Young Noble Be Monster Slaying-Chapter 813: Explain Clearly?! (II)

With six out of the Divine Nine sects having revealed their votes, the situation unexpectedly stood at a tie. Starhold Island, the Great Lunar Dao Sect, and the Talismanic Sect each receiving two votes was an outcome no one had expected.

"Are you serious? Did the Great Astral Sect and the Buddhist Cloud Monastery actually vote for the Talismanic Sect just for the discount?" a spectator commented.

Yet, when the votes from the next two sects were revealed, the surprise soared to an entirely new level.

"One vote for Mount Mang City."

"Another for Mount Mang City. A total of two votes!"

The entire hall erupted in shock.

How had another dark horse suddenly emerged?

Initially, everyone had assumed that the Mount Mang City would just be getting the votes from the Imperial Court, the Monastery Tower, and the Night Saber Sect.

Who could have expected that two immortal sects from the Divine Nine would also cast their votes for them?

Read latest chapters at freёweɓnovel.com Only.

The female elder representing the Greater-Yin Cult wore a high-collared black robe. Her face was obscured by the fabric, leaving only a pair of cold, indifferent eyes that revealed no hint of emotion. There was no way to discern her thoughts.

As for the representative of the Endless Sword Sect, he was a powerful Eminent One named Li Shi. Li Shi was the grandson of Li Ba, the Supreme Elder of the Endless Sword Sect, and son of the sect leader Li Jiu. It wouldn’t be hard to deduce that he was also Li Shiyi’s father. This heir of the Li Family wore a solemn expression, his face betraying clear displeasure. It seemed his opinion might have clashed with that of these two Divine Nine sects.

These two Divine Nine sects had once been staunch supporters of the Ice Soul Sword Sect. So why had they suddenly changed their stance?

Was it because the Ice Soul Sword Sect had lost support of the people and their chances of winning had gone down that these two Divine Nine sects decided to support another sect from the Northern Regions?

At this moment, everyone present finally remembered that Mount Mang City was also located in the Northern Regions. If the Endless Sword Sect and the Greater-Yin Cult simply wanted to strengthen the sects from the Northern Regions, then Mount Mang City was indeed a viable choice.

With a calm and composed demeanor, Huyan Dong sat among the Mount Mang City contingent.

Everything that had happened today was according to plan. The only unexpected development was the two votes for the Talismanic Sect, but that was inconsequential.

Though Huyan Dong appeared indifferent, deep inside, his respect for the young Chu Yi had grown even further. If he had been the one orchestrating this matter, he wouldn’t have done a better job than Chu Yi.

Next came the reveal of the vote from the final sect of the Divine Nine—the Mount Shu Sect.

"A total of three votes for the Talismanic Sect!"

This was unquestionable, as the Mount Shu Sect had nominated the Talismanic Sect. It would have been strange if they hadn’t voted for the sect they had chosen. However, Huan Leisheng had expected only Mount Shu Sect’s vote. He never expected that his sect would have gotten three votes at this point.

Is this the charm of CEO Chu? Huan Leisheng thought to himself. Then it suddenly dawned on him. No wonder CEO Chu kept telling me to stay calm.

As Huan Leisheng thought back on everything, he realized that Chu Liang’s apparent busyness with other matters had been nothing but a facade. It was all a smokescreen to mislead his opponents! The reality was that he had made all the necessary arrangements behind the scenes.

Huan Leisheng marveled inwardly, My god! Such scheming, such connections! This is even more astonishing than his cultivation talent. This prodigy from the Mount Shu Sect is truly terrifying!

With all the votes from the Divine Nine sects revealed, it was almost unbelievable that the Talismanic Sect had taken the lead with three votes. The expressions of those present were priceless, and more and more eyes turned toward Huan Leisheng.

Huan Leisheng immediately straightened his back, sat up with authority, and donned a stern expression. He was resolute in his determination not to embarrass CEO Chu.

After the votes from the Divine Nine were revealed, it was time to reveal the votes from the imperial court.

Once again, the representative sent by the imperial court was the Sixth Princess. By now, she had become the imperial family’s de facto representative in the immortal realm, overseeing all major events. Unsurprisingly, she cast her vote for Mount Mang City.

With that, Mount Mang City now had a total of three votes.

With nine votes remaining, the atmosphere in the hall grew tense. Every single vote from here on would be crucial.

The first to vote among the Terrestrial Ten sects was naturally the Ascending Dragon Academy. The Confucian sect competing had yet to receive a single vote until now, and this marked their first.

"One vote for the Yushan Academy."

Zhang Chen sat in his seat, glancing around without any expression of joy or panic.

The votes they were expecting would all come from sects within the Terrestrial Ten.The Ascending Dragon Academy and the Noblemen’s Hall were guaranteed votes, and with Noblemen’s Hall acting as the intermediary, the South Melody Conservatory was certain to cast its vote for the Yushan Academy.

But as for the remaining two votes, he had no confidence that the Yushan Academy would secure them.

Li Chengfeng continued calling out, "The Yushan Academy, a total of two votes! Yushan Academy, a total of three votes!!"

Although the Yushan Academy had secured three votes in a row, meaning that they now had more votes than most competing sects and had now gained an equal number of votes as two other sects. Yet, the Confucian cultivators remained expressionless. The votes just called out came from the Noblemen’s Hall and the South Melody Conservatory, meaning they had received all their guaranteed votes.

The good news was that no sects had gotten the fourth vote yet, meaning that the Yushan Academy still had a chance.

"Mount Mang City, a total of four votes!" Li Chengfeng announced.

This time, he revealed that the vote came from the Monastery Tower.

It was just as expected.

After securing the votes from the two sects in the Northern Regions, Mount Mang City’s advantage became overwhelming.

The other competitors felt a chill in their hearts, feeling as though the victor had already emerged.

With so few votes to begin with, a single vote could create an insurmountable gap, leading to the rise of one sect and the fall of many in this competition.

Yet, the very next announcement brought the suspense back from the brink of disappearing.

"Talismanic Sect, a total of four votes!"

Xu Hongqiu, the eldest daughter of the Whale Gang, turned to Huan Leisheng with a smile and said, "Even though Chu Liang isn’t here, make sure to tell him that I cast this vote for Jiangjiang’s sake."

"Ah…" Huan Leisheng nodded. Out of respect for the boss’ wife, huh?

In reality, the reasoning behind the Whale Gang’s vote wasn’t too different.

As the largest gang roaming the nine provinces, they spanned a vast expanse, making it inevitable that they would cross paths with every major sect. Small acts of sabotage behind the scenes were common, and offending any of the sects would only lead to future troubles. Unlike the Mount Shu Sect, their strategy focused on maintaining good relationships.

Thus, after various sects sought their votes, Xu Bashan decided it was best to support the least likely candidate—the one that appeared the weakest and most nonchalant. The Talismanic Sect was the obvious choice.

However, he never expected that this would push the Talismanic Sect into the lead.

Still, Xu Hongqiu wasn’t worried. After all, the Night Saber Sect had yet to cast their vote, and they were guaranteed to support Mount Mang City. It seemed inevitable that Mount Mang City would win the Terrestrial Ten Grand Selection.

Sure enough, a moment later, Li Chengfeng flipped over Night Saber Sect’s paddle and announced, "Mount Mang City, a total of five votes!"

This outcome came at no surprise. People had already begun thinking about how to congratulate Mount Mang City when Li Chengfeng called out, "Talismanic Sect, a total of five votes!"

Huh? This truly shocked the entire hall.

Everyone turned to look at the elder from the Valley of the Three Absolutes.

"What are you all staring at?" the elder from the Valley of the Three Absolutes shrugged. "None of you even bothered to approach us, so we simply voted for whoever we found agreeable."

Their reasoning was the exact opposite of the Whale Gang’s. The Whale Gang was overly hospitable, while they were overly reclusive.

Among the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten, only the Mount Shu Sect and the Buddhist Cloud Monastery had some ties to the Valley of the Three Absolutes, mainly due to Chu Liang’s little undercover trio. The other sects, however, kept their distance from this sect in the Southern Regions.

Witchcraft, venom, and poison—each of these three words alone was enough to invoke fear, let alone when combined.

When the votes for each sect were being estimated, nearly every competing sect believed that securing a vote from the Valley of the Three Absolutes would be nearly impossible. There were no existing connections, and attempting to solicit their vote would likely come at a steep cost. As a result, all the sects chose to ignore the reclusive Valley of the Three Absolutes.

Only the Great Astral Sect, in their straightforward manner, approached every sect in the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten with equal sincerity. Regardless of their relationships, they would visit and simply express their hope that votes would go to War Tomb Mountain, which was their version of a campaign.

And surprisingly, it actually worked. The Valley of the Three Absolutes had nearly cast their vote for War Tomb Mountain. After all, the War Tomb Mountain had been the only competing sect who had even bothered to acknowledge them.

But yesterday, news arrived that War Tomb Mountain had withdrawn from the grand selection.

The Valley of the Three Absolutes couldn’t decide which sect to vote for. After looking around, they found that Mount Shu, Chu Liang’s sect, seemed the most agreeable. So, they simply voted for them.

This led to an outcome no one had foreseen: The Talismanic Sect and Mount Mang City were now tied, each with a total of five votes!

Next, the Sea King Sect’s paddle was revealed. As expected, the Sea King Sect voted for the Great Lunar Dao Sect, but by this point, it no longer mattered.

The current standings show a tie between the Talismanic Sect and Mount Mang City, both leading with five votes each. The Great Lunar Dao Sect and Yushan Academy follow closely behind, each securing three votes, while Starhold Island lags at the bottom with two votes.

The only remaining vote belonged to Thunderbolt Stronghold, and there was no doubt they would follow Penglai’s lead and vote for The Starhold Island. That meant it would be… a tie?

Under these circumstances, those who had not voted for either of the tied sects would have to cast their votes once more.

Huyan Dong’s expression turned cold—this was an outcome he hadn’t expected…

Huan Leisheng’s face lit up—this was an outcome he hadn’t anticipated!

Ah, I didn’t know our Talismanic Sect was… this popular. Nobody even told me!

A heavy silence filled the room as everyone quickly recalculated the situation, reassessing their options. But then, Li Chengfeng’s voice suddenly broke the tension.

"Talismanic Sect, a total of six votes!"

…

On the Silver Sword Peak at Mount Shu.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Chu Liang strolled outside Chujiu’s enclosure and gazed at the sea of bamboo trees with an expression of satisfaction. Beside him, the Golden-Furred Hou mirrored his gaze filled with anticipation.

Both of them were envisioning a bright future.

This business model of being the Chief Executive Overseer was proving highly effective. Chu Liang was already considering recruiting more sect leaders in the future, or even bringing in small sects as they began to rise and preventing them from growing too powerful and becoming a threat.

Now that Starhold Island was under control, the Hall of Construction was operating at full speed. With the Talismanic Sect thriving, talismans were being printed like money. Coupled with the ever-profitable Red Cotton Peak, the revenue from these ventures was simply staggering.

With the foundation set, he could sit back at home and just collect the profits.

The older generation of cultivators had yet to change their mindset. While the world of immortality cultivation was still one where strength dictated everything, the further they moved from the era of chaos, the closer they came to a stable order. In a world of stability, however, spirit-stone coins—the currency used to exchange for resources—became crucial, and controlling the resources would essentially be the way to control the economy.

By controlling resources, one could gain more power, which in turn could be used to protect and expand those resources. This virtuous cycle was best suited for the modern era.

The era where the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten simply divided territories was coming to an end. With the right economic strategies, even if others gained more resources, those resources would eventually flow into his hands. That’s why the Talismanic Sect had no need to fight for a spot in the Terrestrial Ten; doing so would only invite unnecessary hostility.

Making a fortune in silence was the best thing to do.

As the man and beast stood side by side, grinning foolishly at the enclosure, Chu Liang suddenly felt his Circle of Immortal Friends Token tremble.

He opened it to find a message from Huan Leisheng.

[Huan Leisheng]: "CEO Chu, you are truly a divine genius!"

Heh. That little rascal, Huan. Even while attending the Assembly of the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten, he still found time to flatter me. He really has good social skills, Chu Liang thought with a grin at first. However, the moment he remembered where Huan Leisheng was, his smile instantly vanished.

Something isn’t right.

[Chu Liang]: "Why are you suddenly saying this? Aren’t you at the assembly? What happened?"

[Chu Liang]: "Explain clearly!"