Chapter 42: The Forty-Second Day as Cult Leader (Part 1)

At first, the two Qingyue Sect disciples honestly followed the wooden blocks Qin Ming had given them and began carving.

They had to cut the wood into perfectly square blocks, carve elegant and easy-to-understand characters onto them, and carve everything in reverse while enduring the hardness of the wood… In short, carving on pieces of wood that were more than just a little smaller than a palm was unbelievably difficult.

Despite all the obstacles, under Xu Sheng’s lead, the Qingyue Sect disciples still managed to stumble their way into carving out some wooden characters. But when they tried printing a line of text, dipping the wood in ink and pressing it onto white paper, they suddenly discovered many more problems.

For example, the characters printed on the white paper actually carried the grain of the wood, making the writing rather unclear.

Worse, once the wood was dipped in ink, the ink easily seeped inside, corroding the wood and making it hard to preserve. The wooden blocks they had painstakingly carved with such effort were ruined after being used only twice. This efficiency was far too low.

Only then did the Qingyue Sect disciples realize that using wood for carving was clearly not the best method. But they did not know what to use as a replacement, so they scratched their heads and went to Shen Fubai to explain the matter.

Yet as soon as Shen Fubai heard them complain about the drawbacks of wood, his face instantly turned stern, and he said with disdain, “This is something carved by the Cult Leader. You dare say the Cult Leader is wrong? Clearly, the problem appeared during your own production. What does that have to do with the Cult Leader?”

“If wood is no good, then use something else instead. You come to bother the Cult Leader over such a tiny matter? What are you people even good for?”

After being mocked by Shen Fubai like this, the Qingyue Sect disciples immediately flew into a rage. They were researching something for others without taking a single coin, yet someone was pointing at their noses and scolding them. This was simply the heavens turned upside down!

But just as the thought of quitting and leaving the Demonic Cult rose in their minds, they heard Shen Fubai speak again. “You can’t figure it out, can you? Heh. As expected, this is something only I, Shen Fubai, can accomplish! Perfect. Hurry up and leave. You’ve wasted so much time and still haven’t made anything. If I had known you were this incompetent, I would have argued with reason from the start and told the Cult Leader not to trust you!”

“What did you say?!” The anger of the Qingyue Sect disciples practically shot to the tops of their heads. They hated him so much their teeth itched, but they could not refute Shen Fubai’s words. Although the main problem did not lie with them, it was true that they had not researched anything these past few days.

Too hateful!!

The Qingyue Sect disciples looked at each other and saw unyielding flames in one another’s eyes.

Leave? After being insulted and looked down on like this, how could they leave?

They were not leaving! They absolutely had to research movable type printing and throw it in Shen Fubai’s face!!

And so, the Qingyue Sect disciples gave up on the idea of leaving. However, relying on just themselves really was not enough to make progress, so their gazes quietly fell upon their senior brothers and sisters far to the east.

“Our senior brothers and sisters have always been skilled at carpentry. I imagine something like movable type printing won’t be a problem for them either. Why don’t we write a letter and invite them over to help?” the Qingyue Sect disciple Qiu Chen suggested.

“Good. I’m sure our senior brothers and sisters won’t ignore our request for help. They’ll definitely come assist us.” The other Qingyue Sect disciple, Chang Xing, also nodded in agreement.

So the two of them joined hands and wrote a letter. In the letter, they mentioned that there was an object that was very difficult to carve and invited their senior brothers and sisters to Shilian Mountain to provide aid. Of course, Qiu Chen thoughtfully did not write the words “Demonic Cult,” afraid that their senior brothers and sisters would not dare come once they heard them.

But after they sent the letter full of hope and sat waiting for their senior brothers and sisters to arrive, they waited a full seven days without seeing even a shadow.

Qiu Chen and Chang Xing: ?

“Did the letter not arrive?” Unwilling to give up, Qiu Chen and Chang Xing sent out the same letter again, and even instructed the post station that it absolutely had to be delivered into their own sect’s hands.

This time, the letter really was received. But when they opened the reply, there were only three words written on it:

Not going. Lazy.

Qiu Chen and Chang Xing: …

It was over. They had never imagined that their senior brothers and sisters would completely ignore them!

What were they supposed to do now?!

The two Qingyue Sect disciples were so worried they nearly went bald. They had no idea what to do. Fortunately, Yang Xu, who did not know the truth but guessed that they were having difficulties, casually gave them a hint. “If you don’t know what to do, why not think about Shen Fubai? Think about what words made the two of you stay. The answer will naturally come to you.”

The Qingyue Sect disciples blinked and looked at each other. They really did write a letter based on Shen Fubai’s personality:

Senior brothers and sisters, there is no need for you to come. You are not capable. Even if you came, I imagine you would not be of much help. This matter is something only the two of us can accomplish. Everyone else would just get in the way and be extremely annoying! You absolutely must not come!

Looking at this short line of text, which was nevertheless filled with the urge to make people beat someone up, Qiu Chen hesitated. “Will this work? They won’t really believe it and not come, right?”

“I don’t know.” Chang Xing was also a little anxious, but they could only try everything in a desperate situation. “This is the last possibility. We’ve already done our best to imitate Shen Fubai’s tone. Let’s see how our senior brothers and sisters respond.”

No one expected that less than five days after the letter was sent, while the Qingyue Sect disciples were still anxiously waiting for a reply from their senior brothers and sisters, they suddenly received news that a large number of people had gathered before the gate of Shilian Mountain and were noisily calling for them to get out.

There were over twenty people, and all of them were dressed in Qingyue Sect uniforms!

“?!” Qiu Chen and Chang Xing were dumbfounded. Wait, had their senior brothers and sisters called over every free disciple they could find?!

…

At first glance, seeing so many people surrounding the mountain gate naturally startled the Demonic Cult as well. Qin Ming even thought the Righteous Path sects had finally been unable to hold themselves back and wanted to besiege them. His heart tightened, and he quickly ordered everyone to enter battle readiness, then sent Zhou Ji to question them.

But when Zhou Ji asked around, he heard the Qingyue Sect disciples collectively shouting two names.

“Where are Qiu Chen and Chang Xing?! You two rotten brats, get the hell out here! Who are you saying can’t do it? Who are you calling dead weight? You’ve really rebelled against the heavens! Get out here!”

“Today, I’ll show you exactly who can’t do it!”

“Stop acting like turtles hiding in your shells and playing dead! Hurry up and get out here!”

…

“Qiu Chen and Chang Xing. Who are they?” Qin Ming still had not reacted and was beginning to think about who these two people were, when Yang Xu at his side abruptly shuddered, shocked to the extreme.

“Reporting to the Cult Leader, Qiu Chen and Chang Xing are the injured Qingyue Sect disciples. You sent them to research movable type printing…” Yang Xu tried hard to explain. “The reason these Qingyue Sect disciples have gathered before the mountain gate is likely related to those two. Why not let this subordinate go persuade them to leave?”

“So many people.” After Qin Ming heard this, he could not help feeling a little tempted. If so many people could all stay in the Demonic Cult and help him work, would the efficiency not shoot up like crazy?

But he also knew he could not forcibly keep disciples from other sects, so he waved his hand regretfully and approved it. “Go. Do not let conflict break out.”

Yang Xu immediately let out a huge sigh of relief. “Yes!”

After walking out of the council hall, Yang Xu’s expression suddenly changed into anxiety and unease. At this moment, as a former Qingyue Sect disciple, all he wanted was to grab Qiu Chen and Chang Xing by the ears and ask what these two were thinking. This was the Demonic Cult! The Demonic Cult!!

Why had they called all the young Qingyue Sect disciples to the Demonic Cult? Was this not throwing themselves into a net?!

It had been a long time since Yang Xu had felt such an urge to vomit blood. He immediately found Qiu Chen and Chang Xing at the back mountain, described the current situation, and then said in bitter disappointment, “Why did you call so many people here? The Cult Leader even thought the Qingyue Sect had sent people to attack us. You, you, you… Aren’t you harming your own fellow disciples?”

When he said this, Qiu Chen and Chang Xing finally realized the danger of the situation. But when the two looked at each other, they also felt a bit innocent. Their original intention had only been to call two or three senior brothers and sisters over to help. Who could have imagined that a whole large group would suddenly come?

“Shen Fubai is simply terrifying beyond belief!”

Qiu Chen was filled with solemn respect. Senior brothers and sisters they could not summon no matter how they called had been called over merely by imitating Shen Fubai’s tone. That was way too powerful!

“Stop making sarcastic remarks. We must hurry and persuade the Qingyue Sect disciples to go back. This place is very dangerous and they cannot stay long!” Yang Xu grabbed their sleeves and hurried toward the mountain gate.

Almost the moment Qiu Chen and Chang Xing appeared, the Qingyue Sect disciples, who had originally stopped cursing after being intimidated by Zhou Ji, could no longer suppress the anger in their hearts. They pointed at the two men’s noses and started scolding them. Someone even skillfully took off one shoe. “Good, you two little bastards. You actually dared talk to your senior brothers and sisters like that. Come here. Watch me beat you to death!”

When Qiu Chen and Chang Xing saw the familiar shoe in that person’s hand, their expressions changed instantly, and they wanted to run, but Yang Xu was quick-eyed and quick-handed, blocking them at once.

“Everyone, you are now within Shilian Mountain. This is not a place where you can act recklessly!” Yang Xu pretended to speak in the tone of a Demonic Cult disciple, but in reality, he was earnestly warning the Qingyue Sect juniors about the danger of this place. “Do you know whose territory this is?”

The Qingyue Sect senior brothers and sisters looked at one another. Back then, after being mocked by a single letter, their heads had heated up and they had come straight here. How could they know what sort of place this was?

Only after Yang Xu sneered and said this was the territory of the Sun Moon Divine Cult, also known as the Demonic Cult, did their expressions all change at the same time, and they finally realized the danger.

…They had just been tricked into the Demonic Cult so cleanly? It was all Qiu Chen and Chang Xing’s fault, those two little bastards!

Seeing their frightened expressions, Yang Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he deliberately kept his face stern and said, “The Cult Leader understands that you did not know what place this was and does not intend to investigate your mistake. Everyone, please descend the mountain quickly. Do not make noise before our mountain gate.”

“This…” One older Qingyue Sect senior brother hesitated for a moment, then could not help frowning as he looked at Qiu Chen and Chang Xing, worried. “Then why are my junior brothers here? Could it be that you captured them?”

“That is not the case.” Seeing their unfriendly expressions, Qiu Chen and Chang Xing hurriedly explained, “We are here to research something called movable type printing. Because this thing is somewhat difficult, the two of us thought hard day and night but still could not grasp the key points. That was why we wanted to invite our senior brothers and sisters to come help…”

“Movable type printing?” The Qingyue Sect senior brothers and sisters, who had originally wanted to retreat, keenly caught the important point and asked curiously, “What’s that?”

“Are Senior Brothers interested?” Qiu Chen’s eyes lit up. Amid Yang Xu’s bad premonition, he took out the wooden block they had carved before and began introducing it endlessly. “Once characters are carved onto this kind of wood, they can be printed onto paper and reused repeatedly. Look, as long as the order is arranged properly, printing an entire book would not be a problem.”

The Qingyue Sect disciples were all skilled at carpentry. At this moment, they only needed a few words to understand the greatness of movable type printing, and their spirits instantly rose.

Some senior brothers even repeatedly played with the wooden block in their hands and directly pointed out the problem. “The wood is too hard. It isn’t easy to carve.”

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