In a certain palace, figures successively took their seats, numbering over ten individuals.

These individuals held different identities—some were local overlords, others were Elders of Sects, and some were the elders of influential families, all of them Body Integration Realm powerhouses.

"You all should be clear about the reason for summoning you here," said the master of the palace, the organizer, speaking slowly.

"Isn’t it just because Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou used the newspaper to threaten us, asking us to hold back a bit during battles?" one of the powerhouses said indignantly, his voice halting as he struggled to continue, unable to exert his full strength.

"It’s not just the newspaper—those two youngsters have mastered some unknown Forbidden Technique; the rules are ineffective against it."

"The younger generation is indeed fearsome."

"Even Old Buyu couldn’t achieve this; truly, blue is extracted from the indigo plant but is more vivid than it."

"We can no longer treat them as mere Divine Transformation Stage juniors."

"So, do any of you have good ideas? We can’t possibly be threatened by mere juniors!" the palace master asked angrily, revealing the true purpose of the assembly.

"Why not get serious and teach those two a lesson about respecting their seniors, respecting strength!"

"The problem is it seems like we can’t beat them, especially once they assume the Golden Body Arhat form; it looks heretical, but the defense is really something else. Even with all our might, we just can’t break through."

"Then why not let them report whatever they want, and we’ll just insist that what’s in their newspaper is false news!"

"I’m afraid that won’t work; the common people believe what’s printed in the newspapers."

"What kind of lousy idea is that? Of course, it won’t work. We might insist all we want, but who will hear us? Does anyone have a way to spread our voices across all of Great Xia?"

"Then should we also publish a newspaper?"

"It’s useless; the other four Immortal Sects and the Dynasty are already publishing newspapers, and the best-selling one is still the Seek Dao Sect’s paper, isn’t it?"

"Who can say otherwise? I hear Seek Dao Sect has even mastered a special method of printing newspapers, much faster than the other powers, and they’re not sharing the technique."

The group discussed it in a circle, looking at each other, finding that Lu Yang and his comrade were like hedgehogs, untouchable, even trickier than Daoist Buyu.

...

Perhaps it was because Lu Yang and his partner were keen to help others, often intervening to prevent battles, information that had spread far and wide, or maybe it was just a coincidence given the timing of recent events.

In any case, ever since Lu Yang and his partner had triumphantly completed their mission and returned, the major tasks of the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect had diminished significantly—it wasn’t worth having Lu Yang and his partner involved anymore.

Seeing that there was finally time to teach Lu Yang and his partner the minor techniques they would need after growing larger, Sect Master Kong discovered that during the mission, they had already mastered the Law of Heaven and Earth and the Dharma Aspect, to a degree of proficiency where his minor techniques were unnecessary.

The missions they had undertaken recently covered various uses of the Law of Heaven and Earth and the Dharma Aspect, which were exceptionally beneficial for practice. Even a teaching program designed by Sect Master Kong himself couldn’t achieve such a perfect synergy.

"It seems you two have indeed been quite fortunate," Sect Master Kong couldn’t help but remark, thinking that perhaps this was what it meant to be Geniuses born of fortune.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"There’s something else—an uneasiness is brewing in the Sect; you should be mindful of your safety."

"Uneasiness?" Lu Yang and his partner were puzzled. What could possibly go wrong with the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect?

"Xiao Jin mentioned he had a bad premonition, feels like something is going to happen to the Sect, and even took out a full insurance policy. As to where exactly this premonition came from, Xiao Jin did not explain clearly," Sect Master Kong said, his worry apparent. Trusting his senior disciple, he did not pry further into Fang Jin’s reasons.

"Alright, we’ll be careful," Lu Yang and his partner replied, expressing their gratitude with a bow.

In the days that followed, sect members of the Mountain Moving and Sea Filling Sect could often see two impressive figures walking around the Sect grounds. The duo could even lift an entire river with their mana, without letting a single drop of water fall—their control over their strength and mana grew ever more refined, leaving Fang Jin in awe.

Though he had a high aptitude in the Law of Heaven and Earth, he could not match Lu Yang’s rapid progress.

He walked over with a smile and greeted them, "Junior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Meng."

"Senior Brother Fang, what brings you here?" Lu Yang and his partner set down the river they were holding and walked step by step toward Fang Jin.

With each step Lu Yang took, dense spiritual essence hissed around him like white fog, and his stature gradually shrank in the process.

By the time Lu Yang came up to Fang Jin, he had returned to his original size, with the mysterious white fog around him making his spiritual essence look profound and unfathomable.

Fang Jin hesitated for a moment before revealing the purpose of his visit, "Here’s the thing: I heard from our master that you two are eloquent and have dissuaded many cultivators from their battles, significantly reducing our Sect’s task load."

"Master had thought about persuading them in the past, but it was never effective. I had a similar idea before, but hearing that even master had failed, I gave up the notion."

"But now that we have you two as examples, I was thinking of learning from you how to persuade cultivators, so that I might have some reference."

"Right now, there’s a scheduled task where two Divine Transformation Stage Cultivators want to battle. I was wondering if you two could go and try to persuade them, allowing me to observe and learn by your side?"

"This..." Lu Yang and his partner hesitated, as their method seemed something Senior Brother Fang might not be able to learn.

Saying so outright could hurt Senior Brother Fang’s confidence, couldn’t it?

Over the past month, Senior Brother Fang had been exceedingly good to them, doing his best to accommodate any requests; a blatant rejection would be too disrespectful.

Meng Jingzhou gritted his teeth and said, "Well, we might as well give it a try. However, our methods might not always work, so please be prepared for that, Senior Brother Fang."

"Of course," Fang Jin responded.

There wasn’t much to prepare, and the trio set off immediately. On the way to the mission location, Fang Jin filled them in on the details.

"The mission involves two Divine Transformation Stage Cultivators, one named Chen Yachong and the other He Wu. Chen Yachong, who has a penchant for gambling, has accrued a significant debt and even his cultivation resources are insufficient because of it. He ended up borrowing a million Spirit Stones from his friend He Wu."

"Unsurprisingly, Chen Yachong could not pay back the money when it was due, and simply proposed that He Wu could use him as a punching bag in lieu of repayment; if not satisfied, He could hit him a few more times."

"He Wu feels that just beating him won’t vent his anger; he insists on pinning Chen Yachong to the ground and battering him in the river to feel appeased. That’s why he approached the Sect in advance, asking the Sect to pick up the pieces afterward."

Lu Yang found himself in a dilemma, detecting a similar reaction from Meng Jingzhou.

Seeing their expressions, it didn’t seem like the usual methods of persuasion would suffice. Surely they couldn’t expect Old Meng to pay off Chen Yachong’s million Spirit Stones; that wouldn’t exactly be setting an example, would it?

"Why don’t you pay the Spirit Stones!" Meng Jingzhou exploded.

Lu Yang was startled, "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"It’s all written on your face, you rascal!"

"I’ll be more careful next time."