novelraw Chapter 326-2: Disciple Pasture, Lord Cain’s Offering Ritual (2)
Chapter 326-2: Disciple Pasture, Lord Cain’s Offering Ritual (2)
[The Middle-Tier Seat Pass for the Disciple Sanctum in your possession emits a summons…]
[Please teleport to the Disciple Sanctum within one hour!]
Deng Shouyan looked at the text on his phone, and his expression could not help but turn bitter.
As the subordinate of a former Disciple candidate, his superior had unfortunately been defeated and was now missing, neither seen alive nor found dead.
As a qualified mid-level underling, he had been reallocated by the Rectification Society priest to a new Lord.
The new Lord was the newly promoted Twelfth Disciple, a figure who was very much in the spotlight within the organization.
Being able to become the subordinate of that Lord whose Holy Name was Cain was something he should have been very happy about, but he simply could not bring himself to feel happy.
The reason was simple. Counting on his fingers, how long had it been since the last offering ritual? His former superior’s seven-day mourning period had not even fully passed.
“Isn’t this offering a bit too hasty?”
The moment this thought arose in Deng Shouyan’s mind, he immediately gave himself a harsh slap.“Offerings are to enter the New World. They are not just for myself, but for the nation and for countless descendants of Yan and Huang.”
“How could those foolish official apostles possibly understand that the apocalypse is inevitable and unstoppable, and that only by stepping into the New World can human civilization be continued.”
Deng Shouyan quickly regained his composure.
Two days earlier, he had met Lord Cain in reality.
Looking back on it now, he could not help but sigh deeply.
Lord Cain was indeed a powerful figure who held great authority. Just standing before him and looking at that black-robed figure whose face was concealed, the awe-inspiring pressure made him tremble all over, his hands and feet growing cold.
He did not dare to harbor the slightest thought of resistance. Whatever the Lord said, he nodded repeatedly. Before he knew it, he had agreed to once again gather offerings from his numerous underlings and to participate in the offering ritual two days later.
And that was not even the most important part. The most important part was the hint Lord Cain had revealed!
Lord Cain was a newly promoted Disciple and was in lack of proxy agents under his command. It was very likely that he would appoint new proxy agents based on the offerings in this ritual!
Deng Shouyan had scraped his way up to being just a very ordinary mid-level figure, barely qualified to enter the Disciple Sanctum.
Naturally, he very much wanted to become Lord Cain’s proxy agent. But how could becoming a Disciple’s proxy agent be something so easily achieved?
The last offering ritual had taken place not long ago, and his underlings had not yet accumulated much Spirit Essence.
If, at this moment, the proxy agents were to be appointed based on how much Spirit Essence was donated in the offering ritual, it was not that he did not want to fight for it, but that he truly could not come up with much.
Deng Shouyan opened his panel and Inventory, looking at some idle equipment and a few items.
He clenched his fist tightly. His gaze changed from hesitant to firm.
In the end, as if making up his mind, he swung his fist down hard. “To hell with it! If I gamble now, at most I’ll regret it for a few months. But if I don’t fight for such a good opportunity, I’ll spend the rest of my life in regret!”
He did not go directly to the Disciple Sanctum, but teleported back to the library.
He clicked on the Book of Trade and listed all his idle equipment for sale.
“What the hell? Why are there suddenly so many pieces of equipment and items in the Book of Trade?!”
Deng Shouyan could not help cursing. Whether it was in the equipment channel or the item channel, the trade pages had increased by more than ten pages compared to usual.
His face turned bitter. Damn it! Even the materials channel had gone up by several pages!
After thinking for a moment, he understood the trick behind this.
Lord Cain controlled the entire Jiangnan Province. Since the Lord was using the offering ritual to appoint proxy agents, how could the other mid-level figures in the same organization pass up such a great opportunity?
It had not been long since the last offering ritual. This situation showed that a whole bunch of people were selling off their family assets, trying to compete for the position of proxy agent!
Deng Shouyan gnashed his teeth. “So you all want to engage in internal competition, huh? None of you have a bottom line, huh? The moment you see a proxy agent position, you forget your original intention of entering the New World, huh?”
“Just watch me out-compete you all!”
Gritting his teeth, he listed all his equipment except for his weapon for sale, including several top-tier items.
After thinking about it, he also listed the materials he had been collecting for a long time to craft his exclusive equipment.
However, the sudden increase of many pieces of equipment and items in the Book of Trade, although small in number compared to the overall trade pages, still caused a slight overall drop in prices.
Deng Shouyan was bitter with frustration. If he had decisively sold his items the moment he received Lord Cain’s notice two days earlier, the amount of Spirit Essence from his offerings could have been increased by another substantial margin.
Unfortunately, there was no regret medicine in this world. Now he could only lower his asking prices a bit further, trying to sell sooner and recover the Spirit Essence.
“I have to sell them all before the offering ritual ends! Otherwise, I will never again get such a good opportunity in this lifetime…”
With a do-or-die mentality, he teleported to the Disciple Sanctum.
[…]
[Following the guidance of the Middle-Tier Seat Pass for the Disciple Sanctum, you arrive at Council Chamber No. 12 and step inside…]
[Figures crisscross throughout the chamber. The layered seats face the host dais. Quite a few shells have already taken their seats. You follow the Seat Pass’s instructions and find your own seat.]
“Council Chamber No. 12. This is my first time entering a chamber with a ranking this high…”
Deng Shouyan remembered that his deceased Lord had been a seed candidate in the Disciple selection, but that Lord’s Council Chamber number had been ranked much further back.
Now, being able to serve under the Twelfth Disciple Lord Cain was truly a golden opportunity others could only dream of.
[There are 45:27 remaining until the offering ritual begins…]
[You may speak freely…]
[…]
[Arsonist: Have you all heard? The newly promoted Disciple Lord, that is, Lord Cain, is looking for proxy agents. If you can attract the Lord’s favor in this offering ritual, you might become a Disciple’s proxy agent…]
[Sailor: Of course I’ve heard… Sigh, it hasn’t been long since the last offering ritual. I haven’t managed to scrape together much Spirit Essence at all. As for the proxy agent position this time… no hope for me!]
[Weaver: Exactly, exactly. My underlings can’t cough up any more Spirit Essence, and I don’t have savings either. I can’t possibly sell the equipment I’m wearing just to scrape together Spirit Essence, right?]
[Heavy Gunner: Same here. I really want to compete for the proxy agent position this time, but I’m powerless to offer more.]
[Singer: +1]
[…]
“Heh, you guys just keep pretending.”
Looking at the pile of familiar aliases speaking, Deng Shouyan could not help but let out a cold laugh.
These fellows claimed they had no Spirit Essence, yet they were selling equipment faster than anyone, the very image of mouths saying no while bodies were incredibly honest.
They just wanted everyone else to donate less while they donated more, thereby invisibly squeezing out a few competitors for the proxy agent position.
As long as there was one idiot who believed such words, that was one fewer competitor. Their abacus beads were practically bouncing into outer space.
Deng Shouyan could not help speaking up.
[Little Knight: Same here. Who would sell their equipment just to scrape together Spirit Essence? Everyone should offer according to their ability. Putting on a front you cannot afford is not a wise move. If you sell your equipment and then get stuck on a stage, how will you offer anything next time?]
His message quickly drew a flurry of responses.
[Clown: Well said. If we offer a bit less this time, Lord Cain knows the reason and will probably understand us. But if we still cannot offer much Spirit Essence at the next offering ritual, we ourselves will have no face to meet the Lord.]
[Martial Artist: Ah, yes, yes, yes!]
[Blade-Wielding Guard: +1]
[Successor: +2]
[…]
[Wall-Breaker: +10086]