yǎn wǔ táng nèi xiū shì hù xiāng duì shì yī yǎn ， dùn jué yǒu xiē nán bàn 。
演武堂内修士互相对视一眼，顿觉有些难办。
In the martial arts hall, cultivators exchanged glances. They felt a bit at a loss.
chéng rán ， àn zhào guī jǔ ， fán wàn xiān méng suǒ shǔ xiū shì ， zhǐ yào néng gòu jī shā wǔ lǎo huì chéng yuán ， dōu kě yǐ xiàng yǎn wǔ táng shēn qǐng huò dé yí dìng de jiǎng lì 。
诚然，按照规矩，凡万仙盟所属修士，只要能够击杀五老会成员，都可以向演武堂申请获得一定的奖励。
Indeed, according to the rules, any member of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance who could kill a member of the Five Elders Association would be eligible for certain rewards from the martial arts hall.
zhū shā sì míng dí duì yuán yīng xiū shì ， wú lùn shì zài nǎ ge zhōu ， dōu kě chēng de shàng dà gōng yī jiàn le 。
诛杀四名敌对元婴修士，无论是在哪个州，都可称得上大功一件了。
Eliminating four enemy Core Formation cultivators was certainly a significant achievement, no matter which region it occurred in. However, this master Li Fan had been too ruthless; not even a trace remained of the five elders he had killed.
dàn miàn qián de zhè wèi yé xià shǒu yě tài hěn le ， sì wèi wǔ lǎo huì xiū shì lián zhā dōu méi néng shèng xià 。
但面前的这位爷下手也太狠了，四位五老会修士连渣都没能剩下。
Let alone those valuable corpses and limbs, or residual souls.
gèng bié tí nà xiē yǒu jià zhí de shī tǐ yú zhī 、 cán hún le 。
更别提那些有价值的尸体余肢、残魂了。
While the achievements were impressive, their practical significance wasn't as great.
zhàn jì suī rán yào yǎn ， shí jì yì yì ， què méi yǒu nà me dà 。
战绩虽然耀眼，实际意义，却没有那么大。
Not giving rewards would tarnish his reputation. But the martial arts hall in Cunyun Sea didn't have much funding to spare. With Li Fan taking a large sum, how could the others make it through the rest of the year?
bù gěi jiǎng shǎng ba ， chuán chū qù míng shēng bù hǎo 。
不给奖赏吧，传出去名声不好。
Moreover, this master Li Fan seemed unlikely to be short on contributions. Even if the martial arts hall went all out, it might not satisfy his appetite.
gěi jiǎng shǎng ba ， cóng yún hǎi yǎn wǔ táng měi nián de jīng fèi běn jiù bù fù yù 。
给奖赏吧，丛云海演武堂每年的经费本就不富裕。
More importantly, with his current fame, forcing him to "voluntarily" renounce his reward wouldn't work either.
jiù zhè me ràng lǐ fán ná zǒu yī dà bǐ ， jīn nián shèng xià de rì zi xiōng dì men gāi zěn me guò ？
就这么让李凡拿走一大笔，今年剩下的日子兄弟们该怎么过？
So how to arrange the rewards so that both parties were satisfied was indeed a problem worth discussing.
kuàng qiě ， zhè wèi lǐ fán dà shī ， zěn me kàn yě bù xiàng quē gòng xiàn dù de yàng zi 。
况且，这位李凡大师，怎么看也不像缺贡献度的样子。
Li Fan adopted an impatient stance, unwilling to leave until he got what he wanted. The martial arts hall members frowned and secretly communicated with each other.
kǒng pà jiù suàn yǎn wǔ táng dà chū xuè ， yě wèi bì néng mǎn zú tā de wèi kǒu 。
恐怕就算演武堂大出血，也未必能满足他的胃口。
After several rounds of negotiation and probing, they finally reached a satisfactory conclusion.
gèng zhòng yào de shì ， cǐ rén rú jīn kě wèi shēng míng hè hè ， qiáng xíng dǎ yā 、 ràng qí “ zì yuàn ” fàng qì lǐng qǔ jiǎng shǎng de fāng fǎ yě xíng bù tōng le 。
更重要的是，此人如今可谓声名赫赫，强行打压、让其“自愿”放弃领取奖赏的方法也行不通了。
Li Fan obtained the position of Special Executive Officer of the Martial Arts Hall, officially joining the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system.
suǒ yǐ zěn me ān pái jiǎng lì ， ràng shuāng fāng dōu mǎn yì ， dí què shì yí gè zhí de shāng què de wèn tí 。
所以怎么安排奖励，让双方都满意，的确是一个值得商榷的问题。
Rewards were all issued in the form of merit points.
lǐ fán bǎi chū yī fù bù jí bù zào ， dé bú dào hé shì jié guǒ jiù lài zhe bù zǒu de mú yàng 。
李凡摆出一副不急不躁，得不到合适结果就赖着不走的模样。
Based on the estimations from the martial arts hall members, this would elevate Li Fan's authority level to Derivative Sixteen in one fell swoop.
yǎn wǔ táng zhòng rén zé shì méi tóu wēi zhòu ， àn zhōng chuán yīn shāng yì 。
演武堂众人则是眉头微皱，暗中传音商议。
Ordinary cultivators usually needed at least thirty-four years of diligent effort to reach this level. But for Li Fan, it was a step up.
shuāng fāng jīng guò jǐ cì jiāo fēng 、 shì tàn ， zhōng yú yíng lái le jiē dà huān xǐ de jié jú 。
双方经过几次交锋、试探，终于迎来了皆大欢喜的结局。
The amount of contributions meant little to him now; being settled by merit points was the ideal outcome.
lǐ fán píng jiè zhè cì qí gōng ， dé yǐ huò dé 【 yǎn wǔ táng tè yuē zhí shì 】 yī zhí ， suàn shì zhèng shì rù zhí wàn xiān méng tǐ zhì nèi 。
李凡凭借这次奇功，得以获得【演武堂特约执事】一职，算是正式入职万仙盟体制内。
So he readily agreed.
tóng shí jiǎng lì quán bù yǐ gōng xūn diǎn de xíng shì fā fàng 。
同时奖励全部以功勋点的形式发放。
Next came the formalities of issuing the merit points.
jīng guò yǎn wǔ táng zhòng rén gū suàn ， zú yǐ bǎ lǐ fán de quán xiàn děng jí ， yí cì xìng tí gāo dào yǎn shí liù 。
经过演武堂众人估算，足以把李凡的权限等级，一次性提高到衍十六。
After leaving the central core area of Ten Thousand Immortals Island, Li Fan gained another layer of identity: an in-system cultivator with authority level Derivative Sixteen.
yào zhī dào ， xún cháng tǐ zhì nèi xiū shì xiǎng yào dá dào zhè ge děng jí ， zuì qǐ mǎ xū yào sān shí sì nián jīng jīng yè yè de dǎ pīn 。
要知道，寻常体制内修士想要达到这个等级，最起码需要三十四年兢兢业业的打拼。
"Under the spotlight and protected by official status. Even if someone wants to harm me, they can't do it openly."
ér lǐ fán què shì néng yī bù dēng tiān 。
而李凡却是能一步登天。
Li Fan felt safer as he walked around. His experiences reincarnating within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had taught him how important order and rules were in this realm.
gòng xiàn dù de duō shǎo duì rú jīn de lǐ fán lái shuō gēn běn wú suǒ wèi ， yǐ gōng xūn jié suàn nà shì qiú zhī bù dé de jié guǒ 。
贡献度的多少对如今的李凡来说根本无所谓，以功勋结算那是求之不得的结果。
Even a Great Daoist could face consequences for breaking the rules or disrupting established norms.
yú shì lǐ fán xīn rán yīng yǔn 。
于是李凡欣然应允。
Guangxing Xiu, who was demoted and exiled to Lanling Prefecture in his previous life for violating rules, was a prime example.
jiē xià lái ， jiù shì pèi hé yǎn wǔ táng jìn xíng xiāng yìng de liú chéng le 。
接下来，就是配合演武堂进行相应的流程了。
Having an official status now added another layer of protection.
yǎn wǔ táng fā chū shēn qǐng 、 bù zhèng táng guāng sù shěn pī tōng guò 。
演武堂发出申请、布政堂光速审批通过。
However, to temporarily escape the fallout from killing four Core Formation cultivators, Li Fan retreated into seclusion within the Heavenly Dao Mirror.
zài cì zài bái yù wèn xīn tái shàng zǒu gè guò chǎng hòu ， lǐ fán chéng gōng de biàn wèi le cóng yún hǎi yǎn wǔ táng de yī yuán 。
再次在白玉问心台上走个过场后，李凡成功的变为了丛云海演武堂的一员。
Slaying a Core Formation cultivator with a Golden Core technique in a one-on-four battle was something that could only be described as a prodigy's feat in any era.
rán hòu jiù shì gōng xūn diǎn de fā fàng 。
然后就是功勋点的发放。
Thus, the explosive nature of this event was obvious.
děng lǐ fán lí kāi wàn xiān dǎo zhōng yāng hé xīn qū yù hòu ， shēn shàng chú le 【 tiān jī zōng shàng gǔ xiū shì 、 shàn yú tuī yǎn 】 de guāng huán wài ， hái duō le 【 wàn xiān méng tǐ zhì nèi 、 quán xiàn yǎn shí liù 】 de lìng yī céng shēn fèn 。
等李凡离开万仙岛中央核心区域后，身上除了【天机宗上古修士、善于推衍】的光环外，还多了【万仙盟体制内、权限衍十六】的另一层身份。
Without intentional promotion, the news spread naturally among the cultivators who discussed and shared it freely.
“ wàn zhòng zhǔ mù 、 jiā zhī yǒu guān shēn hù tǐ 。 jiù suàn xiǎng yào dòng wǒ ， yě bù néng míng zhe lái le 。”
“万众瞩目、加之有官身护体。就算想要动我，也不能明着来了。”
Some doubted its authenticity; others were curious. Some even wanted to challenge Li Fan.
lǐ fán zǒu zài lù shàng ， dōu gǎn jué zì jǐ ān quán le xǔ duō 。
李凡走在路上，都感觉自己安全了许多。
Upon learning that Li Fan had killed four Core Formation cultivators using a weapon from the Heavenly Dao Mirror, their reactions were surprisingly uniform:
zài wàn xiān méng zhōng lún huí jǐ shì de jīng lì ， ràng lǐ fán shēn kè liǎo jiě rú jīn xiān méng nèi ， zhì xù yǔ guī zé de zhòng yào xìng 。
在万仙盟中轮回几世的经历，让李凡深刻了解如今仙盟内，秩序与规则的重要性。
"Money is truly a good thing!"
nǎ pà shì hé dào xiān zūn ， ruò shì wéi fǎn le guī zé 、 pò huài le guī jǔ ， yě yào shòu dào yí dìng de dài jià 。
哪怕是合道仙尊，若是违反了规则、破坏了规矩，也要受到一定的代价。
Indeed, for some reason, the supposed highly confidential event's "truth," known only to the martial arts hall members, spread just as quickly as Li Fan's achievements.
shàng yī shì bèi xuē qù yī céng xiū wèi 、 liú fàng lán lín zhōu de guān xíng xiū ， jiù shì gè huó shēng shēng de lì zi 。
上一世被削去一层修为、流放兰林州的关行修，就是个活生生的例子。
It reached every region of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance almost simultaneously.
yǒu le tǐ zhì nèi shēn fèn ， wú yí shì duō le dào hù shēn fú 。
有了体制内身份，无疑是多了道护身符。
Regardless of their personal feelings towards Li Fan, his ability to lead everyone to prosperity made him a sought-after figure among the cultivators. The number of those seeking advice from He Zhenghao surged once again.
bù guò wèi le cóng zhū shā sì yuán yīng yǐn qǐ de fēng bō zhōng zàn shí tuō shēn ， lǐ fán hái shì jìng zhí zài tiān xuán jìng duǒ zhe bì guān qǐ lái 。
不过为了从诛杀四元婴引起的风波中暂时脱身，李凡还是径直在天玄镜躲着闭关起来。
Even He Daoist gained some recognition in the cultivator community.
jīn dān zhǎn yuán yīng ， hái shì zài yǐ yī dí sì de qíng kuàng xià 。
金丹斩元婴，还是在以一敌四的情况下。
But Li Fan ignored all this external commotion. He temporarily cut off all communications and focused on intensive cultivation within the Heavenly Dao Mirror.
néng wán chéng rú cǐ xíng jìng de ， wú lùn zài nǎ ge nián dài ， dōu kě yǐ chēng de shàng tiān jiāo le 。
能完成如此行径的，无论在哪个年代，都可以称得上天骄了。
Time passed swiftly, and it was now late autumn at the end of the ninth year.
suǒ yǐ huà tí de bào zhà xìng bù yán ér yù 。
所以话题的爆炸性不言而喻。
With August already past since his last entry into the Void Realm, Li Fan felt a sense of awakening from his seclusion.
gēn běn bù yòng tè yì qù tuī bō zhù lán ， xiū shì men jī hū shì wán quán zì fā de tǎo lùn 、 chuán bō zhè jiàn qí shì 。
根本不用特意去推波助澜，修士们几乎是完全自发的讨论、传播这件奇事。
"Mr. Bai, The Art of Creation Furnace..."
yǒu bù xìn zhě 、 yǒu hào qí zhě 。
有不信者、有好奇者。
Li Fan's eyes sparkled with anticipation as he prepared to call upon "Heavenly Dao Yellow Emperor."
yǒu yuè yuè yù shì ， xiǎng yào gēn lǐ fán yī zhàn zhě 。
有跃跃欲试，想要跟李凡一战者。
In an instant, the scene before him blurred again.
suǒ yǒu zhè xiē duì cǐ shì bǐng chí zhe bù tóng tài dù de rén ， dāng dé zhī lǐ fán wán quán shì kào tiān xuán jìng zhōng gòu mǎi huò dé 【 lì qì 】 shā sǐ sì wèi yuán yīng hòu 。
所有这些对此事秉持着不同态度的人，当得知李凡完全是靠天玄镜中购买获得【利器】杀死四位元婴后。
When he came to, he found himself back in the Void Realm.
tā men de fǎn yìng dōu shì chū qí de tǒng yī 。
他们的反应都是出奇的统一。
The first thing after entering was not to observe his current surroundings. Instead, he mentally replayed the content of The Art of Creation Furnace taught by Mr. Bai.
“ qián zhēn tā niáng de shì gè hǎo dōng xī ！”
“钱真他娘的是个好东西！”
The exquisite words flashed through his mind once more, rekindling his admiration for "Great Dao Technique, Supreme Correct Path."
shì de ， chū yú mǒu zhǒng yuán yīn 。 yuán běn yīng dāng yǒu hěn gāo bǎo mì děng jí de 、 zhǐ yǒu yǎn wǔ táng zhòng rén cái zhī xiǎo de zhū shā shì jiàn “ zhēn xiàng ”， liú chuán de sù dù jìng rán yě shì sī háo bù chà 。
是的，出于某种原因。原本应当有很高保密等级的、只有演武堂众人才知晓的诛杀事件“真相”，流传的速度竟然也是丝毫不差。
Li Fan fell into a trance again.
jī hū shì gēn lǐ fán de shì jì yì qǐ ， chuán biàn le wàn xiān méng de gè gè zhōu yù 。
几乎是跟李凡的事迹一起，传遍了万仙盟的各个州域。
"Brilliant!"
bù guǎn xiū shì men duì lǐ fán běn rén shì hé zhǒng tài dù ， kàn zài tā néng dài lǐng dà jiā fā cái de zhè fèn běn shì shàng 。
不管修士们对李凡本人是何种态度，看在他能带领大家发财的这份本事上。
He exclaimed.
qián lái zī xún hé zhèng hào de xiū shì shù liàng zài dù bào zēng 。
前来咨询何正浩的修士数量再度暴增。
"Little Black, you finally woke up?"
lián dài zhe hé dào yǒu ， dōu biàn dé zài xiū shì qún tǐ zhōng xiǎo yǒu míng qì le 。
连带着何道友，都变得在修士群体中小有名气了。
Just then, Xu Ke's off-key voice pulled him out of that blissful state.
ér wài jiè de zhè yī qiè fēng yǔ ， lǐ fán què shì bù guǎn bù gù 。
而外界的这一切风雨，李凡却是不管不顾。
Annoyed, Li Fan swiped at Xu Ke's head.
zàn shí duàn kāi le hé wài jiè suǒ yǒu de tōng xùn fāng shì ， zhǐ shì zài tiān xuán jìng zhōng kǔ xiū 。
暂时断开了和外界所有的通讯方式，只是在天玄镜中苦修。
Looking around, he noticed the scenery was different from when he last visited the Beast Taming Sect.
bái jū guò xì ， zhuǎn shùn jiān jiù lái dào le máo dìng 9 nián mò 。
白驹过隙，转瞬间就来到了锚定9年末。
"What happened while I was asleep?" Li Fan asked through mental communication with Xu Ke.
jù lí shàng yī cì jìn rù yǔn xiān jìng de bā yuè zhī qī yǐ guò ， lǐ fán xīn shēng gǎn yìng ， cóng bì guān zhōng jīng xǐng 。
距离上一次进入陨仙境的八月之期已过，李凡心生感应，从闭关中惊醒。
"Eh? Little Black, you can finally speak?" Xu Ke looked delighted but somewhat scatterbrained. He scratched his head and then recounted the events.
“ bái xiān shēng ， zào huà hōng lú gōng ……”
“白先生，造化烘炉功……”
It turned out that after Li Fan swallowed Song Yang's Black Immortal Tiger and fell into a deep sleep, Xu Ke followed the jade token given by Lu Ya to meet the elder brother Lu Ya and the Wisdom Beast Emperor Saimo discussing something important.
lǐ fán yǎn zhōng shǎn guò yī sī qī dài ， shāo zuò zhǔn bèi hòu ， kǒu hū “ fú shēng xuán huáng tiān zūn ”。
李凡眼中闪过一丝期待，稍作准备后，口呼“福生玄黄天尊”。
After seeing the sleeping Celestial Bird of Fate, Emperor Saimo said some cryptic words. He then inserted a white hair into Li Fan's body.
chà nà zhī hòu ， yǎn qián jǐng xiàng zài dù mó hú 。
刹那之后，眼前景象再度模湖。
Thus, Li Fan fell even deeper asleep on Xu Ke's head until now.
děng huí guò shén lái shí ， yǐ rán shì zài dù shēn lín yǔn xiān jìng zhōng 。
等回过神来时，已然是再度身临陨仙境中。
"So you're saying I've been in a deep sleep for three years?"
jìn rù yǔn xiān jìng zhōng hòu de dì yī jiàn shì ， bú shì guān chá zì shēn mù qián chǔ jìng 。
进入陨仙境中后的第一件事，不是观察自身目前处境。
"And you came here to find an animal called the Rift Whale?" Li Fan asked gravely.
ér shì nǎo hǎi zhōng huí xiǎng zhe bái xiān shēng chuán shòu de 《 zào huà hōng lú gōng 》 de nèi róng 。
而是脑海中回想着白先生传授的《造化烘炉功》的内容。
"Yes! Little Black, you have no idea how hard it is to find such creatures. They are huge but can hide in clouds and avoid detection with ordinary exploration techniques," Xu Ke complained.
In the martial arts hall, cultivators exchanged glances. They felt a bit at a loss.
Indeed, according to the rules, any member of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance who could kill a member of the Five Elders Association would be eligible for certain rewards from the martial arts hall.
Eliminating four enemy Core Formation cultivators was certainly a significant achievement, no matter which region it occurred in. However, this master Li Fan had been too ruthless; not even a trace remained of the five elders he had killed.
Let alone those valuable corpses and limbs, or residual souls.
While the achievements were impressive, their practical significance wasn't as great.
Not giving rewards would tarnish his reputation. But the martial arts hall in Cunyun Sea didn't have much funding to spare. With Li Fan taking a large sum, how could the others make it through the rest of the year?
Moreover, this master Li Fan seemed unlikely to be short on contributions. Even if the martial arts hall went all out, it might not satisfy his appetite.
More importantly, with his current fame, forcing him to "voluntarily" renounce his reward wouldn't work either.
So how to arrange the rewards so that both parties were satisfied was indeed a problem worth discussing.
Li Fan adopted an impatient stance, unwilling to leave until he got what he wanted. The martial arts hall members frowned and secretly communicated with each other.
After several rounds of negotiation and probing, they finally reached a satisfactory conclusion.
Li Fan obtained the position of Special Executive Officer of the Martial Arts Hall, officially joining the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system.
Rewards were all issued in the form of merit points.
Based on the estimations from the martial arts hall members, this would elevate Li Fan's authority level to Derivative Sixteen in one fell swoop.
Ordinary cultivators usually needed at least thirty-four years of diligent effort to reach this level. But for Li Fan, it was a step up.
The amount of contributions meant little to him now; being settled by merit points was the ideal outcome.
So he readily agreed.
Next came the formalities of issuing the merit points.
After leaving the central core area of Ten Thousand Immortals Island, Li Fan gained another layer of identity: an in-system cultivator with authority level Derivative Sixteen.
"Under the spotlight and protected by official status. Even if someone wants to harm me, they can't do it openly."
Li Fan felt safer as he walked around. His experiences reincarnating within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had taught him how important order and rules were in this realm.
Even a Great Daoist could face consequences for breaking the rules or disrupting established norms.
Guangxing Xiu, who was demoted and exiled to Lanling Prefecture in his previous life for violating rules, was a prime example.
Having an official status now added another layer of protection.
However, to temporarily escape the fallout from killing four Core Formation cultivators, Li Fan retreated into seclusion within the Heavenly Dao Mirror.
Slaying a Core Formation cultivator with a Golden Core technique in a one-on-four battle was something that could only be described as a prodigy's feat in any era.
Thus, the explosive nature of this event was obvious.
Without intentional promotion, the news spread naturally among the cultivators who discussed and shared it freely.
Some doubted its authenticity; others were curious. Some even wanted to challenge Li Fan.
Upon learning that Li Fan had killed four Core Formation cultivators using a weapon from the Heavenly Dao Mirror, their reactions were surprisingly uniform:
"Money is truly a good thing!"
Indeed, for some reason, the supposed highly confidential event's "truth," known only to the martial arts hall members, spread just as quickly as Li Fan's achievements.
It reached every region of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance almost simultaneously.
Regardless of their personal feelings towards Li Fan, his ability to lead everyone to prosperity made him a sought-after figure among the cultivators. The number of those seeking advice from He Zhenghao surged once again.
Even He Daoist gained some recognition in the cultivator community.
But Li Fan ignored all this external commotion. He temporarily cut off all communications and focused on intensive cultivation within the Heavenly Dao Mirror.
Time passed swiftly, and it was now late autumn at the end of the ninth year.
With August already past since his last entry into the Void Realm, Li Fan felt a sense of awakening from his seclusion.
"Mr. Bai, The Art of Creation Furnace..."
Li Fan's eyes sparkled with anticipation as he prepared to call upon "Heavenly Dao Yellow Emperor."
In an instant, the scene before him blurred again.
When he came to, he found himself back in the Void Realm.
The first thing after entering was not to observe his current surroundings. Instead, he mentally replayed the content of The Art of Creation Furnace taught by Mr. Bai.
The exquisite words flashed through his mind once more, rekindling his admiration for "Great Dao Technique, Supreme Correct Path."
Li Fan fell into a trance again.
"Brilliant!"
He exclaimed.
"Little Black, you finally woke up?"
Just then, Xu Ke's off-key voice pulled him out of that blissful state.
Annoyed, Li Fan swiped at Xu Ke's head.
Looking around, he noticed the scenery was different from when he last visited the Beast Taming Sect.
"What happened while I was asleep?" Li Fan asked through mental communication with Xu Ke.
"Eh? Little Black, you can finally speak?" Xu Ke looked delighted but somewhat scatterbrained. He scratched his head and then recounted the events.
It turned out that after Li Fan swallowed Song Yang's Black Immortal Tiger and fell into a deep sleep, Xu Ke followed the jade token given by Lu Ya to meet the elder brother Lu Ya and the Wisdom Beast Emperor Saimo discussing something important.
After seeing the sleeping Celestial Bird of Fate, Emperor Saimo said some cryptic words. He then inserted a white hair into Li Fan's body.
Thus, Li Fan fell even deeper asleep on Xu Ke's head until now.
"So you're saying I've been in a deep sleep for three years?"
"And you came here to find an animal called the Rift Whale?" Li Fan asked gravely.
"Yes! Little Black, you have no idea how hard it is to find such creatures. They are huge but can hide in clouds and avoid detection with ordinary exploration techniques," Xu Ke complained.