I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Song Yifan really admired Wang Meng’s character. Even though Hann Yun had ridiculed him and Fan Hong back then, Wang Meng still spoke of it with a calm demeanor. It was the mark of a mature man.

"Hann Yun encountered a powerful opponent and was narrowly defeated."

"A pity, a pity," Wang Meng said. They had a tacit understanding.

"I’m here on a mission this time. Our Sect Leader is also interested in establishing ties with the Holy Hall. As fellow Saint Cultivators, we should help each other in the future."

Song Yifan said, getting straight to the point.

Wang Meng smiled. "The Holy Hall welcomes friends from all over. Besides, we’re already friends."

Song Yifan stuck out her tongue playfully. "Honestly, for something at the sect level, our Sect Leader should have been the one to come speak with you personally. You know how those old-timers value face above all else, so I’m the poor one who has to suffer through it. Thankfully, you’re pretty reasonable."

Song Yifan’s cute and playful look made Wang Meng chuckle. In all honesty, it was a matter of first impressions. Wang Meng had no relationship with Yun Potian, but Song Yifan had spoken up for him and Fan Hong when they were in trouble. For that reason alone, he couldn’t be bothered to fuss over such empty formalities.

They hadn’t been chatting for long before Hex Zui came in several times. There were too many guests, and some of them were quite important.

"It seems you’re really busy, so I won’t bother you any longer. Let’s cheer each other on in the Other Shore Battle!"

As she spoke, she charmingly extended her small hand. Wang Meng nodded and reached out his own. "You too!"

After leaving the Little Holy Hall, disciples from the Yunxiao Sect were waiting at the entrance. They saw their Senior Sister... and she was blushing.

Song Yifan cast a lingering glance back at the Little Holy Hall, her heart pounding. ’I don’t even understand what’s wrong with me. How did I end up coming here in a daze? I even made up such a high-and-mighty excuse.’ Poor Sect Leader Yun had just been thrown under the bus by his own disciple.

The Little Holy Hall was extraordinarily lively, no less so than the headquarters of one of the Ten Great Sects, such as the No Illusion Demon Sect, the Taiyin Sect, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect, or the Cyan Cloud Sect. And the Ten Great Sects themselves had uncharacteristically lowered their airs. In the past, wasn’t every sect overly protective of their own, wrapping themselves up tight like a young maiden terrified of being taken advantage of?

Zhang Liang was swamped with work, busy from dawn till dusk. He and his intelligence network were now in charge of the concrete details of coordinating matters between the Great Yuan Realm and the Holy Hall disciples. Witnessing such a vast world, especially a behemoth like the Immortal Commerce, had been a real eye-opener for Zhang Liang. A fiery passion surged through his veins. That was his ultimate goal! Once upon a time, his line of work was considered the one with the bleakest prospects. But seeing the scale and influence of the Immortal Commerce, he finally understood that every trade can produce its own champion.

’The Boss is definitely going to aim for number one in the Star Alliance. I have no hope of achieving that in this lifetime, but I can create my own miracle—to build an entity that surpasses the Immortal Commerce!’

The Holy Hall had a clear division of labor. To be precise, power was delegated downwards. Wang Meng had it easy as Sect Leader, unlike typical sect leaders who had the final say in everything. Of course, Master Wang claimed that it was by leveraging everyone’s strength that the Holy Hall would become invincible, but Zhang Xiaopang understood the real reason perfectly: laziness. Everyone knew Wang Meng was lazy, but his laziness always came with a high-and-mighty excuse.

The distribution of duties was indeed very clear. Not even Zhao Xinglun could overstep the boundaries of the Thunder Pool; he had his own designated scope of responsibility. Although the Holy Hall was now thriving, the contributions of the older generation could not be ignored. Reaching a tacit understanding was the optimal state of affairs.

Zhang Liang’s rise was indeed rather unconventional. During the years when Wang Meng was at the Cultivation Academy, although he had Hu Jing looking out for him, Hu Jing still had to contend with Zhao Guang back then. Zhang Liang had a very hard life, but he had no way of turning back. He had to endure it, willing or not. It wasn’t until the Ten Thousand Demons Sect was annihilated and the Holy Hall got back on track that Zhang Liang’s unique talents were finally put to good use. Of course, this was also a testament to Hu Jing’s sharp eye for talent.

During this period of the Other Shore Battle in the Great Yuan Realm, Zhang Liang truly demonstrated his value. He already had a basic framework in his mind: how to build a resource network with the Holy Hall at its center.

But a blueprint was just a blueprint, and the difficulty was still very high. The outside world wasn’t optimistic. Of course, most disciples within the Holy Hall didn’t pay it much mind either. For the majority of Cultivators, cultivation was their only goal. Everything else could be ignored; they didn’t even realize its importance.

But Zhang Liang’s morale was high. The Holy Hall had many opportunities, and resources could be multiplied through exchange.

He was a merchant among Cultivators, and a Cultivator among merchants.

Zhang Liang was buried in his work. He had to clearly classify the hundreds of individuals he had met over the past few days—who was reliable, who was not, and who was just a bystander. After confirming these categories, he had to start making his moves. It was crucial to establish some foundations while the Holy Hall’s prestige was at its peak. Efficiency was paramount.

Treasure Artifact Sect, Treasure Artifact Sect... Zhang Liang felt a headache coming on. As one of the Ten Great Sects, the Treasure Artifact Sect was undoubtedly liked by all the other sects, and was one of the few that didn’t inspire much jealousy. The Holy Hall clearly needed the Treasure Artifact Sect, especially now; they needed their strong support in this area. Expansion was inevitable, but their facilities back in the Four Directions Small Thousand World couldn’t keep up. Their foundation was weak and in urgent need of improvement.

’But how to find an opening?’

The Treasure Artifact Sect had no shortage of customers, and they were all major clients. Even the top fifty sects went directly to them when they needed proper Magical Artifacts. As long as the Holy Hall wasn’t completely eliminated in the first round of the Other Shore Battle, its ranking was bound to rise further. With that kind of rank and prestige, their "hardware" had to keep up.

’What can I use to move the Sect Leader of the Treasure Artifact Sect?’

Wang Meng lacked no fame among the younger generation, but he was too young and had no connections among the older generation. If it came to a resource exchange, there was no chance. Absolutely no chance.

Zhang Liang drew a large question mark over the Treasure Artifact Sect. It was a real headache. Even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice. There were ways to deal with ordinary sects, but when faced with a major sect that lacked for nothing, he was completely out of ideas.

"Is something wrong? A problem with the Treasure Artifact Sect?" a voice asked from behind Zhang Liang, startling him. He had specifically requested a secluded place because he couldn’t have any noise while organizing his data, lest he miss something important.

When he turned to look, Zhang Liang froze. It was... the Sect Leader.

"Disciple Zhang..." Zhang Liang was truly a little excited. He hadn’t seen Wang Meng this up close in a very, very long time. Thinking back... it all felt so long ago.

"Haha, Junior Brother Zhang, long time no see! Why are you hiding out here all by yourself?" Seeing the densely packed names of sects and Cultivators, as well as various annotations including details on their personalities and preferences, Wang Meng felt a bit ashamed. "Ahem, it looks like I’m the real slacker here."

"Sect Leader... you still remember me?" Zhang Liang felt a lump form in his throat. It had been so many years.

"Do I look like I have such a bad memory? What’s the problem with the Treasure Artifact Sect?"

"It’s a small matter. I think I can handle it," Zhang Liang said through gritted teeth. The Other Shore Battle was the most important thing right now; nothing could interfere with that main priority. Besides, he didn’t want his first face-to-face meeting with the Sect Leader in so many years to be him asking for help.

Wang Meng smiled. "I’m just an idler at the moment. It’d be a waste not to put me to use. If you’re polite with me, you’re just making things difficult for yourself."

He patted Zhang Liang’s shoulder and sat down nearby.

Zhang Liang suppressed his excitement and did his best to calm himself. ’The Senior Sister always says that only those who seize their opportunities will win.’

"It’s like this. We currently need to reach an agreement with the Treasure Artifact Sect to acquire a batch of Magical Artifacts for disciple training, but I’ve wracked my brains and can’t come up with any conditions that would move them."

Zhang Liang explained.

Wang Meng nodded. "Alright, take a trip with me."

Zhang Liang felt that this was what life was all about, truly. Before him stood Yue Shan, the Sect Leader’s Disciple of the Treasure Artifact Sect, and Ling Fei, the Sect Leader’s Disciple of the Flower Fairy Sect.

All the major sects were now forming strategic alliances. For example, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect and the Holy Light Sect, or the Treasure Artifact Sect and the Flower Fairy Sect. The Star Alliance made even these traditionally powerful sects feel the pressure. In order to remain standing in this new order, forming alliances was practically a necessity.

Yue Shan had no duties related to the Other Shore Battle, so she was naturally relaxed. One could see that her relationship with Ling Fei was anything but ordinary.

Ordinary people would certainly not have been able to get a meeting, but Wang Meng was clearly no ordinary person.

Zhang Liang’s heart was beating like a drum, THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. A new order would naturally give rise to new powers. Even if a sect didn’t immediately become one of the most powerful, its status would be strengthened—the Treasure Artifact Sect being a prime example.

Countless people wanted to get a meeting with Yue Shan, the future leader of the Treasure Artifact Sect, the source of the world’s Treasure Artifacts. But Yue Shan was as elusive as a Divine Dragon that shows its head but hides its tail; even other Sect Leaders rarely got to see her.

And now, Yue Shan was right in front of him.

"Zhang Liang, you’ve found the person in charge. Lay out the Holy Hall’s requirements for her. Don’t be polite."

Wang Meng wasn’t acting like an outsider in the slightest.

Zhang Liang was adept at reading a situation. Since Wang Meng had told him to speak, Zhang Liang truly held nothing back. He recited the Holy Hall’s current needs from start to finish, the words practically tumbling out of his mouth. It was apparent the Holy Hall was in desperate need of these new types of Magical Artifacts and Arrays, or its future development would hit a bottleneck.

As she listened to Zhang Liang’s endless spiel, Ling Fei simply smiled without a word, while Yue Shan’s eyes grew wider and wider until he finally finished speaking.

"Miss Yue, we’re all old friends. With the Treasure Artifact Sect’s power, I’m sure a small matter like this is no problem at all, right?"

Wang Meng said.

In front of Ling Fei, Yue Shan clearly felt no need to pretend to be a proper lady. She practically shot to her feet. "Wang Meng, do you think the Treasure Artifact Sect is your Holy Hall’s backyard? If we take this order of yours, do you have any idea what our losses would be? Besides, I’m not even sure you can afford it!"

Faced with Yue Shan’s rapid-fire rant, Ling Fei simply sipped her tea as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

"Calm down, calm down. What’s with the formality between us? We’ve been through thick and thin, life and death together!"

"Save it. You’re you, and I’m me. Besides, you still owe me money!"

Yue Shan shot Wang Meng a glare. ’This guy disappears without a trace when he doesn’t need anything, then the moment he’s in trouble, he’s suddenly your best friend. Men... not a single one of them is any good.’

"See how hard my job as Sect Leader is? You’ve got to let me develop and strengthen the sect before I can pay you back, right? It’s all about playing the long game."

"By that logic, are you planning on putting this on a tab, too?" Yue Shan’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. How could Wang Meng be so certain he had her eating out of the palm of his hand? Even Ling Fei couldn’t help but laugh.

(Received a gift from a friend this morning... slimming gourmet food... What a surprise!)

(Asking for monthly tickets, thank you!) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)