The first day of the Assembly did not start smoothly; hundreds of people disappeared out of thin air.¹ For the officials in charge of the Assembly, although they just barely managed to get away with it in front of them emperor, they couldn’t make any mistakes in the next few days.

Fortunately, the platforms for the ceremonies honoring the subordinate deities were not that high, and many of them were located in spacious halls, so there should be fewer variables.

The management of these experts was actually relatively loose. Although they were all recorded in the register, their personal freedom was not restricted. If some of them failed to show up before the ceremony began, they would be regarded as having waived their participation.

Indeed, although it was a ceremony to pray for blessings and ward off disasters, it had a certain nature of competition and selection. After all, Emperor Yuan De wished to select masters to be canonized.

But after all, it was a Land and Water Assembly, so this so-called competition could not be a battle. Therefore, in order to reveal their own uniqueness, the method of revealing their “superiority” over others was also a kind of skill.

After the rain stopped, the remaining experts all returned to their inns one after another, following the arrangement of the imperial court.

When most people had left, a young monk with a Khakkhara staff² stood in front of the steps to the stage, gazing at the entire platform with a solemn expression.

The monk had handsome features, with red lips and white teeth. His skin was white as suet but not feminine. He wore a habit and a bamboo hat. His posture was as straight as the staff in his hand.

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha…”

“Master, you have quite the handsome appearance!”

A voice suddenly sounded next to him. The monk was so frightened that he couldn’t help but tremble. Although the voice was neutral and gentle, it came too suddenly.

Ji Yuan had been standing next to the young monk for an unknown length of time without him noticing, and spoke with a smile. The monk’s startled reaction was somewhat unexpected, but it was also quite interesting.

The monk looked at Ji Yuan standing beside him and bowed.

“As you say, benefactor, but the body is merely a shell, there is no need to be attached to it.”

“Yes, but when the appearance reaches the level of a master, forcing people not to be attached to it is also a form of attachment.”

Ji Yuan bowed with cupped hands n return and casually spoke of some theory that he had read on the internet n his previous life. In truth, it was also an expression of his true feelings. After all, it was too far-fetched to expect others to regard this monk as ordinary when he looked like this.

The monk was stunned for a moment, then returned the salute to Ji Yuan again.

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha! The benefactor can see through it clearly, it was me to is obsessed with appearances.”

The clouds in the sky had almost dissipated at this time, and the sun shone once more in the land of the Capital Prefecture. Ji Yuan looked around and saw some pedestrians appearing one after another. Some of them had heard or seen some of the things that had previously happened on the Assembly platform, and were wondering if there would be something exciting to see.

“Why did the master come to participate in this Land and Water Assembly?”

Ji Yuan asked softly.

“Only to pray for blessings and ward off disasters!”

The monk did not go back to chanting the Buddha’s name, but rather respectfully replied.

Ji Yuan didn’t voice whether he believed it or not, nor did he express any opinion. He just nodded at him, then turned and left.

The monk watched as Ji Yuan disappeared from sight, then looked at the large platform further away. He wiped the fine sweat on his forehead, picked up his staff, and quickly walked away.

‘Let’s hurry back to the inn where I’m staying. ’

. . .

In the next so-called “Ninth Heaven Ten Gatherings” that followed, the people of the Capital Prefecture could not only hear bursts of chanting near the various platforms, but could also often see some experts “performing” on the streets.

Because the venues on each of the sub-platforms were not large, the remaining nine Gatherings were all held in different locations in the capital, with different batches of experts taking turns to show off their greatness. This also made it convenient for some officials and their subordinates, such as the chief secretaries, to carefully observe each expert.

During this process, it was very important to be able to clearly and directly show one’s skills at the Assembly.

At the same time, in order to make it easier to “stand out” at the Land and Water Assembly, some experts would also “unintentionally” reveal their divine power in the capital city of the Capital Prefecture.

Some people chose to curry favor with high-ranking officials during their rest time, some chose to set up stalls in busy streets to tell fortunes, some even went so far as to deliberately behave in extremely strange ways to attract attention.

This is very new experience for the cultivators of Yuhuai Mountain who seldom went down the mountain. In addition, Ji Yuan, the Old Dragon, and the ghosts and gods of the Capital Province were also there to watch the fun.

Ji Yuan was drinking tea at the window seat on the second floor of the Qingye Building. Sitting opposite him was the Dragon Son Ying Feng, and sitting on the other side facing the window was the Dragon Daugther Ying Ruoli.

Downstairs, there was a “Dharma stall” set up by an old expert with the appearance of an immortal. The stall was comprised of a small cart with many notes posted across it.

In short, the notes clearly stated that they could be used to tell fortunes or solve problems, but that it would only work for those who were destined to be helped. If someone didn’t come with gold, the service would not be accepted. It also said that if it didn’t work, the customer would not be charged a single penny; if it did work, but they had no money to pay, a sincere thank you would be accepted.

In short, that was more or less the gist.

Ji Yuan drank his tea while listening to the storytelling coming from the first floor, and sometimes glanced outside.

“Uncle Ji, the old man down below is just a some ordinary man at the end of his life. His cultivation is extremely shallow, at most he has a little aura, some martial arts, and some minor tricks. Why did you choose him? He can’t beat my father!”

The Dragon Son finally couldn’t help but ask. The Dragon Daughter also had a similar expression. At first, the two thought that there might be another hidden master downstairs, so they patiently looked around and observed carefully. The Dragon Son even disguised himself and went to the stall to investigate, but was naturally disappointed.

Ji Yuan and the Old Dragon had made a bet: each chose one or two people of the remaining experts to see whose pick would stand out in the end. The Dragon Son and Dragon Daughter were just here to join in on the fun.

“Hey, the good part hasn’t come yet. Here it is, pay attention.”

While Ji Yuan was talking, a woman and an honest man came up from the street down below, heading straight towards the expert’s stall.

“Sir, this is it!”

“Ooh!”

The man responded with a few greetings, walked to the stall, looked around, and knelt down with a thud. The women next to him also knelt down beside him.

“Thank you, Master, for saving us-!”

The man appeared dull, but his voice was quite loud, which startled the passers-by around him.

The expert behind the booth immediately stood up and walked around the booth to help the two people up.

“Why must the two of you go through all this trouble? Come, quickly, stand up!”

“No, Master, you have been so kind to our family and refused to accept the money that my wife brought. I have no way to repay you but to kneel and thank you!”

“How can I dare accept this, how can I dare accept this? Stand up!”

The expert used the strength in both his hands to pull the man and woman up. The two wanted to kneel down again, but they were still no match for the expert’s strength.

Many people chatted about the scene, wondering what the master had done to make this couple so excited.

“Hey, you won’t accept my money, and you won’t let me kneel. How can we repay your kindness, Master? Fellow villagers, please tell us how we might repay him!”

A curious person among the gathered crowd spoke something like the following sentence:

“What did the Master do to help you?”

“Yes, tell us about it.”

“Just tell us.”

When the man saw that the expert had returned to his stall, he sighed, hook his head, and recounted the previous events that had happened to his wife in a very moving voice, telling them about how the master had helped them resolve their problems. There were even some miracles involved in his recounting of the events, which amazed the surrounding crowd.

Finally, the couple left after profusely expressing their gratitude. After more than half an hour, another old woman came to express her gratitude. She had also been helped without the expert accepting her money. Then young woman came to express her gratitude, noting that the Master had only asked for ten coins.

After a day’s work, as the expert was closing his stall, apart from simply telling fortunes to curious people, this scene had repeated itself about four or five times, and he had only accepted money once.

When the expert had packed up his stall and left, the Dragon Son and Dragon Daughter looked at each other, then the former turned to Ji Yuan.

“Uncle Ji, was I wrong?”

“Haha, no, let’s go, we haven’t finished watching yet.”

Ji Yuan stood up, paid for the tea, and led the Dragon Son and Dragon Daughter out to the street. His figure faded as he walked, and soon they arrived behind a sparsely populated shack in a certain neighborhood.

“Hey, Master, how was my performance?”

“Not bad!”

“And mine too, what about me!”

“Here!”

“Thank you, Master, thank you, Master!”

……

When Ji Yuan arrived with the Dragon Son and Dragon Daughter, they watched as the common people who had previously come to express their gratitude were now all taking money from the expert, all of which were either small change or five-wen coins.

“Is this okay?”

The Dragon Son stared blankly at this scene, then turned to look at Ji Yuan.

“Uncle Ji, in the mortal world, this can be considered deceiving the emperor, right? Isn’t he afraid of being beheaded?”

Ji Yuan smiled, spoke a single sentence, and turned to leave.

“He is quite similar to Emperor Yuan De.”

The Dragon Son frowned and looked at the Dragon Daughter.

“Little sister, do you understand?”

Ying Ruoli also frowned and thought for a while, then looked again at the expert who was taking money out of his purse. Although he appeared to be immortal, he was also quite thin and old.

“Uncle Ji might be saying that this person is no longer afraid of being beheaded for the sake of a ‘legitimate title.’”

“Uh, then our father will lose?”

The Dragon Daughter glared angrily at the Dragon Son.

“The one our father chose is really talented, how could he lose? I think compared to Uncle Ji, our father is cheating!”

“Then it’s a draw!”

The Dragon Son smiled and turned to leave.

. . .

The 30th day of the ninth lunar month was the birthday of Emperor Yuan De of Dazhen, so this day was also known as the Longevity Festival.

The entire palace was decorated with lights, and palace servants were busy all over the grounds, both inside and outside the palace. imperial kitchens and other related locations had started preparations for this day long ago.

On this day, all the ministers tried their best to restrain themselves in the morning court. If it was not very important or urgent, they would try their best not to report things that would make the emperor unhappy.³

The discussion phase soon finished, and all the ministers in the hall quieted down.

Emperor Yuan De looked at the old eunuch beside the dragon throne.

“Bring the Experts in.”

The old eunuch bowed slightly and nodded, then took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

“Announcing, all the great masters of the Land and Water Assembly, now entering the hall!!!”

Outside the hall, the palace servants repeated the announcement loudly.

“Announcing, all the great masters of the Land and Water Assembly, now entering the hall!!!”

After three rounds, under the gaze of the ministers facing the entrance of the hall, a eunuch led a small group of people through the palace gate and into the main hall.

Some of the officials narrowed their eyes, some laughed, some smiled, some snorted, and some were curious.

Among the people who came in were monks and Taoists, young and old, and even an old beggar in tattered clothes. There were sixteen people in total.

The emperor also squinted from his place up high and looked down.

The group stood still and saluted upwards.

“Greeting His Majesty! Long Live Your Majesty, Long Live, Long Live!”

“No need to stand on ceremony!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

He had to admit, upon closer inspection, all the experts were in high spirits with calm expressions. At the very least, no one showed any signs of fear. The most eye-catching one was naturally the old beggar. There was nothing he could do about it, he was just too out of place.

“Good Minister Yan, which expert did you recommend?”

Yan Chang came out from the crowd, holding a jade tablet and bowing.

“Your Majesty, this minister recommended Mr. Lu. This is him!”

The person Yan Chang was pointing at was actually the beggar, which surprised some officials in the court, who had long regarded him as a treacherous minister.

Emperor Yuan De looked at Yan Chang, and then took a closer look at the beggar.

“What spiritual powers do you have?”

The old beggar took a step forward, but instead of being lazy as usual, be bowed to the emperor, and replied something that had nothing to do with the emperor’s question.

“I, an old beggar, decided on a whim to accept two apprentices. One of them would suffer all the hardships of the world since childhood, and the other would enjoy enjoy all the glory of the world when he grows old. I felt that this Land and Water Assembly might be an opportunity. I would like to ask Your Majesty, are you willing to give up your dragon throne?”

“Bold!”

“Outrageous!”

“Mr. Lu, what nonsense are you talking about? Quickly apologize to His Majesty!”

“You dare to offend His Majesty!”

“Shiing…”

“Shiing…”

“Shiiing…”…

The ministers on the side glared angrily. Yan Chang was covered in a cold sweat. Even the experts subconsciously stayed away from this old beggar, and the imperial guards were even more on edge.

Sitting high on the dragon throne, and Emperor Yuan De suppressed his anger and asked coldly.

“So you hold the secret to immortality?”

The old beggar frowned and pondered, then shook his head and answered.

“I know of no path to immortality.”

“Then can you obtain power and wealth that surpasses my position as Emperor, or freedom that surpasses the Emperor’s status as the supreme ruler?”

Originally, he thought that since the old emperor was eager to seek immortality, although his question seemed inappropriate, the other party might at least take it seriously. However, things did not go as he wished. It seemed that this emperor could not tolerate even the slightest disobedience…

The old beggar’s face turned pale.

“This kind of freedom, I’m afraid not.”

“Oh, then if I step down from the throne, the position of emperor will be vacant, and the country’s affairs will be left unattended. What will happen then?”

The old beggar was expressionless.

“A country can’t be without a ruler for a day, and Dazhen may be able to grow to rival the power of the Heavens. Naturally, the throne will be abdicated to the prince. The emperor is certainly old enough.”

Emperor Yuan De glanced at the princes, and his anger surged. A lot of thoughts ran through his mind. At this moment, he was so furious that he laughed.

“Hahaha… hahahahaha… Yan Chang, is this the person you recommended?”

“Your Majesty! This minister deserves death! This minister deserves death!”

The Head of the Astronomical Department was so frightened that he fell to his knees, kowtowed, and bowed his head, not daring to get up.

T/n: This is why I like Grandpa Lu. He just called the emperor a fossil who should have retired years ago and worse in character than a beggar boy, to his face. Sure, he’s kind of a jerk, but man do I respect the sheer audacity. That being said, he put Yan Chang under fire. So I can’t like him all that much.

1. T/n: Buddy I’d say that’s a bit worse than “not starting smoothly.” I mean, we readers know they’re all evil, but still??? XD
2. 禅杖 (chánzhàng): staff of a Buddhist monk, also called a Khakkhara. See manhua chapter 137 for reference
3. T/n: this seems like a horrible basis for government

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read