Chapter 595: A Myriad Reactions Pour Forth In Congyun

"Damn it, give us our money back!"

"I knew something was off about Li Fan suddenly turning generous! The fundraising plan had been suspended for so long, then it restarted out of nowhere with no cap on contributions. This was his scheme all along!"

"Exactly. His divination skills have reached a transcendent level. He even foresaw the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council ceasing hostilities. You think he couldn't predict this technique discount? He just wanted to use the opportunity to swindle us brothers out of our points!"

"It can't really be that bad, can it? With the Secretary-Envoy's wealth and status, would he even care about our meager funds?"

"For one person, or ten, maybe not. But tens of thousands of cultivators participated in this round! That many contribution points... forget a minor provincial Secretary-Envoy, even a Dao Unity Immortal Venerable would covet them! Just you wait. When we go to He Zhenghao demanding our points back, he'll have every excuse in the world ready for us!"

Stirred by one voice after another, panic and indignation swept through the crowd.

They gathered outside the Administration Hall and refused to leave.

Normally, unauthorized personnel were forbidden from congregating in the core district of the immortal city. But this fundraising incident had drawn in far too many people, and many among them were system-affiliated cultivators who had poured in their entire fortunes. Now that techniques were selling at half price, they couldn't scrape together enough contribution points on such short notice.

Given their status, they didn't dare make trouble for their direct superiors. But they were perfectly willing to look the other way and let the crowd in to "assert their rights" on their behalf.

The result was the chaos now unfolding outside.

Inside the Administration Hall, however, Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao were perfectly at ease.

"A bunch of troublemakers! We agreed on five years. Five years means five years! How much time has actually passed, and they're already clamoring for their contribution points back? Do they really think I went to the trouble of signing Commercial Contracts with each and every one of them for nothing?"

He Zhenghao's tone was dismissive, his eyes moving steadily across the surface of the Mini Tianxuan Mirror before him.

"Nine Transformations of the Soaring Dragon, a Spirit Transformation technique, 950,000 contribution points. One can transform like a dragon, defying heaven and changing one's fate, remolding one's own body...

"Mountains and Rivers Within a Sleeve, a Spirit Transformation technique, one million contribution points. Cultivated to a large degree of mastery, one can capture mountains and rivers with a sweep of the sleeve..."

Techniques he wouldn't have dared dream of in the past, he now browsed through without the slightest burden.

After just a few short years following Li Fan, he was no longer the guardian of Liuli Island who had to carefully budget every last hundred contribution points.

These Spirit Transformation techniques are all quite good, but they still feel a bit lacking. Why not go all the way and redeem a Dao Unity technique outright? An opportunity this rare doesn't come twice.

Once the thought surfaced, he couldn't put it back down. After reading through the descriptions of several Dao Unity techniques, the Spirit Transformation techniques he'd been eyeing moments ago seemed bland and uninteresting by comparison.

Hmm... these are all extraordinary. But the cheapest still costs two million contribution points, and I'm a bit short. If I want one that actually suits me, it'll cost even more. Still, it's not as though I can't think of something...

He Zhenghao began working through the numbers in his head.

Seated beside him, Gao Yuan had been silent the entire time, but the excitement in his eyes was impossible to hide. Like He Zhenghao, he was browsing for a technique to his liking.

Between the two of them, Zhou Qing'ang sat upright with his eyes closed, utterly still.

Zhou Qing'ang's cultivation of inner stillness grows more astonishing by the day. To think he can resist even this kind of temptation. No wonder the Secretary-Envoy values him more and more.

Both He Zhenghao and Gao Yuan arrived at the same thought, each glancing inadvertently at Zhou Qing'ang during a pause in their browsing.

Ever since cultivators had begun showing up at their door demanding to redeem their contribution points early, the harassment had grown so relentless that all three had taken refuge in here together, shut the gates, and resolved to keep the trouble out of sight, out of mind.

Then Zhou Qing'ang, who had not spoken once, broke his silence. "Letting them carry on like this solves nothing.

"For us, it doesn't matter. Let them think what they will. What concerns me is that in their shame and anger, they might start saying reckless things and damage the Secretary-Envoy's reputation.

"Public opinion is a powerful thing. If word spreads, outsiders who don't know the truth might actually come to believe the Secretary-Envoy is the kind of petty man who covets others' assets."

Gao Yuan was quick to follow. Before Zhou Qing'ang had even finished, he added, "Precisely. The Secretary-Envoy still intends to use this matter to win people's hearts. If we delay much longer, it will only get in his way."

He Zhenghao looked up with a blank expression. "And what wise counsel do you two Fellow Daoists have?"

"The Secretary-Envoy left instructions beforehand, and it's clearly written into the Commercial Contract. Early redemption is not impossible. It simply incurs a penalty fee, along with permanent exclusion from any future fundraising plans. Nothing more.

"Go out and explain it to them plainly. If they still insist on having their points back, return them. Keep a proper record of the names, and I'll report it to the Secretary-Envoy. Wouldn't that settle it?"

Zhou Qing'ang's voice was unhurried.

Internally, however, He Zhenghao was wailing in distress. Easy for you to say. A penalty fee? That's a full one-third deducted! Everyone worked hard to save that up. How many would be willing to part with it? If I really say that, won't they tear me to pieces?

He Zhenghao glanced toward Gao Yuan for support, but found him with eyes downcast and attention turned inward, the very picture of serene detachment.

"Fellow Daoist He?"

The added weight in Zhou Qing'ang's tone left no room for argument. He Zhenghao had no choice but to steel himself and agree.

The moment he stepped out of the Administration Hall, the clamoring crowd fell silent as one.

Every eye turned to He Zhenghao.

Boom.

The great door shut behind him. He Zhenghao forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace. "Everyone, please, let me explain!"

While He Zhenghao was outside racking his brains and trying to reason with the crowd, Han Yi had yet to recover from his own overwhelming regret.

He was currently penniless, but after the technique discount was announced, he had looked over the newly published list anyway, out of idle curiosity.

He should have left it alone. The moment he looked, his composure cracked.

One technique on the list stopped him cold: the Void-Calamity Primordial Chaos Tome, which granted the remarkable ability to avert disasters and evade calamities. A Spirit Transformation technique, no less. At the fifty-percent discount, it came to just 1.1 million contribution points.

Paired with my Heavenly Providence Scripture, it could drastically reduce the backlash I suffer from heavenly providence. I'd never have to worry about those inexplicable calamities again. It's practically made for someone like me.

The more he dwelt on it, the deeper the regret cut.

Damn it. Why couldn't I have kept my hands under control back then!

Frustration coiled tighter and tighter in his chest until a surge of heat rose in his throat, and he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

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