Chapter 1056: Onlooker Lu
Publishing a newspaper was, after all, a major undertaking. It wasn’t something Lu Yang could decide alone.
Although he had already arranged all the necessary steps, he still needed Yun Zhi’s final approval.
“A newspaper? Good idea. You have my support.” It took only a moment’s thought for Yun Zhi to grasp the importance of a newspaper. This is an excellent channel for disseminating information and improving public knowledge.
“Do you need Guan Shanhai to use his imprint ability? I’ll threaten him into it.” Yun Zhi also realized that Guan Shanhai would play a crucial role in printing the newspapers.
From what I remember, Guan Shanhai is a rather stubborn prisoner. No matter how much I beat him, he refuses to confess.
“Guan Shanhai has already agreed to help.”
Yun Zhi nodded in surprise. “That’s quite sensible of him. In that case, have you thought of a name for the newspaper?”
“Considering this is the first time we’re publishing it, we don’t know how the public will react to its content. We shouldn’t release it too frequently. For now, let’s set it as one issue per month. What do you think of the name Cultivation Monthly?”
Lu Yang would have to adjust the content based on public feedback to meet their needs.
Yun Zhi had no objections. Little Junior Brother’s naming sense has always been like this. There’s no need to be harsh.
“By the way, Second-in-Command, can we call it the Great Dou Monthly?” Yun Mengmeng suddenly remembered that she was not only the Third-in-Command of the Everlasting Lineage but also the Minister of Rites of the Great Dou Dynasty, with a duty to promote it.
“Hey, that name’s good!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy clapped her hands in approval. This is a perfect opportunity to promote our Great Dou Dynasty.
Lu Yang hurriedly tucked his hands into his sleeves and bowed. “Your Exalted Majesty has worked tirelessly, devoting your heart and soul to the prosperity of the dynasty. Your subject is filled with admiration.
“However, the dynasty has just been established. Since ancient times, aspiring factions have always concealed their strengths and bided their time before raising armies to rebel. Currently, the Great Dou Dynasty has vacant official positions, a shortage of personnel, and insufficient troops. Aggressively promoting the dynasty would be overly hasty. This matter requires careful planning and waiting for a propitious opportunity. I beg Your Exalted Majesty to reconsider!”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy felt her head spinning, unable to make sense of Lu Yang’s words. “Then we’ll do it your way, Xiao Yangzi.”
Hearing that, Lu Yang bowed again in exultation. “Your Exalted Majesty is wise.”
Listening from the side, Yun Zhi was tempted to ask just what position her little junior brother held in the Great Dou Dynasty. However, she was worried that the Everlasting Immortal Fairy would remember her and assign her a post as well. Thus, she set aside that curiosity for the time being and steered the conversation back to the newspaper.
“Little Junior Brother, have you decided on the newspaper’s content?”
On the way here, Lu Yang had already mapped out a general idea. “I’ve heard that many people still don’t even understand the levels of cultivation. I thought we could use the first edition to explain some cultivation knowledge, along with a few Qi-Nourishing Mantras.”
The cultivators common folk encountered most often were those at the Qi Training Stage. For higher levels like the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages, they only knew the concepts. They had little understanding of the power of each realm and the gaps between them. If we plan to tell stories about cultivation, naturally, we should first help the masses grasp the basic framework.
“In addition, we could include major events in the cultivation world, such as the recent Battle of Xitian Temple.
“If there are any good stories, we could also serialize them in the newspaper...”
Lu Yang expounded on the functions of each section of the newspaper. As Yun Zhi listened, she nodded repeatedly. It seems Little Junior Brother has considered this matter at length.
Yun Mengmeng looked at Lu Yang with admiration. Second-in-Command is so thorough. I could never think of so many things.
Afterward, Lu Yang found Ji Hongwen, the eldest disciple of the Third Elder. Ji Hongwen specialized in Painting Dao, and Lu Yang asked him to design the layout of the newspaper.
Ji Hongwen readily agreed.
“Oh, by the way, leave a tiny space in the middle. I’m using it to place an ad for Junior Sister Tao.” Lu Yang added a small request.
Since this is the first edition and no one else has asked me to advertise, I might as well benefit someone close to me.
With the newspaper production process largely worked out, Lu Yang’s remaining challenge was how to present the Battle of Xitian Temple fairly and objectively without revealing his identity.
A flash of inspiration struck him. “I’ve got it! The commotion from the battle was so huge that everyone in Xitian City saw it. I can write from the perspective of a spectator. I’ll treat it as interviewing myself.”
Ideas surged through Lu Yang, and words freely flowed from his brush. He soon wrote a report on the Battle of Xitian Temple, as well as additional content for other sections.
Afterward, he handed the original newspaper to Guan Shanhai. Guan Shanhai lived up to his reputation as the wielder of the Imprint Dao Fruit. In the blink of an eye, he copied the newspaper tens of millions of times, replicating even the audio playback array along with it, drastically reducing production costs.
With lower production costs, newspaper prices could be brought down, making them affordable to mortals.
Lu Yang wasn’t publishing the newspaper for profit. It was for publicity.
Dao-Seeking Sect disciples used the spatial passages to distribute the first edition of Cultivation Monthly across Great Xia.
~~~
“According to our investigation, at the outset of the Battle of Xitian Temple, there were two combatants—one was the Timekeeper Divine Lord of Great Qian, and the other’s identity remains a mystery. Based on fragmentary accounts, our newspaper speculates that he may be a mysterious immortal from antiquity who found it inconvenient to act.
“According to onlooker ‘Lu,’ the mysterious immortal had intended to spare the Timekeeper Divine Lord’s life. However, upon meeting him, the Timekeeper Divine Lord repeatedly hurled provocative remarks and questioned the mysterious immortal’s educational level, asking whether he knew how to write.
“Hence, the mysterious immortal had no choice but to act, and a battle between the two ensued.
“The mysterious immortal’s Dao arts reached the heavens, and his Sword Dao was profound. The Timekeeper Divine Lord was no match for him, defeated in an instant. The mysterious immortal commanded him to kneel, and the Timekeeper Divine Lord complied, begging for mercy.
“The Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone appeared. Without questioning which party was in the wrong, he immediately said, ‘The Timekeeper Divine Lord is at fault,’ hoping the mysterious immortal would spare the Timekeeper Divine Lord’s life.
“Afterward, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone judged that though the mysterious immortal was entangled in karma and couldn’t mobilize his full power, he was still formidable, and the clone was uncertain whether he could prevail.
“To fight the mysterious immortal, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone devoured the Timekeeper Divine Lord, leaving the latter’s fate unknown. After the battle, he was still nowhere to be seen.
“During the battle between the mysterious immortal and the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone, an explosion of unknown origin occurred. The scene was too chaotic to determine which party triggered the explosion. According to onlooker Lu, he heard the clone laughing in the explosion and shouting words like ‘self-detonation.’
“After the explosion, Xitian Temple was reduced to ruins. The Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone disappeared, and the mysterious immortal departed in a carefree manner.
“Subsequent investigation by our newspaper revealed that the Timekeeper Divine Lord had been hiding in Xitian Temple for over a century, staying close to a young novice monk. It is still unclear whether he had any special fetishes.”
Inside an immortal palace, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord held the freshly delivered newspaper. As he read it word by word, he trembled with rage. It had been a long time since he had felt such fury.
Gnashing his teeth, he tore the newspaper to shreds and slammed his fist on his immortal seat. His enraged voice reverberated through the immortal palace.
“Which damned bastard wrote this?!”
