After Transmigrating as an Immortal Master, I Hold a Group Meeting - Chapter 102

Qi Miancheng was probing him again. Ning Mingmei knew it all too well.

The system: [You really think the worst of everyone, don’t you?]

Ning Mingmei: “You think when we call each other senior brother and junior brother, it’s sincere? It’s just the polite farce adults play.”

The system: …

Well, you certainly looked sincere enough when you went asking your senior brother for money.

The relationship between Ning Mingmei and Qi Miancheng was like a game played on a taut wire. Ning Mingmei knew Qi Miancheng wasn’t a good man and Qi Miancheng knew Ning Mingmei had ulterior motives.

Yet there was a subtle restraint between them that made them keep acting out this play together.

Or rather, they were both spiders who liked to weave webs. Instead of striking directly, they preferred to collect information, pluck the threads, and wait for the other to fall into their net.

Sometimes, Ning Mingmei thought Qi Miancheng’s temperament was peculiar. That faintly sinister disposition didn’t seem like something that could be nurtured by a lofty clan like the Qi family.

Perhaps, in Qi Miancheng’s eyes, Ning Mingmei’s temperament was just as contradictory. He didn’t believe a period of seclusion could change Ning Mingmei so completely.

So there had to be a cause.

And so, using the opportunity of Ning Mingmei choosing clothes for him, he wanted to discern Ning Mingmei’s view of him and, from that, sketch out the underlying colors of his personality.

Thus, Ning Mingmei chose…

“I’ll make two sets of robes for Senior Brother,” Ning Mingmei said. “One black with a red sash and one green with a yellow-green-blue sash. In three days, I’ll send them to you.”

Qi Miancheng smiled. “Good. But I wonder, does Junior Brother’s choice of colors have any meaning?”

Ning Mingmei didn’t answer. “I’m giving you these clothes, Senior Brother. You’re not going to refuse to wear them, are you?”

“I won’t,” Qi Miancheng said. “I’ll wear what Junior Brother gives me because they’re from you.”

Ning Mingmei clicked his tongue and stood to leave.

However, Qi Miancheng said, “Junior Brother, you’re forgetting something.”

“?”

“I said I’d also choose a set of clothes for you, didn’t I? Surely you haven’t forgotten,” Qi Miancheng stated.

In the twilight, Ning Mingmei saw the narrow lift of Qi Miancheng’s eyes. Under the refracted light, his gaze had the gleam of turquoise; cold, deep, and shadowed.

Ning Mingmei: “You never said that.”

Qi Miancheng: “No, Junior Brother, I didn’t. But now, I’m saying it.”

Ning Mingmei: “Which one does Senior Brother choose?”

Qi Miancheng pointed to the most expensive, most exquisite set in the shop. “That one.”

It was a white robe.

White as snow, trimmed with fine feathers of the unreturning bird. Under the evening glow, the fabric shimmered with rippling light, like waves on an icy lake. Elegant, pure, lofty.

Ning Mingmei folded his arms and waited while Qi Miancheng paid. After buying it, Qi Miancheng handed the robe to Ning Mingmei.

Ning Mingmei tossed it to Wen Siheng. When the disciples had all left and the shop was empty, Ning Mingmei said, “Senior Brother, I don’t usually wear white.”

“Junior Brother, sometimes when you need to strong-arm others into doing things, wearing white makes you look more righteous, more noble and aboveboard. Everyone knows gentlemen of virtue wear white.”

That was the whisper Qi Miancheng left by Ning Mingmei’s ear as they brushed past each other.

The group had already departed. Standing atop his flying sword, Ning Mingmei watched the sun sink toward the mountains. “To be a guide but not a teacher, what need have I for white?” he said suddenly. “Wear black, wear blue, wear green. The world’s colors are endless.”

The system: [What does that mean?]

Ning Mingmei didn’t answer.

The system, feeling belittled again, pressed on, [Then what do the two sets you picked for Qi Miancheng mean?]

This time, Ning Mingmei replied. “You’ll find out in three days.”

The system: ?

Ning Mingmei: “I don’t believe Qi Miancheng will wear that green one.”

The system: [You mentioned profiling earlier. Aren’t you afraid Qi Miancheng will profile you based on the clothes you chose?]

Ning Mingmei: “Maybe. But that’d only reveal the aesthetic sense of a Cola marketing team, at most.”

Their sword swept across a thousand peaks. On every summit, disciples were practicing swordwork, reading aloud, voices ringing. At a glance, the scene looked like a pure and radiant academy.

And at that moment, Ning Mingmei began to hum a song. “Beyond the pavilion, beside the ancient road, green grass stretches endlessly…”

The system: [That’s the only song you know, isn’t it?]

When they reached Misty Peak, the song abruptly stopped.

“Judging from actions alone, I’m now wholly aligned with the Supreme Clarity Sect,” Ning Mingmei said. “My senior brother is a rational man. As long as there are enough chains of interest binding us, no one will let my ship sink. But the Supreme Clarity Sect’s interests alone aren’t enough. The Smoky Cloud Tower, the Brilliant Blossom Valley, the Ice Quenching Pavilion, the Truth Seeker Gate… none of them will escape.”

The system: [What nonsense are you spouting?]

What was it, exactly, that suddenly provoked Ning Mingmei?

“The cake of the cultivation world,” Ning Mingmei said, making a pinching gesture, “will eventually be in my grasp. Easily. I’ve studied for decades and now I have all these disciples, one batch after another, a sea of eager students for me to exploit.”

Across the endless mountains, while the Supreme Clarity Sect disciples trained hard with their swords, countless ordinary people still dreamed of one day entering the sect and gaining fame across the world.

For them, this Debate Conference was that dream made real; one step through the gate, and the world would know their name.

How many would break their heads just for that chance to enter under Ning Mingmei’s banner?

From ancient times till now, everyone is a scholar at heart.

The system looked at Ning Mingmei but in his eyes, there wasn’t a trace of laughter.

?

Although Ning Mingmei’s words were full of questionable points…

How could anyone talk about conquering the world and yet sound so joyless?

***

Three days. Such a mysterious stretch of time.

For the management level, three days were far too short; too short to come up with any concrete requirements, so they spent the whole time being vague and pushing responsibility around.

However, for the disciples under those managers, three days was far too long; long enough that they wondered why they couldn’t just make five versions of the plan instead, to avoid all that vagueness.

That was why, years later, one balding Supreme Clarity Sect disciple was inspired to write ‘The Supreme Clarity Theory of Relativity.’

“With the Divine Sword, I drunkenly behead the great whale,
Laughing, I ride the raging waves and cross the rivers.
The breeze is mild, the sun bright, the skies vast and clear,
Once again, we welcome the grand once-in-seven-year debate conference between the Supreme Clarity Sect and the Smoky Cloud Tower!”

Yu Zi followed her senior brother to one of the viewing platforms.

Her senior brother wiped sweat from his brow and exclaimed, “So many people this year!”

The Debate Conference between the Supreme Clarity Sect and the Smoky Cloud Tower was a major event. Those attending weren’t limited to the two sects. Many renowned sects across the land had sent representatives. In addition, influential noble families had pulled strings to get invitations, eager to come and watch the matches.

And, of course, to network and decide which sects they might later align with.

Generally speaking, the wealthy and powerful watched from within the Supreme Clarity Sect’s grounds; those a little poorer gathered outside the mountain gates; the rest waited even farther away in nearby towns to listen to the broadcast. As for those privileged enough to attend in person, they were usually inner sect disciples, emissaries from other sects, or people of notable wealth and status.

Yu Zi had been brought in through the connections of an inner disciple from the Workers Hall.

Yu Zi said, “It’s a grand event. Of course there are crowds.”

“Look over there. Isn’t that from the Moving Immortals Palace? I heard their disciples cultivate through dance, wielding fans or silk ribbons as weapons. So graceful.”

“And those holding parasols, are they from the Flowing Wind Pavilion ?”

“There must be twenty-plus sects here!”

Amid all the wide-eyed chatter, Yu Zi pressed her lips together. So the disciples of the Supreme Clarity Sect were just like everyone else. Born rich herself, she found them rather provincial.

‘Didn’t expect that, did you?’ Yu Zi thought. ‘Aside from your so-called orthodox sects, I bet plenty of fiend cultivators have slipped in too.’

Like Bai Mian, for instance.

Some days ago, Yu Zi had received a letter from her elder brother, casually mentioning that Bai Mian had gone traveling again, and at once she knew something was up.

If the Melting Gold Tower and Seamless Space Pawnshop were the public face, then the Rebirth Auction Hall was the hidden core. The face and the core together made up The Room, the collective name for that underworld network. In the Rebirth, you could find anyone: priests, thieves, killers, scholars, anything and anyone, so long as they were useful and safe.

Bai Mian was one of them.

That incident not long ago had shamed not only A’Dai but also Bai Mian himself. It was said that when someone found Bai Mian naked, tightly bound, and released him, his whole face had turned green. Because of that, the master of Rebirth had granted him two months of leave and silenced quite a few people on his behalf.

However, A’Dai knew it wouldn’t blow over so easily. She and Bai Mian were the same kind of creature; she could smell that vengeful, never-forgetting scent on him.

Now, Bai Mian had gone ‘traveling’ at the same time the Supreme Clarity Sect was holding its Debate Conference, how could that be a coincidence? Everyone knew Bai Mian loathed the great orthodox sects.

And Yu Zi suspected Bai Mian also knew Ning Mingmei was in the Supreme Clarity Sect. He would never let that go.

“It’s just that I still don’t understand what organization stands behind Bai Mian,” Yu Zi thought. “Where was he before he came to Rebirth?”

As she pondered, the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers. “The disciples of the Smoky Cloud Tower are coming out!”

To show humility and courtesy, the host sect always allowed the other side to enter first. Yu Zi rose on tiptoe amid the sea of heads and saw the first formation from the Smoky Cloud Tower gliding down to the square, all wearing the sect’s iconic white-and-red robes, each carrying a qin.

At their head was Song Mingke, with a red mark between his brows; so beautiful, he truly looked like a celestial being.

Yu Zi: …

He looked familiar. Wasn’t he the troublemaker who caused those great demons to brawl in the Rebirth?

Those demons were a menace. Reckless in fights and lightning-fast when escaping. Thankfully, the Rebirth had its means and managed to wring compensation from one of them. Although that same great demon had offered another deal. He would pay handsomely for Song Mingke’s whereabouts if the Rebirth could find him.

Yu Zi couldn’t understand those love-addled fools.

Level-headed and vengeful, Yu Zi continued her own civil engineering mission at the Supreme Clarity Sect with this in mind.

The second formation entered, carrying sheng and yu flutes, then bells, pipes, and drums. By the time the Medical Island unit came in, no one paid much attention. Medical Island was chaotic, with every instrument imaginable.

“At first, it was interesting, but now, they all look the same. Next sect already, please,” someone muttered.

The second wave to appear was the Supreme Clarity Sect’s disciples. The first to descend before the crowd were those from Heavenly Terrace Peak, and the drowsy spectators instantly straightened up.

“No wonder they’re disciples of the Sect Master’s own peak; such poise, such grace!” someone exclaimed. Their bearing alone showed the difference between them and those flashy, gaudy peaks.

“Isn’t the Sect Master coming out yet?” Yu Zi asked.

“The Sect Master usually waits until everyone has arrived before appearing,” her senior brother replied.

As the Smoky Cloud Tower’s performers gave way to the Supreme Clarity Sect’s, everyone knew there would be thirteen peaks in total and that by the end, their eyes would be numb from too much beauty, but for now, a new aesthetic was still worth enjoying.

After the stately, grand Heavenly Terrace Peak came White Cloud Peak.

“So wealthy, extravagant beyond words!”

“Told you! If you make it into the inner sect, aim for White Cloud Peak. The master’s an imperial member; what funding can’t he get?”

It was said that this peak is the kind where disciples can spend endlessly. There’s no such thing as a funding request that doesn’t get approved. The disciples of White Cloud Peak each have their own personal food warmers, because their budget is so large, there’s no reason to return any of it!

The White Cloud Peak disciples resembled their master, Fang Wuyu, in temperament; extravagant and arrogant, eyes set high above others. They landed beside the disciples of Heavenly Terrace Peak, chins slightly lifted.

“Our master said something strange this time,” one White Cloud Peak disciple remarked. “He told us we need to defeat Misty Peak?”

“Misty Peak? Since when are we competing with them?” another asked. However, waiting idly was dull, so they might as well look forward to something.

Just then, the announcer declared, “Next, Jade Pavilion Peak.”

Jade Pavilion Peak was the foremost peak for Qi cultivators in the Supreme Clarity Sect. Yu Zi had already looked into this in advance. Its master, Yin Xisheng, was a famous frail beauty and naturally, his disciples shared a similar temperament; most of them were gentle, refined, and elegant…

Elegant…

Yu Zi: ?

They did look refined overall, but had something strange mixed in among them?

“Heavenly Terrace Peak! White Cloud Peak!”

“Heh, after a month of tempering, we’ve grown! We’re not the same kind of Qi cultivators as before!”

“The discrimination of strong majors against weak majors ends here!”

“Junior Sister Jiang Yu may be only in Foundation Establishment and unable to reach the finals, but we will carry her will forward!”

“This is the Will of Jade! Wherever Jade is, the spirit of competition thrives eternally!”

Yu Zi: …

If she wasn’t mistaken, those disciples seemed not only hostile toward the Smoky Cloud Tower but also toward their own sword cultivators.

What in the world was going on?

The Qi cultivators of the Supreme Clarity Sect had suddenly become quite puzzling. Still, on the whole, they looked delicate and refined as ever. Moreover, being the leading peak for Qi cultivators made Jade Pavilion Peak a coveted goal for many practitioners.

“For example, me,” said her senior brother with a sigh. “I’m a Qi cultivator myself. If I could enter Jade Pavilion Peak, that would be a blessing from my past life! And I heard that at the Supreme Clarity Sect, competition among Qi cultivators isn’t as fierce as among sword cultivators, since we’re the ‘weaker major,’ you know. Maybe I really could get in.”

Yu Zi, a Qi cultivator herself, nodded earnestly.

It didn’t matter. She planned to pretend to be a sword cultivator and sneak into Misty Peak for her revenge against Ning Mingmei.

After that, the disciples of Bai Ruoru and Xiang Wuxing appeared. Finally, some who seemed like the true conscience of the Supreme Clarity Sect. Each of them radiated heroic spirit, embodying the sword cultivator’s ideal: ‘A hall full of flowers to charm three thousand guests; a single blade to chill fourteen provinces.’ These two peaks were immensely popular and Yu Zi could hear numerous murmurs of admiration all around her.

“Seeing really is believing.”

“My passion for applying to the Supreme Clarity Sect is burning again!”

“First choice: Peak Lord Xiang Wuxing!”

The Supreme Clarity Sect truly lived up to its reputation as the foremost immortal sect. After the most dazzling peaks, the rest each had their own distinctive charms.

For example, in Jiang Ying’s Clear Snow Peak, every single disciple was stunningly beautiful, male or female, leaving the audience gaping.

“That peak’s really something.”

“But I know my limits, I’ll never get in. They say Peak Lord Jiang only accepts those with good looks.”

The crowd kept chattering, but Yu Zi grew increasingly uneasy.

Wait a minute… why hadn’t Misty Peak appeared yet?

As she waited expectantly, Hidden Sage Peak finished their showcase and their disciples descended onto their seats.

Compared to the earlier peaks, the ones appearing later seemed a little odd; not less talented, but carrying a kind of weary allure.

Yu Zi was still thinking this when, suddenly, a strange sound echoed from afar.

“Misty Peak is coming!”