Just as Zhang Haoming and the elders of the Heavenly Master's Mansion departed from the Federal Government.
Word spread throughout the official circles that Zhang Haoming, son-in-law of the Lin family and a member of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, had injured Zhao Long, the commander of the Federal Government's guards.
Furthermore, he had extorted 2.5 billion Lord-level resources and crystal cores from Hua Zhengguo, the Federal Prime Minister.
He had also delivered an ultimatum, telling the Federal Government that if the three major families failed to gather another 10 billion Lord-level resources within a month, none of the three families would be spared, and all leaders of the Federal Government would be executed.
After the news broke, ordinary citizens did not take it seriously. However, the high-ranking officials of the Federal Government knew better.
Since an increasing number of ancient ancestors had awakened, human affairs were now dictated by the Lin family.
Hadn't Lin Zhan, the eldest grandson of the Lin family, been appointed as the new Grand Marshal of the Human Race's Three Armies? Thus, upon hearing this news, the entire Federal Government became extremely vigilant.
The young Taoist, accompanied by his uncles and senior uncles from the Heavenly Master's Mansion, sat in a large suspended commercial vehicle.
"Nephew, what are your plans for this matter? Should we, the Heavenly Master's Mansion, intervene?"
The young Taoist shook his head and said, "This is a dirty job, and we cannot get involved. The Heavenly Master's Mansion's primary mission now is to go to America and suppress the undead. Everything else has to take a backseat. Only then can the luck of the Heavenly Master's Mansion recover quickly."
Several old Taoists nodded and said, "Haoming is right. Exorcising ghosts, subduing demons, and hunting monsters are originally the duties of our Heavenly Master's Mansion. Now that the undead dare to invade our human mother planet, our Heavenly Master's Mansion cannot stand idly by."
The young Taoist spoke to the man in black sitting in the co-pilot's seat:
"Relay orders to the Lin family's secret agents. Deploy globally. The movements of all members of the three major families must be monitored in real-time. Let the Embroidered Uniform Guard cooperate fully."
"Also, relay a message to Lin Thirteen. After the matter in the Rome Special Zone is resolved, have him intervene and coordinate our work with the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Zhang Qinghan looked at the young Taoist, who was giving orders, and said with curiosity, "Nephew, you're doing quite well in the Lin family. What kind of status do you have now?"
The young Taoist chuckled and said,
"In the Lin family, I am now in the second echelon, second only to my elder brother. Even my wife is not as high as me."
"I am responsible for the entire intelligence department of the Lin family, half of the Lin family's death warriors, and all of their underground businesses."
"And it was Old Ancestor Changruo who personally decreed my second echelon status and assigned four squads of the Great Shang's ancestral court guards to me as escorts."
"However, I haven't married Ya'er yet, and having the Great Shang's ancestral court guards as bodyguards felt a bit embarrassing for our Heavenly Master's Mansion. So, I left them with my elder brother and had to invite all of you, my uncles and senior uncles."
Upon hearing this, the old Taoists gasped.
Zhang Qinghan exclaimed, "The Great Shang's commitment is truly immense. Let alone a son-in-law, how many biological sons would receive such treatment? Good heavens, they even provided ancestral court guards. Truly generous!"
"Little nephew, are you still in need of followers? How about Eighth Uncle here? Don't mind that your master is my senior brother and holds the title of Grand Elder of Transmission of Teachings in the Heavenly Master's Mansion; his skills are basically trash. As for Second Senior Brother, the sect leader, he's just a bit better than trash."
Zhang Qinghan showed no respect to his two senior brothers.
However, it couldn't be entirely blamed on him. Although Zhang Qingxuan and Zhang Qingze ranked second and fifth respectively, one was a mid-stage Human King, and the other was a peak quasi-King.
Among these twelve old Taoists, half were Human Kings, and the other half were at least at the high-level King stage. In comparison, calling them trash was actually being lenient.
The young Taoist's eyes widened, and he looked at the group of old Taoists in confusion. He asked one of the oldest among them:
"Eldest Senior Uncle, if the sect leader Senior Uncle is so incompetent, why is he still the sect leader? And why did he inherit the title of Heavenly Master?"
The old Taoist pouted and said, "Nephew, this story goes back to the twelfth-generation ancestor. Our twelfth-generation ancestor was exceptionally intelligent. Although he didn't have a natural Dao body, his talent was not much inferior to yours, who possesses a natural Dao body."
"After the eleventh-generation ancestor passed on the position of sect leader and the title of Heavenly Master to him, the twelfth-generation ancestor was constantly busy with the construction of the Heavenly Master's Mansion. And as you know, our Heavenly Master's Mansion has always been poor. This twelfth-generation ancestor worried endlessly about his disciples."
"He served as the sect leader and Heavenly Master for a full 100 years, yet he did not advance to Human Emperor. Keep in mind that the twelfth-generation ancestor was only 35 years old when he succeeded as the sect leader and Heavenly Master. At that time, he was already a鎮族人王 (Guardian Human King). Such an intelligent ancestor was delayed for 100 years."
"Therefore, from then on, an unwritten rule was established in the Heavenly Master's Mansion: when selecting a sect leader, one must choose someone foolish and dull. Who in their right mind would want to be a sect leader? After a few more generations, our Heavenly Master's Mansion encountered a particularly slow-witted student."
"How slow-witted was he? The dog that began practicing the Dao with him had already evolved into a spirit beast, while he was still stuck at Bronze. The Elder of Transmission of Teachings was almost driven to death by him. Later, an ancestor in our Heavenly Master's Mansion, who only enjoyed leisure and indulgence, seeing that he had little hope, spent his days indulging him with food and drink."
"Unexpectedly, after wandering around like this for 20 years, this foolish ancestor directly advanced to the King rank. He successfully advanced to the Foundation Establishment within a hundred years and is currently slumbering in our secret realm."
"From then on, another saying circulated in the Heavenly Master's Mansion: Who in their right mind would want to be an Elder of Transmission of Teachings? Until our generation, Second Junior Brother was muddle-headed and lacked talent, so it was fitting for him to be the sect leader. And Fifth Junior Brother, who was always a bit mentally unstable and acted erratically, naturally became the Elder of Transmission of Teachings."
Upon hearing his Eldest Senior Uncle's words, Zhang Haoming felt his entire worldview shatter.
Good heavens, he had been overjoyed for several days when the Sect Leader Senior Uncle had asked him to succeed him as the next sect leader.
Fortunately, he had come to the Lin family to be a live-in son-in-law. Otherwise, the title of the foolish and dull sect leader would have fallen upon him.
Seeing the young Taoist's astonished expression, the old Taoist continued:
"So, Haoming, you must remember this: never attempt to become the sect leader. It's too much of a hindrance. With the Lin family's support in terms of resources and their protection of your safety, advancing to the Foundation Establishment within a hundred years is a sure thing. Strive hard, and within 300 years, it is also very hopeful that you can add another Emperor-level mighty figure to our Heavenly Master's Mansion."
The young Taoist quickly nodded and said,
"Eldest Senior Uncle, rest assured. Advancing to the Emperor rank should not be a major problem. Old Ancestor Changruo of the Great Shang also personally said that as long as I can advance, the Great Shang will cover even the resources for a Great Emperor. And these ancestors of the Great Shang are extremely protective, so there will certainly be no problems with safety."
The old Taoist nodded and said, "The ancestors of the Great Shang are indeed generous and worthy of the bloodline of the ancient Three Emperors."