A Pawn's Passage

Zhang Yuelu continued her explanation. “Actually, I was in the same situation. After I was promoted to the fourth rank, I quickly earned enough merit, thinking I could be promoted to the third rank. But even now, I still need to wait two more years before advancing to the third rank. Getting to the second rank will depend on my luck.

"After getting to the second rank, the shortest tenure for each level is nearly ten years. If I’m a second-rank ordinary Sage by the age of thirty, I can only be promoted to an Omniscient Sage at the age of forty. This will give me the qualifications to be elected as the Grand Master, but the possibility of that happening is slim to none, so I will continue rising the ranks to be a Virtuous Great Sage at the age of fifty.

"At the age of sixty, I’ll aim to be one of the Deputy Grand Masters. By that calculation, being the Grand Master by sixty is, in fact, a tight timeline. This is also an ideal situation with no obstacles and with the support of the previous Grand Master.

"In reality, it’s almost impossible for one’s path to be so smooth. There are many traps and opponents blocking the way, so I’ll consider myself blessed if I can get to be an Omniscient Sage by the age of sixty.

"In the Daoist Order, it’s common to see thirty-year-old third-rank Daoist masters. Thirty-year-old second-rank Daoist masters are also not rare. Sage Qingwei was promoted to the second rank in his thirties, but now, he’s still just a top-ranking Omniscient Sage.

"There’s nothing he can do about it because those Virtuous Great Sages are all very old and refuse to move. No matter how powerful Sage Qingwei is, he can’t get promoted because there is no vacancy. That’s why being promoted to the fourth rank is just the beginning. There is still a long journey ahead.”

Qi Xuansu sighed. “No wonder they say that if you fall behind once, you will never be able to keep up.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “That’s also under the premise that you have enough merit. Most people don’t get a chance to earn much merit. How many sixth-rank priests do you know who can accumulate three Xuan merits? A normal sixth-rank priest would usually exchange three Huang merits to gain a Xuan merit and perform well in the three-year assessment before getting promoted to the fifth rank.

"In some remote departments, such as the Daoist Canon Division and the Requiem Division, there’s no chance of gaining merits on a normal basis. So they can only rely on time. It may take them more than ten years of hard work to get promoted. That’s why there are still many gray-haired sixth-rank and fifth-rank Daoist priests.

"If you plan to be promoted to a third-rank Youyi Daoist master within seven years, you can’t wait for experience and can only use merits to get a promotion. To advance from the sixth rank to the fifth rank, you will need three Xuanmerits, which equates to one Earth merit. To be promoted from the fifth rank to the fourth rank, you will need two Earth merits. From the fourth rank to the third rank will require three Earth merits, which equates to one Heaven merit.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Wow, how did you earn two Earth merits?”

Zhang Yuelu suddenly fell silent. After a while, she slowly responded, “It’s mainly luck. Back then, I used to be a superintendent in Beichen Hall and was assigned to the Jiangnan Division.

"During the 40th year of the Jiushi Era, the Deputy Hall Master sent a group of us to inspect the local Daoist Mansion. By chance, we discovered a major case in which the Daoist priests from Jiangnan Daoist Mansion colluded with secret societies to embezzle maritime trade payments. The amount involved was about 5 million Taiping coins, and hundreds of personnel were involved.”

The Imperial Court’s main income came from the taxes they collected. Of course, the Daoist Order did not fully rely on incense money as the main source of income.

Instead, the Daoist Order’s main source of income came from a large network of trade—from ginseng, fur, and medicinal herbs from Liaodong; tea, porcelain, silk, and ironware in the Central Plains; spices from the Western Regions; horses from the Grasslands; wood from the Samudra Kingdom; gold and silver from the Fenglin State; glass and firearms from the Western Continent, and so on.

In this huge trading network, maritime trade accounted for half of the revenue, with Jiangnan being the largest port.

Qi Xuansu was taken aback. “That’s a big case. Even I’ve heard about it when I wasn’t in the Jade Capital.”

Zhang Yuelu hummed softly. “In the end, we recovered about two million Taiping coins. The Ancestral Court executed a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master, three third-rank Youyi Daoist masters, and twelve fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist masters. Many more were expelled from the Daoist community, demoted, or received demerits.

"The head of the Jiangnan Daoist Palace was also recalled to the Ancestral Court due to negligence of duty and was questioned by the Great Sage Lunzhi in the Golden Tower. Although he retained his identity as an Omniscient Sage, he was transferred from the prosperous Jiangnan Province to the cold and remote Liaodong Daoist Mansion.”

Although Zhang Yuelu tried to make it sound like it was not a big deal, Qi Xuansu knew she must have taken a big risk. This case involved the wealth and livelihood of hundreds of people, so those felons would not just sit back and wait for death. They would have fought to the death.

Qi Xuansu kept silent for a moment. He asked in a whisper, “This case must have been very dangerous, right?”

Zhang Yuelu looked crestfallen as she answered, “Yes. I was lucky to make it out alive. At the time, three superintendents and six deacons left Jade Capital, but I was the only one who returned to the Ancestral Court alive. The rest died in Jiangnan. The public statement was that they died at the hands of a secret society, but I know that they were actually murdered. If my master had not appeared in time, I wouldn’t have been able to escape that fate either.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood why Zhang Yuelu was so determined to reform the Daoist Order. After so many years of development, the Daoist Order had many shortcomings. Only a Deputy Grand Master or the Grand Master could fix these flaws.

Zhang Yuelu sighed. “Actually, I couldn’t have possibly solved such a major case on my own. My master played a significant role, but she didn’t take any credit for it. That’s how I achieved a Heaven merit. I already had one Earth merit, so this case gained me another two Earth merits. Due to this, the Earthly Preceptor paid attention to me. Since then, I’ve had a smooth journey being promoted to the fourth rank.

"Conventionally, the remaining two Earth merits can be exchanged for two ordinary treasures or one high-grade treasure. But the Earthly Preceptor made an exception for me, giving me a semi-immortal object and appointing me as the Deputy Tiangang Hall Master.”

Qi Xuansu sighed and thought, No wonder Madam Qi said that Zhang Yuelu didn’t rely on her family background to achieve her current status. She worked hard for her own success.

Zhang Yuelu was immersed in her memories. She stared blankly at the sky above and lamented. “Those who died were my friends who had worked with me for some time. Although we all had our differences, I still feel sorry for their undeserving deaths.”

Qi Xuansu did not comment.

After his master’s death, Qi Xuansu no longer believed that the world was black and white. It was more like different shades of gray.

This was the biggest difference between Qi Xuansu and the Holy Xuan. It was recorded in the history books that the Holy Xuan was shocked when he accidentally encountered a human meat market. From this, the Holy Xuan developed an ambition to save the world.

However, after years of traveling alone, Qi Xuansu witnessed all kinds of human suffering, but he only thought of improving his own situation instead of trying to make the world a better place.

This was probably because Qi Xuansu and the Holy Xuan had different starting points in life. The Holy Xuan was born into a prestigious family. His father was the world-famous Great Sword Immortal, his master was the first-generation Earthly Preceptor, and his father-in-law was Emperor Gaozu of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

The Holy Xuan had a position of power, so he had the authority to execute plans and influence decisions, like a chess player.

On the other hand, Qi Xuansu was an orphan without relatives. His master was a fourth rank Jijiu Daoist master who could barely make ends meet. Thus, in comparison to the Holy Xuan, Qi Xuansu was more like a pawn on the chessboard, struggling to survive and at the mercy of the chess player.

The saying was true that only the wealthy could help others, while the poor could only fend for themselves.

Qi Xuansu only had the capacity to care for his own livelihood, so there was no way he could help the world.

This was the harsh reality of the societal gap.

That was why Qi Xuansu remained silent. He knew that Zhang Yuelu was right, but it was an absurd and unrealistic notion for him to think about the future of the Daoist Order when he could not even predict his own future.

Using the analogy of Chinese chess, a pawn who had just crossed the river would be foolish to think that it could take down the opponent’s general when the opposing side still had all their chess pieces on the board. In reality, the pawn would be struggling to protect itself before it could even reach the general’s palace.

Zhang Yuelu settled her emotions before she spoke again. “Last time, I received a Xuan merit and a Huang merit for killing Desmond and the other demons. If I add four Xuan merits and one Huang merit, that will be almost six Xuan merits, which equals two Earth merits. That way, I’ll only be one Earth merit short of being promoted to the third rank. Thank you, Tian Yuan.”

Qi Xuansu assured her. “This is what you deserve. There’s no need to be polite with me.”

Zhang Yuelu smiled. “Well, the truth is that without you, I will never be able to stop these cult demons myself.”

Qi Xuansu did not continue this topic. Instead, he asked, “Since I can’t be promoted to a fifth-rank Daoist priest immediately due to the tenure system, then what’s the use of these merits?”

Zhang Yuelu explained, “It’s still useful. When you have accumulated enough merits but can’t be promoted due to the tenure system, the Ancestral Court will increase your salary. By next spring, you will officially be a sixth-rank Daoist priest, which entitles you to a basic salary of 30 Taiping coins per month.

"Tiangang Hall has a special subsidy, which is about 20 Taiping coins per month. Since you’re not yet thirty years old, you will be given the title of an Apprentice Mage, so you can receive an extra monthly subsidy of 10 Taiping coins.

"With your extra merits, the Ancestral Court will upgrade your treatment from an Apprentice Mage to a Prospective Mage. Your basic salary is 50 Taiping coins per month. Tiangang Hall’s subsidy is 30 Taiping coins per month, and the subsidy for a Prospective Mage is 20 Taiping coins per month. That adds up to 100 Taipingcoins every month.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “So, it's like keeping my rank, but enjoying higher-rank treatment?”

Zhang Yuelu nodded. “That’s right.”

Qi Xuansu inquired, “What if I earn more merits before being promoted to the fifth rank? Will I continue to get a salary increment?”

Zhang Yuelu replied, “If that happens, the Daoist Order will convert your merits to spiritual objects, treasures, special mystical abilities, or a lump sum of Taiping coins as a reward. This is also the reason why many mystical abilities aren’t publicly shown.”

She stretched out a finger. “A Heaven merit will get you a semi-immortal object, and an Earth merit will get you an ordinary treasure.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Can I just exchange my merits for treasures now instead of increasing my salary?”

Zhang Yuelu shook her head. “No, it must be in this order. You have to get a salary increment first before you can exchange merits for treasures.”

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