Chapter 44: The Forty-Fourth Day of Becoming Cult Leader (Part 1)

For a moment, the council hall was utterly silent. Everyone stared in shock at Chen Lue, who seemed to have just casually said something earth-shattering.

The… the Sacred Cult?

Not only was Qin Ming so embarrassed his toes were curling against the floor, even the thick-skinned Demonic Cult disciples were exchanging uncertain looks. True, they did not acknowledge that their Sun Moon Divine Cult was some kind of Demonic Cult, but calling themselves the Sacred Cult… was still a little too arrogant, wasn’t it?

Yang Xu was even glaring at Chen Lue, his beard practically bristling. No, seriously, how had this brat suddenly started flattering the Cult Leader too? The Sacred Cult?! Wasn’t that the kind of thing only Shen Fubai could say? How had even you changed too!

Chen Lue, however, did not spare him a glance. He stood calmly where he was and clearly had no intention of changing his words.

And as expected, amid the silence, only Shen Fubai’s eyes lit up. He called out loudly, “Brilliant! The Cult Leader is wise, mighty, and divine, a sagely ruler unprecedented in all history. The term Sacred Cult suits him perfectly! Surely everyone agrees?”

The Demonic Cult disciples swept by Shen Fubai’s gaze did not dare say a single no. What, in their hearts, was the Cult Leader not a sagely ruler? Did they have a death wish?

Thus, they all nodded like chicks pecking at rice.

“Right, right, that’s what we thought too!”

“The Sacred Cult—what a wonderful feeling!”

“Exactly. The term Sacred Cult perfectly matches the Cult Leader’s bearing. Then it’s decided: the Sacred Cult!”

“…”

The corner of Qin Ming’s eye twitched faintly. He truly could not bear to look at this group of bootlicking Demonic Cult villains. A proper Demonic Cult actually calling itself the Sacred Cult—if outsiders found out, how unbearably awkward would that be!

Fortunately, this secret plot was known only to Demonic Cult disciples, and later they would carefully keep their identities hidden and not let the world learn of it. Qin Ming could only do his best to accept it.

He rose to his feet and finally gave the order in a calm voice.

“Since everyone agrees, then fine. From this day forward, our cult’s disciples shall call ourselves the Sacred Cult in the jianghu!”

The Demonic Cult disciples all saluted and cried out, “The Cult Leader is wise!”

Shen Fubai felt even more smug inside. Look, now even the name had changed. In that case, could the day they took the whole world still be far away?

…

In the name of the Sacred Cult, the Jianghu Morning Report, which had been polished for half a month, was finally released for sale.

The first batch of trial-run Jianghu Morning Reports had only three hundred copies printed, and they were only sold in the Zhi Prefecture area. The main sales location was Qian Xiaodou’s restaurant.

That day, the guests tasting dishes inside the restaurant were discussing jianghu gossip as usual. But because news traveled poorly, they had repeated the same bits of gossip over a dozen times, and everyone had already lost interest.

Someone was lamenting helplessly, “The place we live in is so remote. News of the martial world always lags behind the Central Plains. By the time we hear about anything, several days have usually passed already. It really is frustrating.”

Qian Xiaodou, who had been thinking about how to sell the morning report, instantly brightened and seized the opportunity at once.

“Honored guests, would you like to know the latest news from the jianghu?” Taking advantage of the moment when he was serving dishes, he personally began explaining to the guests in a mysterious tone, “To tell you the truth, this humble shop has recently found something good. Perhaps it can help relieve everyone’s boredom.”

“Oh?” Some of the guests could not help laughing when they heard this. “What good thing could a restaurant like yours possibly get hold of?”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Before Qian Xiaodou could speak, a frequent customer of the restaurant took the initiative to speak up for them. “You don’t know this, but this restaurant is always coming up with new recipes, and every one is tastier than the last. In my opinion, they’re the most likely to produce something fresh and interesting.”

Qian Xiaodou looked closely and realized this person was actually an acquaintance: Shen Wuwei, the son of Shen Hezhuang.

As the son of a merchant wealthy enough to rival the world, Shen Wuwei spent practically every day at their restaurant, eating to his heart’s content. However, it seemed his father had never told him this restaurant was a Demonic Cult business. He only thought it was an ordinary restaurant.

Qian Xiaodou also treated him only as a regular customer and said with a beaming smile, “Young Master Shen truly has a discerning eye!”

“Of course.” Shen Wuwei fanned himself with some pride, then asked curiously, “But waiter, I’ve been coming here for so long, and I never knew you’d prepared something fun. Hurry and bring it over for me to see.”

Qian Xiaodou’s smile stiffened. The Jianghu Morning Report he had just taken out no longer seemed quite so appealing.

“…Young Master Shen, I’m not a waiter. I’m the shopkeeper of this restaurant.”

Shen Wuwei, however, did not care about his words at all. He craned his neck to look at the object in Qian Xiaodou’s hand. “What kind of paper is that? Why have I never seen it before?”

Once he saw the words written on it, his eyes suddenly lit up even more, and he realized the main point. “Wait. What’s written on it is the latest jianghu news?”

Qian Xiaodou barely comforted himself that he was used to being misunderstood on a daily basis, then perked up again and began introducing it in a torrent of words.

“Exactly! This item was created by the Sacred Cult and is called the Jianghu Morning Report! It gathers all the newest firsthand news from the jianghu. You might say it lets honored guests know the affairs of the world without even stepping out the door. Written on it are the major jianghu events that have occurred over the past half month. Are you interested, honored guest?”

Everyone in the restaurant heard his words and showed curious expressions.

“The Sacred Cult? How come I’ve never heard of any Sacred Cult?”

“It gathers all the latest news in the jianghu? Isn’t that boasting a little too much? How could so much news be collected? I don’t believe it.”

“You’re exaggerating, waiter. There’s a price to pay for shooting your mouth off!”

“…I’m not a waiter. But the news recorded in this item is indeed absolutely true. If you don’t believe it, everyone can buy a copy and take it back to look.” Qian Xiaodou said confidently, “To tell you the truth, this humble shop has only fifty copies of the Jianghu Morning Report. The price is only one tael of silver. First come, first served!”

“One tael of silver?” Everyone looked at one another. One tael of silver was not that much, but it was not little either. Spending one tael of silver on a piece of paper of unknown truth felt unworthy to ordinary guests.

Shen Wuwei, on the other hand, did not care about that bit of money at all. He immediately had his servant take out some broken silver and picked up a copy of the morning report. “I’ll buy one. Consider it showing support. Anyone who wants to read it may come over. I am willing to share it with everyone, no need to be polite.”

With someone paying the bill, the guests in the restaurant all beamed and walked toward Shen Wuwei.

“Many thanks, Young Master Shen. Let me see whether this Jianghu Morning Report is really just putting on airs!”

More and more people gathered around the morning report. The first thing that drew them in was the neat, beautiful handwriting, uniform in size. The language of the articles was plain and easy to understand too; even people like them, who did not have much education, could read it clearly.

Someone immediately began reading aloud with great relish.

“The famous capital hero Master Wu had a sparring match with the legendary saber-wielder Wan Liyun, but it ended abruptly when Master Wu had an upset stomach and urgently needed the privy.”

“Master Xiao of Huazhen Sect, known by the fine title ‘White Sand in the Waves,’ is usually extremely afraid of his wife. When his wife roars once, Master Xiao trembles three times.”

“The most famous Tongfu Inn in the capital is actually a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers gather. Its waiter is the famous divine thief of the jianghu. However, this person has already washed his hands of the golden basin.”

…

The further down they read, the more interesting everyone found it. They could not help bursting into laughter and felt very delighted.

“Is this news true or false?”

“Don’t laugh—this matter about Master Xiao is indeed true,” someone suddenly said. “I have a friend who knows Master Xiao. He once secretly wrote to me about this matter and told me not to spread it. I never expected to see it in this morning report today.”

“The matter about Master Wu is true too. My older cousin saw it with his own eyes and only secretly told me. I only learned about it this morning. How has it already been published in this newspaper? How did they find out?!”

The more everyone discussed it, the more shocked they became. The truth was actually nearly the same as what was written in this morning report, and the events on the morning report were all secret matters. How had this Sacred Cult found out?

“Strange. Truly strange!” Shen Wuwei clapped his hands and laughed. “It really is just as the waiter said. Without leaving the house, one can know the affairs of the world. Will this morning report be sold every day? It is very interesting. I simply must come here to buy it!”

The other guests were also somewhat tempted. For only one tael of silver, they could learn so much news. It was far too worth it. Besides, there were not many copies of this Jianghu Morning Report. If they bought one first, wouldn’t they be able to show it off to others as much as they wanted? This was all gossip capital!

Their hearts burned fiercely with gossip.

Everyone looked eagerly toward the waiter and could not help asking, “Waiter, will we be able to buy it from you from now on? There are only fifty copies?”

“…I’m not a waiter. I’m the shopkeeper.” Qian Xiaodou could not help correcting them again and again. Yet not a single guest was willing to listen to him; they were urgently asking about the Jianghu Morning Report. Qian Xiaodou could only despairingly repeat the sales pitch the Cult Leader had taught him.

“At present, the Jianghu Morning Report is tentatively scheduled to update once every seven days. This humble shop only has fifty copies in stock. First come, first served! However, if many people wish to buy it, this humble shop can purchase more stock, so every honored guest will be able to buy one.”

“Once every seven days.” Everyone felt somewhat regretful, but they also nodded in understanding. After all, not every household could take out one tael of silver every single day to buy one. The current interval was pretty good.

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