Legend Management Bureau Chapter 84

[ … words ]

Watching the busy figures bustling all over the mountain stronghold, Du Yu felt deeply gratified.

A day had already passed. Everyone was exchanging methods for using spells or techniques for drawing spiritual energy into their bodies. They truly looked like a genuine cultivation sect.

Du Yu strolled through the stronghold and happened to run into Zhang Jian, who was gathered with a crowd of people, watching something.

“Boss, what are you up to?” Du Yu asked.

“Oh? Sir!” Zhang Jian glanced back at Du Yu. “These women you summoned are truly remarkable. One of them is proficient in a strange technique and is currently showing it to us.”

Du Yu pushed through the crowd to take a look. A girl who appeared to be thirteen or fourteen years old was holding several small flags, tinkering with something on the ground.

“Little girl, what are you doing?” Du Yu asked.

“I am setting up an array,” the little girl replied.

“Setting up an array?” Du Yu paused in surprise. So there was actually someone among these people who knew array formations. “Little sister, what kind of array are you setting up?”

Du Yu slapped his thigh. “Is that not a teleportation array?”

“A teleportation array?” The little girl thought for a moment before dancing with joy. “That is a good name! That is a good name!”

“This is simply perfect…” Du Yu was already formulating a plan in his head. “Little sister, how many of these arrays can you set up?”

“How many?” The little girl blinked. “I brought a lot of flags, so I can set up seven or eight.”

Hearing this, Du Yu hurriedly turned his head and ran toward the house. Pushing the door open, he found Zhan Qisheng inside, explaining the principles of breathing techniques to several sect leaders.

“Old Zhan, Old Zhan!” Du Yu called out. “Stop teaching for a moment, something much more important has come up!”

Hearing this, Zhan Qisheng quickly stopped circulating his energy and looked up. “What is it now?”

“Ah, just come with me!” Du Yu grabbed Zhan Qisheng and dragged him out of the room, running straight to where the little girl was setting up the array.

Zhan Qisheng looked down. “Oh? This kind of energy fluctuation… Is it a basic teleportation array?”

The little girl looked up and asked, “Do you recognize this array?”

“I do. It will be used on a massive scale in the coming centuries,” Zhan Qisheng said with a nod.

“Let us drop that for now.” Du Yu stared at Zhan Qisheng excitedly. “I thought it would take years for these people to find five mountain peaks brimming with spiritual energy, but things are different now!”

“What crazy idea do you have this time?”

Du Yu took a few flags from the little girl’s arms and shoved them into Zhan Qisheng’s hands. “If you were to set up the arrays, you could probably finish them in an instant, right?”

“I see…” Zhan Qisheng muttered. “That is actually a good idea. We can simply have them teleport over from here.”

“Do you know that instantaneous teleportation spell used by the Eight Great Netherworld Envoys?” Du Yu pressed.

“While my spatial teleportation arts are not quite on their level, we only need to visit five locations in total. It can be done within a day,” Zhan Qisheng replied.

“This makes them even more like real cultivation sects,” Du Yu declared. “In the future, the Five Great Sects can return here via the teleportation arrays to meet regularly, exchange information, or trade items. They could even hold periodic sparring tournaments here. Later on, they can use this place as a stronghold to publicly recruit talented individuals. We will call it the Ascension Assembly…”

Zhang Jian stared at Du Yu in astonishment. “How on earth do you come up with so many ideas?”

“Ha, to be blunt, you would not understand even if I told you. I did not come up with any of this,” Du Yu replied. “I am just borrowing the concepts.”

Under Du Yu’s arrangements, the establishment of the cultivation sects was completed years earlier than expected. Not only did everyone reach the spirit-rich mountain ranges within a single day, but they could also travel back and forth at any time. The brothers and sisters who were as close as family no longer had to suffer the pain of separation.

“Sir, I never imagined that in just a short day or two, you would not only settle all the brothers but even set goals for them. Now, they have found the motivation to keep living, and I can truly feel the joy radiating from them.”

Zhang Jian spoke with a relieved smile as he gazed at the plaza now housing the five teleportation arrays.

“Boss, you finally have no more worries holding you back, right?” Du Yu asked. “Tomorrow is the day you and Zhang Youren swap identities. Are you ready?”

“Naturally, I am ready. Youren and I agreed to meet at the God Conferment Platform. I should be heading there without hesitation, yet now I find myself wavering.”

“Wavering?” Du Yu was taken aback. “Is there still something weighing on your mind?”

“It is Youren, of course…” Zhang Jian murmured. “Now that the Zhang Family Stronghold is gone, I do not know where he is supposed to go once he returns…”

“Psh!” Du Yu let out a wry smile. “I thought it was something serious! You will be the Jade Emperor by then. Can you not just confer a godhood upon him?”

“Confer a godhood?” Zhang Jian paused. “What you say makes sense… However, you also mentioned earlier that gods are not like immortals. They have absolutely no freedom.”

“Boss, I want to ask you two questions,” Du Yu said. “I hope you will answer me honestly.”

Seeing Du Yu look so earnest, Zhang Jian could not help but turn serious as well. “Sir, please feel free to ask anything.”

“First, why do you want to become the Jade Emperor?”

“Why?” Zhang Jian pondered for a moment before answering. “At first, I had no such intention. It was Senior Jiang Ziya who sought me out late at night to discuss the matter. He said that although I am a bandit, I am fully committed to leading my people toward goodness, managing a group of unruly scoundrels who would have otherwise starved to death with perfect order. Now that three hundred and sixty-five orthodox gods have been conferred on the God Conferment Platform, including heroes, champions, and even tyrants and bandits from all over, someone with extensive experience is needed to oversee these three hundred-plus individuals. After much thought, I am the most suitable candidate. It is just that I still had lingering attachments back then. I told him that if I could properly settle the brothers of my stronghold, I would certainly agree to his request.”

“Even if it means handling the trivial affairs of the Heavenly Court for all of eternity, you are still willing to become the Jade Emperor?”

“That does not matter. Jiang Ziya is a senior I deeply respect. Since he humbled himself to ask this favor of me, it is only right and reasonable that I help shoulder his burden,” Zhang Jian replied.

“Alright, Boss. Let me ask you the second question.” Du Yu paused before asking, “What kind of existence is Zhang Youren to you?”

“He is my closest friend,” Zhang Jian answered without a second thought. “For so many years, Youren has been sharing my burdens. Leading hundreds of bandits toward virtue—how could that be easy? If not for Youren’s constant counsel by my side, I am afraid I would have given up long ago. Upon learning of Senior Jiang Ziya’s request, Youren once again chose to ease my worries. He cast aside his own appearance and transformed into my likeness so that no one would grow suspicious when we swap identities later. Sometimes I think he is much more suited to be a leader than I am, but he has always been willing to be my shadow, assisting me from the dark. Let alone the Jade Emperor, he is not even willing to be the second-in-command of this stronghold.”

“In that case, I understand everything now,” Du Yu stated. “The best method is for you to be in the light and him in the dark. Confer the Netherworld upon him. You rule the Heavenly Court, and he rules the Underworld. From then on, Zhang Youren will not only become a sovereign in his own right, but he can also continue to assist you from the shadows.”

“The Netherworld Underworld?!” Zhang Jian’s eyes instantly widened. “Does the Underworld truly exist in this world?”

“If the Heavenly Court exists, the Underworld naturally exists as well,” Du Yu said with a nod.

“According to what you have said, Sir, this matter could not be any better.” Zhang Jian nodded excitedly. “Youren certainly has the bearing of an emperor. If he is willing to manage the Underworld, that would be truly wonderful.”

Du Yu looked at Zhang Jian silently, wondering to himself: ‘If I had not shown up, how would Zhang Jian have settled Zhang Youren?’

After bidding farewell to Zhang Jian, Du Yu found Zhan Qisheng, had him dispel the spells, and returned to his own room.

“Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi,” Du Yu called out as he lay on the bed in his room.

“I am here,” Xiao Qi’s voice slowly rang out.

“Can you see me right now?”

“I can.”

Du Yu found it strange. ‘I have been out of contact for so long, so why does Xiao Qi sound like nothing happened at all?’

“Xiao Qi, guess what huge thing I just pulled off?” Du Yu asked.

“I cannot guess.”

“So cold…” Du Yu grumbled. “Do you know? I have kickstarted the Great Era of Cultivation!”

“Is that so?” Xiao Qi said coldly. “Impressive.”

“Uh…” Du Yu was taken aback, completely unsure of what was going on. “Are you not going to praise me? I didn’t even ask the Legend Administration for help with something this huge!”

“If you had told me, I would have helped you,” Xiao Qi stated. “I am very knowledgeable about Oracle Bone Script. I could have helped name the sects and written their signboards.”

Hearing this, Du Yu furrowed his brows slightly. After thinking for a second, he immediately sat up from the bed.

‘Very knowledgeable about Oracle Bone Script?’

Not too long ago, right here in this very room, Xiao Qi had personally admitted that while she knew most writing systems, Oracle Bone Script was the one thing she was completely clueless about.

‘So why would she completely change her tune now?’

Du Yu pondered over this without saying another word. When he looked up, he happened to see Zhan Qisheng approaching from a distance outside the door. Du Yu quickly raised his hand to stop him in his tracks.

Zhan Qisheng paused in confusion. Having spent the last few days with Du Yu, he had never seen such an expression on his face.

Although Du Yu did not know what had happened to Xiao Qi, his only option was to make Zhan Qisheng stay away from him so that he wouldn’t enter the visual feed of the Legend Administration.

“What is wrong?” Zhan Qisheng sent a voice transmission to Du Yu.

“I do not know, but something feels very wrong,” Du Yu silently replied in his mind.

“Do you need help?” Zhan Qisheng asked.

“I am afraid you won’t be able to help with this,” Du Yu told Zhan Qisheng mentally. “Something has happened at the Legend Administration.”

Hearing this, Zhan Qisheng’s expression turned solemn as he stood silently in the distance.

“Right, Xiao Qi.” Du Yu looked at Zhan Qisheng, suddenly remembering something. He then spoke to Xiao Qi, “Do you still remember that ‘Pockmarked Li’ you saw with me before?”

“I remember that ‘Pockmarked Li’,” Xiao Qi replied. “He was incredibly ugly, truly living up to his name.”

Du Yu’s heart jolted. Something had absolutely happened to Xiao Qi. It was inconvenient for her to speak freely right now, but she was trying every possible way to relay this information to him.

A chill involuntarily ran down Du Yu’s spine. He had entered legends several times before, but he had never imagined that a day would come when a problem would arise at the Legend Administration.

“Let us drop the talk about Pockmarked Li for now,” Du Yu said. “Speaking of Oracle Bone Script, I actually have something to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“How do you write the character for ‘Sun’ in Oracle Bone Script?” Du Yu asked. “I want to leave a character behind in this legend, but I won’t be able to write anything too difficult. I heard that the ‘Sun’ in Oracle Bone Script is just a circle with a dot. Can you write it out to show me?”

Xiao Qi remained silent for a good while before finally saying, “Alright, I will write it for you.”

Du Yu waited silently for a moment, and an image appeared before his eyes. It was clearly sent over by Xiao Qi.

However, this image was neither a sheet of paper nor Oracle Bone Script.

Instead, it was a photograph.

In the photo, Xiao Qi was holding up a piece of paper with a crooked circle drawn on it. She stared at the screen with an expression of pure despair. Behind her, the staff members of the Legend Administration were sprawled across the floor, and He Suoyi had one hand outstretched, tightly gripping her throat.