The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 359 - 48: First Meeting, Deep Blue Business Alliance (Part 2)

"Celestial Baiyu City, with twelve towers and five cities.

An Immortal caressed my crown, bestowing Longevity from Braiding Hair.

I mistakenly pursued worldly pleasures,

And came to grasp the depths of order and chaos.

The ninety-six holy monarchs

Are but empty names, like floating clouds.

Heaven and Earth were staked on a single throw,

Yet warfare could not be forgotten.

Through endless ages, across the boundless cosmos, I alone reign supreme!"

A verse materialized faintly in the sky, seeming to drift from ages long past. It crossed the endless river of time and space, carrying an infinite sense of worldly sorrow and desolation.

Combined with the majestic grandeur of the All Living Beings Tower, it left everyone stunned for a long while.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhang Deming spoke. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zhang Wu, a Three-Star member of the Alliance and the Steward for the new Celestial Spirit Sect region.

I was the one who secretly vetted some of you beforehand. I assume Elder Huang has already provided you with plenty of information.

Others were evaluated directly, so they should be somewhat familiar with me.

I’ve gathered you all here today for the inaugural meeting of our local branch.

Since this new region was only recently established, caution is paramount. Therefore, I opted for a virtual meeting, using the ’Detaining God’ technique to bring your consciousnesses here.

All of your appearances are currently concealed. If you don’t mind, you can simply disperse the mist over your faces," Zhang Deming said calmly.

"Greetings, Steward Zhang!" Qu Qizhong, who had been here before, was the first to recover and speak.

Zhang Deming nodded. His gaze paused on Feng Mingyou. "You broke through?"

Feng Mingyou froze. This was his first time meeting Zhang Wu. ’Based on his appearance and what he just said... this means he secretly vetted me?’

Feng Mingyou glanced at Zhang Deming’s true self, who was sitting beside him. With so few people present and everyone masked, Feng Mingyou, knowing that Zhang Deming was also a member, was able to guess his identity.

"It was just a lucky breakthrough," Feng Mingyou replied calmly.

Zhang Deming nodded. "Some of you are meeting me for the first time, so I imagine we’re not very familiar.

However, I’m reasonably familiar with every one of you.

The first order of business is that everyone needs a codename. Of course, if you prefer to interact using your real identities, you may use your true names.

In principle, you can choose any name you wish.

However, it’s customary in the Alliance to choose a codename based on your Dao Foundation. This isn’t a strict rule, of course, so feel free to choose as you please.

My codename is ’Hundred Changes.’ You may begin."

There were only eight people in total, so the round table wasn’t very large.

Zhang Deming turned to Qu Qingxian. After a moment, she said, "Then I’ll be ’Water Dragon’!"

Next was Qu Qizhong, who said, "Hm, I’ll go with ’Rumors’."

Qin Shizhong, who had the most contact with Zhang Deming among those present, pondered for a moment before saying, "Well, I’ll be ’Dragon and Snake’."

Next was Li Shifan. This time, Zhang Deming hadn’t allowed Li Cheng to accompany him.

Li Shifan was exceptionally concise. "Painted Sword."

Feng Mingyou was just as brief. "Clear Tea."

Finally, Zhang Deming, controlling his Mirror Image, said, "Summoning Spirit."

Of the six, the other five all knew a little, more or less, and could be considered to have had some contact with Zhang Deming.

The sole exception was the final member, Xu Weihai, who looked completely baffled. Zhang Deming had placed him in a separate category from the others.

As a result, he was endlessly confused about the current situation.

Fortunately, thanks to a prior experience with Elder Xing, he guessed that this was some method used by the Alliance.

Seeing his baffled expression, Zhang Deming said, "Ah, I forgot to introduce him. This is a newly ascended Venerable of the Duzun Tower."

"Venerable?"

Everyone froze.

Zhang Deming looked around at the group and began to explain. "Celestial Baiyu City, with twelve towers and five cities.

An Immortal caressed my crown, bestowing Longevity from Braiding Hair.

...

’Venerable’ is the title for members of the Duzun Tower, whereas we, from the Xuanhua Tower, are considered ordinary members of the Alliance."

At these words, the way everyone looked at Xu Weihai changed completely. Their gazes now held a hint of scrutiny and apprehension.

Xu Weihai remained completely baffled. ’Everyone here seems like a big shot,’ he thought, panicking. ’And I’m just a total newbie. This is terrifying.’

’What’s even more terrifying is having all these powerful people staring at me with such apprehension. If they knew the truth about me...’

Zhang Deming looked at Xu Weihai. "You should pick a codename, too. After all, this is the first meeting for our Celestial Spirit Sect region."

Xu Weihai paused for a moment before replying, "Call me Wisdom Venerable!"

Zhang Deming nodded. "Since most of you are strangers to one another, I’ll keep this brief.

Besides officially announcing the establishment of this branch, there are two other matters to address at this meeting.

As an organization, even a clandestine one, communication is essential.

Therefore, the first matter is establishing a method of contact."

As he spoke, Zhang Deming waved his hand, and a spell appeared before each person. "If you have an urgent matter, you can make contact by reciting this spell," he continued.

Reciting this spell silently will transmit a message. If you encounter danger, recite it aloud while holding your hands before your chest as if holding a sphere. This is a call for aid.

Of course, calling for aid comes at a cost. The new region is currently in a grace period, but once that ends, requesting aid will consume a certain amount of Contribution Points."

After he finished, the members stared at the spell, their expressions varied.

"Memorize this spell and commit it to heart. Do not write it down anywhere," Zhang Deming instructed.

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Zhang Deming waited a moment before continuing, "While the Alliance may be a loosely-knit organization, it is an excellent platform.

You will discover this for yourselves as you engage with it more.

Meetings like this require a certain level of clearance to hold, so I won’t ramble on any further.