Chapter 1391 - 698: Apprentice Ceremony (Part 2)
After the missionary left, everyone felt a little relieved. The female believer kept crying, feeling utterly embarrassed and unable to stay any longer.
To calm the situation, the elder walked over to the other missionaries and said sternly, "I’m warning you, behave yourselves and stop doing such vile things. If I catch you again, I will not let you off easily! Do you not understand why you are here? Doing such disgraceful things, I am truly impressed by you!"
After warning the other missionaries, the elder walked over to Lin Beichen and said apologetically, "I am really sorry for the trouble and inconvenience this has caused you. I offer you my sincere apologies and hope you can forgive us. I know this matter has a great impact on everyone, and I assure you I will keep these missionaries in check and will not allow them to bring shame to our sect again."
Seeing the elder’s sincere attitude, Lin Beichen, not wanting to make things difficult for everyone over this matter, sighed and said, "Alright, since it’s resolved, let’s not dwell on it. I just hope this won’t happen again, and I won’t pursue the matter further. Everyone, let’s get back to our duties and not stand around here."
Lin Beichen accepted the elder’s apology but felt a bit guilty towards the female believer. He thought he had been somewhat careless in his considerations, causing them grievances. But for the sake of the bigger picture, Lin Beichen couldn’t escalate the situation, choosing instead to give the elder some face and offer the missionaries a chance for redemption, avoiding making enemies out of everyone. He could only pacify the matter this way and restore peace.
Lin Beichen noticed the female believer standing nearby, full of grievances, which made him feel quite uncomfortable. Being humiliated in front of so many disciples, her sadness and grievances were entirely understandable. Although the elder had expelled the missionaries, the impact on her was evidently profound.
Feeling sympathetic, Lin Beichen walked over to the female believer, looked at her apologetically, and said, "Don’t cry, the matter is resolved. Here is some money, consider it my compensation to you. Please accept it."
"No, I can’t take this money," the female believer declined.
"Take it, it’s a token of my regard. I know I was inconsiderate in this matter, and if you don’t accept it, I’d feel guilty," Lin Beichen sincerely persuaded her.
After appeasing the female believer, Lin Beichen turned to Zhou Baoguo with a tone of reproach, "Why were you so impulsive? Why didn’t you come to me first and instead got into a fight? Why do you act so recklessly, not thinking things through? Why solve the problem this way?"
Lin Beichen blamed Zhou Baoguo for acting too impulsively, exacerbating the conflict. Hearing this, Zhou Baoguo naturally felt unhappy. After all, it was the missionaries who offended first; he was merely trying to seek justice for the female believer, only to end up beaten by the missionaries. Now, being reprimanded by Lin Beichen, he found it hard to accept.
But outwardly, Zhou Baoguo could only obediently heed Lin Beichen’s criticism. Zhou Yi stood by, observing everything, understanding Zhou Baoguo’s discontent.
To comfort Zhou Baoguo, Zhou Yi quickly advised, "Alright, you did act without much thought in this matter. Remember, in the future, tell Lin Beichen first and don’t make your own decisions. I know you feel unbalanced inside, wanting to stand up for the female believer, but your method was wrong."
Zhou Yi patiently advised Zhou Baoguo, fearing he couldn’t move past this obstacle, feeling it was unfair. Zhou Yi understood that if he faced such a situation, he might not handle it better than Zhou Baoguo. He admired Zhou Baoguo’s actions to defend the female believer.
Seeing the situation had calmed, Lin Beichen asked Zhou Yi, "Tomorrow is the initiation ceremony; how are the preparations going?"
"We can’t afford to be careless with this matter; there can’t be any mistakes. Everything must be done meticulously and carefully. Also, regarding etiquette, everything must be clearly explained since this is such an important event," Lin Beichen instructed.
Zhou Yi confidently replied to Lin Beichen, "Don’t worry, I’ve already sent out the news about tomorrow’s initiation ceremony, and I’m sure everyone knows about it. I have everything on my end ready as well; the key points you mentioned, I’ve personally arranged, no problem. I understand the priorities and have everything organized from start to finish."
Hearing Zhou Yi’s response, Lin Beichen was quite satisfied. Zhou Yi always handled things meticulously and responsibly, and Lin Beichen trusted him greatly. No matter what happened, Lin Beichen would leave it to Zhou Yi to handle, allowing him to be at ease.
Since Zhou Yi started to assist, Lin Beichen indeed felt much relieved. The trivial matters never required his attention, as they were all managed by Zhou Yi.
Turning to Zhou Baoguo, Lin Beichen said appreciatively, "This is the model you should learn from. Learn well from Zhou Yi. Handling matters cannot rely solely on force; you have to use your brain. Solving problems without harming harmony is most important."
Hearing Lin Beichen’s words, Zhou Baoguo quietly lowered his head. He knew Lin Beichen was right, not intending to blame him, but teaching him ways to handle problems. Zhou Baoguo understood his shortcomings in handling issues, acting impulsively, and compared to Zhou Yi’s approach, he knew he needed to learn.
Thus, Zhou Baoguo readily accepted Lin Beichen’s suggestion without defiance or rebuttal. Seeing Zhou Baoguo’s attitude, Zhou Yi finally felt reassured. He knew Zhou Baoguo realized his mistake and believed he would correct it, not repeating it.
Time flew by, and soon it was the day of Lin Beichen and Hu Yi’s initiation ceremony. The ceremony was both grand and solemn; Hu Yi dared not be careless, as she didn’t want to become a laughingstock in front of the disciples.
For Hu Yi, today was extraordinarily significant. The day she had long awaited finally arrived. Realizing her dream, she dressed up carefully early in the morning, hoping to leave a good impression on everyone, especially to establish a good image as a competent disciple in Lin Beichen’s mind.
Lin Beichen also started preparing early in the day, as this was the first time an initiation ceremony was being held under public scrutiny. Naturally, he felt somewhat nervous but maintained outward composure, unwilling to show any emotional fluctuation.
At the start of the ceremony, Hu Yi felt extremely tense, trying to calm down, yet under everyone’s watchful eyes, her heart raced, and her words were somewhat jumbled. Seeing this, Lin Beichen quickly reassured her, "Don’t be nervous, it’s just an initiation ceremony, treat it with normalcy. The more nervous you are, the more mistakes you’re likely to make. Just follow the rules, and there won’t be a problem. Besides, I am here; such nervousness would make everyone laugh."
Lin Beichen’s words eased Hu Yi slightly, significantly reducing her tension.
The ceremony officially commenced, and Lin Beichen noticed the expectant and curious eyes from the crowd. He then began to demonstrate his extraordinary skills of resurrecting both people and trees. Zhou Yi had already prepared everything for him; as the withered tree and the motionless body were displayed before everyone, the atmosphere became tense, and discussions broke out:
"Can Lin Beichen really succeed? Is he really that powerful?"
"Bringing trees and people back to life, it’s so miraculous, we’ve never seen this before."
"It’s like a legend; witnessing this firsthand today is truly a blessing."
"I hope Lin Beichen doesn’t fail; it’d be embarrassing in front of so many disciples."
The crowd buzzed with discussions, perceiving the act as risky, with some even feeling a bit tense for Lin Beichen. Despite knowing Lin Beichen’s formidable strength, such feats had never been heard of before.
Lin Beichen disregarded the crowd’s discussions and fully concentrated on doing what he needed to do. He couldn’t afford to fail in front of these people; otherwise, it would be hard to explain and make the disciples look down on him. Drawing on his cultivation, he began to exhibit his skill.
The crowd witnessed as everything changed before their eyes. Under Lin Beichen’s immense power, the withered branches gradually revived with vitality, and the motionless body also suddenly revived in front of everyone. This scene left everyone astounded, almost unable to believe their eyes.
Subsequently, voices of admiration rose. Lin Beichen’s demonstration of his skills today broadened everyone’s horizons. Being able to accomplish such a challenging task so effortlessly, even Hu Yi, standing aside, was taken aback, her mouth gaping in shock, never expecting her master to be so impressive. She felt more convinced that following Lin Beichen was the right choice; she’d undoubtedly learn many skills.