After Transmigrating as an Immortal Master, I Hold a Group Meeting - Chapter 77

Just moments ago, the talisman cultivators from the Ice Quenching Pavilion had been elated but now their enthusiasm faded instantly.

The ponytailed talisman cultivator: “T-three days…?”

Ning Mingmei: “Oh, three days, huh.”

The two talisman cultivators: …

They hung their heads in despair but surprisingly, Ning Mingmei did not kick them while they were down. Instead, he glanced at the sky and asked, “It’s the Chen hour now. Is there a quiet place here where we can sit down?”

The topknot talisman cultivator asked, “Is Immortal Master tired? The orphanage we need to visit is just ahead. Why not rest there?”

Ning Mingmei nodded. “Sounds good.”

The ponytailed talisman cultivator, however, pressed on, “Wait a minute, which sect are you guys from, exactly?”

Striding ahead, Ning Mingmei only gave a brief response, “There’s not much time. We’ll talk later.”

The ponytailed talisman cultivator: ?

What do you mean, ‘not much time’?

The orphanage where Lian Chengyue once stayed was located in a small country in the southern part of Liuyue Lake. Besides him, there were dozens of orphans living there. However, as Ning Mingmei approached, he noticed something unusual.

It was eerily quiet.

So quiet, it felt as if no one was there at all.

The gate of the orphanage was open. The topknot talisman cultivator stepped in first and called out, “Is anyone here?”

“No one?”

The courtyard of the orphanage was completely empty.

The topknot talisman cultivator searched back and forth for people, while the ponytailed talisman cultivator finally realized something was off and began to cautiously observe Ning Mingmei’s every move. He saw the mysterious cultivator find a place to sit in the courtyard, take out a mirror, and mutter to himself, “The time has come.”

The ponytailed talisman cultivator: ?

A chilling sensation suddenly crept into his heart, a terrifying premonition washing over him. He immediately drew a talisman, ready for anything.

Then, he saw Ning Mingmei infuse the mirror with spiritual power and a mirage-like scene unfolded before his eyes.

One half of the image showed snow-covered mountains.

The other half was inside a carriage.

“I doubt Master will show up today.”

“Let’s each give a quick report and get it over with.”

“Sounds good, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back. I’ll take the chance to nap in the small pine forest…”

“I’m going to check on the outer sect. I heard the Outer Sect Elder recently brought back a particularly beautiful junior sister in a purple dress. Some say she’s even prettier than Ye Xuefei.”

“Wait a second.” Finally, some voices in the group sounded anxious, especially Wen Siheng and Lin Heting. “What about Master? Does anyone know how he’s doing?”

Someone else asked, “Is he even alive?”

Surprisingly, Bai Bugui also seemed concerned.

“Everyone’s just worried about whether he’ll hold a group meeting… He’s definitely still alive, right?”

“He’s probably with Sect Master Qi.”

“As long as Sect Master Qi is with him, Master should be fine. Besides, isn’t his life lamp in the sect still burning strong and bright?”

“That’s a relief…”

“I doubt Master is holding a group meeting today. Do we still need to report?”

“Come on, we’re all fellow disciples here. Let’s not make this so formal.”

“This… doesn’t seem right…”

“How about this, Senior Brother? We compile all our slides into one summary and that counts as finishing the meeting. Master won’t check them one by one next week anyway.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

The disciples threw out suggestions one after another, leaving Wen Siheng, the good-natured senior brother, struggling to respond.

Even Bai Bugui, standing nearby, remained silent.

Lately, Bai Bugui had been waking up earlier than the roosters and sleeping later than the ghosts. Not even the assassination training he had undergone in the enchanting fox clan was that intense.

But he had no choice. His visa renewal deadline was looming and he didn’t have a single project that could count toward his assessment. Desperate, Bai Bugui had been running around helping others, hoping to earn an extension through sheer diligence and humility.

That was bad enough. Worse, the newcomer Xue Zhu, whom Ning Mingmei had brought back, was relentlessly outcompeting him.

Bai Bugui had no idea what he had done to offend Xue Zhu. The guy constantly pestered the Eighth Junior Brother with questions while squeezing him out of opportunities. Soon, Bai Bugui found himself not only losing status but also being pushed aside in any visible academic work.

He couldn’t figure out the reason. After thinking it over, he came to only one conclusion.

Xue Zhu was brought in by Ning Mingmei and was not an official disciple of Misty Peak. They had different origins but the same goal. They both needed a visa to stay on Misty Peak.

To confirm his suspicion, Bai Bugui tested Xue Zhu a few times. As expected, he got a clear answer from him.

Xue Zhu also believed that only one of them could stay on Misty Peak.

A chill ran down Bai Bugui’s spine. Soon, he pieced together a highly plausible conclusion.

Like him, Xue Zhu needed a special talent visa to remain in the Supreme Clarity Sect. The sect prided itself on fairness and visa slots were allocated based on each peak’s needs. Misty Peak had few people and little contribution, so it was granted only one slot per year.

And clearly, Xue Zhu had known that much earlier than he had.

Bai Bugui might have had decades of work experience on Misty Peak but according to corporate layoff logic, large organizations preferred to cut employees over thirty-five first.

Although Bai Bugui wasn’t a programmer, he had been a sword cultivator for thirty-five years. He wasn’t sure if Ning Mingmei saw him as ‘past his prime,’ but it was a common trend. Companies often prefer to hire fresh talent at high salaries rather than give raises to veteran employees.

Bai Bugui was just like those over thirty-five employees on the verge of being replaced by younger, cheaper talent. In that case, he was an old sword cultivator about to be outsourced to the cultivation realm.

Because of that, Bai Bugui had been incredibly busy lately, barely stopping to rest. During the day, he helped the Senior Brother, and at night, he helped the Ninth Junior Brother. Among the five project teams on Misty Peak, he was involved in all of them.

When he finally had a moment to catch his breath and looked back…

“Senior Sister from Clear Snow Peak, please come this way. You should be good at categorizing these ancient texts, right?”

“Senior Brother from Hidden Sage Peak, I don’t understand this part, can you teach us?”

Watching Xue Zhu blend in seamlessly among the free laborers from other peaks, Bai Bugui was at a loss.

Damn! How does this guy even have networking skills?!

Fortunately, Bai Bugui still had one advantage over Xue Zhu in that he could attend the weekly group meetings. Since Xue Zhu was an outsourced disciple, he obviously couldn’t. So, at every weekly meeting, Bai Bugui made sure to speak up as much as possible, trying to showcase his irreplaceable value as a veteran disciple to Ning Mingmei.

Though, occasionally, as he raised his hand, he would have a moment of existential crisis.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Wasn’t I supposed to be undercover? Why am I raising my hand to ask questions here?

But that day, with Ning Mingmei absent, Bai Bugui no longer questioned himself. He stood lazily at the edge of the crowd, waiting for the meeting to end.

Lin Heting was feeling overwhelmed and turned to Wen Siheng. “Senior Brother, maybe we should just—”

“Cough.”

A faint cough echoed through the Snow Ruling Hall of Misty Peak.

Everyone: …

Ah.

Ahhh.

Ahhhhhhh!!

Why was their Master attending the group meeting today?!

What was this?! Heads may roll and blood may spill, but the group meeting must go on?!

“Master!” The ones on the carriage, the eleven disciples and the others, were the first to react with dramatic emotion. “You’re still alive!”

“Master, how are you now?!”

The rest of the disciples quickly caught on and rushed to offer their most sincere well-wishes. Bai Bugui, in particular, felt guilty for his earlier attempt to slack off and went all out with his flattery.

“When did Master appear?!”

“Oh, we thought Master was seriously injured! We were just discussing what kind of get-well gifts we should buy for Master!”

“Master, how is your health? What happened to you? How was the adventure with Sect Master Qi?”

Ning Mingmei said to the system, [A bunch of scheming wolves, every single one of them.]

The system: [What do you mean? They seem genuinely concerned about you.]

Ning Mingmei: [They’re just using fake concern to waste time so they can cut their own report short. Trying to pull tricks in front of me? No one’s getting away today.]

The system: …

Seeing basic courtesy as scheming… What made Ning Mingmei’s heart so cruel and cold?!

Ning Mingmei coughed lightly.

That single sound sent a chill down everyone’s spine and they dared not speak again.

Then he said, “Your concern truly touches me. It seems that you all see me not only as your academic mentor but also as a life mentor. However, at the moment, I only have an understanding of your academic progress…”

All the disciples of Misty Peak shivered in unison.

Ning Mingmei continued, “Therefore, I’ve decided to take a more dedicated and thorough approach to supporting your future development, not just in academics but in life, in achievements, and in moral education. From your words just now, I can see that you are all very well informed about my health. Unfortunately, since I’ve been away this past month, I’m not as up-to-date on the daily affairs of my disciples at the peak. This makes me quite uneasy… If only there were a disciple who could report to me daily, helping me better care for all of you, that would be ideal.”

The disciples trembled in silence.

Only Bai Bugui… seemed to realize something.

!!

Could the ability Ning Mingmei was describing be considered an irreplaceable competitive advantage?

Ning Mingmei said, “Alright, no need for extra words. From now, start the timer. Each person will report. Just in time, I also have some new updates to share.”

***

While Ning Mingmei’s meeting was in full swing, the topknot talisman cultivator returned from the back courtyard of the orphanage.

“It turns out that a few days ago, both the owner and their assistant working at the orphanage died in an accident. Seeing the children starving pitifully, the townspeople temporarily took them in. They plan to send them back here once the imperial court sends officials over,” the topknot talisman cultivator explained. “So what do we do now? The buyer is dead. Though their deaths seem strange, it’s not within our assigned task. Should we just wrap this up and report back to the Pavilion Master?”

He then noticed the ponytail talisman cultivator standing tensely in the courtyard, looking as if he were facing a great enemy. Frowning, he called out loudly, “What are you—”

“Shh!”

The ponytail talisman cultivator leaped over and covered his mouth.

The topknot talisman cultivator: ??

“Keep your voice down! Do you know who they are?!”

The topknot talisman cultivator was stunned, his muscles tensing. “Don’t tell me… they’re from the Heavenly— Heavenly— Heavenly Order Sect?!”

The name of the fiend sect was known across the world.

As he spoke, the topknot talisman cultivator instinctively reached for a talisman, but the ponytail talisman cultivator quickly stopped him. “No, not from the fiend realm. They’re from a righteous sect. The Supreme Clarity Sect!”

The topknot talisman cultivator: …

“What are you on about? Why would the Supreme Clarity Sect make you so nervous? I thought you meant the Brilliant Blossom Valley!” He immediately relaxed. “The Supreme Clarity Sect is one of the top two sects in the world. They’re not even in the same league as us, who rank in the top three. What’s there to be afraid of? …Wait, the Supreme Clarity Sect?”

That was one of the top two immortal sects in the world!

Even though they specialized in different areas of cultivation, the names of the top two sects were etched into every cultivator’s heart. Suddenly, the topknot talisman cultivator recalled something and brightened. “Back when we made that bet, didn’t that esteemed immortal say they would invite us to train at their sect for a while?”

The ponytail talisman cultivator: “Uh… yeah.”

Why did it feel like the ponytail talisman cultivator wasn’t as excited anymore? Meanwhile, the topknot talisman cultivator was growing more and more enthusiastic. “So we’re going to study at the Supreme Clarity Sect?!”

The Supreme Clarity Sect!

The number one sword sect in the world. Swords! Wasn’t every young cultivator’s first love the sword? Hadn’t every young cultivator grown up hearing about the might of the top two sects?

The topknot talisman cultivator was overjoyed. He had thought they would be sent to some obscure little sect to do menial work but instead, they were getting a legitimate opportunity at the Supreme Clarity Sect.

But when he turned to look at the ponytail talisman cultivator, he noticed that his expression was… strange.

Very strange.

The topknot talisman cultivator: “What’s with that look? You’re staring at me like I’m an idiot.”