When the lady inside saw them coming over, she gave them a friendly smile and said, "Hello, are you going to sign up for the competition?"
Li Yundong smiled and nodded. "Yes, we are."
The young lady looked Li Yundong up and down, and then did the same at Su Chan, Zhou Qin, and Ruan Hongling behind him. She was inwardly amazed by them. She asked, "Would you like to participate in the competition as individuals, or as a company?"
"What's the difference?" Li Yundong asked.
The young lady smiled and said, "There's no much difference. If one takes part in the competition, they will lose out to the company. At that time, the organizer will present a souvenir for the person who didn't get a place in the competition, but the company won't get such a boon."
Li Yundong smiled and said, "I see. We are going to participate in the competition as individuals."
The young lady asked again, "Then may I ask which of you is going to sign up?"
Zi Yuan said lightly, "That'd be me."
The young lady looked at Zi Yuan carefully and was secretly shocked by her ethereal temperament. She thought to herself, "The appearance of the person who performs the tea art is not the most important factor. What matters is their temperament. A person with a good temperament can obviously earn a lot of brownie points in the competition. I don't know what the tea art of this beautiful lady is like."
The lady wrote down Zi Yuan's name and asked, "What tea will you use in the competition?"
"The Huangshan Maofeng!" Zi Yuan replied.
The young lady was shocked. "Huangshan Maofeng? Can I have a look?"
Zi Yuan replied indifferently, "When it comes to this kind of supreme Huangshan Maofeng Tea, I open the jar for even a second, it will lose some of its divine aura. I won't open it until the match begins."
With this, Zi Yuan glanced at the young lady. "What, you don't believe me?"
The young lady was so thoroughly stunned by Zi Yuan's temperament and self-confidence that she could not say anything. She could only mechanically write the words "Huangshan Maofeng" on the form. After asking a few more questions about Zi Yuan, she turned her head and said to a waiter next to her and said, "Go and tell the boss that there is a Master here."
After a while, Zheng Youming came out with a seductive-looking woman in his arms. He shouted brashly, "A master? Where is this master?"
Immediately, a waiter quietly pointed to Li Yundong et al. Zheng Youming looked over but didn't see Zi Yuan at first glance. Instead, what drew his attention was Li Yundong!
Seeing Li Yundong, Zheng Youming became so scared that his legs trembled, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Since the collapse of Zheng Youming's building last time, Zheng Youming had spent a lot of money to get out of it. After that, he had made up his mind and decided that Li Yundong, the jinx, had brought him bad luck.
"The first time I saw Li Yundong, this useless brat, my beautiful mistress left me, and the second time I saw Li Yundong, my building actually collapsed!
"F*ck, I can't believe I'm actually seeing this jinx again!"
What was even more hateful was that Li Yundong had teamed up with others this time just to bring trouble to him! Did he think that he was raiding a dungeon in some online game?!