After Transmigrating as an Immortal Master, I Hold a Group Meeting - Chapter 103

Misty Peak!

Among the drowsy crowd, only Yu Zi suddenly sat up straight.

The senior brother beside her yawned. “A’Zi, why are you so excited? There’s nothing special to see… Oh, right, try this.”

Yu Zi looked down. “?”

In his hand was a black-and-red bottle of beverage.

Yu Zi: “What’s this?”

The senior brother whispered mysteriously, “I pulled some strings to get it! Right now, it’s only secretly circulating among inner sect disciples. I heard the people from the Smoky Cloud Tower love drinking this.”

Yu Zi didn’t dare drink random things. She frowned. “Senior Brother, who sold this to you?”

“Some inner sect disciples of the Supreme Clarity Sect. They’re required to wear black-and-red clothing when selling the Cola. Oh, and there’s a promotion now, buy 500 bottles and you can enter a draw to win a matching outfit. That set is also black and red.”

Yu Zi pouted. “Just a regular outfit? Who’d even want that?”

By now, the most famous peaks of the Supreme Clarity Sect had already shown off. Since Misty Peak came even after Hidden Sage Peak, people didn’t expect much, maybe the same old routine, so interest was low.

“Still, Misty Peak’s been kinda famous lately.”

“Yeah, but this kind of exhibition shows a peak’s true depth. Misty Peak’s rise is mostly rumor, just hype from the upstarts.”

“Looks like the safest bet is still the Five Main Peaks.”

The crowd chattered on until someone suddenly said, “What’s that sound?”

“?”

Indeed, what was that sound coming with Misty Peak’s approach?

“Music?” someone frowned.

“And… narration?”

A solemn voice resounded, “Now approaching us is the formation of Misty Peak! Their disciples are brimming with spirit and strength. See their vigorous steps; each stride walks the long road of sword and scripture, each step treads the waves of the rising wind!”

“???”

What kind of narration was this? And yet…

“It’s kind of overwhelming!”

Even those who’d been gossiping earlier fell silent, awed by the mysterious energy sweeping from the east. As the sun rose in the east, so too did the disciples of Misty Peak descend from that direction.
What stunned everyone was their perfectly synchronized formation…

…and their chant.

“Unite and strive! Fight with spirit! Compete with style! Compete with skill!”

Not only did they march in time, but they even had background music. Every step landed on the beat. The rhythm was majestic yet graceful, pulsing with vitality.

Fang Wuyu frowned at the swelling melody and the audience suddenly sitting upright. He glanced at the Smoky Cloud Tower disciples, especially Song Mingke and Lu Youyu. But to his surprise, the two were exchanging horrified looks. Lu Youyu pointed to her ears; Song Mingke shook his head with a polite grimace.

Fang Wuyu: “???”

What kind of silent code was that supposed to be?

“Is that…” Peak Lord Liang Jiansu narrowed his eyes. Is that an army approaching?

Peak Lord Jiang Ying suddenly exclaimed, “So many handsome guys!”

At that, others began to notice.

“Their robes look different from ours.”

“They’re also white and purple, but…”

The cut, the color contrast, the tailored fit…

How come everyone suddenly looked so tall and elegant?

Wait.

Did Misty Peak always have this many good-looking people?

Amid the collective amazement, eighteen disciples landed neatly on the plaza. And instead of just standing there, they arranged themselves into a formation. As the music reached its peak, the eighteen drew their swords and—

…danced a sword dance.

Their movements were dazzling.

Swift as Hou Yi felling the suns, graceful as dragon-driven chariots in flight.

Each disciple’s sword style was distinct, yet the choreography fit together seamlessly and each even had a brief solo at center stage.

“I am Wen Siheng.”

“I am Lin Heting!”

When the sword dance ended, they returned to their places, standing like pines.

For one heartbeat, the plaza was silent and then exploded in screams.

“So—so handsome!” Jiang Ying clasped her hands, eyes shining. “I think I saw Lin Heting! Today he has that perfect decadent melancholy, like a flower blooming from red clay…” And the others too, she thought dreamily, each with that faint trace of world-weariness. So refined! So sophisticated!

Fang Wuyu, sitting beside her: …

He silently scooted away, closer to Liang Jiangsu. What a bunch of lunatics.

Liang Jiansu murmured, “Such precision in timing, such intricate design… Misty Peak can no longer be underestimated.”

Fang Wuyu: “…”

“It’s just an opening ceremony,” he muttered irritably. “They really had to turn it into a full production…”

Then—

“Ahhhh!”

“Which peak is that?!”

Even some of the outer sect disciples exclaimed, “That must be the Supreme Clarity Sect’s most powerful peak, right?”

Fang Wuyu, looking back at them: “……!!”

What in the world was going on?

“Just a little bit of sports-meet shock value. People always love these useless appearances,” said Ning Mingmei.

He wasn’t among the crowd. He stood off to the side, wearing a dark teal outer robe whose peacock-feather trim swayed elegantly. Arms folded, he calmly watched the audience cheering in awe at Misty Peak’s entrance. Considering his desire to look cool, Ning Mingmei had wisely decided not to make them sing their peak anthem today.

As the saying goes: Before opening a window, you must first break the ceiling. The moment the disciples learned they wouldn’t have to sing, they completed the opening-ceremony training with record speed.

The system was dumbfounded. [Th-this is way too over the top!]

Ning Mingmei replied, “Over the top? Hardly. Back where I come from, every class performs at the sports meet opening ceremony. Some do K-pop, some do spirit dances, some even do Super Mario.”

The system: ?

What on earth were those?

Misty Peak’s dazzling show woke everyone up and made the next few peaks seem painfully ordinary by comparison.

“I could feel that every one of those eighteen disciples had their own unique presence! Incredible!”

“Yeah—Number One was the classic captain type; Number Two had that beautiful, jaded look; Number Three was cool and carefree; Number Four…”

“So amazing!”

Of course, they were building character profiles right from their entrance.

Ning Mingmei lifted his chin slightly. The Supreme Clarity Sect’s parade was ending and he noticed Qi Miancheng appear on the high platform.

As expected, Qi Miancheng was wearing that black-and-red outfit.

The moment he appeared, cheers erupted.

“Sect Master!”

“Sect Master!”

In the roar of adoration, Ning Mingmei also noticed a smaller commotion breaking out nearby.

“Holy crap!”

“Wait—that outfit the Sect Master’s wearing… isn’t that the grand prize from buying 500 bottles of Cola?!”

“Oh my god! The Sect Master drinks Cola too!”

“Same outfit as the Sect Master and the Smoky Cloud Tower Master?! I’m buying it all!”

Perfect.

With the Sect Master and the Tower Master as endorsements, no one doubted the drink’s safety anymore. Besides, Ning Mingmei had already engraved anti-forgery sigils on every bottle. Buyers could verify authenticity simply by channeling a bit of spiritual energy.

The system was speechless at the shameless scheme. [You don’t even have a food-safety certification for this stuff.]

Ning Mingmei replied smoothly, “Not yet. But I will. It’s absolutely necessary for my long-term plan.”

[You will?] The system was skeptical.

It couldn’t imagine him ever creating a rule that might restrain himself.

Ning Mingmei pushed up his glasses. “Once I set the production standards and enforce them by my own regulations, I’ll become a member of the Food Safety Association. That way, I’ll be both the producer and the rule-maker. No other company can surpass me.”

The system: ?

“That’s called a win-win,” Ning Mingmei added calmly. “Plenty of big corporations do the same. This way, I’ll set a brilliant example for the entire beverage industry.”

So evil! Win-win, my foot!

Meanwhile, Qi Miancheng was oblivious to the commotion. After his turn on stage, he sat beside Xiang Wuxing and said, “The disciples are really lively today.”

Xiang Wuxing nodded. “Yeah.” Then he picked up a bottle of Cola, twisted the cap open, and took a sip. The fizz hissed. Xiang Wuxing closed his eyes, savoring the taste.

For a burly man like him, only Cola would do!

It had been Bai Ruoru who’d sent him the drink since they both liked trying new things. Bai Ruoru preferred Sprite, though, while he liked Cola. They’d even quarreled about it once.

He’d barely taken one sip when he noticed Qi Miancheng staring at the bottle. “Senior brother, do you want some?”

“No,” said Qi Miancheng. “Just… the color of the bottle…”

Xiang Wuxing laughed. “Ha, don’t mind the black color. It actually tastes great! Come to think of it, your robe today looks kind of like it.”

“Hmm… it does, doesn’t it,” Qi Miancheng murmured. After a pause, he asked, “Who gave you that drink?”

“Little Bai did! Want me to ask her for more? There’s also something called Sprite; she likes Sprite. Poor taste, though. Everyone knows Cola’s the best.”

“Mm…” After another moment, Qi Miancheng asked casually, “What color is this Sprite?”

“Clear,” Xiang Wuxing said, puzzled.

“Oh.” Qi Miancheng took a sip of tea.

“But the bottle’s green,” Xiang Wuxing added, “—uh, senior brother? Are you choking?”

“Nothing,” Qi Miancheng said with a mild smile, swallowing carefully.

The crowd remained oblivious to the little drama on the platform, for soon the next sects began their entrances.

The Ice Quenching Pavilion came next, known for talismans, mechanisms, and astrology. Their disciples wore blue robes inlaid with constellation patterns, each holding a charm; cool, distant, and refined.

The main branches of Truth Seeker Gate were artifact cultivators and body cultivators. Body cultivators specialized in soft-style martial arts, while artifact cultivators relied on an array of magic tools to win with clever tricks. Their disciples wore blue robes embroidered with patterns like shimmering lake light.

The Brilliant Blossom Valley consisted of healer and alchemist cultivators, all dressed in yellow robes embroidered with maple leaves.

One of the Brilliant Blossom Valley representatives, however, caught Ning Mingmei’s attention. “The leader of the Brilliant Blossom Valley’s Dark Blossom?”

The Brilliant Blossom Valley was divided into two sides, the overt the Brilliant Blossom and the covert Dark Blossom, which handled all the sect’s shadowy affairs. The two factions had long been at odds, especially over how to deal with Gui Ruoxue.

A few months ago, Gui Ruoxu finally issued a traitor hunt decree against Gui Ruoxue, allowing the Brilliant Blossom Valley to appear calm again on the surface. But the rift between the two sides ran deep, one that outsiders would never easily see.

The Dark Blossom’s leader was the valley’s deputy master, a middle-aged man who rarely smiled.
His mind was meticulous; even the sudden success of Ning Mingmei’s Cola sales might arouse his suspicion.

The system glanced at Ning Mingmei. [You’re worried?]

“Now that Gui Ruoxue has proven his commercial value, I can’t let the Brilliant Blossom Valley drag him back,” Ning Mingmei mused. “So…”

[You’re not going to sell anymore?]

“No,” Ning Mingmei said. “I’m going to pull more people into the profit chain of Cola production. Gui Ruoxue’s failure was working solo on his evil experiments. If he’d known how to sell potions across great sects, he’d be a God of Alchemy by now!”

The system: ……

After these three sects came the Embracing Simplicity Temple, Buddhist cultivators devoted to the study of mathematics and reasoning. The Embracing Simplicity Temple’s arrival completed the presence of the top three sects of the realm. The ones that followed, like Bing’an Academy, Enlightened Age Fort, and others, finished the lineup.

Ning Mingmei, however, had lost all interest in watching the rest. He folded a paper crane, intending to write back to Zheng Heguang.

At present, the sales of Cola within the Supreme Clarity Sect relied mostly on Shen Liwan. As expected of the administrative elder, as long as he was properly funded, his efficiency was terrifying, his paperwork immaculate, and his logistics flawless.

However, relying only on the inner and outer sect markets wasn’t enough.

“It’s time to go find Zheng Heguang.”

Zheng Heguang was the Peak Lord of Auspicious Light Peak, a renowned scholar who’d made a name for himself in the demon realm. His family was powerful merchants who traveled across lands. Within the Supreme Clarity Sect, he was more of an honorary mentor; his heart belonged entirely to his family business. Each disciple he took was immediately brought into the family’s merchant caravans under the pretense of ‘worldly experience.’

Thus, Auspicious Light Peak, together with Chang Feichang’s ‘Slacker Peak’, Ning Mingmei’s ‘Cold Bench Peak’, and Zhang Zhizhen’s ‘Healing Peak’, were jokingly called the ‘Four Safety Nets of the Supreme Clarity Sect’s Inner Division.’

Among them, Auspicious Light Peak was considered the best. After all, Zheng Heguang was at least ‘reliable’ enough to guarantee employment after graduation, even if that job was just a spot in his own merchant fleet.

Sure enough, the moment the opening ceremony ended, Ning Mingmei received a letter from Zheng Heguang, inviting him to Auspicious Light Peak for a detailed discussion. This was the first time Zheng Heguang had ever shown such eagerness to make contact.

Ning Mingmei smiled. “From now on, half of the Supreme Clarity Sect will be tied to my ship.”

The system: ……

Ever since Ning Mingmei started his beverage business, the system had been feeling slightly dazed.

The venue was packed with people. Everywhere, cultivators chattered excitedly about Misty Peak; for in the eyes of the outer sect, Misty Peak had completely stolen the show today. Disciples everywhere were already trying to learn about every Misty Peak member’s cultivation and rank.

“What’s the origin of this Misty Peak?”

“How come we’ve never heard of such a peak in the Supreme Clarity Sect before?”

The audience buzzed; eight out of ten were talking about Misty Peak.

Ning Mingmei turned to leave, but then he heard Fang Wuyu’s voice behind him.

“Ning Mingmei, where are you going? These petty tricks of yours… are you proud of them?”