Chapter 734 - 426: Promotion Ceremony

At this moment, Liu Chenyu was truly overwhelmed with emotion.

She hadn’t been wrong about him. In fact, Zou Feng’s talent far exceeded her previous estimations.

But Liu Chenyu couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss. After all, now that Zou Feng had been promoted to True Disciple, her chances of making him one of her Dao Companions were practically zero.

’Unless...’

Liu Chenyu hadn’t participated in the northern expedition because she had just returned from conquering an Outer Realm, and her gains had been substantial.

With these bountiful rewards, Liu Chenyu was clearly poised for another breakthrough.

But right after she got back, she discovered that Zou Feng had taken a trip to the Northern Domain, not only becoming a True Disciple but also showing signs that he would soon claim the status of a Direct Disciple...

Sensing Liu Chenyu’s gaze, Zou Feng glanced over but paid it no mind.

However, there was a guy next to Liu Chenyu who was openly radiating hostility toward him.

Zou Feng recognized him. It was the most powerful of Liu Chenyu’s eight Dao Companions.

The man’s name was Du Rentian. He was so obsessed with simping for Liu Chenyu that despite being a True Disciple himself, he was willing to act as her loyal dog.

For this very reason, Du Rentian had long been one of the top names on Zou Feng’s list.

Back when Zou Feng established his Dao Foundation, it was thanks to Du Rentian that he’d endured the side effects.

Du Rentian had been tormented so badly back then that he’d temporarily lost his dual cultivation abilities and was unable to "raise the dragon’s head" in the heat of battle.

Fortunately, Du Rentian had found a rare treasure in an Outer Realm and successfully "transplanted" it, barely managing to reclaim his dignity.

The reason Du Rentian’s hostility toward Zou Feng was even stronger now was, naturally, because he felt for Liu Chenyu’s disappointment at not being able to get her wish.

’Tsk, how does a simp like this even manage to reach the Golden Core Realm?’

Zou Feng scoffed, then turned away, ignoring the man.

It was only because there had been so many "top contributors" on his list lately that Du Rentian’s priority was low. Zou Feng had almost forgotten about the guy.

’For him to dare pop up and draw my attention now... he must not be far from a sudden, violent death.’

On the way to Hongxing Inn, Zou Feng recalled an old acquaintance he hadn’t seen yet and asked Qiu Lan, "What about True Monarch Tianyan, Nangong Chu? He should have returned to the Immortal Sect before me. How is he now?"

As always, Qiu Lan was well-informed about all the news within the Immortal Sect. "He’s entered seclusion. It’s said that when he returned, he looked as if his Dao Heart had shattered. A lot of embarrassing stories about him have also come out..."

"Embarrassing stories?"

Qiu Lan nodded, unable to hold back a smile. "They say this True Monarch Tianyan has developed a... special preference for monkeys. Many disciples in the Immortal Sect are now secretly calling him True Monarch Houyan!"

Zou Feng knew he had transferred a large number of side effects to Nangong Chu, but he wasn’t sure what form they would take once they manifested.

Now, hearing Qiu Lan’s words, an extremely cringe-worthy image immediately surfaced in Zou Feng’s mind.

’No doubt about it. The reason Nangong Chu became a shut-in must be because he was caught in the act of... defiling monkeys by his fellow sect members...’

Originally, Nangong Chu was a master of the Stargazing Skill and could predict his enemy’s moves, making him a formidable opponent who could have caused Zou Feng considerable trouble.

Now, however, it seemed Nangong Chu was basically ruined and unlikely to pose any further threat.

But Zou Feng had no intention of letting Nangong Chu off the hook just for that.

That fiend had ambushed him out of nowhere. If it weren’t for the large number of Tribulation Cultivators nearby that he could lure over, whether he could have escaped would have been a huge question mark.

So, if the opportunity arose, he still had to let Nangong Chu have a seat in the number one spot on his list.

It was just that Nangong Chu’s seating priority wasn’t very high at the moment.

On the way back to Hongxing Inn, he passed two "Frenzied Fried Rice" shops.

Zou Feng glanced at them and noticed the fried rice restaurants were even more popular than before.

But he knew full well it wasn’t because the disciples of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect were truly addicted to the special fried rice.

Instead, they wanted to bask in his good fortune during this time and get some good luck for themselves.

After all, among the younger generation of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, he was now the undisputed man of the hour.

They had to do everything they could to get a piece of his overwhelming luck.

Setting aside their desire to leech off his good fortune, the actual business situation for "Frenzied Fried Rice" was on a downturn.

Although the spirit rice Zou Feng treated with his Hand of Poisoning was intoxicating and addictive, the customers were Cultivators, after all. After eating it for a while, they inevitably built up a resistance.

Without the addictive quality, it was easy to get tired of it. So if he didn’t pull some new tricks, "Frenzied Fried Rice" would soon be obsolete.

Fortunately, after his promotion to True Disciple, Zou Feng didn’t need "Frenzied Fried Rice" to last much longer anyway.

It just needed to ride the coattails of his recent promotion and earn him a few more months of profit.

Once you became a True Disciple, there were plenty of other ways to make money.

For example, after a period of rest, he could continue to participate in the northern expedition.

Especially if he could find and kill Gongyang Wuji. That guy had a bounty of ten million Immortal Fate points placed on him by the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect.

Additionally, participating in the conquest of Outer Realms and the like also had to be put on the agenda.

Establishing businesses in the many lucrative Outer Realms was the primary way for True Disciples to accumulate wealth.

Returning to Hongxing Inn after a long absence, Zou Feng had just stepped through the main gate when he noticed that several rooms had clearly been renovated by the women.

"You guys... what did you do to the rooms?"

The five rooms had been converted into "Five Elements Cultivation Chambers" by Tian Yun and the others.

They corresponded perfectly to the Five Elements Skills that each of them cultivated.

The one that amazed Zou Feng the most was the water-attribute room.

The women had actually managed to rig up the great invention known as a "waterbed."