I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 151 - 149: The Great Battle Begins

The Holy Hall had two classes: the elite and the ordinary disciples. The ordinary disciples made up eighty percent of the population. Although they were Holy Hall Disciples, many people outside the Sect refused to acknowledge them as such. If they counted, then wouldn’t almost everyone be a Holy Hall Disciple?

But every Cultivator who entered the Holy Hall had their own dreams and was proud to be a Holy Hall Disciple. They all yearned for success, but reality was often cruel. The obstacles in cultivation came one after another, grinding away at their ambitions.

However, Wang Meng’s success told them that even without a powerful background, one could still create miracles!

Thunderlight Hall was in an uproar of celebration, especially the Pill Cultivators. Wang Meng had become their new idol. The female Pill Cultivators, in particular, pestered Hu Jing all day for news about him, so eager they wanted to know every last detail, right down to the color of his underwear.

Hu Jing was caught off guard by this completely unexpected enthusiasm. ’There are many Holy Hall Elders,’ she thought. ’For an elite disciple, becoming an Elder is only a matter of time. Of course, Wang Meng’s case is exceptionally rare, but this reaction is a bit much, isn’t it?’

Hu Jing was happy for Wang Meng, but also a little worried. Given Thunderlight Hall’s standing and Wang Meng’s current situation, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and Wang Meng was drawing far too much attention. How could the leading figures of the other Sub-Halls possibly tolerate it?

As the most senior female disciple, Hu Jing had interacted with these people often and had become increasingly aware of the situation in the Holy Hall. Seniority and rank were taken extremely seriously; everything had to be done by the book. How could Wang Meng just break the rules like that?

’The strangest part is, how did the Ancestral Masters approve it?’

"It’s too disheartening! How could the Ancestral Masters allow something so rule-breaking to happen!"

Jia Shidao said.

With the exception of Hu Jing, the seniors from the other eight Sub-Halls had all arrived, including Yang Ying. It seemed Ning Zhiyuan hadn’t ostracized her because of the rumors about her and Wang Meng.

"Wang Meng has only been in the Sect for three years. If he can be promoted to Elder just for a small contribution to Alchemy, shouldn’t all of us here be Elders by now?"

Qiao Qian sighed as well. It was indeed a blow to them, the leaders of their respective Sub-Halls.

"Don’t tell me we’ll have to bow and call him Elder whenever we see him from now on?"

Song Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Yang Ying and Mingren listened to the complaints calmly. They weren’t jealous, but looking at the matter objectively, it was indeed unfair. As leaders of their Sub-Halls, their abilities and contributions were more than sufficient, yet they still had to follow the step-by-step process to be promoted to Elder. Wang Meng’s existence was certainly awkward for them.

Surprisingly, Tang Wei, who would normally have been the first to jump up at a time like this, appeared very calm. He sipped his tea leisurely as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Ancestor Master Zhou thinks very highly of his talent in Alchemy."

Liangyuan said. It was unclear if he meant to support Wang Meng or was simply stating the reason to the others, but he put heavy emphasis on the word "Alchemy."

Everyone looked at Ning Zhiyuan. Their Senior had summoned them in a hurry, and it certainly wasn’t just to listen to them complain. Ning Zhiyuan had dominated the Sub-Halls for years, his prestige growing daily. In truth, none of them really saw him as a peer.

Ning Zhiyuan smiled faintly. "First, we should congratulate Wang Meng on his promotion to Elder. This proves that the Holy Hall selects talent without being bound by convention."

The others gave faint smiles. ’As if anyone believes that. If that were true, why weren’t Hu Jing and Wang Meng invited?’

"The Ancestral Masters have good intentions. They want to set an example to inspire all disciples to face difficulties with courage. Although Wang Meng has become an Elder, he has only been in the Sect for three years. He won’t actually exercise an Elder’s authority until he has served for at least five years. Therefore, while we must not neglect proper etiquette in daily interactions, we should still treat him as a disciple. Only by guarding against arrogance and impatience can one achieve greatness."

"Brother, you speak wisely. We will naturally carry this out!" Jia Shidao said immediately with a grin, showing his support.

"That’s right. It’s easy for a young man’s head to get swollen. The Ancestral Masters are concerned with the bigger picture; it’s up to us to fully understand and execute the details."

Qiao Qian quickly added. ’Damn it, if Thunderlight Hall rises in the ranks, won’t our Hundred Herbs Hall be at the bottom? We’re not completely worthless! If we really end up in last place, how are we supposed to live with ourselves?’

Tang Wei and Song Zhong naturally agreed. Yang Ying, Mingren, and Liangyuan, however, remained silent. Wang Meng’s promotion had been single-handedly pushed by Ancestor Master Zhou. No matter how displeased Liangyuan was, he couldn’t be stupid enough to oppose his own Ancestral Master. Anyone else could, but not him.

Ning Zhiyuan nodded; this was more or less the outcome he wanted. "In the upcoming grand competition, we must all display our greatest strength and set an example for the other disciples. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your status is, or what your background is—everyone will be treated the same. If anyone slacks off, I’ll be the first to deal with them!"

Ning Zhiyuan’s words couldn’t have been clearer. He was telling everyone to go all out against Thunderlight Hall.

’So you’re an Elder now, are you?’

’If you’ve got the guts, don’t participate in the grand competition. But if you do, you’ll have to let your skills do the talking.’

Yang Ying sighed inwardly. ’The higher you fly, the harder you fall. The crucial part is that the prepared are plotting against the unprepared. Wang Meng’s talent is indeed extraordinary, but he’s far too distracted. And with Thunderlight Hall ranked at the bottom, this grand competition...’

Seeing the glint in everyone else’s eyes, she understood the key point. What grand competition? This was the real test.

It was just as Ning Zhiyuan had said. No matter your status or background—whether it was Ning Zhiyuan himself, Li Tianyi, or her, Yang Ying—it was all the same. Status, background, and beauty were nothing but burdens at this point, because whoever defeated you could take everything you had.

In the world of Cultivators, only the strong survive!

’Wang Meng, have you realized it?’

Foot traffic to Thunderlight Hall shot up. Among the nine Sub-Halls, Dao Guang Hall and Flying Phoenix Hall had always had the highest number of visitors, which also provided them with abundant resources.

People went to Flying Phoenix Hall to court the ladies and to Dao Guang Hall to learn from the strong. After that came Hundred Herbs Hall. But because Wang Meng had become an Elder through Alchemy, Thunderlight Hall—and especially the Pill Furnace Pavilion—had suddenly become something of a Holy Land.

Chen Haiguan was grinning from ear to ear. He pointed out to visitor after visitor which Alchemy Room Elder Wang had used. When one man achieves the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Brother Chen now had a profound understanding of this saying. He’d never felt so respected in his life. Some of the visitors were even disciples from Dao Guang Hall.

’This is the life. I never would have dreamed of this before.’

Because of this, disciples from other Sub-Halls began to pay more attention to Thunderlight Hall disciples. For instance, they were now more willing to team up with Thunderlight Hall disciples for cooperative inter-Hall missions. This was the most direct change. When Thunderlight Hall disciples went out now, they were no longer treated like servants. They too were Cultivators, a part of the Holy Hall.

Zhao Ya detoxified the poison for Zhou Qian. The poor Brother Zhou was spared a death sentence, but he couldn’t escape the suffering. The Soul Refining Pill was truly torturous. The method was similar, but Demon Cultivation Sects always had their own little tricks. Luckily, they had found the Pill Formula. Zhou Qian had vomiting and diarrhea for ten days and even had to boil himself in a pot for a week before it was over. But even after cheating death, Zhou Qian was still as cheerful as ever.

Hu Jing and the others also admired Zhou Qian. It seemed that no matter what happened, he could face it with a smile.

The mundane affairs within the hall were now handled by Chen Haiguan, He Ziyuan, and others. Hu Jing and her group focused on their cultivation. Zhao Ya and the others weren’t teaching much anymore either. A master can lead you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual. In the end, it all depended on one’s own comprehension and hard work.

Wang Meng... was truly making Thunderbolt want to bang his head against a wall. The kid was far too fickle. He’d only been practicing forging for a short time before losing interest. And it wasn’t just forging; it was the same with Alchemy. Now, his greatest interest was in winemaking.

’Damn it all! Winemaking is just something incompetent Cultivators do to waste their days away...’

But the Ancestral Masters had an agreement: no one was to interfere with Wang Meng’s experiments. For him, trying many things was a good thing. Spending a few years to choose the right path was better than having the trouble of changing it after he had already settled on one.

Of course, this was a helpless choice born from the Ancestral Masters’ inability to reach a consensus. Ultimately, Wang Meng would still have to choose one of the proper paths of cultivation.

Even if he didn’t choose, life would force him to.

What were Ancestral Masters? They were beings who had endured every imaginable hardship to get where they were today. You could underestimate anyone, but you could never underestimate a Cultivator who had achieved Minor Perfection and become an Ancestral Master of the Holy Hall.

They didn’t speak up or ask questions because they had already seen too much. Sometimes, reality is the best teacher.

Wang Meng was being too casual right now. The grand competition would force him to make a choice quickly, to mature quickly. That would be more effective than a thousand words of advice.

Although Thunderbolt had a fiery temper, he naturally understood such a simple principle, so he didn’t interfere. The grand competition wasn’t far off anyway. As for whether Thunderlight Hall would be disgraced, Thunderbolt couldn’t care less. His skin had grown thick over the years. As long as Wang Meng had his awakening, the rise of Thunderlight Hall was only a matter of time.

The Holy Hall’s most anticipated event, the grand competition, was finally about to begin. Four years had passed since the last one, and this time, it was set to be the most intense competition for this generation. Many of the Sub-Halls’ seniors had entered their peak, and for the top senior, Ning Zhiyuan, this would be the last grand competition he could participate in.

The rewards were also different from previous years. Ancestor Master Zhou Luodan had personally refined Small Rejuvenation Pills for the disciples. It had been many years since an Ancestral Master had personally taken action. These weren’t your average pills that just passed right through you; they were true treasures, absolute gems for breaking through cultivation bottlenecks. It was rumored that this batch was even made with Thousand-Year Blood Ginseng, a treasure so precious that even the Ancestral Masters rarely got to use it.

The grand competition was divided into two parts: first, the Hall battles, and second, the individual ranking battles.

Both were major events. The Hall battles would determine the rankings of the Sub-Halls, which in turn affected resource allocation for the next few years. That was the tangible reward. In terms of glory, it determined whether the disciples of an entire Sub-Hall could hold their heads high or had to walk with them bowed in shame.

The Hall battles were also the most difficult, employing a reverse-order challenge format.

Thunderlight Hall could only challenge Hundred Herbs Hall and could not skip ranks to challenge other halls. Only if Thunderlight Hall defeated Hundred Herbs Hall would they earn the right to challenge Beast Hall, and so on.

If Thunderlight Hall was defeated or forfeited, only then could Hundred Herbs Hall choose whether or not to challenge Beast Hall.

To date, the greatest miracle was the one created by Ning Zhiyuan. At the time, Dao Guang Hall was ranked fourth. Due to Ning Zhiyuan’s god-like rise, Dao Guang Hall successively defeated the top three Sub-Halls, ultimately triumphing over the then-invincible Lingyin Hall. He led Dao Guang Hall to the summit of the Nine Peaks of the Holy Hall, where it has remained to this day. That miracle also earned Ning Zhiyuan his unparalleled support.