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Chapter 65: Acknowledging A Formal Master
The mayor's eyes shone. "Of course, if you face a strong enemy in the future and you’d die otherwise, you should use it. I hope to see you cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique to its highest level soon so we can evaluate the effects of its highest level. Once we make sure of that, we can decide how to spread this cultivation technique around. The reason I asked you to tell me was that I wanted to reference it and to have a backup record just in case, but I say this again: no one else can know for now. You haven't taught the Mysterious Heaven Technique to anyone else, have you?"
Tang San shook his head. "I only taught Teacher Wang the method of controlling Wind Blade."
In reality, he had experimented with Ling Muxue to see if she could learn the Mysterious Heaven Technique, but she didn't know it was the Mysterious Heaven Technique. Since she already had a Demonic God Transformation, the attempt was a failure.
He did not mention it to avoid causing further trouble for Ling Muxue and the others.
The mayor's reaction was unexpected for Tang San, but it was acceptable. Although his current spiritual power wasn't very high, the bit of divine consciousness hidden within his spiritual power was sufficient to discern whether a person's words were sincere.
"Good. Remember, you must never mention anything you've told me today to anyone else, including those within our organization. I will record a confidential file on your entire situation. As long as I'm alive, no one will be able to access it, not even those of higher rank in our organization. If I die, my successor will get this file and contact you. The fewer people know, the safer you are."
He paused momentarily, and a glint seemed to flash in his eyes. "If this technique can be taken to a higher level and we are able to do that within a reasonable time frame...then perhaps humanity will have its opportunity."
"Uh-huh." Tang San repeatedly nodded, unsure what else to say.
When the mayor discovered his secret, Tang San was prepared to silence him. His most powerful trump card was the bit of divine consciousness he had brought from his previous life. Once unleashed, he believed it could solve most problems. However, using it meant depleting that divine consciousness, and recovering it before reaching the god level would be impossible.
Unexpectedly for Tang San, the mayor's reaction was even better than the best scenario he had anticipated. Not only would the mayor keep the secret himself, but he also instructed Tang San to do the same. This raised Tang San's estimation of the Redemption Society even higher.
"Become my disciple," the mayor suddenly suggested.
Tang San was momentarily stunned. "Become your disciple?"
The mayor looked at him, his gaze returning to its usual calmness. "What else?"
"Al...right?" What else could Tang San say, after all? When under someone’s roof, he had to follow their rules. With that in mind, he immediately knelt and paid his respects.
"Master."
The mayor nodded in satisfaction, and a hint of a smile appeared on his calm face. "Xiao San[1], if one day it can be proven that the technique you are cultivating is suitable for all of humanity, I hope you will agree to contribute to it. To contribute significantly to the rise of our human race!"
“Yes.” Tang San inwardly scoffed. You already know everything; what more do you want me to contribute?
"My name is Zhang Haoxuan. My Demonic God Transformation is the Blaze Tiger King. The Blaze Tiger ranks second among the tiger-type demons, only behind the Golden Bloodline of the Tiger Emperor. I am at the ninth order."
Ninth order? Tang San's heart jolted. He had just encountered this most powerful being since coming to this world! Although he had felt utterly overwhelmed during their brief face-off, now hearing Zhang Haoxuan state it, he understood the extent of his cultivation. Compared to his previous life, this was akin to being at the peak below a god-level soul master, comparable to a titled Douluo. And from what Zhang Haoxuan implied, his Demonic God Transformation's bloodline power was also remarkable.
"The Mayor said, 'From now on, you are a part of the Redemption Society. Based on your cultivation level, you could have directly become an Orange-class member. But to conceal your strength, let's start from the initial Red class.'"
Without waiting for Tang San to ask, the mayor continued, 'In our Redemption Society, every member is ranked. Different classes grant different levels of authority. There are seven classes in total, corresponding to the colors of the rainbow—Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. Red is the lowest, and Violet is the highest. As a newcomer, you naturally start at the Red class. With accumulated merit, you can be promoted. To encourage everyone to improve their cultivation and speed up training, according to the rules of our organization, a fifth-order existence, regardless of their accumulated merits, can be promoted to Orange as long as they are an official member. That's why I said you could have the Orange class.'"
"Once you reach the seventh order of cultivation, you can naturally be promoted to the Yellow class. The ninth order corresponds to the Green class. This is the limit up to which you can be promoted solely based on cultivation. For the top three classes, besides having high cultivation, you must also make significant contributions to the organization to be eligible."
"Seven colors of the rainbow. Interesting!" Tang San murmured to himself. "Master, what class are you?"
Zhang Haoxuan said, “I am Green-class. Those Green-class and above are considered the upper echelons of the organization. Here in Kali City, I am one of the leaders, and I am responsible for handling daily affairs."
Tang San asked, “So, are you the highest-ranked Redemption member here?"
Zhang Haoxuan shook his head and replied, “No, there are two others here whose class is higher than mine, but their situation is quite special, and they don't directly manage the organization's affairs here. In Kali City, I am basically the one in charge.”
"Understood," Tang San said. This explanation told him a lot about the Redemption Society.
Zhang Haoxuan explained, “To conceal our identities and avoid detection by the demon race, our organization has a special secret method to verify identities. I will imprint this secret method on the back of your hand. When you are in front of a higher-class Redemption member, they can use the secret method to detect your mark. Similarly, you can also display your mark to others to verify your identity, which can be helpful in times of need."
"Master, are all the people in this town members of our organization?" Tang San asked, voicing his most pressing question.
Zhang Haoxuan shook his head and said, “Of course not. How could we possibly have so many members? Too many people would lead to chaos, and exposure would be catastrophic. Only about one in a hundred are members of the organization. You'll gradually learn who they are. Of course, you must also conceal your identity. This is why I accepted you as my disciple, because I need to give you a legitimate identity. You don't need to worry about anything else; just focus on your cultivation.
“I'll give you a brief overview of the town. As I’m sure you were told, our small town relies on Kali Academy for its existence; hence, it's also known as Academy Town. It's specifically designed to serve Kali Academy, and most people in the town work in the academy in one position or another. As vassals, we receive quite good treatment in the academy. Also, the demons here are of higher caliber and don't harm vassals without reason. Working in the academy is also a form of experience, and it can benefit us in many ways. You'll learn more about this later. When the time is right, I'll let you enter the academy for training.”
1. ”Xiao” means “little” and is a familiar form of address for an inferior, e.g. one’s child, a younger friend or colleague etc. ☜