Chapter 143
[After the tea tasting, your personal demeanor and social etiquette have improved!]
Current Position: Holy Son of the Panxing Sect.
Current dominance: 89%.
In this spacious chapel, the overhead incandescent lights were still bright, but no one dared to utter even a single syllable.
Everyone was quietly and carefully inhaling the cool air, using their tongues, which were numb from the heat, to lick their palates, where a layer of skin had already been burned off.
Some people with lower heat tolerance will likely have mouths full of blisters for the next few days, making them grimace when speaking or eating.
Of course, burning your mouth isn't the most serious problem.
Because they were forced by the Holy Son through unknown means to drink bitter tea non-stop—conservatively estimated to have drunk more than thirty cups—even if they only drank one sip of each cup and started again, their stomachs could not hold so much water!
So, when the time spent sitting in the chapel was extended to one hour, then two hours, some people finally started to get restless.
I really need to go to the toilet, I really need to go to the toilet, I really need to go to the toilet...
They tried to get up and leave, but an unknown force pressed them back into their seats time and time again, forcing them to keep pouring tea down their throats.
Because of the particular concern for face that some middle-aged people have, they couldn't very well raise their hands to ask the underage Holy Son for permission to use the restroom in front of everyone...
How embarrassing! So embarrassing!
...But if you can't hold it in, that would be incredibly embarrassing, pushing your psychological limits!
Their faces turned red with suppressed anger, and they could only let out a silent scream in their hearts.
Help! Can you please let them go?
What exactly does His Holiness want them to do? Can't you just say it directly?
They'll give them whatever they want, money or power; all they want is to escape this terrifying tea-drinking hell!
At this moment, when the new cup of tea was placed in front of them once again, someone finally couldn't sit still any longer.
Even bowing down to a boy at least thirty years younger than him here is better than losing his temper and being ridiculed until he dies.
He raised his hand shakily, drawing the attention of everyone present—including the Holy Son himself.
"Excuse me... Your Holiness,"
When the branch representative spoke, his voice trembled uncontrollably. Perhaps the tea was too hot for his mouth.
"How much of this tea are we going to drink before you stop...?"
If we say that the patriarch's method of controlling the Panxing Sect is to remain behind the scenes and never show his face, except for brief instructions at crucial moments, and to let things run their own course most of the time—ninety-nine percent of the people present probably never had any direct communication with the patriarch.
So, this Holy Son used the simplest and most direct method, with such high efficiency that he made everyone bow their heads to him and completely understand in just one afternoon—
He's no pushover.
He's from "over there".
Upon hearing this question that everyone was most concerned about, the entire room fell silent instantly, and even the gasps of surprise disappeared.
Everyone, who was already desperate to relieve themselves, held their breath, eagerly awaiting the Holy Son's reply.
Whatever he wants, just give it to him!
Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, Kazuma Hatori, standing on the podium, remained expressionless and spoke calmly into the microphone.
“You,” he said, “there are still people who are not convinced by me.”
"As long as there are still people who oppose what I announced, this cup of tea will continue to be drunk until tomorrow."
Tomorrow?! Who could possibly resist that?!
The entire venue gasped in unison, emitting a murmur of surprise.
Before Kazuma Hatake could begin a new round of tea tasting after saying this, someone angrily slammed their hand on the table.
"Sancun, was it you?!" he roared. "Your eyes were darting around suspiciously; you must still harbor resentment towards the Holy Son!"
Another person immediately berated his colleague who was sitting at the same table.
"Black Mountain! If you dare to speak nonsense to His Majesty the Holy Son again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Zhongjin! Show some respect to our Holy Son of the Panxing Sect!"
"Honchuan!"
"Patio!"
"Miyashiro!"
"..."
Before Kazuma Hatake served the tea that the system had carefully prepared, he found that the people below were much more impatient than the elders of Kamo from the previous playthrough. They had already begun to accuse each other of disloyalty, and the minor quarrels quickly escalated into personal attacks.
After all, they're not from the same family; they're not related by blood.
Kazuma Hatori shook his head slightly in his heart, his black eyes glancing at the game window that was not closed.
Current dominance: 95%.
Sure, it wouldn't hurt to argue a little longer.
Having learned a profound lesson from his previous playthrough of dominating the Kamo family, Kazuma Hatori is determined not to stop until he has reached 100% completion.
What do you mean 80% is enough? There are still 20% of people who oppose him, aren't there?
No, this time he's going to make it a one-man show.
Kazuma Hatori was getting tired of standing, so he turned to Ayako Sakami and gestured for her to bring him a chair.
Sakami Ayako stared in disbelief at the group of leaders who used to be so powerful, now arguing so heatedly in the chapel. She didn't even realize when Hato Kazuma called her name, and after a moment of stunned silence, she hurriedly went to get him a chair.
Unbelievable! Could this be Kazuma Hagoromo's technique, a supernatural ability belonging to the world of sorcery?
She was still in shock when she saw these leaders of the Panxing Sect obediently drinking tea cup after cup!
While marveling at the situation, Ayako Sakami felt a surge of immense relief.
Thank goodness, thank goodness she doesn't have to drink this lousy tea...
"Are you done arguing?"
Kazuma Hatori sat in his chair, waiting for the people in the chapel to finish their round of insults before raising the microphone and speaking again.
The calm, almost indifferent voice emanated slowly from the speakers placed around the room, startling everyone. The atmosphere in the entire space instantly became deathly silent, as if the devil himself were speaking.
"Let's continue drinking after we're done arguing."
The moment the word "drink" left Kazuma Hatori's lips, everyone in the audience turned pale with horror.
No, no more drinking!!!
When the string in everyone's heart is gradually tightened by the burden of body and mind, this cup of tea, which has not yet been served, is the last straw that will break that string completely.
Current dominance: 100%.
oh?
Kazuma Hatake raised an eyebrow, quite surprised that a single sentence could increase his dominance by 5%.
He hasn't even started choosing the tea yet.
That's fine, every little bit of gold coin saved counts.
"Great, thank you all for your support."
Kazuma Hatori stood up and, amidst countless expectant eyes, finally said what they most wanted to hear.
"We will gradually convey information about the future development direction of the Panxing Sect to everyone through the Wine Meeting."
"Everyone can leave now."
——！
Ahhh, thank you, Holy Son! They can finally be free!
In the blink of an eye, the entire chapel had vanished.
You can still faintly hear arguments like, "I'm of higher status than you, I'll go first!"
In short, he has already won over this management team.
Kazuma Hatori shrugged slightly and handed the microphone back to Ayako Sakami, who was almost numb with shock.
"Remember to arrange for someone to clean up," he said. "There might be some people who can't hold it in any longer."
“…”
Ayako Sakura slowly turned her head toward Kazuma Hatori, her entire face filled with admiration and speechlessness.
"How did you do that?" she asked incredulously. "Just like that... just like that, it worked?"
"If anything fails, anyone who dares to disagree will be invited to come over for more tea until they agree."
Kazuma Hatake said nonchalantly, "If you don't want tea, I can serve you a meal."
“If he is unwilling to come over, when I go there in person, it will be more than just tea and a meal.”
His [Ye Shuang] is also quite kind and friendly, and can help them straighten their bones for free.
“…”
Ayako Sakami gasped. She hadn't expected that Kazuma Hatori, who looked like a cold-blooded teenager, would be so ruthless when he got into a fight.
Even a demon couldn't do that, casually offering dozens of cups of steaming hot dishwater!
Seeing that Kazuma Hatori was about to leave the chapel, she quickly followed.
As she walked, a flash of inspiration struck Ayako Sakami.
“You haven’t done it yet,” she hesitated, “and you’ve treated those people in the sorcery world the same way, the ones on the list you gave me…”
Otherwise, it's hard for Ayako Sakami to imagine how she managed to offend sixty or seventy old men in one go.
As soon as she said it, she felt a sudden tightness in her chest, fearing that she would also be offered a seat at the tea tasting.
Kazuma Hatori also slowed his pace slightly.
"Um……"
His voice rang out from the front and reached Ayako Sakami's ears.
"Let's go even rougher than that...."
It's just replenishing some water; how can that compare to having several teeth knocked out by rotten rice, or those old men who were actually killed by his single shot?
Ayako Sakami: "..."
Ayako Sakami: "!!!"
………
As the Holy Son with 100% control, Kazuma Hatake quickly obtained the Panxing Cult's management strategy.
In short: proselytizing and recruiting new believers—collecting money and offerings from believers—using the money for commercial and political investment and propaganda—attracting more believers.
Such a magnificent and imposing building was constructed using such a simple and crude method of making money.
Such religious groups can operate freely with the government, which is naturally due to the large sums of political donations they spend to win over officials.
Those religious corporations that were able to evade taxes also made a fortune—Shigeru Sonoda even owned his own private jet.
In short, the one thing the Panxing Sect least considers in all these aspects is the life and death of its followers whose assets are being ruthlessly squeezed dry.
Some of these patrons were quite wealthy, but their money was less of an offering and more of an investment in and operation of the Panxing Cult, from which they would reap corresponding benefits.
"Hmm, I think I understand."
Kazuma Hatake put down the stack of reports he was holding.
"In short, let's arrest a bunch of lawbreakers and throw them in jail first."
Ayako Sakami was taken aback, not expecting that Kazuma Hatori, who had only been in office for a few days, would demand a purge within the church.
"Huh? These are all normal business practices of religious groups..."
"There are also villains who exploit loopholes in the rules. Some force members to hand over money without any scruples, some collude with businessmen and politicians to embezzle church assets, and some take the opportunity to assault members..."
Kazuma Hatake listed several types in one breath, his tone icy, "Arrest them all, I don't need them."
Ayako Sakura replied instinctively, "But some of them were people I had invited for tea before..."
“Then select another batch. If you’re not satisfied with me, you can come over for another cup of tea.”
Ayako Sakami: ...This terrifying young master Yama, who dares to come and see you now?
However, she had long been fed up with these scumbags, and she was quite happy that Kazuma Hatori was willing to put in a lot of effort to clean them up.
"I understand, I'll make the arrangements."
She sighed and picked up the heavy stack of documents on the table. "Are you planning to transform the Panxing Sect?"
Kazuma Hatake hummed in agreement and patiently explained to his rather useful assistant.
"The sorcery community will soon launch an attack on the Panxing Cult. However, they cannot directly use sorcery to wipe out non-sorcerer groups; they can only do so through conventional means of ordinary society."
"Therefore, we must first conduct an internal cleanup so that they have no leverage and no way to do anything about it."
Ayako Sakami then remembered the big things they had done before, covered her mouth and nodded repeatedly—then, she asked again, still worried.
"And you, you're a sorcerer, right?...Will they send people to hunt you down?"
—To this question, Kazuma Hatori merely raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a rare, cold, and contemptuous smile.
"Not only that, I'm also going to hunt them down."
Since he's already become a curse master, none of those high-ranking members who disrespected Wu in the first playthrough will escape this time.
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