Immortal Road.

Chapter 530: Confrontation at the Banquet, Throwing a Stone to Test the Water

Southwest Shandong, Mekong Delta.

Hongdu Academy.

A mountain gate, more than ten feet high, stands in front of the steps at the foot of the mountain, with guests coming and going in an endless stream.

Rays of rainbow light flew in from the sky.

To show respect, they would land and enter through the main gate, where they would be greeted by two Jindan Zhenren on the left and right.

Lin Shan, Yang Zhenren, and five gentlemen from Yunchuan Academy came here together.

After everyone took out their own invitation and showed it to the Jindan Zhenren at the door, a special instructor would immediately come to lead the way.

Along the way, we will introduce them to the scenic spots along the way.

"Senior, please look here. This is Confucius Cliff in the southwest of Shandong. It is said that a certain old scholar once sat by the abyss here and gained enlightenment for three days."

This cliff is flat and protruding, and looks nothing special.

"Senior, please look here. This is Bald Dragon Rock. It is said that a blue dragon once descended here, danced and galloped here, riding lightning."

This stone is slightly oval and narrow, and there is nothing special about it.

"Please look here, senior. This is the Temple of Seeking the Way. Legend has it that a great scholar once asked questions of heaven and earth here, and finally made up his mind and destiny to seek his true self."

This temple is very old and there is nothing special about it.

They just followed the crowd and treated it as a sightseeing trip.

Anyway, whatever the teachers of Hongdu Academy say is what it is, and they don’t know whether it is true or not.

When we got to the mountainside, there was a large platform and square, full of people coming and going, and countless tables and seats had been set up.

It covers an area of ​​nearly a hundred acres!

There were seven or eight teams of dancers from the royal court. They sang and danced on the stages in advance to liven up the atmosphere and set the mood.

Below, young men in black and red academic robes were standing guard all around, stretching for a mile.

These are obviously students of Hongdu Academy. They have firm eyes and sharp faces. They are the young generation who have experienced the tempering of war and grew up in fighting. They will surely be the pillars of society in the future.

At the banquet, most of the guests were already seated, and teams of maids came up from time to time to pour wine and add dishes.

Just by smelling the wine and looking at the dishes, you can tell that they are all precious things.

"Hongdu Academy has been through such a long battle, and it is just starting out, with a lot of things to rebuild. Yet they can still hold such a large banquet. Either they have a strong financial background, or they are willing to spend a lot of money."

Several gentlemen from the Yunchuan Academy were whispering to each other, and were somewhat amazed at the scale of the banquet. The instructor from the nearby Hongdu Academy did not explain, but bowed his head and respectfully invited them to take a seat.

Even though Lin Shan had seen many big scenes, he couldn't help but marvel at the scale of this one. He and Master Yang identified the different major forces from all over Lu State one by one.

Among them, some acquaintances passed by one after another, such as the noble families and sects in Luxi that had ancestors in the late Jindan stage. However, because they were not on good terms with the Lujiang League, they just sat together talking and laughing, so there was no need for them to go over and cause trouble.

There is also the Zhenyue Sect in northern Shandong, but the new chief elder has no friendship with Lin Shan and Yang Zhenren, so he just nodded casually.

"Seniors, your seats are here."

The seats are not randomly arranged. If you want to sit according to the level of your relationship, that's fine as long as the difference in power between you is not too big or too outrageous.

However, the scale of Lujiang League and Yunchuan Academy is obviously of a certain level.

As one of the top ten academies, they were naturally the heavyweight guests of the grand banquet and were placed at the front.

Next, both sides made slight adjustments, with the left side consisting entirely of local forces from southwestern Shandong, as a distinction from the foreign forces on the right.

Lujiang League, as the second tier, ranked behind the top ten academies.

Master Yang represented the Yang family and took advantage of the opportunity to sit next to Lin Shan.

As luck would have it, at the foot of Lin Shan, he ran into his old rival!
"How do you rank Hongdu Academy? Why do we merchants have to rank below Lujiang League?"

Lin Shan heard the sound and took a look, and was immediately happy.

Yo!
Isn’t this Shang Ding Zhenren from the Shang family?
The person was protesting at the moment, feeling that he was being treated unfairly and demanding a rearranged seat.

Seeing Lin Shan sitting in front of him, he felt unhappy, because the forces behind the two were now secretly confronting each other in the far northwest of Shandong Province, and neither of them was willing to submit to the other.

How can you be willing to be inferior to others?
The instructor from Hongdu Academy who led the way was a little embarrassed and pointed to two signs on the tables, which read "Lujiang League" and "Shangjia" respectively.

"Reporting to the senior, this seating arrangement was already arranged long ago. I was just following orders and was not aware of it."

"Then call those of you who are in charge over here!"

Master Shang Ding shouted and yelled, expressing his dissatisfaction on the spot.

Because there are many forces from western Shandong and northwestern Shandong around here, and everyone is looking at this place and waiting to laugh at him, how could he, representing the merchants, possibly give in?
The confrontation on the front line is evenly matched.

When I got here, I was inferior to others.
How can I face the elders of the clan when I go back?
"Master Shang Ding, the Lujiang League represented by Lin is already larger than your Shang family. It is only natural for him to sit in front of you. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Lin Shan didn't tolerate him at all and confronted him directly!

Actually, there is nothing wrong with it, because the Shangjia are only fighting with their own Xun Gu Sect, and the Lujiang League has not yet made a full fight. Why do you think the Shangjia can compete with the Lujiang League?

But how could Master Shang Ding lose his face? Lin Shan not only represented the Lujiang League, but also the Xun Gu Sect. If he was placed above him, he would always feel uncomfortable at this banquet, as if he had eaten a fly.

"Master Lin, you are being a bit arrogant. The power of our business is beyond your imagination. Do you really think that a mere Xun Gu Sect can fight against us?"

Lin Shan was immediately unhappy when he heard this.

What does it mean to be just a Xungu sect?

Act like you are very awesome.

"What are you still standing there for? Go find the person in charge and wait for me to change my position!"

There was a group of youngsters behind Master Shang Ding, who were probably brought here to see the world. They didn't dare to say anything rude to Lin Shan and were urging the organizer to change seats.

The teacher at Hongdu Academy had no choice but to look for someone elsewhere.

Lin Shan and Master Yang didn't care about anything and just sat down at the table.

Master Shang Ding just stood there, waiting for a reply.

The time for burning incense has passed.

The previous guide came back and finally found a manager who he could talk to, who was a Jindan-stage cultivator.

"I am Danyangzi, Doctor Danzhuan of Hongdu New Mansion. Nice to meet you, fellow Taoist."

Master Shang Ding quickly returned the greeting, and a group of young people behind him followed suit.

"Fellow Daoist Danyangzi, my Daoist name is Shang Ding, and I am here to attend the appointment on behalf of the merchants in Northwest Shandong."

"I already know."

Danyangzi smiled and twirled his beard, having already understood the cause of the incident.

"You raised an objection because you are dissatisfied with the seating arrangement. I cannot agree to this." "The size of the Lujiang League is indeed larger than that of the merchants, at least on the surface. We also rank them according to the usual comparison of basic intelligence. It is impossible to investigate the details of the nobles' secret background."

"Besides, among the top ten academies, both the Lujiang League and the Merchants are already at the top, and there is no room for adjustment."

Lin Shan was standing aside, nodding while eating with Master Yang, and briefly greeting Dan Yangzi.

"Your words make sense, fellow Taoist. This merchant is being unreasonable and ugly people are always doing weird things. Just ignore him."

Master Shang Ding was furious. He could feel the gazes from all directions. Many people were laughing at him and his face was burning.

To be honest, it doesn't matter that he is inferior to Lin Shan. The key is that he now represents the business community, and the two are currently hostile. He is afraid that someone in his clan will make a fuss about this after he returns.

As a last resort, they had to communicate secretly, with a hint of negotiation in their tone.

"Fellow Daoist Danyangzi, can you please be flexible? If it is really not possible, you can just move me to the equal seat opposite."

In order to save his face, Danyangzi also replied secretly.

"No, the opponents are all local forces in southwestern Shandong. How can we send Shangjia alone? Besides, they are all supporters of Hongdu New Government, and we can't let them move away."

"So there's no room for negotiation?"

"It's not impossible. You can negotiate with Alliance Leader Lin. If he is willing to exchange with you, then we will naturally not interfere."

It's the same as saying nothing. Who is so stupid as to voluntarily lower his status?
Master Shang Ding had no choice but to grit his teeth and call the Shangyang Academy at the top, as he saw that Danyangzi was adamant and Lin Shan and Master Yang on the side were not worried at all. The others were all watching the fun with a smile on their faces.

After a while, an old man with gray hair came down from above. He was none other than Shangyang Academy's late Jindan professor, Shang Geng Zhenren.

"What's going on? Why are you calling me?"

When Master Shang Ding saw the ancestor coming, he quickly sent a message to tell him about the predicament he was facing.

Master Shang Geng glanced at Dan Yangzi, who smiled and nodded at him as a sign of respect.

Look around again.

All the people who were glanced at by Master Shang Geng turned their eyes away and dared not look at him.

You can watch the merchant’s joke, but I wouldn’t dare to do anything rash if it were this person.

This is a professor from one of the top ten colleges!
Finally, Master Shang Geng turned his attention to the table in front of him, and to Lin Shan and Master Yang.

The two of them had no intention of getting up at all and continued to chat happily among themselves, as if he didn't exist.

"Young man, our country of Lu is a country of etiquette. We should know how to respect the old and love the young. How about giving up this position?"

Lin Shan did not answer immediately. Instead, after eating for a while, he felt the air was a little quiet and raised his head in confusion.

"Are you talking to me?"

Shang Ding was furious: "If I'm not talking to you, who am I talking to?"

Lin Shan shook his head: "He didn't call my name, how do I know who he was asking about?"

Master Yang was playing the supporting role and nodded repeatedly:
"My leader is right."

Master Shang Ding was indignant that the ancestor was ignored. Although he knew that he should not be impulsive at this time, he had to step forward and question the ancestor, otherwise where would the ancestor put his face?

"Master Lin, a professor from Shangyang Academy is standing in front of you. Even if you don't want to greet him, you should at least stand up! You are sitting there without moving. People will think that everyone in Lujiang League is so rude. If people spread the word, it will be a bad reputation."

"Tell it to others?"

Lin Shan turned around and smiled confidently at Master Yang.

"Who dares to speak out?"

"We in Lujiang League do things freely and as we please, and our main feature is our willfulness!"

"If you want to gain my respect, you merchants may not be qualified enough."

"I wonder who dares to spread rumors about this leader!"

Master Yang nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right."

Master Shang Geng's face darkened visibly, and all of Shang Geng's disciples lowered their heads and dared not speak. After all, they were not Jindan masters, and no matter how indignant they were, they could not get a word in.

Master Shang Ding knew that the ancestor wanted to save face, so he could only serve as a mouthpiece and continued to argue with Lin Shan.

"Master Lin, you have to know one thing: a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Many times, youthful vigor cannot be used as an excuse for arrogance. If you make too many enemies, you will eventually suffer backlash at some point in the future."

"Backlash?"

Lin Shan seemed to have heard a huge joke and put down his chopsticks with a loud bang.

"By the time the backlash comes, I will probably be in the Nascent Soul stage! Why should I be afraid?!"

"and."

"Today I am here on behalf of the Lujiang League. You see, the Danyang Zhenren of Hongdu New Palace calls me the leader of the League, why do you call me the leader of the Lin Sect? Are you deliberately going against the host?"

Master Yang sighed:
"Fellow Daoist, please change your words. Our leader is very particular about the way we address you."

It was the first time that Danyangzi heard the leader of a powerful foreign country call his home "Hongdu New Mansion", and he couldn't help but be overjoyed!

It turned out that apart from the local local leaders in southwestern Shandong, the other foreign forces that came to watch the ceremony basically maintained a neutral attitude and still called it Hongdu Academy.

We do not approve of their unauthorized name change.

Because it involves educational reform, it must be recognized by the Confucius and Mencius families in Lu, the Bailu Academy, and the Jingyang Academy.

Just like the Lujiang League established by Lin Shan, it is also a spontaneously organized regional alliance that has not been recognized by the central region, so most people still call him Master Lin.

This is called 'political recusation'.

Lin Shan realized that he was placed first under the top ten academies, and that Hongdu New Mansion called him Alliance Leader Lin, and he subtly felt the implicit goodwill from the other party.

Now, both of them are somewhat similar in terms of situation and experience!

So when the other party extends an olive branch, they just wait to see if he will accept it.

Even businesses are lining up closely behind him. Knowing that the two sides don't get along, they are still creating friction. Maybe it's a deliberate arrangement.

This is a test from Hongdu New Mansion on Lin Shan!
If it were someone else, any timid person would pretend not to hear it, and keep it vague for the time being, or wait until later to communicate with Hongdu Academy in secret.

But Linshan had no intention of beating around the bush at all!
Since they are all brothers in distress who have risen recently, why not give each other a hand and help each other?
As for the pressure from the top sects, they will not let them off just because they do not unite, thinking that they will not be a threat in the future.

Whether you can gain recognition from others depends on your own strength and influence!

Of course, the more powerful friends the better.

Master Shang Ding was speechless. He wanted to say something but found it was useless because the other party refused to listen. If he said more, he would only bring humiliation upon himself.

Master Shang Geng had a keen sense of smell and sensed something was wrong.

"Fellow Daoist Danyangzi, you have to think carefully. My Shangjia and Xungu Sect are currently in conflict in some areas. Are your words and actions openly representing Hongdu Academy's side?"

(End of this chapter)