Chapter 747: Chapter 472: Final Arrangements Before Departure (Part 2)

With the agreement to meet with the dragon lady, Wang Zhifan did not say anything about parting forever this time. He still had a bit of confidence in himself.

After he finished speaking, not only did the expression of his eldest disciple, He Kuang, become serious, but even the younger disciples were shocked, realizing that their master was about to leave them.

Wang Zhifan observed their expressions, but remained calm, as he had long thought about how to arrange things for them, and then said:

"Don’t be sad. Your master will eventually return! However, considering that the separation might be long, I will leave you with the subsequent cultivation techniques! And some fine weapons! When you meet your master again, I’ll have to test your homework thoroughly..."

As he said, Wang Zhifan did not intend to abandon his disciples.

Although his feelings for these recruited disciples couldn’t compare to those for the dragon lady, Mie Xiyue, there was still some sense of master-disciple relationship, and he was ready to be responsible until the end.

The first thing he left for his disciples was the cultivation technique inheritance, using a plan where each disciple received follow-up cultivation content based on their current main cultivation technique.

For example, for his eldest disciple, He Kuang, who was currently practicing the "Pure Yang True Skill" passed down by him, he would impart most of the subsequent content of this cultivation technique all at once.

The reason for not imparting all the content was not reluctance on his part, but because the detailed information he obtained about the cultivation techniques was too extensive, and if he explained all the minor details, there definitely wouldn’t be enough time.

Therefore, he would only choose the main framework of the cultivation techniques and some key cultivation points to tell them, which would be enough to support them in following the correct cultivation path.

As for disciples wanting to learn multiple cultivation techniques, they would have to seek out fellow disciples who practice those techniques. It was unrealistic to want to gain all the cultivation techniques in one go.

After all, Wang Zhifan adopted a black tower teaching model where each disciple enters a cultivation technique teaching space, and remembering the content of one technique is already quite strenuous. Attempting to remember more than one technique would be practically impossible.

In addition to the cultivation techniques, Wang Zhifan gave each disciple a weapon or armor as a farewell gift, all of excellent quality.

The fact that he could provide so many excellent quality pieces of equipment at once wasn’t due to a rich accumulation in the past, but because the equipment options he offered were mostly mass-produced by the black tower, gathering fifty pieces was no problem at all.

After arranging the cultivation techniques and equipment for his disciples, he also announced that once he left, the Martial Venerable Hall would be managed daily by his eldest disciple, He Kuang, leading the junior brothers and sisters in diligent cultivation.

He also made it clear to his disciples the real backing of the Martial Venerable Hall, in addition to the elders of Celestial Essence City, there was also the Moon-Annihilating Dragon Saber of the Mieyue Clan.

This well-known dao companion of Wang Zhifan would occasionally come for inspections, and if anyone dared to bully the Martial Venerable Hall, they’d have to face the blade of an ultra-Innate dragon lady.

This arrangement was very necessary, as ultimately, this world respects strength. Without a strong backing, many things would become difficult to guard over time.

And Wang Zhifan’s dao companion, Mie Xiyue, was not a run-of-the-mill figure; she actually had the strength to break into the top hundred of the Demon Sealing List.

But because Wang Zhifan shone too brightly in the war, she kept a low profile to avoid causing trouble for him.

With her strong ultra-Innate strength as the backing of the Martial Venerable Hall, as long as nothing major happens, the hall could remain stable for hundreds of years.

Besides the safeguard of the Moon-Annihilating Dragon Saber, Wang Zhifan himself left a network of connections in this world, which also had a significant influence, providing some level of assurance for the status of the Martial Venerable Hall.

After all, he was the top of the Demon Sealing List, undeniably recognized as the number one ultra-Innate, and if the Martial Venerable Hall he founded was messed with, someone would step in to discipline them before the Moon-Annihilating Dragon Saber even took action.

For example, his acquaintances like Elder Fumo and Daoist Without Heaven or Earth, these are not minor characters; even a slight move from them would cause a small tremor in the Calamity Realm.

With that, after finishing up the arrangements related to the Martial Venerable Hall, another day had passed.

Following the notification from the Scholar on the Demon Sealing List, Wang Zhifan, along with the dragon lady and Zhenxu, transmitted to Shuyue City to attend the gathering.

After the great war with the Demon Realm, Shuyue City had already turned into ruins.

But just as Wang Zhifan predicted, after the Scholar’s return, he took action to restore this giant city of the Confucian sect, making it look no different from the pre-war conference.

However, the population in the city now was much less, roughly only one-twentieth of what it was before the war.

And these people were undoubtedly migrated from other states, as the true natives of Shuyue City were likely all but wiped out during the war.

Even the accompanying old Daoist Zhenxu sighed at this scene, mournful for the countless Calamity Realm civilians who fell into the hands of the demon army:

"The world often says that eighty percent of the credit for this war goes to the Scholar, and twenty percent to the cultivators on the list. However, I believe that the common people made great sacrifices, showing the indomitable spirit of our human race and laying the foundation for our ultimate victory..."

"Elder Zhenxu speaks the truth. Even though the common folks seem weak, they never succumbed to the demon army. I witnessed non-cultivated peasants forming battalions, using sickles, hoes, and other farm tools to fight the demon army..."

What Wang Zhifan spoke of was not fabricated, as he encountered this scene several months ago while traveling.

At that time, he saw farmers launching an assault on the demon army in a remote part of the Calamity Realm. Without his mid-way assistance, the farmers would have been completely annihilated, but their courage to challenge a fierce and powerful enemy despite their weakness left a deep impression on him.

While conversing, they arrived at their old meeting place, the rooftop plaza of the Book Pavilion, which was styled after a giant upright curled bamboo scroll.

This time, the one welcoming the honored guests on behalf of the Confucian sect was still Wang Zhifan’s old friend, the young ultra-Innate Confucian scholar, Qingfeng.

In the more than half a year since they last met, the impression Wang Zhifan had of this somewhat unreliable Confucian sect cultivator had changed into one of great steadiness, with their aura having also become much stronger.

War indeed had the greatest power to change people, as the once "free-spirited" young man, who was obsessed with peculiar names and painting, was gone, replaced by a true scholar.

On the rooftop of the Book Pavilion, Wang Zhifan and his two companions had just landed when Qingfeng came to greet them.

It wasn’t that he was specifically waiting for just the three of them, but rather that the number of cultivators attending this post-war gathering was much less than before the war.

Many cultivators were no longer among the living or were separated by life and death, and others were still recovering from serious injuries, unable to attend in person.

"Honorable Martial Venerable! The Scholar is waiting inside the pavilion! Please follow the scholar’s assistant inside to meet!"

Upon reaching Wang Zhifan, Qingfeng made arrangements with calmness and propriety, prioritizing his task over saying extra words about old friends reuniting.

This was actually their first meeting since the pre-war conference, and due to various reasons during the past great war, they had little interaction. This meeting should have had a lot to talk about.

"What’s the reason the Scholar is looking for me?"

Wang Zhifan immediately asked upon hearing this, without directly following the guiding scholar’s assistant.

Qingfeng didn’t mince words, directly responding:

"It’s concerning the rewards for being at the top of the list, the Scholar wishes to discuss with you first."

"Hmm, I see."

Wang Zhifan instantly realized that it was as he suspected; the Scholar wanted to first confirm the "reasonability" of his wishes with him.

If he were to present several wishes that the Scholar couldn’t fulfill during the conference, wouldn’t that diminish the face of this newly ascended Saint?

"It’s indeed time to determine my wish... For most cultivators, this is almost an opportunity to rise to prominence, but for me, perhaps there’s no need to be so utilitarian..."

While pondering inwardly, Wang Zhifan finally came to a decision.

He had actually been somewhat torn over this issue for the past two days, unable to decide what wish would be the best.

But after much thought, he realized that given his circumstances, there was no need to deliberately strive for something, simplicity suffices.