Chapter 123: True Lord Lingxiao’s “Job Interview”

Qingyun Sect, Main Peak Plaza.

What had once been the place where disciples conducted morning training and gatherings had now been turned into a gigantic “prisoner-of-war camp”.

Several thousand dejected Purifiers had been stripped of the white robes that symbolized glory. Wearing only prison garb, they were strung together in rows by Spirit-Suppressing Chains. Like livestock awaiting slaughter, they knelt on the ground.

In their eyes, there was no longer the pride and killing intent they had carried when they arrived—only numbness, fear, and confusion remained.

At the very front of the plaza, True Lord Lingxiao, Chiyunzi, and six Nascent Soul Ancestors, along with more than a dozen Golden Core Elders, were locked inside specially made black-iron prison cages like trophies of war, put on display for all to see.

At this moment, Zhao Wuji was holding an amplified conch horn, spraying saliva everywhere as he conducted on-site training for those “new family members” who had just surrendered.

“Look carefully! This is the consequence of ‘going against the trend’! This is the classic negative example of not knowing how to ‘embrace change’!”

“Back then, I too was an overlord of my own domain. But after joining the warm big family of the Ascension Group, I finally understood how utterly insignificant personal bravery is in the face of an advanced ‘business model’!”

He pointed at True Lord Lingxiao inside the cage and said with heartfelt indignation:

“Look at this Senior Lingxiao here! A mighty expert at the Nascent Soul middle stage! In cultivation, he’s stronger than me! In status, he leaves me eight streets behind! But what about the result? Didn’t he still become our ‘prisoner’?”

“Why? Because he lacked vision! His thinking was rigid! He was still using the old-fashioned ‘fight and kill’ approach to solve problems, instead of thinking about how to create value for clients and how to achieve win-win cooperation!”

These words made the former Purifiers who had just “jumped ship” nod thoughtfully, one after another.

Meanwhile, True Lord Lingxiao and the other elders inside the cages trembled with rage, wishing they could tear Zhao Wuji apart and devour him alive.

This Zhao Wuji was simply shameless to the extreme!

At this moment, a commotion suddenly arose among the crowd in the plaza, which automatically parted to form a path.

Chu Feng walked over at an unhurried pace.

He had already changed into a clean moon-white robe, and that signature gentle smile once again hung on his face, as if the icy, god-of-slaughter demeanor from earlier had been nothing more than an illusion.

Only Murong Xue, who followed behind him, could sense a trace of lingering chill deep within his seemingly calm eyes.

“Greetings, President Chu!”

“President Chu, thank you for your hard work!”

All disciples, whether old or new, bowed spontaneously, their eyes filled with fanatical worship and awe.

Chu Feng smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, then walked straight up to the prison cages.

“Gentlemen, have you been staying comfortably at our Ascension Group’s ‘corporate culture experience camp’?”

He asked cheerfully.

“Pah! Demon! Kill us or torture us as you please! Don’t even think about humiliating us!”

Chiyunzi, who had the fiercest temper, spat straight at Chu Feng.

Chu Feng shifted slightly and easily avoided it, the smile on his face unchanged.

“Kill?”

He shook his head, looking at him as if at a naughty child.

“Elder, your way of thinking is very dangerous. What era is this now? Still talking about killing? We are a legitimate ‘group’. What we value is ‘talent recruitment’ and ‘resource optimization and allocation’.”

He pulled over a chair and sat down leisurely, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the cage as if appraising goods on a shelf.

“How about this. Let’s have an ‘interview’.”

“Interview?” Everyone was stunned.

“Yes, an interview.”

Chu Feng snapped his fingers.

“Let’s start with you, True Lord Lingxiao. Former enforcement elder of Heavenheart Holy Land, Nascent Soul middle stage cultivation, proficient in lightning techniques, rich experience in combat, resolute personality, strong execution ability. Mm, a pretty good résumé.”

He commented seriously, then abruptly changed the subject:

“But the shortcomings are also obvious. Conservative thinking, lack of innovative spirit, worrying team management ability. Look at the team you led—wiped out the moment you arrived. No matter how you calculate it, this KPI is completely unqualified.”

True Lord Lingxiao closed his eyes and said nothing, treating it as the barking of a mad dog.

“However, considering that your personal abilities are still outstanding, our group isn’t unwilling to give you a chance.”

Chu Feng stroked his chin and pondered.

“I’ve just established a ‘Risk Investment and External Deterrence Department’, and it’s in urgent need of a ‘Chief Advisor’ who can hold the line.”

“The main job is to represent the group and have some friendly ‘business communications’ with those disobedient ‘partners’.”

“As for annual salary… let’s set it at three hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones, plus 0.1% of the group’s internal stock options.”

“Perform well, and there’ll be year-end dividends. How about it? Consider it.”

“……”

The entire plaza fell into deathly silence.

Everyone looked at Chu Feng as if he were insane.

Poaching the enemy commander right in front of everyone?

And offering such a sky-high “offer”?

What kind of operation was this?!

Murong Xue supported her forehead, feeling her Dao heart begin to waver again.

She had known it—this man’s way of thinking could never be measured by common sense.

“You… don’t even think about it!”

True Lord Lingxiao finally opened his eyes and squeezed out three words through clenched teeth.

“Don’t rush to refuse.”

Chu Feng smiled.

“Opportunities only come once. Now take a look at this one…”

His gaze landed on Elder Huoyunzi, who had lost an arm and was full of resentment.

“Huoyunzi, Golden Core Great Perfection, high loyalty, dared to self-detonate—a ruthless one indeed. Unfortunately, not very bright.”

Chu Feng shook his head.

“Self-detonation is the lowest form of ‘value realization’. It’s equivalent to forcibly delisting and liquidating your own ‘stock’, ending up with nothing.”

“However, I do appreciate that ‘ruthlessness’ of yours.”

His tone shifted again, an eerie glint flashing in his eyes.

“I’ve recently been planning a ‘military project’ and happen to need a batch of fearless ‘product testers’ to test some new products with relatively large power.”

“For example… a ‘controllable enhanced version of the Golden Core Self-Detonation Talisman’?”

“As long as you’re willing to do it, I guarantee that every future ‘self-detonation’ of yours will have ten times the power of your current Golden Core!”

“And we can even preserve a wisp of your remnant soul and use the group’s resources to help you reconstruct your physical body.”

“That’s equivalent to possessing infinite revival, letting you experience one brilliant firework after another.”

“This—this is the maximization of the value of your cultivation!”

“You… you devil!”

Huoyunzi listened in horror, his scalp tingling and his hair standing on end.

This was no recruitment at all.

This was clearly an attempt to turn him into a repeatedly reusable “self-detonating human bomb”!

Chu Feng ignored his terror and shifted his gaze to the other elders. He analyzed each of their personalities, strengths, and cultivation levels through a cold lens of “commercial value”, tailoring for each of them various inconceivable yet spine-chilling “positions”.

Some were sent to be “sparring sandbags” for the Old Ancestor Xuantian, others were assigned to mining areas to handle “blasting and demolition”, and some were even arranged to go to the pill institute, using their thunder and fire attributes to provide “high-efficiency energy supply” for pill furnaces.

Every single position squeezed their value to the absolute limit.

A scene that should have been a judgment and execution was forcibly turned by him into an absurd and bizarre “recruitment fair” and “job briefing”.

Finally, Chu Feng delivered his concluding remarks.

“Everyone, I’ve already pointed out the road for you.”

He stood up, spread his hands, and spoke with a gentle smile, yet his words sent chills through everyone’s hearts.

“You can choose to become the group’s ‘quality assets’, continue to shine and generate heat, and realize your life’s value. Or you can choose to become ‘non-performing assets’, taken away to serve as backup fuel for the ‘Spirit Source Core No.1’, keeping Senior Lieyang company.”

“Now, please make your choice.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep