I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 340 - 196: Once Every Thousand Years, the Divine Sect’s Meeting

Chapter 340: Chapter 196: Once Every Thousand Years, the Divine Sect’s Meeting

"The Divine Sect’s Meeting is kind of boring, huh? This speech has been going on for almost two hours already, when are they going to draw lots and start fighting?" Gu Shanhai looked at the mirror in front of him.

It had been three months since his Foundation Establishment, and as usual, the Divine Sect’s Meeting had begun. Gu Shanhai, now having some rare downtime, was taking the opportunity to observe the world of cultivators battling it out.

But he hadn’t expected that just as it started, Yun Yu, Chi Yan, and Tian Xun, the Sect Leaders of the three sects, took turns giving speeches. The gist was friendship first, competition second, and they expressed that everyone was on the same side and should work hard at their cultivation, spouting all sorts of feel-good rhetoric.

This was where you’d always find the leaders’ speeches.

"It’s just the usual routine every year. This time it’s actually fast. Otherwise, in the past, it was at least six hours, with each person taking up two hours." The Supreme Elder beside him was already used to it.

"..." Gu Shanhai was speechless, one person for two hours, three people for six hours, standing from morning to afternoon.

"It’s been like this in previous years? I thought it was the first time it was being held. Then, how often does this event take place?" Gu Shanhai asked curiously.

"About once every thousand years, I guess. We don’t pay much attention to these things; sometimes we come out of seclusion and realize we’ve missed it." The Supreme Elder truly did not place much importance on these matters.

For them, cultivation and enlightenment were the real concerns, not watching the younger generation squabble.

On the other hand, it did have certain benefits for the three sects, with the victor gaining fame and the loser inspiring their disciples to work harder.

The Divine Sect’s Meeting wasn’t dominated by any single sect, as every year saw different winners, but regardless of who won, it was always someone from within the three sects. There were basically no Sect Disciples from outside these three who had ever topped the event.

"Ah, you don’t even care about this, then what do you care about?" Gu Shanhai remarked sarcastically. With the excitement not worth watching, what was the point in being dubbed a Supreme Elder?

"We really don’t meddle in anything," the Supreme Elder stated, affirming that their role was only to grow stronger and handle those who didn’t respect the Chengyun Sect or those who deliberately challenged it.

"It seems that way. You’re so idle, you might as well grow moss," Gu Shanhai realized.

The Supreme Elders of Chengyun Sect were different from those of smaller sects; they did not vie for power and profit because they were already at the pinnacle of power, without needing to fight over trivial gains.

"If it weren’t for your arrival, we wouldn’t be idle at all. We should be cultivating right now," remarked another Supreme Elder, pointing out that normally they’d all be in seclusion, not idly chatting with him.

"I’m an Elder too, a Dharma Transmission Elder at that. Wait... that’s not right, I feel like I’ve been tricked?"

Gu Shanhai suddenly realized that his position as a Supreme Elder was a trap. The Dharma Transmission Elder was one of the few active roles among the Supreme Elders, in charge of guarding the Scripture Pavilion.

Of course, it was a relatively idle job, and for the most part, one could just cultivate in the Scripture Pavilion without much concern, while the managing disciples took care of matters. His presence was more for deterrence.

Generally, an individual was assigned to each position, and now that Gu Shanhai had taken on the role, nobody else was in the Scripture Pavilion, leaving others free to slack off.

You’d think the Supreme Elders loved doing chores; they would rather do nothing at all.

"Yeah, it used to be my job," said Elder Xi Huan casually, the same Peeping Dao Elder who had been tasked with monitoring Shen Heng, the protagonist, and ended up getting duped out the door, only to find a place to cultivate for several months.

"Yikes, Elder Xi Huan, that’s not the right reaction. The normal response should be, ’This detestable young man, stealing my position and influence, cannot be spared,’ followed by a suppression to wrestle back the position," chided Gu Shanhai.

"You think I’m stupid? Why would I take on more work for myself? Maybe you should shake your head and see if there’s any water in your brain. If there is, you’d better let some out," retorted Xi Huan. Nobody would overlook the opportunity to slack off when they could continue to receive resources without working. Focusing solely on the struggle for power and influence, how could one aim to become stronger and to comprehend cultivation techniques?

Too many distractions and a heavy mind can easily lead to internal calamities, which are greatly feared in cultivation.

"Elder Xi Huan’s words have become much more pointed recently." Gu Shanhai listened and thought the reasoning was sound. Why work when you can get paid for doing nothing?

"Alright, you two stop your nonsense. The Divine Sect’s Meeting is starting," another nearby Supreme Elder chimed in as a reminder.

"It seems everyone is in no mood to say much this year, probably because of the trouble you stirred up," another Supreme Elder said with a hint of schadenfreude.

Everyone naturally knew the reason. It was due to Gu Shanhai’s method of avoiding calamities.

During the previous Divine Sect’s Meeting, Juxia Sect and Feather Transformation Sect had been pressuring Chengyun Sect to add the Thirty-Six Transformations and Seventy-Two Variations to the prizes of the Divine Sect’s Meeting, arguing that, even if they could not use it themselves, Chengyun Sect should not have sole access to it.

Unfortunately, while they had made a deal, further testing revealed that it not only failed to avoid calamities, but it could also backfire, causing both Juxia and Feather Transformation to suffer a double loss. Then they found out that Gu Shanhai had further perfected a method called "Exhaustive Calculations," reportedly no longer limited by the number of uses.

This caused outright envy as the previously established limit on uses suddenly allowed one to disregard calamities entirely. How could one accept this turn of events?

"Do you think they will take this opportunity to make trouble?" Gu Shanhai pondered the possibility. With such significant stakes, what if they targeted him? He was just a lowly Qi Refinement cultivator at the Foundation Establishment level, unable to withstand such a massive onslaught.