The Stubborn Little Golden Dragon in the Big Meeting

The atmosphere in the Violet Star Palace was quite harmonious.

A gathering of high-ranking celestial officials and department heads warmly welcomed the newly appointed Chief Deity of the Ascension Bureau, Zhao Huazhen.

For this grand assembly, nearly all celestial officials of the third rank and above were present, with the exception of the Civil and Martial Gods of Wealth from the Treasury Department, who were away on official business.

Meanwhile, the Calamity-Suppressing Venerable, ever the hands-off leader, made a brief appearance before gracefully vanishing, leaving the reins of the meeting in the hands of Xuanxuzi, the head of the Celestial Pivot Court.

As the central authority overseeing the operational rules of the celestial court and defining the responsibilities of the immortal bureaucracy, Xuanxuzi’s competence was beyond question.

"Esteemed colleagues, the purpose of today’s assembly is not merely to acquaint ourselves with the new Chief Deity of the Ascension Bureau. More importantly, we are here to discuss three key topics: 'Essential Preparations Before Ascending to the Celestial Immortal Rank in the Violet Star Immortal Realm,' 'The Establishment of a New Department—the Nethergate Pavilion,' and 'The Restructuring Proposal for the Ascension Bureau’s Functions!'"

"For these three topics, the keynote speaker will be the newly appointed Chief Deity of the Ascension Bureau, Zhao Huazhen. Let us welcome him with applause!"

As soon as the words fell, Xuanxuzi led the applause, stepping aside to make way while casting a composed gaze toward the backstage.

Clap clap clap!!!

A thunderous wave of applause erupted from the audience.

Under the collective gaze of the assembly, Zhao Huazhen emerged slowly, clad in a flowing crimson robe befitting a celestial official. His eyes shone with vigor, and his steps were steady and deliberate.

"Greetings, esteemed colleagues. It is my great honor to serve as the Chief Deity of the Ascension Bureau, and I am delighted to meet all of you here in the Violet Star Palace. Moving forward, I will dedicate my utmost efforts to contribute to the development of the Violet Star Immortal Realm, striving to facilitate talent recruitment and construct the Violet Star Ascension Pathway..."

This little golden dragon was holding office for the first time and lacked experience. While he possessed competence, his speech missed the mark entirely—flowery rhetoric drowned out key points, leaving the logic muddled and the substance vague.

To make matters worse, he was stubborn. Convinced that the speech he had painstakingly drafted was flawless, he outright rejected offers from two of his subordinates—both Confucian scholars—to ghostwrite for him. In fact, he even dismissed their drafts as "nonsense from start to finish."

The inevitable result was a room full of celestial officials frowning in bewilderment, exchanging puzzled glances.

"Old Zhou, didn’t you help him with the speech?" Fang Zheng, head of the Celestial Mechanism Court, discreetly sent a voice transmission to Zhou Zheng, the deputy chief of the Ascension Bureau.

Zhou Zheng sighed softly. "Ah, this guy felt awkward about being parachuted into the position and kept trying to prove his competence. He spent ages agonizing over that mess, treating it like treasure, and insisted on presenting it. We couldn’t stop him..."

Gu Yuan, head of the Celestial Law Court, overheard the exchange and chimed in with his own observation:

"It’s understandable. This Zhao Huazhen was once the top-ranked powerhouse in the orthodox chat group. And judging by the projects he proposed, it’s not hard to deduce that he’s likely the true mastermind behind the chat group!"

Xiao Chunan, the Star Inspector, joined the conversation. "Something’s off. He doesn’t seem particularly sharp—he can’t be the original transmigrator. He probably encountered some mishap during the crossing. Otherwise, following the usual transmigrator mindset, unless absolutely necessary, they’d avoid extra work at all costs."

Zhou Zheng nodded in agreement. "Brother Chunan is right. Though our interactions have been brief, I can tell he’s different from the average transmigrator. Many inside jokes that would make transmigrators chuckle go completely over his head."

"Oh? You all guessed quite accurately, friends!"

At this point, Xu Jinghong, the honorary Marshal of the Central Altar, decided to join the discussion, elaborating with a smile:

"As an old-timer from Group One, let me share his backstory. Once you hear it, everything will make sense."

"This goes way back, so I’ll keep it brief. In the early days of Group One, the chat group once had a staggering eight hundred members!"

"But because it was still in its infancy, the group lacked the many features it has today—everything was under development. Many transmigrators had terrible starting conditions, dying within days due to various misfortunes. Out of the original eight hundred, only thirty lucky survivors remained..."

"And Zhao Huazhen? He was the textbook example of a catastrophic start—transmigrated as a brain-damaged little fish with a one-second memory span. In the perilous waters of the Heavenly River, surviving without being casually swallowed by a passing predator was pure luck!"

"Here’s the thing—back then, Group One didn’t have nicknames. Everyone was numbered based on their join order, and Zhao Huazhen was No. 666. The guy spammed 'HELP' every second, offering zero context. It wasn’t until later, when he regained his senses, that everyone learned the tragic truth..."

"But how could a brain-damaged fish recover so quickly? Not only that, but how did he rise against all odds in the deadly Heavenly River, transforming into a golden dragon and becoming a dominant force?"

"Keep in mind, the chat group back then was rudimentary—the Multiverse Mall wasn’t open, and everyone was struggling. Yet he alone soared to greatness. Does that make sense?"

"If he’d had a heavenly start, sure—take me, for example. I transmigrated as a Chaos Sword Physique wielder, the scion of a top-tier clan. My rapid progress was expected, right? Not to brag, but back then, I—"

Ahem! Fang Zheng hastily cut in. "Old Xu, we know you’re amazing, but you’ve told that story a million times. Right now, we’re talking about Zhao Huazhen..."

"Ah, my apologies—got sidetracked." Xu Jinghong chuckled sheepishly before continuing. "Of course, my example isn’t to boast about my past glories—those are behind me, and I never dwell on them. It’s just for comparison!"

"Think about it. With my heavenly start—no lack of talent or backing—I only progressed slightly faster in the early stages. Meanwhile, he had a catastrophic start—zero talent, zero background—yet he not only rose swiftly but even surpassed me!"

"Does that sound reasonable?"

"So, from that moment, I knew this noob fish was hiding something big. And it wasn’t just me—almost all the surviving old-timers in Group One knew. Only the noob fish himself remained clueless, thinking he’d fooled everyone. Little did he know, we were all just humoring him..."

After Xu Jinghong finished speaking, the four others in the group fell silent.

Their silence wasn’t due to Zhao Huazhen’s unbelievable rise—after all, no matter how extraordinary he was, hadn’t Venerable Yi recruited him to work here? Now that they were colleagues, curiosity about his transmigrator-like-yet-not-quite nature was enough; they didn’t need a definitive answer.

The real reason for their silence was...

Old Xu’s mouth never stopped running!

The man could talk a mile a minute—clearly, he’d been bottling this up for ages!

Officially appointed as the Marshal of the Central Altar, yet due to his excessively high cultivation realm, he had been unable to assume his duties. On ordinary days, he shirked all responsibilities, dumping them onto the Four Symbols Overseers, while he hid away in the Xiuzhi Temple, endlessly murmuring to the divine statues—never receiving a response, yet never tiring of it!

Under the weight of these circumstances, the once taciturn Sword Immortal Xu Jinghong was driven to become a chatterbox, now affectionately known as "Old Xu." Almost every time the Celestial Court convened a grand assembly, he would neglect his duties, preferring instead to drag others into endless conversations, rambling on without a care for whether they could endure it or not!

To make matters worse, his cultivation realm was so high that even if one tried to ignore him, it was impossible—his voice would echo directly in their ears. And if they covered their ears? He’d simply transmit his words directly into their minds!

Fang Zheng, Gu Yuan, Xiao Chunan, and Zhou Zheng exchanged a knowing glance, each silently confirming the same conclusion.

This Old Xu… they couldn’t let him idle around any longer. They had to find a way to keep him busy—lest he continue wasting his boundless energy on nonsense!