Chapter 67: Director Zhao’s New Task: Corporate Culture!
Just as Murong Xue’s Dao-heart was enduring the agony of destruction and reconstruction, Chu Feng had already begun his next plan.
A successful sect, Chu Feng thought, could not rely on powerful combat strength (the miners) and strict rules (Murong Xue) alone.
It also needed a “soul.”
That was to say, the so-called “sect culture.”
Chu Feng’s figure appeared at the door of Zhao Wuji’s “director” quarters.
Zhao Wuji had not been having good days lately; he felt that despite his heaven-reaching cultivation, here he was treated like a superfluous ornament.
Back in the day, he had been the Heishan Sect Master, a Golden Core-stage great cultivator — when he stamped his foot in the mining area the ground would tremble three times.
Now, production scheduling had a dedicated steward, safety and discipline were watched by that woman Murong Xue, and the spirit-stone accounts and personnel appointments had nothing to do with him.
His title of “director” sounded impressive, but in reality he had become a mouthpiece and a stamp-pushing tool.
“Director Zhao, you’ve worked hard recently.”
Chu Feng pushed the door open, his face wearing a warm smile. He helped himself to the spirit-tea pot on the table and poured a cup for Zhao Wuji.
The tea poured into the cup with a crisp sound, which struck a chord in Zhao Wuji’s heart.
The more amicable this devil smiled, the more troublesome the matter was.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
Zhao Wuji hurriedly rose, his facial muscles stiffly pulling into a smile as he said dryly, “Everything is for serving President Chu.”
“Mm, I’ve always noticed your work attitude.”
Chu Feng nodded with satisfaction and pushed the teacup toward him.
“Our mining area’s production and safety had already gotten onto the right track under Chairman Murong’s iron governance. But!”
Chu Feng changed his tone; his expression turned serious in an instant.
Zhao Wuji felt a jolt in his chest and the hairs on his back stood up. Had his slacking in meditation a few days ago been detected by this man’s divine sense?
“I found that our team still had a very serious problem!”
Chu Feng stood and paced a few steps, speaking with grave tone.
“The team lacked cohesion! People’s hearts were scattered! They also lacked a kind of… spirited, upward vigor!”
He lamented with fierce grief, “Although the family members were all working hard mining, what were they working for? Was it merely for those few spirit-stones as rewards? No! That was too low-level! We needed to make them understand that they were striving for a great cause!”
Zhao Wuji’s eye twitched repeatedly.
A great cause?
They were only digging a mine — how did it sound from this devil’s mouth like they were about to ascend to immortality?
“So,”
Chu Feng’s gaze suddenly sharpened and fixed on Zhao Wuji, full of unmistakable “trust” and “expectation.”
“I have decided to fully implement ‘sect culture construction’ and ‘spiritual civilization construction’ throughout the mining area! And after thinking it over, there was only one person most suitable for this glorious and arduous task!”
Zhao Wuji’s ominous premonition surged into a storm.
“That person is you! Director Zhao!”
Chu Feng slapped his shoulder with one palm. The force was not great, but Zhao Wuji’s body sank as if a weight had been applied.
“Me?”
Zhao Wuji pointed at his nose, his eyes wide as saucers.
“That’s right!”
Chu Feng’s tone brooked no denial.
“Think about it — who knew those miners better than you? They had once been your old subordinates! Who had more prestige than you? You had once been their sect master!”
“If you led the cultural construction, it would best demonstrate our Ascension Group’s magnanimity of ‘integrating old and new, burying past grudges’!”
Zhao Wuji’s face visibly turned green.
Sect culture construction?
Spiritual civilization construction?
What the hell were these things?
“Presi… President… I’m just a rough man, I only knew fighting and mining, I couldn’t handle these flowery things…”
Zhao Wuji’s tongue tripped as he tried a last-ditch protest.
“If you don’t understand, you could learn!”
Chu Feng gave him no chance to refuse. He flipped his wrist, pulled a large stack of brand-new jade slips from his storage pouch, and without asking shoved them into Zhao Wuji’s arms.
“See, I prepared the materials for you.”
Chu Feng pointed at the pile of jade slips as if they were treasured items.
“This one is the ‘Ascension Group Team-building Activities Planning Compendium’; it contained things like ‘Monthly Outstanding Miner Selection’, ‘Tunnel-digging Friendship Tournament’, ‘Mine-cave Treasure-hunt Adventure’ and a series of activities that would ensure they would be entertained and unwilling to leave!”
“This one is the ‘Ascension Group Morning Meeting Motivational Slogans — One Hundred Phrases’; every line was catchy and guaranteed to uplift spirits!”
“And this, most important of all! The core of our sect culture — the ‘Ascension Song’! I had the best musician compose the lyrics and score. You would be responsible for teaching everyone until each person could sing it, and for making it be sung every day!”
Zhao Wuji held the stack of cold jade slips, feeling his hands as heavy as a thousand catties, trembling such that he could barely hold them.
These were not jade slips; they were death warrants.
They were asking him, once the fearsome Heishan Sect Master and decisive Golden Core-stage great cultivator, to organize a bunch of miners to sing?
To hold a tunnel-digging friendship tournament?
To select some damned “outstanding miners”?
Kill him!
Do it now! Give him a quick death!
“Director Zhao, this showed the organization’s trust in you!”
Chu Feng’s smile faded and his tone deepened.
“Production and safety were in Chairman Murong’s hands. The spiritual civilization front had to be entrusted to you. Our Group had to grasp both, and both had to be strong! Do not disappoint me!”
Before Zhao Wuji could reply, Chu Feng handed him a tanned beast-skin scroll.
“Your first task was to organize the mining area’s first ‘morning mobilization meeting’ early tomorrow! This was the meeting’s agenda and your speech; go home, study it well, memorize it!”
Zhao Wuji almost reflexively took the beast-skin scroll and stared down blankly.
At the top of the scroll, written in an extremely flamboyant and eye-catching font, was the title:
【Ascension — One Family, Building the Cultivation Dream Together — Heishan Mining Area’s First Morning Mobilization Meeting】
Below was a line of small print — his opening lines:
“‘Dear Ascension family members, good morning! A new day, a new beginning! Are you ready to ignite your passion for our shared dream?!’”
Zhao Wuji felt the world darken; a hot rush of blood shot toward his head, nearly destabilizing his Golden Core.
He felt that tomorrow he wasn’t going to preside over some meeting.
He was going to step onto his own public execution platform.
Worse, the executioner would be himself.