Chapter 271 - 9: The Agreement

As Dang Jun’an finished speaking, Zhang Deming found that for the first time, all seven old monsters were staring at him in unison. Their expressions were almost identical as they fixed their gazes squarely on him.

Just then, a Light Screen materialized before Zhang Deming. On it was a simple profile of Zhang Wu.

Zhang Deming took it all in with a single glance.

The entire profile was simple and extremely familiar to Zhang Deming—it was the alias he had created, nothing more.

They hadn’t even discovered the subtle clues he had deliberately planted. Zhang Deming was a little puzzled, but he also breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Senior... Senior Brother Dang, I’ve only just entered the Inner Sect, so I’m not too familiar with these things. I don’t have any experience in matters like this. Why don’t you all just decide?" Zhang Deming said.

Hearing this, Dang Jun’an glanced at Yue Mengsheng.

"This guy is probably trying to shirk his duties. He’s a slacker, just like you. You give him a push.

Even though he’s not a Spirit Nurturing Master the Sect spent a fortune to train step-by-step, so we can waive his daily quota, we can’t waive his order quota. That’s one of the Sect’s biggest sources of profit."

After receiving the message, Yue Mengsheng looked at Zhang Deming with a sense of resignation.

He paused for a moment to choose his words before speaking. "Well, Junior Brother Zhang, you can’t quite put it like that. After all, our Spirit Nurturing Peak only has four Peak Masters in total.

Your opinion alone carries a great deal of weight.

Even if you plan on not managing daily affairs, you should at least offer your opinion on a major event like this.

If that’s too much, at the very least you should state your position—whether we should recruit him, drive him away, or something else. Right?"

Zhang Deming looked at Yue Mengsheng, then at Dang Jun’an, and then at the other six people around them.

’Are you guys serious?’

’Did you really bring me here to be a Peak Master?’

’Ha, did I miss something earlier? Is that why you’re all acting this... way?’

Zhang Deming pondered for a moment. Seeing their serious expressions, he looked back at the profile and said deliberately,

"Based on the information in this profile, well, if you senior brothers want to recruit him, I suppose it’s worth a try."

"So, Junior Brother agrees with our prior judgment and thinks it’s worth a shot?" Dang Jun’an asked, his face alight with joy.

Zhang Deming paused, looking at the seven old men. ’Did I say something wrong?’

"Uh, yes, it should be fine, shouldn’t it?"

Dang Jun’an said cheerfully, "Excellent! Then we’ll give it a try."

"But..." Zhang Deming began, then trailed off. He stared at the profile, hesitating, wondering if he should bring up his next point and whether doing so would arouse suspicion.

Dang Jun’an’s expression flickered. "What is it, Junior Brother? Please, speak freely."

Seeing his opening, Zhang Deming decided to be direct. "It says here that he appeared more than half a year ago. Why are you senior brothers only discussing it now? Is this the normal process for Sect affairs?"

A muscle in Dang Jun’an’s cheek twitched. ’What other reason could there be? It’s because we couldn’t be absolutely certain before.’

’If not for the information from a few days ago that allowed Yue Mengsheng to confirm the possibility of Innate Wisdom...’

’...and piece everything together through a mix of deduction and guesswork, would the Sect have ignored a suspected unaffiliated Spirit Nurturing Master for this long?’

"Not exactly," he said. "It’s mainly due to the recent incident at the back mountain. It left the senior members of Spirit Nurturing Peak with no spare time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have delayed for so long.

As you can see, the incident at the back mountain just concluded yesterday, and we immediately called this meeting to discuss the matter today."

’So that’s why there was no news for half a year... My ass!’

’Heh! It seems the Sect was really concerned about the Demon Beast disturbance at the back mountain.’

"I see," Zhang Deming said, nodding.

’There were still many suspicious points, but I don’t dare ask any more questions. At least, not until I figure out the reason for these old monsters’ attitude.’

’Otherwise, a rash move could easily backfire and put me at a serious disadvantage.’

"So, is the matter settled then?" Dang Jun’an asked.

Zhang Deming was taken aback for a moment, realizing the question was directed at him. He nodded and said, "Since you senior brothers have already come to a decision, what more is there for me to say?"

Dang Jun’an and the old men around him all chuckled. But there was something odd about their laughter. Zhang Deming thought it was a bit... what was the word... sly?

"Then who should we send? Does Junior Brother have any suggestions?" Dang Jun’an asked, looking at Zhang Deming.

Zhang Deming shook his head. "I really don’t know anything about that. When it comes to the Inner Sect, I’m completely in the dark."

Dang Jun’an nodded. "Very well. We will discuss this further among ourselves. We summoned you today mainly for these two matters, Junior Brother. There’s nothing else of particular importance."

Seeing this, Zhang Deming said, "In that case, I will take my leave. Please, continue, Senior Brothers."

Dang Jun’an smiled and nodded. "Very well. I’ve already made arrangements. Someone will be there to handle everything for you from now on.

When you leave, just head to your new residence. If you’re not satisfied with anything, simply inform the person assigned to you."

Zhang Deming bowed. "Then I thank you in advance, Senior Brother."

With that, Zhang Deming turned and left the great hall.

"Since the matter concerning the Spirit Nurturing Master has been settled, we won’t stand around getting in the way." Just as Zhang Deming was leaving, the three people on the right rose in unison and bid the others farewell.

The others nodded, and Yue Mengsheng and the other two left immediately.

Seeing that only the four of them remained, Dang Jun’an relaxed considerably. He looked at the other three and said,

"Alright, let’s continue our discussion. Since we’re all gathered, we might as well take care of everything on our plates.

First, there’s the issue of the disciples from poor, non-clan backgrounds. The Dharma Transmission Hall has reported more than once that these disciples are losing influence, while the disciples from prominent families are becoming increasingly dominant within the Sect."