"Patriarch's Approval?" The remaining twenty-odd people were bewildered. Wasn't the Patriarch long dead, with not even bones left? How could he approve of them?
Could it be that the Patriarch had truly ascended to immortality and was watching them from the heavens?
"Our True Master lineage's Patriarch, the Celestial Master Zhang, is a righteous deity in the Heavenly Court, whose divine eyes can perceive all under heaven!" Zhang Jintao said with utmost seriousness. "However, this is the Age of Dharma Decline, so he naturally cannot manifest himself. But we can communicate with him through the talismans of the Celestial Master lineage to seek the Patriarch's will!"
As Zhang Jintao spoke, a young Daoist respectfully opened a purple-gold treasure box on the offering table and took out several golden talismans.
"These are the Patriarch Talismans of our Celestial Master lineage, capable of communicating with the Patriarch in the netherworld. I will teach you a mantra shortly. You will recite it silently, and if you can communicate with the Patriarch, he will respond!"
"However, those who receive the Patriarch's approval are truly one in a hundred, only those who are exceptional individuals can earn it. So, if you are eliminated later, do not be discouraged. After all, your success in entering a meditative state already proves your extraordinary talent; you simply may not reach the standards of our Celestial Master Manor!"
Zhang Jintao said. Zuckerberg and Jobs listened, dumbfounded. Could such things exist in the world? Wasn't this like a fantasy novel!
But upon reflection, wasn't cultivation itself an extremely fantastical endeavor? Since they had come this far, there was no reason not to believe in such possibilities.
Zhang Jintao naturally paid no mind to their thoughts and began teaching them the mantra. The situation became awkward for Zuckerberg and the others because Zhang Jintao was teaching a mantra in Chinese, which they couldn't understand. How could they possibly learn it?
Zuckerberg quickly raised his hand and explained his predicament, hoping to skip this step. To his surprise, Zhang Jintao shook his head and said, "The Patriarch's approval is a necessary condition for entering our Celestial Master lineage. Even the President of the United States would have to go through this step obediently, with no room for negotiation."
"However, I can test the Chinese people first and then test you. You will have about twenty minutes to learn! If they are sincere, they can naturally master the pronunciation of a thirty-character mantra. But if they are insincere, their failure to learn will be their own problem!"
Good heavens, Zuckerberg and the others were stunned. They immediately sought out the translator, Li Chunlei, and under his guidance, began to repeat the mantra sentence by sentence.
"Dan Zhu Kou Shen, Tu Wei Chu Fen. Disciple XX sincerely reports, seeking the help of the True Master Zhang, the True Sovereign of the Heavenly Court, protector of the Grand Law of the Three Heavens. I prostrate myself in reverence and beg for mercy, to enter our True Way, for eternity unchanging. With one heart and sincerity, may ten thousand thunders strike, and true spirits be forever extinguished."
Even for Chinese speakers, this mantra was quite tongue-twisting, especially Zhang Daoling's honorific titles, which were even more complex. In the first few years, even those who recited this mantra would constantly stutter, let alone foreigners like Zuckerberg.
Fortunately, Li Chunlei was quite dedicated, and because the Chinese people before them made many mistakes, it gave these foreigners more opportunities. Among them, Jobs was the most proficient. In less than 3 minutes, he could recite the mantra fluently, making the eyes of everyone around widen in astonishment.
At this moment, a gasp suddenly erupted from the entire venue. Everyone quickly looked to see a Chinese person reciting the mantra when the talisman suddenly ignited, and the flame was a distinct bluish-green, completely different from traditional flames.
Even more magically, the talisman was unharmed by the flames and could even be held in the person's hand. Only after more than ten seconds did the talisman instantly extinguish, turning into a wisp of blue smoke.
"Thank you, Ancestor!" Zhang Jintao and the others immediately bowed towards the smoke, as if it were a divine being.
"Congratulations, the Patriarch has approved you. From now on, you are a disciple of our Celestial Master lineage!" Zhang Jintao stood up, his face beaming with a smile. The Chinese person was overwhelmed with emotion.
Zuckerberg and the others watched this scene, still in disbelief. Was this the result of successful cultivation?
Subsequently, while learning the mantra, they secretly observed the Chinese people reciting it. They discovered that out of about three people, only one would receive the Celestial Master Zhang's approval, causing the talisman to burn.
More people found that the talisman in their hands showed no reaction, and they could only leave the Celestial Master Manor under Zhang Jintao's helpless headshake. However, Zhang Jintao was kind enough to give them a book before they left, stating that it contained some cultivation experiences from the Celestial Master Manor. As it did not involve the secrets of the Celestial Master lineage, they could cultivate according to this book upon their return, and perhaps achieve the Great Dao in the future.
Zhang Jintao's actions were considered proper, so those who left did not harbor any resentment. However, Zuckerberg felt even more dejected. The fact that these cultivation notes could be given away implied that they were not that important. What truly mattered was being accepted as a disciple.
With this mindset, Zuckerberg redoubled his efforts in learning. Fortunately, Zuckerberg was also a genius, so learning was not a problem. By the time it was his turn, he had already memorized the Chinese mantra.
Meanwhile, three foreigners before him had already attempted, and all had failed, with the talismans showing no change.
"It's your turn, take a talisman!" Zhang Jintao placed a stack of talismans in front of Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg picked up one of them, couldn't help but smell it, and found no strange odors, such as the smell of white phosphorus.
Zuckerberg, being a science student, knew that white phosphorus had a very low ignition point, making it suitable for creating self-igniting props for deception. However, white phosphorus had a strong odor that could be detected at close range.
Zuckerberg had initially thought the talisman was coated with white phosphorus, but to his surprise, there was none. What was going on then? Could this truly be a magical item?
"Quickly recite the mantra!" Zhang Jintao urged. Zuckerberg nodded and recited the mantra he had memorized for so long.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zuckerberg finished the last word of the mantra, the entire talisman ignited, and blue smoke rose. Zhang Jintao, along with the many disciples behind him and Zuckerberg, kowtowed in reverence. He then stood up and said joyfully, "It seems the Patriarch is very fond of you. You only recited it once, and the Patriarch has agreed to accept you as a disciple!"
"Really?" Zuckerberg felt extremely excited at this moment, as if he were Arthur, successfully drawing the Sword in the Stone.
"Of course, it's true!" Zhang Jintao's smile was fuller than when Zuckerberg had boasted about his ten million dollars. This was a smile that truly treated Zuckerberg as an equal.
"As you can see, the fellow disciples who went before you, the least of them recited the mantra countless times before the talisman finally ignited. You, however, only recited it once, and despite your accent... yet in just one instance, you made the Patriarch manifest and the talisman burn. This truly signifies the Patriarch's approval. I declare that you are now a disciple of our Celestial Master lineage!"
Zhang Jintao's words made Zuckerberg tremble with excitement. He hadn't felt this excited in a long time, the last time being the previous time he felt this excited.
The two foreigners after Zuckerberg both failed, which made Zhang Jintao feel even more proud.
Out of a total of six foreigners, only he succeeded, while the others failed. What did this mean? It meant he was truly a chosen one, and the others were trash. He and they were different.
However, among the final four people, three succeeded, including one Englishman and one Frenchman. But what made Zuckerberg most proud was that although Jobs was also chosen, he had to recite the mantra three times to succeed, unlike Zuckerberg, who succeeded in just one attempt. He was truly the strongest one!
Thinking of this, his absolute respect for Jobs seemed to fade considerably. He was no longer surrounding Jobs like a fangirl. Jobs' reaction was also somewhat unaccustomed. He couldn't quite accept that someone could surpass him. If it were a Chinese person, it would be understandable, given the local advantage. But this was an American, which represented what?
Next, Zhang Jintao led the few who had passed the Patriarch's screening into the main hall to perform the final initiation ceremony. These individuals would then officially become disciples of the Celestial Master lineage.
Simultaneously, their accommodations also changed. They no longer slept in the large communal dormitory but in smaller rooms... instead of twenty-odd people crammed together, it was four people per room. Jobs' bunk was next to Zuckerberg's, which gave Zuckerberg a somewhat surreal feeling.
"Junior Brother Xuan Qiao, how long can you stay here?" Zuckerberg asked with a smile.
"..." Upon hearing the address "Junior Brother," a vein throbbed on Jobs' forehead. He was thirty years older than Zuckerberg and could have been his father. However, when the order was determined earlier, because Zuckerberg succeeded in one recitation, he became the senior disciple of the Xuan generation. Jobs, having recited it three times, could only be the second disciple. Subsequently, five more people succeeded, and these seven became an unbreakable brotherhood, destined to be known to the world as the Seven Disciples of True Unity, a truly resounding title.
These seven were Senior Brother Xuan Zha Zuckerberg, Second Brother Xuan Qiao Jobs, Third Sister Xuan Yu Ma Siyu, Fourth Brother Xuan He Ma, Fifth Brother Xuan Qiu Ji'er, Sixth Brother Xuan Na Polun, and Seventh Sister Xuan Ting Leng Ziting.
"Zac... never mind, Senior Brother Xuan Zha, I can only stay here for a week at most. After a week, I must leave. Apple is very important right now, and I cannot leave it!" The only thing that made Jobs feel slightly better was that he only had to endure this for a week!
"You can leave in a week!" Zuckerberg's face immediately showed an envious expression, then he shook his head and said, "With only a week, Junior Brother, can you really learn the sect's great methods?"
"I already have a foundation. I was able to enter a meditative state at the age of 19. My master said I have laid the groundwork, so many introductory cultivation practices are not necessary. For the next week, he will provide one-on-one guidance to introduce me to the path. Afterward, I can cultivate step by step back home. If I have any questions, I can simply video call through oo." Jobs explained helplessly.
Given his personality, he would never explain anything under normal circumstances. However, Zuckerberg was his senior brother. According to the sect rules they had memorized today, junior disciples must respect their senior brothers. Under legitimate circumstances, they must show sufficient respect and avoid any disrespect, otherwise, they would be expelled from the sect.