Chapter 120 I am Fang Zhuo, open the door
Shang An put down the microphone, revealing a bitter face: "Sect Leader Fang, they've told me to wait to die."
Although both are array cultivators, major sects like the Divine Array Sect only accept outstanding graduates from key universities whose GPA ranks in the top 5%.
Shang An comforted himself. Normally, he wouldn't even be qualified to work in the Shenzhen Sect's outsourcing factory, but now he could talk directly with the sect elders. Although he was scolded, it was still a kind of progress.
Fang Zhuo: "Ignore him, let's go straight there."
Shang An followed the sect leader nervously to the Divine Array Sect. The two hovered outside the sect's protective array and could see a group of Divine Array Sect disciples playing cards at the watchtower in the distance.
The elders of the Divine Array Sect had just made some harsh remarks, and Shang An was vaguely worried that they would launch a direct attack on them later.
His heart began to race. He heard Sect Master Fang say calmly towards the direction of the Divine Array Sect, "I am Fang Zhuo. Open the door."
Although the voice wasn't loud, the words clearly reached the ears of every disciple of the Divine Array Sect. The disciples playing cards on the opposite watchtower nearly fell from their height. After glancing in their direction with fear, they stumbled down the stairs as fast as they could to activate the array.
At the same time, seven or eight flying swords flew swiftly from the horizon.
Judging from the patterns on the trailing edge of the flying sword, these people were clearly the sect leader and various elders of the Divine Array Sect.
Shang An:......
That's such a quick change of heart.
The treatment is worlds apart; who just told him to wait to die?
As soon as the flying sword landed, Lu Chongli, the sect leader of the Divine Array Sect, quickly jogged over and warmly shook hands with both of them:
"Sect Master Fang, we are so sorry. We did not know that the person who just transmitted the message was your disciple. Our Divine Array Sect has been very presumptuous."
"This young friend surnamed Shang is clearly intelligent and exceptionally insightful. He must also be a formation cultivator. Given time, he will surely achieve great things."
"Congratulations to Sect Master Fang on acquiring such a peerless talent. We also welcome you to visit our Divine Array Sect at any time to exchange ideas on array design."
Shang An thought to himself that it wasn't like he hadn't tried to interview at the Divine Array Sect before. He hadn't even passed the first round of online interviews at an outsourcing factory. Since graduation, no interviewer had ever said he was smart or quick-witted; instead, some people had called him dead fish eyes.
Sect Master Lu of the Divine Array Sect is quite intelligent; he can praise someone so effusively.
As expected, money is the only tool to unify values. Shang An passively experienced the world through the eyes of a rich kid for the first time.
After exchanging brief pleasantries with the other party, Fang Zhuo said, "Sect Master Lu, I would like to purchase your sect's Spirit Gathering and Spirit Transformation Array for use during the arena competition at the end of the month. Please register the ownership with Shang An."
When the topic of the grand formation came up, Lu Chongli began to evade the question, revealing a distressed expression:
"Sect Master Fang, it's not that I don't want to sell, but this is a rule that the Divine Array Sect has followed for a thousand years. The Spirit Gathering Array has only recognized the Sect Master himself since it was designed."
"If the great formation is forcibly passed on to outsiders, the current sect leader of the Divine Array Sect will suffer a backlash of being pierced by ten thousand arrows."
Fang Zhuo nodded in understanding.
Since this old man is willing to waste so much time talking to him, there must be room for maneuver; it's just a matter of money.
After checking the prices of other large arrays sold by the Divine Array Sect, Fang Zhuo quoted fifty times the price of the most expensive array on the list, directly interrupting the other party's long-winded explanation:
"How about a price of two billion?"
Upon hearing this number, Lu Chongli's mouth, which had been babbling non-stop, suddenly seemed to be glued shut, along with his brain.
Lu Chongli originally intended to appear as if he had been forced to sell the sect's ancestral formation, but he couldn't control the smile on his face at all:
“I think that’s a good idea. Actually, as long as I temporarily hand over the position of sect leader to this young friend Shang, teach him the great formation, and then hand over the title of sect leader back, this matter will be resolved.”
"Oh right, Sect Master Fang, do you need a spirit-gathering array? Should I make a copy for you?"
He used to see posts on forums about how rich the Giants were, and he used to think that those beneficiaries were showing off a bit too much. But when the benefits actually fell into his lap, all he could say was, "Awesome!"
With such a generous client, what else is there to say? Just give away the Divine Array Sect directly.
Even if there are no conditions, he has to create them. For the sake of two billion, he was willing to make this decision that went against his ancestors' wishes.
"Just pass it on to Shang An; I don't know how to draw formations."
Fang Zhuo reminded him, "Wouldn't temporarily handing over the position of sect leader affect your sect's daily affairs? Shouldn't Sect Leader Lu ask the other elders for their opinions first?"
The other elders either looked up at the sky or counted on their fingers, appearing completely unaware that their sect leader was about to abdicate the position.
Lu Chongli gestured for the two to proceed.
If any blind elder dares to stop him from transferring the sect leader position today, he can punish them on the spot and send them away to reflect on their mistakes.
That's a whopping two billion! What sect affairs could be more important than two billion?
Shang An was completely dazed when he was pushed onto the ancestral abdication stone platform of the Divine Array Sect. He felt that his day had been more absurd than the random ramblings in his sleep.
Just a few days ago, he was living in a drafty, unfinished building in the suburbs, worrying about where to beg for his next meal. Now, he has become the temporary sect leader of the Divine Array Sect.
On his left was the former sect leader personally teaching him the Spirit Gathering and Spirit Transformation Formation, and on his right were the elders eagerly stuffing a huge pile of rare formation materials into his hands. Such treatment would probably be unbelievable even if posted on the forum.
After spending an afternoon and an evening learning the grand formation, and then transferring the position of sect leader back, Shang An was completely overwhelmed.
Sitting on the flying sword on the way back, he munched on the fruit slices that the elder of the Divine Array Sect had personally prepared.
Chew, chew, chew, how come spirit stones are so useful?
He kept staring at Sect Master Fang's profile the whole way, a slightly dazed, silly smile on his face.
Fang Zhuo: "Why are you staring at me? Is something wrong?"
Shang An complimented, "I think you are exceptionally handsome, dashing and dignified, especially when you are paying."
Fang Zhuo: "...Flattering the leader is also a skill. If you really don't have any ideas, there's no need to force it."
Sect Leader Fang's words seemed a bit sharp, so Shang An obediently kept his eyes down and focused on browsing the forum.
With only two weeks left until the official end of the tournament, the teams vying for a spot are fiercely battling it out, and the competition is heating up. However, the Giants Sect, after securing twentieth place last time, has yet to submit a challenge application for the next round, and there's a variety of speculation circulating on the forums.
Why hasn't Li Tao, the Giant Sect member, participated yet? Is it because I just registered last week? Is it a case of "kings avoiding kings" or "avoiding my brilliance"?
[1L: I checked the ID and the poster's team is currently ranked 97th. Maybe Fang Ge is afraid of you.]
[2L: After reading too many authoritative copywriting articles, I feel like I can take on Brother Fang one-on-one too]
[3L: Don't be impulsive, I don't want to see you become the first person in the entire Wasteland to be killed by a spirit stone]
[97L: Why is everyone just making jokes? Is nobody asking when the Giants Sect will actually submit their challenge application? They can't just give up after getting into the top 20... Honestly, I feel like the Giants Sect is strong enough to at least get into the top 8 this year.]
[98L: Where did this armchair spectator come from? Have you even watched the match? Predicting the top eight like this? All the teams that made it are from ancient, powerful sects; even the weakest player is at the late Foundation Establishment stage. How can the Giant Sect possibly compete?]
[99L: The spiritual energy on the land of the Giant Sect is seventeen times that of ordinary cultivators. Even pigs there can cultivate faster than normal cultivators in other places. It's not impossible for their cultivation to increase significantly before the competition.]
[100L: Let me put it this way, no matter how much my cultivation level increases, I won't reach the top five. It's not like I'm taking rat poison; it doesn't work that fast. I reckon I'll get around seventh place in the end.]
[220L: But the problem now is that the Giants Sect doesn't seem to want to continue fighting...]
[221L: Actually, it would be good to fight again in the arena three years later. Go back and hone your skills so you can climb higher in the rankings next time.]
[222L: What a pity, the shortlisted teams could have gotten so many rewards... The public high-level herb fields just had a bumper harvest this year, the official team collected a ton of high-level spiritual herbs.]
…[1089L: Digging up an old post. It's been almost two weeks since the original poster made this post, and today is the 26th. Fang Ge still hasn't submitted his challenge, which basically means he's giving up on this year's tournament.]
[2091L: Report!! Today is the 29th, the last day of the arena competition. Sect Master Fang has submitted a challenge to the current number one team in the arena, the Moon-Gazing Beast Sect Team 1.]
After sending out the carrier pigeon containing information about the challenger, Fang Zhuo reviewed the system notifications from this period of time.
[Congratulations, host! Your investment target [Yin Fuxue] has broken through from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage to the late-Foundation Establishment stage, advancing one small stage. Reward: 2.5 billion spirit stones]
[Congratulations, host! Your investment target [Shang An] has broken through from Qi Refining Level 2 to Qi Refining Level 4, advancing two minor stages. Reward: 600 million spirit stones]
[Congratulations, host! Your investment target [Song Mingsi] has broken through from the early Foundation Establishment stage to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, advancing one small stage. Reward: 2.5 billion spirit stones]
[Congratulations, host...]
[The host receives double the cultivation points from both their investment targets and their wards, increasing their accumulated cultivation points by 30 points.]
[Host's initial cultivation level: Mid-stage Golden Core]
[Host's current cultivation level: Early Nascent Soul stage]
In the past three weeks, all the trainees he recruited have improved by at least one small stage. His strategy of "fleecing" them has begun to show results. The double cultivation return mechanism allowed him to break through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage without pain and he also received a total of 9.6 billion spirit stones in return.
There are very few Nascent Soul cultivators in the desolate hills, and most of them are nearing the end of their lifespan and can only engage in long-term seclusion within their sects.
This also means that he can dominate the wasteland with his personal strength alone, and at least ensure that he wins a small round in the arena.
But Fang Zhuo wanted more than just winning a small round.
The moment the white dragon descended upon the Fangcaoyuan arena, all eyes automatically turned to it.
The team from the Moon-Gazing Beast Sect was personally led by Jin Qi, who was their cheap father. Just over a month ago, their son lost a match and even his physical body was destroyed, causing the sect's stock price to plummet.
In an effort to turn the tide and stabilize market confidence, Jin Wenhan, the sect leader of the Beast Sect, specially selected eight rising stars within the sect to be refined into beastmen. As a result, the team's strength increased significantly, and they led the team to victory, winning first place all the way.
Originally, the Beast Sect had already started celebrating with champagne and the higher-ups were celebrating the Beast Sect's first team's sure victory in the arena. However, a surprise attack occurred just the day before the competition ended, and now the team members don't look too good.
Jin Wenhan, the sect leader of the Beast Sect, stood on the stage with his hands behind his back, looking impatient, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Sect Leader Fang, please."
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