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Chapter 154: Factions (2)

“Do you even need to ask?” Liu Hongyan pouted. “For someone like him, it doesn’t matter what sort of view they hold. What matters is which faction can give him the most. He’s a born member of the fence straddling faction!”

Everyone erupted in laughter.

Tang Jie also threw back his head and laughed. “You really do understand me.”

The academy faction was a faction that was also not a faction. It served as a mediator, helping out whoever offered the most benefits.

For Tang Jie, the academy faction truly was the best fit. Thus, he had no interest in becoming Yan Changfeng’s disciple and joining the radicals. Moreover, some of the administrative ideals of the radical faction truly did not sit well with him.

For example, some people in the radical faction supported the idea of the strong eating the weak, survival of the fittest, and the one with the bigger fist being the king.

The thought of how the world would change if this sort of person gained power made him shiver.

This was like having the Heavenly Extinction Sect replace the Basking Moon Sect!

Although he was happy to incite war between the Basking Moon Sect and Godhead Palace, he had no desire to see the radicals become the mainstream or for slaughter to be normalized.

If that happened, death would become commonplace, the world would stink of blood, the landscape would be changed, the earth would be painted red, and the sun and moon would lose all light…

Of course, he was the only one thinking this. Youths normally did not have that many concerns.

In truth, for most students, no matter which faction they joined, they mostly cared about getting stronger.

Growing youths normally didn’t have too many choices. Just like a drowning man, they could only try their best to grab any passing rope. They didn’t have the leisure to pick and choose.

Tang Jie had the Martial Mirror, and with this treasure of the Martial Lord, he didn’t have a strong need for a master. On the contrary, being watched by a True Person would increase his chances of being exposed. Thus, his reason for giving up would only really work for him.

For the majority of people, standpoint really didn’t mean anything and would do nothing to affect their fervent desire to become a True Inheritor.

When everyone saw that he had made up his mind, they gave up on joining hands with him. After chatting for a little longer, they took their leave.

Not long after they had gone, Yiyi and the little tiger appeared next to Tang Jie.

“Big Brother, do you really not plan to try and become True Person Changfeng’s disciple?” She hadn’t gone off far, so she had been able to hear their conversation clearly.

“Mm, I don’t plan to. But this doesn’t mean that I’ve given up. This is still an opportunity, and even if I don’t want it, I have to make sure that my own people get it, right?”

“Then who do you plan to get it?” Yiyi asked.

Tang Jie chuckled. “You need to ask? My young master, of course.”

“What? Make me Yan Changfeng’s disciple?”

In the Meditation Garden, Wei Tianchong almost jumped thirty feet into the air as he stared in disbelief at Tang Jie.

Tang Jie smiled. “Yes. This is an opportunity. If you can become True Person Changfeng’s True Inheritor disciple, then you won’t even need to compete for the top ten anymore. But you’ll need to fix that loose mouth of yours… It’s ‘True Person Changfeng’! You had best remember that. If you end up calling him ‘Yan Changfeng’ in front of his face, you had best not blame me for your suicidal conduct!”

“Me? Are you joking?” Wei Tianchong laughed and waved his hand. “No way, no way. That’s impossible.”

Among the students of his class, he had barely squeezed his way into the top one hundred.

This was a mission that all students up to the sixth year were competing over. In terms of strength, Wei Tianchong ranked in the thousands. Even if Wei Tianchong were crazy, he would never think about trying for this True Inheritor opportunity. It was better to use that time on cultivation.

His immaturity made Tang Jie so angry that he could hardly speak. But he could only patiently explain, “Even if you can’t get it, you have to at least try. As a cultivator, you should bravely press forward and not easily speak of retreat. To not be able to outcompete others is one thing, but to give up without even trying is another. The struggles on the Immortal Path are such that to not advance is to fall back. Whether or not you succeed, you at least have to make an effort, to just try your best at least once. Even if you fail, at least you’ll be fair to yourself, fair to the lady, fair to everyone! If you try your best, at least you’ll have an explanation for the lady, and when the lady finds out, she’ll be happy that you tried your best. Isn’t that right?”

Wei Tianchong grinned. “You’ve made it sound very pleasant, but isn’t that just so you can make me put in all I have? But I don’t think that there’s anything impressive about this True Inheritor business. Don’t we have everything we need to learn in the academy? Why go through the trouble of getting a master? It doesn’t seem that different to me.”

Tang Jie got so angry that he jumped to his feet and pointed a trembling finger at him. “‘Doesn’t seem different’? How could it be any more different!? If you become a True Inheritor, you won’t be an ordinary student. Becoming a True Inheritor is the same as directly entering the Basking Moon Sect! You’ll have the guidance of a master, someone who can hold your hand and teach you so that you don’t need to figure things out yourself, someone who can open the way for you and answer any questions you have. Even if you suffer from energy corruption, your master can personally correct it for you. Every step you take will be correct, and you’ll never take a wrong turn! Do you get it? Qi Shaoming is a nine-cycle genius, but because he didn’t have a master, he went down the wrong path for an entire year! And you can also learn secret arts. And the spell arts you learn won’t be just single books that you can redeem one of at every tier, or books that you have to buy yourself. It all depends on whether your master is happy and how much he wants to teach you. If your master likes you, he’ll even pass on his secret teachings to you, and these won’t be much worse than the Divine Firmament Sword Classic. Finally and most importantly, you’ll have a backer! Do you get it? A backer! In the future, whenever anything good comes up, you’ll be the first person to be thought of, you’ll get off lightly if you make a mistake, and you’ll always be a cut above everyone else wherever you go. Haven’t you wondered why I wasn’t heavily punished despite causing such a mess? Isn’t it because Headmaster Xie likes me? And I’m not even his disciple yet! You’re asking me what’s so good about it? There’s nothing bad about it! How could it not be different?”

Tang Jie was practically bellowing when he got to his last few sentences.

Wei Tianchong was scared out of his wits.

He had just been looking for a reason to back out. He hadn’t expected to provoke such a reaction from Tang Jie.

For Tang Jie, another important reason for giving up on becoming Yan Changfeng’s disciple was that if Wei Tianchong could become a True Inheritor, he would make huge progress in completing his Heart Demon Aspiration and would be free to roam the world much sooner.

This was related to his dream life, so how could Tang Jie not be anxious?

He knew that he had been a little too rash just now, so he took a deep breath and changed his tone, sincerely saying, “Third Young Master, this is for your own good!”

Wei Tianchong found it hard to adapt to his sudden change of tone. Scratching his head, he said, “But it’s not like I’ll be able to beat out the others. I’ve only been studying for a year, and while I have a good background, it’s only a local clan. In terms of talent, I don’t have any, and in terms of cultivation time, I don’t have that either. When it comes to family background, I’m also not strong enough. I really don’t have any hope.”

Tang Jie chuckled. “That’s fine. Other people have talent, but you have servant students!”

After going back and forth for quite a while, he finally managed to convince Wei Tianchong.

Tang Jie called over Shi Meng so he could take part in the discussion over how they could help the young master take the target’s head. The spells Shi Meng had learned had almost all been support spells, and while they weren’t strong, they were very useful.

When Shi Meng heard that Tang Jie wanted Wei Tianchong to become a True Inheritor, he began to tremble.

But Wei Tianchong was actually relaxed now that the decision was made. After all, he just needed to do whatever Tang Jie told him to do.

“But it’s rather strange,” Wei Tianchong commented. “Isn’t this just a disciple selection? He should just select the most outstanding person. Why go through this test?”

In Wei Tianchong’s mind, if someone wanted a disciple, why would they not just choose the person with the best aptitude?

Qi Shaoming had a nine-cycle Jade Gate, so wouldn’t choosing him save a lot of trouble?

His words hinted that he still wasn’t confident about his ability to compete.

Tang Jie glared at him. “You think everyone is like you? The greatest advantage of this approach is that everyone has a fair chance. After all, talent isn’t the sole criterion for a cultivator’s success.”

“Then why are there three tests?” Shi Meng asked.

“Perhaps one isn’t enough?” Wei Tianchong replied.

Tang Jie shook his head. “It’s probably because what fairness really means is a loss of control. If you use a test to select a disciple, while it’s certainly fair, how can you ensure that the person who gets selected is the one you like, the one you want?”

“You’re saying…” Shi Meng and Wei Tianchong blurted out in unison.

Tang Jie raised three fingers. “Three tests means three places, which means three candidates. True Person Changfeng can choose the one he likes out of the three candidates… Not only is this fair, giving everyone a chance, he also leaves himself the power to choose.”

Wei Tianchong blurted out, “Isn’t this being a prostitute while also establishing a memorial arch?”

(TN: This is a Chinese saying that means someone who commits crimes while pretending to be a good person.)

Tang Jie glared at him, but a moment later, he chuckled and said, “That’s how it’s always been. Outstanding and important figures don’t have to be prostitutes, but they definitely have to set up memorial arches!”

Wei Tianchong laughed. “Then it’s over. True Person Changfeng definitely won’t pick me. It seems to me that it won’t be any good even if you do help me get a spot.”

“Correct. In normal circumstances, that truly would be the case,” Tang Jie confirmed, not at all getting angry.

Given how this kid was acting, it would be far stranger if Yan Changfeng ended up liking him out of the three candidates.

“So…” Tang Jie trailed off.

This familiar tone made Wei Tianchong’s sphincter clench. He could vaguely sense that something bad was about to happen.

He said in a trembling tone to Tang Jie, “So what?”

“So there’s only one way to guarantee that you become Yan Changfeng’s disciple: we have to take all three spots so that he doesn’t have a choice!”

Thump!

Wei Tianchong and Shi Meng both fell down.

The plan was set, and whether or not Wei Tianchong was willing or wanted it, events were sprinting in the direction of making him into a True Inheritor.

On the same night, Tang Jie gave Wei Tianchong and Shi Meng their missions.

Wei Tianchong began to spread around money in an attempt to buy information on Lin Yuanming’s family. Meanwhile, Shi Meng went off to Heaven One Pavilion and bought a tracking spell and an identification spell. This mission was testing everyone’s ability to investigate, and a tracking spell was of utmost importance.

The identification spell was mainly to determine if the target was real or fake and whether or not the target had modified their appearance. It was of no use for tracking down the target. According to the information provided by the academy, Lin Lang most likely had a spell art that could change his appearance, so an identification spell was still extremely important.