Daqian Dynasty, Anhe City.

Mr. Zhang, an advisor in the City Lord’s manor, made his way to the Star-Picking Pavilion with his usual reverence, preparing to serve tea to the Immortal Master, a man surnamed Zhou.

It was a duty he had performed without fail for twenty years, and his only connection to the world of immortals—a fact he took great pride in.

But today, when he pushed open the half-closed door to the pavilion, he was met with the stark silence of an empty room.

The tea set was still warm, and a faint, ethereal scent of sandalwood lingered on the meditation cushion, but the figure who should have been sitting there had vanished without a trace.

A jolt went through Mr. Zhang’s heart. He called out in a hurry, his voice echoing through the empty pavilion, but there was no reply.

Mustering his courage, he stepped forward and saw a single letter left on the table.

Not daring to touch it, he scrambled back to the City Lord’s manor to report the matter to City Lord Zhao Decang.

When Zhao Decang heard the news, the sycophantic smile he usually wore froze on his face.

He personally led a group of men to the Star-Picking Pavilion. With a trembling hand, he tore open the envelope.

The letter contained only a single line:

"By order of the sect, I have other urgent business. In one month, another Cultivator will arrive to take over."

’The Immortal Master... is gone?’

’Just like that... he left?!’

’And no one is coming to take over for a whole month?’

Greed and ecstasy bloomed wildly in his heart.

For twenty years, he had been a City Lord in name only, and it had been utterly humiliating!

He was called the lord of a city, but in reality, he was nothing more than the Immortal Master’s dog.

For any matter in the city, big or small, a single word from the Immortal Master was an order he dared not defy.

Now, the mountain that had been pressing down on him for twenty years had temporarily moved aside!

And it had left behind a power vacuum lasting a full month!

What did this mean?

It meant that for this one month, he could finally taste what power felt like, even if it was only within the confines of his own Anhe City! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

...

Meanwhile, at the Guixi Sect.

The Asking Dao Ladder.

Dong Changsheng stepped proudly onto the Asking Dao Ladder.

One step, two steps...

As he ascended, the scenery around him changed abruptly!

The heavenly ladder of white jade vanished!

In its place was a dilapidated study.

Inside the study, a young Dong Changsheng sat at a desk, a pile of failed exam papers stacked before him.

He had dedicated himself to passing the imperial examinations to bring honor to his ancestors, but his repeated failures had long since made him the laughingstock of the entire city.

...

The surrounding illusion shifted again, and this time he found himself on a bustling street.

"Did you hear? That bookworm from the Dong Family failed the exam again! He’s a complete disgrace to his family!"

"Shh... quiet down, he’s coming over! Look at him, so crestfallen. It’s pathetic."

"Let’s get out of here. Haven’t you heard what people say about him?"

"They say Changsheng’s revenge is a mere tap, but his gratitude will destroy your whole family. You have no idea how terrible it is for those he ’repays.’ Let’s go, let’s go!"

"I heard he accidentally beat his own brother to death and then claimed the guy was about to attack him with a stool."

"For real?"

"I don’t know, that’s just what old Wang from next door told me."

"Better to believe it than not. Better safe than sorry!"

Even his examiners seemed to say the same things about him.

This boy is rotten wood that cannot be carved. He’s a failure at his studies and probably too weak to farm. Better to send him away and not have him waste any more ink and paper.

...

The scene changed once more. Dong Changsheng was walking down the street, completely dejected.

A sudden downpour forced him to take shelter under some eaves. He watched the luxurious carriages pass by on the street, his heart sinking.

’He wanted to succeed so badly!’

’He desperately wanted to make a name for himself!’

Just then, a magnificent carriage stopped in front of him.

The curtain was drawn back, revealing a middle-aged man in brocade robes, who smiled faintly at him.

"Young man,"

"I see you have a marvelous frame and a spiritual light in your eyes. You are a one-in-a-million latent dragon!"

"Why are you here, wallowing in self-pity?"

This mysterious man, who called himself a "Dao Seeker," claimed that he roamed the world searching for a disciple to inherit his great Dao—one that could "shake the world, save the people, and turn stone into gold."

He said he had noticed a unique quality in the young Dong Changsheng and wished to take him on as his disciple.

Dong Changsheng was completely bewildered.

’He had no idea what kind of quality he possessed.’

’He was useless at farming and a constant failure at his studies. What could this profound and mysterious "Master" possibly see in him?’

But he wanted to succeed too badly.

He had to grasp even the slightest chance.

And so, he became the Dao Seeker’s disciple.

Dong Changsheng followed his master and began a career of teaching others how to succeed.

Even though they themselves had not yet succeeded.

"Changsheng, you must remember."

"What truly holds a person back is never their birth or talent, but their mindset!"

"The first step you must take is to completely shatter your weakling’s mindset!"

"You must believe! Believe unconditionally!"

"Believe that you are the chosen one! Believe that success is your destiny!"

"Only when you first believe will fortuitous opportunities sense your conviction and gather around you!"

"You must be grateful!"

"Be grateful for every setback, for every person who looks down on you!"

"Because those are all indispensable steps on a strong person’s path to the top!"

"It is they who are accumulating the resources for your future success!"

"You must give!"

"Don’t worry about immediate gains or losses, because every contribution you make is paving a golden road to your future!"

And these words began to take root and sprout in his heart.

The master and disciple duo traveled between the major city-states.

Dong Changsheng was shocked to discover that in every new place they visited, his master would gain another illustrious title.

"A close friend of the current Imperial Tutor," "an honored guest of a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet," "a guest minister of the Duke Who Guards the Nation’s manor"...

Dong Changsheng was very confused. ’How did his master have so many identities?’

’Was this, too, a necessary disguise on the path to success?’

And it was precisely by using these identities that his master easily gathered his chosen audience of merchants desperate for success and disheartened scholars.

Dong Changsheng stood below the stage, watching his master, under the gaze of a rapt audience, teach them the path to success.

Even though, at that moment, they still hadn’t achieved any success themselves.

"Everyone! Put down the abacuses in your hands and the books on your desks, and ask your conscience!"

"Gentlemen of commerce, when you see other banks opening branches across the land, do you resent your ancestors for not leaving you a century-old enterprise?"

"Do you blame the turbulent times for making business difficult?"

"Scholars, you who have studied hard for a decade only to fail again and again, do you blame the chief examiner for being blind to your talent?"

"Do you lament that it’s hard for a commoner to become a noble, that you have no one to recommend you?"

"Wrong! Utterly wrong! Those are all just excuses!"

"What truly traps you is not your family background, not the times, but the self-limiting ideas in your own heads!"

"It’s your weakling’s mindset that’s always making excuses for failure!"

"You merchants, always thinking of preserving what you have, never daring to burn your bridges, shrinking back at the first sign of risk!"

"You scholars, always clinging to your lofty ideals, disdaining to build connections, full of talent but ignorant of how to be flexible!"

"If you don’t change this mindset, you’ll never achieve anything great, even with mountains of gold and silver or a belly full of classics!"

"Today, I will show you all a clear path! Abandon your old thoughts, and reshape your minds!!"

"So, you must change! Cast off your old selves, remold your Dao hearts! Repeat after me!"

"Believe!"

"I believe that with my acumen, I can ride the waves of the business world and earn a vast fortune!"

"I believe that with my scholarship, I will ultimately pass the examinations and bring glory to my family!"

"Be grateful!"

"I am grateful for every failed business deal, for it teaches me how to avoid risk!"

"I am grateful for every failed exam, for it forces me to polish my writing and temper my mind!"

"I am grateful for those who once looked down on me, for they are pushing me to become harder-working and stronger!"

"Remember!"

"Wealth will not crawl into your coin purse on its own! Official honors will not fall from the sky onto your head!!"

"Opportunity is hidden in your tireless service to the rich and powerful, hidden in the silver you spend to expand your network!"

"It is reserved only for those who are prepared!"

"This is the ladder to success!"

"If you understand, applaud!!!"

The man then raised his arms and began to clap, sharply and rhythmically, his body swaying with an exaggerated expression on his face.

Below the stage, the crowd, already incited to the brink of reason, was instantly ignited by this fervor!

"CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP—!"

The audience was in a frenzy. Countless people joined him in a mad round of applause, the sound thundering through the hall as if clapping loud enough could grant them immediate success.

Only after the frenzied atmosphere reached its peak did the "sermon" truly begin.

...

「Real World」

「News Archive 01: Ashen Heaven Group Releases "Community Health Index" System」

Ashen Heaven Group announced today through its official channels the formal launch of an internal evaluation system called the "Community Health Index" (CHI).

The announcement states that the system will use an anonymized big data model to comprehensively evaluate users’ online and offline behavior in order to "maintain the long-term stability and healthy development of the virtual community."

The Group explicitly introduced the concepts of a "greylist" and a "blacklist" for the first time. Users placed on the "blacklist" will be permanently banned from accessing all services under the Ashen Heaven Group.

Users placed on the "greylist" will have some of their service functions (such as social interaction, transactions, organization creation, etc.) restricted to varying degrees.

Ashen Heaven Group has not released the specific algorithms or evaluation criteria for the CHI system.