Zuckerberg's abilities were quite outstanding. Over these three days, he had essentially bonded with all twenty-odd people in the room, and knew their identities and backgrounds like the back of his hand.
For instance, among these twenty people, twelve were from the United States, three from the United Kingdom, two from France, and three from other European countries.
The reason for so many Europeans was that "Immortal Ascension" was also being screened in Europe, which attracted more Europeans who sought to learn these ancient and mystical cultivation techniques originating from China.
The only thing that made Zuckerberg uncomfortable was that the twenty people were still crammed into one dormitory, which was truly off-putting. As a result, six more people had given up and left during these three days.
However, Zuckerberg's attitude was resolute; he was someone who understood meditation, and he was determined to learn these most mysterious abilities from China.
Fortunately, the three days passed by quickly. Last night, someone had come to inform them that the grand ceremony for opening the gates would be held at noon the following day, which was the ceremony for accepting disciples. They were instructed to wear clean clothes to attend.
It was also specifically emphasized that they should not eat from that moment on, to maintain internal and external purity, as it would be difficult to communicate with heaven and earth otherwise.
Therefore, not being able to eat this early morning was quite a hardship. Fortunately, everyone had persevered until this day and no one had any intention of retreating.
It was just that Zuckerberg was somewhat displeased. He had endured three days here to qualify for the grand opening ceremony, yet some people were able to participate as soon as they arrived. For example, this morning, he heard a Taoist priest say that another person would be coming to participate in the opening ceremony with them.
Zuckerberg was very unhappy about this. He immediately gathered the people around him and told them to prepare to play a friendly prank on the new friend, so he would know the price of skipping the past three days of living.
However, when this tall, bald man appeared, Zuckerberg was startled and quickly told people to change the wet blankets on the bed, remove the tea with bitter melon, and switch back to the lay disciple robes the Taoist priest had given them... He had deliberately changed into a particularly small lay disciple robe, intending to make the newcomer look foolish, but these things ended up inconveniencing him instead.
You ask why Zuckerberg was so fawning and then haughty towards this newcomer? Of course, it was because of the newcomer's identity. At this moment, Zuckerberg was respectfully standing beside this newcomer, asking, "Mr. Jobs, is there anything else you need assistance with?"
"No, thank you!" Jobs said somewhat stiffly. Jobs was actually in a very bad mood to encounter his most loyal fan and so many of his compatriots here.
According to Jobs's own wishes, he should have come quietly, cultivated quietly, and left quietly, without letting anyone know he was here... especially not letting people from his home country know he was here, as that would collapse half of his carefully crafted image as a tech mogul.
But who knew there were so many people gathered here, with more than half of them being Americans? Even if that were the case, there was also one of his most loyal fans, the CEO of Weibo, another domestic tech mogul, who had directly announced his name and identity in front of everyone. This filled Jobs, who had hoped that these people wouldn't recognize him, with despair.
"Forget it, life is more important. Perhaps a few more religious elements wouldn't be bad for a tech mogul!" Jobs comforted himself in his heart, and then, following Zuckerberg's instructions, he began to prepare for the grand opening ceremony.
At eleven in the morning, a Taoist priest led them to the front of the main hall of the Celestial Master's Mansion. At this time, the entire Celestial Master's Mansion was in a state of lockdown and was not open to any tourists. Inside the main hall, there were many Taoist priests in robes, or lay disciples in lay disciple attire!
The so-called lay disciples were not ordinary people, nor were they Taoist priests. They were people who paid offerings to the Taoist temple, and in return, the temple provided various blessings and services, and they could also learn some cultivation techniques from the temple. They were roughly equivalent to sponsors.
Because the lay disciples were the patrons of the temple, they were also eligible to participate in this grand opening ceremony and disciple acceptance ritual.
Not only foreigners like Zuckerberg and Jobs participated, but also dozens of young people from mainland China, who also came to become members of the Celestial Master's Mansion as disciples.
Following this, there were various intricate Taoist rituals.
"Why do I feel that these Taoist rituals are even more troublesome than our True Religion?" Zuckerberg whispered to Jobs as he watched these Taoist priests meticulously perform various rituals.
"The more history something has, the more man-made rituals are attached to it!" Jobs said calmly, making Zuckerberg nod repeatedly. Zuckerberg had been a loyal fan of Jobs since his elementary school days.
However, neither Jobs nor Zuckerberg knew that although these rituals had thousands of years of history, this was the first time they were being held in decades.
Due to certain concerns, the Celestial Master's Mansion had not dared to hold such ceremonies for decades. Furthermore, accepting disciples required various permits, followed by various examinations, and government approval... it was not something that could be completed with just an opening ceremony!
These were all arranged by Zhang Jintao at the request of Boss Huang. As for the dozens of Chinese people below, only a very small minority had passed the exams and government approvals and were highly educated with formal Taoist master's degrees. The rest were actors sent by Jiangnan Group.
That's right, apart from these foreigners, the Chinese people participating in the ceremony were basically actors. They had already undergone rigorous training to ensure they maintained solemnity throughout the process and did not laugh.
After the various mystical rituals concluded, it was finally time for the most important环节, which was for the Celestial Master to choose disciples for the Celestial Master's Mansion.
Zhang Jintao first led everyone to pay homage to the past patriarchs and the Three Pure Ones, then burned incense and prayed, and finally announced the start of the test!
Zhang Jintao had people retrieve a stick of incense from the backyard, which stunned many Chinese and foreigners present. Because this was literally a stick of incense, as thick as a supporting pillar, and only the giant incense burner at the entrance of the Celestial Master's Mansion could accommodate it.
"This is our Celestial Master's Mansion secret, the Grand Luo Azure Smoke Meditation Incense, made according to the ancient formula of the Celestial Master's Mansion, and infused with the day and night prayers of eight Taoist friends. Its fragrance can assist all of you in entering a state of meditation!"
"This is a rare treasure in the world. If you cannot enter a state of meditation with the aid of this treasure, then you have no fate with my Celestial Master lineage, so please leave!"
Zuckerberg and Jobs, of course, did not understand Zhang Jintao's words. Fortunately, the Celestial Master's Mansion had thoughtfully provided them with translators. Ji Chunlei, holding a megaphone, translated the words into English, French, and Spanish, four languages, so that all foreigners understood that this was a test of meditation.
"There is such a supreme item in the world that can assist one in meditation!" Zuckerberg's eyes watered as he looked at the towering Grand Luo Azure Smoke Meditation Incense, contemplating if he could take hundreds of them back to assist his meditation!
After all, although Zuckerberg could enter a meditative state, he could only do so occasionally. At this moment, he wasn't even sure if he could meditate, so he was very eager for this incense that claimed to help people meditate.
Of course, it still needed to be practically verified.
Thus, as this stick of incense began to burn, Zuckerberg began to try to enter a meditative state based on his past experience, and at this time, the effect of this giant incense became apparent.
The fragrance of this incense was indeed magical. When first smelled, it was very pleasant, but after smelling it for a while, it truly gave one a hazy, floating sensation as if about to fly. This was not drugs, and it was completely different from the feeling of drugs. Don't ask Zuckerberg how he knew it was completely different; everyone has had a time of youthful ignorance, haven't they!
Well, don't think this is about to turn into a Xianxia story. In fact, Taoist incense is very particular. As long as one is willing to spend money, this type of incense that can assist in meditation was already developed by the ancients. The simplest and cheapest is sandalwood; smelling its fragrance does have a calming effect.
However, even among the cheapest and lowest-grade sandalwood products, there are many specially made incense sticks that require many precious materials, but their effects are also better. For example, the qualified Grand Luo Azure Smoke Incense is an auxiliary incense recorded in the secret texts of the Celestial Master's Mansion, but it is expensive to produce. A stick this big costs around thirty thousand yuan. Of course, all this expense was borne by Boss Huang; the Celestial Master's Mansion has no money to make such things!
However, it was still very difficult to enter a meditative state quickly. Zuckerberg secretly glanced at Jobs beside him and was surprised to find that the latter had already entered a meditative state, his breathing becoming very slow.
"As expected of the divine Jobs," Zuckerberg exclaimed, and then he began to focus on entering a meditative state. Moreover, the Grand Luo Azure Smoke Incense was indeed very effective, and coupled with Zuckerberg's previous experiences of entering a meditative state, he did manage to enter a meditative state.
After an unknown period, when Zuckerberg opened his eyes, he found that it was already around four in the afternoon, past noon. Most of the people present had left, leaving only those who were meditating on the ground.
Zuckerberg glanced at Jobs and saw that he was still in meditation, which made him admire Jobs's profound cultivation.
Around six in the evening, Jobs slowly woke up from his meditation. He was the last one, and among the twenty people present who could enter a meditative state, ten were foreigners and ten were Chinese.
As for those who failed to enter a meditative state, they were directly advised to leave, though they did so with considerable unwillingness, vowing to return to seek apprenticeship in a few months.
"Celestial Master, we have passed the test, so we can be admitted, right!" Zuckerberg asked excitedly.
"Not so! Not so! You still need to gain the recognition of the patriarch!" Zhang Jintao said, waving his whisk.