Chapter 600: Relocating
Silent as the grave.
[Did Venerable s.h.i.+ wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? Why is he on Zhuo Fan’s side?]
Allies and enemies alike were stunned, watching the old timer as a cow looked at a new gate.
“Have I said something wrong?” Venerable s.h.i.+ smiled at the rest, “Only a blind man can’t see Zhuo Fan’s talent. He is the best chance our sect has in Double Dragon Gathering. We have to remove all obstacles for him to join it, including this quaint rule.”
Ugh!
The stunned silence persisted for a good while. Wuyue had to blink again and again to gain some semblance of reasoning back.
“Venerable s.h.i.+ is quite right. I agree. The Double Dragon Gathering’s candidates shall be chosen from the Elite Labor Office, with Zhuo Fan in charge. The inner, outer, and elite areas are to cooperate!”
“Er, that is good and all, but we guide the elite area’s disciples for the Double Dragon Gathering. With how the candidates are chosen from the Elite Labor Office, do we still hold our posts?” Fiend Yang asked.
Having received Zhuo Fan’s good-natured gifts, they never opposed such a decision, and Xie Wuyue had planned for the kid to be the team leader from the start. All the more, since Zhuo Fan had such a wild reputation and everyone’s side. No matter what ruckus he stirred, it’d be swept under the rug. He even got the right to choose his teammates. All this old fiend could do was fall in line.
As long as there was no conflict of interest or principles, Xie Wuyue would be behind him all the way.
This was the power of bribes. Why else would a Sect Leader accommodate some guy by even changing the rules?
All rules were, at the end, made by the strong for the strong.
Xie Wuyue scratched his nose, “The kid can take you in, and it’ll be all the same. Having the three of you in the Labor Office where there are already so many more venerables won’t harm it.”
The trio shrugged. The day had come that these venerable coaches had to balk at the whims of a disciple.
It never happened in the history of the Demon Scheming Sect, not once.
While the inner sect’s oldies’ hearts jumped. No matter how G.o.dlike Zhuo Fan was, he was still a disciple. With such authority behind him, he could even affect the other oldies’ fate. That was a bitter pill to swallow.
Though a glance at Venerable s.h.i.+ told them they had nothing to worry about and sighed in the end.
If their boss was silent, all they could do was follow.
The decision came to pa.s.s, and after ironing in some more details, the meeting came to a close.
“Ha-ha-ha, how times have changed. The lowest rung of a sect, a mere Labor Office, has now become its center, even above the elite area. Yet those rotten laborers are still sweeping the disciples’ and mine lodgings…”
“What’s so hard to accept? That side had sported a sudden monkey that even challenged the elite area. The entire sect sees him as the apple of their eye, even fonder than their ancestors. And all to regain the sect’s dignity and interests in Double Dragon Gathering. I reckon you’d be flaunting him by now if he was your disciple. When all is said and done, might makes right.”
…
The elders and venerables gossiped in groups of three or five, grumbling and complaining as they left the hall.
Left alone with Venerable s.h.i.+, Xie Wuyue turned a quizzical eye at the old man, “Did the world flip, Venerable s.h.i.+, to take my side?”
“Ha-ha-ha, Sect Leader, you jest. When have I ever gone against you? I only ever argue for the good of the sect. I hope Sect Leader is kind enough to overlook my past transgressions. Zhuo Fan is beyond anything anyone could expect, earning the public’s favor. I only hope he can take our sect higher.” Venerable s.h.i.+ bowed.
Xie Wuyue eyed him with the complete skepticism his position came bearing.
Venerable s.h.i.+ chuckled, “If that is all, Sect Leader, I shall take my leave.”
Xie Wuyue had never said anything all this time.
But the old man turned just as he was about to cross the door with a crafty smile, “Ha-ha-ha, Sect Leader, you were right about one thing. The new replaces the old. But his drive may be too strong. Today he has the sect change the rules for him, tomorrow, he’d have a certain someone’s chair…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Xie Wuyue roared.
Venerable s.h.i.+ grinned, “Just the ramblings of an old man, Sect Leader.”
Venerable s.h.i.+ left laughing with another bow, “With the new replacing the new, I wonder just how far it will go, how decrepit will the old become? Ha-ha-ha…”
“d.a.m.n geezer.”
Xie Wuyue spat, his knuckles white. The more he thought about it, the more he saw Zhuo Fan’s power within the sect taking root. His speed was too fast even for this Sect Master’s comfort…
The decision spread to the entire sect leaving inner and outer disciples dumbstruck.
The Elite Labor Office had only been a lure so far for a s.h.i.+ft in power in the sect, yet its status was still in the lowest rung. The only reason disciples forwent its bad name was because of free stuff.
Yet it hadn’t been long since it formed, and it already stood above the elite area, holding the right to judge Double Dragon Gathering’s candidates.
It meant there was no getting into the Elite Labor Office without strength any longer.
Only the best of the best entered the elite area, but now that the Elite Labor Office had authority, the entrance would be all the harsher.
The chances were next to nothing.
The ever spectating inner and outer disciples were now hating their guts for the previous indecision of joining the Elite Labor Office.
It took just a couple of months for the lame Elite Labor Office to become all the rage.
While laborers grew c.o.c.kier and more confident, especially when the three coaching venerables led a gaggle of elites to join Elite Labor Office after pa.s.sing Zhuo Fan’s strict testing. if they were any more stuck up their heads would reach their a.s.s.
It was they who used to resort to any means to get into the elite area.
But lo and behold how the tables had turned, with the elites’ turn to do the same thing.
And all of this came to be by the grace of one laborer, Steward Zhuo Fan, the manager of the Elite Labor Office.
His popularity spiked then and there, to the point of being wors.h.i.+ped. But while the Labor Office was enjoying the high life, the inner and outer disciples were down in the dumps.
All because of Zhuo Fan’s order. ‘Even elite laborers are to sweep the floors.’ The entire sect couldn’t afford to mess with him.
Bam!
A vase crumbled to pieces as it made intimate contact with the hard cold floor. Kui Lang picked up the broom and swept the remains while looking sullen at a corner, “Your vase.”
“That’s a high-cla.s.s China worth a hefty sum!” The youth cried.
Kui Lang barked, “What’s a d.a.m.n cultivator wasting spirit stones on these d.a.m.n decorations? You’ve soured my mood, now get out and let me clean!”
“Oh no, no, no, senior brother Kui Lang, this is my fault. I could never have you…”
“Shut it. Steward Zhuo gave us a job, and we’re to sweep the sect clean. Are you trying to make me slack on the job and get punished? Scram!” Kui Lang glared.
The youth ran like the wind, though just outside the door, watching in anxiety and nervousness.
The room ended up eliciting a wondrous symphony of sounds, from the dullest to the sharpest.
In under fifteen minutes, Kui Lang strutted out with the broom in tow, “Now it’s spotless. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Thank you so much, senior brother.” The youth bowed and Kui Lang left with a puffed-up chest.
The youth went in to watch a horror show. The table was only good for tinder now, and the walls sported extra-large breathing holes.
[This is not sweeping, but demolition!]
Thinking about how he’d get his room ‘cleaned’ every day brought a dark cloud over his face. The guy was on the verge of tears.
[Is there no presentable laborer out there?]
Well, the good ones were sent to the oldies, while the best of the best, the elite laborers went to inner and outer disciples’ homes.
Having never done this, they tended to put too much oomph into it, resulting in this wonderful work of art yet unique every time.
Though the demolition men knew full well no inner and outer disciple would dare make a peek as they went to work. Since the Elite Labor Office was the cream of the crop in the sect, everyone was dying to join.
No matter how they grumbled, they couldn’t even fight back, not when it would only get them killed.
Laborers had the sect rules at their back yet the power of elites. It was so ridiculous that not even oldies messed around.
“I will definitely get in the Labor Office tomorrow!” The youth couldn’t take it anymore but then recalled his meager strength and sighed.
[With so many vying to get in, the Labor Office now holds a test to take in only the best…]