The Grand Elder Zhuge Jing asked some more questions about the Tianyan Sect's situation in the upper realm, and Jiang Yuebai picked up some unimportant information.
"… The predecessors of Tianyan Sect all had no fixed place to stay in the upper realm, and were free and unfettered like independent cultivators. Although they are now interested in finding a mountain to establish a sect, this is not something that can be done overnight."
"So I want to stay in the Zhuge family temporarily to improve my cultivation and knowledge. Of course, I will do my best to give back to the Zhuge family."
Zhuge Jing's eyes lit up slightly and he glanced at the head of the family, Zhuge Shou, next to him, wondering what he was thinking of.
"It is a blessing for the Zhuge family that you are willing to stay in the Zhuge family as a guest elder for a period of time. The Zhuge family should also take care of the disciples of the Immortal Lord. I wonder if you have other requests, you can put them forward at the same time. The Zhuge family will not refuse anything that can be done for you."
Zhuge Jing's attitude was sincere, so Jiang Yuebai couldn't take advantage of it.
"No need to take special care of it, just follow the rules of the Zhuge family."
"Okay then, I'll have Shoucheng draw up a contract and show it to you."
Shoucheng is the Taoist name of the patriarch Zhuge Shou.
Jiang Yuebai nodded, then looked towards the Internal Affairs Hall and asked with a smile, "I wonder if I can continue to ask the elders. There are still a few questions that I didn't understand."
Hearing this, Zhuge Jing laughed, "Okay, okay, the Zhuge family needs a cultivator like you who is humble and eager to learn and is not proud of his status and cultivation. Go ahead. When you finish your discussion, Shoucheng will send someone to take you to settle down."
"Thank you!"
Jiang Yuebai bowed and said goodbye, then ran happily back to the Internal Affairs Hall. Soon, the arguments and discussions in the hall started again.
This time, the Grand Elder Tie Wanjiang of the Armor-Making Hall, who had an exceptionally loud voice, also joined in, attracting the elders and disciples working in the Internal Affairs Hall to listen attentively, and some even released wooden birds to send messages, calling people to come and listen.
Zhuge Jing glanced around for a moment, then turned around and asked Zhuge Shou beside him in a low voice.
"I remember that our Jiuhe Realm's master survived the seventh immortal tribulation a hundred years ago and has been in seclusion ever since, right?"
The head of the family, Zhuge Shou, said in a deep voice, "Yes, I heard that he will be out of seclusion soon."
Zhuge Jing narrowed his eyes, thinking, "What is the current situation in the Qixing River Basin upstream of us?"
Zhuge Shou thought about it and roughly understood what Zhuge Jing was thinking. He immediately said, "In order to expand, the Tianxing Sect has been suppressing other sects and forces in the Qixing River Basin. This conflict has lasted for more than 30 years, and there are complaints everywhere."
"When the Xiong family's new patriarch married, the Tianxing Sect also sent people to present gifts. I guess the Tianxing Sect might want to unite with the Xiong family and dominate the Seven Star River Basin in one fell swoop. After that, I'm afraid... they will start to attack the Zhuge family."
Zhuge Jing nodded slowly. "So, the demon who appeared out of nowhere before, the sinking boat, helped the Zhuge family invisibly. If she hadn't forced Master Iron Palm away, the three families would have united to put pressure on the Zhuge family."
Zhuge Shou frowned, "It's just rumors, they will naturally dissipate over time. It's nothing more than delaying a little time. If the Zhuge family can't find strong reinforcements that can deter them, and the ancestor is unable to break through to the fusion stage, they will be attacked by them sooner or later."
Zhuge Jing sneered twice, "Since the Zhuge family doesn't fight for the first place in the Jiuhe Realm, they think the Zhuge family is easy to bully, right? What a pity, God bless the Zhuge family, their calculations are probably going to fail."
"Don't worry, Grand Elder. Shoucheng knows what to do next."
"Well, take your time, be safe, don't be too anxious."
After the two of them finished talking, they looked up and saw a group of disciples running towards them from a distance.
"Hurry, hurry, the new True Lord who defeated Elder Fan before is now debating with the crowd in the Internal Affairs Hall. None of our elders can defeat her."
"I also received a message from my senior brother, saying that the True Lord is very knowledgeable and has endless wonderful ideas. Even the Red Letter Elder of the Secret Academy couldn't answer her questions. Hahaha, this is so interesting."
"Not only is it interesting, I heard that the True Lord solved the problem of insufficient thrust of the rotating crossbow with just a random grading test. This is what I am researching this year, so I must go and listen."
"I heard that she also has many tips for saving time and energy in refining equipment. Even our stubborn Iron Elder is convinced!"
"Go grab a seat!"
A group of people suddenly saw the Grand Elder and the Patriarch, and hurriedly stopped to bow respectfully, then rushed into the inner hall and surrounded the door of the quiet room on the side.
Zhuge Jing sighed and went back first, leaving Zhuge Shou to handle the follow-up matters.
More and more people came to the Inner Affairs Hall like they were going to a market, filling the lobby to the brim. There were also many disciples craning their necks under the outer wall.
Zhuge Shou laughed and shook his head, feeling that the debate here would not be over for a while, so he decided to draft the contract first and come back in the evening.
But what he didn't expect was that after he personally reviewed the terms of the contract and came to the Internal Affairs Hall, he saw a sea of people from afar, surrounding the Internal Affairs Hall in three layers.
Even the head and shoulders of the giant bronze puppet in the center of the square were filled with inner disciples of the Zhuge family, holding reconnaissance puppets to check the situation inside.
Some were holding jade slips and listening to the contents, while others were just watching the fun with their hands in their pockets.
"Make way, make way in front, Elder Liu from Xinglin Hall is here, let her in."
"Elder Tie, I also want to know the question of Master Wangshu. Please answer it."
"My fellow brothers and sisters, who among you has figured out the equation that Master Wangshu came up with just now? I don't understand how she came up with the answer."
"Elder Xiuye, where are you going? You haven't answered Master Wangshu's question yet."
The head of the family, Zhuge Shou, stood on the raised platform in the center of the giant mechanical pillar in the distance. He saw the chief elder of the Mechanical Courtyard, Zhuge Xiu, with a pale and exhausted face, squeezing out from the crowd.
He held the hand of the elder from the Fire Academy of the Mechanical Academy who had just arrived, pursed his lips and pressed it hard, as if to say 'I leave it all to you', and then he flew away directly, with a posture of escaping in a panic.
The elder of the Fire Academy went in with great vigor and confidence, but in just half an hour, he came out like a defeated rooster.
"I just remembered that the mechanism you bastards will use for tomorrow's class is not yet ready..."
“Hahahaha!”
There was constant laughter. The Zhuge family disciples and elders had always gotten along harmoniously. There was respect but no fear.
The head of the family, Zhuge Shou, sighed and decided to come back the next day.
But the next day, the next day, and the next day... Every time he came, he only saw the disciples outside replaced in batches, and the elders went in happily and came out with sad faces.
Only Jiang Yuebai remained consistent, pouring out the problems she had accumulated over the years one by one, and also seizing the opportunity to solve new problems that arose during the discussion on the spot.
Even the young disciples of the Zhuge family began to lament, "Brothers, I can't stand it anymore. You guys record it for me first. I'll go back and take a nap before coming back."
But in addition to the lamentations, Zhuge Shou also heard loud laughter of surprise and excitement from various places in the Zhuge family.
"Hahaha, I see, that's how it is. It turns out I just didn't think straight!"
"I made it! I finally made a new crossbow!"
"Brothers, this method is super useful, come on!"
Zhuge Shou couldn't bear to destroy such a rich academic atmosphere, so he waved his hand and announced that the inner disciples and elders of the Zhuge family would have a month's holiday.
Little did they know that when this order was issued, some people were happy while others were sad.
Especially those elders who were so distressed by Jiang Yuebai's questions that they cried. They felt so miserable that they didn't even have an excuse to escape from class.
(End of this chapter)