The senior monk, arms raised and ready to demonstrate his Dragon Pulse Eighteen Techniques on this bloodless grandson, paused mid-motion upon hearing the words. "Master Yuan Shi has invited you to join his faction?" the elder furrowed his brows. Red Chicken Brother nodded vigorously: "Last night, he sent a message informing me that the faction still needs one more member to unlock its main instance, and he'd like me to join as a placeholder—so we can all enter the instance together and level up. If we later decide to withdraw, we can do so at any time." "Today, I came to see you for breakfast to seek your opinion." Red Chicken Brother may not be particularly bright, but he's far from foolish. Joining a faction is a significant and serious matter for a spiritual realm traveler. He deeply respects Master Yuan Shi and sees him as a true friend. Yet, he also represents the senior monk. Now that Master Yuan Shi has incurred the displeasure of the headquarters, joining the "Return of the Departed" faction would, in the eyes of certain headquarters officials, be seen as the senior monk publicly endorsing Master Yuan Shi. Red Chicken Brother himself didn't mind, but had to take the position of the Sauté Elder into account. The Sauté Elder sat back down at the table, picked up his bowl, and sipped his porridge, saying, "Xu, what do you think?" Xu, the secretary standing by, slowly approached and bowed slightly, speaking in a low tone: "Last year, you scolded the secretary of Di Hong Grand Elder fiercely over budget issues, and at year-end, you challenged Jin Grand Elder directly. This year, at the headquarters meeting, you publicly expressed your dissatisfaction with headquarters, stating that 'when one is away, the emperor's orders may change,' implying they exert too much control..." "I didn't imply it—I stated it plainly," said Jiangbao Grand Elder with confidence. The secretary smiled faintly. "I've heard from colleagues working at headquarters that among the ten elders, some would like to replace you. They believe you're not complying with organizational directives and not adhering to organizational discipline. At this crucial moment, I wouldn't recommend you establish a close relationship with Yuan Shi Tian Zun—everyone can clearly see that he has offended headquarters, while the Grand Marshal remains hands-off." The secretary paused and added, "Moreover, while the Grand Marshal supports him, he won't support you." Jiangbao Grand Elder sipped his porridge with a soft sound: "What about him?" "Xu, secretary, said, "I'll gather his materials right away and have them delivered to you within five minutes." The Sauce-Braised Elder waved his hand. "No need. Red Chicken, you know the young man well. Let him speak." " That young man is exceptionally loyal... oh, no—he's truly a reincarnation of Guan Yu, with an unshakeable sense of righteousness, and at the same time, as cunning as Qin Hui, who's a master of political subtlety." Red Chicken proudly straightened his chest. "Master, do you think this is sufficiently refined, culturally appropriate?" You're comparing Guan Yu and Qin Hui side by side—would Yue Fei agree with that...? Xu secretary shook his head, smiling slightly. "Then let's include it." said the Sauce-Braised Elder. Xu secretary blinked, his expression instantly stiffening. He took a few steps forward, frowning. "Senior, please reconsider. In these special times, we shouldn't complicate matters." The Sauce-Braised Elder waved his hand again. "Red Chicken, what's most important when navigating the world of the marketplace?" "Of course, it's about loyalty!" Red Chicken said fluently in Cantonese. "When you're living in the world of the gentry and the clans, the first thing is to honor your elders, the second is to honor your brothers, and the third is never to let the big sister down." The seasoned elder turned to Xu Secretary and asked, "Got it?" Xu Secretary chuckled weakly, "Not really." "So you're not made for the club life—just stick to being my secretary." While sipping his porridge, the seasoned elder casually added, "I've been out on my own since I was sixteen. I've made it this far not because I'm strong, but because of loyalty! Red Chicken's grandfather stepped in to protect me when he was cut—because he values loyalty." Red Chicken slammed the table. "My grandfather raised me, and that's because he's a man of loyalty too." Xu Secretary frowned, hesitating, "So, does the Prime Immortal value loyalty, and therefore treat Red Chicken well?" "Loyalty means brothers can even give their lives for one another—how much more important can that be, Grandfather?" Red Chicken said. "That's what matters to us in the world "Good, Grandfather. Then I'll head out to the dungeon today." "Have porridge, have porridge—even if the sky collapses, I'll finish my porridge first." ...Fu Family Village. Zhang Yuanqing stood under the spout, enjoying the powerful flow of water rushing over him. Cold raindrops struck his body, cascading down his well-defined muscles, as if washing away his inner restlessness and anxiety. "Ah～" He lifted his head, letting the cold water cascade over his cheeks. He raised a finger to his forehead, activating his cunning, sly expression. "I'm certain I'm on Ling Tuo's chessboard. He hasn't moved yet—clearly, the timing isn't right. Back then, the Demon King ascended to the Sovereign Realm safely, reaching the ninth rank of Sovereign..." That's good news—it means Ling Tuo likely won't attack him during the Sovereign Stage, giving him more time. Yet it's also bad, because even at the peak of Sovereign Realm, the Demon King still met his end. "The Master of Taimei is also well-informed. When Lingtuo has taken a keen interest in the Demon King, how could the strongest Night-Wandering God of our age have overlooked him? Now that Lingtuo has turned his attention to me, the Master must surely have a piece of 'Yuanshizhenshen' on his strategic board. Lingtuo and the Master share a father-son relationship—cordial and mutually supportive. Thus, the Master serves as my protective umbrella, at the very least a potential ally. That’s good news. The fragments of the Light Compass are indeed not with me. Master Wuhen has verified this—another positive development. At the time of the Demon King’s passing, a mysterious figure who had invested in him was present. Bing has transferred the Demon King’s estate to me. This person could not have remained unaware. Therefore, they must be closely observing me—this is an added advantage. But who exactly is this person? A series of thoughts now emerge, swiftly processing the information. After careful evaluation, Zhang Yuanqing concludes that, amid all these competing interests, he is currently safe." He's just like an anime ant—proud, charging forward with bold determination—yet, hovering above him, a group of higher-dimensional humans observe him with cold, detached indifference. Human fingers will inevitably press down, when the time feels right. So, for now, he's safe. But once that moment arrives, he'll face a devastating, semi-divine threat. "Man, I never thought I'd miss it—suddenly, I'm missing the evenings spent with my aunt playing games, the quiet, peaceful life of a craftsman when the night is still. Sure, school is dull every day, but at least it's not overwhelming..." Zhang sighed quietly. He hasn't even had time to properly talk about love with Guan Ya. Activities that couples usually share—shopping, traveling, going to the movies—have all been cut, reduced, or postponed whenever possible. He only manages to truly connect with her in the evenings, telling her sweet words—now, he's almost become just a casual friend. What a situation! Sure, here's the professionally translated version: Before Guan Ya scowled and lost her temper, he had carried his younger girlfriend—several years his junior—right to the table and devoured her with great enthusiasm, calling her "good sister," "good wife" all the way. Guan Ya felt delighted, humming a few times, and easily forgave him. She had always been particularly indulgent toward her younger boyfriend. ... The protagonist's team, striving together. [Zhao Chenghuang: When are we entering the instance? That red chicken guy hasn't joined the guild yet.] [Xiahou Aotian: I asked him just now—he says he'll wait until he finishes drinking the hot, steaming rice porridge, even if the sky collapses.] [Sun Miao Miao: That's just how Huadu people are—always wasting time on meaningless things.] [Shi Xiang Gui Huo: You haven't seen the records of the stir-fried elder, have you? Once you have, you'll understand just how deeply they value afternoon tea. I recently dug into the background of the red chicken guy—he lost his father at a young age and grew up under the care of the stir-fried elders from the Huadu branch 】 【The World Converges to Fire: A few years ago, the Senior Master participated in the campaign to besiege a Supreme Ruler of the Spiritual Energy Council. As the siege was about to succeed, he suddenly withdrew, informing the official senior masters that... it was tea time.】 【The World Converges to Fire: Then he went off to have his afternoon tea.】 【Sun Miaomiao: Haha, The World Converges to Fire—you actually tell a good story! You've successfully made me laugh.】 【The World Converges to Fire: This is true.】 A wave of ellipses appeared across the group chat. Is the Fire Master really this unreliable...? Zhang Yuanqing now deeply understands the charm of Red Chicken Brother. When he was on the brink of death during the Cliffs of Shaya Sea campaign, he still remembered his chicken soup. Growing up with such an elder, he had already been considered exceptional for not pausing during boss battles to prepare a seafood fish soup. At this moment, a notification arrived from the Spiritual Realm—Red Chicken Brother has joined the faction. 【Sun Miaomiao: Red Chicken Brother has joined! Yuanqing, activate the faction quest now.】 Zhang Yuanqing replied with an "um" and exited the group chat, then opened the clan interface and selected to generate a scenario. 【Ping! The spiritual realm is being generated, please wait...】 【The clan's spiritual realm has been successfully generated.】 【Number: 039, Mo Sect's Mechanized City.】 【Difficulty Level: S】 【Type: Multiplayer (Death-based).】 【Main Quest: Investigate the cause of the Mo Sect's downfall.】 【Note: Non-spiritual realm items cannot be brought in.】 【Introduction to Scenario 039: The Mo Sect's Mechanized City is a renowned immortal sect in the southwest region. Its founding master was active during the Tang Dynasty and inherited the tradition of mechanical arts from the Xian Qin Mo family.】